#like when my dad would hold me against the bathroom wall with 1 arm pressed against my neck

[doebt]

and everytime i recount one of these traumatic events i just feel more and more hopeless. im getting really very good at pretending to be normal, ive spent my entire life practicing it, but ik im not and ik i never will be, not even close..and i just have to live with it and hope that at least a few people in the world will treat me well in spite of it??? wtf

[wreckmetoji]

idfc

An ongoing fic in which you don't realize you have both Fushiguros at your feet.

↳ Toji Fushiguro/Reader

Part 5/?

Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 6

content warning. age gap, afab reader, angst if you squint, mild smut, sugar daddy toji, mild exhibitionism, mild public sex, oral(f receiving)

This is part five of a several part story revolving around smut. **Minors DNI**

1.5k words

He left you dumbfounded when he parted not a second later, waving as he walked down the hall. "Let's do this again soon." Everything was starting to go back to normal. The last couple days were spent catching up with friends, having the four of you hanging out together again felt natural. You'd be lying if you said you hadn't been avoiding hanging out with Megumi alone, though. Everything he did was more obvious now, the lingering stares, the way his eyes darted down to your lips whenever you spoke to him directly, the subtle brushes of his arm and hand against your own while walking. Even if someone else was talking, he would be looking at you. You didn't know how you were so blind before. Anyone with eyes and common sense could see he was absolutely head over heels. My sister is visiting this weekend, are the words that finally got you to accept one of his onslaught of offers to hang out, even if it was just a dinner at 'some restaurant'. It was true, you'd mostly done it to see Tsumiki again, but you did feel bad with how you were neglecting him. The entire morning of you felt nauseous. You weren't nervous about being around him, though. You were more concerned with the fact you had to sit at a table and act chummy with someone that had fucked you senseless, and didn't hear anything from after the fact. Strong vibrations from your phone rattled against the granite kitchen island, urging you to quickly slide some low black heels on and run out the door. Once downstairs, you whistled at the black Lexus LC 500 sitting in front of your building. Getting inside the car, you were mesmerized by the beautiful leather, all the buttons, and screen built into the dash. Dad let me borrow his work car, he told you when you asked, confirming your suspicion that he didn't drive his own car over deliberately. When you were told it was just dinner at some restaurant, you didn't expect to pull up to a beautiful building with a valet. You suddenly felt incredibly under dressed in your black milkmaid dress. It had a window just below the bust, the short a-line making you feel trashy compared to every other woman walking in. It made sense why Megumi was in a dress shirt now. You stood, dumbfounded and starry eyed as your friend briefly spoke to the gentleman behind the tall marble podium, too absorbed in taking in the high ceilings and rich red and gold accents to realize you'd been taken by the hand to walk further in. "Oh!" Your gaze snapped over to the slightly secluded booth table, seeing a sparkly eyed Tsumiki shouting over for you. She seemed like she'd already had a few drinks. The eye contact she was making was short lived when your own trailed slightly to the left, your mouth going dry. Toji sat beside her, dress shirt tight against his thick crossed arms, the top couple buttons on his shirt undone to expose his sharp collarbone. He had his sleeves rolled up, but only halfway up his forearms. His expression was unchanging, but the way he eyed you up and down let you know he wasn't made aware you would be part of the dinner. Much to your displeasure, Megumi had sat you down beside him, directly across from Toji. "Goodness, look at you. You've both grown so much!" Tsumiki prattled on, you occasionally joined in on the conversation. Despite her light and airy exterior, your attention was too caught up in how silent the taller man was nearly the entire night, only ever briefly speaking up when address or ordering food. Every time you tried to sneak a glance, your gazes met, you were always the first to look away. At some point you were convinced it wasn't coincidence, and he'd just been staring at you the entire time. Once dinner and dessert was cleared from the table, Megumi sighed and pushed his chair back. "I'll get the car and bring you home–" "Actually, you can drive Tsumiki." Toji finally said something without prompting, causing all eyes to focus on him. "She needs to get up early to catch her flight. Since I need to pay, you can drive her to the hotel. I'll drive your friend home." There was a lingering silence, before Megumi sighed, begrudgingly agreeing. You and Tsumiki said your formalities, although you sat uncomfortably in your chair once you were left in silence in the presence of him. It was just the two of you, and now that you didn't have any watchful eyes, you silently confirmed that he had been staring at you all night. "Nice to see you... again..." You chewed the inside of your cheek after speaking, eyes looking down where you fiddled with the hem of your short dress' skirt. "Yeah." Silence. If you could pass away right now, you would. This was excruciating. Why did you come to this stupid dinner? Why would you put yourself in this situation? "Ever been fucked in a five star restaurant bathroom?" Choking on your spit, you looked up wide eyed to see he had the same flat line expression, brow only slightly arched. He was a hard man to read, but any idiot could tell he was toying with you. "Obviously not, no–" He interrupted you by standing, reaching into his well fitted black trousers and placing a black credit card on the table. His green eyes could cut steel, the dangerous way he looked down at you as he walked past giving you goosebumps. "Bathroom. Two minutes." With how low his tone was, and how he looked at you, you knew better than to go against what you were told– no, ordered. Keeping a watchful eye on your phone clock, you hadn't even noticed the waiter walk up to take the card and leave again. When you got to the bathroom door, you tried desperately hard to ignore the way the restroom attendant standing outside glanced you up and down, then rolled his eyes. Toji, what the fuck did you say to this guy? Said man motioned for you to walk inside, the first thing you noticed upon entering was the crystal chandelier and gold plated everything. Toji had his back facing you, rolling the sleeves of his dark navy dress shirt up just past his elbows when you cleared your throat to announce your presence. Watching the turn of his head and slow drag of his eyes to you, then over to the clock beside the door you'd just entered, then back to you. His lips twitched. "Right on time." Unsure why, but you were disappointed he didn't praise you for being so timely. You blamed it on the fact you knew you'd be punished had you been even a second late. "Now, princess," His voice was laced with venom, a nefarious twinge to how he addressed you. "What business did you have marching in here dressed like that unannounced?" You didn't answer his question. You weren't sure if he even wanted you to. Despite the fact, you kept eye contact, looking like a lamb cornered by a starving wolf. "Sit." He commanded, hand resting on the marble countertop beside a very expensive looking sink. His tone didn't make you nearly as nervous as the corridor of mirrors, nearly every wall covered with one. Heels clacked against the marble floors, slowly, as you made your way over. You had to hike a leg up onto the counter to get on top, yelping when a sharp smack stung your newly exposed bottom. Looking back back with narrowed eyes, you were met with an intense, impatient glare. "Did I tell you to take your sweet fuckin' time?" You quickly scurried up, your back pressed against a mirror as he leaned into you, caging you between his arms. "Legs up." It was a struggle to move with how closely Toji was leaning into you, but you managed to bring your knees up to your chest, panties now completely exposed. You didn't want to address how it made your pussy quiver. He seemed to take a moment, drinking in how scantily clad you were. "Those don't cover a goddamn thing, princess. We're you planning for something?" He leaned back, hands leaving the counter. "Take them off." Toji nodded his head, eyes looking down at your underwear as he crossed his arms. "Pull your dress up while you're at it." You did as you were told, removing the lacy black thong, throwing it in his direction as some semblance of rebellion. His smirk fell, letting you know immediately a mistake was made. Continuing, you grabbed the hem of your skirt, bringing it up to your mouth and biting down on it, holding it up with your mouth. What a spectacle you must've been, all propped up and ready for him to devour you. Toji crouched down, picking up the panties you'd thrown at him and stuffed them into his pocket before he stepped over, dipping his head between the apex of your thighs. "If you feel like being a brat," He gave your bare cunt a slap, making you flinch. "Then I'll treat you like one." You leaned your head back against the mirror, eyes closing when you felt him gently blow over your already throbbing aroused pussy. "Aren't people going to walk in?" Your protest was muffled from the hem of your dress stuffed in your mouth. You hoped you could talk some sense into Toji, as if anyone ever could. "I paid the attendant a hundred bucks to stand outside and stop people from coming in," Toji stroked up your folds with his index finger, bringing his other hand up and parting you with his thumbs to get a good look at the way you twitched for him. His lazy smirk grew, breath ghosting over your heat. He spoke, the words making you shiver more than his tongue now licking a long stripe up your pussy. "We've got fifteen minutes. I'll only need seven."

[ragingbookdragon]

When The Music's Not Forgotten PT. 1

Green Lantern!Reader x Lantern Family Story!

Word Count: 5.3K Warnings: Explicit Language, Mature Themes, Violence

Author's Note: I legit had a breakdown trying to think about what to label this fic as. Almost put 'Batsis' but then I realized it's not Batsis nor Lantern!Sis so I was like...uh...what do I do? We'll figure it out. Enjoy! -Thorne

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

Her first thought when she opened the front door to the Coast City apartment and saw her dad in a headlock by Kyle and Kyle in a headlock by Guy who was in one by John, who was in one by her dad, was: this is totally and completely normal.

The second thought: that nothing involving her father and uncles ever surprised her anymore, occurred to her as said father and said uncles stopped arguing with one another and cocked their heads up, looking at her, each of their faces exhibiting the epitome of “I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar” shock, in which she merely returned with a blank stare before closing the door behind her, marching into the kitchen with the grocery bags.

Of course, that also meant the second she did, they were stumbling in to explain what had brought them to the unfortunate moment of head-locking each other, but also to see what she’d bought and what she was going to cook for dinner. She paid them no mind, ducking under arms and between bodies as she maneuvered around them kitchen, putting things away.

Someone curled an arm around her neck, pressing their lips to her temple. “Hey Raptor.”

She smiled. “Hey dad.” Tossing a beer behind her, she added, “Uncle Guy. Uncle John. Kyle.”

Guy caught his beer, popping the tab, and Kyle looked at her, crossing his arms over his chest. “How come everyone else is ‘uncle’ and I’m not?” he looked hurt. “Am I somehow different, (Y/N)?”

She paused and threw another beer behind her. “Kyle, were almost the same age. I’m not calling you my uncle because John and Guy are older than both of us.”

“Not that much,” he griped, popping his beer tab. “It still hurts my feelings.”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes and handed John the final beer. “Would it make you feel better if I told you I considered you to be my favorite cousin?”

Kyle smiled at her. “Yes, it would.”

She nodded then glanced at Hal. “Dad, tacos or burgers?”

“I dunno.” He said, glancing at the others. “You guys?”

“Burgers.”

“Tacos.”

“Burgers.”

She cocked a brow and looked at her father. “Seems like you’ll either make a tie or a win.”

“I have been thinking about good tacos, Raptor,” he replied, and she nodded.

“Tacos it is.” Guy and John groaned, and she shot them a glare. “Hey! Lock that shit up or I’m not cookin’.” Immediately they shut their mouths, listening to Kyle and Hal snicker. “Buncha children.” She griped, dumping the ground beef into a skillet to brown.

“So, (Y/N),” Guy drawled, leaning against the kitchen counter. And honestly, the entire kitchen was way too small for four grown men and a grown woman to be in at one time, but she’d gotten used to it, so why fix what wasn’t broke.

“So, Uncle Guy.” She repeated, shifting the meat around with the spatula.

“Why exactly did you start working at the Wayne Enterprises branch here?”

She could feel the eyes of her family on her back, and she couldn’t help but roll hers. “Maybe because Mister Wayne pays good salaries to his employees and his health insurance coverage is fantastic?” (Y/N) glanced over her shoulder. “But something tells me you’re asking for another answer.”

He grinned. “Which son of Wayne’s are you dating?”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes again. “I love you, but you’re an idiot.” She turned back to the pan. “I’m not dating any of his sons. Dick’s with Koriand’r, Jason’s a douche-bag, and their brothers are way too young.”

“Doesn’t he have a daughter?”

“Cass is dating a girl she goes to college with.” She took an onion from the basket against the kitchen wall atop the counter. “Keep digging though, Uncle Guy. You’ll hit rock bottom soon enough.”

“Does that mean you’re dating the big Bat?”

She almost cried from laughter as Hal choked on his beer and spluttered. “No. I’m not dating Mister Wayne. He’s old enough to be my dad.”

John chuckled. “I don’t know, (Y/N). When you first met Bruce at, what? Ten? You told him you were going to marry him.”

Her cheeks burned and she scowled at them. “I meant Batman because he was kind-hearted, and I was totally awestruck as a little girl. Let it go.” Her eyes fell on Hal. “Dad, tell ‘em to let it go.”

He nodded. “Please let it go.” Kyle started humming ‘Here Comes the Bride’ and while the others snickered, Hal screwed his eyes shut. “Oh God, stop. I don’t want to think about my precious baby anywhere near that anal retentive kitchen scale.”

The other snickered and before she could say anything, their rings started beeping. She looked at them as their faces turned solemn, setting their beers down as their suits flashed to life.

“Trouble on Oa,” John said.

“Gotta fly?” she asked, and Hal nodded, leaning over to kiss her temple.

“Gotta fly, Raptor.” He hugged her quickly and followed John and the others to the balcony. “I love you.”

“I love you too, dad.” (Y/N) waved. “Be careful, Corpsmen.” They all waved at her and took off, leaving her in the apartment alone and she sighed, turning back to the kitchen. “Another dinner…alone.” She couldn’t help but deflate. “Wonderful.”

***

She continued cooking for almost an hour when the balcony doors opened and closed, and she smiled. “Hey guys. You’re back rather early.” When she didn’t hear a response, she immediately fell on guard and she took one of the kitchen knives from its holder, brandishing it.

Carefully, she walked into the dimly lit living room, eyes scanning the expanse for whoever was in the apartment with her. None of the floorboards were creaking, no rustling of fabric or scuffing of shoes. It was completely silent, and that made her nervous.

Stay calm. The worst thing you can do in a situation when you need to be calm is to be panicked. Slow breaths. Keep focused.

She repeated his words in her head and shifted around the hallway wall, eyes peeled for trouble.

Small steps when sweeping buildings. If an enemy rounds a corner and it comes to close combat, you’ll want to be able to hit them and taking big steps causes instability.

(Y/N) crept down the hall and came upon the bathroom just beside her father’s bedroom door. Quickly, she peeked in, seeing it empty, then cross the doorway, pausing beside her father’s door. She inhaled deeply, then turned her head around the corner, seeing it empty and dark. The only room left was hers.

She crossed to the other side of the wall and hurried down to her door, and with another sharp breath, she turned and looked in. Again, it was empty. Confusion bled through her as she returned to the living room, the hand holding the knife lowered beside her thigh.

“That’s strange.” She murmured. “I thought I—”

“Heard something?”

She gasped and spun around, bringing the knife up, but they caught it with ease, squeezing her wrist until she cried in pain and dropped it. (Y/N) heard the clattering in her ears as they grabbed her other hand and shoved her down into the couch.

She started thrashing wildly, about to scream when she heard, “I thought I told you not to turn your back on people.”

(Y/N) stilled and turned her head, catching that stupidly smart smirk. “You fucker.” She cursed at him, torn between laughing hysterically and cursing some more. “I can’t believe you turned this into a lesson.”

He shrugged. “Had to know if you were learning any better.” Smiling at her, he quipped, “Your sweeping is great. Detection skills? Not so much.”

“Let me up, Jason.” she commanded, rolling her eyes and he snorted, letting go of her arms. Immediately, she spun and cocked her elbow into his jaw, smiling as he grunted in pain and grabbed it.

“Damn,” he hissed. “You’ve got elbowing down to an art.”

She grinned. “I’ve had a good teacher.”

They stared on another down for a moment, then all at once, they were yanking at shirts and unbuckling belts, grabbing each other, and tugging closer to one another as their lips met in a searing kiss.

(Y/N) shoved at the jacket on his shoulders, moving her lips to his jaw and he groaned, taking his hands from her hips for just a moment to pull the article off. He shifted out of reach, and she glanced towards the kitchen.

“I turned the oven off,” Jason muttered, yanking his crimson shirt over his head. “Figured we’d be too busy to eat dinner.”

She giggled and shoved him off the couch, watching as he scrambled to his feet; she stood and started pulling off her own clothes, first her shirt, then her bra and Jason almost collapsed at her feet when she tugged her pants to her ankles.

“C’mon, Jay, don’t be shy.” (Y/N) cooed. “Show me what you’ve got.”

He chuckled, and unbuckled his belt, letting it fall to the floor as he back-stepped down the hallway. “Oh, you want a show, Miss Jordan?”

She smirked at him and stuck her thumbs in the sides of her thong. “I’d love a show, Mister Todd.”

“I might made you beg a little for it,” he shot back coolly, toeing off his combat boots and she hummed.

“I will if you will.” (Y/N) said, watching his hands unbutton the charcoal-colored utility pants he wore.

“My eyes are up here.” Jason quipped, though he didn’t seem to stop as he shoved his pants down, leaving him in his boxers, and he hit her doorway.

“True, but my attention is elsewhere.” She drew her eyes up his toned body, internally smirking as he seemed to shiver under her gaze, and she pushed her thong down her legs. (Y/N) stood before him and reached out, placing her hands flat on his chest. He was so hot underneath her palms and she slowly rubbed her hands up to the sides of his neck.

“(Y/N),” he murmured huskily, arms winding around her waist, and she smirked.

“Take me to bed, Jason.”

Immediately, he bent down and grabbed the back of her thighs, digging his fingers in until she lifted and wrapped her arms around his waist. “With pleasure,” he purred.

***

By the time Hal and the other lanterns got back to the apartment, it was well into the morning, and he could tell that everyone just wanted to crash in exhaustion, too tired to even think about flying to their own homes.

He opened the balcony doors and let them inside. “Lemme get some blankets from the hall closet,” he muttered, voice as ragged as his body felt.

“Who the hell played strip poker in here?”

Hal looked up at Guy who was holding up a crimson t-shirt with a baffled expression. “What?”

Guy met his gaze then nodded down the hall. “Someone’s been tangoing.”

When he craned his neck to peek down the hallway, sure enough there was a trail of clothing leading down to her room. His eyes went wide, and he suddenly forgot about his exhaustion as he leaped over the couch and sprinted down the hall, the other Lanterns hot on his heels.

Hal skidded to a stop in her doorway and immediately screeched, “(Y/N) JORDAN WHO THE HELL IS IN YOUR BED?!”

The two young adults in the bed startled up, and she held the sheet to her chest as she gaped at her father. “Dad! You—you’re here!”

He gestured wildly. “OF COURSE, I’M HERE! I FUCKING LIVE HERE! WHO THE FUCK IS IN YOUR BED?!”

“Morning, Hal,” Jason greeted, with a mock salute. “How’s your day so far?”

“MY DAY?!” he bellowed, already starting for the young man, and John was quick to grab Hal around the waist. “LET GO! I’M GOING TO MURDER THIS SON OF A BAT FOR CORRUPTING MY DAUGHTER!”

“Excuse me,” Jason said, rather affronted, then pointed at her. “It’s (Y/N) who’s corrupted me.”

(Y/N) barely had time to hide her snort as she elbowed him in the side. “Shut the hell up.” She cleared her throat and looked at the men in her doorway. “Uh…can you close the door so I can get dressed?”

“CLOSE THE DOOR?! I’M GOING TO TAKE THE DOOR OFF ITS HINGES! YOU ARE GROUNDED, (Y/N) JORDAN DO YOU HEAR ME! YOU ARE—”

Guy and John dragged Hal off and Kyle shut the door but threw a thumbs up at Jason before he left.

***Part Two***

She tried to look anywhere but her father’s face as he continued to berate her and Jason. And honestly, he’d stopped making sense about thirty minutes ago and while she couldn’t look at her uncles for fear of bursting into laughter, Jason had no problems cracking a smirk at everything Hal was yelling about.

“—AND I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU HAD A BOY IN THE HOUSE!” he paused, horror drawing across his face, then it immediately turned into anger. “THIS ISN’T THE FIRST TIME HE’S COME OVER IS IT?! HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON?!”

Her face pinched and she inquired, “Which question do you want answered first? The one you asked when you first started yelling or the last one just now?”

“I am in no mood for games, (Y/N) Jordan. You brought a boy into the house without permission.”

“I am a man.” Jason interrupted.

She elbowed him in the ribs. “I didn’t realize I needed permission to bring my boyfriend into the house.”

“BOYFRIEND?!” Hal screeched.

(Y/N) blinked. “I’m confused. Are you angry at me calling him my boyfriend? Do you want me to call him my fuckbuddy or something?”

“HEY!” both Jason and Hal in unison and her father glared at him. “SHUT UP!”

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you, dad…I’m twenty-one. Having a boyfriend is a completely normal thing. Having a consensual sexual relationship with someone is a normal thing.”

Hal spluttered for a moment then pointed at Jason. “NOT WITH HIM!”

“What’s wrong with me?” Jason question, rather offendedly, then he held up a hand. “I mean, besides the obvious things that are wrong with me.”

“YOU’RE YOU! THE SON OF BATMAN!”

“I mean…” Jason drawled. “That’s technically debatable most days.”

(Y/N) looked at him. “You’re not exactly helping the case, Jay.”

“I’m not trying to.” He grinned at her. “I’m seeing if I can make your dad go red.”

She tutted at him. “Jason Todd trying to corrupt a Green Lantern into a Red Lantern. Shame.”

“QUIT DOING THAT!” Hal howled as they started snickering, seeming to get lost in their own little world. Suddenly, he was marching down the hallway and coming back with a cellphone.

They watched in confusion for a moment, then Jason’s eyes widened. “Oh no.”

“What?” (Y/N) worried.

“He’s calling B.”

“What.”

Hal put the phone to his ear and glowered at the two of them until the line clicked and he immediately yelled, “DO YOU KNOW YOUR DELINQUENT SON IS DATING MY DAUGHTER?...WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ALREADY KNOW?!...EXCUSE ME?! WHAT?!”

He hung up the phone and set it on the table, then proceeded to turn around and grab a pillow from the couch, bringing it to his face. Hal bellowed into the pillow and Jason nudged her. “How long is he gonna be like this?”

(Y/N) shrugged. “Probably another minute or two. He’ll start up again in about an hour though.”

Jason hummed and stood from the table. “Well, I’d love to stay and get yelled at some more but if I’m being honest, I only need one father yelling at me and not two.”

“Where are you going?” she questioned.

“Roy and I have a mission in Costa Rica tomorrow evening.” He bent down and kissed her lips. “I’ll call you when I land.”

(Y/N) smiled and before he pulled away, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him in for another searing kiss, one that erupted wolf-whistles from the other Lanterns around them—which also had Hal pulling his head up at the sound, immediately shouting again.

“Love you,” she murmured, and he winked.

“Love you more, doll.” He tossed a mock salute to Hal and the others before leaving and she sat back in her seat, readying herself for another round of bellowing.

***

Surprisingly, Hal had relaxed after a few hours. That being said, (Y/N) really had to work on him to do so but being an only child and her dad’s pride and joy played a big part—she knew the man could never stay mad at her. Of course, he’d immediately put rules into place over the whole relationship thing. No boys in the house without permission, no closing the door when a boy was over, no more Bat-sons in the Jordan apartment…he was overreacting, but it wasn’t anything new in (Y/N)’s opinion.

But he did ease up after a few months, mainly because as anti-social as Jason was most days, he was damn good at working people over when he wanted to. And in her boyfriend’s opinion, the easiest way to work her dad over was to tell him all the ways to screw with Bruce—which Hal took in like a sponge with water. As annoying as it was to see the two men so giddy over a plan, she was glad they were just getting along.

However, when Hal learned that (Y/N) was being trained by Jason, and on the rare occasions, Bruce, his meltdown the first night seemed like a walk in the park compared to the storm blowing in.

***

So…what are you wearing?

She snorted, crossing at the formula of the equation, rewriting a new one beside it. “Jason, I’m not having phone-sex with you.”

Hmm…I bet you’re wearing red panties.

“Cold.” (Y/N) retorted with a grin. “They’re blue actually. You know, like Nightwing’s suit?”

Why do you hate me?

“I haven’t the faintest clue what you mean, Jay.”

You’re evil, you know that? Like you portray innocence but in reality, you’re evil.

She snorted again when a tapping came at her bedroom window and she frowned, leaning over; Jason saw it from the camera.

Everything alright?

(Y/N)’s eyes drifted to his face then to the window and she stood. “Yeah, someone’s at the window.”

(Y/N). He warned and she leaned over, seeing Kyle floating there.

“It’s Kyle.”

What’s Kyle doing there? I thought he was on Oa.

She nodded, brows furrowing as she murmured, “I did too.” Opening the window, she greeted, “Hey, what’s up?”

Kyle seemed nervous. No, he seemed concerned. “I need you to come with me.”

“Is my dad okay?” she asked outright, and he nodded.

“Yeah, Hal’s good…but he needs to talk to you.” Kyle waved a hand over her phone, and it shut off. “It’s important.”

(Y/N) felt her heart thump in her chest at how serious her friend was, and she nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.”

***

She’d only ever been to the Watchtower once. And the only thing she remembered from the trip was getting lost in one of the hallways only to be found by Batman who merely picked her sobbing frame up and hummed to her until she fell asleep.

So really, it was like a first time visit all over again, and when she came face to face with not only the Justice League, well Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman, and her uncles, she wasn’t exactly excited. It felt like she’d been called to the principal’s office for expulsion.

Hal pointed to a seat, which she took, not wanting to open her mouth when she had no idea what was going on.

Wonder Woman, surprisingly, was the first to speak. “What is your daughter doing here, Hal?”

Her father merely looked at (Y/N) then to Bruce, questioning, “How long?” They stared one another down and she felt as lost as last year’s Easter eggs. “How long, Bruce?” Hal asked again.

Batman didn’t even blink. “A full year. When she started working at the branch in Coast City, I had Jason start it.”

“Motherfucker.” Hal cursed, chuckling humorlessly. “I do all I can to keep her out of this bullshit and you drag her into it.”

“(Y/N) wanted to train. She emailed me through a private channel about it.”

All eyes turned onto her and then she knew what was happening. “He’s…right, dad. I wanted to be trained to fight.”

Hal gaped at her. “Why? You’re going to school? You’re working? Why do you want to train?”

(Y/N) swallowed thickly. “To be like you guys. You know, useful?” she stood from the table. “Look, I know you’re worried, but even Batman’s noted major improvements. He says I’m almost ready to start patrolling on my own.” She looked to him for help.

“She’s smart, Hal. And I’m not saying that to float the Jordan ego. Jason’s not one to give commendation where it shouldn’t be.” Batman nodded at her. “(Y/N)’s not my kids, but she’s right behind them on how good she is.”

Hal’s brown eyes turned onto him in a fierce glare. “Yeah, well, unlike you, I don’t make a habit out of putting my kid in danger. I know you have a thing for going through sons.”

“HEY!” (Y/N) shouted, getting his attention as she stood to her feet. “I’m old enough to make this decision for myself and if Batman says I’m good enough to do this, I’m gonna do it.”

“Nope. Not happening.” Hal rejected. “End of discussion.”

“No.”

His eyes went wide first with shock, then with the audacity of her language. “Excuse me?”

(Y/N) momentarily wanted to cave, but she held strong and tightened her jaw. “I said no.” she declared. “I’m gonna do this.”

Hal rounded the table, stomping up to her. “No, you’re not.”

“What’re you gonna do, dad? Lock me in the house for the rest of my life?” she suggested. “I have rights you know.”

“Not to do shit like this. I don’t want you being a hero.”

(Y/N) gazed at him, and suddenly, everyone felt the mood shift as she murmured, “It’s because I’m not a Lantern, isn’t it, dad?”

Hal’s jaw went slack. “What? What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” She shot back coolly, then tipped her head to the other league members. “See, they get to brag about their kids. Superboy, the Robins, the Wonder-Girls...everyone on this team has a trainee but you.” (Y/N)’s eyes narrowed. “And you hate that I’m not like you, don’t you? That I can’t seem to figure out what it takes to wear that ring.”

She glanced at her uncles who were gaping at her. “See, you look at them like they’re the greatest people in the universe. And then when you look at me? It’s easy to see the devotion shift. Deep down it makes you disappointed that I’m not a Green Lantern.”

“You are absolutely out of line.” He growled.

“Am I, dad?” (Y/N) challenged. “Everyone here gets to brag about their superhero trainees but when it comes you, what can you say? ‘My daughter isn’t a Green Lantern like me, sorry!’?” she looked at him. “I’m not a Green Lantern, but I am something else. I can be something else. Let me prove it to you.”

Hal gazed at her for along moment. “…No.”

(Y/N) snapped. “Why the fuck not! What is it about me that just makes you so antagonistic at the idea of me being something like you!”

“Watch your language, young lady. I’m still your father.” He demanded.

“Oh please, as far as I’m concerned, you were just a failed pilot on leave who fucked my mom and got her pregnant.”

It happened before anyone realized it. The sharpest crack any of them had ever heard in their lives and (Y/N) turned her face back to him, a hand coming up to press against her stinging cheek. And Hal? Hal was staring at his hand as if it didn’t belong to him.

She wasn’t mad. Shocked, sure, but not mad. If anything, it’d proved her point and she merely regarded him with an assured gaze. “Bogey down, huh dad?” she remarked, and his eyes shot to hers.

Hal’s mouth opened but nothing would come out except, “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Yeah, you did,” she whispered, taking a step back from him when he reached for her.

His face crumpled and he brokenly called, “(Y/N), wait!”

But she was already running for the door, Batman on her heels.

***

“Do you want me to call Jason?” he asked quietly, watching her open the balcony doors.

Her hands stilled for a moment, then she resumed twisting the key. “No…and don’t tell him this happened either.”

“Why not?”

(Y/N) looked back at him. “Because you and I both know that Jason would beat my dad senseless.”

“…Do you want to come back to Gotham for a while?”

She opened the doors and sighed. “I don’t know, Batman.” Glancing back, she added, “I don’t really know what I want right now.”

“Do you want to be away from Hal?” he questioned seriously, and she looked at her feet.

“I know what you’re thinking. But he’s not abusive.”

“All evidence to the contrary.”

(Y/N)’s head snapped up. “My dad’s never laid his hands on me before now.”

“He ever physically discipline you?”

“Swatting your eight-year-old kid’s butt in the middle of a store when they’re having a meltdown over not buying an expensive toy is a lot different from beating them bloody and bruised with a beer bottle or a belt.’ (Y/N)’s eyes darkened, but not at her father’s face in her head, but at Batman. “My dad’s a lot of things. A jackass, a skirt chaser, a self-righteous arrogant prick…but he is not an abuser.”

Batman placed a hand on her shoulder. “He hit you.”

“Yeah? And? I insulted him and my mom straight to his face. Sure, slapping me wasn’t the answer, but I understand the reaction. Does is make is right? No. But neither is what I said. We both fucked up.” She shrugged his hand off. “We’ll talk about it and move on.”

“Because it’s what Jordan’s do?”

(Y/N) huffed a laugh but it was anything but mirthful. “Yeah. It’s what Jordan’s do.” She stepped inside and looked back at him. “Thanks for bringing me home, Batman. I appreciate it.”

He nodded, pulling out his grapple. “Call me if you need anything.” Batman gazed at her. “And think about calling Jason.”

“…I will.”

Batman gazed at her a moment longer then fired the grapple, taking off into the night sky towards the Batplane, then she was watching as it disappeared faster than it came.

With a heavy sigh, she turned and put her hands on the back of the loveseat, shutting her eyes as she thought about the events of the night. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to feel. Angry? Hurt? Responsible? It had to be all the above, especially when she pictured his face in her head after it happened. Shocked, ashamed, horrified, like he couldn’t believe what he’d just done.

(Y/N) didn’t want to think about it, and when she heard a ring flashing in her ears, she turned. “Guys, I don’t wanna talk about—” she fell into a deep silence when she saw the man before her, the yellow suit glowing vividly against the dark sky.

“Hello (Y/N) Jordan. I am Sinestro.”

***Part Three***

Hal had taken her flying more times than she could’ve counted—perks of being a pilots daughter, and while she had faith in aircraft and Green Lantern constructs, she wasn’t sure how to feel about Yellow Lanterns and their tendency to drop people.

Coast City looked so small below her, and she swallowed thickly, trying greatly to keep her fear under control, keeping her eyes on the moon. She knew if Sinestro dropped her at this height, she’d die. There were no chances of survival at all—she’d hit the ground and pancake with the best of ‘em.

“I am rather surprised that you accepted my invitation so easily,” he remarked, not looking at her as they rose through the night sky.

“Yeah, well…I’ve heard enough stories about you to know that you’ll kill me if you want to.” Her eyes followed his frame. “I’d like to extend my life as long as possible.”

“A wise decision, (Y/N).” He noted rather humorously, finally taking the time to look back at her. “I’ve watched you for some time now.”

Ignoring the implications and total creepiness of the statement, she instead asked, “How long?”

“Long enough to see the potential you have in greater things.” Sinestro replied and reached a hand out, a horde of golden glowing constructs appearing before her eyes. Her training with Batman, with Jason, even with Hal and the others—most importantly, the fight just before. “It hurts that he doesn’t trust you to be like him, doesn’t it?”

She didn’t respond, merely watching the moment of his hand coming back across her face over and over again as the feelings welled in her chest.

“You try so hard to be of use to Hal. To be a Green Lantern like him, but nothing you do makes him proud.” He gazed at her with something akin to pity, but it felt like a manipulation. “I understand your fear of failure…of shame.” Holding out his hand, he made her own raise beside her body and a yellow ring floated from his palm. “I can feel the anger inside you. Your fear fights to quell it.” Sinestro smiled. “I almost want to call Atrocitus and have him recruit you into the Red Corps.”

(Y/N)’s eyes fell to the ring, and she clenched her hand into a fist to keep it from sliding onto her finger. “I—I can’t be a Yellow Lantern.”

“Why not?”

“Why n—because you’re the enemy of the Green Lanterns!” she shouted. “I’d be betraying my father and my friends and my family!”

He gave her a knowing look. “The same family that looked upon you with shame every time you tried to wield the green power ring, but couldn’t?”

She felt like she’d been shot, and her jaw dropped. “I…”

Sinestro nodded. “I understand. But you don’t, (Y/N). Willpower must be had since birth. Fear however—” he reached out, uncurling her fingers. “Can be taught. And you have potential to be trained with terror.” He met her gaze. “You can’t be a Green Lantern like Hal wants…but you can become something he has to recognize. Something powerful. Something fearsome.”

(Y/N) stared at him, and this time, she didn’t fight as the ring slipped onto her finger. (Y/N) Jordan of Earth. You possess the ability to instill great fear. Welcome to the Sinestro Corps.

The world started swirling around her, golden flashes of light bound her body and she screamed in terror as her nightmares came alive before her. The chains coiled, almost like snakes creeping up her body, tighter and tighter around her throat and up around her skull. The last thing she saw through her fearful gaze was Sinestro laughing darkly and the world before her went dark and she was subjected to her minds torment, brought upon by the forged ring.

For a moment, the world was calm, then the chains fell away, and (Y/N) stood before Sinestro, clothed in an exo-suit, similar to her father’s, but instead of the bright, awe-inspiring green, it was a golden, fear-inducing yellow.

And when she opened her eyes, they narrowed onto Sinestro, and all she said was, “I’m ready to receive my orders.”

[keanureevesisbae]

sugar sugar - the planning 4.0

Summary: The two of them are coming back from their bachelor/bachelorette parties

Sugar Daddy!Henry Cavill x Becky Kim (asian OFC)

Warnings: Sex, blowjob, squirting

Wordcount: 2.3k

A/N: Their wedding is coming closer!

Masterlist // Sugar Sugar Masterlist // Sugar Sugar the wedding Masterlist // Previous chapter //

April 3rd 1 a.m.

This night seemed never ending, but it was kinda funny nonetheless. Seeing Genevieve live out her Magic Mike fantasy, made me turn into the Regina George’s mom of Mean Girls and film her as two attractive oiled up men were grinding up against her, while Viola kept screeching out of sheer awkwardness.

With a smile on my face, I walk into the apartment, only to discover an absolutely parched Henry on the couch. He takes a sip out of a water bottle, which is a rare sight. When he is drained like this, he usually needs a whiskey to feel better. ‘What happened to you?’ I ask, causing him to look up.

‘They pulled me into a strip club,’ Henry answers, his eyes tired and followed by a deep sigh.

They as in Greg, Noah, Gino and Peter. This must’ve been Genevieve planning the entire thing. ‘Me too,’ I chuckle. ‘Just so you know, your bare ass has my preference.’ I kick off my heels and straddle his thick thighs, before wrapping my arms around his neck. ‘You look like you’ve seen multiple ghosts over the course of the night. It couldn’t possibly be that terrible.’

Henry starts to laugh. ‘It was. I don’t think I have ever been this uncomfortable. I absolutely despised that place.’

‘Why?’ I ask him, undoing his tie a bit.

‘I had no idea they would take me there,’ he says. ‘And don’t get me wrong, those women were beautiful and good at their job, but I couldn’t stop thinking of you. It felt like borderline cheating to me.’

I don’t think I ever have to worry about Henry being unfaithful to me. Such a sweetheart. He continues to talk about the perverted types sitting there and how one guy even started to help himself a little, but because he is so busy talking, he barely notices I’m unbuttoning the top of his shirt, before taking off my thin cardigan, revealing only a light blue crop top.

Only when he finally manages to tear his gaze from the ceiling, he stops talking. ‘Oh,’ he says, leaning forward to press a kiss on my cheek. ‘This I like.’

‘I knew it,’ I say. ‘I’m the only one you want.’

‘Of course,’ he scoffs. ‘Why on earth would I want someone else?’

I shrug. ‘I don’t know. Just be honest with me. Didn’t it turn you on even a little? I mean, you told me yourself they were beautiful.’

‘Yeah, they were, but they didn’t turn me on,’ he says. ‘I mean, years ago it maybe would’ve, but now, you are the only one that can turn me on. Nobody and nothing beats your body, your kisses and your whimpers.’ He kisses my lips. ‘I love you and only you.’

‘Hm,’ I say with a smile. ‘I am probably the luckiest woman on the planet. I mean, I wouldn’t mind if you were turned on a little.’

‘Were you?’

I shake my head. ‘Oh no, I barely had time for that. I mean, besides filming Genevieve having the time of her life, I just admired certain dance moves. Damn, do those men know how to move those hips.’ I run my fingers through his hair. ‘And I know I said it before, but I’ll say it again: your ass is my absolute favorite and I prefer your hairy chest over those smooth oiled up ones I saw there.’

He starts to laugh. ‘Good thing your body is my favorite as well. No one can meet up to the standards you set.’

‘You’re so cute,’ I say to him with a chuckle. ‘Especially because you’ve spend an entire night at a strip club and now is the time where you grow a little excited.’

‘Teasing me, baby girl?’ he chuckles darkly, giving me a long kiss.

‘Maybe a little, it’s just that it’s the best way for you to give me a compliment.’ I step off his lap, before I unzip his fly. ‘Just relax, okay?’

‘Oh, sweetheart, I’m already relaxed,’ he says.

I sit on my knees in front of the couch, before I pull down his pants. He leans back, after he holds my hairs in his hand. I let my tongue run over his tip and he groans softly. The grip on my hair tightens and I look up, meeting his eyes, his teeth sunk in his bottom lip.

Deciding I’m not gonna tease him too long (he has had a long night), I slowly take more and more of him in my mouth. The tip of his cock hits the back of my throat, but thanks to the many secret blowjobs underneath his desk, my gag reflex is becoming less of a reflex now. He softly forces me down a little further and I let out a moan. The vibrations cause him to buck up his hips, leaving me to slightly gag on him.

‘Oh, shit baby, I’m sorry,’ he says.

I look up, drool dripping down my chin. ‘It’s okay, honey.’

‘Oh, it’s honey now?’ he asks cocking his eyebrow. ‘We’re not in public, so you better call me something else.’

I smile. ‘I’m sorry, daddy.’ My thighs are pushed against each other, as the heat gathers in my thong. Hearing him like this, feeling him bucking up his hips and the slight pulling on my hair. It does things to me.

When I release him with a pop, he softly pulls me up by my hair, before he presses a sloppy kiss on my lips. ‘Take off your clothes, baby girl,’ he says.

I quickly shred myself from the blue crop top that didn’t need a bra and the matching short. When my thong hits the floor, Henry grabs me by my waist, squeezing the soft flesh. ‘I love you,’ he whispers. ‘In around three weeks we’re married and you’re officially my wife.’

I can’t stop my faint blush. ‘We’re gonna get married,’ I say. ‘I can’t wait.’

He hoists me up and says: ‘Me neither.’ I expect him to take this to the bedroom, but he is too damn impatient, because he bends me over the back of the couch. Without a lot of preparation, he slides deep inside of me.

I try to gain some sort of stance, but my toes are barely touching the floor. He tightly grabs onto my hips. I push the palms of my hands in the cushions of the couch to hold myself up, as Henry rams himself roughly back inside of me. I bite my lip to stop myself from moaning out loud, but it earns me a harsh slap on my butt.

‘I need to hear you, baby girl,’ he grunts.

A strangled moan leaves my lips, before it’s followed by many loud moans that fill the living room. ‘Daddy, I’m close,’ I whine and I really wished I hadn’t said that, because he pulls out, leaving me nearly begging for more.

‘I know you’re gonna make a mess,’ he says, ‘since you always do so.’ He pulls me up and smiles. ‘We don’t want to ruin the couch, right?’

I shake my head. ‘No, we don’t.’

He carries me to the kitchen counter, placing me on the cold granite. He buries his member into my throbbing center, holding my chin in between his fingers. ‘So fucking beautiful,’ he mumbles. His thumb runs over my bottom lip, before he pulls me in a deep kiss. I open my mouth, our tongues so familiar with one another.

As his tip kisses my cervix every single time he thrusts in, it nearly forces a whiney moan out of me. He always goes deep, but it’s different this time. It feels so so different. ‘Daddy, you’re so deep.’

He smiles. ‘I know that, baby girl. You like that, don’t you?’

I nod, feeling myself flutter around him. ‘Can I cum?’ I ask, digging my nails in his shoulders.

‘Of course, baby.’

I throw my head back, as I squirt around him, indeed making such a mess. He knows me too well. As I ride out my high, Henry buries his face in my neck, sucking on the delicate skin there. I cry out, sensitivity taking over and my nails marking his back. He grunts as he paints my velvet walls from the inside, his fingers tips digging deep in my legs.

‘I’m sorry,’ I whimper, as insecurity takes over. ‘Daddy, I’m so sorry.’

‘What’s wrong, baby?’ he asks. ‘Tell me what’s wrong.’

‘I made such a mess.’ My legs are sticky, I know his legs are too and let’s just not say anything about the walls of the kitchen island.

‘Have I ever complained about that before?’ Henry asks with a cocked eyebrow.

I shake my head. ‘No.’

He cradles my face in his hands and whispers: ‘Then don’t you worry about it, okay?’

‘I’m sorry,’ I chuckle nervously. ‘I’ll try.’

Henry cocks his head, taking in every feature of my face. ‘Something’s bothering you?’ he asks me.

Maybe a little. ‘Not necessarily,’ I whisper.

‘You want to talk about it?’

I bite my lip. ‘It’s stupid.’

‘You could never say something stupid,’ he says. ‘How about a bath?’

‘Sounds good.’

✤ ✤ ✤

With my back against Henry’s chest, I stare at the ceiling in the bathroom. We’re engulfed in warm water and he finally asks: ‘So, what’s going inside your head, baby girl?’

‘Well,’ I say, ‘the other day it kinda hit me that… When you and I get married, there is a possibility for a divorce. You can exchange me for anyone you want.’

He wraps his arms around my upper body, pulling me closer to him. ‘And why would I do that?’

‘I don’t know. An opportunity?’

He gives me a kiss on top of my head. ‘I love you and only you, mrs Becky Cavill. I am not spending a lot of money on a wedding I know will fail. Heck, I wouldn’t even proposed to you if I wasn’t this serious about you.’

I sigh deeply, realizing worrying about this was absolutely nonsense. ‘I don’t even know what I was worried about.’

‘Just tell me these things, okay?’ Henry says. ‘I wanna be there for you.’

‘I promise,’ I say with a smile. ‘I promise.’

April 24th 9 p.m.

Tomorrow we’re getting married and these last few weeks have been kinda hectic. My dad is officially divorced, lives in a lovely house downtown and has yet to decorate his place, but with the wedding coming up and him actively wanting to help out, that just has to wait.

Genevieve and Viola never met my parents, but they are sure as hell absolutely mad about my dad. They continue to call him: ‘cute as a button’ and I almost feel like he is our dad, instead of just mine. Without the wedding band and my mom next to him, I realize that my dad is actually such a nice guy. We get along really well and he is dead set on improving our relationship, just like I am.

While I did suggest he’d walk me down the aisle, he found himself not worthy of it and though I told him he was, I still respect that decision.

We’re at our destination for our wedding. We chose Maui, Hawaii for a few reasons. One, the weather is great and two, my friends, Henry’s friends and my dad are gonna stay for a little vacation there, while Henry and I go to our private island to start our honeymoon.

I honestly couldn’t be more excited. Henry and I took all sorts of measurements, checking the venue, seeing if everything is alright and then, tomorrow: we’re gonna be husband and wife.

Henry has been reading his vows for at least fifteen minutes now, when he finally folds the paper and places it on the book that we’re taking with us tomorrow.

Leave it to Henry to book the most expensive room in the entire hotel, with a view to die for. My dad had his eyes on a little place, one he had been eyeing for so long. Henry arranged it for him, even making sure he had access to the pool and a taxi.

‘Baby,’ he whispers, when he wraps his arms around my waist. ‘How about a little love making? Last time before we’re husband and wife.’

‘Henry, we had sex today,’ I chuckle. ‘Aren’t you ever tired of me?’

‘No, never.’

I turn around in his arms and say: ‘I’d like to be able to walk down the aisle tomorrow.’

‘That’s why I said a little love making.’

‘How about you and I enjoy the jacuzzi?’ I suggest. ‘I’ll be naked.’

Within ten minutes we’re all set and done in the jacuzzi and I straddle his lap, before taking a sip of my wine. ‘So, when you and I are back from our honeymoon, what do you want to do?’ I ask.

‘I want to travel to some places with you,’ he says. ‘Go look for a new place for the two of us to live in. Get you pregnant.’

I snort. ‘Oh, how romantic.’

‘What?’ He starts to laugh. ‘I mean, it’s the goal eventually right?’

‘We could adopt a dog from the shelter,’ I say, ‘get a little practice in. I mean, a dog and a baby are not comparable, but still.’

‘I’d love that.’ He pulls me closer to him and gives me a kiss. ‘I’m just gonna say it now, but expect to hear this many many times. I can’t wait for you to be pregnant.’

I smile. ‘And why is that?’ I ask him. ‘So I’m even more helpless and you have to do more for me?’

He shakes his head. ‘No, because we made a baby together and are gonna have a family of our own. I mean, how amazing is it that we’re gonna be the Cavills, right?’

I squeal. ‘Oh my, that is so amazing. I cannot wait for that to happen either. I’m tempted to quit my birth control right now.’

‘What is stopping you?’

‘Well, I want to have a little bit more childless time with you,’ I say. ‘Just you and me, traveling the world.’

‘Sounds good, baby girl.’

[morganaspendragonss]

if every breath is sacred

When Carlos wakes up, flames and smoke are filling the room, but TK is nowhere to be seen. He knows the protocols for being in a fire: sit tight, stay low to the ground, wait for help to arrive. But, it’s TK. Protocols have always gone straight out of the window when it comes to TK. So, Carlos—

Well, Carlos does probably the stupidest thing he’s ever done in his  life.

He grabs two t-shirts from a drawer, holds one over his mouth and nose, and plunges into the inferno.

ao3 | 2.1k | 2.12 spec

The air in their bedroom is sour with a rage Carlos knows isn’t directed at him, yet he can’t help but feel guilty for it anyway. TK is curled up on his side of the bed, back to Carlos, his arms wrapped tightly around himself and his breaths far too carefully even for him to be asleep.

Carlos wants to call him out on it, but he doesn’t want to make things worse than they already are.

He knows he’s not the one TK’s mad at - they’ve had that conversation already - and Carlos is angry too. Mainly at Owen for being so stupid, but also a little bit at his dad even though he knows he was just doing his job. It’s more that they put him in the impossible situation of having to explain to his boyfriend that his father was arrested than anything else; seeing TK’s face fall at the news felt like one of the worst moments of Carlos’s life.

They’ll have to talk about this eventually - tomorrow, hopefully - but, right now, it’s better to just let TK’s anger run its course. 

Which is why Carlos bites his tongue when TK suddenly throws the sheets back and climbs out of bed, leaving the room with only a muttered comment about getting a drink. He sighs, listening to TK’s heavier-than-usual footsteps, relieved when he hears the quiet click of the kettle as opposed to the coffee machine. At least now there’s a chance of TK coming back to bed and getting some sleep, albeit a small one.

Carlos throws his arm over his eyes as the sounds quiet. He’s exhausted and, much as he wants to stay up for TK, he can’t resist the pull of sleep. So he lets himself drift off, praying that things will be easier in the morning.

*

He wakes to the scent of smoke invading his nostrils, harsh coughs already ripping from his throat even as he blinks the remains of sleep away. Carlos frowns, his brain taking a second to register the dim orange glow under the bedroom door for what it is.

Fire.

His eyes widen and he turns to warn TK -

But, TK’s not there. 

The bathroom light isn’t on, either, which means… Which means, he never made it back to bed.

Which means he’s still downstairs.

Carlos jumps out of bed and races to the door, yanking it open, only to come to a sudden halt as flames jump up at him from the stairs. The smoke is thick, but he can see enough to tell that the ground floor has already been overwhelmed by the fire, and that it probably won’t be long until it makes its way up here. His heart is threatening to pound out of his chest with fear and worry, but he forces himself to concentrate, to slip into first responder mode; panicking won’t help TK, nor will it get them out of this mess.

Returning into the bedroom, he snatches his phone from the bedside table and dials, sliding to the floor as more and more smoke invades the room.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“My house, it’s on fire. My boyfriend and I are trapped inside, but I don’t know where he is. He went downstairs to get a drink and I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, there was fire everywhere and he still wasn’t back.”

“Could you give me your address, sir?”

Carlos rattles off his details, suppressing the tickle in his throat for as long as he can before he’s overwhelmed by coughing again. He can hear the dispatcher on the other end saying something, but he can’t make out what.

When the coughs die out, he takes heaving breaths of air, already in short supply. The dispatcher is still talking, so Carlos focuses.

“-ir? Sir, are you there?”

“I’m here,” he gasps eventually, closing his eyes.

“Good, help is on the way. For the time being, is there anywhere you can go to escape from the smoke?”

Carlos shakes his head, before remembering that the action is redundant. “No. There’s nowhere.”

“Alright, just hang tight. Fire and medical should be with you in around six minutes.”

Six minutes.

Too long.

Carlos glances back to the door, his mind going to TK and how long he must have been in the flames and smoke for. A chill goes through him as he realises he doesn’t even know, and he just... He needs to make sure he’s okay.

He may be a cop, and not a firefighter, but Carlos knows the protocols for being in a fire. Sit tight, stay low to the ground, wait for help to arrive. But, it’s TK. Protocols have always gone straight out of the window when it comes to TK. So, Carlos—

Well, Carlos does probably the stupidest thing he’s ever done in his entire life.

He grabs two t-shirts from a drawer, holds one over his mouth and nose, and plunges into the inferno.

*

Flames lick at his exposed skin and thick, black smoke clogs his lungs, the thin cloth of the t-shirt doing next to nothing to halt its path. His eyes are burning, vision obscured with how much they’re watering, but Carlos pushes on, squinting through the haze to search for any sign of his boyfriend.

Navigating his house is difficult, everything seeming alien in this strange half-light, but he manages, and eventually he stumbles - almost literally - over a crumpled figure against the far wall.

“TK!” he cries, or tries to. It comes out hoarse, and quieter than he intended, so Carlos clears his throat and tries again and again and again until he drops down on his knees next to TK. 

“TK,” he says again, shaking his shoulder. TK’s eyes are closed, but they flutter when Carlos shakes him harder. “Come on, baby, open your eyes.”

TK must listen to him, because, slowly, his eyes blink open, widening as he takes in the scene around them. Carlos presses the second t-shirt into his hands and he nods in understanding, raising it to his mouth.

“Help is coming,” Carlos says, mouth close to TK’s ear. “Just a couple more minutes.”

TK nods again and lowers the shirt. He opens his mouth to say something, but he doesn’t get a sound out before a round of coughing comes over him, causing him to fold in on himself. It’s loud enough that TK misses the cracking sound coming from right above his head, the thin trickle of dust raining down on them.

TK misses it, but Carlos doesn’t.

His boyfriend’s name tears out of him, and he just has time to shove TK as hard as he can before the ceiling comes crashing down.

Carlos chokes, suddenly finding it even harder to breathe, as if it wasn’t near impossible before. He’s pinned, the only movement he has left in his right hand. If he strains, he can just about see TK, who’s staring at him with a horrified expression. Carlos attempts a smile, but he’s pretty sure it doesn’t work.

His lungs spasm as he tries and fails to take a breath, his entire body burning with the weight crushing him. His vision is dimming, and he knows it’s likely only seconds before he loses consciousness—and, judging by TK’s slow blinks, the same is true for him.

Carlos prays that whichever station was dispatched gets to them soon, but if this is the end - and he really, really wants it not to be - then he can only think to be grateful that they’re in it together. Carefully, he inches his hand forward, stretching his fingers out until they meet TK’s, and he grips on with all the strength he has left in his body.

“I love you,” he chokes out. He doesn’t know if TK hears him, but he knows that he understands by the way his fingers close around Carlos’s.

TK’s lips move, the roaring flames and the pounding of his own heart making it impossible for Carlos to hear him; still, he knows. It’s a comfort, and he gives TK’s hand one last squeeze before all the energy leaves him and his eyes drift shut.

A flash of blue lights up the room behind Carlos’s closed eyelids, but he doesn’t get a chance to figure out what it means before the darkness swallows him whole.

*

TK doesn’t know how he got here. 

He comes back to awareness slowly, a sudden panic constricting his already tight chest as he stares up at the night sky, his mind trying desperately to work out what’s going on. The last thing he remembers, he was in their front room, surrounded by fire, and Carlos—

Carlos.

TK gasps, his lungs on fire, his back arching and his fingers clawing at what he now realises is a gurney - whether he’s fighting for air or to get to Carlos, he doesn’t know.

Either way, he’s quickly pushed back down and an oxygen mask is pressed against his face.

“TK, I need you to calm down,” a familiar voice - Tommy’s - says. 

“Carlos -”

“He’s in good hands, I promise you,” she cuts in, an evasion tactic if TK’s ever heard one. “You’re my priority right now; just focus on breathing for me, alright?”

TK wants to fight, but he still doesn’t have any strength in him, and he’s powerless to do anything as he’s lifted into the ambulance and taken away.

*

He hates hospitals. After the kidnapping, after Grace and Judd, TK had hopes not to have to enter one again for a while. 

He should have known that was just wishful thinking.

This is the worst one, he thinks. He’s not allowed to leave his bed for another day at least, the burns he’d suffered are superficial, but he’d inhaled a lot of smoke and the doctors want to make sure his O2 levels are stable before letting him go.

That would be unbearable enough, but it’s made worse by the fact that he can’t see Carlos. All he’s been told is that Carlos’s injuries were far worse than his own and that he’s been put on a ventilator because his body is too damaged. A horrible guilt wells in TK’s gut at that knowledge - it’s his fault Carlos isn’t awake right now. He knows Carlos saved him when the ceiling came down, and he wishes he hadn’t; he really didn’t need to know what being on the other side of a coma is like.

A quiet knock on the doorframe reaches his ears and he looks up, expecting it to be his dad or one of the team. Instead, he’s surprised to see Carlos’s mom standing there, her eyes red, and a terrifying coldness floods his body.

“Mrs Reyes,” he says, voice trembling. “Is everything okay? Carlos, is he -”

“He’s okay,” she replies, giving him a wobbly smile as she walks towards him. “Or, there’s been no change, which the doctors tell us is a good thing. Gabriel is with him, but I wanted to come and check up on you.”

TK swallows guiltily, wincing slightly at the lingering soreness in his throat. “You didn’t have to do that. I’m fine.”

She arches an eyebrow. “Ah. I see Carlitos didn’t tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“I raised four children, TK,” she says, a hint of a real smile on her lips. “I know when someone is lying to me.”

TK flushes and looks down at the bedsheets, picking at them idly. “You’re right. I’m not okay, but I don’t think I will be until he wakes up.”

“You care for him a lot.”

“With all my heart.”

She nods and pats his hand, the simple, yet comforting, touch breaking something in TK. His eyes fill with tears and he lets his head fall back on the pillow as his chest heaves with sobbing. It irritates his throat, but he doesn’t care, not when there’s a greater pain that reaches right down to his very soul. 

Mrs Reyes holds him against her without hesitation, not complaining even though his cries must be making a mess of her shirt.

“It’s okay,” she murmurs, stroking his hair in a way that makes TK yearn for a mother he never really had. “Everything will be okay. My Carlitos is a fighter, and I know that he is doing everything he can right now to get back to us. To you.”

TK sniffles, and hangs onto her words with everything he has.

Four days later, Carlos’s eyes open and, for the first time since the fire, TK think he can finally breathe again.

[notchesandbullets]

Saving Her (Ojiro Mashirao x Wolf!Reader)

Part 2 : Aizawa’s reluctant dad side kicks in when he sees you’re clearly distressed, fast friends with Midoriya, fluff with the girls of 1-A, Todoroki and Sato.

Word Count: 5.7k 

Bowing your head in defeat thinking that there was nothing you could do to possibly change his mind, you started to shuffle towards him when you were stopped.

"Ojiro-san..." You whispered.

He refused to move his tail. He refused to let you go.

"Aizawa-sensei, please," He was desperate, worried out of his mind at what would happen if you were left alone.

If he wasn't there to protect you.

He gritted his teeth, holding back as best as he could. "Don't do this."

"Do you want her to be safe or do you want her to be with you?" Aizawa's eyes were serious. "Because those are two different things."

The boy fell silent beside you.

"Here, she's exposed. Her whereabouts have been leaked to your classmates and while I don't blame you for the incident that occurred, you have taken responsibility for her." The older man continued despite your head ducking down in shame. "This is what's best, not only for her, but for the rest of you."

He directed that last part over your shoulder and you glanced over to see all the boys from earlier as well as a couple more unfamiliar faces that obviously had been roused from their sleep due to all the noise.

Aizawa sighed, really not wanting to argue or go up against one of his most dedicated students this late at night. "You have to remember this dormitory was built to ease your parents' worries. They entrusted your safety to us and we are responsible for you."

The air suddenly got a lot more difficult to breath.

"I told you that you would have to earn my trust back." He said, rough but even voice cutting through the silence like a knife, alluding at something you didn't understand.

You didn't want this. You didn't want to make things hard on everyone or cause a fuss.

"I'll go."

Ojiro's expression of surprise gave way to pain. "Y/N..."

"They'll be safer if I leave, right?" You met Aizawa's blank stare bravely despite your knees knocking together. "I want to protect them, too."

Protests rose from the other students at your determination, the majority of them pleading for you to stay, much to your surprise. But their teacher wouldn't budge and slowly, they had no choice but to give up. As much as they wanted to get to know you better, it seemed like that would have to wait.

You looked up at Ojiro, sad to have to leave but knew it was the best thing to do for now. As you moved to take off and return his hoodie to him, he halted your movements.

"Keep it." He urged, a slight blush present on his cheeks. "I don't want you to get sick."

With a small smile, you thanked him quietly, promising to give it back when you were able to see him next. He returned your smile at the prospect of there being a next time before unwinding his tail from around you.

You followed Aizawa to where he was staying so that he could make a phone call from his office. You took a second to peer around the cluttered room curiously but dared not explore. Unlike Ojiro, he didn't seem like he would take kindly to you poking around his things.

Suppressing your instinctive curiosity, you gulped when he hung up the phone, approaching you with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"For now, you can't stay on the school grounds until we figure out some kind of legal guardianship." He relayed, being rather straightforward and clear cut with you. "I'll walk you to an inn for tonight."

"Ah..." You trailed off as he fixed his gaze on you, shuffling your feet awkwardly. "T-Thank you Aizawa-shi, but I-I can... take care of myself. I don't want anyone to get in any trouble and I know it will reflect badly on UA if you are caught harboring me, so..."

Letting out a heavy sigh, he walked past you as you rambled, opening the door. "Just hurry up."

You walked quickly, not wanting to fall behind as he strode on ahead of you, paying your entire speech no mind. You didn't know whether or not to be thankful or offended but greatly leaned towards the former. It was true that you had enough survival skills to look after yourself but life was much harder when there wasn't anyone in it.

It took about an half an hour by taxi but the night was nice and Aizawa instructed you to hide your ears and tail as well as not talk to anyone else.

You followed him to a quaint inn at the outskirts of UA's property, checking in at the deserted lobby, Aizawa paying for your room for the night. Unable to help it, you started to wander, curiosity taking over.

The walls were decorated with vintage wallpaper, curling slightly at the edges when one panel would fade into another. But while the air inside felt musty and the carpet was stained with faint shades of tea and coffee, the fresh flowers at the center of the lobby brought a smile to your face.

Once you were out of earshot but still within his field of vision, Aizawa turned to the owner.

"Make sure she gets whatever she asks for." He told him gruffly, handing him a bunch of yen to compensate for the trouble. "Food, blankets, whatever she needs."

"Y-Yes, of course, sir." The owner babbled, stunned by the sheer amount of money he had just handed to him.

You spun around, yelping frightfully when you face-planted into Aizawa's chest. He steadied you, sending you a glare that one could only decipher as a warning. Backing away quickly, you apologized profusely until he cut you off, telling you not to make so much noise.

It was late and he had a headache.

Chastised, you followed him up the creaky stairs, coming to a door with green paint peeling off of it.

Aizawa arched an eyebrow, then internally shrugged, using the key to open it. Inside, there wasn't much. A twin sized bed was crammed next to a lumpy couch he was assuming had a pull out cot, a table and a single chair in the corner along with a small bathroom.

He sighed again, wishing that he brought his sleeping bag. That would've been more comfortable than this.

Flicking on the light, he drew the curtains closed. Sparing a glance over his shoulder to make sure you were still alive since you hadn't talked since he entered, his eyes narrowed when he found you with your back pressed against the door, eyes widened in alarm.

Your knuckles were white from where you were clutching the doorknob, nearly breaking it in the process and the sound of it rattling is what drove him to finally break the silence.

Recognizing the patterns of your behavior, he turned around to face you, keeping his shoulders relaxed and maintaining eye contact with you. Trying to appear as non-threatening as he could possibly get, he forced his jaw to unclench.

You let out a shaky breath you didn't know you had been holding in when his expression softened. If you didn't know any better, it almost seemed like he was being kind.

"I don't know what you've been through but I'm not going to do anything to you, kid." Aizawa murmured and you were taken aback by how the edge to his voice disappeared when he was talking with you. "I also know that might be hard to believe coming from a stranger, but it's late and you need to sleep."

He had a feeling you would react like this and while initially he had planned on leaving and going back to the dormitory to get some shut eye before the sun came up, something compelled him to stay.

He wasn't sure it was because of your reaction but regardless, he wasn't leaving now.

This area wasn't well protected and if anyone saw you coming in and him leaving, they wouldn't hesitate to take you. He didn't know how well informed the Quirk Traffickers were but he wasn't going to take any chances.

Waving his hand towards the bed lined with fluffy pillows, you hesitated before timidly laying down as he suggested. Now, you realized what he was doing. With you here and him there, he had maximized the space between the two of you and didn't block your access to the door in case you needed to flee.

Your ears flicked nervously as you got under the covers, trusting him a little bit more. "What about you?"

He exhaled, eyes closing, swollen bags already present under them. "I won't move from here. I'd leave you alone, kid, but I'm not sure that's a good idea since those guys that are after you are pretty persistent."

Your eyebrows knitted together, contemplating if it was a good idea to ask him.

He had just started dozing off when your shy voice asked, "You're a hero, right?"

Humming nonchalantly, he hoped you would drop it there but you didn't.

"Is..." You played with your fingers, tail flicking back and forth. "Is there any way I can become one?"

That piqued his curiosity.

You stiffened when he cracked an eye open, piercing your soul.

"Why don't we talk about it more in the morning, kid?" He finally said.

Unable to conceal your eagerness, you beamed at him and he crossed his arms over his chest, which was rumbling with laughter. You shifted, getting comfortable and promptly fell asleep. For the first time in a while, you didn't stir once during the night.

He stared at you for a little while longer, gaze growing fond. For a kid to have gone through as much as you have, you sure appeared pure and untainted. Your energy was infectious.

A nightmare for the constantly exhausted underground hero.

Hmm... maybe this kid won't be so bad after all.

The next morning, you were awoken by the light of the sun for the first time in years only to be shocked when a steaming hot plate of sausages and fried rice with eggs were placed by your bedside.

"Aizawa-shi?" You yawned, rubbing your eyes sleepily.

"You don't have to be so formal, kid." He told you. "Aizawa-sensei is fine."

During the night, he had moved from the corner to keep an eye on the door. Sometime around 3 am, he had finally fallen asleep and when he woke up, there was an annoying crick in his neck.

Your nose scrunched up as you sat up, accepting the plate of food he offered you. "But you're not my sensei."

He shot you a look at your cheeky reply and instantly, you shut your mouth, stuffing your mouth only to cry out when you burned your tongue. He scolded you immediately and rushed to get you a glass of cold water.

You smiled sheepishly as he made you drink some before instructing you to blow on your hot food before shoveling it in your mouth like that. This time when you resumed your breakfast, the silence wasn't harsh or stifling like last night. It was lighter.

"I would be if you attended UA."

You dropped your chopsticks. "Huh?"

After more thought and a lot more details from him, you learned that when he had contacted Principal Nezu late last night for the third time. He had asked if it would be possible to enroll you in the general studies course until they could figure out a safe place for you.

Going to school would put you on a lot of lists due to the information the school had to provide for the government and it wasn't his initial plan since you wouldn't be able to hide in the blink of an eye with no paper trail, but he couldn't think of anything else after that fiasco that Ojiro had informed him of last night.

Plus, with you enrolled in their school with literally pro-heroes everywhere, you would be well protected simply within UA's walls. And if you ever went missing, he could already think of twenty students who would come to your aid.

You were silent at first, mulling it over. Your fluffy ears twitched every so often as you ruled out other possibilities until a wide smile spread from ear to ear.

You bowed at him, popping back up with your eyes shining, heart touched that these people you barely knew were going so far for someone like you.

"I would be honored, Aizawa-sensei."

You spent most of the weekend alone since he had other responsibilities that required his attention but he always came by at lunch to check on you and then again at night to keep watch while you slept. You argued that he didn't need to do all of that but strangely enough, he insisted and you conceded, unsure of how much you could push the issue since he was your senior.

Before you knew it, the weekend and Class 1-A's break was over. It had been four days since you ran into Ojiro and you couldn't lie. You missed him.

Badly.

Aiawa had classes to teach and you were looking forward to seeing Ojiro and Yaoyorozu and the other girls again.

For the past few days, he hadn't let you leave the motel room.

The innkeeper, who you learned his name was Jin, often came to keep you company when you requested some food. You felt bad for making him do so much work but he never seemed to mind it. In fact, he rather seemed happy to have someone to talk to.

You were supposed to leave at the same time as Aizawa the day classes resumed but were so taken with the invention of the bathtub on the way out that he had to leave before you. Heaven forbid he got fired because he was late in helping you figure out how a shower worked.

Which is why you were confused when he kept finding excuses to stay longer until he admitted to being uneasy leaving you to walk to UA alone. You teased him and he rolled his eyes. But in all seriousness, who was going to try their luck in broad daylight?

No one was going to snatch you in front of a bunch of people.

He had nothing to worry about.

After a very long and thorough lecture of safety he hammered into your head to keep the door locked at all times and to stay away from the windows, only to follow it up with all the emergency protocols you were to follow if you were being followed or attacked.

To be honest, you nodded your head through it to show that you were listening just to appease him.

He finally left an hour later and you were free to do what you wished without him quietly worrying away in the corner that you were going to hurt yourself.

It was becoming a known thing that despite your keen wolf senses, you were very clumsy.

Aizawa found it oddly amusing and horrifying at the same time.

Deciding a bath was in order, you filled up the tub with warm water, washing away all the grime and blood that had accumulated over time with a soft hum of contentment.

Once that was done, you got dressed and finally left, bidding the Jin, who was at the counter a warm farewell and thanking him for the many meals.

He waved goodbye to you, telling you he hoped you would come back and visit soon even if it wasn't to stay at the inn and you nodded eagerly, promising to visit him in the future.

You skipped down the pavement, making sure your ears were sufficiently hidden under the hood and tail tucked away thanks to the excessive length of the huge sweatshirt. You thanked the heavens above that you had been born with normal eyes.

The last thing you wanted was to have to wear sunglasses all the time.

Three hours later, you were standing out the gates of the school, completely smushed against the security gate and getting trampled on by the press in their chaos to try and find a way to break in.

Geez, their persistence was annoying.

You would've gone another way if you knew one. This was the only route in and out of the school as far as you were aware.

Squealing when you took a tumble as someone shoved you a little too hard, you winced as you tried to catch yourself from falling, only to scrape your knees when you landed on the rough cement.

Ouch... You grimaced, pulling down on your hood to ensure that it wouldn't slip off and expose your ears. That one hurt.

Puffing out your cheeks, you concluded you weren't going to get anywhere so long as they were here. You took your chances, taking off for Heights Alliance.

Just as you thought, the building was locked but you sniffed the air, eyes lighting up as you spotted the same boy from last week. You had caught him talking to Ojiro before and he had taken the liberty of introducing the two of you. He was sitting on the front steps with a somewhat distant look in his eyes and a small notebook in his hands.

"Midoriya-san!!"

He turned at the sound of your voice, visibly lighting up when he saw you.

"Y/N-chan!!" He greeted enthusiastically, then dropped his hand in concern at your disheveled appearance and bloodied knees, running out to meet you. "What happened?!"

"Ah," You winced, flashing him a canine smile full of guilt as if it was your fault you got hurt. "I got pushed around by those people crowding the front."

Pulling a key from his pocket, the boy laughed along with you before unlocking the front door. "Aizawa-sensei tells us not to talk to them, but I'm pretty sure Kacchan has threatened them before."

You tilted your head, puzzled. "Kacchan?"

That name didn't ring a bell.

He enthusiastically explained the rivalry of his childhood friend as he navigated you through the common area. You sympathized with his story, listening attentively when he mentioned how desperately he wanted to be friends with him and admired him.

Ah, so Kacchan was the explosive pomeranian.

You smiled when he told you that recently things were starting to change between them and hugged him happily when he mentioned that maybe they would finally get to be friends one day.

"How are you so nice to him after he tormented you like that?" You asked, genuinely curious and in awe at how his bullying didn't harden his heart.

Midoriya shuffled towards the kitchen. "Kacchan acts mean but he really isn't. He's really strong so I think he just doesn't want to look weak."

His thoughts rang through your head and you fell silent when he didn't elaborate.

Actions speak louder than words, huh?

Sitting down on one of the couches, you followed him with your eyes as he rummaged through something under the sink. "What are you doing? And aren't you supposed to be in class?"

He straightened up with a small huff, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Ah, well, they're training today and Aizawa-sensei says I'm not allowed to participate until I learn how to fight without injuring myself."

You tapped a finger to your chin as he came over with a duffle bag in his hand, sitting a respectable distance away from you. "But if you don't train, then how will you get there?"

Midoriya just smiled easily, eyes turning into crescents. "He doesn't really mean that but today he actually wanted me to make sure you got here okay."

You jolted at that.

"He what?!"

"Yeah," His brow furrowed but then smoothed over once he found what he was looking for. "I know it probably seems like Aizawa-sensei doesn't care that much but he actually does, and a lot, for us."

He told you about the USJ incident and the lengths he had gone to protect them when the League attacked.

You were speechless. Sure, this was not that new to you since you had experienced his rugged, begrudging version of kindness over the past couple of days but to have someone go out of their way to make sure you were safe and for them to actually agree to it was a whole other thing.

To hear that you weren't the only one who experienced that side of him made your heart feel warm.

Aww... he's such a softie.

"Ojiro-kun wanted to do it but Sensei said he needed to work with Ectoplasm on his tail movements." Midoriya explained, not noticing the pink that dusted your cheeks as he mentioned his name. "Here."

Blinking, you stared at him for a beat before you realized he was holding something out to you. "Oh!!"

You took the pair of athletic sweatpants with a questioning glance. "What are these for?"

He blushed, stammering. He didn't think he would have to explain it. "W-Well, y-you know, Yaoyorozu-san always k-keeps an emergency bag for these kinds of things and I-I don't think she would mind."

You giggled and his nerves faded a little in wake of your bright laughter. He gave you some band-aids and ointment to apply on your scrapes after you cleaned it.

"That's really thoughtful, thank you." You said.

He scratched the back of his neck shyly, matching your smile before packing away the rest of the things while you went to go change.

Fortunately for you, the slight injury wasn't severe. There was only a slight discoloration from where you had impacted the pavement surrounding the patches where a couple layers of skin had come off.

As soon as you finished taking care of it and put on the pants he had given you over your usual shorts, you exited the bathroom only to find Midoriya in the same place you had left him.

"So, class?" You asked, now that he had fulfilled his mission from Aizawa.

He smiled sheepishly, holding up his phone. "Ah, about that..."

Apparently, the police were held up by traffic at the moment and couldn't deal with the press that were still disrupting the students and staff. One had been foolish enough to try and cross the sensor without a pass, causing the UA barrier to activate. No one could get in or out for the time being.

Since they just built the dorms recently, the teachers were working to extend the barrier around the new buildings but it hasn't been finished yet. Instead, Cementoss created a high wall to keep outsiders out while the finishing touches would be put in place.

So while you couldn't go to school, you also couldn't go anywhere else.

Midoriya sighed, looking awfully forlorn. "I'm sorry, Y/N-san. It looks like we'll be here for a while."

"That's okay!!" You cheered, plopping down next to him, not wanting to see him so sad. "This will give us some time to talk, right? What's your story?"

He was surprised you were able to let go of it so quickly since you seemed so eager to see his classmates, then shook his head as confusion hit him like a truck. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what made you want to go here?" You asked, tucking up your knees and resting your chin on top of your knees. "Why do you want to be a hero?"

The look that crossed his face was one of unbridled joy and determination as he launched into his story after hearing that you wanted to know about him. That look in his eyes only grew brighter the more excited he got and his energy was contagious.

You couldn't help but cheer along at his moments of triumph as he relived the memories.

It connected into him showing you his notebook where he wrote down everything about all sorts of heroes once you asked him how he managed to keep track of everything he had told you in his brain.

The two of you were so engaged with your conversation, hunched over the coffee table as he tore through his notes that neither one of you heard the front door open.

But the loud chatter that flooded the common floor had you both springing to your feet in an instant.

"Welcome back, everyone!!" Midoriya greeted enthusiastically as his peers crashed the party. "Y/N-chan is here!!"

You smiled happily as Ashido launched herself at you, smothering you in a hug.

"Y/N-chan, you're back!!" She shouted excitedly. "Yayy!!!"

"I hope it's alright that I'm borrowing these." You tugged on one of your ears self-consciously as Yaoyorozu greeted you just as warmly. "There was a minor incident earlier."

The raven-haired girl waved you off automatically. "Of course it is!! That's what it's there for after all. You can keep those, I'll replace them later."

Jaw dropping open in surprise at how cool she was, you just managed to catch Uraraka as she flew at you at breaknecking speed. You returned her hug, smiling and bobbing your head along with her as she caught you up on all the latest things that had happened since you were gone after making sure you were okay.

It was almost weird. Almost like you fit right in.

You had only met them once last week and yet they were all so eager to befriend you. You thought you should've been more wary of them but they didn't seem to mean you any harm. Your gaze eagerly scanned for Ojiro, only for your tail to droop slightly when you didn't see him.

Hagakure giggled, picking up on your disappointment. "Aizawa-sensei asked him to stay behind for extra lessons today, but he'll be back later~"

If the invisible girl was visible, you were almost sure you would've seen her wink.

After that energetic yet warm welcome, you were ushered further inside as the boys took over the common space to hash out some friendly competition through a game of Smash.

Bakugou was banned, he broke one too many controllers in his fit of rage last time.

You stumbled through the hallways and jittered nervously as you and the girls took the elevator up to Yaoyorozu's room.

It was rather cramped, given that all her furniture was a lot bigger than her bedroom could handle but that just meant you all could sit in a circle on her enormous bed.

Hagakure eagerly asked if she could paint your nails to which you stammered out you weren't exactly sure what that meant.

An array of shocked gasps had the girls scrambling in a flurry to grab anything and everything needed for an evening of relaxation. Jirou even grabbed her guitar while Yaoyorozu left to go make some tea. Uraraka got to work on detangling your hair, in awe of your fluffy ears. The two of you were caught giggling hysterically as Asui came through the door with the elder girl balancing a tea tray in tow.

The next couple hours consisted of you getting to know Asui better, the frog girl preferring you call her by her first name, Tsuyu, and the girls spoiling you rotten, completely ignoring the fact that they had homework due tomorrow.

You were floored.

Your stomach started to growl and your cheeks pinked when Ashido shrieked at how adorable you were.

Jirou just barely stopped herself from smacking her friend, you were clearly hungry.

Yaoyorozu asked if you would like something to eat and you bowed your head, folding your hands in your lap.

"... If... If it's not too much to ask for." You said quietly.

Yaoyorozu cooed and Hagakure squealed, practically dragging you out of the room and back downstairs. Uraraka and Jirou stayed behind, needing to get to work on a project that wasn't due until the end of the year, but wanting to get started on it now so that they didn't have to do it later.

Midoriya was nowhere to be seen once you got downstairs, but the other boys hadn't moved since you had last seen them with a few exceptions.

Kirishima and Kaminari were still lounging in the same spot but had turned the TV off and had textbooks spread out before them.

Shoji, Aoyama and Iida were in the adjacent corner, all three of them looking up when Ashido bounded over to them.

Asui went over to where Tokoyami was studying, and the two of them started studying for Midnight's upcoming exam.

Sato was in the kitchen when Yaoyorozu came in, greeting her politely when she asked if he could help her make something for you to eat. He blushed a bit, saying how he didn't have much experience cooking since he was more proficient in sweets but that he could try.

"What's going on?"

You turned around at the unfamiliar voice as Yaoyorozu greeted him, with a slight twinge of relief in her tone.

"Todoroki-san!!" Yaoyorozu smiled. "Do you know how to make any meals? Y/N-chan is hungry."

The boy with two-toned hair debated the situation, brow knitting in concentration.

"I'm not sure." He said slowly.

He wasn't sure he'd be able to make you something satisfactory. He really only liked to eat one thing and therefore only knew how to make that well.

"Do you like soba?" He asked you.

You tilted your head, the word not ringing any bells. "What's that?"

Todoroki cracked a small smile at your curiosity, then pushed up his sleeves and immediately got to work alongside Sato while Yaoyorozu fetched what he needed.

You wanted to help them but seeing as how you had no idea what it was or what they were doing, you decided to leave them to it. Sitting on the same stool at the kitchen island as the first night when you came here, you interjected occasionally to grab something they seemed to be looking for in an attempt to not be entirely useless.

Sato was the one to reassure you that there wasn't much to do in preparing it and that your food would be done soon.

Five minutes later, Todoroki was pushing a bowl of hot soba towards you. Sesame and ginger wafted through the air from the broth and your nose scrunched up cutely, bright eyes going wide as you salivated.

"It smells really good!!" You cheered.

A subtle but relieved smile made its way onto his face at the compliment and he handed you a pair of chopsticks. You had been fed hot food so rarely you weren't used to cooling it down before you ate it. You dived in, recalling Aizawa's instructions from before and blowing on it first before tentatively taking a bite.

They were really tasty for something that looked so simple.

You beamed, soup dribbling down the side of your chin once you tasted it. "Thank you, Todoroki-san, Sato-san, Yaoyorozu-chan!!"

The boys bowed while the girl diligently wiped your chin with a napkin and patted your head, happy you liked it.

Content that your needs had been satisfied, Yaoyorozu asked if you wanted anything else before she got started on her homework for the night. You shook your head, thanking her once more before she left, Todoroki following not long after.

Finishing your soba, you watched curiously as Sato whisked something together in a large bowl, checking on the paper on the counter before pressing a couple of buttons on the oven.

"Whatcha doing?" You asked, nose twitching,

His gaze flickered up to yours and he smiled. "I'm making a chiffon cake. Would you like to try it once it's done?"

You beamed, practically drooling at the thought of it already. "Yes, please!!"

The aromatic scent of chocolate hazelnut made your mouth water as he pulled it out of the oven.

He made casual conversation with you as you stared longingly at the cake that had to set first before he cut it. You were surprised to find out that he liked baking more than cooking but nodded your head understandingly when he explained his quirk to you.

"That's so cool!!" You exclaimed, flapping your hands excitedly. "You convert all of that into power and it makes you stronger?!"

"Yes, but it doesn't last very long." Sato told you as he sliced the confection carefully. "And my brain doesn't work as well but it is quite handy to have in a difficult situation if I have some snacks on hand."

Your eyes lit up when he handed a generous slice to you on a plate rimmed with cherry blossoms. It almost looked too good to eat.

Almost.

You waited until he got back from distributing it to his peers who were still in various spots on the common floor before sharing it with him so you could eat it together. Of course he didn't remember to save any for him.

"Isn't this a lot of work?" You mumbled around a mouthful of cake as he explained how he'd been trying all sorts of new recipes. "Doesn't it get tiring?"

Sato nodded, cleaning up his work space and grabbing new bowls from the cabinets. "Yeah but it's worth it since it helps me with my quirk. Besides, I get to share it with everyone when they're done."

You giggled, pointing at him with your fork. "Yes, that's definitely a plus."

A hearty guffaw erupted from his lungs, causing several others to look over in your direction but your smile only grew wider.

You made someone laugh. Really laugh. It made warmth bloom in your chest and you kicked your feet happily, chomping on the last bit of cake with a blissed out look on your face that was equal parts from the confection and your new friend.

He might've looked intimidating but he was nothing but kind.

The front door cracked open and your head turned at the various greetings that came from around the shared space had your eyes widening.

You dropped your fork and it clattered on the countertop of the kitchen island.

"Ojiro-san!!"

Taglist: @katsukis-sad-angel​

[queen-in-the-shadows]

Be Your Own Anchor

Chapter 1

Hi! The name is (y/n). Just a bit of background before we get this rolling… My parents decided that we would be moving from (hometown) to California, specifically Beacon Hills. I’m still annoyed with the fact that I have to leave my friends, and literally everyone I know, but as they like to remind me, I can’t do anything about it. I say parents, but I don’t know my real dad. Or mom. I’m adopted and have some… slight anger issues. Probably part of the reason for the move, too much trouble with this school. So new town, new school, new friends, same issues. Anyways, let’s see where this takes me!... I guess.

           We finally made it to the new house. I got out of the car and stretched, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and grabbed my suitcases, heading towards the house. Heading through the front door, I studied the rooms I passed through. A family room, a parlor, a dining room, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, a fireplace, and a basement. How much room do we need? As I finished looking around, I opened the doors to the bedrooms, finding the bedroom upstairs at the front of the house to already have my boxes and bed inside. The room was large, with high ceilings and a large bay window with a window seat. It was a light shade of (f/c), with the canopy from my bed having already been placed and hung. I decided to place my bags down, and head downstairs to help my parents with the other items in the car. There would be time to deal with my room later. I grabbed the last of the boxes, only two, and having realized they were mine anyways, took them straight to my room. I had never really had much around my room, only a couple of posters, and some knick knacks that had been given to me from trips.

           I reentered my new room and grabbed my black-out curtains from one of the boxes in my arms, heading to the smaller windows on the sidewalls to hang them and open the windows. I stood there for a moment, the sun beating down on my face, soaking in the warmth, before turning to grab a shelf for the small trinkets I had always kept on it. My bed was in the middle of the wall, opposing the large window, meaning I could at least look at the stars if I wanted to while attempting to sleep that night. Moving always made me jittery. I decided to unpack, hoping it would get rid of some of the jitters of sleeping in a new house. Making my way to the closet, I pulled out the hangers that were in there, placing them on the floor in front of my bed, and hung the clothes from my suitcases on them. Making the last trip to my closet to hang the freshly hung clothes on the rack, I turned to my jeans, folding and placing them in the dresser to the right of my bed, and grabbed all my shoes, placing them all against the wall- back flat against the wall, each pair separated by exactly one hand width. Once finished with that, I placed my books on the bottom shelves of my bookcase, my movies above them, and my video games above my movies. By the time I had finished unpacking everything, it was only 7:30, not bad timing.

I made my way to the window seat and saw the slightly slanted roof that would be perfect for sitting on... if the window would open, that is. Trying my luck, I pushed the window up, doing a small fist pump in victory when it opened, before stepping out to sit. Taking out my phone to check snapchat, my head snapped up at the sound of yelling ahead of me. I sighed, thinking it was my parents and turned to head inside, before catching the sound of the unfamiliar voices, and glanced around. Across the street from me were two teenage boys goofing around, throwing a football between them. One must have felt my eyes on him because the next thing I knew I was on the receiving end of a goofy smile and wave, and he was on the receiving end of a football to the head. Goofy-grin-boy, as I had opted to call him, shook his head, rubbing the side where he had been hit, before tackling the other boy. I gave a small chuckle, sighing and heading inside. He was cute, in a goofy, adorable kind of way. I should make sure he’s alright, after all it’s my fault he got hit… I grabbed a jacket and some shoes, and headed outside, but by the time I reached my front lawn, the boys were nowhere in sight. I glanced around, trying to spot them anywhere, when my eyes were drawn to a beautiful, baby blue Jeep CJ-5 in the driveway the boys had been at. I hope one of them owns it, because whoever does, they have good taste (and a new best friend) and would be meeting me in hopefully just a few minutes.  I decided to just knock on the door and try my luck, seeing as my luck had already been decent today. As my hand moved up to the door, I saw movement from the corner of my eye, in the window, and turned my head. I could just barely see where the curtain was billowing from having been moved, and turned back to the door, shrugging it off. Raising my fist to finally knock, the door opened, and I gasped slightly, taking a step back.

“Sorry! I suppose I should ask if that boy is alright…” I was looking at the ground, mumbling the last bit beneath my breath. When I received no response, I glanced up, only to be met with goofy-grin-boy. I smiled and let out a small sigh of relief, “My name is (Y/n), you okay? I saw you get hit with the ball earlier, thought I would check on you and introduce myself…” I trailed off, hoping he would finally answer.

The boy returned my smile, and we sat in an awkward silence until his friend, who I hadn’t even noticed come up behind him, replied for him. “Hi, he’s fine. I’m Scott, and the one who is surprisingly silent is Stiles.” I gave Scott a small wave and giggled at the fact that apparently Stiles is never quiet. At my laugh, Stiles seemed to shake himself out of whatever trance he was in and smiled sweetly at me. I shook myself out of my head, No, (Y/n) you can’t go around liking your neighbor. No.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, but I don’t want to bother you guys. Um, just one question: is there anything, like mysterious, to do for fun around here?” I said, creating way for my exit. The boys looked at each other before looking back at me, grinning.

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“One: You have to promise not to tell anyone this, or what we find/do, ok?” Stiles looked at me and I nodded. He ushered me inside. “Ok. So, two joggers found a body in the woods.” Scott looked confused. I was excited.

“A… dead body?”

“No, a body of water? Yes, dumbass, a dead body.” I chuckled at Stiles’ reply to Scott’s obvious yet naïve question. “And the cops are out there searching.”

“So? What are we waiting for? Are we gonna go look to see if we can get close?” I looked between Scott and Stiles, waiting for an answer. Stiles looked at me in excitement and awe, and Scott looked nervous. “Ok, well… if you guys aren’t going, will one of you point me in the right direction? I want to check out a dead body.” I looked between the boys once again, hoping that someone would answer me or better yet show me the way.  Stiles grabbed Scott by the arm and pushed me lightly towards the jeep. “Wait, this baby is yours?! That is amazing!! I love CJ’s!!” I admired the jeep, nearly flipping out. Stiles chuckled and just nudged me a little further towards the beautiful car. I climbed in, my excitement peaking, and moved to the back, Scott and Stiles piling into the jeep. I sent my mom a text saying I made some friends and was hanging out with them as we left the street, headed towards the woods.

“Wait, if they found a body, what are they looking for now?” Scott piped up as we began trekking our way through the woods.

“That’s the best part: they only found half.” Stiles explained and I was smiling like someone had just given me a puppy and a whole bunch of money on Christmas.

“So, what part of the body are we looking for?” Scott pressed. I could tell he was nervous.

“I don’t know.”

“What if the killer is still out here?”

“Huh. I didn’t think of that.” We kept walking. I kept pace with Scott since he seemed to be having a hard time with what we were doing, using his inhaler every few minutes.

“Maybe the severe asthmatic should be holding the flashlight?” Scott called to Stiles, who by this point was way ahead of us.  Stiles had crouched down slightly, stopped, and as Scott and I came up to him we saw the reason. Maybe 10 yards ahead of us, the sheriff and his deputies were searching. Scott pulled me in front of him, right behind a tree, motioning for me to be quiet. Stiles turned around, screamed like a little girl, and went tumbling to the ground. The beam from a flashlight shone upon him.

“Hang on, hang on. This little delinquent belongs to me.” The Sheriff was looking at Stiles and I could only guess he was talking to the deputies with him.

“Dad, how ya doing?”

“So, do you, uh, listen to all my phone calls?”

“No, heh… well, not the boring ones…” Stiles trails off and I cringe.

“Now, where’s your usual partner in crime?”

“Who, Scott? Sc-Scott’s at home. Said he wanted a good night’s rest for the first day back at school tomorrow. It’s just me. In the woods. Alone.” I looked at Scott, seeing him shake his head slightly.

“Scott?! You out there?” Everything got quiet as he waited for an answer “Scott?!” Another pause of silence. “Well, young man, I’m gonna walk you back to your car. And you and I are gonna have a conversation about something called ‘invasion of privacy’.” I inwardly groaned and deflated. Stiles was our ride, and now, he and his dad were going back to the jeep. We wait a few minutes before starting the trek back to our houses. I heard a snap off to one side, my head snapping towards the sound as I try to pinpoint what it was, only to meet a pair of glowing red eyes.

“Sc-Scott? Um, would you mind helping me?” I whisper, not moving my body, trying not to set the animal off. Scott must not have realized he needed to be quiet, because he walked without a care in the world, and the animal leaped, attacking. I held my arms up in front of my face, screaming Scott's name, before a sharp pain tore through my side and I landed on the ground, making me gasp and bite my fist, the taste of iron soon sinking into my mouth. I do my best to stand up as fast as I can, holding my side, before turning and running. I ran until I tumbled down a small hill and came face to face with the dead body of a girl. Her eyes stared into the nothingness. Only, she had no legs. I screamed, backing up, only to tumble further down, and land against a fallen log, hitting my head. Scott followed soon after, and a herd of what seemed to be elk or deer came charging towards us. We scrambled to duck out of the way and waited until they passed, before standing up and heading home, trying to ignore the howl that came from where we just left.

“Um, would you mind giving me your numbers that way I can find you guys tomorrow? If you don’t mind that is.” We switched numbers and I went inside, heading to my room to pick out an outfit and send a message to them both so they had my number, before laying down and falling into a dreamless sleep.

[natromanxoff]

Queen live at Civic Auditorium Arena in Omaha, NE, USA - September 13, 1980

(x)

(x)

Fan Stories

“I don't know if anyone has ever been able to appreciate a rock concert as much as I did when I saw Queen at age 7. I knew the order the songs were supposed to be in, the way the stage was supposed to look, and what the band was supposed to do. And everything happened perfectly. Except for that damn mustache. Late summer 1980, I was pestering my mom to take me into town to get candy. She said, "Do you really want to get candy, or would you rather get tickets to see Queen?" I stopped in my tracks and started being the nicest boy you could imagine. I thought maybe she was kidding, but knew she wouldn't kid me about something like that. I guess my dad had already OKd it too. Like Axl Rose once said about Queen: "They meant everything to me." We drove all the way to Omaha to get tickets: they were $9 in advance, or $11 the day of the show if still available (though now I'm not sure how they weren't sold out immediately). I'm still not quite sure why Queen was playing smaller arenas at that point, since I think they had already begun playing stadiums. Finally, September 13 arrived. I was in 2nd grade. Ads had been all over the radio for this concert. One of my baby-sitters and two of her friends rode up with us also, and they went off on their own when we got there. The show was one of those infamous "general admission" things, so our seats depended solely on how early we arrived. I think we got to the arena at about 9 am... almost a full 12 hours before the show actually started (much longer in 7-year-old hours). A single word, "QUEEN", was boldly displayed on the marquee above the many doors where small lines were beginning to form. Excited bands of people were running/gathering everywhere. Queen was one of the biggest five bands in the world at that time: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" was on the charts, The Game had just been released, and "Another One Bites the Dust" was soon-to-be released as a single. We picked one of the lines and got ready for what was indeed halfway dangerous: the growing mob of people ready to run in when the doors would open. This was a big issue of the time, as it was the year before that 11 people were crushed to death at the turnstiles of a Who concert. (An episode of the TV show W.K.R.P. in Cincinnati even focused on this.) People were starting to press onto the transparent doors trying to look inside, when suddenly there was the sound of tires screeching from the street: a white limousine honked twice and sped around the corner toward the other side of the arena, and was gone within seconds. The "big kids" screamed and ran after it; I was too small to do this, but we got better places in line! When everyone came back, they said they actually saw Freddie and John get out of it and be scuffled into the building before getting attacked by the mob of people. In the meantime, others around us were starting to talk to my mom. Two of them were a man and a lady who were apparently on date, and they ended up even staying by and sitting by us through the show. Some other people also offered to kind of stay around my mom and I to make sure I'd be safe on the way in. A couple of times, a big fat drunk guy yelled out, "Who's your favorite group?" and of course everyone yelled "Queen!"

Now people were beginning to bang on the doors of the entrance. I think the doors finally opened at around 11 am. When they did, we and other people from several sides of the arena moved in, towards those coming in from other doors on opposite sides: within seconds, everyone had funneled from outside to stopping cold in the lobby, having basically run into each other. This is exactly where everyone stayed for the next two hours. A human shield of several people were intact around my mom and I preventing my being crushed... and all I could see for two hours were a bunch of butts! Once in awhile someone would try and lift me up to see all the people. From the distance, the drunk guy again repeated the "Who's your favorite band?" line a couple of times, realizing that more people could hear him now that he was indoors and echoing, and everyone gave the appropriate response. By the fifth time, only the drunk people were responding to him, and by the tenth time people were laughing and moaning. Every so often, some loud music would come out of the arena like a band was tuning-up, but it wasn't Queen music so everyone figured it was just the opening act. At 1 pm, the turnstiles were finally opened. I was kind of keeping my guard around me as everyone pressed forward, and everything was moving faster the closer we got, but by surveying the area I thought I'd be safe. I had my ticket in my hand. The guy from the couple was going to try and enter first, then me, and then my mom. When I got to the turnstiles, my mom and the guy grabbed my arms on both sides and completely hoisted me over. A surprised old man tore my ticket while I was in mid-air. Suddenly, we were standing relatively calmly inside: the difficult part was over, and we were at least safe from here on out. People were still running everywhere and screaming, but the hallways were pretty big so it wasn't too dangerous as long as we stayed toward the edge. Most people were still outside, since we were somewhat early. An older 12-year-old tore around the corner, then his '70s-style tennis shoes screeched against the floor and he fell down for a second as he decided to which way to go. We knew we were sort of on a mission to walk fast toward a balcony and just get seats instead of wandering around indecisively like others. We went straight up toward the second level balcony, as others ran the opposite way down to the main floor. My mom and I and the people we'd befriended walked right next to the wall, and I pressed against it while just a few feet away scattered groups of people would sometimes run by full-speed. I would have wanted to be on the main floor, but my mom had previously explained to me how, unless we were in the balcony, we would have to actually stand through the whole show (there weren't any chairs on the main floor) and would hardly be able to see anything. Plus, along with the horror stories of people running in at the beginning of a rock concert, I had also heard how people supposedly got crushed to death against the stage... so sitting in the balcony was just fine with me. We got two seats in the front of the second balcony, just by the railing to the balcony below. We were on the right side of the arena, about halfway back, so we couldn't complain. Now, I knew this was the beginning of the biggest wait: sitting in the same spot from 1 in the afternoon to about 9 at night.

The main parts of the stage I liked (from viewing the pictures in my Live Killers album) were intact: the steps were lined with lights under Roger's drums, and middle of the main stage had a small plank stage that stuck out for Freddie to walk on, where the crowd could touch him but not too easily. Most of the instruments, and all of Roger's drum set, were covered in giant sheets of plastic. I'd never seen such big speakers; I had a flashback when I saw the black and white photo to the right because that's what they looked like with the house lights up. Throughout the afternoon, the lights in the arena would go out, then come back on... like we were being teased. Finally when it was about time for the opening band, the lights went off longer than usual and the band took the stage. The opening band was someone we had never heard of, and my mom and I both can't even remember who it was now (two people have e-mailed me saying it was a band called "Dakota"). I don't think they had any hits, and then apparently disappeared soon after. The crowd tolerated the first two or three songs. Then, every song ended with "Just one more song!" much to the audience's vocal dismay. I went on a trip to the bathroom, and they were still playing when I came back. Then they left. Ten minutes later, they came back and said "Just one more song!" and I think they played three. People were yelling, "We want Queen!" People were getting harsh to the point it was just uncomfortable even seeing the band on the stage. Everyone cheered when they left. The lights came back on. Another two hours. Just seeing them walk across the stage would have been enough for me, so at that age I really couldn't comprehend being in their presence for a whole two-hour concert. This wait was easier though because every second we knew the show could start. Seeing Queen still seemed like it was too good to be true, like some act of God would occur just before the show to prevent it. Then, the lights went out. There's no feeling like the wait in total darkness just before a Queen concert. It was 10 minutes of black and the loudest screaming I'd ever heard. I remember it was "scary" and so I think Brian might have also been playing the weeping guitar sound like the beginning of the We Will Rock You concert video. It was a good scary feeling though, like going up the first hill of a roller coaster. After several minutes of intense darkness and the crowd screaming, when I felt like my ears didn't have room for any more sound to enter (though I loved it), the even louder sound of thunder clapped across the arena with an incredibly blinding light. I could see everyone on the main floor have to turn completely around in unison toward the back of the arena because the lights were so bright. I kept trying to glance at the stage to see what was happening, but it was too bright to see anything... plus, in between the flashes, it was too dark to see anything. It was sort of an unnerving state, being totally blinded in that big of a place with that many people, and coming to the realizaton that it would be unthinkable to actually move around and that we were basically helpless. I was holding my mom's hand. Queen had the whole crowd paralyzed in their tracks before the show even began.

I'm not sure if the lights all rose up like in the We Will Rock You video or not (since we couldn't see), or if they were already raised because of the opening band. Eventually the thunder and noise turned to music. Finally, through my wincing, Freddie Mercury was suddenly in front of my own little eyes on the front extended stage in all the smoke. I'd never even seen a celebrity in person before, much less my idol at the time. I didn't think they would open with the fast version of "We Will Rock You" for some reason, since that's at the beginning of the Live Killers album and I thought they would want to do something different, but was surprised that they opened with a non-Queen song: "Jailhouse Rock". The stage looked similar to that in the We Will Rock You concert video, with the smaller panels of lights replacing the single giant panel from previous tours; however, I'm certain there was at least another entire, higher level of moving lights (not only from seeing them at the concert, but also looking at the pictures for years afterwards). The lights in the We Will Rock You video seem extremely cut-back. Instead of one row of panels of lights across the back of the stage, the panels were all over the place and the ones above the band moved straight up and down on poles and tilted back and forth. There were also little men somehow sitting amongst the panels who manually operated at least a dozen spotlights, and more guys doing this from a small section hanging down from the ceiling at the middle of the arena. Since the spotlights were directed from the top of the arena, there wasn't a big bulky spotlight booth in the middle of the main floor taking up space, and the audio booth was placed along the right side of the arena (down not to far from us) so it wasn't in anyone's way. In the darkness between a lot of the songs, flashlights darted around the stage... we couldn't figure out if it was the band or engineers setting things up. Thankfully, no one came out on stage before the show to announce the band (I've always thought this is really cheesy). Freddie had on those red leather pants with the blue knee-pads... and, unfortunately, that ugly mustache! "What do you think about my new mustache?" Freddie asked. (Mixed applause.) "Some people don't like it, but I just say 'fu** 'em.'" (Crowd goes wild.). Freddie drank some water, then tossed the rest out onto the crowd along with his cup. He tossed his tambourine out later, and I couldn't imagine what it would actually be like to touch it. Freddie also had that long silver microphone stand that he always danced around with in the videos. He was running all over the place; one second he was on the plank at our side of the arena, the next at the other side. The three high school girls who rode up with us were excited because when he went to the end of one of the planks he ended up level and close to them in the balcony (but upset because, had one not been on crutches, they would have stayed on the main floor where Freddie tossed his tambourine!). Once or twice I remember looking into the middle of the arena and some kind of explosion occurred in mid-air (apparently launched from the lighting duct at the top of the arena). There weren't that many lighters in the audience, but instead everyone was using those green glow-sticks that come out around Halloween (I think these were new at the time). The audience kept throwing their green glow sticks up on the stage until at times it was covered, and more than once Brian kicked off some back into the audience (and I think he might have been getting upset but I'm not sure!).

There were numerous parts of the show I knew had to be there... and they all were. The first was the "scary" sound effects and section of "Get Down, Make Love", where Queen showed off their lights. (At that age, I thought the erotic sound effects were simply supposed to represent the monster breaking-in on the cover of News of the World). Smoke shrouded the band, as the panels of lights took over and moved around to the audience's ooohs and aaahs. My mom and I were trying to figure out what was on Roger's bass drum, since it didn't look like an album cover; it turned out to be the white "face" design, also in the We Will Rock You video. Back then, concerts didn't have big video screens, so we just had to use the binoculars that we'd brought. Some spotlights were gathering on Freddie and Brian as they went to sit on two stools toward the right of the stage, and my mom got excited because we knew "Love of My Life" was coming. Freddie announced, "This is our first time in Omaha... " as the song started, and got the crowd to sing along like on the Live Killers album. Meanwhile, I had become a source of info for those around who wanted to know what the songs were; every time a new song would start, people would ask me what it was! I really don't know if anyone has ever actually been able to appreciate a concert as much as I did that night: I was only 7, but had every album except the first two, and knew every song they played except maybe two or three. But what's interesting is how fans often wish they could experience how a "classic" band was 20 years prior... and this is strangely how I felt I was experiencing the show, because at my age it seemed like Queen had been around 20 years. There were parts of the show, including the stage design, that were "legendary" to me, but were only 2-3 years old in reality. Now, 20 years later, they're legendary to everyone else. Periodically, the guy next to me changed the tape in his "hidden" tape recorder. We knew the show was close to the end when "Bohemian Rhapsody" began. Everyone clapped to the pre-recorded opera section, and as the Live Killers liner notes say: "The audience and the lights take care of the rest." The crowd went nuts when Roger hit the famous gong at the end.

I think there were two or three more songs, and then everything went black for about 10 minutes. Could it be that they were actually not going to play the standard "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen" closing? The house lights may have even come on for awhile, then went back off. A few people were starting to leave, and I kept telling my mom that they had to end the concert that way, because that's the only way a Queen concert ends... but then even I was having doubts. Finally, the yellow lights around the gong all turned on, pointing directly on Roger, who started the drums of "We Will Rock You" and everyone stomped their feet and clapped. Of course "We Are the Champions" was next, and Freddie shook some of the hands flailing in front of the stage while singing it. I remember there was one hand jumping up and down that never got shook! Freddie bent his neck way back when he sang "... of the world!" at the very end like I knew he was supposed to from videos on TV, and we hoped for another song but knew that was probably going to be it. A grand finale of Queen's famous pyrotechnics began shooting everywhere from the stage, the lights were all moving around, and everyone was jumping all over in the aisles. Soon the pre-recorded Night at the Opera version of "God Save the Queen" did begin playing...but, nobody really sang to it since this is America and no one knows the words! At this point, I tried to make sure I was truly fathoming what it was like to actually see the band members in front of me since they'd be gone soon. Freddie was still dancing around and danced out a little door behind the drums, and the rest of the band followed one-by-one, with John being last as he waved to everybody one last time. The lights flickered and moved some more to the rest of the song, slowly going dark along with the rest of the arena, with the final rise of the crowd's applause. Perfect. Except for that damn mustache. We walked down what seemed like endless spiraling stairs on the way out...extremely slowly this time. My ears had that weird "ringing" feeling like everyone said I'd have, but that I'd never experienced before. Spotlights were panning the sky outside. We said goodbye to the couple we'd been with during the show. A guy in his late 20s started talking to us on the long way out; he laughed and told me how he'd also had to argue with his mom who said Queen would never come to Omaha. My mom asked him if he thought I'd even remember the whole thing since I was so little. He looked down at me, saw my grin from ear-to-ear, and said, "He'll never forget this."” - Jim

[skieswords]

Pull Through Part 5

Please make sure you read the warnings in part 1❤️

"Fuck. Wake up boys, we're late." Becca's eyes fluttered open at the sound of Alex's voice, and the first thing she noticed was the warm chest her cheek was resting on, and the hand pressed against the small of her back. Luke groaned, and opened his eyes, looking down to see a mess of curls lying on top of him, and feeling Becca's t-shirt in his hand. She was on top of him, her blue eyes looking up at him in surprise. "Uh, morning." Luke grinned as Becca buried her face in his chest again, groaning into his t-shirt. They looked to their left and found Reggie staring at them, his hair sticking up in all directions. "Did you 

two...?" He pointed between them, eyes wide. Becca's jaw dropped in horror, and she jumped off Luke, accidentally kneeing him in the stomach. He groaned and buried his face in a cushion, hiding the furious blush spreading up his neck, while Becca smiled apologetically and ran a hand through her hair. "No, we didn't. Gross." Alex came in, car keys in hand, yawning and stretching his arms above his head. "Morning Bex. Luke, a word?" He shot a glare at Luke, who was now sat up on the sofa, rubbing his temples gently. He held his hands up towards Alex, and shuffled through to the bathroom, pulling his shoes on as he hopped. "Bex. Car. Now." Alex was pissed, and Becca sighed as she laced her converse, looking over her outfit. "I need to get changed. I have clothes in the l-" She was interrupted by Reggie dropping a bag on the floor from the loft, a collection of Becca's clothes from over the years. "Loft. Thanks Reg." She knelt down and started raking through the clothes, blinking desperately to keep herself awake. A few moments later, she'd yanked an old band t-shirt over her head, and tossed her curls into a messy ponytail, and was now trying to pull her shorts down in the mirror, groaning when they didn't budge. "I'm going to get dress-coded. Alex can I just skip?" Alex laughed from behind her and tugged her ponytail gently, crossing his arms as he leant against the wall. "Mom and dad are already going to kill me for having you out all night, the least I can do is force you to go to school." She stuck her tongue out at him, and gave up, hoping the tights would be enough the satisfy Ms Carlisle. The bathroom door opened, and Luke emerged looking slightly more awake than he had when they first woke up. He made eye contact with Becca and cleared his throat, glancing at Alex as she blushed and ran into the bathroom. "Seriously dude? The literal minute she turns 16 and you're after her." Luke shook his head and snorted. "Not a chance. You know how we see her. Little sister, all the way." He looked into Alex eyes, hoping his best friend bought it. They'd known since they were 12, Becca was totally off limits to the boys. Something about not wanting his little sister mixed up with rockstars- although he had a feeling that wasn't the actual reason. Becca listened to their exchange through the bathroom door, sadness clouding her eyes. She'd hoped that after last night, with Luke telling her all that stuff about being on stage, that they might have grown closer. She'd fancied the boy since she was 13- and over the last year, having shared a lot of laughs during rehearsals, she'd developed a full blown crush. But he clearly didn't feel the same.

"Bex! Where were you last night? I tried calling but your mom picked up, said you were studying..." Becca nodded slowly, realising that must have been the lie Alex spun to her parents. "Yeah, I had a ton of math work to catch up on." This was feasible. The entire class knew about Becca's turbulent relationship with the math department. Ray nodded and leaned up against the locker next to hers, taking in her appearance. "You're gonna get in so much trouble for that- Ms C is in an evil mood." Becca groaned and slammed her head against her locker door, shoving a textbook into her bag as she turned to face Ray. "I'll just avoid her. It'll be fine." He grinned and reached into his bag, holding out a messily wrapped box. "Happy birthday." She couldn't help but smile back at him, rolling her eyes and reaching out to take the box. "Thank you. You shouldn't have though, I told you I don't like my birthday." He shrugged and watched with eager eyes as she tore off the paper, opening her locker to throw it in as it fell. "No you didn't. Ray!" She threw her arms around his neck, the box pressed between them. "I noticed your wheels were looking kinda wonky the other day, so. Here you go. Can you come tonight? I'll put them on for you." Becca smiled at him and tucked a curl behind her ear. "Yeah, yeah I think so. Thank you, Ray." He'd gotten her a set of new wheels for her skateboard, which she desperately needed. A blowout with her dad a few weeks back had resulted in him tossing her board out the 3rd floor window, and had sent the front wheel off to the left, and she hadn't been able to fix it. Ray was a genius with boards, and had the most gorgeous hand painted designs. She slipped the wheels carefully into her bag and linked arms with him, letting him walk her to english. Luke watched the entire display from across the hall, his hand resting on the small box in his locker. It was stupid, just a little gift- but he thought she'd like it. It could wait, he decided, and he pushed his locker door shut a little too harshly, causing a loud clatter to echo through the hall. He swung his guitar case over his shoulder and headed for the music rooms, passing off on the AP english class he had with Becca. He couldn't watch her with that guy any longer.

The end of the day took it's time, but as soon as the bell went, Becca was out of her class and in her locker, desperate to get home. "Hey Mercer, you looked good last night." Becca looked up, surprised to find Will Thomas, star quarterback, smirking down at her. "Oh, hey Will. Thanks, I didn't know you were there?" He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. It was similar to the move Luke frequently pulled, but Becca didn't find the action as endearing when Will did it. "Uh, I should get going." She turned to walk away, but he grabbed her wrist, holding her back. "I'm having a party this weekend. You should come." Becca looked at him in shock, her eyes wide, flicking down to the tight grip he held on her. "Oh, really? I'll see what I'm doing." He nodded at her, letting his eyes rake over her body unapologetically as she walked away, her right hand rubbing the wrist he'd held. Luke watched the interaction, once again from across the hall. Having lockers opposite each other wasn't the ideal situation he had originally imagined it to be. Slamming his locker door shut again, he followed her out the doors, face thunderous and hands thrust deep in his pockets. Becca was already at the car, complaining about something to Alex. "Why can't you just drop me off on the way home? I'll get food later." Alex rolled his eyes and gave her a push into the car, opening the trunk for Luke's guitar. "It's your birthday, mom and dad want to see you." Becca huffed and crossed her arms around her knees. She brightened slightly as Luke approached the car, but sank into her seat when she noticed his expression. Apparently everyone was having a bad day today. "What's up with your face?" Luke shrugged and leaned against the side of the car, avoiding having to sit next to Becca, instead waiting for Reggie to come out. "Teachers on my ass about work, that's all." Becca frowned; Luke never did work, and never cared when he was chased up for it. "What we doing this weekend? We don't have anything booked, do we?" Alex shook his head, dumping his jacket in the back and sighing as the californian sun once again defied all odds, and appeared just as they were hitting December. "Nothing booked, think we were just going to hang out at the studio." Luke nodded, risking a glance towards Becca, who appeared to be examining her ripped tights in great detail. Luke frowned as he noticed the large tear in the material- they'd been fine that morning. Reggie arrived at the car, grumbling about his government teacher, who'd told him he'd have to drop if he didn't buck up. "At least you actually go to class. Luke skipped english this morning." At the mention of his name, Luke's head snapped up, his eyes slightly brighter. She'd noticed his absence. "Where'd you go?" Luke shrugged and pushed the seat back as Reggie clambered in, dropping into the front seat. "Didn't feel like class." Becca rolled her eyes and leaned over Alex's seat, activating her most pleading puppy dog eyes, and resting her chin on his shoulder. "How come he gets to skip class? He's behind already, and I'm acing english." Alex chuckled and shoved her back into her seat. "Luke's older than you, and exactly. You're acing it because you go." Becca scowled and leaned on Reggie, reading the various scribbles running up his arms. Looked like he had a lot of homework. "How do you guys fancy a party this weekend? Heard Thomas is having one." Becca looked up as Luke began to speak, her eyebrows raised in surprise. Reggie frowned. "I thought you hated him? Said something about him being a-" Luke glared at Reggie in the mirror, sticking his lower lip out in such a childish way that Becca couldn't help her grin. "It's something to do. Bex got invited." Becca leaned over and punched him in the arm, scowling and glancing at Alex nervously. "Yeah as if she's going. You know what he's like." Becca groaned from the back seat and kicked Alex's chair, making him jump. "I can do what I want." All three of the boys laughed at the same time, and Alex started to drive off. Becca slumped in her seat and stared out the window. Sometimes having 3 older brothers wasn't ideal.

"Happy birthday darling!" Becca blinked in the sudden brightness as she walked into the kitchen, and found her mom standing beside the kitchen table, beside a birthday cake and a bunch of balloons. "Thanks mom." Julia smiled and pulled Becca into a hug, kissing her head and squeezing her tightly. "I have a shift later on tonight, but I thought we could have dinner together? And then Alex will take you over to Reggie's to study, but I want you to come home tonight, please." Becca nodded absentmindedly, sticking a finger into the icing on her cake. It was vanilla. "Is dad coming home?" Julia shook her head with a smile, and Becca noticed that her shoulders seemed more relaxed, and her hair hung around her face, a rare sight for the usually up tight Julia Mercer. "I got you something. It's on your bed." Becca grinned and hugged her mom one more time, before running out and up the stairs, nearly knocking Alex over in the process. "Woah, what's got you in such a rush?" Becca shrugged and kept running, barging through her door and squealing delightedly. Alex came racing in behind her, afraid that she'd gotten hurt. Becca was unwrapping a small parcel on her bed, not caring about the muddy soles of her converse. "No way." She held up a shoebox, laughing lightly to herself. "Vans? I'm trying to work out if this is some type of sick joke, or if she just asked around to see what kind of shoes skaters wear. Do you think this means she'll let me go?" Alex shrugged and smiled at the expression his little sister wore. She knew she'd have to wear them, so she wouldn't hurt their mom's feelings. But she also knew wearing them to the studio would mean getting ridiculed by Luke. "Fuck it. Are you eating with us?" Alex sighed and gave her a gentle smack round the back of the head, kneeling down to tie her laces. "Depends." Becca fell silent, and he felt her eyes on him. "He's not coming." Alex looked up and met her eyes, watching the grin slowly spread across her face. "Then of course I am. I'm not missing out on birthday cake." She cheered and jumped off the bed, waiting for him to stand up before throwing herself at his back and wrapping her legs around his waist. He hooked his arms through her knees and started to carry her down the stairs, stopping on the landing. "Not a word about last night. I want to speak to you about it in the car anyway, so keep your mouth zipped." Becca nodded and rested her chin on his shoulder. This was shaping up to be her favourite birthday yet. Cake, her mom, and her brother, with the promise of a trip to the skate park and a visit to the boys as well. Not to mention she got to wake up on top of Luke Patterson. Not that that's important or meant anything to her in the slightest, she reminded herself.

Skateboard in hand and new vans on, Becca headed out to Alex's car, happier than she'd felt in weeks. Even though he'd said no to the skatepark, Alex had said she could take her board and practice tricks in Reggie's backyard, as long as she was careful and didn't damage any plantpots. "So. About last night." Becca fidgeted in her seat, not sure where this was going. Was it about the performance? Or the drugs? Or Luke? It could be any number of things, none of them particularly high on her list of preffered car conversation topics. "When were you gonna tell me you could play like that?" Becca let out a sigh of relief. Definitely the least dangerous topic. "Uh, I didn't really know I could play like that myself, to be fair." Alex raised his eyebrows at her, and pulled out of the driveway. "I taught myself a little, and I spoke to some of the music teachers at school- they helped. But I dunno, I just really enjoyed it. Luke worked out I could play by himself, he found some stuff I'd written and forced me to tell him." Alex pursed his lips, and his eyes hardened. "Mmm. That's another thing. Luke." Becca groaned internally- she'd hoped to avoid this one. "What do you mean?" Alex shot her a look of pure disbelief, and she threw her head back against the seat. "Nothing, Alex. I promise. We came in late from the garden last night, and he was gonna sleep on the floor. I felt mean so told him to share the couch." Alex looked at her intently as they reached a red light, before shrugging and continuing the drive in silence. Becca watched out the window as the houses flew by, sighing wistfully as they passed the turnoff for the skatepark.

Luke watched as Reggie nearly fell over the railing in the loft for the fourth time, rolling his eyes and collapsing onto the couch. Alex had said they'd be there around 7, and had warned they better be ready or he'd be pissed. Luke jumped up as he heard a car pull into the driveway, sharing a look with Reggie, who was still sitting on the banister. The familiar roll of Becca's skateboard could be heard on the crazy paving , alongside the jingling of Alex's car keys, and then a scuffle and a screech, as Becca tripped. Eventually, the Mercer siblings appeared at the door, Becca's skateboard tucked under her arm, and Alex trying his hardest to suppress a grin. "Oh my god. Guys!" Becca's hands flew to her mouth as she took in the garage. The boys had spent the last few hours stringing fairy lights across the ceiling, and a painted banner hung across the rafters reading 'Happy Birthday Bex!' in Reggie's handwriting, thankfully. Reggie pulled her into a hug and ruffled her hair. "It's the least we could do." Alex pushed her into the studio, and towards the coffee table, where a messily iced cake sat, chocolate frosting layered thickly over the entire cake. Becca smiled to herself, a warm feeling spreading across her chest as it hit her that the boys remembered her favourite. "Did you make this?" She glanced at Luke suspiciously, who held his hands up and rolled his eyes at her. "Reggie's mom made it- but I iced it." She grinned and pulled him into a hug, letting her head rest on his chest as she breathed in his musky scent of cheap aftershave, and something distinctly boyish. "It's awesome. Thank you." Luke wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, resisting the urge to stroke her hair. They stayed like that for a moment longer than was strictly necessary, until a look from Alex caught Luke's attention, and he jumped away, clearing his throat. "Where's Bobby?" Reggie shrugged and flopped onto the couch, watching Luke with a slight grin. The dark haired guitarist was walking around the back of the studio, scuffing the toes of his vans against the floor, as he watched Becca out the corner of his eye. The tension between them could literally be cut with a knife, but they still chose to ignore it. Even Alex had commented on it before, much to his own disgust. The idea of his baby sister dating anybody genuinely terrified him- and he knew what a flirt Luke could be. But as the drummer and bassist of Sunset Curve watched the two from opposite corners of the room, the only thought going through their minds was 'how long now.' The pair had been dancing around each other for years now. Luke had even taken Becca to her freshman, and her sophomore homecoming, with it now being an ongoing joke between them. Becca couldn't dance in the slightest. In fact, at both dances, they'd had to take a break so that Luke could ice his foot. He'd asked her by coincidence in freshman year because she'd been crying in the hallway after school, after a group of sophomores had teased her for going alone. By sophomore year, him and Alex were good friends, and they decided to do it as a joke. Junior homecoming was coming up, and he wasn't sure whether to ask her or not. He wanted to, but now that they were both aware there was something more there... it might be weird. Not to mention Alex would insist on being there with them. "We're not exactly speaking to him right now." Becca nodded at Alex's words, and let a hand drift up to stroke the edge of the banner strung up in the rafters.

"I got you something." Becca looked up, pleasantly surprised to see Luke's eyes boring into her own, a hint of worry floating in them. She smiled at him and tilted her head to the side slightly, swaying from left to right gently. "You shouldn't have. Thank you, though." Luke nodded and reached into his jacket pocket, handing over a small box wrapped in brown paper. "Meant to say earlier, nice kicks." He bumped the the worn toe of his vans against the fresh white of hers, smiling as she took the box from him with a brief eye roll. Becca felt her cheeks warming up as she stroked her thumb over her name, scrawled on top of the package in barely legible handwriting. She met his eyes again, and after an encouraging nod from Luke, tore the paper, and opened the box. She stared at the gift in silence, silently grateful that he couldn't see her expression. A guitar string lay coiled inside, resting on tissue paper. It had been cut, just about the right size to fit around her wrist. There was a charm hanging off it, three silver icons that made Becca's breath catch in her throat. A minature electric guitar, a pair of drumsticks, and a bass guitar. Her boys. A slight cough from Luke made her glance up at him, to find his cheeks on fire, and his lip in between his teeth. "It's not much- I saw the charms and thought of you, and I restrung my six string last week so I thought it would be cool, I get it if you don't wanna wear it of course, it's stupid-" He was cut off by Becca's arms being thrown around his neck, catching her in surprise and holding her tightly, feeling a smile spread across his face. "I love it, Luke. Thank you." They stepped apart, and Becca handed him the bracelet, holding out her wrist. "Can you?" He nodded and fiddled with the clasp, clipping it around her wrist. It fit perfectly. He didn't let go of her wrist, his thumb stroking over her hand as he admired the bracelet. It was pretty neat, if he said so himself. Alex watched their interaction from his spot on the couch, groaning internally. He knew it would only be so long until the two of them got over themselves, and the thought terrified him. He didn't want Becca getting hurt, and he knew Luke had a bit of a reputation. It was clear they liked each other- to everyone apart from them, apparently. Luke's attempt to lie to him that morning had been quite pathetic, even for him.

Bobby showed up not long after Becca and Alex had arrived, but he avoided giving her a hug, after multiple glares from Luke, who hadn't left her side all evening. The boys were rather cold towards him- they weren't happy he'd bailed on them for the gig. "Did you get on alright without me though? It didn't make a huge difference to the set, did it?" None of the boys got the chance to answer- Becca snorted loudly, and clapped her hands. "Ha, no of course not. They had me instead." Bobby raised his eyebrows, and looked her up and down appreciatively. "Woah, so you play too? Nothing like a girl who's good with her hands." He winked at her, and she gagged, while Alex punched his arm, and Luke clenched his fists. "In your dreams, Robert." Reggie grinned at Becca and fist-bumped her, handing her another cup of juice. Luke sighed and settled back onto his couch, trying to ignore the voice in the back of his head, telling him to floor Bobby. That wouldn't be the best way to end Becca's birthday. They sat there for a while longer, enjoying each other's company, until Alex looked at the clock and swore quietly. "It's getting late Bex, we should head soon." Becca glanced at the clock and frowned. It was only just after 8pm. She met Alex's eyes, but the slight frown on his face explained everything. "Right. Let's go."

[redmaneroster]

Our Home Away From Home, Away From Home

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PART 10 – Domestication

Yang blinks awake. She wonders why her pillow is so dense until she realizes that she's patting down Jaune's chest. Her hand is dangerously close to his waistband.

She wants to move but can't. Below her, her hands run through the threads of someone's dark red hair. Ruby wriggles at the touch. She'd come back a week earlier. In time for the dance but she'll be gone again when it's over.

It's like her baby sister is slipping out of her hands. She wants to scream and shout. To demand that Ozpin give her back… but he wasn't the one who could make that decision for her. Her dad had made it clear, Ruby is the only one who gets to choose, and she chose Ozpin.

She dreads to think on what Ruby's actually chosen. What she'd picked over everything else. Her friends, her family, her team, maybe even her dreams of being a huntress.

Yang bites her lip. Ruby isn't a huntress-in-training anymore either. She's licensed and fully-fledged. Has jobs and is on record as the youngest to join an academy and the youngest to graduate.

Peeling back her bangs, Yang spots the scar running along her forehead. It's deep and an ugly pinkish-red. Jaune asked where she got it. She'd gotten too close to a behemoth and got clipped trying to dodge its tusk. She'd killed it, somehow. She wouldn't tell how, just that she did. If she really tried, Yang could probably extract the story from her; global secrecy or no. But she can't. Won't.

Suddenly respecting her privacy feels like a vice on her lungs.

Ruby grabs Yang's hand suddenly. She's still and her breathing is rapidly pouring out of her, but then Ruby tugs the arm into her chest and nuzzles into it.

It's like they're eight and ten again, when Yang would spend the day working herself to exhaustion to make sure Ruby had a fulfilling day, only to collapse in her arms. Then and only then did Yang permit her little ten-year-old self to breathe, rest easy, then finally sleep. She recollects it like a blur of sweat and aches she was entirely too young to have, but now that they've passed, Yang can hardly remember what any of those pains felt like.

How differently could things have gone if she'd had a father and mother to tend to them instead. Maybe not long enough to mind Ruby themselves, but at least long enough to rub her hair and tell her she did good at the end of the day.

Calloused hands run through her hair. She looks up to see Jaune spying her out of one eye.

"You're getting that scary, thoughtful look on you again." Not quite the loving encouragement she'd expected, but close enough. "I'd warn against developing some early wrinkles but I can't help but feel they'd look good on you too."

She laughs. "You can't be serious. Were you checking out my mom?"

"Pfft! Sure. Let's go with that." She rolls her eyes. He ruffles her hair. "But in all seriousness, you can't blame a guy for admiring that kind of craftsmanship." His thumb runs slowly down her cheek. "They chiseled you out good. You have all their best parts."

She blushes but pushes the feeling down. "God, Jaune, were you checking out my dad too?" she teases but her eyes widen at his brief pause. "Oh my god."

He waves it off. "It's nothing like that. Despite looking like he could bench-press a truck, your dad still manages to look the least threatening when he's got some alcohol in him. I had thought that the day I'd meet my girlfriend's dad, I'd be most worried about being hated. Instead, I ended up worrying I'd just disappoint him. Like making him sad was worse than getting him angry."

"Yeah, Dad's got a wounded puppy look on him. I think it's why Zwei listens to him all the time. Like he even makes the dog feel responsible for keeping him happy."

"He's a dangerous man."

"I hope the title is hereditary."

"Ha! What was that you said on our first date? You could total a car, or something? I think that qualifies as dangerous."

"Hm… Is that a turn on or does that make you afraid? Both, maybe?"

"I think I'd qualify as crazy if it was both. Do you qualify as crazy if you're still into me after that?"

"We could be crazy together." Her fingers run circles over his abs. "I could live with that…"

Ruby curls up and covers her ears. "Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!"

Yang ruffles her hair. "Good morning to you, too,"

"Sleep well?" Jaune asks.

"Too well…" Ruby grumbles. "I don't think I could go back to pillows ever again. Maybe I'll sleep on Zwei or something… No, that doesn't feel right…"

Yang pulls her head up, inching enough along Jaune's chest to rest her head up against his chin. "I think it's the company. Missed your big sister that much, huh?"

Ruby's nose scrunches. "Yeah, I do." She crawls into them and snuggles in. She takes Jaune's hand and tugs on Yang's till they're hugging her now. "I'll miss you all so much when I'm gone…"

The way she words that digs a pit in Yang's chest. She squeezes her a little tighter. Her chest feels hollow for a little longer.

Ruby pulls out and Yang lets her go, but she jerks back a bit cause Jaune hasn't let go. "Sorry…" Jaune says. He looks like he wants to hold on.

"Don't be." The softness of her hands press warmly over his, and her smile shares its qualities. "I'd miss me too." She means it like a joke but it stops showing on her eyes and a frown worms its way into her cheeks. "I have to go get ready."

She glances over to the rest of the bed. Only Blake is there, her back turned to them. "Pyrrha's probably waiting for me downstairs. I'll see you two tonight, alright?" When she's pulling fresh clothes out of her travel bag, she calls out, "If Blake gets up, tell her we'll see her on the bullheads and grab a bite in Vale if she's late!"

JNPR's bathroom door shuts behind her. The door feels tiny from where they are, on the opposite side of a giant bed in the RWBY dorm room. Its distance echoes with the thrum of the muffled shower.

Jaune pulls Yang up and against him. "Sorry about this. I know you were looking forward to going with me."

"You shouldn't have to feel sorry for giving my sister a good time," she says. He can tell that she means it. "She's going to miss you too, and this might be her last chance to feel like a normal girl for a change. Besides, it's only sophomore year. We'll still have plenty of school dances to go to."

"I guess… Save me a dance?"

"I think I'll need a little more than one."

The distant pattering of the shower is notable when it stops in the quiet of the twin rooms. Jaune eyes Blake and realizes that her bow is on. "Didn't Blake stop wearing that?"

Yang shifts over his stomach and realizes how broad her outline is. "I don't think that's her."

They share a look before poking her in the head.

Ren groans and swats his hand away. He wiggles out and takes off the wig he's wearing, scratching his head.

They snort. "That's a good look for you," they say, realize they've said it at the same time, and high-five.

He groans again. "That's never not going to be weird."

"Not as weird as you in a wig," Jaune says.

Yang notices he's in Blake's pajama top too, sagging off his shoulder since it's so much smaller. "…Or in her nighties."

"It's called a jinbei." Ren shakes his head. "Before you ask, I lost a bet."

Jaune shrugs. "We figured. Not like we expected you to wear that for fun or anything."

He pulls on the delicate fabric. "Aside from the wig, it's very comfortable."

"Oh, I'll bet."

Ren rubs his eyes. "Jaune…"

He throws his hands up. "I'm kidding! … Not really. You want one in your size?"

"…Yes." He blushes which is weird cause Ren doesn't blush. But he does and it's adorable. They snap a picture. He can only summon the energy to scowl for a breath's length. "I should get going too."

"Why are you up so late anyhow?"

He blushes and he doesn't bother answering. They don't need one anyway.

-0-

The echoed bass of this year's dance bounces off the walls of the hallway just outside of reception.

Yang hasn't been on a dance floor in months and now the sounds feel alien. She used to attribute clubbing as a part of her, even as a freshman who could pass for eighteen. Breaking it down, it's clear that she only went out there to have fun. And she's been having a lot of fun elsewhere this year.

"I don't really wanna go in there," Oscar says beside her as they make their way to reception. They're both wearing green, to match hues with her eyes and to contrast his. "I'm starting to get dizzy on just the sounds of it."

"You get used to it," she says. "It's mostly just sensory overload. Just let it sink in and you'll hardly even register the music. It's meant to be white noise anyway so no one has to talk in silence."

"So it's, what, a social tool? Like a distraction?"

"Most of partying is. For all the awkward folks, it means they can hide behind something else while they get their wings. For the rest of us, the ones who've got it down, it lets us keep going. Longer than the night sometimes."

"I never thought of it that way."

She pats him on the shoulder. Even in flats, she's so much taller than him. "Try not internalize it too hard. It's easier when you're letting a conversation happen instead of trying to force any advice you hear into it."

"And if I end up in awkward silence with someone?"

"Then maybe you aren't talking to the right people. Take Ruby for instance." She points ahead of them, at Jaune and Ruby dressed in red together. They're talking and laughing. "You ever have a conversation just stop when you talk to her?"

"Yeah."

"Then she isn't the right people." She catches Ruby's glare but she goes back to Jaune pretty quickly.

"Uh… Oh! You're joking!" Oscar exclaims.

"Whoa! Hey! Don't take me seriously all the time. Half of me is comedy."

"It's often bad!" Jaune calls back.

"Shut up!" Yang giggles. "I have the worst boyfriend," she whispers loudly. Jaune pretends to be wounded by it.

"So…" Oscar rolls his hands. "I'm getting mixed signals here. Is it okay to have awkward silence?"

"Yeah! I mean… I guess had a bad example. It's okay if a conversation stops, but not when it drops."

He squints. "I feel like you're deliberately confusing me."

"I'm just not the most articulate person. Not like I learned to be social on a quotable handbook or anything. So when you talk to someone on something you're interested in, like, say, coffee –"

"-Or milk."

"Or milk. Yeah, let's got with that. Say you like skim milk – you monster –" he laughs cause he does, "then you know you've found someone you can talk to if they don't try to derail the conversation once they find out."

"Cause I brought up skim milk?"

"Cause they're still interested in talking even after you mention it. Someone you can talk to might agree and keep at it, or disagree but wants to hear your side of why you like it so much. Someone you can't talk to will try to change the topic after finding out what you like or not about something."

"I thought it was all about finding things in common."

"I think it's just as interesting if you don't. I hate Seven Rapids cause they're all noise and not even music to me, but that's precisely why Jaune loves them. Jaune and his sister used to be afraid of thunder, so when a storm hit their hometown, it was the only band they could listen to on the same pair of earphones without having to block out the other ear with something."

"That doesn't sound like he particularly likes it either."

"But it's a story I wouldn't have heard otherwise if I switched gears! Now we know each other a little better."

The bass thumps in their ears after they sign on in the registry and come through the doors. Blake is already dancing with Penny, Sun and Pyrrha are expectedly missing, and Nora is a having a subdued moment with Ren by the punch bowl.

"Ruby?" They're instantly stopped by Cardin Winchester of all things. His date, Velvet, trails behind him and crashes into Ruby first.

"You're back!" Velvet cheers. "For how long?"

"Not very," she says sheepishly.

"That big a deal, huh?" Cardin guesses. He continues before she can get uncomfortable. "We missed you at Leadership. Jaune cried."

Jaune rolls his eyes and lets it be… For an entire second. He punches Cardin in the arm and they laugh.

"I missed you guys too. Even the class. Ugh! Can you believe I miss waking up early for class?"

"I miss that feeling too," Velvet agrees. "When you're Juniors and Seniors, you lose half your classes and you're not even expected to attend most of your sessions. We're usually out on the field taking low threat missions. Even a noisy classroom is quieter than the woods."

Ruby rubs the back of her head. "I kind of know what that's like now, actually."

Jaune and Yang trade looks. Oscar tries not to look them in the eyes.

"We should get going," Cardin says, reading the room. "We'll catch up later." Velvet takes him by the arm and waves off.

Ruby, like Oscar, doesn't look them in the eyes either.

"It's okay!" Yang says soothingly, her a voice a titter with a laugh. "We won't pry. Just happy you're here."

"C'mon," Jaune says, taking Ruby's hand, "let's see how well Oscar taught you how to dance."

Ruby slaps a hand to her lips, trying feebly to hide her blush. "The punch bowl first, please. If it's spiked, I can pretend to be good at anything."

"Not a chance," Jaune teases. He kisses Yang on the cheek before leaving her with Oscar.

"He really is the worst," Oscar says, sarcasm bleeding off his cheek. "He's so sickeningly sweet. Wanna trade dates? I'd take him."

Yang slaps him on the back. "Ha! That's the spirit. I can see you're getting more comfortable."

Oscar shrugs. "I think you're just easy to talk to. We should go, too. I'm starving."

-0-

Ruby might have been right about the punch. Nora is loud and all over the place, but Oscar remembers a few stories about her and asks, "Is this how she normally is?"

Ren laughs, it's quiet and patient. He sounds older than he looks. "I don't think she qualifies for normal."

Nora crashes into a few people he doesn't recognize but they laugh and stand her up. They're all friends here. Or maybe Nora just has that effect on people.

"Here." Ren is standing in front of him with a plate of sushi, a black dip of some sort, and what looks like green clay. "Try one of these."

"You ever have these in Mistral?" Yang asks.

"Only the cities. Funny how my first time with it will be in Vale of all places."

Ren demonstrates with chopsticks, expertly grabbing the rolled sushi, dipping, then grabbing a dab of the clay before inserting it into his mouth. "Now you try."

Oscar takes a fork, stabs the sushi, dips it, end curves the fork's teeth into the clay-like thing, and shoves it in his mouth. He can only register Ren's panic when it's already too late.

"You took too much wasabi," he breathes.

Yang is already grabbing a cup from the punch bowl. Oscar's mouth explodes in heat. Then the rest of the night is a blur.

-0-

Ruby was right. Someone did spike the punch.

By now it's too late and they devolve into a flurry of laughter and dancing. No one seems to care that there's suddenly alcohol present, but a cursory glance reveals that the staff isn't even present. Coco does mention seeing Ozpin and Glynda alone in the plaza, and much of the staff was huddling in the dark trying to eavesdrop on them. Seems mischief is ageless.

Jaune and Yang don't dance. Ruby is too important for them to let the night be about them, so they dance with her instead. She's at least thankful that Jaune chose to lead her in a slow dance. She doesn't think she can keep up with him otherwise. Yang, on the other hand, is an expert on matching her pace. She's her big sister after all.

Oscar doesn't get to dance with her either but he's fine with that. What he isn't fine with is being completely hammered by one watered-down drink. Yang thinks its funny how similar he is to Jaune but the similarities end there. He gets swung around by Nora on the dance floor and the alcohol doesn't help.

Remembering this night mostly comes out as a thousand flashes. Their scrolls roll the whole night, and the photos flood the memory banks like they'll struggle to remember this night when it's over. Which doesn't happen because the alcohol doesn't make them drunk. Unlike Oscar, all the alcohol just serves as an excuse for everyone else to let loose.

Joan shows up in a dress and everyone has flashbacks of first year. Ruby jokes loudly about Jaune filling the dress out real well this time and most people momentarily forget that Jaune has a twin sister.

Somewhere down the line, they pour out of the dance and sing off-key in the garden, count stars in the courtyard, and then they're out on the roof where half their class has turned up for a grill off.

Jaune and Nora get so into it that they're scared out of themselves when Cardin shows up in an apron and a grill of his own. Yang remarks that Weiss would have loved the smell.

Oscar kisses Penny and Ruby doesn't know what to do with that. Yang lets her figure it out cause she's growing up and she can ask her whenever she's ready.

Nora's corsage gets caught in the wind somehow and Ruby jumps into action. She weaves through the crowd in a stream of red and rose petals. She's over the railing and she shows no fear as she leaps off the edge and curls over the shattered moon with the pink flower in her hands. Her smile is stunning, her confidence brimming off her cheeks.

Jaune and Yang hold hands at the sight. She's a burst of beauty that steals hearts.

There's a cheer when she effortlessly blurs back and falls into the crowd. She doesn't think what she does is anything special, but it is. She is. And everyone knows it.

And just when their spirits are highest, it rains.

Ruby doesn't leave the roof when it does. Her friends stay with her, Jaune and Yang especially. The look in her eyes tells them that she's barely holding something back.

They stand with her, letting the chipped pieces of them fall apart together so Ruby doesn't feel like she's alone. She tells them she's afraid. They tell her they are too. But fear doesn't get to take residence, it doesn't get to loiter and sink into the upholstery. They'll kick and scream until it's gone cause they never go down without a fight.

It sounds like they're all struggling blindly, but Yang tells her that defiance is only the first step. And that also makes it the most important.

In a moment of solidarity, Ruby screams at the top of her lungs as the rain hides her tears and her friends drown out her pain with defiant roars of their own.

And in the next she's on a bullhead, barely out of her dress, and she disappears in a sea of stars.

-0-

It's the weekend again, and Yang convinces Jaune to come to the apartment for the day. Walking back into it feels like a lifetime has passed him by. There's a layer of dust on everything and he resists the urge to wipe it all down. He can't spend the one day they're here this month cleaning. Maybe next month when he's got the lien to cover his half of the rent.

No, that's an excuse. He could just as easily ask for an advance on his allowance or pick up an extra mission to cover the gap. He wanted to push them both to stay in the dorm, but when Yang pushes passed him with a box full of last night's freshly developed photos, he can see the forced curl of her cheek that's just a little too wide.

Ruby's been again for a week. She might not come back. Yang needs a breather to reconcile with that.

She plops the box down on the coffee table as Jaune sorts out their dinner across the room in the kitchenette.

"Anything good?" he asks.

She waves a photo in the air. "You in a dress!"

"Ha, well… Wait, no, I didn't do that this year! That's Joan!"

"Pfft! Not when I post it and tag you. I expect continued confusion from the campus."

"Yang…"

"C'mon, it's funny!"

He tosses an orange in a basket and reminds himself to eat it later. It's not gonna stay ripe if they leave it behind. In his head, it suddenly sounds like a shitty metaphor. "You're allowed to be sad about Ruby leaving, y'know?"

She chuckles and whips back to him. "So are you."

He doesn't know how to answer that. He spent a lot of that night dreading her leaving but he hadn't expected her to up and go before midnight even hit. It's still jarring, unreal even. Like he could walk back onto campus and bump into her, cause that night was a blur and he might have just dreamt it ending the way it did.

A hip bumps into his, and he drops the pork chops back onto the counter. Yang doesn't look sorry but she hides her face in his chest and he lets her hold onto him.

"It feels like I'm still halfway down a landslide. With my parents and uncle are off to god-knows-where, and Weiss and Neptune fighting for the soul of her company, it felt inevitable that Ruby would just… follow after. And it's a little scary, y'know? I don't know when all of this stops. I don't know if I'm gonna keep losing people." She doesn't cry, but her chest feels tight. "It's like I'm either waiting to see who's next or if I'm gonna crash when I hit the bottom…"

She'd been putting up a strong front, but her bravado feels like it's slipping, and she already feels like it's going to break her. Finding JNPR had stemmed the tide. She even thought she might stop slipping altogether but then Ruby comes and just goes into the night…

Jaune's pulls out his scroll and she can hear him clicking. She only then realizes that his other hand is squeezing carefully on her waist.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding people."

"What? Who?"

He brings the scroll close to his face. There's a call and it goes through almost immediately. It's a voice she doesn't recognize but she can guess who it is. She's already familiar with the stories about her.

"Hey, runt!" comes a woman's voice. "Caught me at a good time. Coral's burning the eggs again and she could use a few pointers from her big brother." Yang can practically feel her wink.

"It's nice to see you too, Sable. You're the eldest in the house now, don't you know how to cook it?"

There's a snort on the other end of the line. "Please. Wouldn't know my way around the kitchen unless I crashed a car into it. And even then I'd only familiarize myself with the quickest exit."

Jaune groans. "You can't keep getting take-out and engorging everything your pit crew gets you. One of these days you're gonna regret never learning from mom. At least Coral's trying."

"Well, Coral doesn't have a job."

"Hey, I totally have a job!" a muffled voice shouts.

"And besides, the track keeps me busy."

Yang mumbles into Jaune's chest. "That sounds like an excuse to me…"

Jaune laughs.

"Jaune… who was that?"

"She's the reason why I called you in the first place." He's already propping his scroll up against a bundle of uneven loaf.

"Ooh! Do we finally get to meet this elusive girlfriend of yours?"

Yang sucks in a breath. It feels like she's stepped into a different space altogether and she's nervous now for very different reasons.

"Girls, this is Yang."

"Hi there." Yang hopes she doesn't sound awkward.

On the screen is a set of huddled blondes all crashing to get a view through the screen. In the middle is the cheeky one she guesses is Sable. Unlike her sisters, her hair is red fading into blonde tied in a braid over her shoulder. "Hey yourself. I'm Sable. I heard you're good with bikes. We should talk. Grease monkey to grease monkey."

Another blonde in a bob cut and glasses pushes into her cheek. "God… hi. You're so pretty. Are you sure you're a huntress? Jaune, please don't let this be a prank." She seems all over the place.

"That's Coral," Jaune supplies. "Don't mind her. She'll make proper sentences when she starts calming down."

A dark-skinned girl with dirty blonde hair is pushed into view. Yang remembers Jaune mentioning having an adopted sister with dirty blonde hair. The dark hues accent her and it's all the more stunning when some of the white strands she has makes it clear that all that hair natural. "Ahem, I'm Dahlia," she says with the tiniest smile. She looks fourteen but she doesn't sound it.

She tilts her head to the side revealing another fourteen-year-old hiding behind her. "And this is Liona."

"Uhm!" Liona nearly screams, "H-hi!"

"Is she alright?" Yang asks.

Sable waves it off. "Oh, it's nothing really. She's just -"

"See?!" Liona points at the screen, looking at the other girls. "It's another blonde! The curse is real!" And she's gone.

Dahlia sighs and gets up. "I'll go after her. It was nice meeting you, Yang."

"She's polite."

Sable shrugs. "Grew up in a strict house. We're still trying to shake it out of her but enough about that, why don't you tell us how you got all that hair to behave? Mine spazzes out if I don't tie it down and there's only so many ways to tie long hair before I have to cut it down."

Yang starts going on about products she uses and Jaune slowly starts slipping away. There's an excitement brimming off her cheeks, a confidence to bury any embarrassment she might have had. It's like she's not even here anymore. She's in Clove with his sisters.

He feels a tightness on his wrist. Yang gives him a dangerous look. "Oh, no way, buster. You're staying here so I don't collapse in on myself." She tugs him in and wraps an arm around his.

They're shocked when another voice comes in. "We'll aren't you two cute," says Helia, Jaune's mom as she peeks over Sable's shoulder.

The afternoon is a blur of conversation. Bikes and Cars are both similar and different enough that Yang and Sable get along quick with always something interesting to add.

Coral has a distinct fascination with Yang's hair and has non-stop questions. It's got loose strands and is the furthest thing from perfectly straight but Yang makes it work somehow and Coral has an intense need to know how. Jaune just calls it Xiao Long magic.

Liona and Dahlia, despite being respectively excitable and largely subdued, ask Jaune and Yang both about being huntsmen. Yang catches the way Dahlia's eyes go a little wide at the excitement and terror of their stories, and Jaune never fails to point out every time Liona chews her lip like she can't decide if being a huntress is for her. He lets her sort it out until she's ready to talk about it.

The only sister Yang hasn't met yet is Cori, the second eldest, and that's cause she's in Atlas. Jaune notes that she's keeping an eye on Weiss and Neptune for them. They stop the conversation when Sable tells her that they're really allowed to talk about it.

Helia – she still insists on Aunt Hess but Yang's still getting the hang of it – reminds them that they promised to have dinner with her and her husband.

And when it's all over and they wave their goodbyes, Yang's eyes are as bright as she remembers. "I wanna meet them," she says when they're on the couch.

"This summer then. I was planning on coming home. Sable might have to run a summer circuit for her sponsors but she'll still catch us. And Cori will be there for a week. We can even get Saph to come join us."

"Yes. That. Please?"

He pulls his scroll off the coffee table. "Alright, alright. Calm down. It's happening. Let me just drop Cori a line so we can figure out when it's best."

She hugs him. "Thank you," she whispers.

"For what? I only called up my sister."

"For this. Them. All of it. I really needed to get out of my own headspace."

"Back to Remnant?"

"Not quite. It still hurts. Just a little. I can't shake the feeling."

He gently pushes her away, grabs her waist, and thumbs her cheek. "Maybe a classic distraction will suffice."

She giggles. Her cheeks are warming up. "I missed this. Just you and me."

They press their lips together. She pulls him down with her against the armrest of the couch.

While he's holding her steady by the waist, her own hands can't seem to settle anywhere. One minute she's clutching the back of his head grabbing a fistful of hair, the next she's tugging on his shirt and stretching the fabric. Now she's on his neck, pulling him in.

He loves the way she tastes. Practically devours her lips until he coaxes her into his biting his.

He gasps and that hungry look in her eyes tells him that wants him to sing for her. His eyes are dangerous in response, pulling away only to bury his face in her neck. She shuts her eyes and expects him to bite, to mark her like they do every time, but he's suckling and her skin feels like it's getting more sensitive.

"Ah…!" She bites her lip. She wants him to keep going but she also wants him to do more. Her fingers curl into the back of his neck. Arching her back to the sensations bursting from his ministrations, she hisses before whispering, "bite me."

She can feel the way hot breath pouring out of his nostrils as she says that. You're a dangerous woman, he'd all but said. And with the look he gives her in the periphery, she can't help but feel him saying it with his eyes. He bites down and her back arcs again. Its soft and he's suckling at the same time. She wonders how that would feel on other parts of her body.

When she's curling into him, she gasps as her limbs act without her consent. Her arms wrap around his shoulders and her legs bend and clasp around his waist. She's already off the sofa and hanging off of him entirely.

"Yang…" he breathes. They pull back enough for her to see the manic look in his eyes. There's nothing coy about it. It's just hunger. Need. And after everything they've been through, she knows she wants it too.

He's looking down at her as he settles his breathing and lays her back on the couch. She doesn't let go, only now his weight is on her. As meek as she looks, he has to tell himself that she can take it, but the innuendo sparks dangerous images in his mind. It doesn't help that she's a hot, sweating mess.

She feels him pull a tent in his pants. It's nothing new. She'd even teased him about it now, but it's not out of place here.

Daring herself to look at it, she spies it in the space between their legs. It feels taboo to even bear witness, but in her half-hearted attempt to look away, she instead finds the tear in his shirt just at the collar. She doesn't know if she caused it, somewhere in all the tugging and moaning, it must have happened. In the afternoon sun, it's a clear sight line from his chest to his stomach. Sweat trails down there too and it drives her wild to follow it down.

His hand settles experimentally on her belly.

She looks up at him. His askance stare and bated breath do not need words. She nods.

It trails carefully downwards, delicate even at the shallow scratch of his nails. It feels like he's uncoiling tension bundled in her abs, and every line is a full, happy sigh sung from her lips.

He can't stop staring at his hand as it seems to go on forever over the valley of her stomach. A hand is on his cheek. He meets her eyes and she seems to dare him not to look away from her. Her other hand wraps around his wrist and guides it till snags at the hem of her shorts.

His breathing betrays him. It's practically telegraphing the tremors dancing in his chest. He doesn't want to scare her. The way she jumped back the first time they got this close still sends the wrong kind of shiver down his arm like he might burn her if he tried.

But she isn't afraid. Her eyes are half lidded, her breath staccatos but its even. Her hand tugs at his wrist again.

He undoes the button.

She gasps.

His finger traces the zipper.

She bites her lip.

A hint of panic settles in cause he needs to see what he's doing but he can't look away from her. She has no trouble staring at him herself. It's like she's in a trance and all she's interested in watching is him. So he swallows his fears and kisses her again. Her lips are welcoming but her tongue is a tidal wave that swallows him whole.

It emboldens him. Lets his fingers push passed the zipper and straight over the thin bit of cloth behind it. The fabric is like his own. Nothing special. Plain and normal, and makes him laugh against her lips and she laughs with him.

Her hand pulls his wrist over her crotch. His fingers graze the unshaven hairs down there. Then she lets go of his hand and trusts that he'll figure out the rest.

He does.

His hand is so much larger than her own. That's what she first thinks when his digits span over her southern hairs and inch its way down. He has to pull his chest away from hers to get an angle that doesn't twist his wrist, but she doesn't stop moaning into his mouth.

A heated line draws sidewards from his hands, like her legs are tugging closed along the path his hand into her mound. She welcomes it. There's no alarm bells in her head. She wants to bring him there and trap him

She's okay with this.

And when his fingers smooth over her entrance and finds exactly where to make first contact, her heart's already ramming into the walls of her chest. She wants it. A bite of his lip. Bodies press firmly together. She's already trapped him down there.

She wants it. She wants it. She wants it!

Yang pulls away. He's shocked out of her nethers. His fingers are still wet.

"Yang… I'm – I'm sorry, I –"

She closes into him and shoves his damp hand into his mouth. "How do I taste?" she asks, voice hot on his neck. Inside, she's screaming because it would have been sexier to taste it herself. Then again, she isn't sure she wants that.

"Like you," he breathes against the back of her neck.

She laughs. "What's a girl supposed to take away from that?"

"Because like everything else about you, it makes me want more."

The hammering in her chest has evened out. "I want this. You. All of it."

"Then what happened?"

"Nothing. I'm not scared. I don't even know why I was in the first place anymore."

"Is that what happened? Did it bother you? Not knowing why?"

She doesn't need to answer. Instead she pulls away, kisses his lips, and tells him, "The Aries."

"My car?"

"Yes. Could you go and get the installment cleared and… maybe grab us dinner? Please?" She doesn't want to have to say that she needs a bit more time to figure this out, but he's already kissed her and is at the door.

"Later?" he asks.

She nods, a giddiness worming its way into her cheeks. "Later. I'll be ready when you come home."

He loves that look on her. He'd kiss her again if he didn't have to go.

-0-

Blake gets a call from Yang. She has to pull away from Ren and Nora on the beanbag. She's barely dressed as it is (Nora's slovenly habits are starting to rub off on her) and she isn't sure she's ready to answer any questions Yang might have about what's going on between them.

"Yang?"

"Blake! Uh… did you just get out of bed?"

She glances at her roommates. Nora's waggling her brows and Ren has that tiny smile of his that is somehow far more embarrassing. "Something like that. What about you? Do I even need to ask about the fresh hickey?"

Yang is silent for a moment. "I almost had sex with Jaune."

Her eyes widen hysterically. "Almost? What happened?"

"I needed to sort some things out." Her eyes narrow. "Look, we're gonna meet again in an hour or two, but before then, I need to bounce the last few months with my best friend."

Blakes gives her a good-natured sigh. "Fine," she says with a smile she can't stop, "give me the whole story."

"It all started on the day I was born."

"Yang!"

"I'm… I'm only half joking."

-0-

It's sundown when he gets home. He half expects scented candles, ambient music, thick makeup, and lingerie. But there's none of that. She isn't even in the living room.

"Yang?" he calls out.

His scroll pings.

"Take a shower in the guest room and come meet me in your room, please?" It reads. He takes off his jacket and pulls off his shirt when his scroll pings again. "If you love me, you'll come in only towel. So please love me."

He sprints into the shower.

Minutes later he's mostly dry and standing in his own living room, staring at his bedroom door like it'll fall on him if he even dares to come in to see his probably barely dressed girlfriend.

He knocks.

A moment of silence, but it is quiet enough to hear her take a healthy breath before she gives him a nervous "I'm ready!"

He expects a mountain of nerves. Maybe even another try at the lingerie with a bit of snide confidence beneath a toothy grin. But when he opens the door, he finds a gentle smile sitting up in an igloo of blankets. There's no put-upon anything here. She's not trying to be enticing, or trying to get a rise out of him,

He can only call that look honest.

"Are you cold?" he asks.

The question shocks her into laughter. Cause he's fresh out of the shower and she's been cozy in these sheets for the better part of an hour now. "No, no, I'm plenty warm."

"Could be warmer," he says. He doesn't intend to flirt but it's already out of his mouth and she's matching the nervous, embarrassed smile on his cheeks.

"Maybe. Why don't you come here and find out?"

With the towel wrapped firmly around his waist, he locks the door behind him and crawls onto the bed. He doesn't get any closer though.

Now that he's up close, he can see the silhouette of her bare legs just between the sheets. One of her hands comes out to pull both sides of the sheet together while the other comes to reach for him.

He takes her hand, bare knees touching.

"Hey," he says. And it's goofy, and so like him that it blossoms something in her chest.

"Hey, yourself." She calms her own nerves again and he loves the way the shape of her straightens like she's conquered something again.

He's staring and he knows it but the moonlight is sinking in through the gaps in the blinds and he swears her hair can put gold to shame.

"I've figured out why I was so afraid before," she says.

"Of getting intimate?"

"Yeah…" Her hands are sweating. Her gaze is locked to their hands. "I've already shown you so much of me. I've carved out my deepest fears and fed them to you like I was trying to stuff you full. Cause I didn't like having them in me. Like mom, and us, and Vytal, and now my team… When I'm with you, I already feel exposed. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with showing you all these sides of me but…"

She looks up at him, and their eyes meet. "I still have secrets." She says it like an apology. "But I'm not about to share my every thought but I find myself speaking my mind around you all the time anyway. I've been open but it's like I can't hide anything from you." She inches closer and her hand on the blankets tightens. "And this? Us? It's like I'm showing you all that's left. I'm no prude. I don't mind showing you a little skin."

He laughs. She doesn't wear much to bed. Not that he does either. "You never really seemed concerned about it, yeah."

"Yeah, but… doing this means I'm giving you something I can't take back or keep for myself. What I'll say or do when we do it will be new secrets and they'll be yours and… I was afraid of that."

Was, she said. He focuses on that.

His fingers run over her knuckles. She fixates on the way his hands are trying to hold her without getting any closer.

"What changed?" he asks.

"You… you showed me that you were just as scared." She remembers the way he was breathing only hours ago, staring down at her like he was scared of hurting her if he kept giving in to what she was offering. "It was like a hundred little things. Adrian, Terra, wanting to ruin your hair like an idiot for me…"

He scratches the back of his head. "I thought I was keeping a brave face on that one."

"Please. I love you but there's no way you were going to be comfortable looking an idiot again no matter how much you say it wasn't going to bother you." She sighs. "It's funny how that made me love you more."

Her smile falls away. "When I was younger, I was used to affection. It was like I had a mom and two dads. They'd dote on me and sing my praises like I could be nothing but spectacular. I couldn't go a day without being smothered by someone's love… Then… Then I lose Summer and dad shuts down. Qrow would try to be there for us and did everything he could while he was around but he always had to go to work. And I kept thinking if I was feeling like this, how did Ruby feel? How much did she feel that she was missing out on? So, I smother her with enough love to make up for everyone else, but every time I did, I was reminded of how much I missing for myself."

"And then we happened and it's not all the making out, or the cuddling, or the hickeys. I was afraid I'd have to give up this apartment cause I was overstaying my welcome, but then you smile at me and… Jaune, do you remember what you said to me that day?"

He's been flush this entire time. "I, uh, no, I don't."

"You told me it was already decided. Like I belonged here and that I never needed to work for it even if I tried my hardest to prove that I did. I didn't need to earn a place here. We were friends and you thought that was already enough."

He squeezes her hand. "It goes both ways, y'know?"

She squeezes back. "Tell me."

"I hated this apartment. When I first got it I thought I'd just bought myself a hole I could hide in while I drown myself." He eyes the walls, and even in the dark he knows where he'd had to plaster over cracks he'd punched into. "And it wasn't like I had anywhere else to go so I couldn't leave. I thought I'd maybe show up at the clubs and find someone else to warm my sheets, but even when I got propositioned, I couldn't dare to drag anyone else into what I'd put myself through."

"Then you showed up and I forgot what those nights even really felt like. It was just you, tearing every sordid, manic page out of my book and putting yourself there instead. It isn't just Terra you replaced it was… everything else. No more cold nights, broken sinks, or empty bottles. Even when things are quiet in the morning, it was nice to remember someone else was there that I had to wake up. It was nice knowing I had to cook for two. It was nice knowing that whenever I had to go out and do something tiring, or frustrating, or stupid… there was always someone waiting for me at home."

He lets go of her and makes for the vanity. A drawer is tugged open. Yang recognizes it as the one Jaune uses to hide the previous tenant's wedding ring box, but that isn't he pulls out of it. It's his flask. He sets there in full view of her. "I haven't needed it in months."

There's warmth against her skin. Even back then he said that she couldn't fill the gap of every torment but there it is. Definitive proof that she has. And it isn't just that she's done it, or even that she's done it for months, but also that she hasn't noticed. That the part of him with doubts has quietly slipped away.

And it's the same for her.

When he's back on the bed, she slinks her hands away into the blanket, clutching its two halves.

She's surprised at how easy it is to pull them apart and show him all of her. That doesn't mean it gets any easier with the way he stares at her. Yang has to resist covering up again.

His eyes trace the length of her arms down to her toned, steady legs. Back up to her abs and the swell of her breasts, to the soft coiling of her shoulder blades into her neck. This woman is built like a brick house and he loves every inch of her.

She'd already been staring at most of him before the towel on his waist slips away. The broad stroke of his arms, the wound tightness of his chest, his abs are pulled taut but his navel looks soft and boyish between the strong ridges. His legs are thin but muscled. She never knew she could appreciate the curve of a calf before but his legs help make him tall and it looks like she can dine on its width.

He crawls towards her and she welcomes his look of uncertainty as if it was her own. She falls back onto the sheets, prepared for him. One hand on her belly, the other pressed firmly over her beating chest. He doesn't move in to kiss her. He's stopped and staring somewhere on her breast. She almost cracks a joke about it but his hand comes up suddenly and runs along her skin.

"What happened here?" he asks.

There's the shadow of a scar beneath her left breast. She's surprised he can even see it in the low light. "Accident. I crashed my bike one night when driving home back to Beacon. It was… it wasn't a very good night. Assholes just drove on by and didn't bother checking in. Everyone sees an armed huntress and they think I can everything handle my own. Never mind that I was bleeding and calling out for help."

His eyes narrow. "People in this city suck."

"C'mon, they're not all bad. That boatman's pretty nice."

"Tackle."

"What?"

He snorts. "Yang, that's his name. Tackle. You're telling me we spent two weekends with him and you don't even know his name? You remember the old guy who sells dust? You meet him every month. His name's Shop and he's Tackle's brother."

She's laughing. Mostly from embarrassment. Mostly. "And how do you know this?"

"I talked to him?"

She shakes her head. "Y'know what, nevermind. I'm lying back here naked and you've got me thinking about old men and their equally old brothers."

"But hey, not so nervous anymore, right?"

He's right. It's so much easier to just talk to him. "Yeah. Much better tha-a-anks~! Jaune!"

His head's below her breast, kissing along her scar. He's doing it so softly that it tickles. "J-Jaune! Ha ha! What are you doing?"

"Kissing it better," he says matter-of-factly.

"Quit it! Ha ha! It tickles!"

He pulls his lips off her and leans over her, resting his forehead to hers. "No more bad memories. I'll rip out everything from before and give you something new everyday."

She nudges her nose to his. "Everyday?" she asks softly.

He shrugs but he means it. "I'm exaggerating but I'll try."

She runs a hand down his cheek. "Why do you always gotta do that?"

"Do what?"

"Just… be real with me? Some guys just stop at the sweeping romantic gesture."

"I think I'm incapable of being anything else with you at this point."

"Scary," she teases. "Jaune Arc, ever exposed. How will I ever contain myself?"

"Shut up."

She shakes her head meaningfully, something beautiful dancing behind her eyes. He tells himself it's love. "I can't. Words are all I have when I can't do anything with my hands."

He kisses her knuckle, its strength softening at his touch. "And why don't you?"

He's flush against her. Her knees curl around his waist. "Because I won't be able stop myself if you let me."

"Don't stop," he whispers. "Show me everything."

Her hand braces against the back of his neck.

He sucks on her lower lip. Then he does the same to the other.

She moans and it's raw and animalistic, but it's a symphony in his ear.

-0-

Yang plops onto the sofa next to him. "If this takes any longer, I'm going to tear my hair out."

Jaune takes a sip of his apple juice and eyes her passed the glass. She's been stressing out all afternoon. "I don't think you've failed enough tests to warrant a failing grade. Didn't you pass the exams?"

"I'm not worried about failing." A pause. She doesn't look at him when she admits, "I need to get a B."

His brow creases. "You only need to not fail to be a huntress."

"Yeah, but they don't let you be a teacher or a coach without at least B."

"You wanna be a teacher?"

She scratches her head. "No? Yes. Maybe. Look, I wanna have my options open."

He sits closer. She can feel his warmth on her hip. "Is this cause of what Qrow said yesterday?"

"Mom, actually. We were talking about how she wishes she was home and worrying about cracking an egg right instead of trying to crack open a conspiracy."

She doesn't need to tell him more. "Yang, our kids will still love you if you're not home all the time."

"But I'd like to be home all the time. I hate the idea of being gone for months and… ugh, look at me. Losing my mind on imaginary children."

"You're thinking ahead. It's what a leader does. I like to think it's what a Xiao Long does too."

Yang rubs her arm. "Yeah… leader." With both Weiss and Ruby officially off the campus roster, Yang had been voted as the new leader. It's strange having to trade teammates with JNPR every once in a while to get teams of three, but they're always all together now anyway. Still, the title hangs over her head and she's trying her best.

"You'll get used to it. Leadership isn't a hard class and you'll only officially start taking it next year."

"But sitting in it makes me think a lot. I didn't think a class with no grades could be so stressful… I mean, maintaining team psychology? I didn't think Ruby had to consider our wellbeing all the time, and now that I do, I feel like we all take our leaders for granted."

He puts a hand on her shoulder. "See, this is why we don't talk about Leadership outside of class. You gotta detox. What would you like?"

She tosses her scroll onto the coffee table. "These grades. I get this out of my system, and I can start worrying about everything else."

He claps his hands and gets up. "Okay, bubble bath, massage oil, scented candles, and cake it is."

She gives him a wiry smile. "Thank you…"

"What kind of cake?" he asks when he's sifting through the cupboards in the kitchen. "I can whip up the chiffon and icing real quick if that's what you're after."

She picks her scroll back up and thumbs through her messages. She goes through a backlog from Ruby. She met up with Weiss a few days back and the photo of them together (and Oscar getting along with Whitley in back) always manages to curl a smile into her. Among the images sent, she finds another with Weiss alone in her room. Neptune's not allowed to get close just yet but she's wearing the aquamarine necklace her got her for the proposal.

"I'm thinking Red Velvet," she calls out to him. "Maybe you can experiment again? I'd love to help you try."

"Nah, not this time. I couldn't get the red velvet to mix right even with Ren's help. I'll need to pick a lesson with mom when we get to Clove so I can get it down."

She gets an image from Blake. She's having afternoon tea with her parents. Ren and Nora are with her. Ren seems right at home with Kali, and Nora seems to have gotten Ghira to laugh. Somewhere in the background, Sun's teasing Ilia about someone on her scroll. She's turned a shade of pink, which does nothing to hide her blush. Looks like Sun managed to find her a girlfriend after all.

"We can do a different cake then," she tells Jaune.

"It's okay, I'll just order again." He already has his scroll up. "But we're getting three little boxes. I'm not letting you engorge the whole thing again."

She snorts. "You can't stop me from snacking."

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Yang, one of these days I'm gonna have to buy a padlock for the fridge."

"Like a padlock would stop me."

His hand slaps the counter. "Okay, no bubble bath, and no massage then."

"Fine. Little cakes. But you know I can just order more, right? It's a joint account after all." It was her mother's idea to help them balance finances between them. It managed to get Helia Arc to talk to Raven. They get along. Yang doesn't know what do with that.

"Please don't do anything crazy with the account. It's the last installment for the car."

"Which I'm helping you pay for. I deserve a treat."

Jaune stops what he's doing and just stares at her. She's not normally this difficult. Or difficult at all, for that matter. "Yang, are you messing with me?"

She peeks back gives him a sheepish grin from behind the couch. "Yes? C'mon, you know I love you. You like eating them with me anyway. You need to get your head out of the rain too." Because their new tub is big enough for two, the massage is always the kind with a happy ending, and she's pretty sure the scented candles are just a silent joke between them at this point.

He comes around to sit next to her again. "I'm not the one worrying about her grades."

"And I'm not the one stressing about his car," she counters. "Don't think I haven't noticed."

Leaning back into the cushions, he loses any desire to argue. "I took good care of it…"

"I know you did, so it's not your fault. Just you wait. The mechanic will be back with a message for you any minute now to tell you it was a nothing issue and they can fix it in an afternoon."

She's on her inbox with Jaune now. They hardly send messages anymore since they're together all the time so instead they send each other the pictures they take so they always both have copies. They had a mission at the ruins of Glenn, a dinner date by the docks, drew on Ren's face while he slept, spent an afternoon hanging photos off strings on the ceiling, visited Cardin in the hospital (he's got a cool scar along his arm and neck now), took a hike in the woods, and there's a dozen more photos of them cozying up in the apartment. These have just been in the last month, too. With summer coming, they'll have enough photos to hide entire ceiling at the dorm.

Jaune leans over. "Why am I Hummingbird in your contacts? I thought I was Vomit Boy."

She snickers. "Well, you know how Blake's books have all those fancy words for sex? Like the word vagina is somehow too crass for 'erotica'."

He squints. "I already don't like where this is going."

"So we got to talking and she mentions how, in her latest book, the vagina substitute is flower, and what comes out is nectar."

Jaune buries his head in his hands. "Oh my god, Yang…"

"And with the amount of time you spend down there…"

"Yang!"

"Did you know that hummingbirds can consume up to eight times their weight in nectar? Those are rookie numbers. They should probably take notes from you."

He grabs her face and presses his forehead to hers, manic eyes meeting hers. "I love you, but if you have an off switch, you have to tell me."

She looks down and up at him again. She points to her lips. "They're right here, lover boy."

He pulls back and looks between her lips and the coy look in her eyes. "I… no." He huffs and crosses his arms. "Not doing it."

This throws her for a loop. "What? Why?"

He glances back at her. She wants it just as much. Now he's the one being coy. "Cause this is funny."

"Fine. Why don't I send Blake a few of these little facts. She's started writing and I'm sure she could use some our juicy details."

"Yang, no."

She's already typing down on her scroll. Jaune crashes into her and they fall back onto the arm rest. For a moment they struggle as Jaune tries to reach for her scroll until Yang decides to slip the device into the back of her sweater. If he goes for it, he'll reach have to reach in closer and their faces are already close enough as it is.

"And it's gone!" she cheers. "I mean, feel free to try for it again but there's enemy territory down here."

He thumbs over her cheeks. "Fine. You win." He says with a chortle. "I swear, Yang, you're impossible."

"And yet you have me anyway."

Their lips press together warmly, making them meld together into a host of mewls and hushed laughter.

Their scrolls ping. They go completely ignored.

-END-

And that’s it! I hope you liked it! There’s a sequel coming down the pipeline but for now I have a major Dragonslayer story to work on elsewhere on my ff.net and ao3 accounts. Maybe I’ll post a link here to it when it comes out.

That said, thank you to everyone who gave this story their love. I would not have made it this far without your support. Thank you. :’)

[inseongsfoxybae]

It’s gone

Pairing: Husband Inseong + Female Reader

Genre: Angst + Fluff ending

Warnings: Miscarriage, mention of bleeding, mention of sex... It’s just the saddest text I’ve ever wrote TT

Words: +4,3k

Author’s message: Hey, foxies! So, I decided to write this scenario after a bad dream I had with Inseong and I couldn’t just let this plot disappear of my mind. Also, I’m taking this writing as a sequel of 00:00, so I put the link down here. Hope you enjoy it *and cry*. Foxy kisses 😘

P.S: As english is not my mother language, it may contain misspelled. Also, sorry for any other mistakes :)

Part 1 - 00:00

this pic breaks my heart 😭

You and Inseong can't be more happy with your life. You love each other more than anything, both of your parents are always by your side, your baby is healthy and your four-months tummy is getting bigger so beautifully. 

You woke up especially clingy that saturday and everything led to a lazy morning sex, Inseong carefully taking you from behind while spooning you. After both of you came and shared some cuddles and kisses in bed, you took a bath together, softly making out in the bathtub as Inseong played with your little round tummy. 

"Let's have breakfast now. I need to feed my little baby" - he kissed your stomach - "and my big baby", he kissed your lips, while you smiled lovingly at him. You ate pancakes and fruits, playing around while feeding each other. Yes, you were the perfect definition of a cheesy couple and you loved that. 

You'd have dinner with Inseong's parents that night. However, you still have the rest of the morning and the whole afternoon just for yourselves. 

But you felt sick after breakfast and ran to the bathroom to vomit. "Morning sick again?", Inseong approached you and rubbed your back while you put out all the food in the toilet. "Yes, I thought it's already done, but it seems I was wrong", you said weakly. 

"It's okay, it's okay", Inseong reassured you. "Let's take some rest, huh?", he suggested and you nod. He helped you to get up and wash your mouth and carried you to bed, where he laid you as he moved closer to your stomach. 

"Hey, mini us, it's dad. Let's take it easy with mommy, hum? She's doing her best to take care of you, so we have to treat her well too, okay?", Inseong said softly, rubbing the warm skin of your firm tummy before slowly kissing it. You smiled sweetly at him while your fingers ran through his hair. 

He grinned back and whispered a "I love you" when you pulled him to lay with you. "I love you too, Seongie", you answered and pecked his lips. Inseong snuggled closer into your body, holding you against his broad chest as one of his hands massaged your hair and the other one caressed your belly. 

"Can't wait for tuesday to come, so we'll know the gender of our baby", Inseong said with a bright smile gracing his face. "I know, right? I'm so excited to choose a name for her or him!", you exclaimed happily. "Love, what do you think it will be?", you continued. "I have no idea, but I hope it's a girl. I want to see a mini you running through the house", he giggled. "But a boy would be nice too. He could protect his little sister later", he completed and looked at you. 

"Yeah, and a mini you would make me company during your schedules", you laughed pinching his nose. "But something tells me it's a girl", you confessed and smiled, placing your hand over his on your stomach. "Doesn't matter the gender, she or he will be our precious baby", his smile was so sweet and sincere before his lips started to plant soft kisses all over your face, making you giggle and melt between his arms. 

When he stopped his kiss attack, you cupped his cheeks and looked deep into his eyes. "Thank you, honey, for making me the happiest woman, for planting a baby inside me, for loving me so much", your voice shook as tears formed in your eyes. "You're my universe, darling. And our little one here is our first star", Inseong murmured against your lips pressing your foreheads together. 

You stayed in silence for a while, just hearing each other's breath and heartbeat, feeling the warmth of your bodies, just the three of you. "Baby", you broke the silence and looked at him, "will you be there with me during delivery?", you asked while your lips formed a little pout, that Inseong kissed away before answering. "Of course I will, so you'll be able to hold my hand tight until it breaks and pull my hair until I go bald", his answer made the two of you laugh. 

"Seriously, babe. I'll be there with you, right by your side, holding your hand and caressing your head and your back, until our baby is in your arms". This time, his words hitted straight on your heart and he hugged you tighter when he saw you were about to cry, firmly kissing the top of your head. "Don't cry, baby", he pleaded into your ear. "Blame the hormones", you whined against his neck. "Okay… It's okay", he chuckled, rocking you side to side. 

"Y/N, do you want me to cook your favorite food?", Inseong asked after you calmed down from your comotion. "No, I'm still sick and can't think of food right now", you whimpered. "But you need to eat to be strong and healthy, princess", he insisted, trying to pull you off the bed with him. "But I can't do this right now", you whined laying on top of him, burying your face on his chest. 

Inseong gave up on cooking, but was still making you eat something, so he reached for his phone and ordered your favorite dishes without you noticing. About half an hour later, your doorbell rang and you looked suspicious at Inseong. "Lunch time", he exclaimed, carefully taking you off his chest. 

He grabbed the food and placed it on the kitchen table, before walking to you who was reluctantly watching him leaning against the wall. "Inseong, I don't want to", you pouted as he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you to him. "Please, Y/N. Just try it, just a little, huh? For our baby", he pleaded and looked down at your tummy, your gaze following his. "Okay", you whispered and let him drag you into the kitchen. 

Inseong plated the food and handed you your portion, for which you observed feeling your stomach churn. Your eyes met his, looking for some ground before taking the first spoon of rice into your mouth. “Just a little more”, Inseong encouraged you, squeezing your free hand over the table. You were struggling to chew and swallow, but persisted in eating as much as you could, before the food came back up your throat and you rushed to the bathroom to throw it up. 

Your husband sighed defeatedly on his chair, looked down at his own untouched plate before getting up and cleaned the table so as not to make your condition worse. Then, he walked into the bathroom where you were hanging on the sink to wash your mouth and sweaty face. Inseong got closer and hugged from behind, you leaned back into his chest as your legs were a little weak and you felt dizzy. 

“You’re not keeping anything inside today, right?”, he wondered, not exactly waiting for an answer, but you still shook your head. “Are you feeling anything else?”, he softly mumbled, kissing your shoulder. “Just some cramping, but it’s not a big deal”. Inseong looked at you through the mirror, his expression full of concern. “I’ll call my mom and cancel the dinner tonight”, he said after a moment. “No, honey, we have to go. It’s been a while since we had dinner with your parents”, you protested. “Y/N, you need to rest. They will understand. And if something happens to you because of this dinner, I’ll never forgive myself”, he confessed under his breath and held you tighter. 

You turned around in his arms to face him and embraced his neck, pulling him closer. “I’m okay, Inseong. I’m pregnant, not ill. And I’ll go to rest, I’m gonna take a nap now and I’ll be much better when I wake up”, you said trying to calm him down, but he was not convinced yet. “Baby, please. Don’t worry too much. Just pregnancy things. I’m okay”, you insisted and he nodded, hugging you tighter but carefully, as you played with the hair on the back of his neck. 

"Go to eat. I'll wait for you on the couch", you softly said breaking your embrace. 

“Go to bed, it’s more comfortable”. 

“Inseong, what did I just say to you? I’m okay”, you sulked. “And we can watch a movie before taking a nap. What do you think?”, you looked at him with your best puppy eyes and he gave in. “Okay”.

When Inseong finished eating and joined you on the couch, you were already soundly sleeping. He chuckled softly and spooned you, pressing sweet kisses on your exposed shoulder, quickly dozing off as well.

Both of you slept deeply for some hours into the afternoon, lost in each other’s embrace, molded bodies. It was already getting dark when you opened your eyes and found yourself cradled between Inseong’s loose arms. Your mouth curled up a little, but the pain on your low stomach limited your joy. Your cramps got worse over the hours, just like your nausea. 

Inseong felt you moving and woke up, bringing you closer to him. “Did my babies rest well?”, he mumbled softly, pecking the side of your neck. You smiled and turned slowly into his arms to kiss him properly, his hands rubbing your back under your shirt. “Are you feeling better now?”, he asked when you broke the kiss and you shyly shook your head negatively. 

“Baby, let’s cancel this dinner”, Inseong tried to convince you one more time and you said no again. “I’m okay, darling. Let’s take a shower and get ready. We have to leave soon”, you insisted and he stared at you for a while, trying to get any glimpse of how bad you were feeling. “Please… Let’s go”, you whispered one last time as he nodded, helping you to get up. 

You took a quick shower together and got dressed, but you were feeling so sick that you didn't have the mind to put on any makeup. "It's okay, baby. You're beautiful anyways", Inseong whispered into your ear, trying to smile even if his concerned eyes weren't happy at all. 

You gave him a weak smile and left your room while he finished to get dressed. You stared at that door in front of yours for a while, your baby's bedroom, and felt an urge to enter it to analyze the few furniture in there. A white crib was placed on a corner, near the window, with a stuffed fox Inseong had bought after your first appointment resting inside. 

You smiled as you got closer to the crib and took the plushie in your hands, rubbing its soft fur. You heard a knock at the door and turned to see Inseong standing there, looking lovely at you. "What are you doing?", he mumbled, approaching and pulling you into his chest. "Nothing. I just wanted to be here for a moment", you answered, playing with the little fox still in your hands.  

"Are you sure you're fine?", Inseong looked deep into your eyes, and you nodded. "We'll be okay", you whispered softly, placing a hand on your belly as Inseong gently pecked your forehead. “Let’s go”, he took your hand and you left. 

You stared at the three icicles in his bracelet while he drove, imagining how it will be when you have your child in your arms. You opened a little smile through the pain that was getting stronger at each moment, feeling weaker and weaker. Maybe you should have stayed at home, but you knew it wouldn't make much difference now, so you tried to ignore your sickness the best you could.

"Sweetie, you’re so pale”, it was the first thing Inseong’s mother said when she laid her eyes on you. “Are you feeling bad?”, she asked, helping you to sit. “I just have nausea and cramps, but I’m okay”, you quickly answered, trying not to focus on how bad you were feeling. Your mother-in-law looked from his husband to Inseong, concerned expressions filling the table. 

“Please, don’t worry too much. I’m gonna be fine”, you reassured them as they sat down and ordered the food. The mood was a little tense among you, mainly when your dishes came and you didn't take a single bite of your food, staring at your plate disgusted. Your cramps were so terrible now that you shifted constantly on your chair, your head heavy and spinning. 

“Baby, let’s go home”, Inseong murmured very close to your ear and you realized your eyes were shut and you were grabbing your fork with too much force. “You can finish eating first. I can handle this”, your answer was just above a whisper as you struggle to control your weak body. 

Suddenly, an excruciating wave of pain tore your belly and you reached out for Inseong’s arm as you cringed in agony. “Inseong…”, it was the last thing you managed to whisper before your vision got dark and your mind went out. 

Inseong caught you, but didn't understand what was going on until he saw blood soaking your white dress. "Oh no, baby… No, no, no… Please, no", he kept repeating desperately, taking you into his arms and rushing to the car. 

While his father drove fast through the streets towards the hospital, Inseong sat on the back seat, holding your weak body against his, repeating "please’s" and "no’s" like a mantra, his crying filling the car while he watched the stain of blood getting bigger on your dress and tarnishing his own trousers. 

As your mother-in-law had called your doctor while you were on the way, when you arrived at the hospital, she was already waiting for you. Inseong carefully laid you on the stretcher and some nurses took you to a room. He was shaking and sobbing as he watched you being taken along the white corridors, knowing that something wrong was happening with you and your baby and he couldn’t do anything to help.

Some minutes later, a nurse appeared to tell your family about your state, your husband quickly walking to her. “She had a miscarriage and now the doctor is removing the fetus. I’m so sorry for your loss”, she said cautiously, an empathetic expression on her face.

Inseong’s legs lost their strength and he fell on his knees, sinking in despair. His mother hugged him tight and his father helped him to get up, leading him to the nearest chair, his cries echoing throughout the empty corridors. “Calm down, son. We have to be strong for her now”, Inseong’s dad comforted him, but his eyes were full of tears too. 

It took an eternity for the doctor to leave the operation room and show up to talk to Inseong. His head was resting on his mother’s shoulder, holding hands with his father, sobbing softly now as tears couldn’t stop rolling over his face. Your doctor watched that scene for a brief moment, her heart aching to see both of you suffering like this. 

She knew how passionate you were for each other and how much you wanted this baby. She felt your love every time the two of you entered her clinic for your monthly appointment, Inseong always by your side with a huge smile on his face. But now you ended up like this and she didn’t even know how to tell Inseong the details of your state. 

Your doctor slowly approached those three miserable people waiting in the corridor. “Mr. Kim Inseong,”, she called softly, “can we talk in my office for a moment? You can see your wife right after”. But Inseong didn’t move, only whispered a weak “It’s my fault”. 

“Inseong-ah, it’s not your fault. Come on, get up and talk to the doctor. We’re gonna go home and back with clean clothes for you”, his mother said, cupping his cheeks. Inseong looked down at his jeans soiled with blood - your blood, your baby’s blood. It made him cry even more.

“She will be okay. You can try again in a few months”, the doctor said, taking his hands on hers, trying to calm him down. “Let’s talk in my office. I have some things to tell you”. Inseong struggled to get up and follow her, fearing what he would have to hear. 

Inseong sat down in front of the doctor, her table between them, but he wasn’t able to face her. “It’s all my fault… We had sex this morning… That's why, isn't it? I hurt Y/N and made her lose our baby?”, he whispered, choking on his own tears, his heavy body weighing a ton. 

“No. It’s not your fault, nor hers”, your doctor calmly said. “It wasn’t because of sex or any other activity you did. It was her organism that rejected the fetus. Her immune system detected it as an intruder and expelled it”, she explained, trying to find easy words to say. 

Seeing that Inseong didn’t react, she continued. “We did a washing in her uterus and it didn’t suffer any trauma, so you can try again in two months”, she paused, gaining courage to tell her next words. “Also... we detected the gender of the baby”, she stopped, carefully waiting for his reaction. 

“It was a girl, right?”, Inseong mumbled, still staring at the floor. 

“Yes. I’m so sorry, Inseong”, her final words were sincere, watching your husband sobbing helplessly in front of her eyes. 

~

You woke up hours later, in the middle of the night. You slowly opened your eyes, understanding where you were. Inseong was sitting on a chair by your side, holding your hand, his eyes puffy and red from crying. “Hey”, he weakly said when he saw you awake, giving you a sorrowful smile. 

“What happened?”, you asked looking deep into his eyes, your free hand resting on your now flat belly. Feeling the difference and a slight pain on your low stomach, your heart sunk in your chest. “Inseong… what happened to our baby?”, your shaking voice came as a broken whisper. 

“Our baby is gone”, Inseong struggled to tell you after a couple of seconds trying to hold his own despair. “We lost her, Y/N”. 

His words broke your heart in a million pieces and your eyes exploded in a whirlwind of desperate tears. Inseong sat down on your bed and pulled you into his body, your cryings filling the room and echoing through the silent corridors. All the pain of not being able to keep your baby crushing both of you. 

You kept crying until exhaustion invades your body and you fall asleep in Inseong’s arms. Obviously, he couldn't close his eyes that night, still blaming himself for your miscarriage and worried if you feel some pain - dark bags under his eyes in the morning. 

You were discharged in the afternoon and your parents-in-law took both of you home, Inseong holding you against him in the back-seat, a heavy silence filling the air. When you arrived, you changed clothes and went to bed to take a rest, your husband laying with you until you fall asleep. No words exchanged, no small smiles; only guilty eyes and a heavy feeling suffocating the two of you. 

~

The sun was already gone when you opened your eyes. You didn’t feel any pain, at least not physically, because your heart was broken and now your body carried the emptiness of your baby not being anymore. And all of that was much more painful than anything else. 

Your shaking hands reached for your belly, feeling nothing where there was a life before, tears slowly falling from your eyes while your body curled up into your sheets. Inseong wasn’t by your side anymore. Actually, you were on his side of the bed, his pillow smelling faintly like him. 

You got up and left your bedroom to look for him, stopping when you saw the door of your baby’s room ajar and low sobs escaping from its dark inside. You carefully opened the door and turned on the lights, only to find the miserable state of your husband sitting on the floor at the foot of the crib, the plushie fox in his hands, his bracelet hanging from his fingers. 

Inseong didn’t lift his face, didn’t look at you, didn’t say anything, just held his breath in a failed attempt to stop his sobs. Your heart ached for seeing him like this.

“Oh, baby”, you sighed, feet taking small steps towards him, kneeling in front of him and placing your hands on his shaking shoulders. “Inseong”, you called him, but no responde. “Baby, please, look at me”, you begged, crying, but he only shook his head and leaned down to rest his head on your chest. 

“That’s all my fault”, he sobbed, not being able to hold himself anymore. “I’m so sorry, Y/N”, Inseong cried desperately in your arms as his heavy body relaxed against yours. You couldn’t speak, your voice choked in your throat as uncontrollable tears ran down your cheeks. 

You wrapped your arms around Inseong’s neck, pulling him closer to your chest, trembled fingers carded to his hair, his hands still holding the plushie. 

“I’m sorry for being like this, darling, so weak, so fragile”, he managed to murmur against you, his arms struggling to hug you. “I’m sorry for not taking care of you properly”, he sobbed, grabbing his shirt you were wearing with all this remaining strength. “I’m sorry”, he sank into your body, shaking hard, destroyed. 

His desperate cries made the pieces of your heart ignited, and a painful wave of despair took your whole being, your own sobs mixing with his. Your body curved over his, weak, strengthless, hurt. 

“It’s not your fault”, you quickly whispered against his shoulder, “It’s mine”, you broke down, tugging in his shirt like it could save you. 

Inseong gently released your arms from around him and brought you closer to him, caging you in his chest, that warm place that always makes you feel better. But it was different this time: his usual calm heart was now as broken as yours, trying to collect some hope from you, trying to comfort itself through you. 

Your legs were over one of his as you sat between his long limbs, your arms resting weakly on his stomach as your head were buried on his chest. Neither of you couldn’t say any more, only cry and take deep breaths. Inseong calmed down before, but stayed quiet, giving you time to relieve yourself while he ran his hands through your hair and back. 

“Inseong”, you barely whispered, “I’m sorry for not being able to keep our baby”, you choked your last words. 

Inseong squeezed you tighter, placing a slow kiss on your temple. “None of this is your fault, babe”, he tried to reassure you. “We just… just…”, he couldn’t complete his sentence as his tears got stronger again.

You leaned back from his chest to look at him, his hands gently cupping your face, caressing your wet cheeks as you took a deep breath before talking. “Until yesterday, I was pregnant, Inseong”, you paused. “Now there’s nothing here inside”, you sobbed, touching your belly. “Our daughter is dead, Inseong”, you broke down once more, grabbing his shoulders for some ground. 

Inseong didn’t know what to speak, didn’t know what to do, struggling to not break himself in tears again, pulling you even closer and tighter against him, desperately trying to comfort you with these gestures. 

After some minutes, when your cries stabilized, he caged you in his arms, grabbing the fox plushie on the way, and took you to your bed. Inseong cuddled you tight, holding you like he wanted to merge your bodies, protecting you from anything that could harm you. 

“Baby”, he softly called you, “it’s okay now. I’m here with you”, he told you. 

You sighed against his chest, trying to regain forces to speak. “Inseong… Do you still love me? I mean, am I still the love of your life?”, your voice cracked with every word. 

“Honey, of course I still love you”, Inseong firmly kissed the top of your head. “You’re my everything, my wife, my woman, the only one I love and will ever love”, he reassured you and you felt sincerity in his words and in his heartbeat under your ear.

“Please, stay with me”, you begged, moving to look at his face.

“I’m not going anywhere”, he mumbled, kissing your forehead. “I’ll stay by your side until my last breath”, he confessed, leaning down a little to place a soft peck on your lips.

“We will overcome this, okay? We can do anything since we are together”, Inseong consoled you, tugging some strands of hair behind your ear. “We can try again very soon and I’m sure we’ll have a bunch of healthy kids playing around the house”, he said, giving you a small smile. 

You slightly chuckled at his words. “Oh, you’re laughing”, Inseong gave you a cute grin, brushing his nose against yours. “We shouldn’t blame ourselves anymore, promise?”. 

“I promise”, you whispered and you both smiled. You watched attentively when Inseong moved one of his arms behind him and reached for the plushie, bringing it to you. 

“Hey, mommy and daddy, be strong, right? Give me brothers and sisters soon. I love you”, Inseong mimicked a cute funny voice, making you laugh. He pressed the little nose of the fox all over your face multiple times, as it was kissing you, just before he moved the toy away to use his own lips.

“I love you, Seongie, so, so much”, you whispered against his lips, eyes closed, feeling him grinning into the kiss. 

“I love you more, my love”, he murmured, deepening the movements of your lips together. 

It was still hard to accept and painful, but you had each other and had dreams and hopes together, and that’s all that matters. You were sure you’d still make a beautiful family in the future, full of mini Inseongs and mini Y/Ns, and you were willing to achieve all of this pure happiness soon with Inseong by your side, always taking care of you, supporting you, comforting you. You’d be strong for him and for your beautiful love until your last breath. 

~

Part 3 - Try again

[sinner-as-saint]

Predestined - 4.

Part 4 of the Predestined series.

Run-through: Your wealthy family marries you off to a family friend’s son – famous businessman Sebastian. You two have known each other for a long time, so none of you oppose your families’ decisions. Life as Sebastian’s wife is pure bliss, he’s everything a woman could ever want. Until a certain secret of his resurfaces, and once it does – nothing in your lives is ever the same again.

Themes throughout the series: ceo!seb, fluff, smut, mob!bucky, threesome

When Sebastian came home, later in the afternoon, he was welcomed by a heartwarming sight.

You and Bucky, napping on the couch in the living room. With one of your favorite movies playing on the TV.

He smiled at the sight of you two. You were leaning against one of the very large pillows, and Bucky’s head was on your lap; both of you under soft blankets. Bucky’s little snores reminded him of back when they were kids, and how Sebastian would always make fun of his brother for snoring so loud.

Sebastian walked over and gently caressed your cheek, smiling at how peaceful you looked, even in your sleep you looked content. No longer nervous like last night. And Bucky was sleeping on your lap like a child; without any care in the world.

He quietly walked away, and walked upstairs to get changed. Then walked back downstairs to get started on dinner – he was in a mood to cook today.

 You and Bucky woke up a while later, to the smell of amazing food coming from the kitchen. You smiled and rushed into the kitchen while Bucky followed you lazily.

You found Sebastian cooking and you walked over and wrapped your arms around him and nuzzled his neck. “Right twin?” You mumbled, and he laughed; turning around to kiss your forehead.

But it went perfectly, mainly because Sebastian knew you like the back of his hand and the slightest change in your behavior – he’d catch it immediately.

Bucky made himself comfortable, sat at the kitchen island and you lingered around Sebastian for a few seconds before he turned around to look at a smirking Bucky and a very shy you.

“We’re okay, yes?” Sebastian asked, to no one in particular and waited for a reply.

You nodded, smiling and looking over at Bucky. The latter winked at you and faced his brother with his usual, cocky smile. “Oh we’re more than okay. We’re perfect.”

And he was right.

You were perfect. All three of you; together.

The rest of the evening went by comfortably. Filled with laughter, and deep conversations with the occasional sarcasm from Bucky and the occasional commentary from Sebastian.

Sebastian then told you two how all three of you were supposed to attend their parents’ very extravagant party the next day. And Bucky groaned out loud, saying how much he hated getting dressed up and drink colored champagne and mingle with people he doesn’t know.

“It won’t be that bad. We’ll be together.” You tried convincing him, while you were all sat in the living room; drinking wine at 1 a.m.

“Right. We’ve got each other, we’ll be alright. It won’t be boring.” Sebastian added. And Bucky ended up getting on board with it. “Besides, mom and dad have a speech ready for your miraculous homecoming.” Seb added, making both of you laugh at Bucky who rolled his eyes and groaned.

 You ended up all sleeping the living room that night. One, because you talked till late and you were all tipsy from all the wine and too lazy to walk up the stairs. Two, because you didn’t want to leave Bucky alone, so you each took a couch and a blanket and passed out around 3 a.m.

-

 You were the first one to wake up the next morning, and for a moment, you thought you were experiencing a glitch in your reality because Sebastian and Bucky slept in exactly the same position just on different couches. You simply smiled at them and walked out quietly.

 The rest of the day went by in a blur, given all three of you woke up late.

You’d come across Bucky or Sebastian in the hallways or in the kitchen while you walked around and tidied the house as much as you could. And each time you ran into one of them, they’d smile and kiss you on the forehead, or just lean in for a quick kiss on the lips, or you’d wrap your arms around them and kiss their neck.

And each time, you never quite figured out who was who. You started to notice that Bucky wore the same cologne as Sebastian, just stronger. But the more time you spent around them, the less you were able to detect the smell. So you gave up, you were fine with not knowing who was who, weirdly.

 -

Getting ready to leave for the party was quite something. You were just a little anxious about how they would act in public. Would Sebastian pretend that nothing had changed? Would Bucky just ignore you? But you decided to put your worries away as you got ready.

You were doing some last touches on your make up in the bathroom when you noticed someone else’s reflection in the mirror apart from yours.

It was Bucky, this you knew because Sebastian was still getting dressed.

Bucky looked at you and smiled sheepishly. “Could you… fix my bow tie?” he asked pointing at the crooked bow tie around his shirt’s collar, as though shy that he couldn’t do it himself.

You giggled. “Sure, come.” He walked in and stood in front of you. Even with your heels on, he towered over you quite a bit.

You started fixing it, but then you constantly had to gently hold his chin and lift his face up because he kept looking down at you – making it difficult for you to fix his bow tie. But he’d just end up looking down again.

“Bucky, come on now. Look up.” You lifted his face up again and he chuckled, discretely circling his arm around your waist and pulling you into him.

“Sorry. You just look really pretty.” He winked being just as smooth as ever, smirking as you tried to hide your face with your hair; smiling to yourself.

And while you two flirted shamelessly back and forth, Sebastian joined you. With his bow tie messed up and all over the place, asking you to please fix it.

“I’m next.” Sebastian spoke, walking over to the two of you and wrapping his arm around you from behind and placing a soft kiss on your exposed shoulder. “You look beautiful.” He whispered against your skin and gave you another kiss before he let go and checked himself out in the mirror.

And then you saw it – they were wearing identical, dark blue, velvet suits. It’s not like they didn’t already look the same; with the same haircut and everything, but now they even wore the same thing.

“How will I know who’s who?” you asked, finishing Bucky’s bow tie and moving on to fix Sebastian’s. You noticed they shared a look and a smirk.

Bucky chuckled, fixing his hair in the mirror.

“That’s the thing, doll. You won’t.” He smirked and Sebastian let out a little laugh. Oh they were trouble.

You rolled your eyes and let it go. You could tell them apart, you felt like, if you looked hard enough.

Right?

 -

 Wrong.

You knew who was who while in the car, but once the three of you entered the extravagant party and got separated as you met and mingled with other people – you couldn’t tell them apart at all.

At some point, someone asked where your husband was and you just turned around and point at one of the twins and hope that it was Sebastian, not that you’d mind if it were Bucky – no one would ever know anyways. You laughed internally at the whole situation.

Who knew one day you’d have your heart stolen by two identical men? And who knew you’d love it so much?

 They two kept sending you smiles and smirks and winks throughout the party. It was funny to see the reaction of people once they saw the two at the same time.

The party was lovely, but then the boys were up to something. You noticed that you could only see one of them mingling and talking to people. One of them was missing. You glanced around but couldn’t find the other.

Then you got a text from Sebastian.

-Upstairs’ balcony?

You smiled at the text and discretely made your way towards the stairs which would lead upstairs.

 You got up there, walked down the very grand corridor and stepped out onto the dimly lit balcony. And that’s where you found Sebastian smiling at you.

“Hi baby,” he held his hand out for you to take, and he pulled you closer and gave you a kiss on the lips. You smiled and giggled through the kiss.

“How do I know it’s you?” you asked playfully, knowing it could only be Sebastian because you and him had the habit of getting cozy on balconies with huge parties going on downstairs.

He chuckled, leaning in to kiss your neck, wrapping his arm around you. “Let’s see, maybe because I’m the only one who would know that sneaking out and meeting on balconies is a little tradition of ours.” He spoke, kissing your skin gently and making you laugh.

“Oh, it is you.” You pulled away gently to look into his eyes, “Hi husband,” you leaned in to kiss him and he smiled through the kiss again.

Sebastian’s arms wrapped around you and he pressed you against him, deepening the kiss; tugging on your lip and moaning when he felt you gently palm him through his pants. He chuckled at he pulled away.

“Every time,” he spoke, referencing to how this is how it goes every time you and him get away from parties for a little alone time; away from the crowd.

You smirked as he slowly walked the two of you back until he had you trapped between him and the wall. He kissed you hungrily, his hands roaming your body for a while before gently slipping under the slit of your dress and in between your legs.

You giggled at how impatient he was. “Shh baby, be quiet for me.” He mumbled in your ear as his hand pushed aside your underwear.

Sebastian teased you with his fingers, kissing you deeply and definitely messing up your lipstick as he tugged on your lip; slipping his fingers past your entrance and massaging your walls gently. He curled his fingers just enough to touch you in all the right places.

He chuckled when you pushed your face into his neck to muffle out your moans. He messed with you for a while, not letting you cum even you were literally shaking under his touch.

It wasn’t much longer before he unbuckled his pants in a haste and pushed inside of you, slowly; moaning at how he’ll never get used to your body inviting him in so perfectly. You were warm, and you fit around him comfortably.

He had your legs wrapped around his waist as he pushed inside of you.

You felt all of him as he stayed still for a moment, before starting to move in and out of you gently. His mouth latched on to your skin while he sped up into you. Sebastian filled you up entirely, making you mewl and whimper quietly. You pulled him closer by his neck and he spread your legs apart, speeding up into you again.

His brows furrowed and he bit down on his lip occasionally as he filled you up each time.

You felt a pleasant tingle go down your spine as he leaned in to moan and grunt in your ear, occasionally telling just how good you were to him.

You felt the familiar warmth take over you as you could focus on nothing else but him and his body in that moment. “Come for me, baby.” He breathed in your ear, his thrust getting harder and faster. The pressure in between your hips got too much to handle sometime later.

You bit down on your lip to keep yourself quiet as you came all over his cock, your walls clenching around him and milking him as he chased his own orgasm. You felt his cock twitch inside of you and moments later, he came undone as well.

Being with Sebastian was euphoric, and each time just kept getting better and better.

He bit down on your shoulder to keep himself quiet as he panted and gently pulled out and set you down carefully.

Sebastian zipped his pants up and leaned in to kiss your forehead.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

 -

You and Sebastian went separate ways from there; after making sure you looked presentable. Sebastian went back downstairs immediately, telling you he’d see you around. While you walked into the upstairs bathroom, to fix your appearance a little better.

You fixed your clothes and hair, grabbed a tissue and wiped your lipstick so you can reapply it better. You were doing your thing when you heard someone walk in through the door. You didn’t care, until you saw the person standing behind you in the mirror.

He was smirking, with nothing but mischief in his eyes. Bucky.

You were surprised at his bold move, but not so much at the same time – given it was Bucky.

“Buck, someone could walk in right now.” You giggled at how he rolled his eyes and made his way to you, trapping you between him and the counter.

“Well, I never thought our first time would be here but…” he trailed off, leaning in and gently kissing your lips. “I can’t help it, you’re very tempting.” He kissed you again. You could taste the faint alcohol on his lips and you smiled through the kiss.

 Not much to your surprise, Bucky began getting handsy and one thing led to another, and you found yourself bent over the counter; with him pushing into from behind. You gripped the counter to steady yourself while Bucky gently slid his hand into your hair and tugged on it just a little.

Bucky shamelessly moaned at how good you felt, and the sounds leaving his lips sent a pleasant shiver down your spine. He started rocking into you, building up his pace and leaning down to kiss your exposed shoulder and whispering in your ear about how good you felt.

You were already sensitive from before, so each time he’d thrust into you; you could feel a familiar warmth and a tingly sensation all over your body.

Bucky filled you up good, and the sounds of your skin slapping against one another was downright obscene. He groaned each time he bottomed out in you. You could see him in the mirror, his head thrown back, his eyes closed, and his lips parted with him occasionally biting down on his lip.

You could feel the pressure forming in between your legs, again, as Bucky pounded into you from behind. It didn’t take much for you to come undone after that. Gushing out around his cock, walls pulsation around him as he came right after you did.

You felt the waves of euphoria wash over you due to the sensitivity and Bucky pulled out gently; pulled you back up from the counter and kissed your neck while he let go of your dress and smoothed it down as much as he could.

“So did I pass the test?” he teased, kissing your skin and sending you a smirk and a playful smirk through the mirror. He wrapped his arms around you and held you against him.

You panted, leaned your head back onto his shoulder and chuckled. “Shut up, Bucky.”

He laughed and turned you around. He left after giving you a kiss on the forehead – leaving you alone with your thoughts in the bathroom.

You smiled to yourself as you turned around and faced the mirror. Your hair was a little messy, you could see the marks on your neck left by Sebastian, and the bites on your shoulder left by both of them. You gently traced your lips with your fingers and giggled to yourself.

I could get used to this.

 ---

Leaving the party early seemed like it wasn’t a hard thing to do. Besides, none of you were in the mood to hear all the speeches, so Sebastian went up to his parents, made up some excuse and got you three out of there in no time.

All the alcohol you three consumed at the party worked in your favor; you were all tripping over and holding on to one another for dear life, while laughing like maniacs at your lack of balance, before finally falling over on the living room couch; calming yourselves down.

“Man, that was one boring party.” Bucky spoke, removing his bow tie and unbuttoning his shirt a little while he went on about how prudish and boring their parents’ friends were.

You and Sebastian laughed when he told you guys about all the weird questions he had to answer tonight.

“Can I confess something?” Sebastian spoke, definitely tipsy, causing you and Bucky to immediately look at him with curiosity, both of you bracing for what was to come. “I hate all of mom and dad’s parties. I hate it so much.” He spoke with a straight face which made you and Bucky absolutely lose it.

The two went back and forth criticizing and commenting on how extra their parents were and your stomach was hurting with how much they made you laugh.

You were just lying there, in one another’s embrace; your head on Bucky’s shoulder, with his arm around your waist, while Seb’s head was on your lap and you gently played with his hair. You were just talking and cuddling, laughing over every little thing.

And yet again, one thing led to another and soon you found yourself in between the two of them, naked and whining with need.

“Promise you’ll let us know if it hurts too much, baby?” Sebastian asked, slipping inside you. As did Bucky.

They both pushed inside of you and waited. You panted and whimpered. And once you gave them a little nod, they both moved gently. You were used to having two partners at the same time, so this was different – but definitely something you could get used to.

“You okay, doll?” Bucky breathed in your ear, while Sebastian kissed down your neck; both giving you time to adjust to them at the same time. You felt them both stretching you out at the same time.

You bit your lip, and nodded; leaning your head back on his shoulder. When they were both convinced that you could handle them both at the same time, they moved in and out of you gently, setting a pace which was both comfortable and pleasurable for all of you.

Your walls clenched equally tight around both of them, and the sounds of your skin slapping one another were obscene enough to make you lose your mind. You felt so full, and the sounds leaving their mouths sent tingles down your spine.

You could hear Bucky swearing as he gripped your hips with both hands to push deeper into you, while Sebastian kissed you roughly, biting and tugging on your lip mercilessly.

You were quite sore and sensitive from before, so it didn’t take much for the pressure to build in between your legs again. And judging by the sounds you made, they both knew you wouldn’t last much longer.

“Hold it, baby. Just a little longer.” Sebastian spoke, and proceeded to shove his tongue into your mouth; knowing well how hot and bothered you got when he did so.

You whined and whimpered in pleasure. And just like anything else in between the three of you; this didn’t feel like an awkward first either, it felt like you’ve been through this many times before. Things juts worked out in between you; be it conversations, or drunk sex.

Bucky moved your hair aside and peppered you skin with kisses as you felt the pleasure becoming more and more overwhelming, almost too much to bear. Sebastian purposely toyed with your throbbing clit while he sped up into you.

And not even a minute later, you came hard; screaming and whimpering in between the two of them. And they were quick to follow, Sebastian finished right after you. And Bucky after that.

All three of you collapsed onto the couch, tired and worn out. You caught your breath, all three of you – sweaty bodies tangled with one another. It was peaceful, there in that dimly lit living room when all of you were together and feeling the same comfort and delight as the other.

Sebastian spoke up first.

“If we’re gonna keep doing this, we’re gonna need a bigger bed for our room.” He snuggled up against you, pushing his face into your neck.

Bucky chuckled and you inched closer to his warmth, leaning into his chest and sighing in solace. “I agree.” You said.

Judging by the sound of his steady breathing, you knew Sebastian was already out. And you felt sleepy and tired as well. Bucky found a nearby blanket and covered all three of you as much as he could and he passed out as well.

You were quick to fall asleep as well, wrapped in both of their body heat.

-

And so, things were great for many coming days.

It felt like a dream; the amount of love and trust and comfort was unreal. Everything felt warmer and brighter now. Each morning was exciting; because you could wake up to one of the twins making breakfast, or both of them arguing like children over something in the kitchen. And you did, indeed, end up getting a much bigger bed.

You worried about Bucky, and his job as and with the mob. But he reassured you that he had walked away from that life now, and there would be no going back again. Ever.

You and Sebastian were just as in love as before, and Bucky often made fun of you two for being too sappy and sweet.

“My teeth are rotting just looking at you.” he’d pretend to be sick of it whenever he walked in on you and Sebastian being as cheesy as always.

And Sebastian would always reply with a series of swear words, and you’d laugh because no matter how much Bucky would pretend to hate it, he’d always find his way into your arms and demand the same kind of affection, if not more.

As for you and Bucky, you had a much more playful thing going on. You two would always do this thing where whenever Sebastian would answer serious calls from work, you and Bucky would immediately mess with him by making out and being absolutely inappropriate and shameless right there in front of him. Your favorite thing was to watch Sebastian stutter and end the call as quickly as possible.

Or other times, he’d just pull the phone away and groan. “Both of you, get out. Now.” he’d point to the door and you and Bucky would giggle on your way out. But it wasn’t usually long before he’d hear the headboard knock violently against the wall in the next room, or right above him.

 Things were smooth, and just perfect. Sebastian and Bucky began working together, and Sebastian would often tell you that Bucky was a natural when it came to handling the business. Everything fell into place, everything was much more steady and easy. Being together was effortless, and loving. Being together made you feel safe.

 But then, there was always room for trouble; even in paradise…

a/n: uh oh.

----

Tag List for this series (OPEN):

@0501m

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Seb / Bucky Tag List:

@oliviastan17​

@moshymosh​

@great-goddess-of-sin​

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@nd1998sc​

@theoralpha​

@nostalgic-bucky​

@gabypatd​

@amirahiddleston​

@unknown-salvatore @1111zxc @glossierfairy​ 

Permanent Tag List:

@the-omni-princess​

@saharzek​

@unlikelycandylove​

@sparkling-gayyyy​

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[whatcouldgowrong-ohthat]

Between the Ink and Papers Ch. 4

Summary: Steve and Peggy have been divorced for a year and Sarah is still starting to find her groove in it. However, it becomes a lot easier when she and Typhanie realize it might be time for her dad to start dating again.

Pairings: tattooartist!dad!Steve x Reader, Typhanie x Sarah, Peggy x Logan, Bucky x Natasha

Word Count: 1806 words

Warnings: cussing? that’s about it!

Between the Ink and Papers Masterlist - Masterlist to Other Works

Previous Chapter

--

A simple creak and the door opened, casting a dim light from the hall. Their home was simple, tucked away above the shop. Steve slept on a pullout couch so that Sarah could have her own room. At her request, there were plants everywhere. A way to remind him that this was their home. Not just his.

Not that he minded one bit.

Steve quietly closed the door behind him. A small smile tugged at his lips when he saw her backpack on the cluttered counter and the mail on the floor. Poor kid had probably been so tired that she hadn’t even noticed. He scooped the letters up, tucking them back into place before grabbing her backpack. His eyes shifted briefly to the microwave, the blinking red 1:00 a.m. far too obnoxious.

He was definitely getting too old for these late nights.

Scratching the back of his head, he silently made his way to the back, cringing only when a floorboard squeaked underneath him. He paused. Surely that didn’t wake her. Steve gently opened the door.

Inside, sprawled out on her bed and half hanging off, was his daughter. That crazy teenager. She was half hanging off, her pillow already on the floor. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought that she’d gotten in a fight with the bed and that the thing won.

He gently tucked the backpack next to her dresser and crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe. What a dork. It made him think back to that awkward woman that he tattooed earlier.

The gun was between his fingers, poised and ready to go. Brow arched and lips quirked, he found himself absolutely confused. “Uh…” He shrugged. “Okay?” Steve raised the gun, waving it around. “Can I get started now?”

Y/N’s head tilted, curiosity getting the better of her. “Really? You don’t care?”

Steve snorted as she extended her arm. The familiar buzz filled the air as he got to work on the piece. “Should I? She seems to be doing better, so safe to say you’re doing your job. I’m just doing mine.”

She hadn’t said anything else after that. Apparently the buzzing had been enough for them. Not that he minded. He actually preferred when his customers weren’t the chatty kind.

Shaking his head, Steve pulled the door shut and blinked away his own sleep. He hated how tired he was. It seemed his time with Sarah passed by too quickly for him to actually enjoy it and being exhausted never helped. Still…he collapsed on the couch, too tired to unfold the bed lying underneath. Just a few minutes…

Just a few and he’d get back up.

--

The smell of bacon and coffee woke him up. He jolted, blood rushing and pounding in his head as his boot scraped against the floor. Blinking, he ran a hand through his messy hair before pressing his palms to his eyes.

“Hey, old man.” The squeak against the floorboard made him look up, relieved to find she was holding a mug filled with black coffee. “I don’t want to deal with you being a grouch. Drink up.”

He groaned, taking the mug before she returned to their breakfast. “Is that how you’re supposed to talk to your dad?” Downing half the mug’s contents in one gulp, Steve immediately felt better. He rose to his feet, knowing his shirt was probably a mess and realizing he still had his boots on.

Definitely – he was definitely getting too old for the shop.

“How long’ve you been up,” he asked, noticing that she was almost done with his breakfast. “You could’ve kicked me or something.”

“Why?” She pushed the plate onto the bar, grabbing a fork and knife as he took a bite of bacon. “You work hard.” Sarah grabbed her poptarts, taking a bite as Steve froze mid-bite, shoulders slumped. “What?”

He snatched the pastry out of her hand, trading it for a piece of toast that was on his plate. “Do you think just ‘cause you’re here, you can get away with that?”

She smiled a little too innocently. “It’s just a poptart.”

“Yeah, and all the other crap you eat.”

“Hey!”

Streve smirked, gesturing to the food between them. “Eat up. We need to get you to school -- ” He glanced at his watch. “Fuck!” Looking up, he frowned when he saw that innocent look on his kid’s face.

She knew. Of course she did.

“Get your backpack. Now.” Shoving food in his mouth, he ignored the slight stomping that could only come from a teenager. “Hurry!” He snatched up a shirt, smelling it. For now, it would have to do. Changing, he shouted, “Sarah, come on!”

“I’m here.”

He spun around, tugging the shirt down. Ruffling her hair, he pushed her towards the door. “Stop huffing. You should’ve said something.”

“Maybe I just wanted to spend a day with my old man.”

Steve sighed, closing the door behind him. As much as he would love to spend the day with Sarah, he couldn’t. Not right now. “Later. We can go play pool or something. Sound good?”

Sarah hesitated, biting her lip. She knew she still needed to talk to her dad about everything she and Miss Y/L/N had gone over. And yet…the idea of just spending some fun time with him sounded too good to be true.

Yeah, talking could wait.

--

The bell’s shrill scream, though familiar, still managed to make Y/N jump out of her skin. She sighed softly, taking a much needed sip of her coffee. It was wonderful, warming her insides. Flipping open her planner, she grimaced when she saw who she had a meeting with.

How had she forgotten that was today of all days?

“Um…Miss Y/L/N?”

She looked up, massaging her temple only to stop when she realized who was standing in her doorway. “Hey.” Y/N stood, trying to hide her surprise. “Typhanie, right?”

She nodded, lip caught between her teeth and fingers fidgeting with the obnoxious hall pass in her hands. “I just – I wanted to ask you about something.”

Y/N smiled, gesturing to the chair. “Of course. Have a seat.”

Typhanie did, tucking a leg underneath as she looked around. “I’ve never actually been in here before. It’s…” She noticed the positive signs, the wall decorations, and all the bright colors. “Peppy.”

Chuckling, Y/N said, “I’ll tell my friends that’s how you described their decorating skills. So, what’s up?”

“I know you normally do like,” Typhanie sighed. “I don’t know, counseling sort of stuff? But I was wondering if you could also help with the whole future type thing. Y’know, with…” She bit her lip, doubts starting to creep in the back of her head. Why was she even here? This was a waste of time and –

“Hey.” Y/N watched Typhanie blink. Those negative thoughts were burying her, scaring her. “You mean colleges, right? The ‘after highschool’ path?”

Typhanie nodded, earning a smile. “It’s just me and my dad. We don’t exactly have a lot money wise and I just…I want to be prepared. Get the scholarships, do what I need, and…I…” She laughed, the sound coming across more as a nervous breath than anything else. “I really want to go to college, but I want to make sure it’s the right path.”

“What do you want to study?”

“Music,” she admitted with a determined nod. “And I know not everyone goes to school for it, so I just want to figure out where I’m going.”

Y/N nodded, scribbling down some notes. “I love how you’re approaching this, Typhanie. It’s mature and level-headed. Give me today to put some information together, okay? You can stop by tomorrow and we can go over it. How does that sound?”

She breathed, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “That sounds amazing. Thank you!”

“No problem. But…” She pointed to the hallpass. “You might want to go back to class before your teacher realizes it wasn’t the bathroom that you wandered off to.”

Typhanie grinned, jumping up. “Right! Yeah, of course! Um…thanks again.” She hurried out of the room, earning a far too amused laugh from Y/N.

Shaking her head, Y/N went back to the notes she’d taken. Scribbled: Typhanie Wilson. Music. College?? Needs to know her options.

She knew how overwhelming the future was. Especially at that age. At least Typhanie was seeking help. It was better than what she’d done at her age.

Knock knock

Y/N looked up. Peggy and Logan. Checking her phone, sure enough. It was time for their meeting. “Hey! Right on time.”

Peggy smiled. Weak, nervous. Like most mothers she met with. “Thank you for keeping these meetings, Miss Y/L/N.”

“It really means a lot to us,” Logan admitted. That shyness of being a new, eager stepdad was still there. Even after a year. He wanted to be good to Sarah and Y/N respected that.

“I know. Just repeating for everyone’s sake, but I cannot tell you anything Sarah has confided to me during our sessions. I’m just guiding you towards what could help your family transition best.”

“We know.” There was a hint of defeat in Peggy’s voice, a silent plea for her to bend the rules.

But Y/N wouldn’t. She cared about her students too much.

“Alright, have a seat then.”

Standing up, Y/N moved to the door. She started to close the door, pausing when she saw a familiar face.

And he saw her.

Steve raised a brow. “Uh…Y/N, right?”

She smirked. “Here, it’s Miss Y/L/N.”

He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “Fair enough.” However, his eyes had wandered, catching sight of who was inside her office. “Uh…” Steve grimaced.

Peggy caught his eye, blushing. “Steve.”

“Peggy.” He glanced past her, nodding. “Logan.”

“Hey.”

Y/N looked from mother to father and back again. She had been sure that when she started these meetings with Peggy, she had been promised that Steve was informed. He had the option to join and chose not to.

Now, it was clear that hadn’t been the case.

Peggy gave her a look, another silent plea for her to keep quiet. To not say anything and simply continue their meeting.

Y/N shook her head. Oh…hell on. She looked back at Steve, leaning against the doorframe. “We’re about to have a meeting to discuss how Sarah’s been handling the past year. Do you want to join?”

Surprise. Concern. An eagerness that only came from a loving parent. Those were the emotions etching Steve’s features. Practically shining in those pretty blue eyes of his. Relieved, he admitted, “I would love that.”

Y/N nodded, opening the door wider. “Come on in.”

He crossed the threshold and she closed the door. Lingering only for a moment, she turned to the three parents. Here goes nothing. “Coffee, anyone?”

--

A/N: Thank you for all the support with this fic!! I really appreciate it!!

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[let-it-raines]

your wonder under summer skies (9/?)

Summer in Storybrooke, Maine means one thing for its residents: tourist season. This year, for Emma Swan and Killian Jones, it means relationships ending and friendships changing all the while they attempt to figure out just what their relationship is. It’s somewhere straddling the line between friends and lovers, and there’s no guarantee of a soft landing if they fall into new territory.

rating: mature

ao3: beginning | current

tumblr:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 

-/-

“Do you have on sunscreen?”

“I basically took a bath in it, Marg.”

“You’re looking a little red.”

Emma sighs and looks down at her chest before turning to her shoulders. She’s the slightest bit pink, and she sighs. Dammit. She sprayed herself down twice before she got here, and it’s only been an hour since she’s been outside.

“Do you want to finish the rest of these inside then?”

“We’ve only got a few left, but you need to make sure to reapply before we go out to the festival.”

Emma nods and keeps stuffing bags with water bottles and snacks. They’ve got to get these to Ashley and Aurora before lunchtime and then need to get to the dining rooms to check on their members. Mary Margaret can leave after that since the club is mostly shutting down early to encourage everyone to support local businesses and the festival, but Emma’s got to meet with two brides before she can go. She doesn’t know why the hell they picked her to coordinate over Mary Margaret, and if she got paid by commission, she’d really appreciate that. Since she doesn’t, though, and really only wants to get a tan and eat funnel cake, she’s not too interested in having to talk weddings for a few hours.

“So,” Mary Margaret hums, “have you met the new Sheriff?”

“Nope. David likes him, doesn’t he?”

“David loves him! Oh, Emma, he’s just great! David says he’s organized and always on time, and he’s great at building morale. We had him over for dinner last night, and he was the sweetest thing. Very handsome, too.”

Emma’s hand falters on the bag of animal crackers she’s holding before she drops them in the bag and glances over at Mary Margaret, who is doing her best to avoid looking Emma in the eye.

Smooth, Marg. Real smooth.

“No.”

“No? I didn’t even say anything!”

“You are about as subtle as a gun, Mary Margaret Noland. You’re trying to set me up with the new Sheriff, and I’m not interested. I mean, I just broke up with Neal.”

“A month a half a go!”

“After five years, a month and a half doesn’t seem like that long, does it?”

Mary Margaret finally has the courage to look at her, and Emma wants to be annoyed. She really does. She just can’t seem to find it in her today to do that.

Good intentions, she reminds herself. Mary Margaret and David nearly always have good intentions.

Doesn’t mean she has to like them.

“I’m not ready to date someone, and I don’t think the new Sheriff is rebound material for me.”

“Well, why not?”

“Because you like him, and David works with him. Do you really want for things to be awkward when I inevitably break up with him?”

Mary Margaret’s sigh can probably be heard in Australia. “How do you know you’re going to break up with him?”

“Because I’m not ready to date! I just said that. I’m not too interested in getting hurt again.”

“Oh, Emma, those walls of yours may keep out pain, but they also may keep out love.”

She’s going to crush these poor kids’ animal crackers if her fist doesn’t loosen soon.

Good intentions.

Good intentions.

Good fucking intentions.

“Marg,” she whispers, “I had my trust ruined by a man I thought I could have been with forever. That doesn’t just go away, okay? You’ve been with David for your entire life. You guys have only been apart for two days in fifteen years. I’m sorry, but you can’t possibly understand what I’m going through right now or how damn hard it is to know that Neal is still in this town walking around with Tamara without a care in the world. I loved him, and that wasn’t enough yet again. So maybe just let me have some time, okay? Let me be able to see Neal walking down the street and not have a meltdown. I’m not ready to seriously date someone else.”

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean – ”

“It’s fine,” Emma lies as she inhales and tries to get some much-needed air into her lungs. “Let’s just finish up here. The sooner we’re done, the sooner I can get to my funnel cakes.”

“You and those funnel cakes.”

“They’re the best part of the holiday.”

“Not the fireworks?”

“Nah, it’s the funnel cakes.”

Mary Margaret drops the conversation, and she miraculously doesn’t bring up anything having to do with relationships for the rest of their day. It’s all updates on the bathroom renovation in the house and David’s new obsession with homemade lasagna, which Granny is definitely going to be pissed about. Then she moves onto Elsa and Liam’s wedding, which does verge a little into the relationship territory but is also their job, so she lets it slide.

Mary Margaret was very much meant to help others plan their wedding days. The sparkle in her eyes alone shows that.

After they check in with the two luncheons that are happening, Mary Margaret takes her leave and goes home, promising to meet Emma at Eric’s restaurant later tonight. Emma’s brides are both early, both far too overenthusiastic, but they keep under their hour-long appointments, and by four, Emma is in her car and on her way home to change and get ready for tonight.

The funnel cakes are still calling her name.

As soon as she gets home, she takes her shoes off at the door, heads back to her room and changes into a bikini before pulling on a pair of jean shorts and an old flannel shirt. It’s too big on her, and when she looks down at it, she realizes it’s Killian’s. For a moment, she considers changing, but it’s comfortable and will be warm for after the sun sets.

Plus, his cologne is still lingering, and he wears some damn good cologne.

It’ll also annoy the hell out of him if she doesn’t give his shirt back, so the benefits of keeping it on continue rolling in.

Getting to the boardwalk is nearly impossible with the roads blocked off for some of the rides and booths that have been brought in, so Emma ends up turning around and driving on the outskirts of downtown before finding parking outside of Killian’s place.

Skipper greets her through the window of a back office, and Emma taps on the window before looping around and heading through the back door so she doesn’t set off that damn alarm.

“Hey, boy,” she greets, “hey, you working hard, my friend? Giving yourself a case for employee of the month?”

“I am employee of the month, always.”

Emma jumps and backs up against the wall to close her eyes and take a few deep breaths to calm her heartbeat.

“Where did you come from?”

“So, my mum and dad, somehow, had sex, and then – ”

“Somehow? Do you think parents don’t have sex? That’s how we all get here.”

“My parents hated each other for most of my life. I can’t imagine them ever liking each other enough to want to sleep together.”

“Hate sex is a thing.”

“I will pay you to stop talking.”

“Really? How much?”

Killian steps up to her and dips his head until his lips brush across the shell of her ear. “Whatever your heart desires.”

A shiver works itself down her spine and up over her arms as gooseflesh appears, and Emma’s breath stutters. “I’ll stop talking if you buy me a funnel cake.”

“I’ll buy you two.” His teeth tug down on her ear before his lips brush against her cheek, and then he’s pulling back and putting some space between them. “Give me twenty minutes to set up the answering machine, and then we’ll walk to Ariel’s together. Can you feed Skipper for me?”

“Is he not coming with us?”

“No, I didn’t want to have to keep up with him tonight, and the fireworks scare him.”

“Do they scare you, buddy?” she says to the dog as she scratches his ears. “They scare you, and your dad is going to make you stay here all by yourself? That’s not very nice.”

“I’ll leave the TV on for him, Swan. He won’t hear a thing.”

“You love Killian so you can’t see his flaws, but a good owner would never leave you.”

Emma snickers as Killian groans behind her. “If you want to walk him for the next several hours, feel free.”

“Nah, I’m good. Is the food upstairs?”

“In the kitchen.”

Emma nods and starts walking up the stairs, whistling so Skipper will follow her up, and when she gets to the kitchen, she finds the bag of food, pours it in the bowl, and then refreshes his water bowl while he eats. A bit of water accidentally splashes on the counter, and Emma picks up the mail that got wet to try to keep it from getting even more wet.

“Going through my mail then?”

“Good God,” Emma breathes out, “do the two of you insist on scaring the shit out of me?”

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Emma sighs, turning around to see Liam. “Your brother just scared me when I walked in the office downstairs. I swear the two of you don’t have footsteps sometimes.”

Liam shrugs. “Is he downstairs?”

“Yeah, he’s making sure everything’s all set for you two to take the night off. Elsa told me you found tuxes you like. You know, if you have enough groomsmen, they might give you a discount on rentals or on yours if you want to buy it. I know you haven’t decided on everyone, but it’s something to think about.”

Liam’s lips press into a forced smile. “I will keep that in mind.”

Silence falls between them, and Emma awkwardly shuffles the mail in her hand before dropping it back to the counter. She doesn’t remember the last time she was in a room alone with just Liam, and really, she should be better at coming up with small talk since she has to do it all day every day.

Or, maybe, she can’t do it now because she’s just so damn tired of doing it and can’t put in the effort.

“So, would you happen to know who my brother is seeing?”

Emma nearly chokes on air. “What?”

“Do you know who Killian is seeing?” Liam repeats, stepping closer as the floor creaks below him. “You two are close, and, I don’t know, he’s keeping who he’s seeing from me, which he’s never done before. I figured you…I guess I was curious and wanted to know.”

Oh God.

No. Just no.

She is not having this conversation, especially when this conversation is about her.

Not that Liam knows that.

Hopefully.

Wait. Is it her? Or is he seeing someone else? He could definitely be seeing someone else at this point. She thought he would have told her, though. That was the agreement.

He definitely would have told her. Killian is a man of his word. Of that, she is sure.

“Is he seeing someone?”

Liam clicks his tongue, and damn, that is such a Jones thing to do. “I assume. He doesn’t come home some nights, occasionally takes a longer lunch than usual, and I swear he’s been sneaking someone in and out.”

Oh shit.

How many times has Liam almost caught them? That’s not good at all. At least she hasn’t had to jump out the window again. That was a pain in the ass. Literally.

“Look,” she sighs as she straightens her back, “even if did know who he was seeing, it wouldn’t be my place to tell you his secrets. If he’s not telling you, I’m sure he has his reasons.”

Liam’s eyes narrow as he crosses his arms over his chest, and if she got a dollar for every time he did that, she’d be rich. “So, he is seeing someone?”

“I don’t know. Let him tell you whatever he wants to tell you. He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

“Doesn’t hurt to have someone else helping him out.”

“It does if that someone can be overbearing.”

“Are you referring to me?”

“I really feel like I don’t have to say who I’m referring to.”

“Hey, you ready to go? Ariel texted and – oh, hey, Liam.”

Liam blinks, slowly, before turning from Emma to look at Killian. “What did Ariel say?”

“Just that she’s got the big table on the deck saved for all of us. Do you want to walk with us or are you waiting for Elsa?”

“I can walk with the two of you. Elsa is working in a booth, remember?”

“Of course. We’ll have to stop by and get some ice cream after we get Emma her funnel cakes.”

“Funnel cakes, ice cream, and dinner at Eric’s? That’s quite the spread, lass.”

Emma pats her stomach and smirks at Liam. She guesses their conversation from earlier is done. “What can I say? I like food, and the fair only comes to town once a year.”

“I thought the club put on a fair in August.”

“That’s for kids, and we don’t have funnel cakes. Come on, Joneses, I’m ready to go.”

Killian and Liam spend the entire walk talking about a baseball game from last night, and as much as Emma enjoys it, she really only enjoys watching it, not debating about it when the game is over and done with. She knows she’ll have to debate it when she and Killian go to New York next month, but for now, she drowns them out and looks around the boardwalk. String lights are hung above them, criss-crossing between buildings and stalls, and she can’t wait for the sun to set so they can be turned on. There’s something weirdly magical about fairy and bulb lights when they come on, and really, she’s looking forward to that more than the fireworks.

Obviously, she’s got high-standards for things that she enjoys.

Kids keep running in front of them, not looking where they’re going, and Emma almost trips at least twice before Killian tugs her back so she’s not walking slightly ahead of the two of them.

She would have loved being able to do things like this as a kid. It would have made her life just to be able to waste all of her money on these rigged games trying to win a stuffed animal, but she was never given the opportunity. Now, she knows better than to waste money on something she has no need for.

Except for the funnel cakes, which she can now smell.

“KJ, you owe me two funnel cakes. I’m cashing in on one now.”

He turns his head and raises his brow. “Now? We’re about to get dinner?”

Emma points to the stand a few feet ahead of her. “I can smell it. I need it.”

“There’s quite a line at that booth.”

Emma stops walking and tugs on Killian’s t-shirt while batting her eyelashes. She knows it doesn’t work, but it’s all she’s got. “C’mon. The table will still be waiting for us.”

“You two go,” Liam says. “I think I’m going to see if Elsa needs help. She said she her summer staff working, but I’m sure she might like the company.”

“You could also go let those teenagers enjoy the carnival.”

“That was my plan, little brother.”

“Younger.”

Liam winks and smiles. “It’s the same.”

“No, it’s bloody well not,” Killian shouts as Liam walks away, waving as he goes.

“You two have a very weird relationship.”

“You have no idea,” he sighs, wrapping his arm around Emma’s shoulder and pulling her closer until his lips and lightly brushing against her temple, and she swears that he breathes her in. That would be ridiculous, though. “Let’s get you funnel cake one.”

“I would riot if you didn’t.”

The funnel cake is as delicious as she thought it would be, and she doesn’t even care that her lips and her fingers are undoubtedly covered in sugar now. She can look like a clown to everyone as long as she keeps getting to eat this pure, sweet sugar.

Even if Eric is a little agitated with her when they get to the restaurant.

“Are you bringing in outside food to my restaurant?”

“Yep.” She pops another piece in her mouth and makes sure to exaggerate her chewing. “And unless you made onion rings today, this is going to be the best thing here.”

“You do know I am an excellent chef, right? And I can make food other than junk food.”

“She has the palette of a child.” Killian gently tugs on a piece of her hair and pulls her in closer. “Don’t try forcing anything else. It’s not worth it. I, however, will take all of the good food you’ve got.”

“And that is why you’re my favorite.”

“Hey,” Ariel grumbles.

“Besides you, obviously.” Eric shakes his head and smiles. “You two go sit down. I have to get back to the kitchen.”

“It’s never going to be as good as this funnel cake.”

“Shut up.”

Emma sticks her tongue out at Eric because she is the height of maturity. Obviously.

She maneuvers out of Killian’s hold and walks to the table, pulling out the chair across from Ruby while Killian sits down next to her.

“Why are you two so late? Did you finally decide to fuck each other?”

The funnel cake she was chewing gets stuck in her throat, and Emma starts coughing, doing anything to try to get air while her cheeks have got to be turning the color of tomatoes.

“Ruby,” Mary Margaret hisses, “there are children around. Don’t use that word.”

“Why? That’s how they got here.”

“Funny, I feel like I’ve already had this conversation today.”

“So, you were fu – sleeping together then? I knew it!”

“We,” Emma breathes out as she still hits her chest, “are not sleeping together. Why is your mind always in the gutter?”

Ruby scoffs and picks up her wine. “My mind is not in the gutter. I’m just saying that you two are both very hot, and you’ve got this whole sexual tension thing going on. We’re all waiting for it to happen. One day you’re just going to show up and tell us that you’re secretly in love.”

Emma rolls her eyes as Killian’s hand falls against her thigh underneath the table. “We are not secretly in love. And we are not sleeping together.”

His fingers inch further up her thigh, and a shiver runs down her spine.

Asshole.

Killian is the better liar than Emma, so, really, he should be the one lying to all of their friends right now. It’s not really a conversation she thought would ever come up, but it’s Ruby: nothing is safe.

“I’ve always thought you two would be a nice couple,” Mary Margaret sighs. “I mean, you were always with Neal, so I never said anything but – ”

“Never said anything? You talk about it all the time, honey.”

“David, that is not true.”

“It is. You love meddling in other people’s business, and since Ruby is, well, Ruby, the only two you really like to plot about are Emma and Killian.”

“Excuse me? Plot?” Killian raises his brow before winking at Emma. “You’ve been plotting about us?”

Mary Margaret’s face is as red as Emma’s was earlier, and if the woman wasn’t at least showing some remorse, Emma would be agitated.

Maybe she still should be, but she’s obviously on some kind of funnel cake high where nothing can piss her off, even having her personal life examined for the second time in one day.

“I have not,” Mary Margaret protests, flustered. “All I want is for you two to be happy! I thought Emma was all settled, and I really wanted someone for Killian. Now, though, you’re both single, so you know…”

Killian’s fingers tickle along her thigh before he squeezes. She really hopes Ariel cannot see underneath the table.

“And Eric says I’m the meddler,” Ariel sighs.

“You are all meddlers,” Emma finally says. “Each and every one of you. You all need hobbies like painting or reading or, hell, crocheting. Anything to keep you occupied so that Killian and I can keep living our lives.”

“Yeah, living your lives totally wrong.” Ruby swishes her wine glass and tilts it toward Emma. “I’m just saying – when, and I do mean when, you two get together, I want a personalized gift and the ability to say ‘I told you so’ as much as I want without reproach.”

“What kind of personalized gift?” Killian asks. “Just so I can prepare for when Emma finally falls for my charms and kisses me.”

Emma laughs and turns to the side, gently pushing Killian’s arm.

Asshole.

Cocky, annoying asshole.

“Please,” she scoffs, “you couldn’t handle it.”

Killian leans in, eyes slanted and lips curled up to the right while his tongue flickers across his teeth. Emma gulps, but she doesn’t blink, even when Killian’s finger hooks inside the hem of her shorts.

“Perhaps you’re the one who couldn’t handle it.”

Glass rattles as someone smacks the table. “See,” Ruby groans, “just look at all of that untapped chemistry. I feel frustrated just looking at the two of you.”

“Okay,” David squawks, his voice breaking, “please change the subject. There’s only so much of this I can take. It’s like hearing about my little sister’s sex life.”

“See, maybe if you weren’t so overprotective of Emma, it wouldn’t be like that.”

“She’s our friend. I can’t help it if I am. And you’re one to talk, Mary Margaret.”

“What does that mean?”

“We just talked about what it means.”

Killian laughs at their friends bickering before leaning into Emma’s space even more. He never really moved out of it, but she didn’t notice.

“For the record,” he whispers as his nail traces along her skin, “we both know that I can handle it.”

Emma swallows the lump in her throat, and she can suddenly feel her heart beating, faster and faster and faster until she feels it between her ears while she blinks at Killian and tries to form some kind of coherent response.

Where the hell did all of her words go?

“Do you think Eric would hate us if we ordered the pizza?” Ruby asks.

“He just yelled at Emma for bringing in a funnel cake and wanting onion rings, so I think that’s a possibility.”

Killian winks once more and then turns from her so that all she can see is his jawline. “You guys do know this is a seafood restaurant, right? With damn good seafood. He only sells the other things for the tourists. We are not tourists.”

“It’s the fourth of July carnival. We’re all tourists for the night.”

They end up getting the pizza.

Eric is beyond pissed off at it, but absolutely no one cares, especially when Will and Belle walk in and order another one because the first two were completely obliterated. Robin stops by with Roland for five minutes to get food, but then Robin is being dragged off because Roland wants to do go on the spinning tea cups that are set up in city hall’s parking lot.

Emma has eaten so much tonight that she definitely can’t imagine being on anything that spins around.

Especially when Killian still owes her another funnel cake. It’s too bad they don’t keep well in the fridge.

“I have to go make some rounds,” David announces as he stands from the table. “Do we have any other plans for tonight?”

“I have to go back to work,” Ruby says.

“Yeah, me too,” Ariel adds in.

“Belle and I are free.”

“As are Emma and I,” Killian says. “Mary Margaret, what about you?”

“I think I might walk around with David, but do you all want to meet back at your place for the fireworks at ten? I think the roof will be the best place to view them.”

“Sounds perfect, lass. We’ll see you then.”

Belle suggests watching around to work off dinner and see if there’s anything new this year, so they start with the booths on the side of the boardwalk no one has been down yet. It’s emptier because it’s away from all of the rides, but there are plenty of food stalls, a few games, and several booths from small businesses around town. Belle immediately finds a stall selling books for a dollar a piece, and she ends up getting two tote bags that Will grumbles about carrying. Killian buys the one book Belle didn’t snatch up, folds it, and sticks it in the back pocket of his jeans.

Emma swears that Belle nearly has an aneurism over that.

“Hey, look, love.” Killian points over to a booth with balloons pinned to the wall.

“What exactly am I looking at?” He grabs her hand and pulls it in front of them to point back to the booth. “Still not getting it, KJ.”

“The prizes. I think there’s one you might like.”

Emma steps a little closer and then sees it at the very top of the shelf. It’s a giant white swan stuffed animal.

Oh.

Well, yeah, that is kind of cute and very apt for her name, but it’s pointless to look at it. She has no need for a stuffed animal, even if she was thinking about it earlier, and she definitely isn’t about to waste money on it. But it was a nice thought.

“Cute,” Emma laughs as she keeps walking only for Killian to tug on her arm and pull her back. “What? What are you doing?”

His lips curl up. “I’m going to win you that damn swan, Swan.”

She rolls her eyes.

He’s an idiot.

Just…a big idiot, but there’s this feeling in her gut, this dumb one that she hates, that wants him to win her the damn swan. She wants to have that experience she so craved as a child, even if she does still think that games like this are still pointless.

She wants.

In the back of her mind, she thinks back to Neal never even offering to walk around the carnival with her. He always said it was stupid and that he would not be showing up. It was never so much that he wouldn’t come here, but it was more that he was like that with everything that was important to Emma.

How could she be so stupid?

And how could she still feel like she loves him?

Loved him? Definitely loved.

There are no feelings of affection left, not even in memories. She’s just so fucking pissed sometimes.

“Killian, you don’t have to – ”

But he’s not listening to her. Instead, he’s already standing in front of the booth, cash on the table, and darts in his hand.

He pops a balloon on the first try.

“Woah, were did that aim come from?”

“I’d say the Navy, but I think it might be natural talent.”

The guy in the booth rolls his eyes, but Emma doesn’t care. He’s probably dulled the darts and gotten some kind of indestructible balloons to make sure no one wins anything, but as Emma keeps watching, Killian keeps popping the balloons. It takes him several tries and far too much money, especially when Will rejoins them and starts heckling him, but eventually he gets the stuffed Swan from the top of the rack and hands it to Emma.

It’s so dumb.

(But it’s not.)

(Things like this never are.)

Emma holds onto the swan as they keep walking around until she stops and gets something to drink. Then she hands it to Killian, who holds it in his hand that’s draped over Emma’s shoulder so that the damn beak keeps hitting against her cheek as they walk.

“You’re being obnoxious,” Emma laughs as Killian keeps poking the beak against her cheek. “You’re an actual child, Jones.”

“I’ve never said I was mature. It might also be all of the sugar I’ve had today.”

“Having one bite of a funnel cake does not count as having a lot of sugar.”

He pokes the beak in her face one more time before she turns on him so she can see the frankly obnoxious grin he’s sporting.

Maybe that little bit of funnel cake was a lot of sugar for him.

“You know, Swan, I used to think you were kind to me, but that thought is disappearing.”

“Is it now?”

“Mhm.” He wraps the swan around her neck before placing his hands on her hips. Emma glances around, searching for Will and Belle, but they’re nowhere to be seen. When did they run off? “And apparently all of our friends think we have some kind of sexual tension going on, that we’re compatible, and that’s just not true.”

His fingers inch toward her ass, and Emma cranes her neck to try and figure out how long it would take to get to Killian’s place. That’s where they’re supposed to be headed anyway.

“Oh, no, it’s definitely not true. We don’t get along at all. You’re getting a little brave touching my ass right now. I don’t think we can, you know, on the middle of the boardwalk.”

“Well, we could, but then David would arrest us.”

Emma grabs onto his hand and moves it off her ass. “Then let’s not do that. Let’s – ”

Her words die on the tip of her tongue as her gaze falls upon the last person she ever expected to see here.

Neal.

-/-

-/-

@qualitycoffeethings @mrtinski @klynn-stormz @scarletslippers @jonirobinson64 @snowbellewells @therealstartraveller776 @thejollyroger-writer @sherifemma​ @galaxyzxstark​ @galadriel26​ @idristardis​ @karenfrommisthaven​ @teamhook​ @spartanguard​ @searchingwardrobes​ @jamif​ @shireness-says​ @ultimiflos​ @nikkiemms​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @onepunintendid​ @bluewildcatfanatic​ @superchocovian​ @killianswannn​ @carpedzem​ @captainkillianswanjones​ @mayquita​ @mariakov81​ @jennjenn615​ @onceuponaprincessworld​ @a-faekindagirl​ @scientificapricot​ @xellewoods​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @stahlop​ @kmomof4​ @tiganasummertree​ @singersdd​ @tornadoamy​ @cluttermind​ @lfh1226-linda​ @andiirivera​ @elizabeethan​ @captain-emmajones​ @csalltheway​ @itsfabianadocarmo​

[iamnightduchess]

May I ask for your nsfw reikasa headcanons 😳 for the As you Are universe and the It’s Gotta Be you universe? 😁

Did someone ask for some N.S.F.W headcanons? *__*

ReiKasa Fic AU/Modern AUHeadcanons (R18+) #1

Hello Nonnie!

Your Ask is the most pleasant surprise this last weekend but old is gold! <3 I have no excuse for the delay other than I was cramming up all my brain power to finish Part 1 of Until Dawn. (Do check it out when you have the time!) Thank you so much for the honor! I got you fam, so please find below some seriously steamy headcanons (Content Warning: Mature Readers only!) omg i am blushing hard while I’m writing this haha

Let’s go for ReiKasa in Canonverse then the modern AU ;)

As You Are

** Contains reimagining of scenes yet to be written/published in As You Are. So some fic spoilers ahead!

In Ch.12, it was heavily implied that after consummating their marriage, Reiner & Mikasa actually got to another round of ‘lovemaking’ in the shower. When their first time had been gentle, slow and tender, the shower sex was quite the opposite. It was harder and urgent.

At this point, Reiner discovered four new things about his new wife: i) Mikasa actually loves it when he pressed her hard against the wall and took her from behind, ii) Mikasa’s weakness is her breasts *points to point i*, iii) Mikasa has a muscle kink. She came on his third deep thrust in the shower, biting hard on his forearm as she did, and iv) Mikasa’s favorite position would be standing up because of *points to point iii* She loves seeing the way his muscles protruded when they flexed to support her weight. That explains the impromptu war room sexing afterwards.

Meanwhile Mikasa discovered three new things about her new husband: i) Reiner has not even a single scar on his body due to his shifter powers when she has numerous marks on hers from long-term ODM usage & that one time when she got her ribs broken by a Titan, ii) Reiner loves the tattoo on her back and the scars on her body, and iii) Reiner’s weak spot is his nape. The moment she bites his nape, he just gets hard.

Both Mikasa & Reiner are biters. But Reiner is the ‘territorial’ one. By the next morning, Mikasa’s skin looked like she had a really severe rash on her neck and her chest. No wonder Gabi was worried. Mikasa had to wear high collared blouses for one week, even inside their shared home.

Mikasa is the first one to initiate oral sex. She is after all, a seasoned blade wielder ;D

In future chapters, the first time Reiner went down on his wife was because of yeap, jealousy & yes, his ‘territorial instinct’. Lets just say it will have something to do with Porco ‘Pussy-eater’ Galliard ;) Galliard will be making a move on his dear wife at a function and Reiner is not happy about it.

Reiner loves seeing Mikasa in a formal kimono and getting her out of it - layer by layer.

Reiner & Mikasa have a very balanced power play in the bedroom. When he’s the dominant one, she’ll be the one yielding and vice versa. This couple is bound to have angry/jealous sex somewhere down the road and things can get very ugly when it happens. But, that only happens when the balance is thrown off the scale.

Reiner actually has amazing hands made for awesome massages. In a future chapter, we’d learn that things get hot and heavy inside their private onsen at the Azumabito Residence and it all begins with a simple back rub. *winks*

-----

It’s Gotta Be You

10 Date Rule (thank you @shingeki-no-scenarios for some of this amazing ideas!)

Right before their first official date, Reiner suggested the 10 Date Rule to Mikasa, which she agreed to, as he wants to prove to her that he’s not like the other men she’s dated before, who expected sex on the first date. There was only one rule: the only physical display of affections allowed are only a chaste kiss & hand-holding. Just that.

The first 3 dates had been outside so it was very sweet and very innocent. Reiner would always end their date at her front door with a simple kiss on her forehead or her cheeks. They had a night in on the 5th date and that was when things got interesting.

5th Date - Reiner made dinner at her house and they spend the rest of the evening just cuddling on the sofa, watching a rom-com movie together. Just having his arms around her was actually enough to turn her on but Reiner was very persistent in keeping their date chaste. Mikasa just had to leave a pair of sexy lace teddy lingerie hanging at the back of her bathroom door. Reiner can’t stop himself from imagining her in that.

6th & 7th Date - Reiner had to borrow one of Bertolt’s old hoodies from college with some questionable stains on it to help him be less attractive on their consecutive home dates. Mikasa just had to be a tease by spending the rest of the evening in a pair of tiny midriff shirt and a pair of lace boxers, devouring her Green Tea Häagen-Dazs and licking the spoon clean with a loud slurp or sipping on the straw for her smoothie too fucking slow. There had been a lot of tongue action coming from her that two nights. Reiner had to imagine a naked Zeke to kill whatever potential boner he could have had. It was torture.

8th Date - They had candlelight dinner and slow danced. The grinding wasn’t helping. Oh, and that off-shoulder red dress she was wearing on purpose, he was so close to ripping it off her that night.

9th Date - Zeke came over for a visit & ended up drunk-crashing at Mikasa’s place. Reiner had to stay over to help just in case & just the mere thought of Zeke just killed whatever romantic mood they were in. Felt like they were babysitting a grown-ass baby brother.

10th Date - Reiner had bought champagne to celebrate their tenth date at his place & he actually spruced up his bedroom with rose petals and those fancy scented candles to set up the mood for their long-awaited sexy time. However, Mikasa had to sit in an emergency surgery that night and ended up sleeping in the Medical Centre’s staff room in exhaustion and totally missed their scheduled 10th date. They made up with a lunch date the next day and they definitely went to town that night at his house. They never even made it to the bedroom ;)

People just assumed that they have a frequent & super active sex life. It’s quite the opposite as they enjoy more domestic activities together like baking and home improvements. But they still maintain a weekly date night even after being engaged to each other. Reiner’s a super cuddler so he’ll be the one who initiates the little intimate gestures in public. But behind closed doors, Mikasa would be the more handsy one, which Reiner really loves.

Reiner is built like a Greek God and Mikasa made sure to ‘accidentally’ walked into the bathroom whenever he’s in the shower ;) While Reiner always made sure he’ll be in the living room when Mikasa practices her yoga routine. Just so he can plan ahead on which position he can get her in the next time they’re in the mood ;D omg that sounds more pervy than I intended

Mikasa loves to wear one of Reiner’s shirts when they’re at home together because she knows it will drive him crazy with need.

Reiner occasionally wears reading glasses at home and Mikasa gets weak in the knees when he does. She almost always like to get down and dirty while he’s wearing the glasses :)

They spent their first Christmas together with the Jeagers and Zeke almost walked in on them having a quickie in their dad’s basement.

Reiner & Mikasa would be those couples that still have a burning fire in their relationship even as they grew older. That’s also how baby Ryder was conceived unexpectedly when the twins, Rémy & Miraé just turned 10. They thought they were done having babies 8D

-------

I had super fun time working on this headcanon, Nonnie! I hope you like it 💖 Keep ‘em coming if you’d like to read more & please don’t be discouraged from sending in Asks because sometimes it’ll take a long time for me to write because of my other writing projects/RL commitments but I would always follow through :3

Thank you & take care!

xoxo

[weasleydream]

Family reunion - Part 2

The second part is here! Hope you enjoy!

Masterlist

Part 1 

“My periods George! I only throw pillows at Fred when he bothers me during my periods!”

It was even a sort of joke between us. When he would speak too loud in the morning and I would throw him the first pillow I could reach, George would laugh at the scene and say that it was that time of the month where I would become a real tigress. Anyway, the realization was clearly visible in my boyfriend’s eyes.

“Oh. Fuck.”

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Without waiting for them, I rushed into our room and quickly opened the wardrobe. In the middle of my panties, I had hidden two muggle pregnancy tests, just in case. I closed the wardrobe door quite violently and went back into the bathroom where Fred and George stood in the same position, trying to process what was happening. When my boyfriend saw the two boxes in my hand, his expression became confused.

“What’s this?”

“A muggle pregnancy test. It really works, don’t worry, but you don’t need to know how.” I added, anticipating his questions. “Now, get out of here!”

Once alone in the bathroom, I quickly used the two tests, just to be sure. I unlocked the door but didn’t open it, and sat on the chair. When the boys realized the door was open, they both joined me in, Fred leaning against the wall and George kneeling in front of me and holding my hands. 

“Are you… You know?”

He couldn’t even say the word. 

“We have to wait. If there are two bars then it means that I’m… It will be positive.”

These five minutes were a torture. An awful torture as tons of questions were filling my head, along with insecurities. If I was really pregnant, I would never give up on the baby, but what would George do? What would Mrs Weasley say? What kind of life could I offer to my child with the war ongoing? I became aware of the fact that I was crying when George’s thumbs wiped my tears.

“It’s okay, baby. Whatever happens, I’m with you.”

“We’re both with you, kiddo.” Added Fred with a gentle smile. 

The time seemed to extend endlessly. I didn’t have the strength to watch the tests, so instead, I buried my face into George’s chest. Then Fred, with an emotional voice, pronounced the sentence that would change our lives.

“Y/N, you’re pregnant.”

I grabbed the tests: two pink bars. On both. I looked up to George. His eyes were teary, and the most genuine smile I had never seen on his face was plastered on his lips. 

“We’re gonna be parents!”

He pulled me against him and kissed me sweetly. I could feel all his love for me and for the little baby growing in me, and I hoped he could feel my love for them. His arms were pressing me against him, and my hands were cupping his face. Our tears of joy gave a salty taste to our kiss, the taste of a genuine happiness, the taste of love. When we pulled back, Fred hugged me, tears of joy filling his eyes too. Then he took his brother into his embrace and patted his back, constantly muttering congratulations. This emotional moment between the twins was something I had never seen. It touched me and brought other tears into my eyes. George took my waist and pulled me between them. We stayed here a few minutes, enjoying this pure happiness. 

However, the bliss brought in our little flat vanished partially as our uncertainties arrived. We were afraid because of the war, obviously, even if George had reiterated me his promise - “Y/N, what I told you earlier is truer than ever. You and our baby, you are my absolute priorities, I’ll protect you at all costs.”. Fred had also told me he would be here, taking advantage of George’s brief absence (“Whatever my brother thinks about it, just know that I would give my life for your little family, kiddo.”). I felt so secured with them… But all my worries weren’t gone because we still had one thing to do, one very dangerous thing: telling Mrs Weasley. I felt like on this one, the one risking his life was George. And it seemed like he was feeling it too because the same day, when we were happily chatting about the big changes that were going to happen, and when I mentioned his mother, my boyfriend’s face lost all colour. 

“She’s gonna kill me…”

Obviously, Fred found the idea very funny and proposed to bet on which death their mother would choose. 

“I know! She’s gonna wait until the little one’s birth, then she’s gonna put your face in dirty diapers.”

My laughters erupted as George muttered a “Gross.”. I was looking for an original way to announce it to George’s family. Sadly, I had never really had one of my own. Both my parents along with all my immediate family except my grandmother had been killed during the first war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, when I was little. My grandma had been unable to accept her loss, and she left me in an orphanage until my first year at Hogwarts. From this point, I became close with the twins and, aware of my situation, they invited me for Christmas to the Burrow. Mrs Weasley had immediately acted like the mother I couldn’t remember. She knew I lived in an orphanage and she made a point of letting me stay at the Burrow as often as possible.

I felt like this baby would also be a gift for her, and I wanted its future arrival to be a light in her darkened daily life. That’s why I wanted a special way to tell her, and, by Merlin’s pants, I had the Weasley twins on my side! Yeah, I thought about asking them for fireworks. But, what was the point if we didn’t have a proper audience?

“Boys, do you think we can reunite your family at the Burrow without telling your mother? She would be so happy to see Bill and Charlie! We could do that for the Easter Day.” 

“Great idea, kiddo,” started Fred. “But Charlie is in Romania and Bill in France. Do you think we will have enough time to tell them?”

“Plus, we would have to inform Ron and Ginny that they have to come back. Where are they gonna stay?” Added George. 

“Yes, it’s gonna work. Everyone will stay here until Easter.”

The following day, while the boys were working on the shop -George had forbidden me to work at least until the baby’s birth- I wrote the letters. I didn’t tell anything about my pregnancy, just that we wanted to reunite everyone. In Ron and Ginny’s one, I added that they would have to take the Hogwarts Express and that they would stay in our flat, so Harry and Hermione couldn’t come. I sent the three letters, hoping all would go well, and started to prepare the lunch. 

The boys didn’t eat simultaneously so that the shop was never empty. This day, George was the first one to show up. He kissed me and slightly stroke my belly, but he quickly realized I had something to tell him.

“What’s bothering you babe?”

He started to eat, probably starving.

“I want to go to the Ministry of Magic today.”

He frowned.

“Why?”

“I want to see Percy.”

I knew he wouldn’t be fond of the idea, however I didn’t expect his face to drop like it did, nor did I expect the anger in his eyes. 

“No way. This git hasn’t spoken to us in months, he has sent back his Christmas sweater to mum! He didn’t care about dad when he was at St-Mungo’s and… Do you remember how he lied to mum at Christmas? No, I don’t want him to be here.”

“George, he’s your brother! This baby is gonna be his nephew or his niece, and Molly wants nothing more than to see him! Please, let me try. Just try. I go to the Ministry, I talk to him, and if he doesn’t want to come, then I give up.”

George seemed to think for a while, but didn’t change his mind. 

“No Y/N, sorry but I don’t want you to go there, especially alone.”

“Why?”

“Because of what happens outside!” He was now standing in front of me, a vein pulsating in his neck. “Fred and I have to make more Shield Hats and we can’t go with you, and I won’t let you alone. No way.”

I knew this overprotectiveness should have bothered me, but the genuine fear in his eyes as his hands were resting on my belly tenderized me. I slowly kissed him and whispered:

“I’m gonna be okay, Georgie. But you can’t keep me here like a bird in its cage. I will be very careful, I promise, and I won’t be long.”

With a sigh, he nodded.

I had never been to the Ministry’s headquarters. Before my departure, George had explained me what to do once in the telephone box. Following his instructions and the operator’s ones, I quickly found myself into the Atrium. It was huge, with in its center a big fountain. Getting closer, I saw its name - the Fountain of Magical Brethren. I asked for direction and went to find Percy’s office. I was wandering into a corridor, walking near the walls in order to prevent from disturbing the ones who were working, when I literally bumped into Percy. We were both frozen and watching the other in the eyes. 

“Well, hello, Y/N… What are you doing here?”

He had recovered from his surprise and was now displaying a superior air.

“Don’t do that with me Perce, please, don’t be so pompous.”

“Sorry.”

Percy and I had surprisingly gotten along pretty well when we were younger. Maybe it was because I understood his dreams of greatness, or because I knew why he felt so different from the rest of his family without him telling me. Anyway, he was a good friend of mine, until his fight with his father… Mrs Weasley had begged me to talk to him, she thought he would listen to me… And she was wrong. He had slammed the door in my face, in the same way as with his mother, and he had told me some really mean things. We hadn’t seen each other since. 

“Come in.”

I followed him into his little office. The desk was against the wall and cluttered with reports. A memory of him, slightly younger and babbling about some very important report made me smile.

“Is there one about cauldron bottoms?” 

He looked at me with some kind of smile on the lips. However, the constant moving of his hands showed his nervousness. He didn’t tell anything, clearly waiting for me to express why I was here. 

“Have you seen Fred and George’s shop?” It wasn’t at all what I wanted to say but I was as nervous as Percy. He frowned. “No, in fact, it doesn’t matter. Well… George and I have, hum, a kind of announcement and we… We wanted to, well, to announce it in front of all the family and I-we thought you would like to be here.”

Percy stayed silent for a while, looking everywhere except in my eyes. I was beginning to feel concerned about his hearing when he muttered something so low I almost didn’t catch it.

“I can’t, sorry.” Then his eyes fell on my hands. “You’re not gonna marry him, are you?”

“No, that’s not what it’s about.”

“Then… Are you pregnant?”

I stayed silent a few seconds, and nodded slowly. He cleared his throat, but a strange emotion remained in his voice.

“Congratulation, Y/N, I’m happy for the both of you.”

“Thanks, Perce.” I had to find something to convince him to come. “Percy, I really want you to come at the Burrow, please!”

“I can’t Y/N!” This time he spoke louder. “They don’t want to see me, and I’m too afraid to see them! I’ve been a git to them, yes, but they didn’t hold back the hurtful observations too. I won’t come, sorry Y/N.”

“But Percy, they miss you! Do you even have an idea of how much Molly had cried because she missed you? Your name has become a taboo because it’s too painful, and even if he doesn’t admit it, Arthur -”

“Stop!” He was now screaming. “Don’t tell me they miss me. If they don’t talk about me, it’s because they hate me. Don’t try to tell me my father miss me. Don’t try to tell me the twins miss me. It would be lies.”

“No Perce, they do!”

“They do? Then tell me, who wanted to see me at the Burrow, you or George?”

His face was red, and he was now looking straight into my eyes, daring me to lie. Of course he knew that I wanted to see him, not George, but if only everyone could explain themselves… No, it was useless. I saw it in his eyes, he was determined to ignore his family. I could cry in front of him, beg him, but he wouldn’t change his mind. I was about to leave his office, but I stopped in front of the door, my hand on the handle.

“If you change your mind, we’ll be at the Burrow at Easter. Bye, Percy. And… They don’t hate you, I know it.”

With that, I left and crossed the corridor as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to stay here, too saddened by my failure. I didn’t even realize that Mr Weasley was in the elevator.

“Y/N! What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

I smiled, not wanting him to know why I was here. 

“Yes, I’m fine and you?”

“A little tired, I’ve had a lot of work lately and -”

He stopped himself, glaring at a man who had just entered the elevator. Mr Weasley stayed silent until the cabin stopped at his level. He muttered me to follow him and soon we arrived in an office slightly larger than Percy’s one.

“You shouldn’t be here alone, Y/N.” Mr Weasley had an unusual look of disapproval in his eyes. Then he seemed worried. “Is there something wrong? With George? Did you fight or…”

“No, don’t worry Mr Weasley! Everything’s fine, really. I just…” I had to find something. “I wanted some fresh air and I thought I could come and see you.” 

What a stupid excuse. 

“Well, we can say fresh air isn’t missing lately.” Mr Weasley was watching through the window.

“Why is everything so cold and so dark?” I murmured.

“The Dementors, Y/N. They are everywhere and out of control. That’s why you being alone is a big mistake. If you want, you can wait for me and I’ll walk you home.”

“No, thanks Mr Weasley, but don’t worry, I’ll be okay.” I smiled.

After some banalities, I left him to his work and went back to the shop. George was worried sick and pacing in front of the shop. When he saw me, he ran towards me and pulled me into a strong embrace. Later that day, while Fred, George and I were eating dinner, I told them what happened at the Ministry. I told them everything, except the fact that Percy was afraid they would hate him forever. I felt like I didn’t have the right to do so, and I could just hope that one day, he would have the courage to face his beloved family. 

To be continued