#of babysitting and (potential) kitchen fires

[hellodarling1357]

Hello! Heard your requests are open so could I please request a cassian x f!reader fic where the reader is a babysitter for cassian's baby girl (maybe less than a year old). cassian is a single father so as time goes on and cassian sees reader bonding so well with his baby, he starts liking her more and more. eventually asks her out and they end up getting together and all❤️

Tiny Toes

Thank you so much for the request! I had the best time writing this, it honestly could’ve gone on forever

A/N: sorry for the slight Nesta slander, I really do love her as a character but needed to have her do this :(

Enjoy 🥰

Word Count: 6.6k

You didn’t think you would be babysitting at this stage in your life but with your boss firing you because you refused to sleep with him, and then refusing to put in a good word for you when potential employers contacted him for a reference, it seemed like the next best, and your only, option. If anything, it was a means to an end in terms of supporting yourself whilst you got back on your feet and sorted something else out; the fact that you absolutely adored babies and children was just a bonus perk of the job.

When your close friend Elain told you that she knew someone who would really appreciate your help, you jumped at the opportunity. However, what you weren’t expecting was to come face to face with the General of the Night Court’s armies, crying baby in his arms and a distressed expression of his face.

“Y/N?”

“Yes, hi…” You trailed off, unsure how to address the male in front of you. General? Lord? But he didn’t seem to notice your hesitancy as he gestured you inside.

“Hey, I’m Cassian. Seriously, thank you so much for agreeing to this. I know it’s last minute, but somethings come up and I just… Well, I really need the help, so thank you.”

You smiled at him, taking the time to look around the open layout of the house as he tried to settle his crying daughter. You couldn’t help but cringe a bit at the state of the place. There were baby clothes and toys everywhere, plates and dirty laundry piled up, not to mention the daggers and knives that seemed to be scattered throughout the place.

“This,” Cassian said as he walked back into the lounge room, the babe now happily looking around, “is Otilia, or Ottie. Ottie, this is Y/N, she’s going to be looking after you while Daddy is away. You’re going to be a good girl for Y/N?” Ottie just smiled up at him as though he were her favourite person in the world, making happy little noises as she kicked her feet and grasped at the front of his top.

The sight had your heart melting. If you didn’t already know who Cassian was, there was no way in a million years you would’ve guessed that the male in front of you was the infamous General, the Lord of Bloodshed.

With Ottie still is his arms, Cassian moved around the room, gathering items, and trying to clean up what he could before leaving.

“I’ve left a note in the kitchen, just with all the general things like nap times, where the baby food is, where the nappies are, what her favourite toy is. But she’s a pretty happy baby so hopefully she won’t be any trouble.”

“I’m sure she’ll be perfect, won’t you, sweetheart?” You cooed at the little girl as she watched you with wide eyes. “Here, do you want me to take her so she can get comfortable with me while you’re still here?” You offered, as she wrapped her small hand around your finger.

“If you don’t mind. Don’t be offended if she starts crying, she usually takes a few minutes to warm up to new people,” Cassian passed her over, helping her settle in your arms, a protective hand cupping her cheek as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Well, look at that, you’re clearly some sort of baby whisperer.”

Smiling down at her, you gently tickled her with your pointer finger, grinning as her feet started kicking, her sweet melodic laugh filling the room. Cassian hurriedly pulled the rest of his gear together, sending lingering looks over to the pair of you as he did so.

“Everything alright?” You asked as you sat on the green velvet couch, Ottie still in your arms. You knew how hard it could be for the parents, having a complete stranger looking after their children, so you tried to give Cassian the chance to ask any questions or dispel any concerns before he left.

“Yeah, yeah sorry of course. All fine.” He seemed to hesitate before leaning against the table as he watched Ottie, a loving smile gracing his features. “Sorry,” a sheepish expression replaced that smile as he met your eye, “it’s the first time I’m leaving her, and I can’t seem to make myself walk out the door.”

You softly laughed, trying to ease his tension as you said, “That’s completely normal. If it helps, is there a way I can get in touch with you while you’re out? That way you’ll know straight away if something happens?”

He gave you a grateful smile but shook his head, “No it’s nothing like that. After everything I’ve heard Elain say about you, I trust you with her completely. It’s more so that I just don’t want to be away from her, don’t want to miss anything, you know? Even if it’s just the same smile I’ve already seen a hundred times,” He chuckled as he got up to press a kiss to the top of her head, then her cheeks, then her tiny, clenched hands. “Trust me, I know how pathetic this sounds, I don’t even know why I’m telling you, but I just really love hanging out with her. It’s just been the two of us against the world, especially after everything that happened with…” He suddenly stopped, as if catching what he was about to say.

“Anyway, I should be off. I’m already half an hour late and have had Rhys mind yelling at me for the last 15 minutes. Thank you so much, Y/N. I should only be gone a few hours.” With a final kiss to Ottie’s cheeks, Cassian walked out the door.

"Well now, what are we going to do today, sweetheart?" You asked the small baby in your arms. She just fixed you with another smile and burst into giggles.

*****

You had spent the better part of an hour playing with Ottie, hoping to tire her out so that she would easily go down for her nap. You plan miraculously worked, after wrapping her up in a blanket and running a soothing hand over her stomach, she fell fast asleep without even the smallest fuss. Cassian was right, she was a happy baby.

You quietly closed the door behind you and headed down to the kitchen. With nothing else to do, you figured you would help by cleaning the place up. With the dishes washed and drying, the benches wiped, and rubbish taken out, you started on the piles of laundry, however, a small painting tucked behind a chair in the corner of the lounge room piked your interest.

You picked Cassian out of the painting immediately, the telltale red Siphons and overall uncanny accuracy making it an easy conclusion. You tensed upon looking at the female painted beside him. The similarities between her and your High Lady were all too familiar, this was clearly her sister, Nesta.

Quickly putting the painting back where it had been hidden you felt guilt course through you; you hadn't meant to snoop. You knew what had happened between Cassian and Nesta. Everyone knew what had happened. They had been mated for just five years before falling pregnant then two weeks after the baby, after Ottie, had been born Nesta had simply left. It was all the people of Velaris could talk about, wild rumours and stories spreading about what had happened. Eventually, the truth came out; she had left Cassian, left her baby, for Eris.

Elain had explained to you the pressure her sister had felt and had realised she was only with Cassian because everyone had said that was what the mating bond required. But she wasn't actually happy with him, and Cassian hadn't been happy with her either. Then there had been a visit to the Autumn Court, and something had sparked between Nesta and Eris. She had felt torn and confused but a baby was never something she wanted, and Eris was offering her a life where she could be her own person, not someone shadowed by her High Lady sister, according to Nesta.

Given all of this, you were surprised by how put together Cassian seemed. You couldn't imagine the conflicting emotions he would've felt with his mate leaving just days after they had had a baby. But he seemed to have picked up the pieces and, no doubt, had the support of his family during that time, but you supposed there did reach a point where his duties to the court had to be met again, and you were more than happy to step in and help where you could.

*****

Several hours later, you had just finished giving Ottie her lunch when a piece of paper appeared on the table in front of you:

Y/N, Cassian has asked that I let you know he is going to be later than anticipated and that he is very sorry for the inconvenience. However, if this doesn't work, let me know and I'll have someone over to watch Ottie as soon as possible - Rhys

You blinked.

Rhys? As in Rhysand, your High Lord? Just casually sending you a magically note? You blanched at the thought of him even knowing you existed, which, you supposed made sense, seeing that you were friends with his wife's sister.

You didn't mind staying longer to look after Ottie, but you had no way of conveying that to Rhysand or Cassian. As if your thoughts had been sent out into the abyss, a pen appeared atop the paper as if in answer to your question.

Hesitantly, you picked it up, unsure how to even start a note of this manner that would be read by your High Lord.

It's not a problem, High Lord. Please tell Cassian that I can stay as long as required - Y/N

You didn't have a chance to read over the message before it was whisked away by magic. But, shit. Cassian had introduced himself to you as Cassian, but should you have referred to him as General in your note? Had you been too informal or improper. Before you could mull over it any further, the piece of paper was back in front of you:

Lovely.

By the way, just Rhys is fine - Rhys

Well, that settled that matter.

*****

You had given Ottie her dinner and put her down for bed with little fuss. There had been a few tears once she sensed that Cassian wasn't there, but you had managed to coax her back to her happy little self by quietly singing and rubbing soothing circles across her dark mass of hair until she fell asleep.

Now you sat curled up on the couch with the makeshift dinner you had prepared and a book that had been on the bulking bookshelf that sat in the corner of the room. You were sure that Cassian wouldn't have minded your rummaging through the pantry but had made enough for him to eat once he came home just in case.

An hour or so later, you had been so engrossed in your book that you didn't hear the front door open or the heavy footsteps that padded down the hall.

"Hi," You looked up with a slight jump, having been startled by Cassian's sudden presence. He was leaning against the doorway and looked absolutely exhausted. "Y/N, I am so sorry. I was up at some of the Illyrian camps and, well, things were worse than I anticipated... I won't bore you with all that, but I am so sorry for keeping you here."

You brushed him off, noticing the tension somewhat leave his body upon realising you weren't bothered by it.

"It's fine, I promise. The High Lord... Rhys," Cassian grinned at your correction, clearly privy to the notes that had passed between the two of you, "said you were going to be late. If it wasn't going to work, I would have let him know."

Cassian offered you another grateful smile as he slumped into the armchair opposite the couch. "How was she? Not too difficult?"

"She was perfect. A few tears at bedtime but we managed to sort that out. I think she was just missing you." You could have sworn his eyes twinkled at your last comment.

"Before I head off, I cooked some dinner and left a bit to the side for you in case you were hungry when you got back. I hope you don't mind?"

"Mind? Y/N, you are honestly cauldron sent. You also cleaned? All whilst looking after Ottie. Thank you."

You felt your cheeks heat up and preyed he wouldn't notice your slight blush.

"It was nothing, seriously. I had nothing else to do while Ottie was sleeping so thought I would help out. Why don't you go up and see her? I'll get dinner heated for you."

Cassian sent another grateful smile your way before leaving the room, you laughed to yourself as you heard his steps pick up in pace as he bounded up the stairs towards his daughter's room.

*****

He came back 10 minutes later just as you were putting on your coat and collecting your belongings.

"I've left your dinner on the stove to stay warm." You said over your shoulder. He really did look exhausted.

"Thank you, you have no idea how much of a life saver you were today." You brushed off the compliment as he led you towards the front door. "Oh, before you go, we never spoke about payment? How much do I owe you?"

Honestly, you hadn't even thought about payment, it had completely slipped your mind.

"Right. Don't worry about that now–"

"Y/N, I'm not going to not pay you for today."

"No, I know. But you look like you're seconds away from passing out, no offence. So go back inside, finish your dinner then go to bed. We can sort the money part out later."

"Okay, only if you're sure? Thank you again, so much. Get home safe, alright?"

"I will. Night, Cassian."

You had barely made it to the front gate before the door was opening again.

"Y/N? Before you go, would you mind looking after Ottie again in a few days? Rhys is needing me to get back into my work, so I'll need to have someone watching her while I'm away. You're so good with her, so if you wouldn't mind..." He trailed off.

"Of course, she's an absolute angel. I would love to look after her again. Let me know when you need me."

"Okay, Goodnight. Thanks again."

*****

Over a year had passed since you first met Cassian and Ottie. After the first few weeks, Cassian had sat you down and asked if you would be happy looking after her on a more permanent basis, so you had decided on four days a week while Cassian was busy helping out Rhys and the Inner Circle. Sometimes you would stay until later into the evenings if Cassian came home with piles of paperwork, helping with Ottie's bedtime and cleaning up the house, despite Cassian's protests that it was his mess to deal with.

"Y/N?"

You had just finished feeding Ottie her dinner when Cassian appeared in the doorway. You looked up at him, waiting for him to continue as you wiped the food away from her chubby cheeks.

"Ottie is turning two on Saturday, and I was just wondering, if you weren't doing anything, if you wanted to come to her birthday party? It won't be a big thing, but she adores you and it would be nice to have you there," You smiled at him, delighted that he even considered you important enough to be there to celebrate, but before you could reply, Cassian hurriedly continued, "Of course, there's no pressure. You probably want a break from us, it is your day off after all…"

"Cass, I would love to be there." His face lit up as your response.

"Good. Okay. Great," He remained in the doorway, still softly smiling as he watched you pick up Ottie from her highchair, "Well I better... Still got some work to finish off, so..." He gestured back towards his office and then made his way out of the room.

You were caught off guard by the momentary awkwardness that seemed to radiate from him, not used to seeing him in any other way but the confident and playful General who was absolutely smitten with his little girl.

*****

Standing outside Cassian's house, you lingered on the doorstep as you hyped yourself up to knock on the door. It had only just dawned on you as you walked over that the guests at Ottie's birthday party, weren't going to be any old day-to-day fae. No, you were about to spend the afternoon with your High Lord and Lady, and their inner circle. Not a daunting prospect in the slightest.

As luck would have it, you weren't given a chance to psych yourself out before the door opened, revealing a grinning Cassian and Ottie who merrily clapped and said your name when she saw you, arms reaching out for you to hold her.

"Hello, Birthday Girl. Don't you look beautiful." She giggled as you cooed at her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Hi, thanks for inviting me." You looked at Cassian now who was fondly watching the scene in front of him playout.

"Thanks for coming," Cassian opened the door wider for you to come inside, taking the pink gift bag you had brought with you that contained Ottie's birthday present. "Fair warning, everyone here has a bone to pick with you."

You froze, body tensing at his words.

"What?" You would have cringed at the stutter in your voice had you not been so worried. But Cassian just laughed and led you further into the house, a hand on the small of your back.

"Well, apparently since you've come along, Ottie doesn't have the time of day for anyone else. She was fussing all morning until she saw you walking up the road through the kitchen window. You seemed to have gotten lost somewhere between the gate to the door with how long you stood out there, so we thought we would see what you were doing, didn't we Ottie?" Cassian gave you a knowing smirk, clearly aware of your nerves towards who you would be spending the day with.

"Come on, I'm just joking. They're all dying to meet you."

Right on queue, a female, who you knew without needing to be told was Morrigan, jumped up from her seat as you walked into the room.

"Y/N," She squealed as she bounded over and pulled you into a tight hug, Cassian quickly grabbing Ottie out of your arms. "It's about time we all finally get to meet you. First Elain kept you all to herself, and now Cassian? If you had said no to coming today, I would have gone over to your house myself and forced you to be here."

"Mor..." Cassian's tone was laced in warning, but you immediately felt at ease in her presence.

"Come on, let's introduce you to the others."

*****

To your absolute delight, the rest of Cassian's family welcomed you into their group with open arms. Elain had jumped up and refused to leave your side once she noticed you had arrived. Having been away with Lucien for some time, it had been a while since the two of you had been able to catch up.

After the presents had been opened - Ottie had adored the fluffy bear you had gotten her - everyone was lounging outside, watching as little Nyx sat with his younger cousin in his lap, showing her all of the presents she had received and telling her the best way to play with them in order to have the most fun. Clearly the ever-destined High Lord in the making, you had grinned, already seeing the type of male he would become as Feyre and Rhys watched on sharing content smiles.

It was only then that you realised that Cassian was missing from the group. You excused yourself and headed back inside, searching the house until finally finding him in Ottie's bedroom.

"Hi," You voice was quiet as you made your presence known, unsure if he had just forgotten something up here or if he needed a moment to himself.

"Hey," He turned to face you, looking as though he had just been pulled out of some sort of trance. However, his lopsided smile was quick to return as he said, "sorry for leaving you out there with that lot."

Letting out a laugh you walked into the room, "They're really not that bad. Imagine what the other courts would think if they ever saw the High Lord of the Night Court dressed up in a pink tutu with a fluffy matching crown on his head."

Cassian laughed at that, smile widening as the voices and shrill giggles from outside echoed through the bedroom window, but that reserved expression was quick to reappear.

"You alright?" You quietly asked, already having a sense of what was eating him up.

"Yeah, fine." A glance at your unconvinced expression had Cassian letting out a low sigh before continuing. "I thought she would've at least shown up today. I know she wants no part in this, but it's still her daughter’s birthday. For Ottie's sake, I thought she would've shown. She needs her mum."

You let out a sigh of your own now, crossing the space between you and wrapping your arms around him in a tight hug.

Pulling away you said, "Cass, I get it. Believe me I do. But Ottie is doing just fine. You're absolutely amazing with her and it's so special watching the two of you together. And in terms of her needing her mum, look at all the amazing females Ottie has in her life: Mor, Feyre, Elain, Amren. There's no short supply of love for her, if anything, Nesta is the one missing out on this."

The words had rushed out of you without being able to truly process what you had said. You and Cassian had never directly spoken about Nesta, it had always been an unspoken awareness that you knew what had happened and that was enough. Looking at the ground, you could feel yourself tensing with worry at the thought of having overstepped.

"And she has you."

"What?"

"And Ottie has you. You were listing off the amazing females she has in her life but missed the one who she spends the most time with. The one who she loves the most."

There was no stopping the blush that crept over your face as you stared back at Cassian.

"Cass-"

But the sounds of hurried little footsteps running up the stairs interrupted whatever you had been about to say.

"Uncle Cass, Uncle Cass," Nyx burst into the room, dramatically taking in deep breathes as he waved up at you.

"What is it, bud?" Cassian shot you a bemused glance, still somewhat laced with the intensity from before, then knelt in front of Nyx who lifted his arms and placed his little hands on Cassian's shoulders.

"It's cake time. Come on." Then he was running out of the room again.

"You'd think it was the end of the world with the entrance he just made." You let out a laugh but before you could respond, Nyx was bursting back in.

"Come on." He yelled, grabbing you and Cassian by the hand, and forcing you down the stairs to where Elain had just finished lighting the candles on top of the cake.

*****

The rest of the afternoon raced by, so fast, in fact, that you didn't have time to process the moment you and Cassian had shared until you were home. The intensity in his expression as he stared at you and the implication of his words... Your heart was racing at the mere thought.

Letting out a groan you tossed and turned in your bed, unable to settle your racing thoughts at the realisation that you had, somehow, without even being aware of it starting, had begun to fall for Cassian. To make matters even worse, you had no idea where you truly stood with him. Despite the closeness and friendship that had formed, he was technically still your boss.

You had a whole day before you were due back to look after Ottie. A whole 24 hours to figure out how you wanted to move forward in the wake of this realisation.

*****

Monday morning arrived much too quickly for your liking. It wasn't until the door opened and Cassian greeted you on the other side of it that you decided you weren't going to do anything about your feelings. He had been emotional the other day, grieving what he thought was missing from his daughter's life and, honestly, you thought to yourself, he probably hadn't even intended it to come out the way you had perceived it. He wasn't wrong, you did spend a lot of time with her. But you were paid to do so, so did it really count?

"Morning, Y/N? Have a good rest of you weekend?" Oh, sure it had been fantastic. Just a nice dose of inner turmoil. But of course, you didn't say any of that.

"I did," You smiled at him, acting as though your insides weren't currently screaming out. "Did Ottie have a good birthday? It was so nice meeting everyone."

As Cassian got ready to leave, your usual chatter filled the space as you made yourself a coffee, but you couldn't help but notice that his usual, carefree smile didn't quite meet his eyes, and that he seemed to be watching you as though waiting or assessing something.

"Alright, well I might be home a bit later tonight, if that's alright?" You brushed him off, of course it was alright, it always was. You sat down next to Ottie as she continued to happily munch away on her breakfast. "Okay, bye Ottie, you'll be good for Y/N today?" He pressed a kiss to her cheek before turning back to you, "See you later, yeah?"

"Mhm," You replied, "have a good day."

"You too." Then he was leaning down and pressing a kiss to your cheek as well before standing up and leaving as though nothing had happened.

What. The. Fuck.

You stared at the empty door frame he had walked through, only half hearing the front door close as he took off.

Again.

What. The. Fuck.

You turned to look at Ottie, as though she would provide you with some sort of explanation as to what just happened, or to confirm that it had even happened in the first place, that it wasn't just something you had imagined.

But she provided you with no deeper insight as she sat in her seat, happily kicking her little feet and giggling to herself. Upon noticing you watching her, she gave you one of her big cheesy grins you had grown to love and offered you a piece of the fruit Cassian had cut up for her.

*****

What. The. Fuck.

Cassian's heart was racing as he flew up to the House of Wind. What had he done?

Clearly you were more than happy to ignore his complete lack of control from the other day, when he all but said you were basically like a mum to Ottie. He was surprised he hadn't scared you off, especially when all you had signed up for was to be her babysitter, which was a harsh truth in itself that Cassian found himself constantly having to remember whenever he watched you and his daughter interact and he felt his heart stammer in his chest.

And then to turn around and kiss you on the cheek before leaving for work - as you turned up for work, he had to remind himself, again - as though it was a normal morning, between a normal little family...

He felt sick.

He had really screwed up.

"What's wrong with you today?" Azriel asked as Cassian landed with an ungrateful grunt next to the training ring located on the roof.

"Nothing."

"You sure?" Rhys now asked, sensing Cassian's inner turmoil even through the steadfast mental shield he had up around his mind.

With a grumble, Cassian lowered said shield, giving Rhys a look at what had occurred that morning. Scowling even deeper when Rhys let out a bark of a laugh. The snicker that followed from Azriel as Rhys showed him what had happened sent Cassian marching into the training ring, readying himself to forget his stupidity as Azriel approached to spar with him.

*****

He hadn't even got half an hour into his training before pulling up short, his mind was too distracted.

"Should I have stayed?" He blurtedly asked.

"What?" Unbeknownst to Cassian, Rhys and Az had been having a silent conversation whilst he had been spaced out.

"This morning. With Y/N. Should I have stayed and, I don't know, talked about it?"

He missed the glance his brother's shared.

"Well," Rhys started. "What would you have talked about?"

"I don't know, what is there to talk about?" Cassian snapped back, frustration and worry getting the better of him the more he thought about what he might now lose.

"Would you have tried to pass it off as a joke, or explain it away?" Rhys cautiously asked, trying to judge which direction Cassian's mind was heading in.

"Or would you have stayed and finally admitted your feelings to her?” Azriel interjected.

"My feelings?"

"Yes, you idiot. And the fact that you're in love with her."

"I'm not in love with..." Cassian trailed off though. He was, he absolutely was, and there was no point in denying it.

Azriel scoffed, "Please, you're in love with her. We've never seen you like this before with anyone."

"Well, Nesta-" Cassian tried to counter but Rhys cut him off.

"Nesta wasn't love. That was the mating bond, you've said as much to us multiple times so don't try to deflect now."

Cassian let out a deep sigh, he wasn't expected home for a few hours and a plan was starting to form in his mind.

*****

You had been surprised, but pleased all the same, when Feyre turned up with Nyx.

"Y/N! Hi, how are you?" You still weren't quite used to the casualness that surrounded the rulers of your court but did your best to act as though being in their presence wasn't one of the most intimidating things you had ever experienced.

"I'm good. What are you doing here?"

"Well, it's such a lovely day, Nyx and I thought it would be nice to get you and Ottie over to ours for the afternoon."

"Oh, thank you. Are you sure though?"

"Of course, we can walk back now. Go along the Sidra if you'd like?

"Easy, let me just grab Ottie's things."

Feyre shut the door behind you, Nyx already running over to where Ottie sat with her toys and planting a big kiss to her cheek.

"There's no need to grab much. Cass bought double ups of basically everything and has them stored at ours for when we look after her. Just yourselves will do."

You smiled warmly at her before scooping Ottie up, "Do you want to go play at Auntie Feyre's with Nyx?

Her excited squeals were enough of an answer, still, she excitedly said "yes, yes, yes, yes, yes," as you headed out the door, watching as her and Nyx ran ahead of the two of you.

*****

The afternoon spent with Feyre was the perfect distraction from your racing thoughts after what had happened with Cassian that morning.

The two of you chatted outside until the sun started to set, watching Ottie and Nyx run around across the grass.

"Well, hello, Feyre, Y/N." Rhys greeted as he walked out to join you, still dressed in his leathers, clearly having just got home.

You said hi back, watching with a laugh as Ottie caught sight of who now stood with you.

"Uncle Rhysie." She yelled, her little feet pounding across the grass as she leapt into his arms.

"Hello, princess. How's my favourite girl?" Ottie giggled at the nickname and hugged into him even tighter, "What do you say to a sleepover tonight, Ots?"

Turning to you, Ottie still in his arms, Rhys said, "Cass is fine with it. I think he needed you to head back at some point before going home tonight though."

"Oh, alright. Well, I might head off now then. Bye Ottie." She looked around at you, eyes wide as she wriggled out of Rhys' hold and ran over to you.

"You're not staying?" Her lip started to quiver so you quickly wrapped her up into a hug before the tears started.

"Not tonight, sweetheart. But we can play all day tomorrow, yeah?" She seemed to contemplate this for a moment before deciding it was acceptable enough and planted a kiss on your cheek before running back over to Nyx.

Feyre and Rhys were both smiling at you, clearly watching, and overhearing the entire interaction.

"What?" You asked with a laugh.

"Nothing, you're just really good with her."

"Oh, well..." You trailed off, not sure what to say as Rhys' words from before struck. Cassian needed to talk to you about something and, well, shit, clearly you were about to get fired, or, more kindly, were about to be told your ‘services were no longer required’.

"I'll see you both later. Goodnight." You missed the conspiratorial grin they shared behind your back, Rhys letting his thoughts drift over to Cassian's mind to tell him you were on your way.

*****

The house was dark when you got back, the only form of light was coming from the study and, from the looks of it, the backyard.

"Cass?" You called out as you closed the door behind you.

Hurried movements sounded from his office, then Cassian was quickly walking towards you.

"Y/N. Hi."

"Hi."

You felt as though your entire body was on guard. You needed to explain that you could easily put your feelings aside, but losing the chance of being in Ottie and Cassian's lives was something that filled you with dread, you would be happy to stay on in whatever capacity you could.

"Do you... Do you want to talk?" Cassian's nervousness was unsettling, yet you followed as he led you towards the couch.

"What are you doing tonight?"

That wasn't the question you were expecting.

You hesitated before answering, "Just going home I guess."

He seemed to contemplate your answer, looking so much like Ottie did earlier when you were saying goodbye.

"Dinner?" His voice was strained, leaving you even more confused.

"Um, yeah I'll be having dinner."

"No... Ugh this isn't working." He leant his head against the back of the couch, running his hands over his face.

"Cassian, are you alright?"

"Yes. No. I don't know." You were stunned, maintaining your silence as Cassian continued. "This morning, Y/N, I'm sorry. I don't know what that was, it just happened without me thinking about what I was doing. And then everything I said at Ottie's birthday. And now, fucks sake..." He trailed off again, leaving you just as confused as he blurted out "I need to have dinner."

"Oh, sure," You felt as though you were waiting for the other shoe to drop, as if his bizarre behaviour was some sort of test. "Did you want me to heat something up? I think there's still some frozen pasta from the other night." You went to stand but Cassian placed a hand on your knee to stop you before quickly pulling it away.

"No, it's alright. I've got it sorted." Then he was standing, offering you his hand as he guided you towards the back door.

You froze at the sight before you. Candles flickered across the table and the deck, a table set for two, lined with trays of food and a bottle of wine which sat in the middle of it all.

"Cass?"

"Look, Y/N, I get it if this is completely out of line. If it is then I am so sorry. But I needed you to know that this, whatever this is between us, means something to me."

You couldn't move, you were stuck on the spot as Cassian continued, the flickering lights casting a shadow across his handsome features.

"It's not even because you're so good with Ottie. I mean, you are, you're amazing with her and she adores you, so, so much. But it's how you treat me. Even that first time you looked after her, I was so close to crumbling. I felt so torn, between staying home and looking after my baby girl, but also knowing I needed to step back into reality and my responsibilities. It wasn't fair on the others that they had to pick up my slack."

You tried to interject, to say something about how the others wouldn't have minded, not one bit, especially with everything Cassian had been going through at the time, but he was already moving on.

"Not going to lie, I was reluctant when Elain first told me about you. It was nothing to do with you," He quickly clarified, "But more so because you were a complete stranger to me, and as much as Elain vouched for you, I still felt wary."

"Then you walked in and that first time you held her; I swear my heart skipped a beat. Even with Elain and Feyre, it took them ages to be able to hold her without Ottie bursting into tears. But with you, it all just seemed to fall into place." His voice was beginning to shake, and you silently wiped the tears from your eyes as he kept talking.

"But if anything, Y/N, it's the way you make me feel. Before even knowing me, you had me convinced that I wasn't completely failing at being her dad, that even though everything was well and truly fucked up, she was doing just fine. You helped me realise that I was going to be fine as well."

Cassian approached you now, calloused hands reaching up to your cheeks as he wiped away the rest of your tears with his thumbs. "So, I guess what I'm trying to say, and what I'm not doing a very good job of getting across, is that I love you?"

A watery laugh left you at the overall Cassian-ness of the statement, the sound making him grin lovingly at you.

"I love you, Y/N. And I am so thankful for the day that you walked into our lives and changed them for the better. And, assuming I haven't completely misread the situation, and assuming that those are happy tears," He laughed, his own eyes beginning to well. "I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me?"

With his hands still on your cheeks, you brought your arms up around his neck and pulled him down so that his face was level with yours.

"I thought you were going to fire me." You whispered.

A cheeky smile passed over Cassian's face, "Well, technically, I suppose I am? I can't have my...whatever you are to me now, being paid to look after my kid now, can I?"

"How romantic. Being fired then called your 'whatever'."

"We'll figure that out later." Cassian murmured against your lips.

"Yes, I suppose we will." Then you were leaning forward, lips pressing to his, feeling as though you were finally home.

*****

Part 2

There are so many opportunities for bonus spin-offs that I’m excited to write but if you want to see any particular scenario, let me know 🥰

[another-lost-mc]

in homage to my favourite market hall probably most likely being almost completely burned down, would you tell us which one of your ocs is most likely to set the kitchen on fire while cooking? [my chinese take-out spot :( ]

(Ouch, that sucks. :( Hopefully they can get things repaired and they're back in business soon!)

Most Likely: Azra (the fire and newly-purchased cooking self-help book in Zee's Devilgram feed are because of this lol). Gotta give him credit for trying to learn and sticking with it, I guess. At least he can afford the repairs to his kitchen every time something goes wrong.

Least Likely: Seraphiel and Zee. They're both responsible and focused enough not to let things devolve that badly. Zee is probably the most skilled in the kitchen amongst all the OCs.

Reasons why some of the OCs might set the kitchen on fire:

Karasu: Distracted by his D.D.D. or computer

Metatron: Distracted by his books or his writing

Tenebris: Distracted by you (his spellbook babysits the stove so most potential disasters are avoided)

Gabriel + Uriel: Distracted by each other (pointless bickering that turns into a food fight that turns into someone getting bent over the kitchen counter)

Belial: If something (or someone) catches fire in his kitchen (or anywhere in his house), it's 100% intentional on his part.

[weirdraccoon]

Another idea if you're interested 💕.

Praticamente il seguito di un'idea già realizzata.

MC e Sebastian hanno un appuntamento romantico (o un intoppo di lavoro come preferisci) e chiedono a Eleazar di fare da babysitter alla piccola Miriam per qualche ora e proprio in quel momento Miriam decide di sviluppare una magia accidentale (sparando fuoco dalla sua bocca ecc.)

ohmygodohmygodyeeees!!! (i haven't forgotten about the last one, just these days I'm not feeling up for anything but this one yeeees!!!"

I hope google translate didn't muck it up cause I don't know Italian xd

Practically the sequel to an idea already realized.

MC and Sebastian have a romantic date (or a business snag as you prefer) and ask Eleazar to babysit little Miriam for a few hours and just then Miriam decides to develop accidental magic (shooting fire from her mouth etc. )

will also add a silly drawing later. this gave me "jack jack attack" vibes

Fig waved goodbye from his doorstep, also grabbing little Miriam's hand to wave goodbye to her parents. The young couple had the privilege to be invited to a gala celebrating something or other at the Ministry, or like Sebastian liked to explain it "to suffer through a night of schmoozing and networking".

Well, if EmSea wanted to become Minister she had to schmooze and network as much as possible. And Ominis would be there to help them. Fig wasn't too worried about his girl's ambitions.

"How about we have some dinner and then we listen to music while we do our homework?"

Miriam was only five years old, way too young to go to Hogwarts, but with parents like hers, she had been introduced to magical and muggle culture and history from the moment she was born. Sebastian, mainly, loved to read to her and he taught her how to read in record time. EmSea, on her part, liked to stroll in muggle London, taking her daughter with her so she could understand muggles were as human as wizarkin. So far, it seemed like the little girl loved all the muggle items she saw in her walks, but also all the old traditions wizards practice.

And she was already showing signs of powerful magic.

Fig never saw any of this, but according to Sebastian and EmSea, little Miriam was proficient at the summoning charm. There was nowhere in their house where they could hide the cookies or candy. Miriam always found them or summoned them from their places to her little hands.

At least she hadn't shown any ancient magic yet. Fig didn't know for sure how EmSea grew up or how dangerous her accidental magic was, but he hoped little Miriam didn't face the same obstacles as her mom did.

Miriam wouldn't have to hide her magic, bury it so deep it only came out under duress at her almost fifteen years old... No. Fig, along with Sebastian, EmSea, and Ominis (who has been an excellent godfather so far) would make sure Miriam grew up loved and safe and developing her magic to her full potential.

So, thinking about the books he read about kids' healthy development, Fig played some classic music that was supposed to help with attention and mind awareness.

"I like that," Miriam babbled, dutifully coloring the book her father left her with. "It's... relaxing," she giggled, laying her head on top of the book.

Fig smirked, glad the child liked it. He sat on his sofa with the new year's lesson plan and focused on correcting it. His apprentice was good but still needed some corrections here and there, specifically when organizing the topics from general to specific.

He wasn't sure how much time went by, but suddenly he realized Miriam had been way too quiet for a little five-year-old. He peeked over his papers and froze when he saw her missing.

"Shoot," he jumped to his feet, trying not to panic. "Ok, ok, it's ok. The wards won't let her go out, she has to be here," he looked around. The flat wasn't too big: a kitchen, a dining space, the living space he was currently standing in, two bedrooms, and one bathroom. "Miriam?" He called. "Where are you, you little snidget?"

Nothing.

Then.

Giggles echoed around him, sending shivers down his spine and making him look around with anxiety.

"I knew EmSea was a demon but why did she have a demon baby?" He muttered, then walked to the hallway that led to EmSea's old room. "Miriam?"

Something popped behind him, making him flinch and turn with his wand in hand.

There was nothing there.

Another 'pop'. Then another. And another. Surrounding him.

"Oh my dear Merlin, Miriam, are you apparating!?" He cried. "That's. that's dangerous, dear! Just- Hey! Who wants a cookie?"

Pop!

Miriam apparated right into his arms. He grunted and caught her before she could fall.

"I like cookies, gran'pa," Miriam grinned innocently.

"Yeah, ok," Fig sighed, tightening his hold on her. "But no more apparating. And your mom said only one before going to bed."

Miriam frowned but kept quiet as Fig took her to the kitchen. Her wide brown eyes observed as he opened the cupboard over the sink and revealed the full jar of cookies. He grabbed only one.

"Here, let's go back to sitting, shall we?"

Miriam munched on her cookie, but her eyes were glued to the cupboard.

Suddenly, it caught on fire.

"Fuck!" Fig shouted, placing Miriam on the floor. "Shit. No- Don't- Don't repeat those words, ok darling?" Then he ran back to the kitchen, trying to stop the fire with a couple of spells.

When the fire died out, he turned to make sure Miriam wasn't injured.

He found her munching on more cookies, jar safely guarded between her legs.

"This is going be a long night, isn't it?"

Miriam giggled.

Then floated.

The music didn't sound so relaxing anymore.

[aria-ashryver]

i think about cas and seth's brotherhood constatnly.

and luca and seths bond.

sigh

aaaahhh that makes me sooo happy!!!!!!!! 🥰🥰🥰 im so glad to hear that omg!!!

i really wanted to dive into the various different relationships in ID and my extended Starlight headcanon -- not just the romantic relationships between the trio, but their friendships and familial relationships as well!!

im BIG on found family and character bonds 💖 god, i can't wait to get stuck into the Christmas chapter(s?) in the fic bc we are gonna get a house FULL of O'Rinns and all these sad little vampires who come from these broken families and backgrounds full of trauma just being shown all this soft, unconditional LOVE and !!!!!! my heart is fit to BURST i love them all so much 😭😭😭😭😭😭

i think at the moment, Christmas is gonna be

Luca

Terri

Seth (who is basically an O'Rinn at this point lbr)

Cas

Gabriel

Viktor!!

Morag!!

Luca's Nan, Esther O'Rinn

Luca's Grandda, Jock (John) O'Rinn

(not sure whether or not Luca's cousin Phoebe will be joining them, but if she is there, it's worth noting she's a single mother with two twin babies, so like.. there is potential that either Cas or Gabe or both are gonna have to babysit at some point lmao)

ok ok ok ok i'm in a spoilery mood today, so here's a brief snippet from the draft of the boys helping Terri cook Christmas dinner (below the cut) bc FOUND FAMILY RRRAAAUUUUGHHH YES ✨✨✨

Cas’s stomach growled as he wandered over to stand beside Terri at the oven, the scents in the air making him feel oddly calm, safe, nostalgic.

‘That smells so good.’

Terri looked up at him where she stood over the frying pan, her head titled in confusion. ‘It’s just butter and onions, mo mhac.’

‘I said what I said.’

Something in the shape of her words settled over him, a maternal fondness; it was a soft blanket draped over his shoulders, a warm mug of cocoa by the fire. Cas was filled with a sudden, urgent need to know exactly what Terri had just said.

He glanced at Luca, mouthing the words in silent question.

Mo mhac?

Luca paused over the chopping board. A tender smile inched its way across their face as they set their knife down. Wiping their hands on a kitchen towel, they tugged their phone from their pocket.

Luca: it means “my son”

Oh. Oh.

It must have been the tinsel or something. The festive lights strung up everywhere that were making Cas's eyes blur. Coughing against the sudden tightness in his throat, Cas slung an arm over Terri’s shoulder and pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head, his heart tender with something unnameable.

‘I’ll go get the napkins or whatever,’ he said, gruffly, hurrying out of the kitchen.

[brightoakgame]

If a friend somehow roped each LI into babysitting their kid for a night... How would that pan out??? 👀 Who's a 10/10 babysitter and who's setting the kitchen on fire?

Bahahahahahaha!

John: The house is a disaster: the kitchen's a welter of dirty dishes, the couch flipped over to make a fort, toys everywhere, and there is inexplicably peanut butter on all surfaces child-height and lower. That said, the kiddo is in bed asleep, worn out from playing, and did at least eat something-- probably cookies-- for dinner. John is snoring in an armchair, also worn out. Everyone had a good time, and kid would like Sheriff John to be the go-to sitter from here on.

Marybeth: The house is in much the same state it started in, because Marybeth would not allow the child to make a mess or deviate from a set area for play. They had well-balanced dinner, and she sent them to bed half an hour early. The child would really prefer you didn't ask Doctor Forster to babysit again; she gets mad a lot.

Patti: 10/10, objectively the best of the bunch. The house is spotless, the kid is in bed asleep, dinner was delicious (with leftovers in the fridge, even), there were two cookies for dessert, they played the clean-up game together, bathed, brushed teeth, the works. The child adores Tía Patti. Strangely, though, it seems Patti is busy anytime she's asked to babysit in the future.

Sparrow: The child is still wide awake, because they have found that Sparrow is an inexhaustible reader. They have been reading the whole time, and all storybooks are pulled off the shelves and scattered around the house. Dinner was cereal or granola bars. The child will not sleep for several hours more, because Sparrow also let them drink black tea with honey. In the coming days, it will be discovered the child has suddenly acquired a wealth of new opinions concerning the patriarchy and authority figures.

Jasper: Uh, well... Jasper meets you at the door with a lightbulb. It belongs to the child's lamp. They wouldn't go to sleep and kept turning on the light, so he removed it. He then sat down in front of the open door as a sentry, keeping the child in and undefined (but feared) potential bad guys out. He remained sitting in the gloom for forty-three minutes. They're asleep now. Dinner was a catastrophe, in his opinion, as the child could not be left to their own devices, so he set them to work writing down all the steps that went into preparing the meal. They drew pictures of unidentifiable monsters instead, which annoyed him, but at least he was able to finish cooking. Unsure what else to do with the child, they built a science-fair volcano on the dining room table, where it remains, faintly smoking. Jasper will not say it, but he was an anxious wreck the entire time. Surprisingly, child thinks Mister Doctor Jasper is the bees' knees (✨VOLCANOS✨), and begs to have him back next time, too.

[i-just-love-spop]

Of babysitting and (potential) kitchen fires [Chapter one]

Chapter two

Arrow loves auntie Catra and the bedtime stories she always tells about her adventures with auntie Adora and Arrow’s parents.

Catra might be enjoying babysitting a little too much.

Meanwhile, Adora is unsure whether or not she would be a good mother.

And Glimmer just really, really needs some sleep.

[Shameless post season five Adora and Catra both want kids but haven’t talked about it yet-fic that was supposed to be a one shot but isn’t anymore. Starring: the best friend squad, two Glow/Glimbow children, Melog, cuddling, a bit of angst and, of course, the best friend squad teasing each other.]

Disclaimer: This was originally posted on my Ao3, EleenaDume, which I would love to source, but tumblr is driving me insane and apparently one of the reasons why my posts might not show up in the tags could be external links, so I’m trying it again without the link. If you want to check if I’m really the same person, I’ve added this account to my list of other accounts on my Ao3-profile.

—

“That day, the most selfless girl in the galaxy learned that it was alright to choose herself for once – that it was the right choice to be selfish sometimes. And that’s how she saved the galaxy. The end.”

Catra clapped her hands together to empathize the ending of the story.

The little girl with the violet hair looked up at her. There was an excited glint in her eyes.

“Start over, I want to hear the story again! Please!”

Catra laughed as she ruffled the girl’s hair.

“Nice try, sweetie, but the time has come for little Arrow to go to sleep, because Queen Sparkles will show up soon and throw me out of your room if you don’t.”

Arrow pouted.

“Come on, auntie Catra. Just one more time. Auntie Adora can keep mom distracted in the meantime.”

The adult woman stroked the child’s head again and giggled softly. Damn, she really liked this kid.

“As much as I like the way you think, Glitter, your mom will end me if I keep you awake any longer. And I think she’s pert near issuing a decree about how much I get to talk about Adora here before I must be forcefully removed from the building at all costs,” She joked.

The child laughed.

“But mommy and dad are just as bad!”

“You’re the cheekiest girl in the entire universe. I’m so proud of you.” Catra hugged her gently. “Come on, little one. Time to sleep. I’ll tell you more stories tomorrow.”

Arrow squeaked happily, snuggled up to her aunt and caved.

“Okay, fine. But only if you promise.”

The adult smiled softly. Arrow was just about her favorite person in the entire universe – except for Adora, of course.

The remaining members of the best friend squad were pretty close behind, though.

“Of course. I promise, Glitter.”

She gently tucked the girl in the cupcake pajamas into bed.

“Wanna sleep lights on or lights off today?”

Glimmer and Adora watched Catra from the doorframe as she tugged Arrow in and then started singing her to sleep.

Adora was pretty close to melting into a puddle right then and there. Instead, she almost started crying and rubbed her wedding band nervously, all the universe’s love in her eyes in that very moment.

The scene alone was enough to turn her head all over again, and that wasn’t even including the fact that Catra’s singing was down right enchanting, and she would have happily listened to nothing but that for the rest of her life.

“Adora? ... Adora?” Her best friend gave her a gentle nudge. “Hey, Brightmoon to She-Ra, you in there?”

The blonde jerked extremely startled.

She’d been in a completely different world for the last couple of minutes.

“Yeah, uh, I was just-”

“Zoning out at Catra again. I know.” Adora went beet red. Glimmer winked at her and laughed softly. Despite her visible exhaustion, she still insisted on teasing her best friend. “I’m still surprised how good she is with kids. Arrow loves her to the stars and back.”

“Yeah, I know...”

She-Ra was still way too mesmerized by the scene to take her eyes off her wife and her niece.

“Have you two thought about it yet? You know, the... adoption thing we talked about?”

Well, that jerked the warrior princess back into reality, alright.

She turned away from Catra and Arrow, instead facing the wall across from the child’s room.

“I- we- uh-” she stammered. “I... don’t know. I think I’d be a terrible mom.”

Glimmer shook her head and looked at her best friend sternly.

“Why would you think that? That’s complete nonsense.”

“Well, I’m kind of a complete mess, and extremely chaotic and clumsy and- I tried cooking something recently, and then Catra hugged me from behind while I was doing it, and then my brain short-circuited and I almost burnt down the kitchen because I still can’t believe I’m married to Catra and it’s been ten years-” She was once again talking in that very Adora way where Glimmer wasn’t sure if she even took a single breath while sentence after sentence came out of her mouth in such a speed that it was hard to understand everything. “-and, I mean, I can’t take care of a child! I can barely take care of myself, and-”

Her best friend put her hands on the shoulders of the blonde.

“Adora. Breathe.”

“...right. That... That’s a... thing I should be doing.” She listened, took a couple of long-drawn-out breaths... and slowly, she started calming down again. “I’m sorry. It’s just... I don’t know if I would be a good mother.”

Glimmer smiled at her and pinched her cheek.

“Of course you would be a good mom. I mean, you’re not Catra, but you have watched Arrow before, and you were pretty good at it. And kids love you.”

Adora let out a long sigh.

“Yeah, maybe, but... I don’t know.”

“Hey, nobody’s forcing you to do anything, alright?” Glimmer hugged her. “If that’s not something you want, that’s perfectly fine. Kids aren’t for everyone, and you two are great together on your own. You don’t need kids to be happy.”

Adora shook her head.

“Yeah, no, I know, that... that’s not it. I... I actually think we would both like to have one, but.., the only mother figure we had back at the horde was Shadow Weaver, and I think we’re both afraid we could end up being the kind of parent she was. Catra more so than me.”

Glimmer stopped short.

That though alone seemed completely insane to her.

Adora was just about the nicest, kindest person she had ever met – except for maybe Bow –, while Shadow Weaver was most definitely cruelest, most manipulative asshole she could think of.

And while Catra’s story was... more complicated on that behalf, she still couldn’t imagine her being the kind of mother Shadow Weaver had been. Catra had learned from her mistakes, had overcome her fears and weaknesses and had become a better person along the way.

Shadow Weaver had never learned, never changed, and while her last moments had been a sacrifice, it had been one of cowardice more than one of courage.

A dead person didn’t have to face the mistakes she made. Didn’t have to deal with the people they hurt – the hate in their eyes and the words of anger, sadness and spite that would get thrown at them otherwise.

Catra had faced all that. She’d worked to complete exhaustion to rebuild the cities she’d helped destroy, and she’d went to the end of the galaxy and back to prove that she’d truly changed.

Despite that, some people hadn’t forgiven her, and they never would.

Some people still thought Adora deserved better, and that Catra was treating her badly and should be banished from the planet for good for everything she’d done.

That wasn’t happening... and Catra had learned to live with and accept what people thought of her. She knew she’d hurt others. And as much as she would have liked to turn back time to right her wrongs... she couldn’t.

What others thought of her wasn’t her choice to make. If she had hurt people too much for them to ever give her another chance, that was valid, and she accepted it.

It wasn’t her choice to make.

That made her a much bigger person than Shadow Weaver had ever been.

“Are you serious? Neither of you is anything like her, and you never will be. The way Catra treats Arrow, how she tucks her into bed and sings her to sleep... that’s something my mom used to do when I was little.” For a moment, there was a glint of sad melancholy in her eyes. “Mom would have loved Arrow. And Catra would have driven her absolutely bonkers... but if things hadn’t happened the way they did... I think she would have liked her too.”

Adora pulled her best friend into a hug.

“I...” She started, but Glimmer shook her head and interrupted he.

“Shadow Weaver wasn’t like this at all, was she?”

That was a pretty clear signal.

She didn’t want to talk or think about this any longer. At least not right now.

Adora could accept that and just continued on with the conversation as if nothing had happened.

That was part of their silent agreement when it came to talking about Angella.

“No, she wouldn’t have. Shadow Weaver was never the singing type.” She raised her hands and wagged her fingers in a silly imitation of a spell caster, hoping that would lift the mood again – at least a little. “She was more like ‘uuuuuh, I’m so evil and mean, and if you don’t go to sleep then the weeping princess will show up and murder you, or maybe I will, if you annoy me too much!’...”

She stuck out her tongue.

Glimmer giggled, and Adora joined in.

She could laugh about it today... at least a little.

That had been different for a long time.

“Hey Adora.” The two of them spun around. Apparently Arrow had fallen asleep by now, because Catra was now standing right next to them, the door closed behind her so they could speak loudly without waking the child up again. She looked at her wife all lovey-dovey for a moments then turned to Glimmer, grinned and bowed playfully. “Queen Sparkles, I humbly report your daughter has been put to bed and is asleep now.”

That earned her a gentle nudge against the shoulder from said queen, who rolled her eyes as she laughed.

“Why are you like this?”

Catra gave her a cheeky grin and winked at her.

“What can I say, it’s part of my charm.”

She then put an arm around her wife gently, who had finally stopped zoning out enough to properly greet her.

“Hey Kitty.”

Catra rolled her eyes.

“I told you to stop calling me that.”

Adora pulled her close and looked at her smugly.

“You love it when I call you that.”

“I do not.”

Their faces were now merely inches away from each other.

Truth be told, Catra had given up on ever getting rid of the nickname when Adora had used it for the first time several years ago.

By now, she was sure just about all of Etheria knew about the dumb nickname – that maybe, just maybe, did send a nice feeling of comfortable warmth through her body when Adora said it.

The annoyed facade she put up was nothing more than that – just part of their playful flirting.

Their kiss was unsatisfyingly short.

Adora broke away almost immediately, grimacing. She wiped her mouth.

“...why do you taste like glitter?”

Catra, who had been kind of irritated and hurt until now, started cackling.

“So I might have given the kid a goodnight kiss to the forehead when I tucked her in, sue me.” She turned to Glimmer. “Sparkles’ husband kisses her all the time – I wonder how he does it.”

Her friend and her wife joined in the laughing really soon.

“I’ll have to thank my daughter for finding the absolutely only method I can think of that can keep you two from constantly making out in front of me,” Glimmer chuckled, smiling to herself.

Those two were almost disgustingly cute.

Almost.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but there’s nothing in the entire universe powerful enough to keep our hands off each other for long,” Adora commented truthfully.

The Horde, a war, a collapsing reality and an army consisting of robots and the clones of an insane maniac hadn’t stopped them. Keeping them away from each other for long was a task that would have required something a lot more complicated than a little glitter.

She put her arm around her wife’s waist and kissed her cheek.

Glimmer had a hard time keeping herself from commenting the purring that ensued as the smile on her lips grew wider.

She just looked at the two of them silently for a while until she spoke up again.

“Oh, and Catra... thanks for babysitting. I really appreciate it a lot.”

Spending time with them was nice... but she also started to feel her exhaustion more with every passing minute and wanted nothing more than to just collapse into her bed and sleep for a small eternity... or at least for approximately an hour before she would be woken up again.

The thought alone made her head spin.

But she was really, really thankful.

Catra had been immensely helpful when it came to watching Arrow, especially during these past few weeks.

“Hey, you know I love the kid. Anytime.” The brunette smiled. “I forgot to ask... how was your meeting?”

“Please don’t ask.” The Queen of Brightmoon grimaced and shuddered slightly. “It dragged on forever, and I was so tired that I feel like I missed out on half of what was being said.”

Adora shrugged.

“She fell asleep halfway through the meeting. We voted on whether or not we should let her sleep. It was the only unanimous decision of the day.”

Catra chuckled.

“Seems like you might have to be put to bed just like your daughter, huh, your majesty?” She joked.

Glimmer rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Believe me, I wish it was that easy. Angie is an absolute nightmare. I mean, I love her, and I would do anything for her... but I swear, neither me nor Bow has slept more than two hours at a time in the last three weeks. The kid has incredible lungs. And Adora‘s sleep-wake rhythm.”

The pink-haired woman groaned.

Catra nudged her wife gently.

“We’re really missing out, huh?”

At least for the first few seconds, Adora was certain her wife was kidding... but there was something in her voice...

„Speaking of missing out... what would you say if we took the little one for tonight?“ Adora said as if out of the blue. You two really need sleep and some time to yourselves, and...” She looked at her best friend sincerely, then glanced towards Catra in a meaningful way. “What do you think, Glimmer?”

“...Adora, are you sure?”

She-Ra nodded energetically.

“Of course. And even know how to warm up milk without burning the kitchen down by now... I think.”

She gave them a pretty unconvincing smile and an even less convincing thumbs up.

Catra looked at her wife, eyebrow raised.

“Sweetheart, do all of us a favor and just wake me up, alright? I’m not in the mood for another three o’clock-shower by Mermista.”

“...Or I’ll just wake Catra,” Adora assured her, giving an affirmative nod and smiling at Glimmer. “Come on...”

“Okay. Alright. But if something goes wrong or you need anything or-”

Adora put a hand on her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

“Now you’re the one who needs to remember how to breathe.”

Glimmer closed her eyes and nodded as she calmed down. Sometimes she really worried too much – especially when it came to her children.

She understood her mother much better these days.

“We’ll manage, Sparkles. Don’t overthink it so much. You really need sleep, damn it.”

Catra nudged her gently.

Glimmer smiled softly as she flung her arms around her two best friends.

“You two are such disasters. I love you so much...”

“Awwww. We love you, too.”

Adora was her usual, hug-loving self.

Catra was still a little tense when being touched by anyone but Adora, but it had been a long time since she’d last flinched back, and she was able to enjoy the gentle gesture of affection much more nowadays.

“Come on, Sparkles. We can go save your husband, and you two can get a good night’s sleep for once, how does that sound?”

“Alright. I’m in.” The Queen of Brightmoon smiled softly at her two best friends. “And – potential kitchen fires aside –, I’m sure you’ll do great.”

A/N: Thank you for reading, feedback would be appreciated a lot!

The second chapter will be much more heavy on Glimbow content.

[kodaiki]

you wanna pizza me?

summary: with your friends having a summer job at the pizzeria near your home, you just had to grab at the opportunity for some discounts. you soon become a regular and expect the summer to go per usual, just with some more pizza pies than usual. but when the pizzeria gets a new employee, a cute one at that, that you don’t know, what’s the move? order pizza all the time, obviously.

pairing: osamu miya x fem!reader

genre: pizza delivery boy!osamu, pizza workers!seijoh four, pizza fanatic/oblivious/easily flustered!reader. fluff//humor//smidge of angst. featuring seijoh four.

word count: 6.0k

a/n: repost!

“there’s nothing in this house to eat!” you call out, staring in frustration at your empty fridge. salad dressings and sauces overflow the door of your fridge but on the shelves, there’s absolutely nothing that looks appetizing. you’re sure if you check the cupboard, the only snacks you’d find are maybe some crackers and a bag of croutons.

you can sense the eye roll from your mother as she shouts from upstairs, “you can order something!”

your furrowed eyebrows twitch upward and you grin. you don’t have to tell me twice. you rush to grab your phone and quickly tapping the restaurant’s phone number on your speed dial list, you hold your phone up to your ear.

“say cheese!pizza, what can I get'cha?” an enthusiastic voice chimes through the phone.

“hey, oikawa, it’s y/n,” you greet, staring down at your fingers, nose scrunching as you recognize you’re in deep need of a manicure.

oikawa and some of your friends work at the pizzeria not too far from your house during the summers and you use that to your advantage. not only did you get over your nerves when calling to order takeout, but the discounts you received were very charitable for your broke ass self.

“y/n! hey, what’s up? you haven’t called in a while.”

“my house has no food so i’m ordering the best pizza in the city,” you grin, beginning to walk absentmindedly around your kitchen, hand gliding along the countertops as you do.

“well, of course you are,” oikawa teases coyly and you can just picture the knowing smirk on his face, “you want your usual?”

“yes, please.”

“great, coming right up! are you going to be productive and pick it up or be a lazy ass and have one of our delivery guys bring it?”

ok, rude.

“oikawa, do I need to answer that?” you ask flatly, rolling your eyes.

“delivery it is! oh and hey! next week the guys and i are going to the beach. do you wanna come–” oikawa’s voice was cut off by another familiar one. “shittykawa, stop making small talk with the customers!”

“iwa~,” he whines, “it’s only y/n,”

“oh, well, tell her I said hi.”

oikawa mutters into the phone, “iwaizumi says hi by the way.”

“yeah, i heard,” you chuckle. “one of these days, you’ll get fired.”

“y/n, don’t say that! you’re wrong though.”

“oh yeah?” you muse, adjusting the phone under your ear. “how come?”

“i’m practically the reason we have so many regular customers. girls just can’t resist my boyish charm.”

“gross.”

“wha- how rude! your pizza’ll be ready in around twenty minutes. think you can wait that long?”

“we’ll see.” and with that, you hang up the phone with a sigh.

trudging over to the couch, you plop down and grab the t.v. remote. tuning to a random movie channel, you curl yourself into a blanket as you wait for your beloved pizza to show up.

you would’ve worked at the pizzeria along with your classmates but with your babysitting gigs, the times just didn’t align.

less than halfway into the movie, the doorbell rings and what follows is, “pizza delivery!”

standing up from your comfortable position on the couch, you wrap the plush blanket around you and waddle over to the door, not bothering to fix how you looked.

the delivery boy for your home at the pizzeria is your friend, makki. you’re aware that all your friends have the potential to be your delivery person in case there’s a rotation, but that’s yet to happen.

makki’s seen you at your worst state, including the time when you were dumped and ordered a whole pizza pie to yourself all while being a sobbing mess with your cheeks flushed and nose runny. so to say you didn’t care what you looked like would be an understatement.

opening the door, you’re ready to greet makki, “hey ma–”

your voice falls in the back of the throat when the door is completely open. it isn’t makki who’s at the door, though. widening your eyes at the new unfamiliar delivery boy, you clear your throat. the boy was looking to either side of him, assumably wondering if he was knocking at the right house.

was there a rotation in routes that they didn’t tell me about?

i look like absolute crap in front of a dude who looks like he could be on the cover of a magazine.

ha, my luck.

snapping his gaze toward you at your cleared throat, the boy smiles shyly, holding out the pizza box.

“thanks,” you trail off, taking the box from him and dig your free hands into your sweatpants pocket for some cash.

“it’ll be $7.97,” the boy pipes, adjusting the black cap on his head.

you remember making fun of makki for wearing it but seeing it on this new worker…

“here you go,” you stammer, giving him a ten dollar bill. “keep the change.”

“really? thanks,” the boy beams, causing your heart to flutter in your chest.

oh.

oh no.

you don’t recognize the new delivery worker from anywhere so he can’t be from your school. he turns to go and you slowly closed the door and sigh a breath of relief. as soon as your nerves settle, a flame of betrayal ignites in your stomach.

how come no one told me there was a new delivery boy? better yet, a cute delivery boy?

now you’ve ruined all first impressions, opening the door with a blanket wrapped around your body, probably looking crusty as hell. you’re somewhat surprised he didn’t shriek and run away solely at the sight of your appearance.

setting the pizza down on the coffee table, you sit back on the sofa and gnaw on your lower your lip. what if the dude thinks i’m a lazy bum who eats pizza all the time?

…

i am a lazy bum who eats pizza all the time.

-

a few weeks later, once again having nothing to eat you dial the familiar number on your phone.

“Say Cheese!Pizza what can i–”

“why didn’t you tell me you had a new delivery boy?” you snap, cutting oikawa off mid-sentence. you hadn’t mentioned it to them earlier because you’re sure they wouldn’t have answered any of your prying questions over text.

“uh, y/n?” oikawa asks.

“yes, it’s me,” you sigh, frown forming on your face into a pout, “so why didn’t you tell me?”

“well, it didn’t come up–”

“you couldn’t just tell me, ‘hey y/n, we got a new super cuter delivery boy by the way, so don’t open the door looking like a zombie?’ a warning would’ve been nice, ‘s all i’m saying.”

“i uh– wait you think he’s cute?”

“well, duh. why would i tell you he’s cute if i didn’t think so? oh gosh, i’ve been postponing ordering pizza since i’m too nervous to face him again.”

“y/n, chill. osamu’s not going to care what you look like. i’m sure he was relieved to deliver pizza to someone his age and not some hungry stoners at 3 a.m.”

his name piques your interest. “osamu?” you ask, ignoring the rest of his statement.

“mhm, and he’s on shift right now so i’ll just put down your usual so he can deliver it–”

“but–”

“see ya.”

the line cuts off and you glare at the phone.

slouching in defeat, you pout with a loud sigh. you sit, scrolling through your phone, patiently waiting for your pizza. you say patiently, but what you really mean is trying to savor as much time as you can before you embarrass yourself in front of the cute delivery boy.

hearing the doorbell ring and his shout, “pizza delivery,” you feel your lungs nearly collapse. rushing out of the kitchen, you check yourself in the mirror on the wall, making sure you looked decent enough, before pulling open the door.

“hey!” you grin but wince when you realized you probably sounded too eager.

“hey,” osamu trails off, the side of his lips quirking up into a half smile. oh god, why did he have to be so cute? especially wearing the delivery hat. “it’ll be–”

“$7.97, i know… it’s my usual order.” you eye the box hungrily before shooting osamu a quick smile.

“you order from the pizzeria often?” osamu rubs the back of his neck, handing you the box with his other hand.

“hm? oh yeah. the workers there, your coworkers, i mean–well, the ones our age, at least–are my friends and give me tons of discounts,” you blurt, shrugging your shoulders.

“ah, so you’re y/n then?” osamu asks, taking the money carefully out of your hands.

wait a minute…he kNoWS MY NaME?

“uh, yeah… how’d you know?” you ask, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

“the other guys, four of ‘em at least, talk about you a bunch. and that first time i delivered pizza here, they asked if we met.”

“oh,” you mumble, feeling your heart fall in your chest. you didn’t think that the boys would ask about you, especially after you practically said hi, paid and then proceeded to shut the door on him so quickly. normally, you would’ve made small talk but you, whenever nervous or embarrassed, run out of conversations as quickly as possible.

“don’t worry! i didn’t tell them you were rude or anything since we didn’t talk much. i just said you looked comfortable.”

“comfortable?” you raised your eyebrows and when you remember, your widen in horror. oh god, he does think you’re a lazy bum.

“you know, with the whole blanket covering you like a cute blanket burrito,” he shrugs, sticking his hands in his pockets.

did he just–

did he call you cute?

“oh,” is all you can reply, clutching your arm with the opposite hand. you focus your attention on your feet in attempt to distract yourself from blushing. it doesn’t work.

“they think you’re great, by the way. the way they talk about you, it’s like you’re some sort of goddess in their lives.”

grinning at his statement, you exclaim with a clap of your hands, “it was about time they admitted it!” ah, thank goodness for the mention of your best friends or else you would’ve still been a flustered mess.

laughing at you, osamu eyes squinted slightly and you swear to your pizza that your heart stopped.

how can one be so handsome?

it really isn’t fair.

“well, I gotta go deliver the rest of these pizzas. i’m osamu by the way.”

“it was nice meeting you, osamu.” you nearly swoon as you watch him descend your porch steps.

“you too, y/n.”

-

“oikawa, I’m ordering my usual,” you didn’t even wait for the boy’s greeting when you dial the pizzeria’s phone number.

“again? y/n that’s like the second pie this month!”

“okay and?”

“it’s not even the middle of the month!”

“i’m hungry okay? and there’s nothing to eat,” you lie, staring at the fresh bag of groceries your mother had bought earlier that day.

“fine, but instead of a whole pie, how about a slice and some garlic knots? too much cheese isn’t good you know…”

“thanks, dude-”

“this time, just asked the guy out, okay? i don’t think he just wants to talk to you when he delivers your pizza.”

“shut up.”

“it’s just a suggestion~” he croons before hanging up the phone.

if only you could’ve been like your friend who basked in the attention from the female population and had the courage to speak to them. if osamu looks at you for more than five seconds, you instinctively avert your eyes from his and although you’ve gotten over most of your awkwardness around him, you’re far from being able to ask him out.

“y/n, i hate to break it to you but… you have a pizza problem,” osamu states bluntly, as soon as you opened the door following the doorbell chime and familiar call of pizza. “i’ve delivered how many orders now?”

gasping, you place a hand to your heart. “how rude to be insulted in my own home.”

the next month soon came as did the heavy heat. the once somewhat breezy weather turned to a sticky one and if it weren’t for the air conditioner in your home, you’d be suffering from heat stroke. you had to give the pizza delivery boy some props. even in the high heat, his smile never wavered. although, he did allow himself to complain to you from time to time.

“technically, we’re outside your home,” osamu replies in a flat tone, giving you a pointed look.

“touché.” you grab the bagged food from him and place it on the coffee table before returning back to the door. “how’s the work day going anyway?”

osamu nods his head from side to side. “meh, it’s been okay. the sun is alright since i’ve been in the car for most of it. most of my day has been at the actual pizzeria, though.”

you nod with a thin smile and you’re about to bid him a goodbye when he looks down at you with slight curiosity.

“can i ask you something?”

swallowing thickly at his gaze on you, you nod. “sure?”

at your question-sounding answer, he elaborates. “i just have something to tell you and it depends on your answer.” his voice is serious but the slight smile playing on his lip makes you feel more at ease.

“go for it.”

“is there a reason you’re ordering so much pizza?” osamu asks, his eyebrows wiggling in amusement.

“o-oh um.., yeah?” you nod slowly. “i love pizza.” you quirk an eyebrow in slight confusion, wondering what he was insinuating.

“besides that,” osamu sighs, raising an eyebrow.

oh, yeah. it’s just an excuse to see your handsome face since i’m too big of a wimp to ask you out or for your number.

“i come from a long line of lactose intolerant people so i really like to rub it in their faces,” you yawn for a bored effect. were the facts states true? maybe, maybe not.

“you sadist,” osamu tuts, shaking his head disapprovingly at you. “you’re going to develop an allergy of some kind.”

“don’t jinx it!” you’re quick to say. “without me, your tips will go plop.”

“maybe so.” osamu shrugs, looking up in wonder. “but witnessing that would be rich.”

“who’s the sadist now?” you snort, looking away briefly to suck in your cheek, in attempt to hide the playful smile. “the guys at mario’s tacos wouldn’t treat me this way.”

at the name of the familiar restaurant, osamu scowls. “you wouldn’t.”

“i don’t know. their combos are looking real good lately. maybe they’ll get a new regular customer soon.”

“pfft,” osamu scoffs, catching your bluff. “you’re friends from aoba johsai wouldn’t let that happen.”

he reads me too well. and he already knows the dynamic between me, dumb, dumber, dumbest and iwaizumi.

“don’t you have other house to deliver to?” you change the subject, looking off in the distance, crossing your arms.

“yeah, yeah.” he waves you off. “i’ll see you the next time your order pizza then,” osamu

“wait what were you going to tell me?”

“awh, i’ve gotta run.” osamu fakes a deep pout, tilting his chin down as he walks away from your house. “guess that means i’ll save it for another time.” with a wink, he waves a hand in greeting.

you’re quick to stick your tongue out back at him but when he rounds the corner and he’s out of sight, your expression falls.

stop that, you think, feeling your cheeks flush deeply. you step inside and close the door behind you, lightly patting your cheeks in hopes of cooling them down.

are you being a tad bit obsessive, ordering all these pizzas?

probably.

do you care?

not at all.

with a hand full of delicious food, all that was left to wonder was what osamu was so adamant on telling you. the race of your heartbeat reveals your deep desires but your head reminds yourself to stay calm in case it was something diminutive.

the next time you order from Say Cheese, you were expecting a conversation similar to the ones you’ve had with osamu; with the usual teasing and playful bickering, only this time you’ll make sure to ask him about what he wanted to tell you. however, to your dismay, that wasn’t the case. when you swung open your door with your usual smile, you freeze in place at the familiar pinkish brown haired boy.

“osamu, nice to see– what the hell are you doing here?” you asked, narrowing your eyes at the familiar boy.

makki stands at your door, lightly rocking on his heels with a grin. at your question, he scowls. “he’s off another route. asked me to deliver,” makki shrugs holding out your pizza for you.

“no, no.” you furrow your eyebrows in confusion. “isn’t osamu my delivery guy, not you?”

lifting his eyebrows, makki retorts, “yeah but i was yours first. i’m the blueprint!” makki watches in disbelief as you pout, looking down at the ground in disappointment. he was aware of your crush on his coworker from oikawa but he never expected you to get this serious about him. how could you be frowning at him? last makki checked, he was your favorite.

“did your boss change routes or something?”

with a sour expression, makki shakes his head. “said he had an emergency delivery and asked me to cover just for today.”

“oh,” you nod in understanding, reaching out for your food.

“i did hear the i’ll be right there, princess when he was on the phone before he ran out though…” makki winces at your expression.

princess?

he knows a princess? (>‘o’)>

wait no, that’s dumb. (-_-;)

he calls someone princess then? (◕ ‸ ◕)

your hands fall to your sides.

“y/n, it’s probably nothing to worry about-”

“he must have a girlfriend then, right?” you whisper, twisting your lips to the side of your mouth. “i hate to jump to conclusions–”

makki snorts to himself. “you always jump to conclusions.”

“–but that’s a reasonable possibility right?”

after a long pause, makki nods. “i guess. you should just ask him honestly.”

“no way! now that i know there’s a possibility that he’s already seeing someone, i’ll be mortified! when i had the courage to reveal my crush to him, that was when i didn’t know anything. now that i have that in my head, my doubts are everywhere!”

“isn’t it a little much though? you can still casually ask him if he has a girlfriend.”

oh, makki. you believe in me too much.

“can you take the pizza now?” makki asks, lightly pushing the box in front of your face,

“i’m not that hungry,” you mumble, “i don’t want it anymore.”

“y/n/, take the damn pizza and pay me please. i’m a broke boy who needs money.”

your eyes flit from the pizza box to makki’s puppy-dog frown. nodding silently, you took out the ten dollars from your pocket and pay the boy. “here.”

-

you can’t give a valid reason why you don’t call the pizza place for deliveries anymore. was it fear of facing osamu with the though of him and some other girl? was it because you’re afraid of admitting to the fact you’re most likely in the friendzone? or because you were stalling what he wanted to tell you that made you wrack at your brain?

it was probably about a girlfriend. maybe his news was ‘hey, i’m no longer forever alone, like you!’

you wince at your own thoughts, eyes darting away from the t.v. screen playing an already watched episode of your comfort show.

you’re settled on your couch, munching on some late night cereal. normally, the idea of breakfast at night made your heart content but compared to the usual cuisine you ate at a time when your fridge was empty, it just wasn’t the same.

you mentally curse at yourself for not buying more pizza when you walked over to the pizzeria earlier in the day… yeah, that’s right. you’ve been so nervous facing osamu that you decided to walk over to the pizzeria and meet the faces of your bewildered friends. there’s no way in hell you’d willingly walk over to the pizzeria in the middle of such a hot month, so they were sure something was up.

their suspicions were proven correct when osamu stepped in from the break room, announcing he was back and before he had a chance to look at you, you left the pizzeria with a quick wave and a bid of goodbye.

that was the new cycle. you visit the pizzeria for your discounted pizza and leave when osamu’s near. you’re sure he hasn’t seen you yet, well you hope so at least.

a small part of you scolds yourself for being so childish about something so fickle. even if osamu has a girlfriend, you shouldn’t be avoiding him at like the plague. but, with your dignity in mind, you’re sure if you were to face him again, you’d either grow incredibly sad or flustered for crushing on a taken man.

there was also that subtle thought in the back of your mind that he was leading you on with his banter. either that, or you just couldn’t take the hint of a friendzone. really, you thought your relationship was going in another direction. guess that’s the power of a blinding crush then.

as you scoop a slightly soggy spoonful of cereal, the doorbell rings.

amazon packages at this hour? really?

“pizza delivery!”

knitting your eyebrows together in confusion, you wrap the blanket previosuly covering your legs around you. still holding the bowl of cereal in one hand, you walk over to your front door.

“sorry, i didn’t order pizza…” you trail off, staring at osamu, who isn’t wearing his Say Cheese!Pizza uniform, holding a box of pizza.

“i know. i did,” he grins, gesturing to the pizza with a nod of his head.

“oh…why’re you here?”

“you hadn’t ordered pizza in so long, i thought you died,” osamu frowns, widening his eyes. “then again, i did see you those few times at the actual pizzeria but you seemed to leave every time i got off break.”

oh god. he noticed.

be cool.

rolling your eyes at his dramatic expression, you lightly scoff. “i’m alive, don’t worry about me.”

he smiles at that and for a split second, you’re reminded how much you missed seeing his face. then reality sets in.

“so, if that’s all you’re here for,” you put your hand back on the knob to close the door.

“woah, wait!” osamu cuts you off, putting his foot in front of the door, stopping you from closing it. “i can’t eat this pizza all by myself!”

“i’m not hungry,” you lie with a shrug.

“yeah, I can obviously see that,” osamu replies sarcastically, raising his eyebrow as he eyes the bowl of cereal in your hand.

“why’re you really here, ‘samu?” you ask again, sighing. with the mixture of how late it was and his presence, you just aren’t in the mood.

“i wanted to see you,” osamu murmurs under his breath, looking down at his feet.

“you wanted to see me?” you raise an eyebrow.

“what do you mean? of course i did. you know how many times i went by your house, expecting to drop off a pizza when i realized you didn’t order one?”

"oh.”

a pang of guilt hits your chest at the sadness laced in osamu’s voice. you practically ghosted him with no explanation. where you lost a potential love interest, he thought he lost a friend.

“you must’ve got tired of the pizza, huh?” he asks, looking back up with a crooked smile. “i told ya, too much pizza wouldn’t be good.”

“that’s not it,” you mumble. this time you’re the one avoiding eye contact.

“oh?”

“i just,” you start shyly, forming the thoughts in your head. “it’s actually really stupid.”

“it’s the breadsticks, isn’t it? they don’t taste the same, right?”

“oh my gosh, it’s not me who noticed that?” your head perks up as your eyes widen. clearing your throat, you shake your head. “wait, no. that’s not it either.”

“then what is it?”

“that day you made hanamaki fill in for you…he told me something.”

at osamu’s head tilt, you continue. “he said you called someone princess over the phone? and, i don’t know, it’s really stupid. i have a habit of jumping to conclusions so i assumed you had a girlfriend and i though it’d be awkward for me. it surprised me, too. not because you’re not attractive or anything! you’re very attractive! but, like, you never mentioned anyone and i thought we-”

“y/n,” osamu cuts you off calmly. “breathe.”

“right,” you nod, catching your breath.

“i was calling ‘tsum a princess,” osamu says when you stand up straight from your slightly hunched figure, previously grasping at your knees.

“…your brother?” you look up at him, tilting your head slightly.

“he was being a whiny baby about the discount and he had plans so i delivered the pizza to him.”

“oh.”

time to go order some clown shoes.

“yeah,” he nods, lips quirking up at your blank expression. “and what’s this about a girlfriend, hm?”

“it was an assumption! i’m sorry!” you wave your hands frantically in front of him.

letting go of the pizza box with one hand, he engulfs both of your hands in one of his to stop your waving. “i didn’t even tell you i had one and you still assumed that of me? how judgy, y/n.”

“osamu,” you whine. “i didn’t mean to! i just thought that was the thing you wanted to tell me!”

“the thing?” his smile falters as he registers your words.

“yeah. that thing you said you’d have to wait for next time for?”

“ah, yeah,” he nods. “nope, that wasn’t it.”

“i feel awful.”

“you can make up for those three weeks by sharing this pie with me then!”

your eyes soften and you nod. “yeah, yeah.” you open the door to allow him to enter but you stop him as he meets the frame. “wait.”

“yeah?”

“can’t you just tell me the thing now?”

“mm, no. after dinner.”

“it’s nine o’clock.”

“did you have dinner?”

“…no.”

“after dinner,” he repeats with a smile.

-

“so you find me attractive huh?”

at his question, you choke on your pizza, coughing violently as osamu laughs. you glare as he offers you a bottle of water but take it nonetheless.

after letting osamu into your home, you both sat at your meal table, enjoying the food he brought. he ordered your usual…whether it was something he knew from memory or something he asked one of your friends about, you didn’t know, but nevertheless, your chest warmed at the gesture.

“i was rambling! you should never take me seriously when i ramble.”

you knew he was attractive in his uniform and you nearly swooned at the way he adjusted the black cap with the pizzeria’s logo embroidered on it, but seeing him in casual clothing was something new and dare you say, yummy. you were aware his hair was a dyed grayish from the bits the peeked out of his hat near his ear and slightly matted to his forehead, but seeing it, styled and all…mans is just built different.

“oh, so i’m not attractive then,” he muses with a nod.

“no! i didn’t say that! ugh, you’re teasing me.”

“c’mon, it’s cute. you were all scared and blurting everything all at once.”

“it wasn’t cute on my part. i was nervous…”

at your slight frown, osamu’s expression changes. “i don’t mean to tease ‘ya in a mean way.”

“it’s not that,” you mumble. “i just feel like you’ve connected all the dots and you know what’s in my head but I don’t know what’s in yours.”

you have a weird way of wording things but osamu understands.

he’s obviously teasing you, but that’s the relationship you’ve had with osamu for the near month you’ve known him.

is he being like this in hopes of reducing the slight awkwardness because you know that he knows that you like him? you didn’t have to outright say it but why else would you avoid him after finding out the possibility that he had a girlfriend? you were flustered about it, sure, but anyone could see it was a sure sign of jealousy.

“mhm, maybe i have connected the dots. but you can connect them, too.”

“what do you mean?”

“y/n, it’s nine p.m. and i decided to come here of all places to share a pizza pie with you because i missed you.” osamu face remains neutral as he speaks and you miss the way the tips of his ears turn red. “what could that honestly mean?”

“you miss being my delivery boy?” you guess.

“and…?”

“and you miss my tips?”

osamu slaps a hand to his forehead. “no.”

at your silence, osamu sighs with an easygoing smile. “oikawa said you were kind of slow.”

“prick,” you scowl, looking off to the side, noting that in your head. looking back at him, you muster a hopeful smile. “can you just tell me? first the thing and now this? you’re a whole mystery.”

“they’re the same thing. same conclusion.”

there’s a short silence that follows and you gnaw at your lip in thought.

“y’know,” osamu breaks the silence, scooting closer to you, “as sweet as it is seeing you blush and think hard about it, i think i’m seeing smoke come out of your ears.”

“hey!”

“i was planning on asking y’out,” he blurts, deciding to give in. if he’d waited for you to figure out, he’s sure you’d be sitting there in silence for at least another ten minutes. “i asked you if you ordered so much pizza for a reason to see if i could catch a reaction from you…if you felt the same.” at your lack of response, he continues, “i didn’t really know what happened since you stopped ordering for a while. i kind of assumed one of the guys found out about how i felt so they told you and as a way of showing me you didn’t feel the same, you stopped ordering.”

“oh.” you face falls. “that wasn’t it.”

“i know that now,” osamu emphasizes with a light scoff. “you were flustered about me calling someone princess, that person being my twin…”

“okay, fine! i was a little presumptuous…but, if anything, this is makki’s fault!”

“oh yeah?”

“he didn’t have to tell me what you were saying on the phone, nonetheless, not confirm anything…he was all, ‘i dunno, that’s all i heard.’” your voice lowers in pitch as does your tone, mimicking your best friend.

“or,” osamu pipes, wiggling his brows in amusement, “consider this: maybe ask me next time?”

“i couldn’t face you for more than a few seconds at a time without short-circuiting and you expect me to ask if you’re single or not? ‘samu, you have a lot of faith in me,” you sigh.

“i still find that hard to believe. you’ve kept conversation with me for weeks now and got me to like you, so you must’ve been doin’ something right.”

“believe me, the sun wasn’t the reason i was red all the time…”

“ah, so that thing about your skin bein’ sensitive was a lie?”

“…maybe.”

osamu lets out a chuckle, tossing his used napkin into the empty takeout bag. “y’know often times, when the boss wanted to change things up in case anyone was disliking a particular route, he’d allow us to change. i sort of found it strange how the guys were so adamant on me delivering around here but now that i know they were just being four cupids all along, it makes sense. of course, initially, i thought it was me they were being cupid for but…guess not.”

he smiles softly at your flushed cheeks and squeezed shut eyes.

“osamu, i know we’ve established that we like each other–i think–but, you can’t keep saying these things that make me all gross and flustered.”

“you blushin’ is cute, though,” is all he replies, leaning over to poke your cheek. “and i ain’t gonna stop saying them.”

“i’ll just run away from you then, covering my ears.”

“that reminds me. you’ve been sneaking to and from the pizza place for your pizza and whenever you saw me coming, you ran away. i have that much of an effect on you-”

you cut off his nth attempt of getting you flushed – how much redder can you get? this was an odd situation to be in, if you’re being honest – by leaning forward and pecking his cheek. osamu’s voice is lost in his throat as you pull away slightly and he blinks at you a few times, opening and closing his mouth but no words come out.

“ah, so this is the satisfaction you must feel,” you nod to yourself, expression relaxing into an easy smile that mirrored osamu’s from just a few seconds prior. “getting people shy sure is fun.”

osamu soon shakes out of his daze, grin widening at your boldness. taking advantage of the mere centimeters between you, he leans forward, seizing your lips with his. you’re far too stunned to be embarrassed at this point and it isn’t until your brain replays the memory of the first time you met the boy kissing you, that you react.

who knew the blanket burrito could actually end up with the cute delivery boy?

simp nation stay winning. ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و

you pull away for air first, smiling slightly as he chases your lips with his eyes closed.

“a kiss without a proper date? shame.” you shake your head in mock disapproval.

osamu opens his eyes and cocks an eyebrow upward. “i mean, i consider this a date, don’tcha?”

with an airy laugh, you nod, “i guess so.”

osamu beams at the slight flush of your cheeks. it isn’t like the beginning of the night when you were embarrassed out of your mind, heart racing in anxiousness. no, it was one of those flushes of excitement. warmth.

“that’ll be $7.97 for the food, by the way.”

“osamu!”

“i’m kidding!”

-

BONUS!

“mattsun, aren’t you supposed to be home watching your siblings?” oikawa’s head pops out from behind the counter, watching as the taller one wipes down tables.

iwaizumi, who was covering for the register nods in agreement. “yeah, you should be home…”

“yeah, osamu asked for me to cover and then left with y/n’s usual so…” matsukawa replies with a slight nod and shrug. “and my mom said she was home to help them with homework so it’s fine.”

iwaizumi and oikawa share a look.

“so he’s finally done it. iwa-chan, i think you owe me ten dollars. c’mon, pay up.” oikawa holds his palm out, folding his fingers over it a few times.

“we don’t know that,” iwaizumi huffs, looking over at his friend in slight annoyance. “maybe he likes y/n’s order and needed to get home.”

mattsun and oikawa send the boy at the register a flat look.

“look, i’m just saying, we don’t know if osamu is confessing to y/n. we’ll know by tomorrow if y/n says anything…”

oikawa covers a hand over his mouth and whispers in mattsukawa’s direction, “i’m expecting that bill in my hand tomorrow.”

“listen, you little shi-”

“guys,” makki appears from the break room, rubbing his nose, “i think someone’s talking shit about me. i keep sneezing.”

[avengerscompound]

Running to a Standstill - 10

Running to a Standstill: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count:  1882

Rating:  E

Warnings: nothing much

Synopsis: While on the run from an unknown organization trying to take your son, you meet two super-soldiers.  While they try to help you get to the bottom of who is hunting you and your son, feelings come out and admissions are made that make your personal life even more tricky.

Chapter 10

It wasn’t until the following day that Steve and the other’s finally returned from their mission.  Bucky couldn’t remember ever feeling so excited before.

He was apprehensive and scared, but those emotions were the ones that he often felt the most to the point that they’d become dulled.  Like a drug addict who needed more and more heroin to feel high, it took a big bad before he truly felt fear.  Excitement though?  Excitement was rare and it gave him a high that kept him running until he got word that the Quin was coming into land.

He had no idea what Steve would do.  There were options that could be good or bad and Steve would be well in his right to pick any of them in the pursuit of his own happiness.  But that unknown was almost adding to the excitement.  As was the potential that this could actually lead to something good for him.  That he might actually get to have some love and intimacy, even if he didn’t quite think he deserved it yet.  Just the thought of Steve’s lips on his, or your hands raking through his hair made him shiver and his cock twitch.  He thought if it actually happened he might just explode.

He went up to the landing pad in time to catch Steve and the other’s disembarking.  He approached Steve with Hill, and he immediately went into debriefing mode.  “We found a supply of the drug there,” Steve said, handing a little baggy over to Hill without breaking his pace.  “Have it analyzed.  The guy who sold it to Clint said it can give you powers but how they express varies.  He also said you needed to take them in order.  Red pill to get the powers, blue to turn them off.  Apparently, if you don’t take the blue you can go into cardiac arrest and your lungs stop working.”

“And people are taking these as what?  Recreation?  Fight club?” Hill asked as the group got on the elevator.

“From what I gleaned off people it’s a mixture.  Having powers gives people a high.  I can attest to that from when I was given mine when they first kick in it’s like all your synapsis start firing at once,” Wanda said.  “But there are underground groups where people take them and then fight each other.  There’s even an enhanced prostitution racket happening.”

The elevator stopped and opened up onto the armory.  Steve, Clint, Sam, and Natasha all started putting their weapons and armor back into its place.  Steve began to strip off parts of his suit and handing them back in his locker.  “Thank you, Wanda,” he said to the young woman who was standing back trying not to watch as everyone stripped off in front of her.  “Go get some rest and food.  We’ll debrief this afternoon.”

“Thank you, Steve,” she said and headed back to the elevator.

“Do we know the source?”  Hill asked as Sam, Natasha, and Clint headed into the showers.

“Take a look at the pills,” Steve said.

Hill picked up the baggy and turned the pills around in the bag.  Bucky looked over her shoulder and saw the small image of the skull with tentacles coming out of it.  “So it is HYDRA?” He said.

“Well, we can’t say for sure,” Steve said, gesturing back to the elevator.  “Wanda didn’t pick anything up from the sellers indicating they were HYDRA.  So it could just be someone thinking that packaging it like that will make it more exciting to buyers,” he explained as he, Bucky, and Hill got onto the elevator.  “But it’s a potential lead.  The problem is from what Wanda and Clint came back with was either a mass group conspiracy that the government of Madripoor is supplying the drugs to the citizens or more concerning, that is what’s actually happening.”

“So we need to send in some undercover operatives?”  Hill asked.

“Absolutely,” Steve said.  “Honestly it was my mistake to not have started with that.  So if you could select some agents to do a deep cover operation, and get that to the lab, Hill. I just need to shower and get something to eat and I’ll meet in my office in an hour.”

“You’ve got it, Cap,” Hill said as the elevator stopped.

Bucky followed Steve out and down to the hall.  “I know you want an answer, Buck,” Steve said.  “I want to talk to both of you.”

Bucky rarely had any trouble hiding his emotions, but right now he was buzzing.  “We wanted to talk to you too.”

Steve glanced at Bucky through the side of his eye and unlocked his door.  You were inside at the table eating a sandwich while Geo seemed to be wearing most of a can of Spaghettios.  You looked over when they stepped inside and Geo bounced in his seat.  “Steeb!”  He cheered and scrambled off running over and holding his hands up.  You got up and seemed to move forward and then backed up, eventually settling on going into the kitchen.

“Hey, Geo,” Steve said, hesitating a little before picking the little boy up.  “You’re very messy.”

“Sorry,” you said.  “He likes to try and put the bits of spaghetti on his fingers.  Can I get you anything?  You must be hungry.”

“It’s alright,” Steve said.  “Sit.  I can get myself something.”

You hesitated again before going and taking your seat.  “How did it go?  Did you find anything?”

“Yes and no,” Steve said, putting Geo back in his chair and kissing leaning down to kiss your cheek.  “We’ve got a trail.  We’re going to need to put some undercover operatives on it.”

You nodded and your eyes flicked to Bucky.  Bucky gave a nod and as Steve went into the kitchen you let out a breath.  “Steve,” you said, a slight tremble to your voice.  “I know you ran off yesterday because you didn’t want to confront either of us.  That you had a choice to make and it was hurting you to make it.”

“About that,” Steve said as he pulled out some ingredients for a sandwich. “I know that was a really horrible thing to do.  I’m sorry.  I just needed time to think and I should have spoken to you both first.”  He looked over at Bucky. “You want a sandwich?”

“Thanks,” Bucky said.  His heart was hammering and he was glad you were taking the lead, because he had no idea how to bring up. It was hard enough admitting he was in love with Steve in the first place.

“We were talking…” you said.  “When you were away…”

“Yeah?”  Steve asked.  “I know you both must be angry with me, and you’re in your right.  But if you can just hear me out…”

“Steve,” Bucky said.  “Can you let us go first?”

Steve seemed to blanch, and Bucky could just picture the kinds of things that must be going through his head.  Top of them was probably that you’d both decided you didn’t want him anymore.  Bucky wanted to let Steve speak, just so he wouldn’t panic but if he did and he made a choice it would be too late.  That would be it.  He would have made his call about which person he liked more and the other would always feel like they were playing catch up.

“Right,” Steve said, standing frozen in place. “Sure.”

“How would you feel about… dating both of us?”  You said, your face scrunching up as you spoke.  “You know... polyamory?”

Steve started at the two of you with his jaw dropped.  Geo started opening and closing his hands as he held them over his head and you got up without thinking and started to use some wipes to clean him up.  Bucky felt as frozen as Steve was.  He should have known better.  Steve was a traditional guy.  This was never going to work for him.  Why Bucky even thought for one second he might…

Slowly Steve started laughing.  It was quiet at first and it just got louder and louder.  Bucky blinked at him in shock.  “What’s so funny?”  Bucky said.

“That was what I was going to say,” Steve said.

“You what?”  Bucky asked.

Steve wiped a tear from his eye and went back to making sandwiches.  “I swear to god, Buck,” Steve said.  “Natasha bailed me up on the mission and made me tell her what was bothering me and she said that there was no reason why I had to be monogamous if there were two people who loved me if those two people loved each other.  And you do right?  I’ve seen it.”

“Yeah, Steve,” Bucky agreed.  “We do.”

“So,” you said, standing up with Geo on your hip.  “We’re going to actually do this?”

Steve nodded.  “I guess we have … boundaries we need to discuss but … yeah.  If you both want that, and I want it… what’s stopping us.”

You took Geo over to the couch and turned the TV on for him, putting on some cartoons before returning to the kitchen.  Steve pulled you close to him and hugged you tightly.  “I don’t think there’s anything stopping us,” you said, hugging him back.  “I have spent so long now living in fear and not letting myself be happy.  I’m gonna take it.”

Steve sighed and closed his eyes, breathing you in as he held you.  Bucky stood watching, knowing that he was now part of this, and if he could just will his legs to move, he could be part of it too.  Steve would draw him in close and the three of you would be hugging.  Instead, he just watched like an outsider.

You slowly pulled back and looked up into Steve’s eyes.  He smiled down at you and caressed your cheek with his thumb.  “Okay.  I really need to eat and shower and we can talk a little now, but I have to get back and sign some paperwork, plus we still have to do the debrief.  But how about we ask Tony and Pepper if they’d like to babysit and I take the two of you out tonight.  You know he loves having Geo around.”

“I think that sounds really good,” you agreed.  “But first, I think there might be a kiss that’s been 70 years in the making.”

Steve looked over to Bucky and held out his hand as you stepped back from him.  “What do you say, Buck?  Think it’s time we actually act for a change.”

Bucky approached Steve slowly, his heart hammering in his chest.  When he was close enough, Steve took his right hand and pulled him close.  Bucky leaned in a little.  He hadn’t kissed anyone since before he fell from that train.  The fact his first kiss was going to be Steve - his Steve - was terrifying and exciting all at once.  It was going to change everything between them.  Steve bridged the difference, and Bucky didn’t close his eyes until the last second, afraid that Steve would change his mind and he’d just be left hanging like an idiot.

Bucky closed his eyes and the soft press of Steve’s lips touched on his, Bucky hummed and relaxed into the change.

// NEXT

[zikadraws]

If the ghosts bosses got to be reincarnated, what do you think they’d look like in the modern age(I’m talking, like the twisted sisters, Clem(best rat boi), Fishhook, etc)?

Oh boy tough call !✨Sooo let's seeeee...

(*Low quality colouring, drawing and long post ahead (sorry), Click4Quality*)

So let's start with Chambrea and Steward. They gladly took back their human form (Yeah I see Chambrea as Latino/Arabic styled, and Steward as Australian), but less gladly the fact of having to work to not get hungry. They restarted to work in services, although their experience (as for a good part of the ghosts) got them militant, and they are fighting for the service workers to get treated/respected better and better paid (between others). Chambrea (Chãlissia) is the leading type, Steward (Stuart) follows and admires her, and struggles to push their relationship to another level. They already live together.

Then there's Chef Jacques Soulfflé. He of course oriented himself towards cooking, but understandably enough for those who witnessed his cooking, got fired several times, and refused to understand why ; so much that he actually attempted ''Hell's Kitchen'' to prove everyone wrong- and nearly caused Gordon Ramsay, who -figures- spectacularly blazed his @ss, to rage quit the emission. They actually had a private talk afterwards and Gordon decided to save cooking's honour and to give him private lessons. Never did he see a guy so bad at cooking but who genuinely absolutely loved cooking against all. Deserves an effort. Thanks to that Soulfflé got better and found a regular cook post. Yeah I got carried a bit far on this IK. X) Anyway so next-

Morty finally managed to open the cinema class he was planning to open before his death, and he's having the time of his life with this. He takes cheap and everyone in -elementals to elderly- and he is in a 'poor-populated' city part, so he has a lot of volunteers ; as an activity as for an actual class. He loves to communicate his passion with others, is a wonderful teacher open to everyone and loves creating shorts and movies with his students. Some of them actually succeeded as actors or staff or even directors, and often credit him. Although a bit wore out, he is really happy. Plus a good portion of the former boss ghosts like to help him with and star in his productions.

Krüller thought of becoming policeman, but chickened out and went on as a mall guard. He is great with children. He even babysits sometimes. And often stars in Morty's movies, as 'the police chief'. He's satisfied by this repetitive but calm life.

Johnny Deepend invested into an old gym and became sport coach. Between taxes and incomes, it isn't always easy but his easygoing, supportive and friendly natural attitude gets him a nice bunch of people following him and going to his gym. But on the side, he is also very engaged to ban competitions based on showing off the body, knowing way too well how destructive it is for the people, and actually even run conferences about that. He is determined.

Serpci has became a famous social media influencer and practically lives out of it (plus some beauty and fashion sideworks. She customize clothes.). Her Egyptian style, her beauty and aura and her pets snakes got her REALLY popular on any network- and leaves her targeted by many creeps of course, but her merciless way of dealing with them chicken them out (and actually is a way of outcome for her. Blackmail is powerful, but shhh.) She's militant for feminism, and against racism, cultural appropriation and above all, grave robbers (especially targeting archeologists). Remains of her pharaoh shenanigans, y'know.

Dr. Potter searched around and was taken under the wing of an association that fights to save true seeds (seeds that naturally grows back after harvesting and not having to be replaced each time like big corporations like to sell [as] 'necessary'.) He is trusted to keep and grow in number these true seeds, and in return he is taken care of, feed, and has his own house, garden and glasshouse. He is very happy.

The Triplets had to actually go to school for the first time in their lives, and if they managed to get to be adopted together (by one of the bosses, idk for this one), they had a very cynical bad surprise. They still perform during events, to show-off or at parties.

THAT is my human interpretation of Fishook. He lacks an arm and look as what white police arbitrarily view as the embodiment of ''''potential criminal''''; and now that he's human again, he's fucking pissed. As in -he freaking means business. By that I mean, he is entirely, body and soul, engaged to the whole 'Save Marine Life' cause. He raids awareness and direct missions, participates to everything and acts everywhere. Yeah, he works for the WWF. (He is also getting a bit of trouble about his cranky comportment.)

(Yeah, ship time. Why ? Because I can.)

Amadeus Wolfgeist and Clem turned into a couple representation of Tortured Artists ™. (I'll explain for Clem at some point in the future so it'd make sense, pinky swear.)

Amadeus Wolfgeist got his hair back (and I wasn't too sure of what colour to give it but heck it I'm satisfied), but was really pissed to learn that it's hard to make a carrier out of classical music nowadays. He yet decided to keep on it, determined as frick that he was to bring back the golden age, and became an independent compositor, freeing the stress generated from this work by private contract concerts. Despite his talent, he's struggling due to his dissuading stubbornness and is upset to not being able to afford his preferred nobile lifestyle. Clem has spawned up with an hyperactive syndrome, plus of his autistic condition, and is making the most money by having several jobs at the time. As a handyman/plumber, but also as a painter and visual artist, as he finally noticed how much interest and talent he had for that. He draws eyefooling artworks as a living, to situate. He kept his pet opossum and his emotional support duckies. Strangely enough, he hardly sleeps on his own impulse anymore.

They live together (for 'financial reasons' dixit Wolfgeist, y'knooow...) and complete and equilibrate each other. Clem is the one who -ironically- makes the most money, and deals with Amadeus's stress and irritation levels. Amadeus is Clem's impulse control, health, fashion, self-care and sleep schedule advisor.

Sometimes Clem seconds Amadeus on his banjo.

AND THEN, TO FINISH (because I literally, between other things, have no space left) we have Macfrights who tried to get hired at 'Puy du Fou' but got humiliated and turned off, and Phantasmagloria who tried to get hired as a DJ but nuts for several reasons. They both swallowed back their pride and ended up working at fast-foods. They both try as often as possible to play in Morty's movies. Macfrights likes to play the villain.

---

OKAY ! And that was about it for my headcanons about this ask. Very long post, I know but hey ! Dare I believe that it was worth it...?

Alright, thank you for your ask. That was a big one and I hope you are, too, satisfied and wish you a nice day :) .

Aaand thank you to everyone else for your attention 🎵 ! 🤗 Have a nice day~♥️

[secretpeachtea]

Onigiri Miya Tidbits Ch 2

Title: the duplicate

Genre: gen fic, reader insert

Word Count: 3.1k

Summary: Onigiri Miya is now hiring and you just happen to be the right person for the job. The business has been gaining popularity since its grand opening, and many customers travel from different cities just to have a bite of Miya Osamu’s delicious recipes. You did expect some craziness from working in food services, but what you didn’t expect was to be bombarded with frequent tomfoolery from a bunch of attractive volleyball players during your shifts.

disclaimer: manga spoilers

A/N: I know the twins (or anyone from Hyogo for that matter) have a very specific accent, but I have a bit of trouble translating that into my writing, so I hope you guys can still use and hear that accent when you read their dialogue!

Previous///Next

It’s been a little over a week since you’ve started working at Onigiri Miya, and thankfully, things have been going well. There have only been a handful of problematic customers, but you were able to handle them quite efficiently, much to Osamu’s satisfaction. You’ve even been able to get acquainted with your boss much more since it’s only the two of you working long shifts together. You can definitely say that things have been working out really well at your job.

Today is another typical day for you as you walk towards the entrance of the shop, ready to start another day of work. You had actually left your apartment a lot earlier than usual, so you were a bit surprised to see that the door was already unlocked since Osamu usually arrives on the dot. You’re a little concerned that you might’ve jumbled up your alarm this morning and was actually late, but your phone displayed the right time. Not wanting to prolong your anxiety, you slide open the door and meet an unexpected sight. 

Sitting at the counter is a man who looks like a carbon copy of your boss but with blonde hair. He’s sporting a mustard-colored tracksuit and is carrying a confident aura.

“Miya-san?”

The stranger looks up and makes eye contact with you. There’s a brief air of silence before he breaks out into a wide grin. “Oh! Hey, new girl!” 

Not knowing how to respond, you just lift your hand awkwardly. “Um...hi?”

“I heard from a friend of mine that ‘Samu hired a new worker.” The blonde runs a hand through his hair. “Didn’t think you’d be such a cutie though.”

Before you even had time to react, your boss walked out of the storage room with a bag of rice on top of his shoulder. “‘Sumu, you got rice all over your chin.”

Miya Atsumu flushes red from embarrassment and proceeds to grab a napkin to clean his face. Now that you’re paying more attention to your surroundings, you notice that there’s an empty plate on top of the counter and you can assume that Osamu gave him food prior to your arrival.

“I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that this is your brother.” You shrug off your jacket as you walk further into the building and address Osamu casually.

“What gave it away? The nose or the ears?” Osamu jokingly teases as he shoves the bag of rice off his shoulders to one of the lower shelves. 

“You never told me you had a twin,” you respond with an equally playful tone.

“Never asked.”

You briefly glance to check the clock on the wall. “You’re here pretty early. Did I miss something?”

Your boss shook his head as he straightened up. He then pointed towards his brother who was just watching you two converse with intrigued eyes. “Nah. He’s here to eat something before practice and wouldn’t stop nagging me to make him something, which is why I’m here earlier than I should be, sleep deprived and all.”

“Sounds like you had a rough morning,” you laughed.

“Um, hello? I’m still here,” Atsumu interjected with a slightly sassy tone. “By the way, I didn’t catch your name, and your boss kept telling me to figure it out myself.”

You take a mental note at how petty your boss could be with his brother and stifle a laugh. “It’s (Surname) (Name).”

The corners of Atsumu’s mouth lifted upward. “Glad I could finally put a name to your face, (Name)-chan.”

Okay, you were definitely not used to someone calling you by your first name in such a casual manner, so you couldn’t stop yourself from getting a bit flustered. This did not go unnoticed by both twins, their eyes taking in the pink tint on your cheeks.

Not wanting to expose yourself any more than you already have, you look away and head towards the back room. “I’m just gonna go get ready really quick!”

Once you’ve put your things down and secured the apron around your waist, you walked back to the main room. The brothers have occupied themselves with other things in the meantime. Atsumu is scrolling through his phone with a bored expression, while Osamu is prepping the display case to get ready to open soon. You figured you should stay productive too and make your way to the fridge. You peek inside through the glass door and notice that there’s a shortage in beverages. 

“Miya-”

You’re at a loss of words when both brothers set their gazes on you once again.

“Atsumu’s fine by me, sweetheart.” The blonde man smirks at your conflicted expression.

“Stop flirting with my employee. And, she wasn’t talking to you, you scrub.” Osamu sighed and brushed his hands on his thighs before turning his body to face you. “What’s up?”

“I think we forgot to pick up some drinks yesterday.” You pointed towards the bare shelves in the fridge. There were a couple green teas and carbonated drinks, but it definitely wasn’t enough to last the rest of the day. The last thing you’d want to do is disappoint any of the customers.

“Ah, shoot. You’re right. I was supposed to take care of that last night.” Your boss looks up at the clock and sees that there’s still some time before you have to open. “I’ll head out and bring those in really quick. You think you can babysit this guy for a bit?”

“Hey! I’m not a little kid!”

“Yup! Leave it to me!”

“Woah, woah! Hold up now!”

Completely ignoring his brother’s protests, Osamu leaves the shop in your hands to bring in the drinks from a convenience store a couple blocks down. This left you and Atsumu in each other’s company for the time being. Not really having much to do until the drinks come in, you just position yourself in front of the register as usual, checking to see if everything is set up correctly. Atsumu seems to take this as his cue to have a one-on-one chat with you. 

“So, what’d you do to get the job? Bribe? Save a life? Cast a spell?”

You tilt your head in confusion and blink once. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Atsumu raises his arms in emphasis. “‘Samu doesn’t just let anyone work here. This place is practically his child. Protects it at all costs. It’s the reason why it’s just been him for so long even though it can get pretty busy around here”

“Oh, uh, I just applied and he accepted me.” You would be lying if you said that you weren’t surprised when you found out that he was the only other worker when you got the job.

“Interesting…”

Feeling a bit uncomfortable over how Atsumu was practically trying to analyze you and borderline interrogate you, you try to switch topics. “Seems like you know your brother pretty well.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of inevitable when we share the same face. Although, I personally think I am the more good-looking twin.”

You sweatdropped. “Well, despite the way you look, you guys are definitely different in a lot of ways.”

“For sure! Sometimes we can be complete opposites!” Atsumu nods his head in agreement.

“Does that mean you’re a bad cook?” You take this opportunity to tease the blonde, but start to regret it after you see a competitive glint in his eyes.

“No way! I’m a great man in the kitchen! Just watch! I’m gonna whip up an onigiri that’s on par with that fool!” Atsumu stands up from his stool and marches over to the other side of the counter.

“That’s probably not a good ide-”

“Relax! I got this!” Famous last words.

As soon as Atsumu was in reach of anything on the work space, all hell broke loose. As he placed some sticky rice into his hands, his elbow knocked over an entire container of sesame seeds, while his other arm ripped a couple sheets of nori* during his attempt to catch the tumbling seeds. A couple eggs fell out of a carton that Osamu had left aside due to the ruckus, painting the floors with yolk, and somehow the rice on Atsumu’s palm had ended up splattering onto his chin. 

You watched everything unfold with distressed shock. “What are you doing?! Are you trying to get me fired?!”

“I didn’t mean to do that, I swear!” The clumsy man just furrowed his brows as he frantically tried to stop anything else from going wrong. Trying your best to calm him down and avoid making more of a mess, you closed the distance between you and held onto his forearms.

“Hey, calm down, or you might trigger something else. Let’s just clean this quickly before your brother comes back or we’re both good as dead.”

That surely got Atsumu’s attention and the two of you quickly began to clean up the mess. You grabbed the nearest cleaning cloth, while he took a hold of the trash can. In just a matter of minutes, the workstation was already starting to look as neat as it was before. If it wasn’t such a ridiculous situation, you could honestly say that you and him were a pretty good team when faced with Osamu’s potential wrath. 

It wasn’t until you were finished sanitizing the counter space did you notice the pieces of rice that were stuck on Atsumu’s face. “Hey, you still have some rice on your face.”

“Again?” He tries to wipe off his face with a napkin like he did before, while he occasionally asks you if he got everything. You point out the ones he misses, but he keeps missing one rice grain on the corner of his mouth. 

Feeling a bit impatient, you lean towards Atsumu and he stiffens his movements. “Here, let me help. Hold still.”

You cup his cheek with your fingers to make sure he doesn’t move. Using your other hand, you gently remove the last rice piece, your fingers lightly brushing over his bottom lip unintentionally. Atsumu just stays completely quiet as you do wonders to his poor heart. He even unconsciously leans into your touch, but you’re too focused on the task at hand to notice.

“Got it.” You give him a triumphant smile, but falter as you notice Atsumu’s expression which held a certain softness to it with something else you can’t quite pinpoint.

Atsumu snaps out of his trance when you let go of his cheek and his entire face heats up, red crawling up to the tips of his ears. You pull away and discard the rice into the trash.

“T-t-thanks.”

Atsumu quickly turns his back towards you and wipes a small smudge on one of the containers, willing his heart to calm down from its fast beating. You think he’s acting a bit strange, but brush it off for now.

The only thing left to clean was the sticky floor. You’re about to mop up the egg remnants when you hear a voice call for your name at the front of the restaurant. “Hey, (Surname)-san! Can you open the door? My hands are kind of full.”

You and Atsumu look at each other with wide eyes, both realizing that you haven’t finished cleaning and Osamu was right outside the door. You hunch over and Atsumu mirrors you. Cue the furious whispering.

“What do we do?!”

“What do you mean, what do we do?! We gotta scrub the floor clean until he sees it!”

“But, he’s right outside!”

“Well you better figure something out, ‘cause if I don’t open that door right now, he’s gonna get suspicious!”

With that, you straightened up and made your way to the entrance, making sure to take your time with each step. You hear quite a bit of shuffling behind you but choose to pray that everything will work out. Once you reach the door, you slide it open for Osamu to enter. He was holding three boxes of drinks, the bulging veins in his arms indicated how heavy they were. 

“You sure took your sweet time.”

You laughed nervously. “Sorry about that. I was in the back room.”

When the two of you walk back to the counter, the blonde is nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, it seems like he was able to get everything done. The floor was spotless, maybe even a little too clean.

Suddenly you hear the bathroom door slam shut and turn your head towards the sound. Atsumu is walking out with slightly wet sleeves, so you assume that he just washed his hands. 

“You’re still here?” Osamu just gives his brother a blank look as he places the drinks down next to the fridge. “Don’t you have to go to practice soon?”

The other twin just shrugs his shoulders. “Eh. Not for like another hour.”

“Then, why the hell did you make me wake up so early to make you food?” One of Osamu’s eyes started twitching.

“I was hungry.”

“Die.”

Ignoring his brother’s bitterness, Atsumu sat at one of the stools near you and leaned his head against his arm. “(Name)-chan, you should try my favorite onigiri flavor!”

Your eyes light up at the mention of the first onigiri your boss made you. “Oh! The Minced Tuna and Spring Onion one right?”

Atsumu looked a bit surprised. “Yeah...how’d you know?”

“Your brother let me try it about a week ago after my shift.”

“Wait,” the man in front of you paused for a moment before a realization hit him. “You’re the reason why I had to eat cereal for dinner that one time?!”

You’re a bit stunned for a moment and direct your next question to Osamu who’s not even trying to hide his smirk. “I thought you said he’d get takeout?”

“Not my fault. This idiot dropped his wallet in the toilet and couldn’t remember where he kept his credit card.” Your boss just casually crosses his arms. “Turns out I conveniently forgot my wallet at the shop that day too.”

“Yeah, you made up for that today, you scrub,” Atsumu scoffs. You just watch the petty banter between the twins, discreetly enjoying their strange way of communicating.

Their conversation was interrupted when Atsumu’s phone vibrated indicating an incoming message. He checks his phone and quietly reads its contents before abruptly standing from his position and stretching. “Well, this was nice and all, but Bo-kun is asking for some extra spiking practice, so I’m gonna head out. I’ll be back soon, (Name)-chan, so don’t miss me too much!”

As Atsumu pocketed his phone, he leaned against the counter where you stood and held out a fist. “I had fun today.”

You laughed softly with a small smile on your face and reciprocated the fist bump. “See you around, Atsumu-san.”

The blonde just waved an arm at his brother, who couldn’t care less, and left without another word. Although, Osamu did nod his head in acknowledgement.

You didn’t think you’d have to deal with so much drama before the shop even opened, but at least you got to meet the brother with good taste.

Today had been another successful day at work. There were quite a few customers and all of the onigiri sold out by closing time. You stretched your arms to relieve some of the tension from standing in the same position all day. Osamu seemed to be doing the same as he rolled his shoulders back and forth.

There was a lingering question that you’ve wanted to ask him since this morning. “Just out of curiosity, is your brother a volleyball player too?”

“Yeah. Do you remember that owl-looking guy from last week? They’re on the same team.”

“Oh, so that’s why you were pretty familiar with him.”

Osamu nodded his head. “I’m surprised the whole team hasn’t come in yet. They frequent this place since it’s convenient and has decent prices. You’ll probably meet all of them pretty soon.”

You just hummed at his words.You were ready to start sweeping and moved your arm in the direction of the broom. 

“My turn to ask, then.” Osamu stated. “What’d you guys talk about while I was gone this morning?”

You hand froze in the air. “With Atsumu-san?”

“The one and only.”

“Oh...um…” You tried to think of something to cover up any suspicions Osamu may have, but he was already on to you.

“He did something stupid.”

You looked at your boss in the eye and sheepishly laughed. Might as well just tell him the truth. “Maybe crack some eggs and ruin some rice?”

Osamu sighed. “I figured. I did think it was a little weird when I saw the trash half full when we hadn’t even opened yet. There was also a very conveniently placed newspaper at the very top covered in yolk. Not to mention the eggs shells tangled in the mop.”

You silently cursed at Atsumu’s carelessness, but didn’t hold it against him since you both were in a rush to get everything clean. Before you had the chance to defend yourself, Osamu spoke up once again.

“Glad you told me the truth though, or I might’ve fired you.”

Panic. You are struck with panic at the mention of possibly getting fired. Your mind reels with everything that could possibly go wrong in your life if you were to lose this job, but Osamu’s amused laugh cuts off your thoughts.

“I’m just messing with you. I know how insufferable ‘Tsumu can be when he sets his mind to something.” He pats your head lightly. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on letting you go so easily.”

“Thanks, Miya-san.” You silently let out a small sigh of relief. There’s a short pause as the two of you just stand in place facing each other. Osamu looks a bit tense and turns his head away to look at the fake plant on the counter to his right.

“...Osamu.”

You pause with bewilderment and look up to catch his eyes. “...what?”

He moves his arm to rub his neck and avoids your gaze. “You can call me Osamu.”

You hesitate a bit and take in Osamu’s shy attitude. “But, you’re my boss…?”

“I wouldn’t mind if you called me by my first name. P-plus my brother shows up way more than he should, so it’ll probably get confusing,” He quickly rationalized, but his red cheeks said otherwise.

At this point, you’re both a bit flustered. In any other situation, something like this probably wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but this conversation seems oddly intimate.

“O-okay. Then, you can call me by my first name too, O-Osamu...san”

“Sound good, (Name)-san.”

Nori = the seaweed stuff

A/N: I know this is supposed to be a gen fic, but I couldn’t help but add in a bit of fluff when it involves the twins

[ahgaseda]

enough | four

even if everyone else leaves me, you’re enough for me, you’re my only one, stand by me forever, only you, just you...

summary : to survive as a single woman in the big city, you resort to letting rich men pay for your company, but never anticipated that your first client would be the boy you once loved, Jinyoung.

warnings : strong profanity, explicit dialogue, references to prostitution, mentions of gang activity, graphic sexual content, potentially triggering elements involving mental health, panic attacks, etc.

miniseries chapters : one / two / three / four / five / six / seven

Fingertips delicately brushing over your arm pulled you from peaceful dreams. Dreams of Jinyoung and how he used to smile. How you would squeeze his cheeks between your palms when he tried to hide behind his hand, afraid to show his teeth. It had taken you years to break him of that habit.

Humming with contentment, your eyes blinked sluggishly. You could feel the morning light filtering through and warming your skin with golden hues.

The body radiating heat behind you snared your attention in a heartbeat. You smiled when you felt him breathing heavily at your back. He had been sound asleep as well, but just couldn’t resist a touch of your soft skin as he started to wake.

His fingers continued tracing senseless patterns up and down your arm. You shivered at the pads of his fingers, shuffling backwards and even deeper into his embrace while he spooned you in his oversized bed. You glanced up, noting the sun was rising higher outside the window; a sign the two of you had slept quite late.

Jinyoung called your name sweetly and with a smile, you turned to face him. Closing your eyes, you burrowed yourself against his firm chest, tucking your head beneath his chin and draping your legs over his thighs.

“Good morning to you, too,” he teased, an arm coming to wrap tightly around your waist in gentle possession. Jinyoung would normally hide his smirk, but given your position against him, you wouldn’t see it and so he smirked freely.

You didn’t leave me, was the first thing that came to mind, but instead you hummed sleepily. Then, you giggled as his fingertips slipped beneath your shirt and began to dance up your spine.

After squinting against the sun to read the clock on the nightstand, Jinyoung sighed heavily and whispered, “Baby, I have to go.”

You shook your head adamantly, setting your hands to his shirt and gripping him as tightly as you could.

Jinyoung flushed at your newfound affection though in his many, many memories with you, you were always clingy in bed. He chuckled when you began to circle your arms and legs around him, like you could physically prevent him from leaving.

“I have business,” he told you, grabbing one of your hands and bringing your knuckles to his lips for a few appeasing kisses.

“Don’t leave,” you whined in a sleepy daze. “I finally have you back.”

Jinyoung melted, leaning in and kissing your brow. He cradled your head in the bend of his elbow and his hand trailed down your hip, guiding your thigh to hook higher on his waist. Pulling you closer into his warmth, Jinyoung met your opening eyes for only a second before capturing your lips in a heart-stopping kiss that made you smile against his mouth.

But the moment you drifted back to sleep, he was gone.

Jinyoung wanted to be angry with you, to punish you for leaving him behind. God knows his heart was still somewhere in a million tiny pieces on that driveway you left him on, but the caveat was Jinyoung didn’t actually want to hurt you.

Yes, he wanted you to suffer, but only in moderation.

When you finally came to, you wanted to be furious at being abandoned, but you were too overcome with a sense of victory after the events of the night before. Not only had Jinyoung pleasured you, but he allowed you to fall asleep in his arms and for the first time in nearly four years, you slept like a baby.

You had forgotten how it felt to wake up beside him, feeling the pads of his fingers caressing your bare skin. He was insatiable when it came to your body against his. Jinyoung always had to have his hands on you. You were his and he was yours.

Well rested but anticipating a long day, you crawled out of bed and raked your hands through your disheveled hair. Approaching the floor to ceiling windows, you gazed out at Seoul and its bustling, morning energy. You preferred the view at night, when the endless landscape of colors reflected into the darkness of the bedroom.

Turning around, you finally noticed your clothes folded neatly on the dresser. The same dresser Jinyoung had pinned you to the night before. Proceeding to gather your things, you smiled when you saw the note placed on top.

Sorry not sorry for ripping your shirt. I will buy you another, said the note in Jinyoung’s scribbled handwriting. You let out a giggle, rolling your eyes in amusement before tucking the paper into your bra for safe-keeping.

When you stepped into the living area, having dressed and tamed your hair, you greeted Jackson and Yugyeom, both of whom were absorbed in their phones while a cooking show played on the enormous flat screen in the background.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” Yugyeom replied with a broad grin that scrunched his nose. “You scared us last night.”

“I’m sorry,” you apologized sweetly.

Wiggling his eyebrows playfully, Jackson asked, “Did you sleep well?”

You nodded and skipped to the adjoining kitchen, saying, “Yes, I was rewarded with a very nice orgasm.”

Yugyeom dropped his phone and clapped his hands loudly. “That explains why boss was in such a good mood,” he quipped, earning a sharp elbow from Jackson.

You snorted.

Pouring yourself a glass of orange juice and taking a sip, you asked with a pout, “Why did he have to leave so early?”

“It wasn’t early. It was almost ten,” said Jackson, pretending to chide.

You shrugged, bringing the glass to your lips and peering over the rim. The penthouse still floored you with its scale and size. Jinyoung couldn’t cook. He would never need this amount of space for a kitchen. It was sheer indulgence, plain and simple.

Jinyoung never cared about money, never sought after it. He said money made people crazy. Power, on the other hand, was his weakness. Setting down your glass, you mulled over what kind of business pulled Jinyoung out of bed with you.

Before you could ask any potentially dangerous questions, Yugyeom’s phone chimed and after reading, he said, “We’re under strict orders to take you back to your house. Boss ordered you brunch and it will be delivered there.”

“He said you have classes later,” Jackson added, rising and pulling on his jacket.

You grimaced. Thinking about studying paled in comparison to having Jinyoung on your mind. Nevertheless, classes weren’t going to pass themselves. “Actually I have study sessions for exams today. They’re next week.”

Yugyeom grabbed his keys and gave them a jingle. “Well, let’s hit the road then.”

The atmosphere was different from the day before. Any tension and anger you had been harboring was long gone. In fact, you smiled the entire way to your new home, especially with the way Jackson and Yugyeom bickered like an old married couple.

When Yugyeom pulled into your driveway, a delivery car was already waiting, handing Jackson a pair of rather large bags. The bodyguard tipped the boy handsomely and you eagerly rushed inside to scan the goods.

“Why is this kid spoiling me, but won’t let me spoil him?” you asked in a whine, pulling the food from the brown paper bags.

Yugyeom replied dryly, “Because he’s a manly man with a whole lot of pride.”

You retorted, “I just want to suck the soul out of him.”

Jackson grabbed a fork and deadpanned, “We never said he was smart.”

You laughed.

The three of you ate together like you had been best friends for years. Jackson and Yugyeom could hit the road as a comedic team with the way they bounced off of each other and made you cackle until your stomach hurt.

When you had finished your meal, you proceeded to clean up and bid the boys farewell. Yugyeom held you snugly when you hugged him and earned a slap on the back from Jackson.

“This is awkward,” Jackson chuckled. “We aren’t actually leaving.”

“Oh?” you questioned, brows raised.

“I drive. He...,” Yugyeom hesitated.

“Watch. I keep watch,” Jackson interjected, flashing a comforting grin.

You narrowed your eyes suspiciously. “The two of you aren’t going into the study sessions with me, are you?”

Jackson waved his hands. “Of course not. Yugyeom will drive us and I will just hang out around campus. As far as you’re concerned, I’m a prospective student that loves to gab around the quad.”

“Okay,” you said, skeptical.

After a long, hot shower, you dressed comfortably and readied your backpack with notebooks and textbooks and any other books needed for your study sessions until your bag weighed a thousand pounds.

When your phone rang, you smiled at the screen and answered, “Hello?”

“It’s me,” Jinyoung greeted, as if he had forgotten he was saved in your contacts now. “I just wanted to check in.”

You bit your lip to keep from grinning, pleased at how much he had softened in the past twenty-four hours, and murmured bashfully, “I’m glad you did.”

Jinyoung took note of your tone and smiled, not that you could see it. “Am I interrupting classes?”

“No, I’m about to leave,” you replied, hoisting the backpack onto your shoulder. “Apparently Jackson and Yugyeom are babysitting me.”

“You can send them away anytime you want. I just thought having the two of them around would make things easier for you.”

There was always a certain note in Jinyoung’s tone when he lied. His voice sounded like a news anchor telling you reassuringly that everything would be fine whilst the world was literally on fire. You weren’t an idiot. Most of the girls already warned you that on occasion their wealthy clients kept tabs on them. Security protocols and whatnot.

At your brief silence, Jinyoung decided to change the subject. “Which exam will you be prepping for?”

“Statistics. It’s actually a lot of fun when it’s applied to situations rather than dull numbers on a sheet like in regular math.”

Jinyoung wrinkled his nose. In no way, shape or form was any variation of math fun. But he enjoyed your enthusiasm. “Uh-huh. And which class is kicking your ass?”

“That would be physics,” you droned with loathing. “I’m afraid its fundamentals are completely lost on me.”

Noting the clock, you headed out the door in search of your babysitters.

“What does physics have to do with becoming a doctor?”

“Oh, a question I have asked myself many, many times since I discovered I would have to take not one, but two semesters of it,” you joked, following Jackson to the car. “I think it’s primary function is to weed out the weak ones.”

“In that case, kick its ass right back,” said Jinyoung, eyes flickering when the door at the opposite end of the warehouse opened.

Sliding into the passenger seat, you glanced at Yugyeom as he backed the car out of the drive and lowered your tone, “Will I see you again tonight?”

Jinyoung exhaled loudly and your heart sank. “Afraid not. I have a lot of work to do.”

You sulked, wanting to press the issue, but knowing full well Jinyoung was a stone wall. “Oh,” was all you said.

Hearing the disappointment, Jinyoung shifted his weight, looking down at his shoes. You made him like a crazy, hormonal teenager all over again. He just wanted to spend every waking moment with you, listening to you talk excitedly about things he didn’t give a shit about if only to hear the joy in your voice. He missed the simple days of having time alone on the couch with you and a boring ass movie, which was a perfect excuse to pull you beneath him and mar your beautiful skin with hickies.

Jinyoung cleared his throat, snapping out of the thought.

Gripping the phone a little tighter, you started, “Jinyoung, I…”

There was a sudden influx of noise in the background and Jinyoung grumbled under his breath, “I have to go. Study hard, baby.”

You opened your mouth to continue, but the line went dead.

Flustered, you glared at the phone. I love you, was what you had wanted to say, but you choked. What if he didn’t say it back just to torture you?

His words from your first night as your client rolled back into your mind, Imagine that - having to pay for the love of my life... Once upon a time, that’s what you had been. It didn’t mean he still felt the same way. In fact, his level of bitterness could only be from losing one’s love.

Jinyoung was tempered now. He was grown. And you leaving him had partially shaped him into the man he had become. And that could be a man no longer capable of trusting and loving you as he once had.

That notion made you want to cry and you quickly shook your head, freeing your mind of its obsession with Jinyoung. As Yugyeom drove, you pulled out the physics textbook and proceeded to read, drowning yourself in mundane words that only seemed to repeat.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Jinyoung slid the phone into his back pocket and moved back to Jaebeom’s side, scowling at the abrupt arrival of his unpredictable ally.

Jiwon was ambitious. In fact, he was specifically after Jinyoung’s spot, a fact Jinyoung was well aware of and why he chose to keep Jiwon in the loop of some of his business dealings. The problem was Jiwon embodied everything Jinyoung despised in a business partner.

He was loud, flashy. Had no respect for law enforcement and how easily they could unravel the threads that held everything together. He dabbled in contraband that Jinyoung would never dare involve himself with and tended to fly by the seat of his pants rather than plan anything out.

Jiwon took the last drag out of a cigarette before tossing it to the floor. “Jinyoung-ie, how goes it, brother?”

“You’re late,” Jinyoung sneered. “As usual.”

“Deepest apologies,” Jiwon mocked, putting a hand over his heart. “I was distracted by some Daegu pussy, but I’m here now.”

“Fantastic,” Jinyoung groaned.

Jiwon raked a tongue over his teeth and said, “Speaking of hot pieces of ass, I saw that little slice of yours.”

Jinyoung’s eyes hardened and his voice came out a slow growl, “Excuse me?”

“You know the one I’m talking about,” Jiwon continued, grinning. “Walks around smiling like a little princess, but I bet she loves it rough. Doesn’t she, Jinyoung-ie?”

Jinyoung could feel his blood boiling. Suddenly, everything in the room was painted in red hues. How he had always despised Jiwon, but now, he was talking himself into the nearest harbor.

Jaebeom shuffled slightly, feeling the tension. His eyes were hot enough to burn coal.

Jinyoung stepped closer, lowering his voice in a warning. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Ever heard that phrase, Jiwon?”

Jiwon nodded. “Of course.”

“Don’t ever be deluded into thinking I keep you around because I cherish your company,” Jinyoung hissed.

Jiwon clapped his hands. “Shit, she is the bitch you’ve been holding out for. I’m impressed.”

Jinyoung set his jaw. He couldn’t lose his composure, couldn’t let this asshole know what you meant to him. Instead, he warned calmly, “You’re walking on thin ice with me.”

“Do I sense some panic in your voice, Jinny? After all, if I saw her, others may have, too.”

Jinyoung switched tactics. “What do you want?”

Jiwon held up his arms and shrugged, noncommittal. “I know I notoriously play both sides, but there’s a deal going down and I want you on my side.”

Jinyoung's expression hardened. “I don’t take sides in that bullshit you play. I notoriously stay in my niche. You know I don’t get involved in the corruption game.”

“Well, today you do. My team is going to hijack a shipment and you’re going to help me.”

“And if I don’t?” Jinyoung asked with a tilt of his head.

Jiwon sucked in a breath between his teeth, to make it sound like he was almost wincing. He blithely took out his phone, turning the screen to give Jinyoung a view. The picture was of you, smiling at a classmate with books held in your arms.

“I know plenty of bad, bad men that could break in such a good girl for you.”

The words had barely made their way from his mouth before Jinyoung was on him, grabbing Jiwon by the collar and shaking him like a ragdoll. When his guard made a move with a measly switchblade, Jaebeom calmly put a hand on the gun attached to his belt.

“I will kill you,” Jinyoung hissed in his face. “Do you hear me?”

Jiwon sneered, “You of all people should have known better than to give in to your weakness.”

Jinyoung was ready to rip him inside out and that was evident as he spoke, “Weakness is the last thing you will think of when you think of me.”

But Jiwon merely laughed, a sound devoid of pity or fear. “I own you now.”

Jinyoung released him roughly and held his ground, watching Jiwon slink away with a broad, impish grin.

Jaebeom moved closer and murmured in hushed tones, “He won’t do anything.”

“Have her brought to my place,” Jinyoung whispered, hands trembling. “Now!”

It was late afternoon when you finished your study sessions, feeling confident in your ability to ace the oncoming exam. With statistics prep out of the way, you devoted yourself to the neverending battle between you and physics.

Jinyoung had already said he wouldn’t be able to see you tonight. With that thought, you donned an overgrown sweater and some knee-high socks to keep your feet warm. Then, you plopped on your bed and cracked open the books.

Time passed swiftly and you were shocked to see the sun had faded from view just outside your window. Taking a quick and hard earned reprieve, you massaged your aching hand, tense from the overabundance of notes you were scribbling, and you jolted on the bed when Yugyeom burst unannounced into your room.

“What the hell,” you exclaimed, tugging down your sweater to hide your exposed thighs.

Yugyeom panted, “Boss wants me to bring you to the penthouse.”

You relaxed, but rolled your eyes over the needless interruption. “He said no booty calls tonight.”

“He wants to see you. Something has upset him, but they won’t tell me more than that.”

That tidbit of information intrigued you. “Okay, but I’m bringing my books to study while I wait.”

“Fine by me.”

Jackson’s behavior was your first red flag. Rather than his jovial, talkative self, his eyes were on the surroundings, watching and waiting like something could be lurking just beyond. In fact, he didn’t say a word as he opened the car door and slammed it shut behind you.

Jaebeom’s behavior was your second red flag. He was there at the building to greet you, opening your door and grasping your elbow to practically hoist you out of the car. Managing to sling your backpack over your shoulder, you asked, “Has it finally happened? The zombie apocalypse?”

Your joke fell on deaf ears.

Jaebeom looked to Jackson and said, “Basement.”

Jackson nodded his understanding, then turned to you and said, “Go with Jaebeom.”

You merely bobbed your head before Jaebeom ushered you to the back elevator. You crossed paths with the friendly Mr. Jung, who discreetly accepted a roll of bills from Jaebeom’s outstretched hand.

Heat flared across your cheeks. Jinyoung was going to get a piece of your mind when you saw him. All this sneaking about and acting like at any moment a sniper was going to drop you. Then, your heart fell somewhere in the pit of your stomach. Years away had let you forget the constant feeling of living in danger.

The gangs had turned your home into a warzone. Suddenly, you were right back where you started and the thought made your eyes water.

“Where is Jinyoung?” you asked in the elevator.

“On his way,” Jaebeom answered shortly.

You almost hadn’t expected an answer. Jinyoung clearly was putting you on lockdown. You peered up at Yugyeom and he offered a gentle smile, as clueless as you were. At least, you weren’t alone.

Jackson vanished into the darkness of the basement, the echo of his footsteps ricocheting off of the concrete walls. Spotting the only other person inside, he called out, “Jaebeom is on guard. Now, what the hell happened?”

Jinyoung stepped out of the shadows and said, “That bastard has a picture of her on his phone. He showed it to me.”

Jackson appeared unfazed. “Alright, we will increase security and I can…”

Jinyoung whirled around and grabbed the nearest crate, shoving it into a heap rolling across the ground. Then, he roared, “How could I be so stupid?”

Jackson shook his head. “You’re not.”

“I kept my distance for almost five goddamn years,” Jinyoung shouted, angry and scared. “I was good. I knew it was safer that way while I did what I had to do. But she broke me. The minute I found out she was gonna sell herself, I had to jump in.”

“I know,” said Jackson, unmoving.

Jinyoung’s next words came out shakily, “I have a whole list of enemies that will tear her apart in front of me.”

Jackson reminded firmly, “We’re better than them.”

“Are we? Because I’m losing my fucking mind at just the thought of someone laying a hand on her!”

“No one will.”

Jinyoung was the epitome of composure. He never lost his temper and he never allowed himself to be a slave to his emotions, which was why an outburst such as this was exceedingly rare. Jinyoung didn’t know what to do when his heart took hold, but Jackson did.

“I made a lot of enemies. I tore people apart to get here. You know that, brother,” Jinyoung choked, tears in his eyes. “None of them would bat an eye at taking her away.”

Jackson knew that was enough. He stepped forward and grasped Jinyoung by the shoulders, levelling his voice, “Stop and listen to me for a second. Why do you have me and Jaebeom? Why does Mark spend almost every waking hour behind a computer?”

Jinyoung stilled.

“The answer is for bullshit like this. Do you have any idea how many threats we have neutralized before they got to you?”

Jinyoung snorted. “Would you like a raise?”

Jackson chortled and waved him away. “You pay me more than enough.”

Jinyoung put his hands on his hips and lowered his gaze to the ground in shame, shaking his head from side to side. “I should send her away. I should leave her.”

“It’s too late for that. They know she’s your baby.”

“Yeah, she is.” Jinyoung slumped in defeat.

Jackson simpered. “It happens to all of us, brother.”

Jinyoung relented. No one could talk him down like Jackson.

Jackson looked at him expectantly, seeing Jinyoung had calmed. Then, he cocked his head toward the elevators.

As the two headed up to the penthouse, Jinyoung asked, “How was she today?”

Jackson didn’t hesitate to sing your praises. “Exam prep is putting her through the ringer, but I’ve never seen someone so determined to kick school’s ass.”

Jinyoung snickered. That sounded like you. When you got knocked down, you laughed and got back up. When you set your mind to something, no one could stop you. Jinyoung frowned, wondering at what moment you had decided to leave him all those years ago.

“And she constantly checks her phone, waiting for you to text her,” Jackson added, leaning back against the rail. “When you checked on her this morning, you should have seen her smile.”

“Stop making it worse,” Jinyoung grumbled, shooting him an insincere glare.

Jackson beamed. “You’re welcome.”

Nestled comfortably on your side in Jinyoung’s bed, you poured over your textbooks, filling your pages with notes. Flashcards lay in a messy crescent around you. All a result of you trying to distract yourself from Jinyoung.

Inevitably, you crashed, falling asleep in the warmth and comfort of his bed. Your brain was exhausted from absorbing so much information, and the city lights and soft music had lulled you to sleep. If his playlist was any indication, Jinyoung preferred melancholy, slow songs to soothe his aching heart.

You would fix that later, but for now, you rested.

Jinyoung breezed through the kitchen, tugging off his jacket and draping it over the couch in the living area. Glancing around, he turned back to the bodyguard and asked, “Where is she?”

“Bedroom,” was all Jackson said.

“You can go now,” Jinyoung sang, dismissing him with a wave of his fingers.

Jackson chuckled and headed for the elevator.

Jinyoung entered his room ever so quietly, letting out a long exhale of relief when he saw you sound asleep within a ring of textbooks and study materials. First, he unfastened his button-up and discarded it on the bedpost. Then, one by one, he pulled your books from around you and stacked them neatly on the dresser.

Settling in behind you, Jinyoung contoured his body to yours, propping his head on his arm while his free hand landed on your hip and began to curl around your waist. He just needed you safely in his arms. If anyone so much as gave you a sideways glance, there would be hell to pay.

Jinyoung remembered why he had joined the gang in the first place - to protect you. He learned that when you can’t beat them, join them. But he had never expected that would be the tipping point. He joined the gang and you left him. Ever since that day, Jinyoung had warred with himself over his decision. Maybe you had seen it as betrayal. Even when he explained that he had done it for the both of you, you didn’t accept that and you sure as hell didn’t forgive him.

And then, you were gone.

Jinyoung realized he had been the only one keeping you tied there. You had given up on everything and everyone else, and then he cut the final cord. Sometimes he told himself it was the right thing to do. You were able to leave and find a new life, the life you had always wanted.

But Jinyoung always wanted to be a part of that life. Not many kids could say they had found their soulmate and Jinyoung, as much as he hated the notion, knew you were the person he was meant to spend his life with. There was never any doubt in his mind.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered under his breath, knowing you weren’t listening. I gave you no choice, he pondered sadly. Tightening his grasp around your body, he tucked his face to your hair and lingered in the scent of you. He just needed to hold you until he found his strength again.

You hummed quietly in your sleep; a tiny inconsequential noise that completely set his veins ablaze. Your body instinctively shuffled back, seeking his warmth and the constant of him beside you. Jinyoung raked his eyes down your form, intent on your bare thighs. For fuck’s sake, had you come to his penthouse in a sweater and knee-high socks and nothing else?

Jinyoung brushed his fingers through your hair, exposing your neck, and left a few gentle kisses at the curve of your shoulder. “Bad girl,” he whispered darkly in your ear.

Your lashes fluttered before your eyes opened, and you immediately shuddered at the feel of his wet lips on your neck. “Jinyoung…,” you sighed.

“Hi, baby,” he replied, mischievous. “How many people saw these pretty thighs today?”

You could hear the jealousy in his tone and it made you smirk. “They rushed me here urgently.”

“I will let it slide…,” he said, nipping at your ear. “This time.”

You reached back to grab a handful of his thick hair, tugging him forward so you could mold your lips to his in a kiss. You had missed him deeply. Jinyoung let you, though his hand began to wander. You felt yourself melting into his kisses, slow and warm, that when his fingers slipped beneath your sweater, you didn’t notice until a digit hooked in the band of your underwear.

Pulling at his hair, you took his lip between your teeth and yanked gently. Then, meeting his eyes, you whispered, “Those are a present for you.”

“For me?” he asked, clearly piqued.

“Mm-hm.”

Jinyoung gave you a chaste peck on the corner of your mouth in farewell, then he moved down your body to get a better look. You watched him push the hem of your sweater up to your ribs, exposing the cute pink panties you were wearing. After biting his lip with appreciation toward the view, he began kissing his way up your thigh.

“Rough day?” you asked anxiously.

“The worst,” he huffed, proceeding to suck a blemish on your hip.

You choked out a word that sounded vaguely like his name, squeezing your thighs together to calm the aching in your core at how close he was to your most intimate part. Jinyoung, with his kisses alone, could have you completely pliant beneath him, begging him to give you release.

Jinyoung called your name.

“Hm?”

His lips broke from your skin and he lifted his head to look you dead in the eyes. “I’m gonna eat this pussy.”

Your eyes widened and your heart promptly thundered inside your chest. “...You have my permission.”

Jinyoung flashed his teeth in a smile at the dumbfounded look on your face and said, “Good.”

Your lover lifted your leg, letting it rest on his shoulder as he buried his face against your clothed folds, giving your cunt open-mouthed kisses. Your head fell back and you tried to roll onto your back, but Jinyoung held your hips in a vice and kept you on your side. He never gave an inch.

You reached down to thread your fingers into his messy hair, remembering how much he loved when you raked your nails through his locks while he sucked you dry. Sensitive after the years apart, you trembled with the way he kissed your pussy like he was starved. He flattened his tongue between your lower lips, tasting your essence through the fabric of your panties.

“Babe,” he called from between your legs, voice having descended an octave or two with lust. “As much as I love my present…”

You felt him winding his fists through the material and before you could reply, the panties snapped like they never stood a chance.

“They’re in my way,” Jinyoung finished with a dark smile, peeling the torn remains from your body and tossing them over his shoulder.

“I loved those,” you pouted, trying to sound sulky and not meaning a single word.

“I’ll buy you ten more,” Jinyoung said impatiently, bringing his lips to your bare pussy and taking a long, hungry lap of the arousal slipping between your folds.

You let out a noise and it completely embarrassed you, which could only mean Jinyoung loved it and wanted to hear it again as soon as possible. His arms tangled through your thighs, round your hips, and he kneaded your flesh in tandem with the sucking and licking of your cunt. You stole a breath and held it, trying to keep your sounds at bay lest you give him any more reason to tease you.

But that only spurred him on more. Jinyoung glanced up from your glistening pussy to see the tension on your face, his cock twitching in his jeans as he watched you grab a handful of the blanket and try to hide your face against it. He stroked your beautiful hips, squeezed your plump ass, and nipped your soft thighs.

Jinyoung was tempted to taunt, to ask you how it felt to have him pump his tongue inside your wet cunt, but by the look on your face, that was answer enough. He watched your breasts rise and fall and decided he would suck those next when he finished making you come.

The room filled with the sounds of his tongue and lips working your soaked pussy, your whimpering and airy moans of his name, and the moody playlist still playing on loop in the background. You suddenly remembered the windows, where all of Seoul could be watching the view of his head between your thighs, but then you were reminded the glass was tinted.

What a shame.

Jinyoung found your swollen clit and teased it between his teeth. Your lower body immediately arched away from his mouth and a loud involuntary moan left you. Your clit was a live wire, hypersensitive from years of neglect, and each time he touched it, your stomach tightened.

Given your reaction, Jinyoung made your bundle of nerves his main target. He latched his lips to the nub and rolled it with his tongue, grinning when you could no longer fight back your noises of pleasure. His jeans were unbearably tight, cock moving on its own accord with the lewd squelches of your pussy begging to be filled by every inch of him.

You clawed your fingers through his hair, tugging hard to slow him down, and whimpered, “Jinyoung, oh… god. You’re gonna make me come.”

“That’s kinda the point,” he retorted, sinking his teeth into the flesh of your inner thigh.

Your clit was throbbing, pulsing, and every touch of his tongue was pushing you hard toward the edge. You wrenched your fist in the blanket and chanted, “I can’t. I can’t. I can’t…”

Suddenly, a hand crept between your breasts, fingers finding your throat and getting a solid grip.

“Jinyoung,” you choked, though his name barely made it out of your mouth.

Jinyoung squeezed and your whining stopped. You held his wrist in your hand, the other still tangled in his hair, and accepted you were along for the ride.

He was merciless against your clit, desperate to give you climax. His hold on your neck went slack after you had calmed and you felt more arousal gush from your folds at his show of dominance.

“Fuck,” you cursed, flexing your legs as your body tried to curl away from the stimulation.

Jinyoung reeled his hand back and landed a swat on your ass, smiling against your pussy with the way you squeaked.

“Jinyoung,” you cried out in disbelief, reaching toward his arm that held your thigh. You could feel taut, bulging muscles beneath the sleeve and knew you were wholly at his mercy.

A loud smack resounded through the room as another hit connected with your ass and Jinyoung sucked your clit like he had run out of patience and it was time to come.

Begging for mercy in a whine, you dropped your head to the mattress, hair falling wildly over your face and you arched your hips against his mouth, bouncing your ass into his face. Jinyoung coaxed his hand over your heated flesh, leisurely tracing your skin to give you an ever-present reminder how quickly he could spank you again if you misbehaved.

With every breath, you let out some mortifying sound. Your clit thrummed and the scalding heat at the apex of your thighs was about to spill over and ruin you.

Without warning, Jinyoung pulled away from your aching pussy and was chest-to-chest with you in the blink of an eye, his hand still poised around your throat.

Once he had your undivided attention, his hand landed on your folds.

You cried out in surprise.

“You wanna come for me?”

Before you could answer, his palm landed on your sex again.

“Yes, yes, yes,” you chanted hurriedly. You were right on the edge, so close you could taste it. “Please let me come.”

Jinyoung bit his lip, failing to hide a smile. His pupils were blown wide, lost in arousal and pleasure. Bringing his mouth to your neck, his wet lips pressed kisses beneath your ear, and then he whispered, “On my face or on my cock?”

It was a no contest decision. “On your cock,” you replied without missing a beat, eyes wide and expectant. “Please.”

Jinyoung tapped the flat of his hand on your pussy to some random rhythm, keeping you lingering near the edge. Every brief moment of pressure on your clit was enough to make you press your thighs together.

“Please,” you said again.

Jinyoung shook his head in amusement, flashing a devilish smile at how far gone you were already. “You want me to fuck you, huh?” he teased, slipping his tongue over your bottom lip, red from where you had been biting.

“More than anything.”

Jinyoung let his gaze lock with yours momentarily before he smirked and moved back between your legs, finding your entrance with his mouth again and lapping his tongue inside.

Disappointed but not surprised that you wouldn’t be getting dick that night, you focused on your orgasm, hoping and praying he would finally give it to you.

With every roll of your hips, Jinyoung connected a smack to your ass and the sound ricocheted into your ears. You could feel your cheeks heating up, enough pressure on your neck to cloud your mind, and his name became a constant chant from your lips. Just the way he liked it.

Jinyoung returned to your clit and with his mouth, commanded your body to give him what he wanted. The intensity of release washed over you and by the way you shuddered in his grasp, Jinyoung knew you were suspended in ecstasy, but he didn’t slow down. He kept taking your clit between his lips and stimulating past your threshold.

You tapped out, tearing out of his grasp and pushing at his head until he finally set you free. Jinyoung rose to his knees and pushed you roughly to your back, gazing down at the mess he had made. You panted for breath and closed your eyes, waiting for your body to settle back down from its constant shaking.

“That pussy is still mine,” Jinyoung whispered in his gruff dialect, giving your dripping folds one last look.

When he began to move away from you, you came back to your senses and grabbed his wrist before he could get far.

Jinyoung turned to you in surprise.

“Why would you rather jack off than let me have you?” you asked desperately.

His reply was terse, “I got what I needed.”

You frowned. “Please.”

He cocked a brow and his tone was a little harsher than intended, “Please what?”

You were laid bare before him and it showed in your voice. “Touch me.”

Jinyoung was back to the game of refusing to give you what you wanted most. “Where do you want me to touch you?” he asked under his breath.

“Everywhere,” you admitted breathlessly.

He smirked, roaming his hand down your inner thigh. “Hard or gentle?”

Your lashes fluttered. “Both. Either.”

Then, he shifted mercurially and snapped, “Why would I? I’m angry with you.”

You said the first thing you thought would fix that. “I’m sorry.”

“You left me.”

As if you had forgotten. “Jinyoung…,” you started, reaching for him.

“Do your homework,” he told you dismissively.

The blood drained from your face and you gripped him tighter. “No, no, Jinyoung. Please.”

“Give me a reason.”

You yelled, “I’m sorry. Is that what you want to hear?”

He shrugged, and the gesture was absolutely maddening. “No, it does nothing for me.”

Anger danced up your spine and you spit venom, “Fuck you.”

Jinyoung took your jaw in his hand, leering down at you. The dominant streak you were praising only moments before was now front and center. “Test me one more time,” he hissed in warning. “I dare you.”

You stared up at him and hesitated. His eyes were intense, smoldering. You finally offered up one last plea, “At least let me watch.”

Jinyoung tilted his head. He expected you to say anything to appease him, but that certainly wasn’t one of them. “Shirt off,” he ordered lowly, making short work of his own top.

Pulling the sweater up and over your head, you lay beneath him and spread your legs invitingly. Jinyoung got comfortable on his knees between your thighs and began unbuckling his belt. You reached forward to help, but he swiftly batted your hands away.

Your eyes didn’t know where to settle. He was so much more muscular than before. The boy you knew was strong, but lanky. Food was a commodity back then, not a right. His arms and chest bulged with strength, and you had never seen such a chiseled set of abs in your life. Then, you caught sight of his happy trail and followed it all the way down south.

Once unzipped, Jinyoung pushed down his jeans and boxers to free his hard cock. He was so aroused, his length curved toward his abs and the head was angry, weeping. You watched as he reached between your legs, gathering your slick on his fingers and stroking his cock with your juices.

Your mouth was watering, salivating for a taste. You wanted his dick in your mouth, to return the favor of a mind-blowing climax to him. Your eyes followed every move of his hand, distracted only by the flexing of his defined abdominal muscles when he pumped the head of his length. Your core tightened on nothing, aching to be filled, and you quickly swallowed the saliva in your mouth to keep from drooling.

“I miss sucking your dick,” you blurted, shameless.

Jinyoung let his tongue linger at the corner of his mouth, twitching at the clouded arousal in your eyes. Then, his gaze fell to your breasts and he licked his lips hungrily.

Seeing him distracted, you wrapped your hand around his shaft, circling the head and teasing his slit with your thumb. Jinyoung sucked in a hard breath through his teeth, losing any and all resolve to slap your hand away.

You hummed softly at the girth of him in your hands, remembering all the times he stretched you open. He seemed even bigger than before, but still so hard. He could move like silk inside you, fitting just right.

You peered up at him with coy eyes. “I want you inside me so bad.”

Jinyoung stroked his thumb over your wrist while you worked his length and said, “That’s cute.”

You cut him a glare and jutted out your lip in a pout. “You’re vicious.”

“No more than you,” he countered, breath stuttering at your quickening attempts to get him off. “We always did have that trait in common.”

You pumped him harder, pleased when he released a tiny moan. “Come on, baby,” you crooned. “I know you’ve been hard this whole time.”

Your words must have pushed him over the edge, because Jinyoung snatched your fingers and held your hand at bay as he fisted his cock and rapidly jerked himself to release, groaning when his seed finally came.

You trembled with lust when his release coated your stomach and breasts. Jinyoung tipped his head back and let out a long sigh of relief, satisfied for the moment. You flushed at how badly he turned you on. The pleasure on his face coaxed you to madness, wanting nothing more than push him to his back and ride him into oblivion just so you could see the ecstasy on his face again.

His self control was admirable. Yours was dead and buried.

“Wait here,” Jinyoung said, clambering off the bed and disappearing into the bathroom.

You wanted to be a smartass, but didn’t have the energy. As far as you were concerned, it was night and you weren’t leaving his bed until morning.

When Jinyoung returned, he told you, “Hot bath is ready.”

You sat up and asked, “What about you?”

He seemed confused. “What about me?”

“Can we… talk or something?”

Jinyoung studied you, naked save for your socks. You just didn’t want to be parted from him, not even for a moment. With an exhale, he grabbed your thigh and removed the sock, then did the same with the other side. “Yeah, come on,” he finally relented.

You smiled victoriously and trotted yourself to the bathroom in all your nude glory, feeling his gaze on your plump backside.

Sinking into the scalding water, you hummed with delight. Jinyoung fought a smile as he lowered to sit beside the tub. You sloshed around, getting comfortable, and Jinyoung watched you with nothing short of adoration. Fuck, he was head over heels. Though he was mad as hell, everything you did was just too cute.

Propping your arms on the rim of the bathtub, you rested your head overtop and called gently, “Jinyoung?”

“Yeah, baby?”

Warmed by the gentleness of his voice, you blinked through the steam of hot water and asked, “Is there any hope for us?”

He leaned his head back against the wall, arms draped on his knees, and sighed, “I don’t believe in hope anymore.”

That tugged at your heartstrings. “Oh.”

Jinyoung kept his eyes on the ceiling, not wanting to see how sweetly you looked at him, and said, “I know you hate that I joined the gang. I’ll give you that.”

It was a start, but you were surprised to hear it. Jinyoung wasn’t the type to surrender so soon and he never admitted when he was wrong. “Then, why did you do it? After I begged and begged you not to,” you asked cautiously.

“Because I was good at it,” he confessed, finally turning back to you. “I got off on the power. I realized that for once in my life, I could have all the control.”

You shook your head. “Control is an illusion.”

“It’s not,” Jinyoung interjected and he sounded convinced. “I’ve tasted it.”

You found yourself wanting to reach over and grasp his hand, but it was too far out of reach. This was the Jinyoung you knew, who was only ever vulnerable with you when it mattered. “Was it worth it? Do you sleep well at night?”

“Same as before. That hasn’t changed.” He smiled softly and whispered, “I only sleep well when you’re beside me.”

You sighed, staring at him with affection.

Then, the obstinance returned to his face and he said, “I don’t care about all the evil things I’ve done. I did them for the right reasons.”

“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions,” you sang, the same way your father always did.

Jinyoung snorted. “I prefer a paved road to a rocky one.”

You were quick to tease, “So, is this the closest I will ever get to an apology?”

Jinyoung swallowed the lump in his throat and replied, “I will never ask your forgiveness for how I chose to survive without you.”

Your eyes batted with the threat of tears. Your mouth parted to say his name.

Jinyoung shushed you, grasping your jaw and leaning in to press a tender kiss to your lips. For a moment, he stared into your eyes with longing. Then, without another word, he stood to his feet and left.

Your heart wanted to burst. He was still so in love with you.

← previous chapter | next chapter →

a/n : this story was previously Lacuna on my old blog, minheoney. I’m really excited to finally finish it! This fic was my baby for so long and I’m ridiculously happy to give it a new home :)

Hey there, beautiful! If you enjoyed this, please leave a like or reblog or follow me! Or maybe buy me a coffee so I can keep writing? Or check out my masterlist here for more stories! Thanks for reading :) - Katya

This work is fictional and for entertainment purposes only, but is licensed and protected under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial-noderivatives 4.0 international license. Any instances of plagiarism will be dealt with accordingly. Do not re-post or translate without my permission.

{ copyright 2018-2020 © ahgaseda // all rights reserved }

[crows-scones-and-exy-thrones]

aftg characters as things my sims have done

dan: ordered hawaiian pizza

kevin: maxed out body potential when i left the game running to go buy a donut

andrew: stole 8 books from school, also a chicken statue

matt: fought a sim for insulting their wife

aaron: chose to do extra credit homework when i told them to watch tv

seth: became mortal enemies with another sim without being told to

allison: changed into party clothes to go to school

nicky: went to the nightclub instead of school

renee: had a literal greenhouse with 80 different plants

neil: set the kitchen on fire and themself in the 30 seconds i stopped paying attention to the game

abby: put the dishes in the dishwasher instead of the kitchen sink without being told

wymack: died from exhaustion while babysitting 5 kids (twin children, two toddlers, a newborn baby)

bee: baked a chocolate cake at 4am

jean: got in a fight at the gym, won

jeremy: blew out birthday candles at another sim's party

bonus

riko: kidnapped 42 sims and left them in the basement, immediately left the lot

[allthingsroleplay]

SHADOW AND BONE CAST WANTED FOR JESSIE MEI LI

Ben Barnes as a romantic interest (here) Zoë Wanamaker as head chef (here) Amita Suman as best friend (above + here) + rest of cast in the same main request

The Site

a real life site set on the fictional town of Tamarack Island on the Outer Banks. Active for 3 months + Jcink Premium.

The Ben

So this here is the owner of Mama Tierra. I’d love for Ben Barnes to be the face used because a) Jessie Mei Li & Ben Barnes have amazing chemistry, and b) the picspam is great and I adore picspam – but if you prefer to use someone else, please feel free to as well! It’s really not a requirement/condition of taking this role. But it’d be a bonus ^^ he opened the bistro in the summer of 2012, which is also when Evan (Jessie) started working there. He doesn’t need to be a native of the island, but he would have then obviously moved to Tamarack at least then.

So I’d love for this character to be Evan’s current romantic interest. She would have had a major crush on him back in the day when she first started working at Mama Tierra’s, but would have thought it all completely inappropriate and unprofessional, and would have just buried her feelings deep down. Instead, over time they became close friends and probably could also spend a lot of time together outside of work depending in what their mutual hobbies are? We can plot it all out though!

Otherwise his personal and romantic history is up to you. Past engagement? Divorced? Has a kid? We can talk it out, but just feel free to have your imagination run wild!

Then in site-canon history, when Evan was 20 she met through the owner his business investor - Clark Hayward. At 21 she begun to date him and it ended on February 14th 2021 where Clark proposed to her and Evan said no.

Since then 6 months have passed and slowly in that time Evan’s old feelings for the owner have begun to resurface and while she’s trying to keep them buried ‘cause she’s still terrified of how it will look to the outside world & the potential to destroy things at Mama Tierra. But it’s not really working. Again, specifics, details and changes we can also figure out and plot out together <3

The Zoe

the head chef is a no-bullshit person who runs their kitchen with a strong fist. Probably yells a lot and says that they’re gonna have someone fired every day (but it doesn’t happen). Cross them and they’ll stick you with grunt work. Still, secretly loves their staff and probably wouldn’t want anyone else working with them. Plus loves to see them expand their skill sets. Was the person that Evan asked for a reference letter for a part-time college course that she’s starting in October.

The Amita

I am requesting Amita because she is sunshine, I adore picspam and I’d also just love a best friend from work (that of course crosses over into private life) for my Evan. :)

So the whole staff of the bistro are like family anyway, but I’d love for Amita to be the one that Evan is closest to (and vice-versa) (along with orion). Just a person that she can be 100% herself, speak without fear or worry or censorship.

The Amita is very open and while I imagine her to be a ray of sunshine, she’s your open canvas :)

If you’d like any kind of ideas, here I’ve got some plot scenarios, and we can of course chat about them / it more on discord!

1. Amita and Evan met when they were kids - both of their families were locals that have lived on the island for generations and were “forced” to sit at the kids table at town events – but even though the interactions were initially forced, the friendship was genuine. Their families also became friends as they both experienced the same branch of prejudice - racism.

alternative: they were forced to interact and in the past weren’t friends for whatever reason and then only became friends-friends once they started working together at mama tierra’s?

2. Amita just moved to the island (anywhere from 4 years ago to 1 year ago?). They bonded very quickly, perhaps just because they share many things in common,  or just got on well, or one of them screwed up badly at work and the other person took the blame for it? Though no fear, neither the head chef nor the Ben (the owner of Mama Tierra) would have fired either of them anyway. And perhaps Amita was the first person to also realise that Evan and the Ben are perfect for each other / are idiots that clearly have feelings for each other?

3. Amita is a single mum (can be combined with either options above, or other ideas you might have) and despite the fact that evan is terrible with kids, she wants to help amita out in any way she can? And possibly Amita's  kid is one of the few kids that make Evan realise, “hey, kids aren’t so bad” and maybe even babysits for her if she’s working and Evan isn’t or if she wants to go on a date // enjoy some alone-time. (Or just hang out the two of them and her kid).

4.  I Need Help: Amita meets Evan in a bar at 11pm at night. Amita looks ragged and disheveled and completely out of place. They almost get kicked out for not having any money to buy a drink when Evan takes pity on them and buys one for them. They chat and get to know each other and realise they have more in common than they might have originally thought. (Plot scenario found online)

5. the two women were neighbours when evan still lived in Ardsley Park with her ex (Clark Hayward). Evan heard that Amita just lost her job, or was looking for a job, etc. She arranged for an interview at Mama Tierra’s (and promised to help train her, in case Amita didn’t have previous experience in the food/restaurant industry).

6. any ideas that you have! <3

[statticscribbles]

BD: First Word

Summary: An alternate Idea to Peter’s ‘first word’

Charles had implied that Hank would be on babysitting duty for the week. It was mainly because Logan and Raven had a few missions they had to handle and Azazel had been banned from babysitting after the third time he’d brought Peter to some remote island to run around his excess energy. Despite the implication Charles hadn’t actually asked Hank to babysit, which meant Hank was trying to casually keep an eye on Peter even if both Charles and Erik are sitting next to him and Peter is sitting on their left.

Erik asks Hank to watch Peter; Hank doesn’t bother asking why; he can see the way Erik’s gaze steels and Angel and Azazel flank him. He wonders if the mission Logan and Raven had gone on is failing but then Charles soothes those thoughts with the image of the three of them going on a different mission; that Logan and Raven are bickering over the next rest stop meal.

Hank wasn’t against the idea of Peter being in the lab; in fact he preferred it to Erik because while both he and Peter asked questions Peter’s were usually easier to explain and more basic science; whereas Erik’s were complicated questions often involving his powers versus whatever experiment or test Hank was running.

Of course there are exceptions, and since Hank is working with explosive chemicals he’s sort of forced Peter away, under the guise of working on a birthday present for him. He assures Peter it will only take an hour and he swears he can hear Peter pacing back and forth in the hallway. He’s regretting using the birthday present excuse as he’d already gotten Peter his. He knows he probably has another two weeks of using that excuse before Peter refuses to accept it. He also prefers Peter’s annoyed huffs and pouting at dinner over having to explain to Charles and Erik why Peter was missing an arm or worse.

“Holy shit.” Hank sighs at the rubble he now has to clean up.

“Shit!” Hank freezes swallowing and turning to see Peter appearing. He must have run back to avoid the rubble but nowhere near far enough to avoid hearing what Hank just said.

“Oh my god your dad’s are going to kill me.”

“Shit.” Peter nods and Hank has to laugh.

“Yeah kid; shit is right.” Peter grins at him stumbling over the rubble.

“Hey whoa, no, bad idea there.” Hank heaves him up onto his shoulders. Peter grins laughing as Hank slowly starts to clean the rubble while balancing Peter as a training exercise.

He tells Charles this when he makes his way to the lab, after hearing the explosion but sensing only mild distress from Hank, not enough to confirm Peter is hurt.

Hank, to his credit manages to go a full four hours without alerting Charles to Peter’s new word, it’s Logan that does it and Hank has never been happier to have his fur to hide the way his colour drains on his face.

“Shit!” Peter pouts, huffing and making annoyed faces at Logan who had just dropped one of the five plates he was trying to balance making his way from the kitchen, of course the plate he had managed to drop was Peters, but Charles isn’t focused on that, just on how intensely Hank is trying to think about the food.

“Did you teach my son a swear word?” Charles hisses after dinner and Raven looks incredibly hurt, Charles assures Hank it’s just because she wanted to teach Peter his first swear word.

“No; I didn’t mean to… I was working with; well dangerous chemicals so I told him to wait outside and he was doing so well, and since I finished with it anyways.. I lied to him saying I was working on his birthday present and he got excited, and decided to run looking for it… and, well extreme heat from his speed…. Combustible materials.” Hank doesn’t need to continue just projecting the mental image of the pile of rubble currently in his lab being a little smaller and more silver and red. He knows it’s a little cruel to Charles but he also knows it’s a very real possibility.

The rest of the house is none the wiser for the potential danger and Peter seems to love the dividing attention saying his new word seems to get him.

Everyone manages to forget about it; after a full day of Peter saying it and everyone slowly losing the interest and shock value of him saying a swear word. Peter will occasionally grumble about it but over the rest of the week he stops saying it over and over and he only occasionally says it. Once this happens Charles decides to teach him about swear words and other ‘not nice words’ as Hank puts it.

Surprisingly Peter seems aware enough to not use the words in public; which is the only actual compromise he seems to have made; despite talking to him about leaving his toys and using his powers to get first in line for pizza night and ice cream sundaes.

They’re meant to be meeting Magda for lunch but they all decide it would be better to have a picnic since it’s such a nice day and it gives both Charles and Erik an excuse to let Peter stay and not have to worry about power slip-ups. While there hadn’t been any yet they weren’t willing to test their luck and Magda was more than happy to enjoy lunch provided by Logan in the backyard.

“Has anything else  been happening since last time we had lunch?”

“He beat his last speed record; Hank said it would improve with age; there might be a point he could outrace waves or fire even.” Erik looks smug which brings Peter over, excited to see his mother again but clearly planning to gloat about the speed tests he’d been undergoing.

“I learned a new word.” He mumbles as Erik and Charles are talking amongst themselves, Peter having excitedly been babbling about being able to run faster than Papa and Hank.  Magda had been genuinely impressed by that and asked him if he could run with her one day. He’d reminded her the only person he could run with right now was Logan, since he could heal and they weren’t sure with the super speed what would happen otherwise.

“Oh a new word did Charles teach you?”

“No, Uncle Hank did!” Magda raises an eyebrow, she knows Peter only calls Hank uncle when he’s done something Peter himself deems cool.

“Well it must be pretty great then. If Uncle Hank said it.”

“Papa said I’m not allowed to say it.”

“Well he’s busy.” Magda grins and winks and Peter laughs a little and leans forward, Erik arches an eyebrow but decides whatever his son and Magda are whispering about poses no threat, until he hears Magda’s laughter after Peter voices the newest word he’s learned.

“Shit!” Peter grins and Charles looks horrified, but Erik is laughing along with Magda after a moment Charles joins in. Magda is still grinning when Hank appears to let them know desert is almost ready.

“I’m surprised Hank.”

“Oh you heard then?” He hangs his head a little and Magda pats his shoulder.

“Yes, you finally did something funny.” Peter’s laughing well into dinner over that, and both Magda and Erik have moments where they join in.

Support My Writing?

[yentotajaan]

Subterfuge

Yen’to arrived at the long forgotten village in eastern Eorzea prepared and determined to get this mission completed. He was disguised in a Garlean conscript’s uniform, acquired from a recently dead soldier who no longer needed it. The objective was to infiltrate a nearby Castrum and gather information for the locals so they could exploit vulnerabilities in a future attack against it. Certainly beats babysitting at the tea house. My skills can get a real test now! A new hire, Khan, was a drunken idiot but he somehow had contacts necessary to find this sort of mission. Lady Faye must have sought him for information brokering purposes. He certainly cannot stay sober in the kitchen, hmph.

The local contact and Strega were already there, but it did not take long before the other brave souls who had signed up to arrive. Ramius, Aly, and Deccan apparently also wanted a change in pace. An interesting mix. I know Deccan and Ramius are capable enough... but what about the others? It did not take long to find out. As they went over the mission parameters and plan, it became clear that Deccan, Ramius, and Strega all had intimidate knowledge of Garlean operations and culture. I... probably should have done some homework for this one. The only things I know is their salute and lack of magical ability. Gods... how am I going to know who to salute? What if they ask my name?!

Thankfully, Ramius had brought a relatively high ranking Doman uniform and would take point. They would get in under the guise of an engineering team, snoop around, and then leave. Why does this sound all too easy? Oh well... no turning back now. They headed up the path, the sound of their steps drowned out by the thunderous boom of artillery from the Castrum, pummeling some hapless distant target. As they came closer to the entrance, it was evident that the troops felt no concern about any impending attack; their faces were jovial and their demeanor was relaxed.

The gate guard still had a job to do, and demanded they halt and identify themselves. Yen’to began to feel a bit nervous, but Ramius was convincing enough and they were let inside without incident. As they entered, Yen’to’s eyes grew wide as he looked around the mustering yard. By the Twelve... look at all these soldiers - they must be planning an assault! The thought was interrupted, however, as they were accosted once again - this time by an officer. As Ramius weaved his web of lies, there was a sound of a heavy thud as Deccan suddenly fainted. Yen’to felt sweat beads form on his brow as he wondered what in he hells was going on. Is he alright? Don’t panic, don’t panic...

Strega quickly piped up and said they needed to need to get Deccan to the medicus. She helped him up as he began coming to, and then the pair shuffled off to the medical wing; ostensibly to treat Deccan, but also for a chance to gather information. The officer was unconcerned with Declan’s health, and ushered the remainig group which consisted of Yen’to, Ramius, and Aly to to the magitek armor maintenance bay.

Once they were alone, Ramius briefed them on the plan. It was a shift from reconnaissance to sabotage: they would ‘fix’ the armor units so that they would malfunction and go haywire and hopefully blunt their damage potential. Once again, Yen’to felt a spike of anxiety at his acute lack of magitek knowledge. I have some machinist training... but this is magitek! How am I supposed to know what to do? He felt even more useless by the fact Aly was apparently just as knowledgeable as Ramius. After being given a crash course in how to purposefully break something, instead of accidentally breaking, they set to work on ‘repairing’ the units.

The trio had almost finished their tasks, when into the bay walked a Garlean in gold tinted armor. He was obviously high ranking, and Yen’to shot Ramius a nervous look. Their situation became even more precarious once the man introduced himself as a Tribunis, and began engaging in small talk. Gods damn it, this is the last thing we need! We have to finish, grab Strega and Deccan and get the hells out of here! Yen’to felt he was less than convincing as they exchanged ‘pleasantries’ and wondered when the man would leave them the hells alone. Ramius must have sensed that their ruse was unraveling, and suddenly let loose a barrage of bullets as his unit began going ‘haywire’. The tribunis deftly blocked the incoming fire with his gunblade, and ran to activate the alarm. Yen’to had no idea as how to pilot his unit, and swiftly abandoned it to engage the onrushing soldiers in melee combat while Ramius and Aly sent bodies flying with their magitek armor. Damn it... never being an axe to a gun fight.

Strega and Deccan soon came running from across the muster yard, with a bandaged and sickly Garlean and large briefcase in tow - for some reason. You know what - I would rather not know at this point. They all used Ramius’ and Aly’ armor as cover while they fled. Yen’to had been holding into Aly’s armor when he was suddenly blasted off, slamming hard into the ground. He felt a searing pain in his leg as he struggled to get up. If I die here I swear I am going to kill Khan. Somehow they were able to clear a path to the Castrum gate, where a makeshift barricade had been set up by some surving Garleans. Yen’to maintained his cover behind the magitek armor as best he could to avoid the hail of gunblade fire. Aly and Ramius set their units to overload, and the resulting destruction proved distraction enough to flee back to the nearby village.

Yen’to collapsed to the ground in both relief and pain, his left leg having struggled to support his weight. He waved off the others’ concern, then they took a few moment to catch their breath before splitting up to regroup back at the Shroudrose in Gridania. Once back at his room, Yen’to wrapped a makeshift bandage around a gash in his leg before hobbling down to the basement to debrief with the others. It’s... fine, I will get that looked at later. Despite their alterations to the mission, Khan confirmed that the client was more than satisfied with the result. Oh good... I did not nearly die for nothing. Hmph. Next time I need to ask more questions before I sign up.

Yen’to also had questions for Deccan and Strega, who appeared all but traumatized by the missi9n.

@ramius-xiv

@tough-bit-of-fluff

[i-just-love-spop]

Of babysitting and (potential) kitchen fires [Chapter two]

Chapter one

Summary: Bow is a great dad and also extremely tired, Catra is officially never getting used to teleporting (and in massive denial about why the cat connected to her feelings is nesting), and Glimmer and Bow have a lot of cuddling to make up for.

[Shameless post season five Adora and Catra both want kids but haven’t talked about it yet-fic that was supposed to be a one shot but isn’t anymore. Starring: the best friend squad, two Glow/Glimbow children, Melog, cuddling, a bit of angst and, of course, the best friend squad teasing each other.]

Disclaimer: This was originally posted on my Ao3, EleenaDume, which I would love to source, but tumblr is driving me insane and apparently one of the reasons why my posts might not show up in the tags could be external links, so I’m trying it again without the link. If you want to check if I’m really the same person, I’ve added this account to my list of other accounts on my Ao3-profile.

Angie was finally asleep, her tiny head of curly brown hair cuddled against her father‘s chest.

Bow was beyond exhausted, but he was happy.

She looked so cute when she was asleep.

...Admittedly, that wasn’t saying much because she was also very cute when she was awake. But he liked seeing her sleeping so peacefully.

His kids were incredible.

He would have been happy just hugging his wife and daughters until the end of time.

Speaking of his wife, he really, really hoped she would be back soon. She’d already been pretty tired before the meeting, and that had started hours ago.

Neither of them had been sleeping much these past weeks, but even though he did his best helping the Queen of Brightmoon with her royal duties, there were things she had to do that he couldn’t – Bow wasn’t a sorcerer, exactly, and Glimmer loved connecting with the people of her kingdom by teaching them magic –, and others that he could have helped her with, but that she didn’t let him do because she was stubborn.

She drove him insane sometimes... but on the other hand, he loved how determined and strong-willed she was, just as much as he loved how giddy with excitement she still got about the simplest of things, even after all this time.

Glimmer was amazing. Sure, she had her flaws – but really, who didn’t. There was nothing Bow would have changed about the woman he loved, even if he could have. And there was nothing better in the galaxy than for your wife to also be your best friend, Bow was certain of that.

He was still contemplating whether or not he should put Angie into her crib because even though he had just spend over an hour trying to get his daughter to sleep, there was a part of him that longed to keep her in his arms just a little longer...

He almost jumped when the entire remaining best friend squad suddenly popped up on the bed behind him completely out of nowhere.

Most of the time, he was used to it and wasn’t startled anymore – Glimmer had been teleporting everywhere from a very early age on, her randomly popping up out of literally nowhere wasn’t exactly new to him –, but he had been so lost in the moment that they had really, really startled him.

“You know, we could have just walked, Sparkles,” Catra groaned.

She had gotten used to a lot of the weirdness since she’d first befriended them, and even learned to enjoy a lot of the weirdness – Melog was amazing and had helped her heal a lot, and the food here was amazing, and she still didn’t know what the heck the waterfall in the room she shared with Adora was for if it wasn’t for showering, but it looked nice, so she wasn’t complaining – but the teleporting was the one thing she would probably never get used to.

It made her dizzy and kind of sick, and she was always completely disoriented after it, even when she knew where they were going and had been there before.

...alright, maybe Adora hugging her and rubbing her back to make her feel better afterwards did make it somewhat bearable, but that was the only thing she liked about it, and it wasn’t like she needed any excuses to touch her wife these days.

She still leaned into the movement, Adora lovingly drawing circles on her back until her queasiness subsided.

“...sorry, I just couldn’t wait to get to bed. It’s been a really long day, and now I just want to get some sleep.“

Glimmer smiled at her sympathetically, then just collapsed backwards onto the mattress.

“Angie is actually asleep for once, so go ahead and sleep, yeah? I can go get her later tonight if she wakes up. You look exhausted.”

Bow sat down next to his wife, gently running his fingers through her hair, still holding their daughter in this other arm.

Glimmer smiled softly, her eyes already halfway closed, then look his hand in hers, squeezing it lovingly.

“You’re incredible, but you need sleep just as much as I do. Luckily for us, Catradora offered to take care of Angie for tonight, so you can just hand her over, and then we can peacefully cuddle for the next five to seven hours, what do you say?”

Catra and Adora both still blushed furiously whenever someone called them that. Scorpia had used it once after seeing them together several years ago, and somehow it had stuck.

“I told you to stop calling us that,” Catra grumbled, head still cradled into Adora’s neck.

Glimmer just grinned.

“Never happening. You two are basically attached by the hip at this point.”

“I think someone is asking for some more of the PDA that annoys her so much the next time we go on a double date,” Adora said, winking, a smug grin spreading all over her face.

“Oh stars I love you so much.”

Catra kissed her wife lovingly, and this time Adora was neither pulling back nor complaining, so either she had decided that the glitter was worth it or the taste was gone. Not that it mattered. Catra was just happy about getting to kiss her again.

“Are you actually going to babysit or are you just going to stay on our bed making out all night? Because if it’s the latter I’d much prefer it if you could just take this back to your own room,” Glimmer commented, giggling wearily as she snuggled into her blanket.

“Yeah, sorry, you’re right, we- we’ll take her and let you two sleep,”

Adora said, once again speaking way too fast.

She gestured at Catra to take the baby, then picked up the crib.

Her wife was sure normal people didn’t just carry around cribs like that, but the child needed to sleep somewhere and it would definitely not be the pillow nest that Melog had built.

Catra kept on telling herself this was just because they missed having a family and wanted one, but at the same time, she knew that wasn’t it.

Of course Melog wanted to have a family, she knew that much from the talks they’d had with each other over the years... but she also knew that Melog knew it was pretty much impossible they ever would.

Which meant Melog nesting actually mirrored something else. Which definitely, definitely meant Catra had been spending too much time with Arrow.

She banned the thought all the way to the back of her head, still not exactly ready to face what she wanted because of all the potential grave mistakes and the memories that came along with it.

...Bow handing her the baby wasn’t exactly helping her forget, though.

He touched his daughter’s face tenderly one more time.

For now, Angie was doing a surprisingly good job at sleeping through their talking. Maybe Catra and Adora would have an easy night with her.

“You’re going to spend the night in your aunts’ room, alright? Your sister loves them, and I’m sure you’ll love them, too. You three haven’t exactly spent a lot of time alone with them yet, but you seem comfortable enough around them to sleep on their room tonight, alright? Mommy and I love you so much, and we‘ll miss you. I hate letting you out of my eyesight, especially now that you’re still so small, but your aunts are great and I would trust them with my life, so there’s no one else in the entire universe that I’d rather leave you with. And if anything goes wrong, mommy and I will be right here, okay?“ He messed up her curls a little when he stroked her head. “See you in the morning, baby girl.”

Glimmer was full on sobbing, damn it, she was too tired to be crying but Bow being so emotional over their kid made her heart melt into a puddle.

Adora had tears in her eyes as well.

Catra was too mesmerized by her niece snuggling into her chest to care about anything else.

“We’ll take good care of her, don’t worry.”

He nodded.

“I know you will. And... thank you.”

Adora smiled.

“Anytime.”

“I can’t believe Adora just kidnapped our bassinet,” Bow chuckled as the door closed behind their two best friends.

“Really? I absolutely can. I mean, this is Adora we’re talking about,” Glimmer commented, giggling.

The lights were off now, a calming dark surrounding them – not that it ever got entirely dark in here with the curtains not fully closed and the light of the moons and the stars shining through the window.

The stars... the thought never failed to amaze Glimmer. The thought that they were the first people on Etheria to see the stars in a thousand years was just... incredible.

“You... might have a point.”

He laughed as he sat down on the bed beside her, the soft mattress immediately giving in under his weight.

“Feels weird, doesn’t it? It’s only been a few weeks, but sleeping without her in the room already feels... off, somehow. It’s so quiet all of a sudden.”

“Yeah.” He laid down beside her, facing her, and took her hands in his. “I miss her.”

“No kidding. Did you have to make me cry?” She cuddled close to him. “I love you. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” He smiled at her. “And now I believe we have a couple of weeks worth of sleep and cuddles to make up for.”

“Yeah. And maybe some... other stuff tomorrow, once I’ve slept properly.”

She gave him a quick kiss and smiled at him, clearly moments away from drifting into sleep.

He smiled.

“We’ll do whatever you want, love,“ he whispered, lovingly stroking her hair. “Now let’s get some sleep.”

“Can I be the little spoon tonight?”

“Of course, my Queen.”

He kissed her forehead and pulled her close as she turned her back to him, gently covering both of them with the soft blanket. Glimmer snuggled against him, her head resting against his neck.

She’d always been the most comfortable when she was close to him, although it had taken a while for her to entirely grasp what it was she was feeling.

And just like that, they fell asleep in each other’s arms, and finally got a decent night of sleep for the first time in weeks.