#one piece law x black yn

[jesterwriting]

scenario: stuck in a timeloop and the only way to restart is to die

pairing: sanji x reader, law x reader, ace x reader (separate)

contents: hurt/comfort, angst, gore, im serious about the gore tw, graphic description of death, post traumatic symptoms, maybe a touch of survivors guilt, breakdowns, time loops, if youve seen rezero you know whats up

word count: 1.6k words

note: okay if theres one thing i love, its angst and hurt comfort, and if there’s one thing i do when i write it, i go crazy with it. my hands were genuinely shaking while i wrote this. hope you enjoy! [evil laughter]

playlist: eleanor by cake bake betty

No matter how many times you died, you couldn’t help but scream when you woke up again. You lost count how many times it happened, and it wasn’t like there was any point in keeping count besides depressing yourself with your numerous failures. This was your power; horrible and nowhere near worth the cost of losing your ability to swim. With every death, you would restart back at a random checkpoint, beginning anew, able to change the way the timeline went. All it took was to die, and lord above, did you die. Sometimes it was quick, other times it was an agony that would haunt you for many loops after.

Your power left you lonely. Friendships you made in one timeline, didn’t exist in others. You remembered when you were young and greeted a friend from a past loop with a hug. Of course, they didn’t know who you were. They no longer remembered the adventures you experienced or the trials you endured, only you held those memories now. They pushed you away with a look of distress, and you cried for hours after that, burdened with the knowledge that whatever friendship you had before, was gone forever now.

You isolated yourself after that.

It wasn’t until recently that you found yourself with a crew, though no one knew of your ability. You hated talking about it, hated reliving each death again and again. Every time you felt strong enough to speak about it, you always ended up dying and resetting everything back to the status quo. You were surrounded by friends, but so completely, and utterly alone. It was a worm in your gut, chewing on you from within and tearing you apart.

Now, here you were. Dying again.

Failing again.

Your eye spasmed in your skull, the other nothing more than jelly in your socket. The taste of iron pooled in your mouth as you hunched over, organs squirming like maggots from the wound on your abdomen. Sobs wracked your body. With shaking hands, you scooped your entrails into the crook of your arm in hopes that you could put them back inside of you. They were slimy and warm, and you were reminded of eels, or perhaps hagfish.

Everything hurt. You were so afraid, you couldn’t breathe. There was a loud bang and a heavy pressure on your chest. Or maybe, your inability to catch your breath stemmed from the bullet that had pierced through your ribcage and into your lungs. When did that happen? You didn’t know, you didn’t care, all you knew was that you didn’t want to die.

Of course, you didn’t get a say in the matter. Before you knew it, your muscles were going slack and your body was crumpling to the ground. Blood poured from between your lips as your tongue wagged numbly in your mouth. If you weren’t careful, you might bite it off. It had happened before, and you died drowning in your own blood rather than to the slow drain of your wounds. Maybe, if you were lucky, you could have been saved then.

Not now, though. Your guts were supposed to be inside you, not spewed and steaming on the ground.

And, just like that, it was over.

You awoke in bed and screamed. With gasping breaths, your hands frantically felt the intact skin of your belly, and your bulletless chest. Though you were safe, the ghost of your pain lingered like a knife against your back. Sobs tore from your throat as you curled in on yourself.

It had been a long time since a death this bad. So lost in your own misery — again, again, it happened again, why won’t it stop? — you didn’t hear the door open until it was too late.

“Black Leg” Sanji

Sanji was across the room, scooping you into his arms before you were able to blink. You gasped and squirmed slightly as he rubbed your back. A part of you was still there, bleeding out on the ground, and your heart wouldn’t stop hammering wildly in your chest, even as Sanji murmured sweet nothings into your ear. Phantom pain gripped you, and your stomach clenched when you remembered just how slimy your insides were as you tried to put them back where they belonged.

“I’m here, love, I’m here.”

That only made you cry more. Your breath hitched as you gripped the back of his dress shirt in your fist and buried your face into the crook of his neck. You were hyperventilating, afraid that the bullet in your chest followed you into this loop, threatening to drag you under again. You died in Sanji’s arms once before, and the terror on his face had etched itself into your brain forever. It couldn’t happen again, you would drag yourself away to die alone under a rock if you could help it.

Sanji’s hand shook as he stroked your hair. “What happened? Tell me what’s wrong.”

Finally, you caught your breath and wiped the tears from your face. With a watery smile, one you were sure was nowhere near as convincing as you wanted if Sanji’s worried expression was anything to go by.

“I had a nightmare,” You said.

If Sanji knew you were lying, he didn’t say anything. He only held you while you desperately pretended that you had stopped trembling.

Trafalgar Law

Law was the last person who you wanted to see like this. He carried too much already. You were sure that he would crumble if he knew the weight you had been carrying right under his nose. Frantic, you pawed at your face to remove the evidence of your breakdown as if he hadn’t heard you screaming moments before.

“Hey,” He said softly, crouching beside you to gently grab you by the shoulders. Law squeezed, and you took a shaky breath and remembered where you were. You weren’t dying alone in the middle of nowhere, you were on the Polar Tang, with Law, somewhere on the Grand Line.

You sniffled and cracked a small smile. “Hey.”

Unwanted visions of your previous death assaulted you from behind your eyes. A sharp gasp tore from your throat as your arms snaked around your middle to hold your organs inside. It still hurt, why did it still hurt? You were safe now, it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fucking fair.

Gently, Law pried your arms from your abdomen and pulled up your shirt to inspect it. “I don’t see any external injuries…”

You watched the possibility of an internal injury flit across his face. Before the word ‘room’ left his lips, you shook your head and choked on another sob.

“I had a dream I died,” You admitted the half truth with the sour taste of bile on your tongue.

Law’s brows knit and he let out a small, “Ah.”

Awkward, not yet used to the affection you bestowed upon him so readily, he wrapped his long arms around you with a small pat on your back. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“If I died, you need to know I would never blame you.” It came out of nowhere, but it was the only thing you could think to say. The truth was, you would blame yourself, you had a lot of experience doing that, though you thought better of saying that aloud.

Law didn’t say anything in response, his thumb rubbing gentle circles between your shoulder blades.

Portgas D. Ace

“What happened? Why are you crying?” Ace was talking before he even reached you, pulling you against his bare chest before you even had a chance to realize he was here. His scent filled your nose, filled your head, until you were hysterical and pulling him as close as possible.

“Was someone here? Did someone hurt you?” With his righteous anger, his body temperature rose as harmless flames licked your fingers. All you could do was cry, so captivated with the man in front of you, your death was all but forgotten.

“No, no, I’m okay.” You pulled back to study his face, your own stained with snot and tears. He practically glowed in the moonlight that streamed through your window. Even at night, Ace shone like the sun. Your clumsy hands found his freckles, sweeping across the bridge of his nose and down his cheeks to his lips. Flesh and bone, alive and whole. You sobbed harder, low keening whines ripping from your throat before you could stop them.

“Had- Had a dream you were gone.”

Ace pulled you tighter against him. “Oh, babe, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

With your fingers tangled in his hair, Ace rocked you back and forth, hushing you softly while you wished to tear open your ribcage and keep him safe inside your body forever. The only way to get to him would be to rip you apart, and even then, you would come back again, stronger than ever. No one would be able to take him from you. You had died too many times to count, faced pain time and time again, there was no torture you wouldn’t endure if it meant you wouldn’t lose your sun.

How many loops had it been? How many times have you had to watch Ace die?

You’d save him this time, you would make sure of it.

[kristlewrites]

“Shoot! Take a Panorama”

CW: semi-public sex, degradation (slut, whore, bitch), oral (m!receiving), slut-shaming, nickname (mamas), dacryphilia, rough sex, but dw aftercare at the end!

PAIRING: TattooArtist!Law x Blk!FemReader

WC: 1.9k

🫧🗯️: Thank you so so much for all the support on my lastest fics, it means alot to me!🫶🏽 uh ive never gotten a tattoo yet, so if the tattoo experience isnt accurate... oh well! I had to watch a video to get as best as i could ijbol. Also way off topic but has anyone watched bottoms, like its probably one of my fave movie releases this year.

MINORS DNI

(Cheese!)

Hand in hand you and Perona skipped down the cold sidewalk. It was just a little past midnight and both you and Perona were all jittery with excitement. While you guys were at Peronas apartment, she had this insane idea that you guys should have matching tattoos. "It'll be so cute!” She squeals, holding up her phone showing some ideas. Searching through pinterest you guys had finally come to an agreement on the design, matching stars in hot pink ink right on your waist. You guys spend about thirty minutes looking for a parlor that's open this late.

“Ohh it's gonna be impossible” Perona sulks, throwing her phone across her bed. Laying down in defeat

“No, look! I found one and look they take walk-ins too!” You exclaimed you show her, her mood quickly changes while she springs up from the bed and starts jumping

“Well let's go!” She shrieks, opening for her closet revealing all different shades of pink and black clothing pieces. She put on a cute two piece outfit and you were ready to go!

You guys approach a small store, built with red brick decorated with neon lights flickering ‘Open 24/7’. Deserted parking lot, with only two cars assuming that they both belong to the employees.

“Is this the right place?” Perona questions. 

“Umm, It should be” you reply with a little uncertainty in your voice “It should be fine though”

In sync you guys make your way towards the glass doors, met with a cold breeze sending yall into a shiver.

“Hey what can I do for y'all?” A woman's voice vibrated through the room, capturing your attention. “My name is Bonney”

“We wanted to get matching tattoos.” answered Perona, her arms tangled around yours squeezing them.

“Awh, that's so cute. Give me a minute, I have to tidy up the studio.” Bonney existed the counter and headed into a room towards the left

“Ahhh! I'm so excited” Perona shrills, making her way towards some chairs lined up against the brick wall.

“I know right!” You respond admiring all the beautiful artworks lined up against the wall varying with color and realism. ‘The people here must be really good’ you thought to yourself, sitting next to perona.

Bonney comes out of the room waving to Perona letting her know it's time. “Wish me luck y/n” Perona whispers, clearly nervous but also excited at the same time.

“Law should be ready for you anytime soon” Bonney reassured you, closing the door behind her.

Now that you were alone, you finally realized the severity of the situation. You didn't think about the consequences till now, and how irresponsible it may seem that this was decided just on impulse. But not just that but what about the actual process? Your pain tolerance was below average.

“You can come in now.” you hear a rough voice from across the store. Reluctantly you grab your purse and get up from your seat making your way slowly into the room.

 Hesitantly Knocking on the door, “Hello” 

The door opens wide to reveal a tall melanated man littered with tattoos from head to toe.

“Show me your design” He asks, not even giving you attention. Pulling out your phone, you show him the design. He pats onto the chair gesturing for you to sit down. You lay down onto the chair facing towards the ceiling while he fishes for his tools. “Where do you want it?” He asks, still searching for his tools.

“Right here” You lower your shorts and point down towards your waist. 

He moves his chair towards his desk and quickly starts sketching out the design, “Is this alright?” he asks, displaying his outline, you nod at his impressive work. You flinch at the coolness of the alcohol. Which he wipes down the area of your stomach making sure that it is nice and prepped. He sets down his stencil sketch on the region where you want the tattoo to be, tearing it off gently leaving the ink on your skin.

A few seconds later you hear the intimidating buzzing noise of the machine coming closer. “Let me know when you're ready” Law asks, wiping down the tip of the needle. You nod nervously. ‘Its now or never’ you think to yourself. 

You squirm from the contact of the needle converging on your skin, you tense up a little from the pain but with time the pain becomes much more tolerable. It takes no time at all, you finish as quick as you started. He pats down the area of the tattoo with care then gets up “Don't make any sudden movements, I'm gonna grab a bandage real quick” he declares standing up leaving the room. 

You reach for your purse, digging for your wallet. But it wasn't there!!? ‘Ohmyfuckinggod; you thought to yourself immediately you sat up “Shit!” you whisper shout from the pain of the freshly inked tattoo. No way you left your wallet at personas apartment are you kidding how does that even happen. You were sure that it was in your purse when you left.

You hear Laws footsteps come closer and lay back down, you're so fucked.He comes in setting down the bandage and running through the aftercare steps. You are not even paying attention, worried about how you'll be able to even leave. “Did you get that?” he asks

“Um, yea.”

“So cash or card?”

“Well about that…I kinda sorta left my wallet at home.”you say  “Do you guys take apple pay?”

“No.” he says bluntly

“Well h-how about I cash app you?” 

“I'm not allowed to receive tips”

“Pleaseee” you were pleading for you life

He shakes his head no

“Well, how am I supposed to pay you?” you say whining a little bit.

A devilish smirk sneaks up across his face “I have an idea.”

Next thing you know, your knees are on the cold hard tile,tears streaming down your face, nose running, and your mouth is stuffed with laws long filthy dick. He viciously grabs your braids pulling you back, “Do it correctly whore” he seethes

“I-its t-too much” You say sniffling 

“I don't want to hear it bitch, you will take it all.” He says while slapping his slimy cock on your face then pushes you back onto his dick causing your eyes to roll back. You continue to suck on his dick, twirling your tongue around the tip. Using your hand to make up for the rest of his cock twisting it round and round. You look up to him with your big brown eyes pleading. And my oh my is he enjoying the view, your crystal teardrops flowing down your beautiful face, you breasts spilling out of your tank top, it's like a masterpiece to him.

He thrusts his dick more into your mouth causing you to choke, “You dirty lying bitch, saying you can't take it all, well look at you taking me in so well” he snickers. Seizing your head he pushes you back and forth, your mouth rocking against his cock, “you need to go faster, I'm getting bored up here” law says. Mindlessly you obey, rocking vigorously on his cock, gagging you go faster and faster taking him whole. He pulls your head once again and jerks your head in a smooth rhythm, your tongue rotating in a fluent pattern on his penis sending him into a state of unconsciousness. Without warning you feel his warm gooey cum shoot down your throat. You open your mouth, rejecting the feeling “Nuh uh don't even think about, swallow it all.” nodding eagerly you gulp it down, shivering from the weird sensation traveling down your esophagus. “Open wide” Law orders, obediently you do just that.

“Ah” You open your mouth wagging your tongue, he sticks his thumb inspecting your mouth.Your face was a wreck, saliva and drool smeared all across your face, nose running, stained trails of your tears.

“Good girl, now get on the chair and get on all fours for me”

Without a second to think, you remove your clothes leaving them on the floor, you jump onto the chair raising your plump ass in the air. (If yall are confused it like those chairs that can retract down like this)

“You filthy slut, your pussy is leaking like a goddamn faucet are you not ashamed?” Law whispers into your making you even wetter. Even when you had just met him, you were already so attracted to him. His deep rough voice, his tall figure, slim long fingers, and his tattoos crawling in every corner of his body. It was hard to keep your composure when he drew the tattoo on you, and now seeing him underneath his clothes was enough to send you over the edge. You have to admit this was definitely not how you imagined this night would go – poor Perona is probably already done with hers waiting for you in the lobby– but you can't say you're mad about it. 

Grazing his fingers across your already slimy clit pacing it back and forth teasing at your entrance. He slowly slips his lanky fingers into you, moving it slowly and steady taking in your warm embrace. Going in out into your melty cunt, preparing for his aching dick itching to enter you. Releasing his fingers a smooth ‘pop!’ sound pronouncing itself. Effortlessly he pulls on a condom, gears it straight towards your hole. Gradually, he inserts himself into you returning into that warm enclosure.

“Mmph” your eyes roll back at the fulfilling sensation of his cock into you, pulsing your cunt begging for more. You arch your back a little bit yearning for his whole dick.

“You're such a greedy bitch, arching your back like a greedy little slut. You want me so bad don't you?”

“Mhm” you mutter

“Nuh-uh use your words lil mama or else I won't be able to help you”

“I want it! Pleaseee”

“Good girl” law says in a rewarding tone then grabs your hips violently thrusting into you relentlessly showing no signs of slowing down. You reach the ends of the chair, trying to keep yourself supported from his endless stamina. “Im gonna fuck you so good, your pussy wont forget my dick.”Law grunts as he hits your g-spot repeatedly, it sends you over the edge, drooling spilling from your mouth, eyes rolled back beyond, brain turned to mush. You can't even speak, being an incoherent mess. 

“L-law, i-m gonna c-cumm” you mumble out disorderly a trail of spit spilling onto the chair.

“C'mon bitch, come on me like the dirty slut that you are” Law muttered. “Agh” ,without a second to waste your orgasm comes flowing through your body. You shudder at the sensation of it crashing down. Panting hard, Law continues until he himself releases into the condom.

You wake up with your whole body in shambles, ‘what the fuckkk’ you mutter to yourself. Trying to lift yourself up you feel a great surge of pain in your back. You look around the unfamiliar scenery to realize you're not in your bed, or not even Peronas?!?!? Panning your eyes down to the chair that you were sleeping in, the memories come back to you like a flood. “What the fuckkk” you say even louder, understanding the severity of the situation. Law enters the room with a towel. You stare at him in disbelief, you cannot believe what you have done.

“Don't worry about your friend, I sent her home already” Law winks

You raise your arm towards your forehead, hiding in shame of what you have done. You can hear Law chuckling in the background and you just wanna drown yourself.

[writerwithnofreetime]

Try Again

Pairing: Law x black!fem reader 

College! au 

You and Law were both willing participants in a summer fling that turned sour. You make it your life's mission (for three months) to make him regret tossing you to the wayside so carelessly. It all comes to a head at this party. 

wc: 4.025k

cw: mentions of alcohol, inebriation, smoking (weed and cigs), i say vape smoke like once, shit gets angsty at the end, crying 

a/n: this one is for my college girls :). I was planning on writing an Ace x reader, but I found a random draft and the spirit of Law took over me lol. I got way too into this, so I plan on turning it into a series (hopefully max 5-6 parts). Please please pleasee! Feel free to give me feedback and let me know how you feel about certain writing choices/ plot points. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Part 1- The idgaf War

He was not expecting to see you here. 

You knew it. You were counting on it. Law most likely remembers you as the super introverted girl who’d much rather stay inside with a glass of wine and a good book than go out partying with friends. You knew he viewed you as a fledgling of a woman, too naïve to be taken seriously.

It should also be known that all the heaviness in the atmosphere that contained you and Mr. Trafalgar (is what you called him in your head, using his first name feels far too intimate than he deserves) was mainly his doing. You always knew he existed. He was a friend of a friend of a friend, and you would see him out now and then, but there was no reason to speak to one another. The two of you officially met at a train station during the summer. After a week of sharing the frustration that train delays brought, he came up with the idea to exchange numbers. To- you know, let each other know about the status of the train. After a week of turning texts like ‘trains five minutes late’ into conversations about anything from tastes to relationship statuses, he suggested you guys catch dinner together.

Thus began a summer whirlwind romance, which swiftly swirled its way into a tornado as the fall semester's start was approaching. Law, who was interning at a hospital seemed increasingly busy at times he had previously allotted for you. He canceled plans he made. Phone calls went from once a day at lunch to twice a week- if you were lucky- at odd hours. You had no idea what to make of the situation, other than look at the optics and realize that you would be left in the cold if things went on this way. You made the call to end things, and to your dismay, he agreed. Although your fear had played a pivotal hand in the way fate fell, it could have been sated if the asshole had offered a sliver of reassurance at that moment. The two of you agreed to stay friends, but neither of you meant it. 

Staying friends was code for ‘let’s still follow each other on social media and kind of act like nothing happened, though we’ve seen each other's bare asses.’ It would be much easier to play it cool than to explain to any of your mutual friends why the two of you might not want to be around each other. 

The recluse version of you had played the front for 90 days so this plan would be most fruitful. To social media- and by proxy, Law- you were busy attending class, working, and studying. When you would post a selfie (semi-rare), Law would like it but never felt compelled enough to text you. Maybe the reminder of how gorgeous you were wasn’t enough for him. 

There was the possibility the two of you would run into each other, yet you accounted for this. It pained you, but you avoided the quaint cafe you introduced him to that quickly became your guys’ spot. The cafe (Puddings’) was not your favorite- you were smarter than that- but a former safe space. You also passed up on several parties and random outings Nami or any other of your friends invited you to if you so much as got an inkling he would show up.

Only you knew that those 90 days you went unseen were preparation for this month. You planned for this night to be the season finale of the fiasco that was you and Law’s (situational) relationship, and you would go out with a bang. For 90 days, you planned, scrapped, replanned outfits, and worked out ferociously. You salivated at the thought of this night. Your objective was simple- you would pop out looking like a knockout and the realization that he fucked up would hit Mr. Trafalgar so hard he would spontaneously combust. 

D-day was a party your buddy Luffy was throwing. Nami, one of your closest college friends was adamant that you made an appearance tonight, complaining about how long it’d been since everyone was together. You didn’t object. Luffy was known for throwing the best parties in the area, especially after winning a big boxing match. You knew of Luffy through Nami (his manager) who told you Law had recently become a part of Luffys medical crew for the biggest fight of his career thus far- against some guy named Doflamingo. He would be present for this party, even if only to stand on a random wall with his arms folded like Nami described on one of your Facetime calls a while back. 

Since you were here, like this, Law knew that it only meant one thing: A declaration of war. The scales were already tipped in your favor. Your armor of choice tonight was the tightest little black dress in your closet and a pair of black Converse. The dress had a square neckline and showed just enough of your chest, and if anyone got close enough, they'd see the frills from the lacy white bra you wore underneath. Your hair was piled on top of your head in a perfectly picked puff, with face-framing coils on either side of your face, right in front of your ears. Your lips were glossed clear and your makeup simple- the embodiment of cute and casual. To others, it always appeared like you were effortlessly beautiful. Mr. Trafalgar probably thought you didn’t know how to wield your beauty like a sword, to make him kneel at your feet with an offhanded glance. But he was going to learn very soon.

The smell of weed, vape smoke, and booze slapped you in the face as you made your way into the function. The two Buzzballs you pre-gamed with hit you halfway into your Uber trip, so the flush of party wind was disorienting. You pushed- well shimmied, it was pretty packed- on. Clung to your left shoulder was a small black purse with your necessities- lipgloss, debit card, ID, and some dum dums (real bad bitches keep candy in their purse). In your right hand is the unopened bottle of Bacardi Tropical you promised Nami and Vivi to bring. 

It didn’t take long to find them in the kitchen area of the party, with the usual crew- Luffy, whom you heard before you saw, solo cup raised with his signature smile. Sanji has a cigarette in his mouth, a blunt behind his ear (you would question him about that later), and a pretty brunette under his arm you hadn’t seen before (typical). Zoro is leaning against the counter closest to Luffy chatting with…. Law? Well, you couldn’t see the dickheads face, but you knew damn well that was the back of Law's head you were looking at. You smiled devilishly to yourself. This was just the situation you were expecting. You stride over and greet your friends. 

“Y/n!” Luffy exclaimed as soon as you set the bottle on the counter by the other ones. “I’m glad you could make it!” He put an arm around you and smiled even wider. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages!” You giggled. Luffy is always great vibes when you’re around him. 

“Yeah, I guess I have been a bit mia…” You trail off with a playful smile. Nami yanks Luffy’s arm, chastising him for almost spilling whatever was in his cup on you. Vivi laughs and greets you with a hug. Sanji introduces you to the girl you know for a fact he met no longer than a week ago as the ‘love of his life”. Her name is Viola and she has your blond-haired friend wrapped around her finger. Someone taps your shoulder, and as you turn to see who, your eyes transiently focus on Mr.Traflagar’s visage. It was hard to tell if he was looking at you, the brim of his hat was pulled pretty low tonight. His face was facing yours. It was pretty dark, but you noticed his lip twitch into a scowl as he took the joint from Zoro’s hand. Law clearly senses the bloodlust in your demeanor. You quickly adjust your gaze to the person who requested your attention.

“If I knew you were bringing more liquor, I would’ve texted you. We ran out of sake about thirty minutes into the party,” Zoro says, peering at you with an easy grin. You roll your eyes and display a cheeky smile of your own.

“Oh, please. You’ll drink anything you get your hands on so shut up, and let's take some shots.” You turn to face the counter full of liquor and grab a cup. Zoro moves past you and fills his cup with the Bacardi you just brought. Nami forces him to pour a shot for the girls before he makes off with the rest. The four of you cheer, then lean your heads back to take sips (in Zoros' case, gulps) of the vodka. 

The burn produces heat in your throat, forcing you to part your lips and exhale. However, it seemed the side of your head would catch fire long before your windpipe. Maybe the incoming tipsiness had you imagining things, but you swear you could feel his eyes on you, dancing across your body and soaking up your frame. Still, you refused to acknowledge his presence. 

No one has noticed that the area y’all are conjugating in had suddenly become a war zone, let alone the blaze emanating from Law’s stare. Your target was now to your immediate right since you and Zoro had traded places. Zoro and Luffy are going shot for shot, entertaining Nami and Vivi. Sanji and his new lover had quietly disappeared after you all took a shot together. 

“Y/n.” He said it loud enough for you to hear it over the music, but it wasn’t like he was raising his voice. His tone was firm and even, and clearly laced with the influence of weed. It seemed to ring in your ears and vibrate in your brain.

You faced him and scanned his countenance with your eyes. He looked… okay. Fine, more than okay. He looked the fuck good. He wore a black hoodie with a white top underneath, his favorite pair of jeans, and black Jordans. There was a decent amount of space between the two of you, but you were close enough to see that he was, in fact checking you out, with his eyes trained on your ass in particular. Shit, it was poking in this dress, which was the defining factor in you choosing it tonight.

You quickly downed the rest of your cup.

“Trafalgar,” you replied cooly, not faltering under his punitive gaze. Seriously. Law looked genuinely bothered by your presence. He was squinting at you, almost as if you were some mirage. The look in his eye made your chest burn with feelings you were actively trying to suppress. Still, he would not win this battle of wills. Not when you knew that simply being here was enough to ruin his night. You craned your head to the side and gave him an easy smile. A smile that you know for certain would weaken his composure. 

It strikes him, you’re sure—his right eye twitches.

“I…..” he trails off, scanning your figure again. You clear your throat and turn to face him. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here tonight.” 

The statement stunned you because it was exactly what you wanted. It also seemed- dangerously honest?  Law was never this forthcoming in the past. He’s the liar-by-omission, roundabout truth-telling type. What is he playing at? You glance at him, brows furrowed.

“Why wouldn’t I be here? Luffy and I are good friends.”

“You weren’t at the match.”

“I couldn’t make it. Besides, I’m here now, having a great time with my friends.” The two of you hold a gaze. Law parted his lips but quickly decided against whatever he was going to say. A chuckle escapes you. “Aren’t we friends, Mr. Trafalgar?”

He raises a brow at the use of his surname. 

“No,” He says after a ten-second pause. He takes one step toward you, and you have half a mind to help him bridge the gap. “I’m not your friend y/n.” His tone is resolute and his eyes, though half-lidded, reflect the same. 

The closeness of his voice resurfaces dangerous memories. Heat rose in your cheeks and the pit of your stomach, but you would not let that control you. You steadied yourself, remembering why you were in this position in the first place. How easy it was for Law to distance himself from you after the night the two of you almost crossed the line. How he responded to your rant at Zepplins with ‘ if that’s what you think is best for you’ then immediately left when you told him you wanted to end things. The text he sent you after saying the two of you would always ‘be cool’. He didn’t fight for you then, so he doesn’t get to make you horny now.  You smile sweetly, but the sentiment turns sour by the time it reaches your eyes. He recoils at the look. 

“Good,” you say warmly. There was more you could say, more you wanted to say, but you knew it would sting more if you kept it short. You spin around, not wanting to spend another moment looking into the asshole's eyes. You rejoin your friends' conversation as if you have never been missing. 

Zoro pours too much tequila into your cup, and you can’t even be bothered to scold him for it. You immediately down half and chase it with a Gatorade, hoping that the electrolytes will be enough to save you from a hangover in the morning. Zoro glances at you, one brow raised.

“You okay there?” Your moss-haired friend has always been extremely perceptive. You press your lips together and nod your head.

“I’m great. I just want to make the most of tonight.” He looks at you again, straight-faced. Zoro’s not buying your shit, but he won't pry any further. Not tonight at least. His eyes focus just past you, then back on you again. “What?”

He raises his cups to his lips to hide his smirk as he nods in Law’s direction. You feel your cheeks burn and a finger at your shoulder, followed by the side of Law’s head. You refuse to move anything but your eyes. Zoro turns around to give the two of you as much privacy as possible. 

“Y/n,” Law starts. His breath is heavy in your ears and his voice reaches every part of you. “I get the feeling if I don’t ask you to speak to me now, I’ll never hear from you again. Please, talk to me.” You lift your chin and pout in frustration. Law wasn’t playing fair. He straightens himself as you turn to face him, arms folded.

“You want to do this right now?” 

“Not here.” You squint. “On the porch.” He adds. You shrug at him and Law visibly relaxes. Two gulps emptied the contents of your cup. You grab a water bottle and previously opened Gatorade and make your way out of the party. Nami and Vivi catch you on your way out. You tell them you were going to get some air. They ask if you want company, but you shake your head and stride out of the party into the night air. Not once do you look back to see if Law is following behind you, though you hear his footsteps once under the plywood of the porch. 

Luckily for you two, there was no one outside- at least anyone who would care to listen in on this conversation. You move to the ledge and wait for Law to join you. You soak in the ambiance around you as you take sips of water. It was pretty, the audio blend of the bass and drums from the party mixed in with the night sounds. There was a light breeze you let wash over you as you closed your eyes. Law clears his throat, but you remain as is. 

“Hey, you alright?” 

“I’m fine.” You were not fucking fine. You’re racking your brain for a strategy, or any indication of how he would play it. This was a shocking turn of events. The Law you accounted for would never draw you out of a party to talk, where several eyes could witness. You played with the cap of the bottles you placed on the ledge. 

“Is it too much to ask you to look at me?” 

“Yes.” Law sighs. You place your hand on your chin and glance at him. He takes his hat off and runs his fingers through his messy waves before pinching the bridge of his nose. He looks up and his grey orbs widen, shocked that yours are staring back at his. 

Fuck it, you thought. I’ll just do whatever I want tonight and pretend it never happened later. 

You bit the inside of your cheek as the silence pressed against the two of you. The tension was so palpable you could see the air currents moving between you. You wish you could grasp it and throw it across the street.

“Y/n….” He straightens up and leans against a support beam. 

You followed his movement with your eyes. “How many times are you going to say my name?” 

He chuckles and looks up from the brim of his hat in his hands directly to you. The sincerity in his eyes softens your heart. 

“I know what I’m about to say might be too late, but please. I need to tell you this.” His words made you straighten up and turn to face him, fingers awkwardly drumming at your sides. The both of you were clearly out of your element here. Law clears his throat and continues, his eyes never leaving yours. “I tried to push you away back then. I’m sorry. After that night when we almost-”

“You don’t have to say it”

He rubs his shoulder with this free hand. “Yeah, sorry. Listen y/n, it wasn’t your fault. I panicked. I don’t know. I knew then that I liked you way more than I felt I should have, and I didn’t want to. I don’t know why- maybe fear- I don’t know. I just,” he exhales. “I thought that if I let you any closer, it would devastate me if I lost you. I didn’t account for losing you when I was icing you out. I wasn’t thinking about how my actions would affect you, only about saving myself. Leaving without talking about it was a big mistake, and I knew it as soon as I got up. But I couldn’t let you in back then. I was…. terrified.” 

The heaviness of the indignation boiled and anviled inside your bosom. Your hands were balled into fists at your sides. Tears prickled at your eyes, but you refused to let any fall. You refuse to hide your pain either.

“Law, I-” you started, unconsciously stepping towards him. “ I don’t believe you. This doesn’t make sense to me.” He raised his arms slightly as if to grab you, but lowered them again as his face studied yours.

“I- I know.”

“No, you don’t know.” you took another step. “Why didn’t you tell me this when I told you how I felt that day? Or any moment after that? You-” Your fist was raised, and two tears fell down one side of your face. “How dare you come and tell me you let me go because you were terrified! You? I thought you didn’t care about me. I thought you discarded me because we didn’t-” You were holding back sobs at this point, and your fists weakly hit Law's shoulders with every sentence. “You made me- I- I felt.” 

He pulls you into his arms and you collapse—everything you held inside escapes you in the form of silent tears against his hoodie. The faint smell of his cologne and weed fills your nose. You were too overwhelmed by the release to be ashamed of yourself for crying in his arms like this. Law presses you tightly as he whispers a slew of apologies into your ear. You honestly don’t know if you believe him. Right now, it didn’t matter. 

Laws hold felt like a steady anchor in the new waters that was the vulnerability between the two of you. He presses his lips to your forehead and you pull away slightly to look up at him. He grimaces and pulls away a little more, using his hoodie to dab at your eyes. 

“Fuck, y/n. I-” He pauses. “I don’t want to keep apologizing. I know it doesn’t do much for you. But it’s tearing me apart inside that I made you feel like this. I fucked up.” You inhale sharply.

“Yeah,” you whisper. Law lifts your chin to his gaze. You could see that a few tears had escaped him as well. You lifted your hand to his jaw, which clenched slightly at your touch. 

“I missed you so much, y/n.” You sniffled as you looked at his lips, suddenly wanting to watch his mouth formulate every word. You were soaking in this new side of Law, not caring about its potential expiration date. You ran your thumb over the outer corner of his eye, wiping away the wetness that gathered there. 

The sound of police alarms pierced through the night and the tender moment. You jump away from each other as Lieutenant Garp slams his car door and walks up the porch. 

“Evening, L/n.” He looks to Law and furrows his brows a bit. “Trafalgar.” His eyes train back on you, a bit of surprise mixed in them.

“Uh-”

“I suggest the two of you get ahead of the crowd that’s about to disperse and call for your rides now. This party is over.”

“Uh, okay.” Garp walks away from the two of you and into the party of unsuspecting youth. You chuckle and shake your head, wishing you could be inside to witness the conversation Luffy and his grandfather would have. You’re sure Nami will tell you the next day. You turn back to Law, who had jumped back a respectable distance at the sight of Garp. His hat was already back on his head and he tapped at his phone screen awhile before looking at you”

“I’ll call you an Uber home.”

“You don’t have to-”

“Correction,” he interrupts. “I’ve already called you an Uber home. It’s ten minutes out.” Your body temperature went up five degrees. 

“Well, thanks.” He shrugs and looks off to the side, his jaw clenched again. Another five degrees. You pull at your dress and play with a pebble under your foot.

“Y/n,” Law starts, commanding your gaze back to his. “I know I don’t deserve it, but please, let me make it up to you. I want to try again. I want to do it right this time.” 

“Law…” He shook his head.

“You don’t have to give me an answer now. Text me when you get home safe. Goodnight.” He plants a quick peck on your forehead. Before you can respond, you hear Vivi call out your name from the doorway as the crew approaches you. When you look back in Law's direction you find his spot vacant. He disappeared in the growing crowd. You pull your phone out of your purse and two notifications stand out.

The first is the Uber details.

The other- is a text from Law’s Number. You deleted his contact in anger in August, but that combination of digits is burned into your memory. 

hey, it’s law.  sorry for stealing a kiss. couldnt help myself. brunch on me at Puddings tomorrow to make up for it. text me when you get home. please 

[cinnaminyoons]

ONLY ONES WHO KNOW !!

!!   knj x m!reader

!!   wc | 5.8k

!!   tags | joon/reader are around 30 (implied), drinking, suggestive (reader comes off a little subby, but not as a bottom), reader seduces joon with facts about sea creatures, i don’t know how to write people who hate each other so the relationship is more like annoying x annoyed

[ event masterlist ]

professors of different faculties

seven minutes in heaven

“is that the best you can do?”

kim namjoon, head of the 'historical' aspect of the university's school of philosophical, historical, and international studies, is a terrible man to make an enemy of. his frowns are sharp and his tongue is sharper, lashing at loud talkers during his lectures and idiotic faculty heads alike, and he is never seen without a perfectly-pressed three-piece suit.

despite his severe outfits and hard-to-impress attitude, the passion he has for anthropology resonates in his voice, in his hands, and in his shoulders. his smooth voice grows quick and bouncy when he covers prehistoric art and relates cueva de las manos to the modern family, or even the brief few slides about the denisovan girl. he's usually a patient person, a trait that many of his students can attest to, but when it comes to one man, every notion of it flies out the window with a crash.

you. you. maritime archaeology was your schtick. you did your postgraduate studies overseas, and you could often be found nattering away with your students in their mother tongue. he wanted to dislike you – you, with your messy folded sleeves and lack of a tie – but when you turned to him, all shining eyes and little waves, he could feel the chains of the drawbridge loosen just one notch more.

"he-llo, professor kim."

he doesn't look up, tapping away at his laptop. "seat's taken, yn."

your brow furrows briefly and you glance around, meeting the eyes of a few mutual students who look on with feigned disinterest. you glance back down at him and set your white bowl of katsu curry on the table. "you? waiting on a friend? i thought i was your only one."

you move to sit down, but he grabs his bag and dumps it on the chair beside him – all without looking away from his screen.

"now, that's just unnecessary," you huff. you slide your bowl and drink to the other side of the table and grab a nearby chair. setting it down, you take a smug seat, leaning back in it as you slip the chopsticks out of the crisp paper sleeve.

you snap them apart and crack open the bottle of soft drink. you begin to eat quietly, scrolling through your phone to get a head start on the several thousand emails you have piled up in your inbox. your shirt is open one button lower than usual, and he fights the urge to comment on it. if he knows you – and he does, however unwillingly – you will come in tomorrow with the entire thing undone. he contents himself by glancing occasionally and pursing his lips.

a few minutes of silence pass in relative peace. the small cafeteria sits by the entrance to the law library, and namjoon was, until very recently, dead certain that you wouldn't find him here.

shame on him, doubting your determination.

"you know, i have never seen you eat anything at work."

he drags his gaze upwards, almost an eye roll, but too constrained. he lifts a brow behind thin black spectacles. "is that really so interesting?"

"given that i've known you for eight months and have seriously wondered if you have to plug yourself into a wall socket every night, yes. what do you eat? where do you eat?" you lean forward in open fascination.

he lowers his eyes and shakes his head, returning to his word document. "i won't tell you because if i did, you'd never stop bothering me. i like to have a moment of peace every once in a while, if you couldn't tell."

you gesture vaguely with your spoon and open your mouth to speak, before narrowing your eyes. "are those... new?"

his eyes flicker up again. "what are you talking about?"

"those. your glasses. did you get new ones?"

for a second, he looks so baffled that you can't help but burst into laughter.

"you're too cute," you coo. "of course you got new ones. what am i even asking?"

he wonders if you're fucking with him. these frames are the exact same as the ones he got last time; they should be indistinguishable.

"they look good on you."

you're definitely fucking with him.

he sighs. "thank you," he says warily. "are you going to keep staring at me, or are you going to eat your lunch? it'll go cold."

"don't take it the wrong way. anything noteworthy about your face is immediately negated by that bland suit. have you so much as glanced at a fashion magazine in the last three decades?" propping your chin on your hand, you grin, your eyes glinting. "i'm feasting on your little pout."

he wants to dislike you.

"maybe if you were head of fashion design, i'd listen to you," he replies primly. "but you spend half your time in the water. you reek of sea salt and wouldn't know dressing well if it slapped you in the face."

your mouth falls open and you scoff in exaggerated offence. "whoa! i do dress well. that really hurt, namjoon."

"your belt and your shoes are different colours."

"what are you looking at my belt for?" you ask with a wink and a suggestive grin.

"you've never gone a minute without folding your sleeves, regardless of who you're meeting that day."

"it's part of my roguish charm and attests to my qualifications." you slide them up your arms.

"your hair constantly looks as if you've stepped freshly from a car quickie."

"i hear jealousy," you tease.

namjoon purses his lips, lowering his laptop lid. you lean back in your seat with a triumphant glitter in your eyes.

"admit it," you tell him. "you envy me. i mean, who wouldn't? i know a lot about whale sharks and old ships, still have outstanding student debt, and still look absolutely stunning in a wetsuit."

he forces a smile, and your grin widens as he drops forward on his elbows. he must be particularly short-fused today; it usually takes a lot longer for him to crack. it wasn't even your best attempt.

"keep it in your pants, narcissus. you wear spandex and find things buried in the sand – great. a five-year-old can do that. do you know what a five-year-old can't do? my job."

"what, wax poetic about the enduring essentiality of human love despite the aeons and spanning epochs? i do that every saturday night. nobody pays me for it."

"what would you know about love? you're too busy petting sharks to even look a man in the eye."

"pet a shark when it lays still because it trusts you and say that again. bettie taught me what love is. you read one book and think you know everything – the fool's curse."

"i don't think i know everything," he says, and sounds quite offended. "that's why i keep reading. you, on the other hand, haven't picked up a book in ten years."

"untrue! i pick up books. then i put them down. i'm more of a hands-on learner, actually."

he picks up his laptop and slides it into his messenger bag. "you're an embarrassment to be around. i'm pained just talking to you."

"oh, namjoon, don't be like that. it's all in good fun."

all in good fun for you. he feels like the blood vessels in his brain will rupture if he spends another second in your presence.

as he turns to leave, you call out, "are you coming to the get-together?"

it's really a 'party', but as serious adults with hundreds of peer-reviewed articles published in respectable journals between everyone, there was a unanimous agreement to make it sound as if you'll be doing anything more professional than what a gaggle of twenty-year-olds would do.

he would rather drink himself into a coma by himself. at least his home would be comfortable and warm, and he would be wearing something more suited to a blackout drinking session than a tweed jacket and polished leather shoes.

you're going to be there. he would know it even if he wasn't told; your popularity extends past your students.

"yes, i will be coming."

your grin brightens and the surprised glimmer in your eyes is pleasingly... sparkly.

"really?" you laugh with a hint of disbelief. "well, i'm excited to see you there! the dress code's casual, by the way. that means no ties, cool?"

"i know what casual means," he replies tetchily. he averts his eyes. "but yes, i will go. goodbye, yn."

as he strides away, long legs carrying him easily to his next workshop, you know you must look like an idiot, beaming after a man whose dislike of you is widely documented.

you smile into your curry. this was the first time he said goodbye to you first.

—

"yo, namjoon! you look so good – i didn't even know you had that in your wardrobe!"

"i don't. i killed someone for this shirt."

seokjin squints at him, holding at a distance by his shoulders. "i hope you're joking. that was a joke, right? you really need to work on your delivery. anywho – come on. you're right on time."

soft pop music floats through the large house. it is an inherited estate – seokjin's joked before that he'd never be able to afford it in today's money on a teacher's salary. it looks a lot like a wealthy person's house would – open plan, bright, classic textures and colours – and even has a pool.

in other words, it's the perfect place to host a party.

several faces turn in his direction when seokjin appears in the kitchen, dragging namjoon behind him. they grin and wave, stopping namjoon briefly to make small talk about his clothes, his week, his work. he's forced to move on when seokjin grabs his arm again and brings him around the living room, unnecessarily proud of the fact that he is the first one to host namjoon at a party.

"here, namjoon. wanna play mario kart?" seokjin asks, offering a controller.

with an apologetic smile, namjoon flaps his hands awkwardly. "ah, i haven't played in a long time..."

"oh, that's okay! i can remind you. yoongi! come here!"

yoongi, dark-haired and casual, wanders over, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his silk bomber jacket. he nods at namjoon. "'sup?"

"namjoon doesn't know how to play mario kart, so we're gonna have a quick round to teach him," seokjin explains with a big grin. he waggles the controller in his grip. "you in?"

yoongi considers it. he shrugs and accepts the controller. "sure. but i'll smash you."

seokjin scoffs, following yoongi to the couch. he pats the seat beside him for namjoon. "you wish! there's no one better at mario kart than i am. prepare to have your face crushed into the dirt."

a crowd slowly gathers around the couch as they start up a match on the big flatscreen. there are more people here than namjoon realised; he notices it when they attempt to squish themselves onto the couch or around it.

it feels like living in dorms all over again.

in the middle of the last round, namjoon feels a familiar arm drape around his shoulders. he sighs quietly, ignoring the presence that dips the couch next to him.

"boo," you say. "who's winning?"

several excited shouts of your name ring out, and you smile brightly as people swarm around you and the cookies and the pack of beer you've brought. you hand them out graciously and a good friend of yours, jung hoseok, gives you a solid kiss on the crown, both of his hands holding your head steady like a basketball.

"are you trying to squeeze another drink out of him?" a t.a. accuses with a dramatic flip of her head. "how dare you abuse your networking skills!"

"i don't even like drinking that much," hoseok protests as more people loom on him. "can't i say hi to my bestie?"

"not when you greet him like a european," another jokes, and hoseok gapes in offence. "people already think you're dating!"

"no, they don't," hoseok sniffs, as if it's an idiotic thing to say. "can't a man give his best friend a forehead kiss, live with him, arrive at different times and act like we've been separated for years, and cuddle when we're cold, without being suspected of dating?" he pauses. "oh. i think i'm seeing it."

"you cuddle when you're cold?" yoongi asks blandly.

"yeah," says hoseok. "our entire complex suffers in the winter. bad insulation."

"we cuddle in other situations," you add, and hoseok pats your head fondly. "like right now."

you grab him by the torso and press your cheek against his stomach, grinning as hoseok lets out an undignified yelp. people laugh at his response and mock the noise; one of them does it so well that it causes a new bout of disproportionately-hard laughter.

"you're an embarrassment," hoseok grumbles, pouting as he drapes himself over you.

"funnily enough, that's not the first time i've been called that." you let go of him and hold out the tray of cookies as people return to cheering on the final match. "will you help me with these?"

"yeah, no problem!"

you rise to your feet, chatting with hoseok as you carry the remaining beers into the kitchen, placing them down in the fridge. hoseok laughs at something you say, leaning casually against the bench as he steals a cookie.

namjoon turns back to the game. seokjin boasts his win to a disgruntled yoongi, who came in fourth place once and it turned the tides of their otherwise equal first-place wins. yoongi, for all his huffing and complaining, doesn't seem too bothered, even smiling softly when seokjin does a lap around the couch for a long chain of high-fives like an athlete.

the night goes on with gentle glee. namjoon even starts to drink, nursing a beer covered in condensation. he pinches it by the neck to avoid getting his hands wet.

after one bottle, when he's pleasantly buzzed, he finds himself loosening up, cracking jokes with the rest of them and feeling shy but delighted when people laugh.

the crescent moon floats across the sky. somebody suggests seven minutes in heaven and is immediately booed off of the stage.

they start to play anyway.

when the bowl comes to a stop in front of him, namjoon struggles to find something to represent him. his hands come out of his pockets with a ring of usb flash drives attached to a resin bonsai keychain.

you coo next to him, plucking it out of his hands before he can put it back and dropping it into the mixing bowl next to yours. you are represented by a charm of a tiny, chunky lemon shark – as a yellow lemon. "somebody's a plant dad."

"if you ever visited my office, you'd have realised that five years ago."

you gasp, placing a hand on your chest. "was that a saucy invitation? should we have ramen together?"

"you wish," he retorts. "i'd kiss a spider before you."

"spiders would rather rip off their own legs than get anywhere near you, john keats."

he huffs. "that isn't the insult you think it is, jack sparrow."

"that's 'captain' sparrow. besides," you lean in, nearing his ear with a husky lilt, "it wasn't meant as an insult."

you move away. he stares, and you can feel it boring into the back of your head. you stifle a laugh; you can hear the gears crunching and squeaking.

seokjin props his elbow on namjoon's shoulder, leaning in with a nosy smirk. "what did that handsome man say to put that face on you?"

he whips his head away. "handsome?"

seokjin snorts. "anyone with eyes would agree. but you haven't answered my question. what did yn say?"

"nothing," he scoffs, rubbing his palms on his thighs. "he was just trying to rile me up. what else is new?"

"you two have been bickering since the dawn of time," seokjin chuckles, holding out the bowl as more knick-knacks drop in. "i don't even know why. i think you were at each other's throats before i even arrived in seoul."

"don't say that. i feel ancient."

seokjin pulls an offended expression and pushes him, as if casting an ugly shirt aside. namjoon hides his snicker with a cough. "i'm not old, dingbat! all you whippersnappers could learn a thing or two about manners – especially you humanities kids. nothing is sacred anymore."

namjoon nudges him with a sideways grin. "everyone who says 'dingbat' these days is in a nursing home."

"you will be, after i'm done with you," he threatens, pointing with narrowed eyes. "i'll make sure you won't be able to feed yourself after knocking all your teeth out and crushing your finger bones."

"very good. i won't have to worry about cavities."

seokjin scowls, but nothing in it is serious. he stands up huffily. "i can see why yn has a bone to pick with you. you're completely insufferable."

"it's called humour, old man. i wouldn't expect the farmer to know about the gold."

seokjin stomps away, tossing his head like a regal horse. very pointedly, he takes a seat next to you and offers the bowl to the woman next to him.

everyone hushes each other, watching on in interest. she thrusts her hand forward with a grimace and grabs the first thing she touches, pinching a single 100-won coin between her middle and ring fingers.

a short silence passes.

"a hundred won?" she asks in exaggerated distaste. "i'm worth more than that. whose is this?"

sheepishly, a young man lifts his hand, sandwiched between you and yoongi. he's fresh-faced and anxious but has the characteristic fashion sense of an arts major. he must be seokjin's t.a. – he looks somewhat familiar.

"oh, i'm sorry! here, have it back. this is half your salary."

laughter rings out and the poor young man flushes with embarrassment, giggling behind his hand. you nudge him forward out of his seat and he shuffles after the older woman, who guides them both into the nearest of seokjin's guest rooms – the designated 'smooch closet', as seokjin had put it.

the group plays truth or dare for seven minutes while you wait, with every back-out punished by a single shot of alcohol. eventually, you and namjoon get into an argument so heated that nobody notices the pair sneaking back into the group.

you're so amused by namjoon's stance on tomatoes that you don't recognise seokjin's sneaky smile as he skips over himself and offers the bowl to you. you dip your hand in and seokjin covers your eyes with his palm, making you laugh – you raise his hand to properly cover them, turning your head to the side for good measure.

you rattle around the bowl purposefully, then hook your index finger in a steel ring. you shake it, feeling another slip off, and wrap your fingers around the smooth metal mass. you open your eyes.

a little bonsai tree.

namjoon leans back in his seat. "no fucking way."

it's the first time you've ever heard him cuss – and it's so deadpan, too. no fucking way. it's simply complete and utter refusal.

"am i not attractive enough for you, namjoon?" you pout, and seokjin rolls his eyes with a giggle. "oh, the horror! i don't look enough like fourth-b.c.e. roman glazed pottery! how else can i seduce him into handling me ungloved?"

"we wouldn't wear gloves," namjoon sighs amongst laughter at your antics, "for non-porous artefacts. your field of study is all about finding old things in bad condition. why wouldn't you know this?"

"i handle metal and wood, professor," you chuckle, standing up and offering a hand in a sweeping bow. "we always use gloves. force of habit."

"despite your jokes, i know of several similarities between you and a glazed roman pot," he says drily, standing and ignoring your hand, which drops to your side without much thought. "you are both old, easily broken, and easily replaced."

a devilish grin tugs at your lips. "we are also both very hard and very beautiful. you'd be lucky to touch me."

you wink and whisk him away into the bedroom by the shoulders. it's completely dark within, save for a single lamp on the bedside table. he takes a prompt seat on the bed, smoothing the soft, cool covers and looking very intensely at the clock blinking digital blue on the dresser near the door.

nine thirty-two. he can survive until thirty-nine.

"namjoon," you say tentatively, "you don't... actually dislike me, do you?"

"this is a children's game," he replies curtly. "we don't need to talk."

"yes, well, seven minutes can feel like a long time under the right circumstances." you shrug, turning towards him. you're rather glad that seokjin hadn't shoved you into a closet – it'd be awkward standing chest-to-chest with the man whose entire disposition sours at the sight of you. you rest against the doorframe to the joint bathroom.

namjoon glances at you, leaning back on his palm. the bed dips with his weight. he turns away, the line of his mouth twitching to one side. "well... you're immature, loud, childish, and are too lenient with your students. i heard rumours that your faculty head once believed, quite firmly, that you were sleeping with several of your students, and that was why you were campaigning so hard for their cases."

you straighten, the casual slouch to your shoulders dropping entirely. "what?"

lifting an eyebrow, he asks, "you didn't know?"

"no." your brow furrows. "no one made me aware of this. when was this?"

"four years ago. that head's been replaced now, i know that, but even i heard about it, and i'm not one for staffroom gossip. you really didn't know...?"

you shake your head, rolling your eyes with a huff. "look, these kids are taking out predatory loans just to be a number on a sheet of paper. they're so young – especially my undergrads. some are just seventeen, can you believe that? many of them are working the hours of adults in addition to the hours taken up by draining assignments and part-time jobs. if some of them are struggling more than others, of course i care. what kind of asshole faculty head wants their students to fail and suffer?"

namjoon watches you and the frustrated angle of your brows. "sorry," he says, rather gently, "for bringing it up. i didn't mean it cruelly."

you shake your head with a sigh, placing a hand on your hip as you rest back against the door. "it's alright. it's something i never knew – guess you're a teacher even outside office hours." you quirk a smile, and namjoon huffs half of a laugh, sitting back on the bed until he can swing his leg freely.

"what about me?" namjoon asks, genuine curiosity in his voice. "do you know any rumours of me that i might not know?"

you suck in a breath through your teeth, head tilting as you tap your lips. "oh, that's a hard one. i know a few, but ones you don't know... now, that's a challenge. i'm sure you know all the ones that say you're an intimidating person but the best professor the postgrads have, that you're actually an immortal born in the forties, and that you've never had a technological malfunction because even the machines are afraid of you..." you laugh. "oh, this is actually hard. ah! i think i have one."

"go on. hit me."

"you're actually married. and to a man."

his silence has you worrying your lower lip between your teeth, watching on in anticipation. does he know this one? have you won?

his lips part. "who... the hell thinks that?"

"i've seen a trend in them. the older someone is, the more likely that they're convinced you're married."

"and who are these people? are you including the staff?"

"no, i think it's mostly the students." the corners of your lips twitch upwards. "i heard a few people introduce the idea that you're on the brink of divorce, which explains the lack of a marriage ring and your dour personality. it's actually quite funny."

namjoon kicks his feet, and you hide a chuckle at the sight. he looks like a petulant boy. "i'm not that bad, am i?" he mutters, "a divorcé...? i'm barely thirty."

you chuckle. "you give off the feeling that you'd be married to your job. no time for love, no time for dates. they probably think you've forgotten one too many anniversaries, and the downfall of this hypothetical relationship snowballed from there."

"i'm good at dating!" he retorts defensively. he sighs and falls back on the bed, lacing his fingers over his stomach. "i'm failing whoever thinks that i'm not. i don't care if i get fired. i am not that bad."

"you're kinda bad," you reply sympathetically. "but i will give you this: you are the most organised person i know. you'd never forget an anniversary. seriously – who has more than one paper planner nowadays?"

"i have a lot of things to manage and report on," he snipes, "of course i need three. you can shove off with your funny little laptop calendars. paper never runs out of battery."

"you're aware of how old you sound, right?"

"yes, i am aware."

you laugh again, louder this time, and namjoon's mouth curves up. something flutters deep in his stomach.

you shake your head, still chuckling. "i like this side of you. i feel like i could be friends with this version of kim namjoon."

he shrugs. "there are no versions. i'm just me. i'm somewhat tipsy, which might influence how you view me, but it's not as if i wish to... create a personality for the different aspects of my life."

"it's the clark kent effect." you wander over, taking a seat next to him with an old-man sigh of relief. "actually, why aren't you wearing your glasses?"

 namjoon sighs softly, feeling his heart beat beneath the ridges of his ribs. "i'm wearing contacts. seokjin pestered me into using them tonight. he says i look ten years younger without them."

you nudge his thigh with your knee. "don't listen to him. he's an idiot. your glasses look cute on you."

he turns his head, gazing down his shoulder at you with a quirked smirk. "is that a flirtation, professor ln? how deeply unprofessional."

"we're playing 'seven minutes in heaven' and drinking bud light. i think this entire night is unprofessional." you shift on the bed, laying down next to him. you roll your shoulders, getting comfortable. the dark ceiling surrounds the lamp's round glow. "you know... right now, you sound like you hate me less. is it the change of clothes? some psychological link between wearing tweed and disliking me?"

he makes a face. "i don't hate you. i'd rather not have anything to do with you, yes, but hate? no. hate is far too strong a feeling for me to hold this conversation with you."

"oh." you slide a hand under your head, the other resting over your stomach. "well, in that case... did you know black swallowers are deep-sea fish that can eat prey over twice its length and ten times its mass? their stomachs are highly distensible. most specimens we have were collected dead on the surface of the ocean because their prey were too large to digest. decomposition set in before they could digest it all, and the gases made them float to the surface."

"really?"

"yeah! they're weird-looking fellas. no scales, small and long, and an underbite." you smile to yourself. "i sorta wish i specialised in deep-sea marine bio. piloting those little robot guys with the lasers so often sounds like a lot of fun. sure, you're only really going in one direction, but i love the idea of whale falls. all the activity and life that it sustains around it seems like a cool thing to watch in real-time."

namjoon shifts onto his side, interlacing his fingers and placing his hands below his temple. the woodsy smell of your cologne almost masks the light, breezy scent of the sea that follows you around wherever you go. "tell me more about your favourite fish."

your face lights up, visible even through the darkness. "you serious?"

he nods.

"they aren't fish, but i like boxer crabs a whole lot. i came across them a couple times in shallow waters when i was working on my dissertation. they're about an inch wide, their legs are banded red, and they don't have large claws. their claws are slim and are specially shaped to grab one small stinging anemone in each, which the crab uses to defend itself from predators. they can't feed themselves with these claws, so they use their anemones to grab food particles for them or use them to sting and immobilise prey. they wave them in the water and it's really cute to watch!"

namjoon hums, listening to your rambles. he smiles softly.

"and the anemones they use," you add eagerly, "include some of the most venomous in the red sea. if the little crab loses one of the anemones, it tears the other one in half, and each becomes a new individual. like planarians. i love planarians. yoongi has a tank of sixteen genetically-identical little guys that he just... keeps. they live in his apartment."

namjoon snorts. "are they lab ones? is that even legal?"

"i don’t think so. yoongi's really attached to them – i believe he just took one from the pond on campus in a jar and cloned it a few times. dunno. but he feeds them a bit of boiled egg every day and they seem happy enough, and he keeps me updated, so i think he's a good dad to them – even if they don't know it."

namjoon's gaze traces the outline of your cheek. "what about you, then? do you have a black swallower in a bowl next to your bed?"

you laugh, shuffling around to lie on your stomach. you prop your temple across your knuckles. "no. i do have an aquarium, though. you should come over and see it one day – it really livens up my living room. we watch blackadder together every friday night."

"i'm sensing another flirtation, professor," namjoon murmurs, the corner of his mouth ticking upwards. "as someone who runs his mouth as much as you do, i expected your flirting skills to far outweigh mine. at the moment, it’s quite clumsy and somewhat heavy-handed. is that the best you can do?"

"you got me," you chuckle. "i like talking to you, even if you don't. you've got a... unique sense of humour. i like hearing you argue about how we should really define civilisation. it's enlightening, but the look on your face? it's passion, plain and simple. i also liked your smiles tonight – i never knew you had dimples."

"then you weren't looking hard enough." namjoon quirks a smile. he sighs. "i'm sorry that i come off as so... unapproachable. i simply don't – well – i don't know quite how to interact with you. i've spent a long time with academics who'd like to bury their noses in a library and never speak to another living person again. you were so sociable it was almost frightening. i suppose you could call it a reflex."

"mm, i know the type." your gaze flickers down to his lips; he doesn't miss it. "you look really good in those jeans, namjoon."

"why do my jeans have anything to do with my lips?" he murmurs, watching as you inch closer, lips nearing his. he follows your body naturally, angling his face towards yours as you hover above him.

"you're right. it's got nothing to do with that. i just want to know why you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but you don't seem to mind what we're so close to doing."

his tongue swipes over his lower lip, drawing it between his teeth. "for starters," he begins, "i have a type."

"a type?"

"i like smart idiots. you have a doctorate, which means you're some sort of smart, and you're yet to kiss me, which means you're an idiot. congratulations," he teases. "you're everything i could ever want in a man."

he lifts himself up, cupping the back of your head, and presses his lips to yours in a gentle kiss, somehow deeper than any you've had before. his kisses are slow, almost lazy, and the way he tilts his head and moves his lips against yours carries a hint of a tease, a hint of exasperation. your eyes flutter shut as you cup his wrist, letting yourself fall into his warm embrace.

when you finally part, shivering as his soft, plush lips pepper slow kisses across your jaw and down the side of your neck, it takes a while for you to string together a coherent sentence.

"i didn't take you," you pant, "for such a romantic."

he dimples against your neck, gently nudging you over so that he's the one hovering over you on an elbow. "the only way this could be more romantic is if you took a hard science. art and science pair together so well." he trails his lips down your chest, teasing the buttons of your shirt. "are you in shock, ln? what is it?"

"i'm, uh," you stutter. "you're just – you're being very demanding. oh – uh, th-that's my belt..."

"i know." he smirks, sliding his hands up your sides as he slings his thigh over your lap. "not interested? or just not used to being the one on his back?"

"i am so interested," you breathe, placing your hands on his thighs and squeezing. he's warm like a summer sunset. "oh, fuck. we're snowballing. i'm snowballing. please keep moving your hips like that..."

he laughs softly, and those dimples come out full force. "you're so talkative. but, i don't know what i was expecting – it is you, after all. you are always talking, talking... it's good to hear you shut up for once." he hums, tilting his head. "i like you better like this."

your cheeks are aflame. you never thought he had it in him to speak so freely. you don't know whether to be embarrassed, annoyed, or enamoured – he is, technically, still insulting you.

"n-namjoon, i..."

he silences you with his lips just as the door flies open with a wedge of light and seokjin's voice, announcing that the seven minutes are over. "tell hoseok to stay with a friend for tonight," he murmurs, trailing his fingers down your chest. "i want to see this aquarium you talked about."

[dracowars]

LOVED YOUR TOM RIDDLE. Can I please request a arranged marriage au where yn is in love with him but he hates her so when she decides to let him go or someone else wants to marry her, Tom finally realises he’s in love with her. happ ending :))))

my heart belongs to you | tom riddle

pairing: tom x black!reader

word count: 3,3k

summary: where tom and y/n are in an arranged marriage

a/n: i'm so sorry for being so inactive recently, uni is taking its toll on me.. i had to do a bit of research for this one and also tom is a pureblood here!

warnings: toxic relationship, violence

universe: harry potter

“Get out of my sight, will you?”, he angrily snaps at you out of nowhere, for the third time already on this still very early day. Furiously, he stomps past you, pushing you to the side harshly, the filled glasses on your tray swaying dangerously. Knowing that you should just leave him alone, you stand there completely frozen at the door, still feeling the breeze on your skin after he stormed past you.

The glasses clink on the serving tray as you try to keep your trembling hands under control, but you terribly fail while tears shoot into your eyes. A lump forms in your throat and you gasp in desperation, losing your composure after hearing the front door slam shut.

Slowly, you slump down and therefore with a loud rattle let happen what could have been foreseen already: a thousand shattered pieces of glass scattered across the floor around you while you cower against the wall, your elegant dress pulled over your knees, your forehead leaning against it. Heavy sobs rock through your body and tears find their way down your cheeks, dripping from your chin onto the expensive fabric of your dress.

You just wanted to spend some time with him. Together, in the house of your parents, who went on a daily trip with their close friends early in the morning, all part of the most notorious popular pureblood families in the wizarding world – the Nott’s, the Macmillan’s, the Malfoy’s, the Lestrange’s. And if his parents were still alive, probably with the Riddle’s as well.

This is primarily the reason why you even are in this position right now; crying and huddled in the living room because your fiancé hates you profoundly.

After graduating from Hogwarts last year, the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, you, descendant of the pureblood Black family, got engaged to Tom Marvolo Riddle, the last living heir of the Riddle’s. He would offer you a good future, they said, and you would never have to worry about anything again.

But nobody knows that in reality, your own beloved fiancé really does not want to have anything to do with you. He does not even want to stay in the same room as you.

You can’t explain why he acts like this towards you. You do not know why he harbors such an abysmal hatred for you and any clear-headed, rational person would have done something about it long ago. Unfortunately for you, you feel the exact opposite for him.

Your heart belongs to him and only to him.

You have liked him since you first met him at Hogwarts, back in 1938, when the two of you were sorted into the Slytherin house. This initial friendly liking has quickly evolved into something more than that over the years and lead you to where you are now, at a point where you would have never seen yourself back then.

You have already tried everything to convince him that you are not as bad as he seems to think. Every morning you bring him his breakfast, you give him everything he needs. Even when you were still at Hogwarts, you always looked after him, finished his homework for him when he was too busy to do it by himself, and helped him pass all of his exams.

And not once did you hear a thank you. Not then and not now either.

Slowly gathering your thoughts together again, you rub the long sleeves of your velvet dress over your damp face, wiping away all of your tears before you get up on shaky legs and begin to clean up the mess that you have created. After you went back to the kitchen with the broken pieces and some injuries on your hands, your gaze longingly slides out the window.

Outside, the sun stands high over the magnificent garden of the mansion, making the clear water in the fountain shimmer in its bright light. A gentle breeze blows through the air and rustles through the perfectly cut trees that line a small path through the garden.

The loud, excited voices that suddenly roar through the house snap you out of your daydream and you quickly wipe the blood from your fingers before you step into the huge marble entrance hall. You arrive at the front door just in time to open it for your parents, who, to your surprise, did not come back alone. You are amazed to find not too familiar faces in front of you as they climb up the stairs to the door where you are still standing.

“And that has to be Y/N. Oh, how you have grown!”, an older man smiles friendly at you and you return his smile with a certain uncertainty in your face.

“Darling, we brought guests over for dinner today. You surely remember the Lestranges?”, your father announces happily and only now do the faces that you have seen at numerous balls and celebrations seem familiar again. Especially one.

“Reinhard?”, you ask in amazement when you spot him standing behind his parents, a big smile on his face when he sees you.

“Y/N, how nice to see you again”, he grins, carefully pushing his way past your parents in order to slightly bow venerably to you, taking your hand in his to place a kiss on the back of it. “It has been some time.”

“I am sure you have a lot to tell each other”, your mother mentions in a sweet voice, but before she can continue, she watches how your facial expression changes from one second to the other as you look past them, out into the yard.

Next to the carriage with which they have returned, Tom is standing now, petting one of the splendid noble white horses before he joins all of you.

“Tom! There you are, I was already wondering where you went”, your father says, visibly pleased when he too spotted his future son-in-law, drawing everyone’s attention to him.

“Reinhard?”

“Tom?”

Within a few seconds, the two former best friends lay in each other’s arms, obviously happy to finally see the other again.

“Let us go inside. We want to show you our newest masterpiece of art in our wonderful collection, come on”, your mother announces happily and leads the Lestranges inside, but not without turning around to you once more. “The children can catch up on what they have missed.”

“I can’t believe it! You are really here, Tom. Man, you look even better than at Hogwarts”, Reinhard laughs, playfully pushing Tom to the side while you watch them in silence. “What are you doing here with the Blacks?”

“They kindly took me in”, Tom lies to him and for a moment you think he threw you a glance out of the corner of his eyes after uttering these words. His statement makes Reinhard realize that you were still there with them, who had apparently completely forgotten that you were even there.

“I am so happy to see you again, Y/N!”, he grins and takes a step closer to you, probably to be able to take a closer look at you. “Still just as beautiful as I imagined. And just as smart, I guess?”

Reinhard’s sudden compliments make you blush and your cheeks glow, which is why you nervously avert your gaze from him, directly falling on Tom, who looks at the scene in front of him with incredible resentment.

Unlike Tom, Reinhard was always there for you. You spent a lot of time together in your school days and if your parents had known about your close friendship, you are sure that he would have been your fiancé by now. Which, to be honest, does not sound bad anymore right now.

And yet your heart still belongs to Tom.

When you all sit together at dinner later in the evening, where your parents are talking about irrelevant things like Ministry of Magic, you keep making eye contact with Reinhard, who seems to be staring at you.

“Is there something on my face?”, you ask uncertainly and put your glass back on the table when you can no longer bear his piercing gaze.

“No, no, not at all. I was just wondering how a beautiful witch like you could have become so much more stunning”, Reinhard winks at you, causing you to swallow hard. You are not used to getting compliments, especially not from a handsome young man like him. Before you can answer to him, however, there is a loud clink and you startle, your eyes immediately fixed on the cause of the noise.

The glass, which you have certainly placed far away from the edge, is now lying in your lap, the little liquid that was still inside now spread over your elegant evening gown. You move your chair back in shock when, in the corner of your eye, you see how Tom puts away his wand. And not only did you notice Tom just now, but the rest of them follow your gaze.

“Tom, darling, how about you tell our guests how you and our daughter got to know each other”, your mother suddenly prompts him, not even realizing that he has just deliberately spilled your drink on you. But why did he in the first place?

„I would love to“, Tom puts on a really believable smile that no one but you questions and starts telling them how you met and fell in love with each other. He tells one lie after another, explaining the web of lies that you have spun around you over time to make your relationship as credible as possible, at least in front of other people. And suddenly nobody cares about you or your still soaking wet dress anymore.

“What a wonderful story”, Mrs. Lestrange applauds and everyone else seems to be completely enthusiastic about Tom’s fairytale. To top it off, he then reaches across the table to take your hand in his, just like a real affectionate couple would do.

You lower your gaze as he gently strokes the back of your hand with his thumb, trying your best to not show how uncomfortable you are. Oh, how much you wish that this were real, that Tom would actually treat you like this when you are alone, the same way as he does in front of your parents.

But he does not and deep down you know that he will never do.

“So, you are engaged?”, Reinhard scrutinizes the statement of his former best friend, his eyes focused on you suspiciously, as if he is expecting an answer from you and not from Tom. A slight pressure on your hand makes you flinch and look up.

“Y-Yes”, you force a smile onto your lips, whereupon Tom seems satisfied with your answer, letting go of your hand again with a - what seemed to you like a – disgusted expression on his face.

An uncomfortable silence spreads between the three of you, which is drowned out by the loud conversation of the adults on the other side of the table. Finally, making up your mind, you clear your throat loudly and get up from your chair, gaining everyone’s attention in a matter of seconds.

“Excuse me, I have to go freshen up for a moment”, you explain with a slight polite bow before turning away to leave the dining room.

“Reinhard, would you be so kind and help Y/N”, Mr. Lestrange asks his son, who stands up with furrowed brows, apparently just as surprised about this sudden request as you, but then follows you out into the hallway with no further objection.

“I really do not need any help, thank you”, you try to get rid of him as you walk up the large staircase leading to the first floor together, only wanting to be alone.

“Dinner like these are totally boring anyway”, he chuckles softly and shows no intentions of leaving your side any time soon, which is why you do not even try to search for further arguments. He follows you to your room where you are able to tear yourself away from him to put on a new dress while he waits outside in front of the door.

With an equally elegant burgundy red dress you step out of your room after a few minutes, Reinhard’s eyes greeting you with a sparkle.

“Wow”, he breathes out barely audible and takes you hand without asking to swirl you around, causing your dress to fly around gorgeously. Unintentionally, warmth rises in your face again and your hearts makes a barely noticeable jump inside your chest when he looks deep into your eyes after catching you back in his arms.

The loud clearing of a throat behind you makes you turn around in shock, only to see that Tom himself is now standing at the end of the corridor, not seeming very enthusiastic.

“We did not see you there, Tom”, Reinhard disguises his obvious nervousness with a laugh, acting like Tom had just caught you in doing something he should not have seen. Tom, however, does not even react to his words, but looks past Reinhard at you, his eyebrows raised meaningfully.

But when you do not move under his piercing gaze, his facial expression changes and he quickly approaches you, Reinhard instinctively pushing you behind him so that you can only see Tom approaching further over his shoulder. Before neither you nor Reinhard can say or do anything, Tom has already pulled out his wand and aims it directly at Reinhard, who flies back through the air only a few seconds later, hitting the hard marble floor at the end of the corridor with a thud.

“What the-?!”

“Come with me”, Tom orders, now standing directly in front of you. When you stubbornly refuse, he suddenly grabs your wrist to pull you away from there. No matter how much you fight against his firm grip, you cannot tear yourself away from him as he pulls you into the closest room, which turns out to be the library.

Once there, you can finally free yourself from his tight grip, but before you can reach for the doorknob to leave immediately, he locks the door with a spell. Angrily, you turn to him, despair written all over your stunning face.

“What is this supposed to be, Tom? Let me out of here, now!”, you command him in a loud voice, not caring if anybody can hear.

“What did he want from you?”, he asks you urgently and steps closer to you. Since the door is in your back, every possible escape route is blocked, and you are caught.

“We just talked to each other, you know. Like normal people do”, you answer irritably and cross your arms in front of your chest, not in the mood to justify yourself, especially not in front of someone who does not care about you at all and not after what he has done.

“But that did not look like it.”

“Tom, stop it.”

“You belong to me and nobody else!”

These words coming out of his mouth echo loudly through the dark library, his face wrapped in an eerie candlelight. Before you can even control yourself and fully process what he said, you severely slap him.

Frightened by your own horrible deed, you immediately pull your hand away, your gaze filled with fear, but the anger that keeps building up inside of you winning the upper hand after all.

“How dare you call me your property?!”, you scream in rage and tears form in your eyes because of your uncontrollable anger. However, Tom needs a moment to collect his thoughts after your heavy smack before he can answer you.

“You are my fiancé”, he spits out coldly, a touch of shock in his voice, apparently not expecting you to react like this.

“And that does not make me nowhere near your property! You never treat me like your fiancé anyway, so why now all of a sudden?!”, you bicker at him, your voice loud and constant, even though you would like to flee from this situation right away if you were able to.

But Tom does not have an answer.

“Fine, okay. If you have nothing to say to me, like you never have, then I will go back now and ask my parents to end this damn failed engagement and engage me with someone else who truly cares for me!”

Suddenly, without letting you time to catch your breath after your outburst, he presses you with your back against the door completely, his hands tightly grabbing your wrists, a little too tight for your personal liking.

“You mustn’t do that”, he softly whispers, his head lowered as if he does not dare to look you in the eyes.

“What is stopping me?”, you hiss, still full of anger and – probably for the very first time – hatred towards him.

But when you feel his lips on yours all of a sudden, all of these emotions evaporate and all that remains is your racing heartbeat, which is being repaired at this very moment. You never would have thought that at some point in your life the moment would come when Tom Marvolo Riddle, who absolutely loathes his fiancé, kisses you.

After kissing you, he looks straight into your eyes, and the Tom you met in 1938 is standing in front of you again. The Tom you fell so deeply in love with.

“I can’t explain it to you”, he finally breaks the silence, his gaze directed to the floor as he moves away from you, giving you enough space to breathe regularly again. You, however, do not say anything but just stare at him.

“I was not aware that I am capable of feeling such feelings for someone. I am unfamiliar with this feeling and I did not know how to deal with it, Y/N. I treated you badly because I did not want it to be true, I did not want to accept it. I could not imagine having feelings for the little nuisance that has always been running after me”, Tom explains, choosing each and every single word very carefully, trying to put his emotions into words which does not really work the way he would like it to. But that is how you know him. You know that this confession must be extremely difficult for him, but you can’t help but feel a sense of relief inside of you.

“When?”, you ask and manage, with this tiny little word, to make him look up at you. “When did you know?”

“Since I have been here. You served me every day and took care of me, even though I wanted to push you away from me with all of my might. You have already helped me so many times in the past without me even asking, you have always accepted me for who I am”, he desperately tries to but his feelings into words, asking himself what he is even doing right now.

“Tom..”

“No, I have to sincerely apologize to you. I had no right to treat you the way I did. And also today.. when I saw you with him and how well you got along, it finally became clear to me. Reinhard has felt something for you since our school days, I know that even though I could never understand, but now I do. I understand why he fell in love with you”, Tom continues without breathing, pouring out all of his feelings that he has hidden for so long.

“I understand if you want to dissolve this engagement and I will not stop you if that is what you want”, he quickly adds, looking at you with desperation in his eyes. He already prepares himself for the worst when you are the one getting closer to him this time.

“Idiot”, you smile slightly and place a gentle kiss on his lips while he looks at you puzzled. “I love you, I thought you knew that.”

“I know, but-“

“But nothing”, you interrupt him and take his hand to lead it to your fast pounding heart. “It always belonged to you.”

[havethetimeofyourstyles]

in which harry is the right person at the wrong time. 

a/n: hi lovelies! here is my christmas fic for @goldenbluesuit​ ‘s xmas challenge! i chose the song ‘baby, it’s cold outside’ and it’s my FAVORITE xmas song, so i’ve included bits and pieces of the song throughout the story! hope you all like it, and happy holidays! pls rb and send feedback bc they’re very helpful :) 

WORD COUNT: 9.6k of ex lovers to lovers, teacher!harry x lawstudent!yn filled with slight angst, missing someone dearly, and fluff

WARNINGS: mentions of alcohol consumption 

COME INTO MY INBOX AND LETS TALK ABOUT ‘BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE’ i’d love to know your thoughts! 

pls rb to share! <3

17 December 2020

A chilly and snowy night was upon you as you took a shot of hard liquor. The face of disgust appeared on your face as the liquid slowly went down your throat after you hammered the shot of tequila. 

Normally, you wouldn’t pregame when you were going to your friend, Addie’s, house where you would drink some more, but you needed to shake off your nerves that you felt at the moment. You took a deep breath after taking your second shot and you had physically felt yourself starting to relax. 

Rolling your head to stretch your neck out, you decided it was time to leave since it was nearing seven in the evening. You called yourself an Uber because of the alcohol in your system and you were planning to sleep over Addie’s place since she said she would bring you back in the morning before you had to go to work. 

You waited for your Uber by the front door while you looked in the mirror, putting your black beanie onto your head. You were bundled up in a black university sweater, a camel color coat over, along with tan lounge pants and a pair of black boots. Once you got a notification that your Uber driver, Jason, was in front of your house, you grabbed your overnight bag and headed out the door. 

You placed the hood of your sweater over your beanie so you got more warmth since it was quite cold. You were never one for the cold weather, which is unfortunate since you lived in London. You cherished the days where it was sunny and warm; the sun bright and warm as you laid on the grass in complete content. 

You missed those days. You missed the days where you didn’t worry about a singular thing. 

Looking out the window, on your way to your destination, you watched the snow slightly fall, hitting and building up on the ground while the pedestrians walked through the streets, bundled up in thick layers of clothing. Some people were with others, walking hand in hand or hugging each other through the cold. Even though it was freezing cold outside, there were smiles on their faces because the hold of one another was enough. They could get through the worst snowfall, but if they were in each other’s arms, it wouldn't matter; they could get through anything. 

The cold had reminded you that you were missing a pair of strong arms that should’ve been around you through this season, but you were completely frozen—left out in the cold to warm yourself up. 

You sighed and the car stopped in front of Addie’s place. You thanked your driver, wishing him a ‘Happy Holidays’ before you got out and buzzed your best friend’s apartment onto the buzzer system; hearing one back, you entered the complex while brushing your shoes onto the floor mat, so you wouldn’t slip while going up the stairs. 

You were grateful the building was warm, and you’re sure Addie would crank up the heat for you since you would always complain how ‘bloody cold’ it is all the time. 

Once you opened the door, you were met with your entire friend group who were all lounging around in the living area. They all faced the door once you walked in, seeing who the last friend to arrive. Greetings were sent towards you, Addie and Nic got up from their spots on the couch that they’re going to lose because behind them, Elijah and Niall were getting up from their spots on the floor to steal it. 

“Hey! There you are! We were all waiting for you,” Addie said, giving you a hug. 

Nic went in for a hug before she pulled back and looked at you suspiciously. You looked at her confusingly, wondering why she was looking at you the way she was before she said, “Did you party before you came here?” You furrowed your brows until you remembered that she probably smelt the alcohol that you took before you left. 

“Oh, uh, just took a couple of shots before I came here.” The two girls understood quite well, thankfully. 

“No worries! Come join,” Addie welcomed you in. The two went back to the living area, only to see that their spots were taken, so they grabbed the two boys’ arms, yanking them out of their seats. You chuckled as you walked to Addie’s room to put all of your belongings. 

Once you did that, you exited her room the same time the bathroom door opened across her room. The person in front of you was the reason why you were so anxious before you left; why you needed to relax for a bit and mentally prepare yourself before going to Addie’s place. 

The person in front of you was Harry Styles. 

The person who had your heart. 

The person you were deeply in love with still. 

The person who was your ex boyfriend. 

“Hi,” he said surprisingly, smiling a bit. 

“Hi, Harry,” you replied, inching towards him as he met you halfway. He wrapped his arms around your shoulders as you did the same around his waist, resting your cheek onto his chest. The hug was warm and comforting, like it always was, and you looked forward to these kinds of hugs every time you saw him. But your heart ached every single time. 

Pulling away, you gave him a small smile before you two walked out of the hallway and to where your friends were. There was laughter between the two girls and guys as Niall was telling them a joke. Nic was the one who saw you and Harry first, and her laughter died down. She looked at you concerningly, giving you those eyes as if they were asking if you were okay, and you nodded your head to reassure her. You and Harry join the group; you sat on the loveseat on one side of the rectangle wooden table, while Harry sat on the floor on the other side. 

You tried joining in on the conversation and laughter, but you couldn’t help but take sneaky glances back to Harry, only to find him getting glances at you as well. 

It was hard to focus on anything your friends were saying when Harry was in the same room, but you realized it was also difficult when he wasn’t in the same room because then you were wondering where he was. 

It wasn’t easy being friends with Harry after the breakup, good friends, especially; and it pained you to actually act normal around him when all you wanted to do was scream, cry, and have him comfort you. But you did your very best to maintain a cool, calm, and collected mood whenever you’re around him, although inside, your heart was racing and everything you said seemed incoherent. 

You tried your best to avoid him after you two split, and he did as well, but being part of the same friend group just didn’t go well with your wishes. You two had to suck it up and be normal around each other.

Being with Harry was possibly the best eight months of your life. To some, it’s not the longest amount of time, but he was one of a kind; you couldn’t find anyone out there like him--not like you were looking anyways. It genuinely felt like you’ve been together for years, and when you two were celebrating your six month anniversary, your friends had questioned you saying ‘It’s only been six months?!’

Your relationship with Harry was all things blissful. It was pure happiness and love, and you wouldn’t want it with anyone else. You two rarely got into fights, and if you did, it was most likely a petty and annoyed argument that would have you two back in each other’s arms only twenty minutes after. He was your fresh breath of air that made you laugh and orgasm…multiple times. 

It was all smiles and laughs until it wasn’t. 

You two had gotten together the second semester of senior year. Meeting at the library because you couldn’t reach a book, it didn’t take long for you both to get together. You had known him for two weeks until he asked you out on a date where he kissed you for the first time. The dates and kisses continued on for six months until you mutually decided to call it quits. 

It wasn’t an easy decision, but considering that Harry was going to a different school that was in a different country for his master’s degree in education for the fall semester, and you were also in the midst of your career; interning at a law firm didn’t quite clear up your schedule, only making you busier by the hour. There was barely any time for the two of you to spend time with each other with how busy and hectic your lives were, so there would most likely be no calls coming in or distant texts that were sent out to make it seem like the void had disappeared. 

Like two mature adults, you and Harry called it quits after the summer. He moved away to get his master’s and you kept yourself busy at the law firm. It wasn’t easy--still isn’t easy, but it was for the best. The both of you needed to focus on your careers and yourself before you two were ready enough to get back together. That’s if Harry wanted to get back together anyways. 

Of course you wanted to get back together with him, but you didn’t know where he stood on that, or if he was even seeing someone. Throughout the two years that he was away, you only saw him during summer and winter breaks, so he could possibly be seeing someone whenever he goes back to school. But now that he had moved back again, your mind was spiraling because now you got to see him more. 

Finally, you broke out of your trance, once again thinking about Harry, you saw him looking at you. The both of you completely tuned out to the conversation and laughter coming from your friends. You held your wine glass up, Harry doing the same while smirking before you both sipped your drinks, hoping the sweet wine would relax your bodies. 

Nic was picking out a small paper out of the Santa hat Addie was holding. She took a quick peek at it before, smirking to herself before Addie moved over to you for your turn. As you chose your Secret Santa, you hoped it was a good one. It’s not like you didn’t love your friends, some of them were picky, and by some, you mean Nic. 

You looked at the piece of paper, smiling before shoving it into your pocket. Addie moved onto Harry who was the last one to choose, and you watched him as he looked at the paper like it was a poker hand. He raised his brows, smirking before he looked up and started to fold the paper. Your eyes looked down at his polished hands, noticing that he still wears the same rings as he did when you first met him. Your favorites were his initial, thinking how incredibly sexy and alluring they looked on him as he walked around confidently. You’ve stolen them multiple times as well, even if they were too big on you, but the thought of walking around with Harry’s name on you just seemed so enticing. 

Niall’s laughter brought you out of your sensual thoughts about Harry’s hands and you realized you were caught staring, and Harry knew exactly what you were looking at with the amount of times he’s caught you staring and fantasizing about his hands. Plus, you openly told him that you had a thing for his hands. 

A smug smile was seen from Harry, so you took your attention away from him and towards your friends. 

“So, what do we say? $50 limit?” Nic suggested, and Elijah rolled his eyes.

“Why are you trying to make me broke? You know I have a huge family, like, 15 cousins!” Elijah debates. 

Nic gasped dramatically. “I’m offended you don’t consider us family, Eli!” Elijah playfully rolls his eyes again, turning his head to the side as he smiled into his shoulder, blushing a bit. 

You chuckled at their playful banter. You’re a bit surprised they hadn’t gotten together yet because ever since you met them, you could practically feel the tension between them. They were just too stubborn to admit that they liked each other. 

“Okay, how about we make it maximum $30?” Harry pitched in. Your eyes had immediately averted to him, and it was like he captured you just by the sound of his voice. “We have exactly six days to get our gifts,” he added. Your friend group has always been one for procrastinating. Everyone is so busy these days that it gets harder to plan hangouts where the entire group could go, but you were all family, so if the gatherings were at three in the morning, everyone would be there. 

The group agreed, telling him that was a solid number. You caught Harry’s eye and he softly smiled at you. Giving him one back, you suddenly felt nervous as he smiled, so you chugged the rest of your wine and walked to the kitchen to open a new bottle to bring to the living area.

The bottle made a loud pop sound, which earned an in sync ‘Woo!’ from the group as it was a tradition you all created whenever a new bottle of wine was being opened. Smiling to yourself, you poured yourself a glass before downing it. As you were doing so, Harry walked into the kitchen with his own glass in his hand. 

“Hogging all the wine, aren’t you, Y/N?” He teased to clear the awkward and anxious tension between you two, and luckily, you stifled out a giggle. 

“You know me and my wine.” You refilled his empty glass while taking a sip of yours. Once you fill it halfway, he clinked your glasses together before taking a sip. His lips meeting the sweet but bitter taste of red wine that you so wished was your lips. The way he curled his lips into his mouth and licking his lips, tasting the flavor had you daydreaming such sultry things about his lips. 

You cleared your throat, breaking yourself out of your gaze. “How are you, H? How’s work?” 

Harry’s cheeks warmed up at the simple nickname. “I’m doing good, yeah. Work is good. The school is great.” This was Harry’s first semester teaching, and he absolutely loved it. He loved being in the classroom setting, interacting and making sure his students understood the material. He wanted to teach elementary kids, but that would require knowing various subjects when he wanted to focus more on ninth grade English. 

“I’m happy for you,” you confessed. You were happy for him, but you wanted to be happy with him. “I know you’re a great teacher, and your students must love you.” You bumped him with your hip gently. 

“They’re great. A couple of them have this weird crush on me for some reason.” 

“I mean how could they not.” You realized you said that out loud, and you’re fully blaming the alcohol and the few glasses of wine that you already had, leaving you with a rosy cheek tint glow. Harry didn’t say anything but smug as he continued to sip on his drink. You slipped past him to join your friends, and Harry followed. Addie gave you a knowing look, hoping to communicate with just her eyes as she saw you and Harry walk out of the kitchen together, and you simply nodded, gesturing that you were okay. 

The rest of the night went by quite fun as the boys helped Addie hang up the rest of her decorations while scoffing and rolling her eyes because they weren’t cooperating. You and Nic were sitting on the floor watching and laughed, pouring yourselves more glasses of wine. Your heart skipped a few beats as you watched Harry the entire time, laughing and smiling, and sometimes looking over at you just to get a simple glance at your face to suffice his heart from the heartache of not being able to hold or kiss you. 

You’ve always liked shopping alone. Shopping with Nic and Addie could be stressful, no matter how much you loved them. You would only go to the shoppes with them if you weren’t looking for anything to buy, but since you were Christmas shopping and the stores were getting busier counting down to Christmas day, you had passed on their invitation to shop with them. There was nobody bugging or nagging you, causing you to get distracted; just you, a basketful of snacks, and Christmas music playing through your headphones. 

You couldn’t wait to give your Secret Santa gift because you’ve put a lot of thought into it ever since you found out who your receiver was. You’ve been doing Secret Santa with your friends since the third year of college. At first, your friends group was only you, Nic, Addie, and Niall—you’ve known Niall since you were sixteen, and you met the girls your first year of uni—until Nic met Elijah during the second semester of junior year, who was quickly accepted, and then you met Harry. 

You’ve all become a close knit of friends, and each and every single one of you have met other people, but there was nothing like this group. With bonding and connecting so well, all you needed was each other, and you couldn’t be more grateful. 

As you were looking at the collection of whiskey, you felt a body brush passed you, slightly bumping into you as they tried getting through the narrow aisle. You jolted forward a tad bit, making you take a step forward to let the person behind you pass through. 

“So sorry,” the familiar voice said. The music playing through your headphones was not even halfway up since you still wanted to be aware of your surroundings, but you could recognize that voice anywhere. 

Turning around to look at the person behind you, sure enough, it was the one and only. 

“Harry?” You called out, taking out your headphones. He turned around, and once he saw you, he immediately smiled. 

“H-Hi. I didn’t expect to see you,” he nervously blurted out a false statement. He knew that this was your go to store and you would always drag him there because they always had your favorite snacks in stock. 

You chuckled. “Yeah, I didn’t expect to see you here either.” Unlike his statement, yours was true. When you were with him, he would always ask you why you couldn’t stop at any of the other shops because this one was on the other side of where you lived. But you simply told him that it was because you would feel like you would be cheating on this store with the others because this was your go-to place, and the employees here were just lovely. 

“Shopping for yourself?” Harry asked. 

You looked down at your basket. “Oh, no. For my Secret Santa. What about you? What are you doing here?” 

“I, uh, I was on this side of town and,” he turned around to face the wine section before grabbing a bottle of Pinot Noir. “Just needed to get this,” he said as he held it up. 

“Night in?” 

“Hmm, yeah,” he nodded. 

“With…someone, or?” You tried your best to not show your anxiousness when you asked him if he was having a night in with someone that’s not you. 

Harry’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “No, no. Not with anyone…” Your shoulders relaxed and a small smile appeared on your face. You slightly nodded your head, containing your relief. “You look great!” He complimented. You were wearing your work attire; a black pencil skirt with a white silk, semi turtleneck long sleeve, and a black coat thrown over. You were also in nude heels, which weren’t the best to shop in, but you had forgotten to bring a change of shoes. 

You blushed. “Thank you. I came here straight from work.” Harry’s brows raised. You were always one for a sense of style, so he wasn’t surprised that you would look this good going to work. 

“Really? How is work going, by the way?” 

“Good, actually. I’m still interning at the law firm, so I’m pretty busy. But overall it’s great! A lot of research, mock cases, and sometimes the interns get to sit and watch in the courtroom. It’s pretty thrilling,” you said excitedly. Harry smiled, missing how you would explain things so eagerly. “This is my last year interning, so hopefully I could work at the law firm I’m already interning at, and become a permanent lawyer there.” 

“I’m sure they’d love to have you there. You’re great, really. They’d be stupid to let you go…” he trailed off. There was a double meaning to his words, and you were wondering if Harry thought he was dumb enough to let you go. Not wanting to dwell on his words any longer, you murmured a soft ‘Thanks’ to him and smiled. Harry nodded, mentally beating himself up over his words and how he was really the stupid one to let you go. 

“I, uh, should go, or my sister will be suspicious,” you chuckled. “I hope you have a great night, Harry.” You grabbed a bottle of whiskey before walking passed him. You weren’t even done shopping, but you couldn’t be in the same room as him without thinking of the memories that had always lingered, making you nostalgic and sad because you don’t know if you would be able to make more memories with him. 

Harry was left alone in the aisle as he watched you walk over to the register to pay for your items. Just when you were done, you looked up, giving him a soft smile and waving at him before you turned around and walked out of the store. Harry’s heart fluttered, but at the same time, it was pounding through his chest. He mentally cursed himself for being so nervous around you, making an awkward tension fill the air. He couldn’t tell you what you were really doing at your store--no, he couldn’t. 

Because what would you say if he told you that he’s been going to your store ever since you two broke up and whenever he’s in town just because it reminded him of you. The four walls somewhat mended his broken heart as he felt comfort inside of the shop because some of his best memories of you are in this very store. And since he couldn’t step into your apartment to immediately feel at home, your favorite store would have to do…for now. 

Right when you entered Addie’s home, you were met with the loud music of the holiday season, along with Addie, Nic, and Elijah singing the lyrics to one another as they jumped and danced with a glass of their preferred alcohol in their hand. 

They hadn’t heard the door open since the music was quite loud, so you took the opportunity to take a quick video of them as you smiled at your lovely friends, who felt so careless at the moment. Once the song ended, you put your phone away, and Eli was the one who spotted you first. 

“Ah, there she is!” He walked over to you, giving you a big hug. You giggled as he slightly picked you up from the ground and twirling you. You were sure that he was already buzzed, and you were wondering how many glasses he’s had already, or if he pregamed by himself to calm himself down for talking to Nic, just like you had done to prepare you for a night with Harry, which you hadn’t done tonight. 

There was a part of you that wanted to take a shot or two to ease your nerves, but you realized that you needed to stop doing that because as far as you know, you and Harry are most likely going to be friends for a long time. So, drinking almost every week did not sound fun to you. 

Nic poured you a glass of wine, clinking your glasses together as you took your first sip of alcohol that night. You helped Addie set up the food onto the table along with some Christmas designed plates and utensils. Just as you were counting the utensils, you heard a loud Santa laugh coming from Niall, making everyone turn their heads towards the door. Niall walked in, carrying a bag-full of presents and Harry followed with a three foil wrapped aluminum trays in his hands as he chuckled at Niall’s way of making himself known. Your face immediately heated up at the sight of your ex-boyfriend because he looked good. 

Although you loved every version of Harry, there was something about Harry Styles in the snowy winter that made your knees weak. He was bundled up in a sweater with a coat tossed over, and he wore boots. His hair was slightly messy from the wind as he shook off the snow that had fallen onto his locks. His nose was always red too, and when he would press a kiss to your cheek, you would feel the icy cold tip of his nose, contrasting to your warm cheeks. And it’s a tragedy that you’ve never spent a winter season with him when you were together, only two Christmases after the breakup. 

Winter Harry was your favorite, and all you wanted to do was snuggle up with him. 

Niall and Harry made their rounds to greet everyone, and Harry would always make sure you were the last one he greeted, just so he could hold and hug you a little longer. 

“Merry Christmas Eve, Eve,” you said once he got to you. He smiled and chuckled, wrapping his arms around your shoulders. You laid your head against his chest, taking in his scent and natural warmth, even though he just came from the cold. “What’d you bring?” You asked once you pulled away. 

“I brought the cheesy garlic bread, brussel sprouts, and crab cakes,” he smiled. 

You gasped. “Your specialty. My mouth is already watering.”’ You clapped your hands in excitement. 

Harry giggled, leaning against the kitchen countertop. “Sure is, and it’s some of your favorite dishes of mine too,” he remembered. You blushed, heart fluttering as he didn’t forget your favorite foods. 

Harry was always a chef of his own; he loved cooking. Learning from Anne, he made it his mission to make his own homemade food after he moved out, and she would always tell him that you could always show your love through food. From there, he learned more about cooking and seemed to love everything about it. Whenever the group has gatherings for special occasions and everyone agrees for a potluck, Harry always made sure to talk to everyone and see what they wanted him to cook. 

When you two were together, he did the majority of the cooking. There would be times when you wanted to help, but he would simply tell you that you needed to let him do it and relax. That was something you loved about him—he was always a giver and didn’t expect to receive anything back, in more than one way. 

You and Harry were definitely ones for staying in, and he would always whip up the best food that was filled with so much love and flavor. 

“Once you two are done loving over there, we’d like some help over here!” Niall called out from the dining area. Your eyes widened as Harry’s cheeks turned pink. Harry held his arm out, gesturing you to go first, and you walked out of the kitchen as he followed behind you.

The group’s attention and eyes were on you and Harry, and your brows furrowed as you mouthed a ‘What?’ at them, and they instantly went back to setting up the food as if nothing happened. You turned around to look at Harry confusingly and he shrugged his shoulders, just as confused. 

The music was playing, the decorations were lit up, and the food was settling into everyone’s stomach, followed by drinks as a warm feeling laid over everyone. It was overall a great time with them as it always was, and since Christmas was coming up in just two days, the merry feeling was always everyone’s moods. 

As everyone was laughing and having a great time, Addie had gotten a knock from her neighbor, asking if everyone could keep the volume down. Everyone was holding in their laugh because you all hadn’t realized how loud you’ve gotten. 

“I’m pretty sure they knew it was going to be a long night when it was just the three of them dancing and screaming,” you pointed out to Addie, Nic, and Elijah, and they all laughed, agreeing. 

“Wait, what?” Niall asked confusingly. 

“Right when I walked in, they were screaming at the top of their lungs. Wait, I have a video.” You pulled your phone out of the front pocket of your sweater and showed Niall the twenty second video. 

He cackled. “Hey, thanks for waiting for us,” he teased, giving your phone back to you. 

You leaned back onto Harry’s leg, since you were sitting on the floor and he was sitting on the chair behind you, and you looked up at him to show him the video. He leaned forward, placing his forearms on his thighs as you shifted closer to him so you were sitting in between his legs. Harry’s lips curled into his mouth, and he was grateful that you weren’t facing him because he was flustered. You pressed play, and he watched as he chuckled, watching his friends have a good time.

“Wait, I also wanted to show you this video,” you mentioned once the video was over. You scrolled through your pictures, and Harry was watching you go through your camera roll. He saw pictures of buildings, food, you and the girls, and some of them were just of you. Before he could really think about your own pictures, you found the video of your family dog and showed Harry. 

As you and Harry were watching the video, your four other friends were eyeing you two and whispering things to each other suspiciously. Nic took a few pictures of the moment because the sight was just so cute, but everyone was wondering when you two were getting back together. 

And you were wondering the same. 

For a few minutes, you and Harry were in your own little world as you two talked about your family; never making the effort to change the position you were in--you had just turned your body so you could see him better. You’ve missed times like these where everything else, outside of the bubble you two created, didn’t seem to matter. The way his eyes gleamed when he talked to you had lulled you in, making you depart from every thought you were trying to create while the only thought that dawdled was Harry. 

“Alright, let’s pass out our Secret Santa gifts before we’re all too drunk,” Niall suggested, popping yours and Harry’s bubble. You moved out of between Harry’s legs to sit beside him where you were before. You looked up at him, softly smiling and he gave you one back. His eyes looked like they wanted to say something, and you so badly wanted to crawl into his mind to know what he was thinking. 

Everyone agreed, getting up to grab their gifts. Addie also grabbed the Santa hat that you had to wear if it was your turn to pass out your gift. The Santa hat had been through four Christamases with the group, and it was the little things that made you happy.

Addie decides to go first since she was the host. She put the Santa hat on before she started. “First one! My Secret Santa is…Elijah!” She walked over to him, giving him her gift as he smiled, thanking her. He opened her gift and gasped as it was a new headset for his PlayStation since he was always talking about how one side was completely dead. Addie placed the hat onto his head as he grabbed his gift. 

“So, this one is for…” he smiled before walking over to the other end of the couch. “Nic.” Her eyes widened, taking the gift from his hands, and he took a seat next to her on the floor. She ripped open the wrapping paper before she paused, looking back at him. It was a large rectangle frame of pictures of her and Eli with a note in the middle saying ‘4 years as best friends, countless laughs, and one question unasked. Will you go on a date with me?’ Nic squealed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. It was like he was proposing to her because she screamed out a loud yes. “Life is too damn short. I can’t wait to go another day without calling you my girl, so I wanted to take my chances,” he told her. You smiled at them, realizing it’s been too long, and you were so happy for them. 

It was Nic’s turn, which she completely forgot about because she was so overjoyed, and she walked up to Harry to give him her gift. He thanked her before opening it, receiving a set of nail polish, a few face masks, a vanilla candle, and a gift card to one of his favorite restaurants. 

Harry was up, and he was a bit nervous for this one. You knew that it could either be you, Niall, or Addie since you were the three left without gifts. He stood in front of the fireplace as everyone looked at him. You thought he looked absolutely adorable in that Santa hat, which you think every single year. He slowly walked over to Niall, making him beam, but turned around and walked over to you, earning a ‘Hey!’ from Niall. 

“Merry Christmas Eve, Eve,” Harry greeted you, handing you your gift. You smiled brightly, grabbing the box. It was a quite heavy box with brown wrapping paper with reindeers on it and a large red bow. “I wrapped it myself,” he smirked, playfully flipping his shirt hair, and you giggled. 

You ripped the paper and opened the box, eyes softening. In the box, there was a graphic tee, your —and his—favorite fresh perfume by Jo Malone, five pens with your first and last name engraved in the middle, a Cravings cookbook from Chrissy Teigen and a yellow and white vertical striped apron with the words ‘Summer Lovin’ with a sun embroidered at the top. Your eyes watered at the words at the special but emotional meaning behind it. 

Two months before you and Harry broke up, you knew it was the end. You both agreed that you would spend two months together before you had to part ways with one another. It was the most special and fun summer you ever had, but emotionally, it was the worst. Knowing that you weren’t going to be together anymore by the end of it was behind the facade of the endless laughter and love. You really didn’t want it to be over, but you understood and needed to grow separately and blossom with your careers. 

The words behind the embroidered apron was from one summer night. You and Harry had a bonfire at the beach, and you were cuddled up with him as he held a blanket around the both of you. You had tequila disguised like water as you held your bottle up to the best summer loving. You wished the circumstances were different, but if it’s meant to be, then he’ll come back to you. 

“You’ve always wanted to learn how to cook and I’ve seen that you’re starting to on your Instagram stories, so I thought these were the perfect things to get you so you could be a proper chef now,” he said with a soft smile. 

Harry truly paid attention to the small details of your life. Together or not, he intently listened and observed without anyone knowing. He nailed it down to the small details; from the perfume, the pens, and the apron. The sentiment behind it was what made the gift so special, and the person who gifted it to you completed and made it so much better. 

As your vision had gone glassy, you sat on your knees, reaching up at Harry for a hug. He bent down to your eye level, sitting on his knees as well as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders. You held him tightly, sniffling into his shoulder as a rush of overwhelming emotions hit you. Your heart fluttered and pounded at the same time—a feeling that was familiar to your body when it came to Harry. 

“Thank you so much. This is the most thoughtful gift ever,” you said into his shoulder. This gift was number two on the list of gifts you’ve received from him, following Harry himself as your number one, of course. 

Harry pulled his head back slightly to press a kiss to the side of your head. The gesture had made your heart swoon and you smiled against his shoulder. Everyone was watching you two interact, and they all thought this was finally the moment where you two would get back together again. They’ve all seen you two suffer enough being without each other, along with the heavy tension that there was. All they wanted was for you both to be happy. 

You pulled away from him, looking up at his green eyes as they stared into you. He offered you a small smile that took your breath away before he wrapped one arm around your shoulder, bringing you into his side as he wasn’t quite done holding you. 

After a few minutes, your friends had let you have your moment before Niall complained how he didn’t have a gift yet. You and Harry chuckled, letting go of one another, and he placed the Santa hat onto your head before you slowly started walking over to Niall. When you handed him his gift, he cheered happily before opening it. You had given him several customized guitar pics with his initials printed onto them, a leather notebook since he liked to write songs, and Proper 12 Irish Whiskey, which was fitting because he’s Irish and he likes Connor McGregor. He thanked you with a big hug, picking you up off the ground with one arm as he held the alcohol bottle in the other. 

Addie was the last one who hadn’t received a gift, and Niall was her Secret Santa. He gave her a bunch of makeup with your help, and a tupperware set, which she had been asking for since everyone always took her containers because she liked hosting so many parties. 

The rest of the night had gone on for a few more hours before everyone was pretty tired, deciding to call it a night. Everyone helped clean up, making sure to help Addie with the dishes and putting or throwing stuff away. Although you were cleaning, you loved your entire group. This was your family--the closest people to you. The ones who know everything about you and would laugh at you when you fall before falling with you. You were entirely grateful for everyone in this room, and you couldn’t have asked for a better group to spend more holidays and days with. 

After the cleaning was done, Niall and Eli started to head out, not before Eli was satisfied with the amount of goodbyes he gave Nic with how long the hug was. Niall had to physically pull him off, telling him the Uber was outside. 

You were washing your hands before Harry walked over next to you, handing you a towel to dry off your hands. “Thank you,” you muttered, shyly smiling. 

“Uh, I wanted to ask if you wanted to come over?” He proposed. Your brows raised at his question. You and the girls had planned on having a sleepover after, but the prospect of going home with Harry had sounded much better (no offense to your friends). 

“I was planning to sleepover here…” you decided to innocently tease, even though you knew you were going to say yes. 

“I already asked them, and they said I could take you. I could drop you back off here if you want. So, the answer is up to you,” he smirked. A blush appeared onto your cheeks, admiring the fact that he asked your friends for permission if he could take you home. 

“There’s bound to be talk tomorrow,” you teased, lightly nudging him.

“I’ll take my chances,” he smiled, a hopeful look presented on his face. 

You breathed out a chuckle, looking at him for a moment before you nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.” Harry’s eyes widened as the corners of his lips turned up. You grabbed your phone and your coat before walking over to Addie and Nic who were both cuddled up on the couch, saying goodbye to them. They sent you a playful wink, and you rolled your eyes as nerves startled to settle in your stomach. 

You followed Harry out of the door, the cold air brisking past you as you walked to his car. He opened the passenger and you thanked him before getting in. Harry started the car and the song that was playing was ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside.’ It was a song you loved ever since you were a little girl, and you remembered the times you and your mom would always sing it in the car. You smiled at the memory, humming as you hoped it would be a way to distract you from the anxious feeling that you have. 

You started humming to the tune as quietly as you possibly could, but Harry heard it as he started to hum it as well. You looked at him through your peripheral vision, noticing that he started to tap his fingers against the steering wheel. 

You were about to start singing until you noticed that he pulled into his driveway, so you contained yourself and closed your coat, getting out of the car as you followed him into his home. You’ve only been inside his home three times--those three times being when he would suggest everyone hang out there. It was a lovely place and whenever you were sitting on his couch, you had wished you shared the space with him. 

Harry lit up the fireplace, placing the metal shield in front of it before turning back towards you and smiling. “Make yourself comfortable. I’m just going to get us some hot chocolate, if that’s alright?” He asked, wanting to know your preferred drink. 

“Sound good.” You hung your coat onto the coat rack before walking over to his turquoise velvet couch and taking a seat, getting comfortable to an extent, not knowing how comfortable you should get. 

Not long after, Harry came back with a wooden tray, and he placed it on the coffee table in front of you. There were two mugs filled with milk, two hot chocolate kits, and spoons. 

“I made these for my students, and I just so happened to have two extra kits, so this will be fun,” he smiled, and you gave him one back appreciatively. You thought that it was cute and sweet of him to give something to his students for the holiday season. Normally, teachers don’t give them anything, but Harry wasn’t just any other teacher. 

A somewhat comfortable silence fell over you two as you both made your own hot chocolate, and you listened to the fireplace roar. Once you two were done, you clicked your glasses together before taking a sip. The warm and comforting drink made you smile and was overall delicious. 

Harry didn’t know what to say or how to say what he really wanted to say. It felt like he had non stop thoughts running through his head, but when he opened his mouth to start, there was a delay. An overwhelming feeling took over him and he wanted to yell at himself for not saying how he really felt. 

“Y/N-” 

“Harry.” 

Just like before, your minds had been in sync, causing you both to speak at the same time. A light laugh came out of both of your mouths. 

“You go first,” you told him. 

Harry took a deep breath. “How’re you doing?” He asked. Out of everything he could have said, that was the only question that came out of his mouth, but he figured it’s a good start to getting somewhere. 

“Truthfully?” He nodded. “I’m doing okay. I’ve managed to distract myself from worrying about the future with work, and so far, it’s been helping.” 

“What are you worried about?” Harry wondered curiously. He could feel his heart pounding through his chest, and if he’s being honest, it’s been that way the first time he saw you…ever. 

“Worried if I’m gonna be where I want to be career wise, and…” you trailed off. 

“And what?” He encouraged you to continue. His stare was so intimidating and deep that the words flew off your tongue, making them unforgettable. “Ba--Y/N?” He called out for you, noticing how he almost slipped up and called you ‘baby,’ and you so wished he hadn’t stopped himself. 

You finally mustered up the courage to speak your thoughts. “I’m afraid that I’m gonna be alone,” you said honestly. 

Harry’s brows furrowed, shaking his head instantly. “You’re not alone, no. You have your family, all of us--your friends, me-” 

“You?” Your brows raised. 

“Yeah-” 

“Harry, you’re the reason why I’m so worried…” you confessed. You were starting to get frustrated--not at Harry, but at yourself because you had planned to have this conversation a different day. You tried to calm yourself down, and Harry could practically see that you were getting angry at yourself. You had a certain stressful and frustrated look that he would notice when you started to beat yourself up over things. And throughout the months of being with you, especially when you were in the midst of law school, he learned how to calm you down. 

Harry placed his hand on your knee; the touch being unexpected to you, but it had brought you immediate comfort. He pulled you into his side and you rested your head on his shoulder, looping your arm under his, the one that’s on your leg, and hugged his arm. Harry’s other hand touched your arm, caressing and soothing you. His actions had felt very natural and familiar to him. He would comfort you like this when you were feeling stressed. Normally, he wanted to cuddle you tightly, but this was your preferred way to calm down because in a way, he was still holding you, and you were still in control and didn’t feel like you were suffocating if he had held you tightly.

You stayed like that for a few moments, and you had calmed down a bit already, but you just wanted to be close to him and cherish the moment. 

After a few minutes, you pulled away and turned towards him, smiling softly. Your heart warmed at the fact that he remembered exactly what to do when you started to feel anxious, and you may have fallen in love with him even more…after all these years. 

“Now, wanna tell me why you’re so worried?” He asked softly, not wanting his tone to be pressuring, and you’re grateful for it.

“I’m worried I’m going to have to live a life without you. It terrifies me to think about you going out and meeting someone, and I would have to watch you get married to someone else that’s not me. That you would be sharing this home with someone that’s not me.” Your eyes start to water, and you had mentally told yourself that you wouldn’t cry, but you didn’t believe yourself in the slightest. “Watching you love someone else is going to be the most difficult thing I would have to do.” 

Your tears had fully fallen down your face, which is unfortunate because you both had such a good day with your friends and it was nearly Christmas. Quickly wiping your tears away, you got up from the couch, and headed towards the door. Harry was confused until he saw you grab your coat, putting it on. In a flash, Harry got up from the couch, walking towards you. 

“W-What are you doing?” He asked. 

“I really can’t stay…” you told him sadly. You had no idea how you were getting home or back to Addie’s since it’s snowing, so you don’t know if there were any Ubers out, especially at this time. “This evening has been…so very nice, Harry.”

“You don’t have to leave. Baby, it’s cold outside, c’mon,” he pleaded with worried eyes. Your heart melted at his words and the name that he used to call you, making you pause in your movement. 

“Please,” he pleaded softly, taking a small step forward, and your breath hitched in your throat as you looked up at him. There was a dead silence between you two that was tension filled, and you had no clue what was going to happen next until he opened his mouth. 

“Mind if I move in closer?” He whispered. The sound would barely be audible if anyone else was there, so he said those words specifically for you to hear. 

You shook your head, and he took another step forward. Your bodies were a centimeter away from being pressed up against one another, and your heart was beating so fast, making your hands shake and tremble. He looked down at you so intently that you were under his spell, and you were conflicted as you wish you knew how to break the spell as his green eyes looked deep into you, luring you in even more. 

You took a deep breath. “Kiss me already,” you breathed out. Harry’s heart nearly stopped at your words, but he slightly smirked as he blushed, brushing your hair behind your ears before taking your face into your hands and leaning down to place a deep and passionate kiss onto your lips. 

This feeling, this touch, this man was what you’ve been waiting for these past two years. Throughout those years, you felt like giving up; accepting the fact that he wasn’t going to love you again. But he had proved you wrong in the simple brush of his lips and tongue that were in sync with yours, making the spark between you grow bigger and bigger. The spark that had never lost its power, but was on pause.

You grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pulling him closer as the other hand was wrapped around his back. Harry had you pushed up against his front door, and you had the urge to lift your leg up to wrap it around him, but you resisted. 

Harry wanted more, too. His hands trailed down from your face to your back, closing the nonexistent proximity between you, and guided you back to the couch. You were walking backwards, completely trusting him that he wouldn’t let you fall as his lips never left yours. 

You giggled once the back of your legs hit the couch, falling onto the soft material as Harry hovered over you, laying in between your legs. He looked at you for a moment, studying every freckle, the crimson color on your cheeks, the curve when you smile, your glimmering eyes, and your cute nose. He knew that it was exactly how he remembered. After a couple of years being separated, a beautiful face like yours was hard to forget. 

“You’re quite crazy to think I’d want to live the rest of my life with someone else when you’re right in front of me,” he suddenly said. Your eyes widened at his confession. “Never wanna be without you ever again. Thought you didn’t want to be with me when I came back, so I just didn’t bother. But you have no idea how much I missed you. I missed you so much.” 

He placed soft kisses all around your face as he spoke, leaving you feeling so tender and soft as he was so gentle with you. For someone who’s on her way to becoming a lawyer and always having to have an answer for everything, you were speechless. The words that you’ve been waiting for for so long were music to your ears. It rolled off his tongue so smoothly, slick like honey, and you connected your lips with his again, swirling your tongue against his as you devoured his words. Hands finding their way to his hair, you gripped on his locks and pulled just the way he liked it, earning a groan from him, and you smirked against his mouth. 

You pulled back, leaving him breathless. Swollen lips, blushed cheeks, and smiles plastered on his face, you said the words you’ve been itching to say. “I love you,” you blurted out. The words had rolled off your tongue so effortlessly, making shivers run down Harry’s spine as his eyes watered up. “I was listening to Elijah earlier, and he’s right. Life’s too fucking short to not have what you want.” 

He took one of your hands into his, bringing it up to his lips before placing a kiss onto the back of your hand. Your other hand was playing with the curls that laid delicately on his hands, scratching it lightly. 

“Missed hearing you say those words.” He smiled, tears making their way down his face. “I love you too. So, so much that you have no idea how I feel when you walk into the room and I see your beautiful face. I love you. I love you. I love you, baby.” His affirmations had caused you to softly sob—the two of you a crying mess from the obvious but unspoken love that was finally being released again. “It’s always been you. You’ve always been my girl, did you know that?” You tilted your head a bit. “Never gonna go a day without reminding you that you are, because you’ve never not been my girl. Had to love and admire you from afar, but just wanted to hold you and kiss you.” 

“You can kiss and hold me all you want now, my love,” you reassured him, and he dug his face into your neck, placing a soft kiss against your skin. 

You smiled so brightly as your heart felt so happy and overflowed with love, and he matched your grin, feeling the same way. 

The two of you kissed each other for a bit more, whispering sweet words, and laughed and talked about anything and everything—truly catching up with one another. 

“Oh.” He got off of you, making you slightly pout from the weight of laying on you that you already missed. “I actually got you another gift.” 

“Harry…you already got me enough.” It was true. Along with the thoughtful gift, he was your true Christmas miracle. 

“I know. But this one, I wanted to give to you in private, and this is the perfect moment, so let me do this?” He looked at you with sweet and pleading eyes with a small smile on his face. Who could ever say no to that adorable face? Certainly not you. 

You nodded, and he shot up, heading towards the stairs. “Give me thirty seconds,” he said before rushing up the stairs. 

You heard him shuffling up there, and the sound of a drawer opening and closing. Thirty seconds later, he was walking downstairs, holding a white box wrapped in a red bow. He sat back down next to you, looking into your eyes as he spoke. 

“This is what I wanted to give you when we were alone. It didn’t matter the outcome of how things turned out between us tonight, I just wanted to give you this because I think you’ll appreciate it. It reminded me of you when I saw it, and I knew I had to get it.” He handed you the box with slightly shaky hands. 

You untied the bow, taking the top off. A gasp came from your mouth as you picked up the chain. It was a little gold sun pendant, symbolizing your summer together. You studied the charm for a moment, delicately touching it as you teared up at the meaning behind it. It matched quite well with your embroidered apron, and the two together would be quite the match. 

“Thank you, Harry. This is so sweet of you.” You leaned forward, giving him a hasty kiss to his lips, smiling against them. “Help me put it on?” He nodded eagerly. You handed him the necklace before turning around, lifting your hair. You felt the cool metal chain hit your skin along with Harry’s lingering touches across your shoulders, causing your skin to pebble. He placed a quick kiss to your neck before pulling away. You turned around to meet his eyes as you smiled. 

“Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.” He kissed your forehead. “I’m so happy. Merry Christmas Eve, Eve, baby.” 

“Merry Christmas Eve, Eve, my love.” 

You cuddled into his side as the silence took over. The only thing was heard was the pounding of your love-filled hearts along with the cracking of the fire. Sure, it was cold outside, but right here in Harry’s arms, you were warmer than ever. 

please come into my inbox and talk about your thoughts and feelings on this! also feedback is appreciated, thank you for reading! <3

[holykillercake]

FRIED EGGS

KOBY x Pirate!Reader

word count: 2k

summary: Being infiltrated as a Marine and keeping your feelings under control was easy until you were assigned to work with Marine Captain Koby. How you wished he was a jerk.

highlight: ¨I am kissing you... but I am angry, Y/N-san...¨

warnings: read under the risk of developing diabetes.

notes: Hey, guys! This was a lovely request from @pure-kirarin! <3 I had to stop other projects to make this one because Koby threw me out of my comfort zone hahaha I really hope you like!! ALSO 1) Happy Birthday Sabo-kun! ALSO 2) In order to add more dept to the story, the main character is part of a Yonkos´crew, but I wrote in a way that all fit, so choose your favorite! ALSO 3) ART ALERT!

Leave comments, hearts and love!

¨You have been doing a remarkable job in such little time, Commander L/N. We all have great expectations regarding your transference to our Marine Headquarters.¨ 

The words of the Rear Admiral barely scratched your mind as you discreetly observed the pink-haired boy´s reflection on the crystal clear window. 

He maintained a similar posture to yours: chin up, chest out, shoulders back, and stomach in. However, while your fingers remained paralleled to your trousers, you took a glimpse of his clenched fist, thumb fidgeting the side of his index finger. 

¨Vice Admiral Tsuru was reluctant to sign your transfer. She said you remind her of herself in the past, which is always an excellent compliment to hear.¨ you nodded, acknowledging his words  ¨We´re glad we convinced her.¨

Your heart warmed with his words, and you almost felt bad because you knew the disappointing outcome O-Tsuru-san would have at the end of this. She trained you with the iron face of a merciless soldier, and the elegance that resembled the animal of her name.

It has been three years since you received the green card from your captain to part ways in a long-term solo mission. A journey to excavate the putrid secrets of the so-called defenders of the law. You learned after a short time that justice is not so black and white.

Not that you planned to reveal the dirt, no. That intel your captain could sell to the Revolutionary Army and keep the capital running. You were interested in the arms race, the corrupt diplomacy, and more importantly, the dark pipes where traitors flowed.

Someone from inside the Yonkos was feeding the Marines with crucial information about the Emperors´ activities. And in such a close fight, you could not take those risks.

All other Emperors must have their own undercover agents within the Marines, but even that was a dispute. You could point some names to your boss, who confirmed what was suspected. Those would usually be the best of the best, extravagant and loud.

But not you. You didn't have to make that much noise. You slid between the floors of New Marineford like a snake swimming with the current. Earning the respect of your superiors and being promoted without ringing any bells. You accepted each medal with a firm salutation and relentless performance. 

¨The trip must have been displeasing. Submerging ten thousand meters underwater and rising to these fiendish waters require a good rest. Our Marine Captain Koby will escort you to your quarters, Commander Y/N. The remaining instructions shall be presented tomorrow.¨

You saluted the Rear Admiral in front of you and turned to the exit, passing by Koby, who waited for you to leave first.  When your paths crossed, the pace of your heartbeats quickened, pumping more blood through your body and leaving a burning sensation on your cheeks. 

The involuntary response was instantly interpreted as alertness to danger, which needed to be handled with caution. 

Can´t let my guard down around this one, you thought.

In fact, you planned to keep as much distance as you could from him. An officer let slip that he has been gaining incredible control over his Observation Haki since the Paramount War. 

But the wind seemed to change direction, and you began to swim against the current. When the morning came, you were assigned to be his partner for an undetermined time, and he would act as your superior. The idea of being bossed around by a younger marine got your temper sparked. 

Only he was not like the others, treating you in a patronizing and condescending way. He spoke to you with the same cordiality and politeness he addressed everybody else. 

Slowly, your concrete cold expression began to soothe. You would still remind yourself how annoying his good manners were, though. So annoying, seriously!

¨Good morning, Y/N-san!¨ he greeted as you joined him for breakfast. 

¨Good morning, Koby.¨ 

¨Our Border Force correspondent sent his report early in the morning with information about possible Yonkos´ alliances in the Wano Country. We are arranging a meeting as soon as possible.¨ 

You didn´t like to handle work so early, but this subject, in particular, raised your spirits. ¨Good. It was about time.¨

You noticed that he wore a different headband. ¨What happened?¨ 

¨Hm?¨ he brought the soup bowl close to his mouth. 

¨The bandana. Green, with the fried eggs.¨ he choked on the miso soup, coughing like he had swallowed poison. 

You reached for a paper tissue and handed it to him. ¨K-Koby, are you ok?¨

¨Y-Y/N... Y/N-san...¨ he coughed some more ¨They´re not... fried eggs...¨

¨Oh...¨ your brows raised slightly ¨What are they?¨

A depressive aura grew around him ¨They are flowers, YN-san...¨

The edge of your lips contorted as you tried to hide a smile. You haven´t felt like smiling genuinely for years. Annoying boy!

From that moment on, ignoring him became more difficult. He started to ask you to train with him or invite you to spend some time with him and Helmeppo whenever you had free time. Eventually, he began to ask you how he looked before an important meeting. 

Most of the time, you would reply something like ¨ok¨. But sometimes, the mouth was quicker than the brain, and you would let an ¨impeccable¨ slip out, followed by an awkward throat clearing and blushed cheeks. 

From both sides.

•

¨Oh my-¨ you stopped yourself from finishing the sentence. 

You were chosen to complete this mission due to your excellent skills in hiding emotions and acting calm under stressful situations. No one could break you. 

Within the Marines, no joke could make you crack a smile, and no torture could make you spill secrets. 

Why did you want to ask if he was ok?

Koby had entered his office with bumps and bloody bruises over his face. His always neat uniform was blotchy, and he carried a first aid kit. 

¨Garp-san paid a visit.¨ He sat on the couch and opened the white box, throwing everything on the coffee table. ¨I bet it wasn't like this with Tsuru-san.¨ he chuckled. 

¨No. She would beat me up, wash me and hang me up to dry.¨ 

You shot from the chair, moving towards the clumsy pinkette, who struggled to attend to his injuries. He tried to hold the mirror with one hand and suture his gash with the other. 

¨Thank yo-¨

¨Shh. Don´t move.¨

You leaned closer to have a better look, giving Koby the same chance. Your delicate perfume smelled like it was tailor-made for you. Your breathing was slightly irregular, and your lip twitched with every given stitch. Your fingers felt like feathers on his skin, so much that he didn´t even feel a sting. 

The job was fast and efficient, making Koby wish Garp had put more effort into his Love Fist. Grabbing a piece of wet cotton, you cleaned the dried blood.  

¨Alright...¨ you whispered.

¨Alright...¨ he whispered back.

You were inches apart from his face, your eyes traveling across the scar on his forehead, the pink locks, and kind features. Your mind traced back all the way to the Paramount War. You had very little knowledge about him, but the words he spoke that day have always made your heart pound like cannonballs. 

You will make an excellent Admiral one day, Koby. 

I hope you don´t hate me. 

¨Y-Y/N-san...¨

¨Hm?¨

¨Your smile is beautiful.¨

¨What?¨ The stupid scene of yours was interrupted like a DJ stopping the record player. 

With cheeks getting pinker than his hair, you shot up and marched back to the chair and your newspaper. ¨You clean this up.¨ 

He left a low chuckle out and began gathering the mess. 

Oh, no, Y/N. You have got to be kidding me. 

He is a freaking marine. Breathe. 

There were a vast number of reasons why you couldn´t like him: from him being a Marine Captain and you being a pirate to the fact that your mission was coming to a conclusion.

Meaning that your journey as his partner would be very soon reaching its end. The meeting with this mysterious correspondent regarding the Yonkos´ operations in the New World would be the last move in this chess game. You would be going home. Mission completed. Everything perfect, right? 

Right, perfect. Impeccable! Ugh!

•

¨... confirm secure line.¨

¨This is Border Officer code 404890. Secure line confirmed.¨ you spoke with a low but clear voice through the nail transponder. 

¨What´s the status on our birdie?¨

¨Positive. The birdie is located at 03:24:01.¨ you gave your boss a coordinate to the name of the Marine informant. The answer you took three years to find out remained on file number one, third page, suspect number twenty-four. 

An amused laugh echoed on your end, and you buried the speaker on your jacket to muffled the sound. 

¨At least he is not one of ours.¨ a chuckle ¨Great job, Y/N.¨

¨Thank you, boss.¨

¨I know this mustn't have been easy, but you were impeccable as always.¨

Yeah, impeccable. 

¨You know the protocol now. We´ll see each other in a few days. You´ll have a party waiting for you, kid.¨

¨Aye, aye, boss. But I want the good booze.¨  Both of you laughed. 

You finished the call, and the smile on your lips died as the image of a pink-haired boy invaded your mind. You wished he was a jerk like everybody else. 

It would have been so easy. 

¨Who were you talking to?¨ your chest contracted, pushing the air out of your lungs and sending extra blood supply to your muscles. 

You hid the transponder into your jacket and turned, facing your Marine Captain. 

¨Eavesdropping, Koby?¨

What should I do?

¨Y/N-san, who were you talking to?¨ he repeated himself, offering the benefit of the doubt. You sighed.

¨My captain.¨ 

Why the need to be honest with him?

¨Y/N-san, please don´t tell me-¨

¨I´m sorry, Koby. I wish I didn´t have to do this.¨ you couldn´t bring yourself to face him.

¨A-Are you a pirate? Why?¨

You chuckled ¨Why am I a pirate?¨

¨Why did you do this?¨ his face was pale, making your guts twitch in guilt.

¨I´m on a mission. But I´ll leave soon.¨

¨You are like... Vergo-san.¨ he sounded disappointed.

¨I am nothing like Vergo. You know this.¨ or at least you hoped he did. 

He closed the door slowly, eyes fixed on your figure. The bright light from the window made him look like an ethereal painting.

While you tried to predict his next move, whether he was going to interrogate you or kick your ass, Koby acted calm and collected, not hesitating. He trusted his Observation Haki to guide his next move. Or maybe his heart.

You saw a pink blur closing distance like a missile, and before you could dodge, his hands pulled you by the waist, connecting your bodies and lips. 

He forced your back to meet the thick window with a gasp that was muffled by the kiss. His touch was rough upon the fabric of your uniform, but his mouth felt soft against yours.

Your hands moved to his hair, removing the round pair of glasses and the green bandana so you could get lost in his locks. His grip was harsh under the fabric of your uniform, but his hair felt soft on your fingertips. 

A moan escaped your lips when he parted the kiss with a loud snap and struck the glass with both hands, keeping you trapped in the middle. You let go of his hair and grabbed him by the collar, not letting him go away.

¨I am kissing you... but I am angry, Y/N-san...¨ his breath was heavy and carried with a myriad of emotions. 

¨I know... I am sorry.¨

¨Why?¨

¨Because I like you, Koby. A lot.¨ he paused for a second, fighting the urge to admit the same.

¨What was your mission?¨

This is the last lie, I promise, Koby. ¨The Marines possessed vital information about something my boss wants. I needed to get it.¨

¨Now that I know that you´re a pirate and that you stole Marine´s assets, I´m gonna have to hunt you down.¨

¨I´ll be waiting for you.¨ 

You stared him in the eyes, and he kissed you to stop himself from saying what he really wanted. 

I love you, Y/N-san.

Diary of Koby-Meppo: The Fried Egg Life Crisis.

💕 @vemuabhi

[soranihimawari]

Sir, do you mind?

Or how Sakusa gets to know his neighbor…

Pairing: sakusa kiyoomi x reader//hints at poly

Word count: 2.8k

Warnings: 🔞-mdni, reader is escort by profession// sir kink and or praise(?)// nondescript sex scene

Sakusa Kiyoomi is a man of many talents and accomplishments. One of which is being a naturally gifted player on his home team, the MSBY Black Jackals. The second is also being blessed with the height of a tall athlete regardless and with such talents (along with a killer track record), he was able to graduate and live on his own by the time his second season with the Jackals had officially paid him enough to by the last penthouse suite in his current building.

Suffice to say living on his own has been quite nice. There was no Bokuto or Miya who would have had shenanigans up the wa-zoo to keep him up all night; there was no energetic sunshine, Hinata, who would bother him to keep hitting serves and receives until well past midnight. Maybe a third one is actually having a service escort as his neighbor, who as of right now, keeps their line of work (and that world) private.

Thankfully, with the help of Motoya, Sakusa finds his place to be furnished completely–it was a pretty swank bachelor pad,at least you would think so. Speaking of you, you’re a new neighbor. You finally achieved that big girl promotion, so your law firm at the time, chose to cover your expenses alongside personally purchasing the condo on the opposite side of the penthouse suite.

You, whose wardrobe is currently made with high waisted slacks and cotton button downs or eastern-styled tunic tops, with longer ringlets than his own, stone gray eyes which reflect the clouds during the current rainy season, who always greets Sakusa with a saccharine smile, has seemed to be completely oblivious as to why the volleyball player lingers in the mailroom. Or why he tries, but fails spectacularly, at making brownies when you confide in him your mother got on your case again for not going on more dates. Sure, you’ve had dates that seemed to have turned into one night stands only for those gentleman callers to leave your flat with a disgruntled look. One of which tells Sakusa who was returning from the grocery store about your insane collection of tabletop games and mystery book walls:

“YN is a real piece of work,” he said. “There’s wall to wall novels about murder, others are guide books for D&D, dice everywhere, and man! What a shut in! …”

Sakusa didn’t need to know this information, but seeing how annoyed the douchebag next to him in the elevator, the former top three aces in Japan arches his brow at the stranger.

“Why are you telling me this?” Sakusa asks. His bag is held up in his hands,very few vegetables were tall enough to peak out by the handles.

“You’re her neighbor, so I thought you knew you live next to a prudish nerd.”

The elevator dings and as the man leaves while Sakusa just rolls his eyes on your behalf.

It takes another month of self-discovery, as his father once put it, for Sakusa to run into you again. You prattle on your call with your mother who is very worried at this point you’ve turned down every single one of her matchmaking dates. Sakusa had just come home from an evening jog in the gym provided in the building, but he thinks he sees an irkmark form over your space bun styled hair. You were wearing tights and a midriff shirt that showed off your toned physique and Sakusa tries really hard not to stare, but he does anyway. His mind falls into the red zone while nervously trying to talk himself out of trying to leave as soon as possible. Your face seemed flushed because of the heat, but you eventually hung up on your mother saying you had enough with her habits of trying to find you a date. You glance over your right shoulder to see your neighbor gawking at you, so you straight up lied to your mother:

“I have a date tonight ma…Yes I do! I’m not lying,” you mouth out the words to Sakusa as you walk toward him. “Say hi to my mom Omi-kun.”

And Sakusa, proud and unyielding outside hitter for the Black Jackals, pinches the bridge of his nose after you tack on a barely audible, ‘please?’, and grabs your phone out of your hands.

“Hello… Oh? YN is a fine neighbor… No, I didn’t know that…Umm, here they are,” he shoves the phone back into your hands and you end the call. You thank him with a bow as you offer to take his grocery bag, you hold the lighter one now.

Inside the elevator again, you stand side by side with him. He says nothing as you complain about your last date who just up and left. You tell him about your kinks like how peace and quiet is a major turn on; you like tying up people as a rigger; and the fact that your job isn’t really a firm at all–

“I’m a professional kink escort,” you say proudly. You wink at him.

Sakusa, if he was more prone to use slang, would have asked you if you were deadass serious about your job. Instead, he uses the pun below:

“...Come again?”

Miya Atsumu would’ve lost his shit laughing at how his teammate seemed to be clueless about what he just said. Then again, the only other serious interaction he had in the dating arena would have been the first and only time he ever fucked an ex-girlfriend in college. The elevator dings, doors opening to your floor.

“You heard me,” you said matter-of-factly. “Are you surprised?”

Sakusa’s Adam’s apple bops, a sure as hell sign as any that he was. What does he do with that sort of information? He can’t really ask playboy Miya or steady relationship Bokuto, can he? Should he ask Meian on Monday when practice is self-ran? No, he settles. I’ll deal with this on my own, he continues pondering upon it not hearing you offer to make dinner. Though Sakusa nods at you, you wait for him to open the door to his place.

A couple hours later, around nine-thirty, your cacciapepe pasta is plated and thoroughly enjoyed by the athlete. It was cheat day, so the noodles and eating late was a bit rule-bending, but eating with you was one of the highlights of the day. You and Sakusa swap stories about growing up; he tells you about his volleyball career and you tell him about the time you fell in love with professional escorting. You had described it as a maid cafe except sexual acts or devious deeds sometimes are included.

“Depending on the client,” you add. Sakusa is currently soaking the dishes with large yellow gloves, for you to find that hilariously cute is an understatement. You have a pesky smile on your face no doubt enjoying the domesticity of it.

“What about you Sakusa-san? Do you have any kinks?” you have a teasing lilt in your voice when you ask. He almost lets go of the plate he was soaking, but he catches it in time for you to laugh a bit at his cold stare.

“No,” he answers, angry at this turn of events.

“Ah, figures. Perhaps one of these days I’ll take you under my wing then, huh?”

You slide off the chair to approach him in the kitchen area. He was washing his hands profusely at the moment while you leaned against the dishwasher.

“Sir, do you mind?” you nonchalantly switched your voice to a more innocently provocative one. Sakusa turns to face you from his peripheral line of sight. You notice he doesn’t flinch, rather he actually casually grins at the word, ‘sir.’

Gotcha you little devil, you think. You say nothing as you run your fingers up and down his arm closest to you, as if striking a match against his skin. His hair bounces when he is pulled in front of you, following your demanding lead from just the slightest touch you give him. Perhaps a bit touch starved too, your mind thinks this through, so with a clearing of your throat, you whisper words that would eventually change your dynamic for a long time to come.

“Does sir mind if I ask him to kiss me?”

You glance up, placing a bit of distance when you decidedly hop up on the immaculate granite counter. Sakusa groans saying you do not make it any easier for him to deny you anything, especially now when your legs are spread the right width for him to stand in front of you with a pointed look.

“I just cleaned this counter space not too long ago,” his voice drops in tone for feigning annoyance.

You’re about to apologize for a second, yet Sakusa was one step ahead of you: his left hand curls under your chin to have you meet his lips in a chaste meeting. He holds you there for a few more seconds and you only focus on how diligently they had felt against your own. You feel his hands leave your chin altogether and instead his hand cups your cheek. Hearing him hum when he pulls away, makes you smile, slowly opening your eyes.

“Gorgeous thing you are,” you pretend to not hear the compliment only to nod in his hand. You seemed cute like this with a squished cheek in his palm. Sakusa never was affectionate around any of his former beaus, but for you, he decides to try now, especially since your hand reaches for the front of his shirt, pulling him back toward you with ease.

“You’re surprisingly good at this,” you mumble against his lips before returning the favor you asked of him. His eyes seemed to have shut long ago, an echo of a laugh rumbles in his chest as you tilt your head more to one side, you take the lead to deepen the kiss.

Technically, you didn’t lie to your mother about having a date: you and Sakusa made an impromptu one happen out of a need to hang out. Who knew it would have lead here to you breathing in his scent the longer he kept you there? The small of your back is supported by his arm snaking around you when you feel yourself arching backward, sighing hotly into his mouth, followed by a shortened playful bite on his end.

“Ack,” you chortle, pecking his lips once more. Your face is warm though as he gently pushes you forward mentioning you should go soon.

“I have practice in the morning,” he pecks your cheek when you’ve calmed yourself down enough.

“I-I see,” you nod, agreeing how you did not want to overstay your welcome. Gathering your things, just your phone and keys, he eventually escorts you to the front of his door.

“I’ll see you when I get home,” Sakusa says. There is a serious tone to his promise. It sounds almost threatening though, but you realize it’s part of his charm. You make a hand sign for him to bend down and as your lips press against the moles on his brow, you bid him good night when you see yourself out.

In the comfort of your own room, you trace your lips with your fingers, a wolfish smile on your face. On your left in a blank notebook, you write down the name of your neighbor. Next to that? You write down a few things you’ve noticed while making out with him in the kitchen. The top of the list in your eloquent handwriting says the following: S.Kiyoomi, 26, touch-starved, sir/praise kink. You definitely have your work cut out for you because as it stands, you’re going to be the one to guide him in your world.

The absolute payoff of this comes after you’ve seduced him in your bed. In your post glow, you lay a top of him. Your hair strewn across your back while his hands run through it. Sakusa’s wrists are currently freed from the silk shackles you knotted for him, all this because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself while at the party for Hinata’s birthday. It was supposed to be your first official outing as a couple, though you’re fairly certain you ought to have stayed at home because of how Sakusa wanted to devour you alive in the low cut number you wore. He might have mentioned at the club you were dressed to kill, but all he really had wanted to do was see how deep his knuckles could get before everyone at the VIP level would have noticed he was gone for too long in the bathroom hallway to “check up on YN.”

“Did my boy have fun being tied up?” you sheepishly asked him. You glance at the wrist with brazen marks he shows you with a slight pout. Your lips kiss the inside of his wrist apologizing for how tight you had made the knots.

“‘M sorry pretty boy,” you stifle a yawn.

“I bet you are,” his hoarse voice soothes your ears. “But we should properly get cleaned up now, yeah?”

“Only if you carry me to the tub and I get to wear that shirt you love so much.”

“Fine.”

The water in the bath was drawn and though you were extremely sore, you didn’t really have time to think about it since you were gently placed in said tub. Bubbles from the lavender bath bomb began to fizz. Behind you, Sakusa sat with his knees propped up on either side. He makes a complaint about how awkward he must look, but you shake your head saying this was well worth the experience of sleeping with him. You lean back, humming a tune of approval when he begins telling you his favorite moment of the night.

“Miya can’t wrap his head around you being with me,” his tone is one where he tries to swallow a mirthful chuckle.

“Meian and Bokkun couldn’t believe I exist either,” you hum, kissing his jawline. “Although, now that I think about it, Hinata was the only one who saw you video call me when you were on the way back from that away match…”

Sakusa rests his head atop yours mentioning it was great because no one else thought you had existed until then. Sure, the entire team sort of dared him to bring you along one night for post-celebratory drinks, but when he had refused, you inquired if your job was something he didn’t want them to ask you about. You had a brief disagreement over the subject, but you decided to finally give that part of your life a rest and to use the framed degree to go into what you had originally pursued from the start. Regardless, now your existence is proven to the team, you’re with Sakusa for as long as he’ll have you. And trust each other since both of you are standing, or in this case, sitting at the edge of an unconventional love affair.

Bonus:

Miya Atsumu stops by his teammate’s unit only to find Sakusa was not at home the following morning. In his hands, the setter has a togo bag from Onigiri Miya, as he scans the floor for another room. Alas he finds your front door only to have it answered by you. You, who is technically half dressed in nothing but an Oxford shirt Miya remembers Sakusa wearing, and boyfriend cut underwear, answers the door with a wide-eyed stare.

“H-hey YN-chan,” Miya’s mouth suddenly becomes hella dry.

“Sumu?” you are drowsy as you act a little more drowsy than normal. You stifle a yawn. “G’morning? Wanna come in?”

“Maybe later,” the blonde says. “Seems yer a bit busy…umm… here! Give these to yer boyfriend.”

“Mmk,” you lean against the door, your shirt dips to the side a bit causing honeyed eyes to stare slightly at your bare chest. The bruises left behind by his teammate’s lips were an indication of how much fun you seemed to have.

“Fuuuck,” he groans, shaking the back of his neck, blowing profusely apologizing for the intrusion.

“Who’s at the door?” Sakusa asks you from your kitchen.

“Atsumu,” you raise your voice, turning your face round to see a half naked boyfriend rummage around the kitchen. Sakusa nods a devilish grin on his face. He winks at you and though your lips turn into a toothy smile, you turn your attention back to your visitor.

“If you behave real nice, I’m sure Omi won’t mind if I break a brat like you…”

“Huh?”

“You heard me.”

Sakusa almost feels jealous, almost. Only, he was curious to find out how his teammate would hold up against your techniques. He still is recovering from the number you did last night on his wrists and his back’s scratches were healing well. The love bites littering his neck and collarbones were deepening in color.

You wink as your guest soon discovers what you truly mean by that when you pull him inside to your domain, shutting the door behind the blonde. Whatever the implications may be, nothing could have delightfully prepared either athlete to witness just how many things might have turned your relationship to a more intriguing one.

[jesterwriting]

jester dear!! I had an idea, had some thoughts about it, and if you want you can make a drabble or a one shot, is really up to you.I heard an audio from tktk, that had some hurt/comfort?? So, maybe you could write a Law/Crocodile/Sanji/literally anyone you would like, the dialogue is like:

Character A: I'll take care of you.

Character B: Its wrotten work.

Character A: Not to me. Not if its you.

Hope that gives you an inspiration, I really just kinda want you to write something to have fun and all, but if not, totally fine, art has a strange way to present itself in our lifes, hope ya day/afternoon/evening is good, and remember to rest and eat a little!!!

:]

pairing: sanji x reader & law x reader (separate)

contents: reader is depressed in sanjis, sleepy law, fluff, hurt/comfort

word count: 1.1k words

note: OH MY GOD I LOVE THE ROTTEN WORK QUOTE. literally got your request and had to run in circles for a second. i only did sanji and law, though i would be open to doing crocodile another time >:3 those two just came to me the easiest right now. thank you so much for your request! i seriously loved it <33

playlist: tire swing by kimya dawson

“Black Leg” Sanji

For some reason, you haven't been doing very well lately. Maybe it was the weather, or maybe it was because the sun was setting earlier than usual. You didn’t know. You didn’t care. The only thing you knew was that you were tired. It was getting ridiculous how exhausted even the simplest tasks made you. Eating shouldn’t leave you a husk, crawling back to your bed with a trail of slime in your wake. It had been a week since you last showered, and you were sure you stank to high heaven. Your hair sat odd on your scalp, greasy and unbecoming.

You let out a heavy sigh and buried your face deeper into your pillow. Another thing you needed to wash. At this rate, you’d get pimples, then you would look as gross as you felt.

Light flooded the room and you blinked wildly at the figure that had intruded in your very important mildew session. Sanji stood in the doorway, one hand on his hip, the other holding a plate of food.

“You need to eat, Y/N, darling. You missed breakfast,” He stated, always serious when it came to matters of food. As he made his way into your room, he turned on the lights, making you groan and shove a pillow over your face.

“Not hungry,” You mumbled.

Sanji ignored you and set the tray of food on your bedside table. It smelled delicious, bacon and eggs covering the smell of human sweat, though you knew it would inevitably turn to ash on your tongue. It was a shame you couldn’t taste Sanji’s delicious cooking right now, he made the best food you had ever eaten. Whenever you got the chance, you reminded him of that, if only to see him blush and swoon.

You knew he wouldn’t leave until you ate. Exhausted, you gave in and sat up against your pillow. With a sigh, you pulled the tray in your lap and shoveled a forkful in your mouth. You were wrong, it didn’t taste like ash, instead, it was entirely flavorless. Frowning, you shot a glance at Sanji, who sat on the edge of your bed, barely concealed worry shining in his eyes. He was smoking. You handed him an ashtray you kept nearby, just in case he dropped in.

Lighting up, Sanji gave you a bright grin. “Aw, thank you, Y/N.”

You snickered to yourself. There were practically hearts in his eyes at such a simple gesture. As you watched him swoon, you couldn’t help but feel the beginnings of guilt claw at your throat.

“You don’t have to do this.” You took another bite, fighting a grimace. “Take care of me, I mean.”

Sanji blinked at you like you just said the sky was green and the sun set in the east. “I want to take care of you.”

“It’s rotten work.” There was a smile on your face, as if to offset how miserable you felt. Like most smiles these days, it didn’t reach your eyes.

He took the fork from your hand and scooped a bit of egg onto it. Snorting, you leaned forward, mouth open.

“Not to me,” Sanji said as you swallowed. “Not if it’s you.”

Trafalgar Law

You found Law sleeping face down at his desk. Over the past several days, he had looked exhausted, only getting worse and worse as time passed. The dark circles under his eyes were almost black, so bad, he looked more raccoon than man. If he wasn’t wearing his hat all the time, you were sure his hair would be spiked in every direction from lack of care.

Humming under your breath, you knew what you had to do. There was no way you were going to leave him there to wake up with a nasty crick in his neck on top of everything else. You ducked under his arm and helped Law to his feet. He jolted slightly, startled by the sudden intrusion, but once he saw it was you, his eyelids sagged and he slumped against you. You laughed to yourself as his head lolled against your shoulder, hat falling to the floor. You would have to get that later.

The next few minutes were spent half-dragging, half-carrying Law into his bedroom. He was awake enough that his legs didn’t give out, but still too asleep to move them. You had to lead him forward, shuffling under him so you could coax him to put one foot after the other.

This was not the first time you had found him asleep at his desk, and you doubted it would be your last. It was, however, the first time he was too exhausted to take himself to bed without your help. If he was awake, he would be mortified. You didn’t look forward to the morning when he would inevitably remember being carried to bed, and decide, instead of addressing it like a normal human being, to avoid you for the next several days.

“Let go, Y/N-ya, I can do it myself.” Law tried to sound stern, but it came out as more of a tired whine than anything. You choked on a giggle. He must have gone without sleep for over a week if this was where he was at.

After what felt like a century, you made it to his room. Plopping Law on the bed, you smoothed out his hair, ignoring how he slapped your hands away, and moved to help him take off his shoes. Without you there to hold him up, Law flopped backwards with a snore. Fine, it was easier if he wasn’t awake to complain.

You set his boots down beside the bed where he would easily find them when he awoke, and lifted his hips by his legs to slide him fully onto his bed. The manhandling woke him up enough for him to groan and hit you with a glare that would normally send you running for the hills. Right now, however, it was sort of cute.

After twenty minutes of leading, sleepy glaring, and shoe removing, your captain was finally in bed. With a soft smile, you said, “Don’t worry, I’ll always be here take care of you, Law.”

“‘S rotten work,” He muttered, though you watched his eyes open to search your face. You tried not to think about that glimmer of something his sleepy gaze.

You grinned and brushed your thumb against his cheek. “Not to me, it isn’t. Not if it’s you.”

[comfortwriting]

Ashtray Part 5 - D.M

Masterlist, Requesting Rules, Writing Prompt Masterlist

Draco x Gryffindor Fem Reader

This is part 5 of my mini-series 'Ashtray', please read all previous parts if you haven't already.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

Warnings: Swearing, mention of nausea, mention of cigarettes.

Harry's world couldn't stop spinning around him, his palms clammy, his throat tight, Ron and Hermione couldn't shake him out of his thoughts or break him away from what he had seen.

"What do you mean he's back?!" Hermione gasped "You said-"

"I know what I said, Hermione!" Harry snapped back, raising his voice "Y/N is in trouble, Voldemort is going to get to her if we don't step in!"

Ron glared at Draco until his eyes finally shifted onto Harry, his hard face and piercing eyes finally softening.

"You said we need to work together," Draco finally spoke out, his fear of the dark lord and concern for your safety kicking in "Will that save her?"

Escape. Never to return. Train home. Never again.

Your heart split down the middle and separated into tiny pieces at the thought of Harry suffering silently whilst you dated his enemy - but how were you to know he had feelings for you? He never told you, he never hinted at such a thing.

You shook your head, trying to rid your mind of the gut-wrenching thoughts and feelings.

Focus, Y/N, focus. You'll be in that muggle school before you know it, sat in that exam hall without a care in the world about Hogwarts.

For the last time, you entered your dorm room, packing away your clothes, belongings, you even stuffed your empty box of cigarettes into your pocket - you couldn't believe that you wouldn't get to sleep in your four-poster bed again or watch the owls embark on their letter delivering journeys.

Taking a deep breath, you made your bed and picked up your trunk, walking out of your bedroom and making your way to Dumbledore's Office, your empty cigarette box falling out of your pocket - the only part of you to be left behind at Hogwarts.

Before you could knock, the door opened, Dumbledore standing before you in pure white robes, his half-moon spectacles shining against the light.

"I'm guessing you're ready to leave, Miss Y/L/N." Dumbledore widened his arm.

You hesitated for a moment and then linked your arm in his, nodding your head "Yes, I am."

"Well, we best be on our way." Dumbledore said softly, "Hold on tight."

Speed. Spinning. Swirling.

You held onto your headteacher, the spinning and rushing consuming you, everything around you turning into swirls of colour like paints being dragged out upon a canvas, you felt sick to your stomach and gripped onto Dumbledore harder, the lightheadedness making you feel off balance.

After what felt like a lifetime of travelling, the spinning finally stopped, the swirls of vibrant greens, hues of reds, and bold greys and black finally pooled into objects; hedges, lamp-posts, and cars.

You hunched over, feeling like you were about to throw up, the smell of the air helped settle you down - you knew where you were - you were home.

"I thought no one could Appiriate at Hogwarts?" you panted, slowly standing up.

"You've always had a good memory," Dumbledore smiled, "I'm surprised with just the scent of your surroundings you know where you are."

Dumbledore continued to walk further, members of the public either admiring his robes or giving him strange looks. The two of you followed a narrow path, surrounded by tall vibrant trees and tiny birds that flew past rather swiftly, not startled by your footsteps or voices.

"You can keep your wand, you might need it," Dumbledore said, the end of the trail nearing, the sight of a large house in sight.

Your eyebrows knitted together at his comment, "Why would I need it?" you asked quietly, "Underage magic is against the law isn't it?"

Dumbledore stayed quiet for a moment, standing in the driveway of your house "your parents are waiting for you," he said cooly "take care, Y/N."

Before you could ask or say anything else, Dumbledore left your trunk beside your feet and apparated, you were left with so many questions, so many worries and feelings.

You stared down at your wand, swallowing hard.

"You can keep your wand, you might need it."

"We need to hurry!" Hermione panicked, bursting into the common room, Ron and Harry behind her.

"Y/N!" she yelled, running up the stairs, "Y/N!"

"This is bloody scary, mate." Ron sighed, sitting down on the back of the sofa.

Harry didn't say anything, he stared into the flames, wanting nothing more than to see his uncles face pop through and help him through this, his vision replaying right in front of him.

"Pencils and pens down, your exam has finished." The invigilator announced loudly, his voice as clear as a bell.

Everyone placed their pens and pencils on their tiny desks, their exam papers staring up at them, you leaned back in your seat, yawning, shuffling in your chair and looking over your shoulder before feeling a sudden bout of worry and turning back to face the front.

The invigilators collected the exam papers from one desk to another, one with a pale face and deep silver eyes, and dressed in a black suit went over to your desk, he smirked at her, whispering inaudible lies before taking your paper and walking away.  

Now in the belly of the forest, the singing birds stopped instantly, the temperature dropping, the wind picking up and spreading the falling leaves towards you circling you at great force.

"Who's there!" you called out bravely, twirling around as the leaves started to slow down and drop beside your feet.

A loud hiss broke out, piercing Harry's scar, he clutched his head, squeezing his eyes shut tightly.

"So it's true," the hoarse voice said, one that Harry recognised better than any other "You love the boy."

Your breath hitched in your throat.

You screamed.

The birds departed.

What happened? Harry didn't know.

Hermione felt her heart drop to her stomach when she found the dorm room silent and empty, your bed made and belongings gone.

Hurrying down the stairs and out of breath, the three of them found Draco pacing up and down the stairs, his eyes glassy, his hands shaking.

"Anything?" he asked, desperation in his voice.

"No," Ron replied, trying to remember to be less snappy.

"She's gone, everything of hers is gone." Hermione sighed, shaking her head, her eyes filling with tears.

"We need to go to Dumbledore," Harry stressed "He'll know-"

"I already tried," Draco cut him off, "He isn't there."

The four of them fell silent, the stairs continuing to move in the distance.

Draco dug his hand in his pocket and pulled out your crumpled cigarette packet, his hands shaking. "This is all we have."

taglist: @horrorxweasley @alwaysnforeverfangirl @inglourious-imagines @sebby-staan @lovegoodsgf @m4vdb @reeophidian @oldschoolkiddo @illiicitarts @sycathorn-slush @blackqueens01 @opalsheart @axgelre @fredshufflepuff @a-dusty-emerald @mmalfoyferret @marella322 @badass-yn @originalsoulcollector 

[mauvecherie-writes]

The Bodyguard.

PAIRING: Guillermo Sollima x Black reader.

SUMMARY: In the midst of a gang war, you, the daughter of a cartel boss must be moved for your safety. Your father hired a bodyguard for you to protect you during the journey. You just never expected to ever fall for the man …

WARNING: NSFW*** angst, graphic violence, kidnapping, age-gap (over 21), sex.

WORD COUNT: 7.9K

NOTE: This was a piece that I wrote during my wattpad days. I had a massive crush on Benicio Del Toro and I still do, it’s just lowkey lol. I decided to upload this specifically for @anbanananna​. She keeps the flame going. PS: I wrote this a very long time ago so it is a bit cringe lmao, please spare me.

The birds chirped lovingly outside of her windows as she woke up that beautiful Saturday morning. The sun was high up in the sky and clear of any type of clouds. It instantly put her in high spirits as YN got ready for her day. She moved swiftly around her spacious bedroom as she moved from her bathroom to her closet to her vanity table. There was no reason whatsoever for YN to get so dressed up but she just felt like doing so. After putting her hair into a high ponytail, she grabbed her phone and left her room. Her spaghetti flower print summer dress flowed behind her as she walked down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen.

She could hear commotion from one wing of the house but she didn't want to bother herself with that. When she entered the kitchen she saw Ramon and his staff working on cooking breakfast but Jade did not feel like waiting. She sat at the kitchen islet and waited.

"Good morning Miss YN." Ramon greeted her.

"Good morning Ramon. What are you serving for breakfast?"

"Today it is going to be very simple, between pancakes and waffles."

"Easy choice. Can I have some waffles please?"

"With all of the toppings?"

"Extra maple syrup please." YN smiled at him before he left her. As she sat at the islet, she scrolled through her phone, replying to her friend's messages and her social media catching up on the latest gossip. As she did so, she didn't notice her father enter the room.

"Good morning mija." He greeted as he placed a kiss onto her forehead.

"Morning papa." She replied to him as he sat beside her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her.

"I'm good. Just waiting on Ramon to make my breakfast. Theresa is coming by later to pick me up so we go hangout with our friends." YN told her father about her day.

"I need to talk to you before you leave."

"Okay papa."

After that, her father left her alone. She was a bit worried about what he wanted to talk about because most of the time, he would just tell her out front. Rafael Estes was her father.

Rafael Estes, the most feared and most powerful drug lord in Mexico was her father. Her mother was his favourite mistress. He never hid their relationship but when she got pregnant with YN, she left Mexico and moved to Brazil. They stayed there until nine years and her mother became ill. Rafael came to their rescue. He moved them back to Mexico and took care of her and her mother until she passed away five years later. YN wasn't his only child but she was the only one who still lived with him. She was twenty-two and she could have left already but she was too close to her father to just leave. She didn't want to take over his empire, that was up to her older brothers to deal with.

YN tried to live her life as normal as possible and that's why she kept her mother's surname. The two didn't even look alike but when they were standing next to each other,  you could see the relation. She did all the things girls her age do. She was enrolled into a private university and she had a group of friends and they all knew who her father was. To be honest it was kind of hard to hide because wherever she was, there were some guards around. They never shadowed her but they were always in the background of where she was except when she was at university.

When she finished her breakfast, she went to get her bag and when she entered the hallway leading to her father's office, it was littered with some of his workers. They all respectfully greeted as she passed by. Her father's office door was wide open so she just stepped in. She noticed a man standing in front of her father's desk. From the back she could tell that he was decked out in high tech gear. Instantly, her mind began to race.

"Papa." She spoke, causing both of the men's heads to face her. The first thing she noticed were his hazel eyes. Followed by his rugged, rough beard that was thicker around his pink lips than on his cheek bones. His black hair was pushed back in a messy kind of way that looked like he continuously ran his hand through it. She blushed when he smirked slightly.

She had been staring at him for a bit too long. "Mija sit down."

YN did as she was instructed. Her body was still nerved by the man standing behind her.

"You know I would have never called you in here if I didn't think the issue was serious." She nodded her head. "I never want to stress you with my business but I've been put in a position where I need to let you know some things."

"Is everything okay Papa?"

"Things will be baby. Right now I'm in the midst of a drug war with the Medellin cartel. It's getting a bit too dangerous so I'm going to have to make sure that you aren't caught in the crossfire." He said. "The man behind you is Guillermo Sollima and I've hired him to protect you as he takes somewhere safe."

"What about you?"

"I'll be okay."

"I can't lose you too."  YN felt like crying as the realisation began to sink in.

"And you won't mija. But I cannot in good conscience let you stay here knowing people are coming to look for me. I'd rather you bury me and I bury you if the time comes."

"Why can't you come with me?"

"Because these boys think they can run me away and take over my territory. As a good leader, I stick with my men no matter what it is." Rafael said. "The maids have already packed some of your clothes. You need to leave today ...."

Everything was so sudden and YN sat in the chair as she tried to come to terms with what she was being told. It was like everything was in slow motion. She didn't even know when she got out of the seat and found herself walking back to her room. She got dressed in something more comfortable and she kept her hair in her ponytail. She packed some reading books to keep herself entertained. She messaged her friends that they wouldn't be able to talk to her for a while and none of them questioned her and after she turned off her phone.

After an emotional goodbye with her father, she got into the car and they drove away. As she was sitting in the back as tears silently fell, Guillermo watched her through the rear view mirror.

"Everything will be alright." He spoke to her for the first time. She looked at him to find his striking hazel eyes already on her.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you've got me."

.

And he was right. As they traveled through the length of Mexico towards its south border, there was no trouble. Well there was no trouble that ever came close to YN. Guillermo kept her well away from it. There were times that he would come back to where they were staying with cuts and bruises and she tended to them. Those were their bonding times. He wasn't much of a talker but when he did, she enjoyed hearing his voice. He told her stories of his endeavours across the globe as a service man for the CIA. He didn't hide the fact that he was a contracted assassin for them. He wasn't on any side of the law. He was on the side that paid him the most money. And her father had paid him in the millions to make sure that she got to his private island off the coast of South Argentina.

They were now in Brazil. YN spent most of her days with the locals in the market or in the little apartment they were renting out. They were only supposed to stay for a few days but it had been more than a week now. Guillermo told her that he was having a little bit of trouble with looking for transport but he was working on it. Even though he didn't tell her. but she had noticed that whenever she left the apartment, she had noticed that there were eyes that would watch over her.

Today, she didn't feel like leaving so when she woke up, she took a shower and cooked some breakfast. She looked towards Guillermo's room and she didn't hear anything. She didn't want to disturb him just in case he was in there sleeping. She placed his plate into the microwave and went to sit by the television. She was so engrossed in her show that she didn't hear the front door open and Guillermo stepped into the room.

"Morning YN." He spoke. Jade placed her plate onto the table and turned around.

"Morning G." She greeted him with a smile. But it quickly faltered when she saw him clutching onto his side. "What's wrong?"

"I got into a little fight. It's okay."

"You look hurt." YN rose to her feet and went towards him. He knew not to protest against her because she would just keep on persisting that she help until he let her. He sat down on the couch and as he gingerly took off his shirt, YN grabbed the first aid kit and came back to him.

"You've been in too many fights since we got here. That's not good Guillermo." She scolded him as she began to clean up his wound. It wasn't deep but it still drew a lot of blood.

"I'm sorry mama." He playfully replied. She looked at him through her lashes and those piercing hazel eyes were staring down at her. "Someone said something I didn't like and I just had to set them straight."

"What did they say?"

"You wouldn't want to know. It was disrespectful to you." After that they didn't speak any further until she fully cleaned and covered his wound.

"Well thank you for defending my honour." She told him as she lightly traced the now bandaged wound. Her fingers aimlessly began to trace his tattoo that was on the side of his torso.

"No problem." He mumbled softly. Her touch was affecting him in ways he couldn't explain. He didn't want to openly admit that he was attracted to her but in his mind he kept repeating that she was too young for him. YN didn't seem to care because there were times where they would mindlessly flirt and she seemed to always give in. He stopped the hand that was tracing his tattoo and her eyes averted back to his.

"I'm sorry." She whispered softly.

"It's okay." He told her. He didn't want to let go of her hand. It was so soft in his. She bit onto her lip when she noticed their closeness. Every part of her was telling her to close that gap and kiss him but she didn't want to make the first move.

They didn't need to speak as their bodies did the speaking for them. Guillermo placed his hand on her cheek and caressed her skin with the pad of his thumb. YN found herself shifting her position and sitting on the back of her legs to be closer to his face. She held onto his hand as she waited for him. But it looked like he was waiting for her to consent verbally.

"Please." She whispered softly. Guillermo finally closed the gap between the two and laid his lips onto hers. She didn't expect them to be so soft but they were. Like marshmallows. His mouth tasted like menthol with the slightest hint of nicotine. He held the back of her neck as his tongue invaded her mouth and it caused her to moan softly. Guillermo dominated over her and she found herself getting weak. Their breathing became heavier as their kiss intensified. She was still mindful of his wound but he didn't seem to care as he pulled her onto his lap causing her to gasp.

Without giving her room to breath, Guillermo deepened the kiss. He would nibble on her bottom lip, suck on her tongue and squeeze on her body. She felt like risking it all. Her thighs clenched as he slowed down the kisses. His  grip on her neck was still there as he kept her in place.

When he finally pulled away, her chest was heaving up and down as she tried to calm down. Her inner thigh was pressing against his length and she could feel it harden underneath her.

"Your breakfast." She was still struggling for breath as she laid her forehead against his. "Your breakfast is in the microwave." She mumbled as she blushed softly.

"Thank you." He replied, licking his lips, savouring her taste. She didn't want to move so she just stayed on his lap causing him to chuckle. YN squealed as he stood up and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Since you didn't want to move."

YN giggled as she placed her head in his neck. Their relationship had now reached other heights and she didn't want to change a thing.

Her bodyguard was now more than that .....

YN couldn't believe how beautiful Uruguay was. They were at the border of the country with Argentina. Being that Uruguay was a safer country, YN didn't need to hide her face or be cooped up in the apartment. For the two days, she had spent most of her time, getting supplies upon supplies, from canned foods to toiletries. Once they entered Argentina, they wouldn't stop travelling, only to get some sleep, a shower and hot food until they got to the south. The journey was going to be long but YN couldn't wait until she reached her father's island. She was now wearing her natural hair and had no false nails anymore. She also stopped wearing makeup and she felt so good.

Guillermo was sitting on the floor as he cleaned his weapons and packed his ammunition. Luckily enough, YN  had not been exposed to any type of gun fire but she knew that he had definitely killed some people for her protection because he often came back with bruised knuckles and a black eye a few times. Her growing attraction to him did not stop, it only intensified. He was leaning against the wall, dressed in a white vest top and his trousers. He was sharpening his knife when he finally looked up and smiled when he saw her looking at him. She was laid on her side on the couch in a soft flowing summer dress.

“Come here.” He said softly as he placed his weapons down and pushed them away at a good distance. YN got up from her seat and to where he was on the floor. She clutched on the sides of her dress as she lowered down onto his lap. Once she was situated, she wrapped her arms around his neck as his arms came to her neck.

"What's wrong mi amor?" He asked her as his thumbs caressed her back.

"I just wanted your touch." She replied as she pulled him up closer to her face which caused him to chuckle.

"All you had to do was ask baby." He mumbled as his lips tickled hers. YN bit onto her lip. No guy had ever made her feel the way Guillermo made her feel. So many times she had chucked it to the fact that they were in isolation together but the feelings she was getting for the man seemed far deeper. This man was risking his life for her protection. But it wasn't just a job anymore. He was doing this because he cared for her and he wanted to see her safe from danger. He knew that they were far from it but he could never be too sure with her father's enemies. The private island was heavily guarded and he knew getting her there she would be out of harm's way.

She dropped her head shyly onto his shoulder. Guillermo placed soft kisses on her skin. He hooked his finger onto the strap of her dress and brought it down. His beard tickled her skin but she enjoyed the feeling. His other hand began to inch her dress further up until his hand was underneath her dress and playing on the hemline of her underwear. YN bit onto her lip as she ran her hand through his hair.

"Please Guillermo." She asked him as she thrusted her hips forward softly onto his fingers. He placed his forehead onto hers as he pushed her underwear to the side and began to rub on her clit. She moaned as her eyes fluttered close.

“Tell me what you want love.” He whispered into her ear as he inched one finger into her.

“I want to feel all of you.” She whispered to him which caused him to groan softly. He pulled down the rest of her dress so that it pooled onto her waist. He leaned forward as he captured her lips. He nibbled onto her bottom lip as he entered his tongue into her mouth. She whimpered as he began to finger her at a steady pace. His fingers were skilled and she could quickly feel her orgasm rising. Guillermo tore his lips away from hers and popped her nipple into her mouth. He yearned for the moment that she would be like this in his arms. He focused on all of the love faces that she made. The tremble of her lips and the scrunch at the corner of her eyes. He loved seeing the way her lips would shape to make those sweet moans that he enjoyed hearing.

"I'm going to cum." She moaned as she grabbed onto the fabric of his shirt and rode his fingers faster. His fingers curled and pressed onto her spot and the other squeezed her ass. "Fuck!" YN cussed as her walls squeezed his fingers, trapping them inside of her. She cried out his name as she exploded all around his fingers. He pulled them out and she took his hand and began licking his fingers clean as she stared deeply into his eyes. It was then when she felt his hardened length underneath the softness of her thigh. Guillermo took his fingers out of her mouth and replaced them with his tongue. He moaned against her lips as the taste of her invaded his taste buds. He stood up with her in his arms and walked to the bedroom with their lips still in contact. When he laid her down, stripping her clothes, his lips and hands were never far from the sweet spots. Guillermo stopped for a while to strip his clothing. YN took in all of his scaring and thought that he was beautiful anyway. He got onto the bed and in between her legs. Facing her beautiful pink pussy budding like a rose, he leaned down and ran his tongue up from her slit to her clit and he did it over and over.

"Oh my god." YN moaned as her eyes closed and she fell onto the bed. Guillermo ate her out like he had not eaten in days. He would pay close attention to her clit, sucking into his mouth and slobbering onto it. He thrusted his tongue into her core and wiggled it. It was all too much for her but she didn't dare pull away from him. In fact, she kept his head in between her legs.

"Oh fuck!" She squealed as her legs shook from her impending orgasm. Her eyes were beginning to cross as her whole body convulsed. Without any warning, she came into his mouth. But he didn't stop. It deepened his hunger. He gripped her thighs and continued licking her. Her clit was extremely sensitive and he used that to his advantage.

She struggled for air as she tugged on his hair and the sheets.

"Baby." She breathlessly let out as her third orgasm was triggered.

"Let it all out sweetheart.” He groaned, biting onto her inner thigh as he replaced his tongue with his fingers. Even though her mouth was wide apart, no noise came out but her cream coated her fingers. Determined to draw another orgasm out of her, he got onto his knees and held one of her legs apart as he thrusted his fingers into her faster and faster.

"Oh shit!" She exclaimed. "Fuckkkk! Papi wait!" She gasped as the strong urge to pee gripped her.

"I'm gonna squirt." She told him and tried to push his hand away but he wrapped his arm around her throat and looked into her eyes.

"Cum." He demanded. YN's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she splashed onto his fingers.

"Yeah, that's it. Make a mess." He told her as her thighs shook in the aftermath. He slapped her pussy which caused her to whimper. He hovered above her and she placed her hands onto his neck and brought him down to capture his lips. She moaned as the scent of her essence filled her nostrils. He held onto the calves of her legs as he dropped his bottom half so that his length was rubbing against her opening before he slowly entered into her and began to thrust at a steady pace.

He swallowed all of her moans. She felt so good. She was extremely wet and gushy. Every time he thrusted into her and pulled out, her cream coated his length. He groaned as she squeezed him tightly.

“So fucking wet. You’re taking me so well Princess.” He groaned as he pecked her lips. His words were turning her on. Hearing him being so vocal about made her smile because he was usually so quiet to the outside world.

"Fuck me harder Daddy." YN told him as she looked up into his eyes. She smirked as she saw his eyes darken. He laid down so that their chests were pressed together. He wrapped his hands around neck from the front and the back as he pounded into her harder and harder. He completely took her breath away. She had no words but she panted and held onto his arms, digging her nails into his skin.

"Is this what you want?" He huskily mumbled into her ear and then nibbled on her earlobe. "Me fucking you deep and hard like this."

"Yes Daddy! It feels so fucking good." She exclaimed. YN couldn't take it anymore but she wasn't going to give up now. "You're so fucking deep, I love it."

Guillermo sucked and nibbled on her skin, leaving marks where his lips touched. Her hands reached out gripping onto the pillows as his hands ran into her hair gripped on it as he fucked her harder and harder.

His thrusts were becoming sloppier and sloppier.

"You're going to cum baby? I feel you throbbing inside of me." She moaned seductively which caused him to grunt. She ran her hands down his back and squeezed his ass as she kissed all over his face as she rolled her hips. "Please cum." She whispered into his ear. "Please cum for me."

That was all it took for him to pull out and let his seed paint her thighs. As he came down, she wiped away the evidence and collapsed back onto the bed, completely sedated. Guillermo laid down beside her and placed a kiss onto her cheek. She turned around and kissed him.

"We leave in the morning." He told her which caused her to nod her head and then slowly but surely fell asleep …

—

Six men were circulating the apartment. They were all ready to enter the building. No words were spoken and as they nodded to each other and then began to walk closer to the entrance.

Three soft knocks came to the door and then a note was slid through the bottom of the door. Guillermo picked up the note and read it. Even though he should be panicked, he didn't need to worry. He had already packed the car, all he needed to do was wake up YN and leave. He put the silencer on the gun and enters the bedroom.

"Princess, wake up. We need to go now." He whispered urgently. YN was a light sleeper so when she heard his voice she got and put on her shoes. They walked hand in hand out of the apartment. Guillermo kept her behind his body as they slowly descended down the stairs. Just as they turned a corner, they were faced with a man in a mask. Guillermo placed the nose of the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. Effortlessly, he took out two other men.

They ran out of the car and he pushed her into the car.

"Hide." He told her. She nodded her head and laid on the floor of the cab of the truck.

Guillermo turned round and went back to the building. When he got back into the building. He found the rest of the men all standing there. He shot one of them through the back of his head which grabbed the other two's attention. One of them punched Guillermo's hand which caused him to drop his gun however he quickly recovered as he poked the man's throat with four fingers, breaking his larynx and crushing his windpipe. As the man struggled to breath, Guillermo bent down and grabbed his gun, shooting the man in the knee and as he fell, a bullet went through his forehead. From the corner of his eye, he saw the last man standing reach for his gun. Guillermo, being quicker, grabbed his knife and threw it. It hit him right into the chest and he collapsed. Guillermo walked up to the man and shot him in between the eyes and then pulled out his knife, wiping the blood on the dead body's clothes.

He walked back out into the car and knocked three times. "YN, it's me."

YN sat up and unlocked the door. Guillermo got in and sat in the driver's seat as YN made her way onto the passenger's seat. "Did you see anybody else?" He asked her.

"No." She replied. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." YN leaned forward and pecked his lips. "Let's get out of here."

Without anything further, Guillermo put the keys into the ignition and turned on the engine. As they drove away Jada interlinked her fingers Guillermo's as they drove away ….

A Year Later ...

YN had woken up that morning and felt like she needed a swim. But not in the pool in the backyard of the house, she wanted to be in the water of the ocean. She put on a simple black swimsuit and made her way out to the beach. It was still the dawn of day and the birds were chirping. She was finally at peace. After months of trying to escape the clutches of her father's rivals, she had finally arrived at the private island. There were a few locals who stayed on it to maintain the place and they had quickly become their friends.

She had become accustomed to the island life and preferred it more than anything. The only thing she didn't like was the fact that as soon she got there, her father demanded for Guillermo. He wanted him back in Mexico for another job. YN didn't want him to leave but she had no control over him because his contract was with her father and not her. They made love all day and all night before he left.

That was about seven months ago and YN missed him terribly. He would sneak phone calls to her quite frequently but it wasn't the same. She wanted to be in his presence. To feel him underneath her fingertips and to hear his voice first hand and not through a phone. Because she missed him, she started causing trouble for the personal security guards she's had since his departure. YN was on her fifth one and she didn't care for him. She would often run away from the home and disappear somewhere off the island for hours. This would cause her father to panic and she'd edge him on to fire them. None of them could match up to Guillermo so she saw no reason for them to stick around.

After her swim, the sun was now in the sky and she walked back to the house. The only people that lived there were her father, the staff and a few of the body guards. She knew that by this time, the house would be alive and buzzing with activity.

"YN!" Her father yelled from the living room as she entered through the kitchen door.

"Yes Dad?" She replied.

"Come here for a second darling."

She walked to the living room and before she could greet her father, she saw Guillermo sitting on the couch. He was leaning forward onto his knees with his fingers intertwined between them. She had to stop herself from running forward and jumping onto him.

"What's this?" She asked.

Her father sighed as he got up from his seat and approached her. "I know that on your journey here, you grew used to having Guillermo around and that it wasn't in my best interest to take him away from you when you had grown to trust him. I know you kept rebelling because you didn't like the other guards that I brought in for you. So I've asked for Guillermo to come back."

YN smiled softly. "Thank you." He kissed the side of her head.

"I'll leave you too to rekindle then. Breakfast will be in thirty minutes."

"Okay."

Once her father was out of sight and far away, Yn was quick on her feet to go to him. He embraced her into his arms and held her close. One hand was on the back of her head whilst the other secured around her waist.

"I missed you so much." She sobbed softly. His cologne engulfed her senses and it felt so good to be in his arms again. He pulled away, just enough to look into her eyes.

"I missed you too." He smiled softly which caused her to smile. "I wish I could kiss you right now." He mumbled. YN bit onto her lip as she felt the same.

"I feel the same way. We should go somewhere. I know a place."

"What time do you want to go?"

"After breakfast. I spend most of my time out of the house. Papa will know I'm with you so he won't question it much."

"That's fine with me."

YN stood on her tip toes and placed a kiss dangerously close onto the corner of his lips. Afterwards she ran away up to her room which caused him to chuckle. Guillermo truly missed her.

It was later on in the day after breakfast did YN and Guillermo leave the compound. They drove to an isolated spot far south from the house. YN directed Guillermo through the woods on a dirt road and eventually came off the road. The further they drove in, the clearer the sound of water became. Soon enough a small waterfall came into view.

"Wow." Guillermo mumbled.

"Beautiful right?" YN smiled as she looked at his awestruck face. She took off her seatbelt and opened the door. "Come on then."

Guillermo followed her action, getting out of the car and locking it behind him. He watched as she stripped down to her bikini and dived in. Her body surfaced and she pushed her hair away from her face.

"You're not going to join me?" She asked smiling whilst biting onto her bottom lip. He took off his shoes and rolled up the bottom part of his trousers. He sat on a rock on the edge of the natural pool and dipped his feet in.

"Come on. I want you in here with me." She said as she swam towards him and got in between his legs. He looked down at her. The water dripped down her chest, following the curve of her breast. He licked his lips as he smiled down at her. She placed her hands on his thighs, pushing herself up so that she was closer to his face. She pecked his lips once and then again, until it became a full blown make-out session. She placed her hands on his cheeks, loving the feel of his beard underneath her fingers.

"Come in with me." She mumbled against his lips. YN moved away from him as got up and began discarding his clothes. Once he had stripped down to his bare body, YN untied her bikini and threw it beside him. He entered the pool and pulled her close. YN wrapped her hands around his neck as he held onto her thighs and wrapped her legs around his waist. She placed her forehead on his as her hands played with his hair.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

"I don't want you to ever leave me." She mumbled as she looked into his light green eyes.

"I won't." His hand came to her upper torso as he steadied her for him to enter into her. YN gasped as she tightened her hold onto him. Her head fell onto his shoulder as she adjusted to his size and began to slowly move on him.

"I love you so much." He whispered. YN took his face into her hands and kissed him lovingly. Their lips moved against each other, moulding together perfectly. Nothing compared to how she made him feel .....

On their way back onto the compound, they could see commotion. People were frantically running around

"What's going on?" YN questioned, her voice coming out softly.

Before anything else could be said, someone came running towards them. Guillermo slowed down the car and rolled his window down.

“Sir! We've been ambushed!”

“By who?”

“I don't know but they've taken the house!”

A fun shot rang out and blood splashed onto Guillermo's face causing YN to scream at the unexpected event. The man fell onto the ground as blood came oozing out of his mouth. Without further thought, Guillermo put the Jeep into reverse.

"Baby." YN voiced worriedly as he drove off the main road that led to the compound.

"Everything is going to be okay. I got-." Halfway through his sentence, the side of the Jeep was struck on his side. The vehicle spun off the road and came to a crashing stop in the bushes. Guillermo has taken most of the impact. His head was slumped over the steering wheel as blood trickled down his face. YN sobbed as she took off her seatbelt and moved to check on him.

"Guillermo can you hear me?" She asked as she felt for his pulse. He groaned in response which meant that he was still coherent.

"I'm going to try and get you out okay?" She announced. As she reached over to unplug his seatbelt, her passenger door opened. She turned to face who the person was that had opened the door. For a second, she had thought someone had come to help. But that all changed when they harshly grabbed her and began to roughly pull her out of the car.

"NO! LET GO!" She screamed as she held onto the handle above the door and tried to kick the stranger. But he was too strong and because of the crash, she was quite weak. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screamed and continued to scream.

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? PLEASE!"

"GUILLERMO!" She cried for him as they dragged her out of the car.

Guillermo could hear her pleading screams and agonising cries. He tried to move but he couldn't. His eyes opened but things were blurred. He tried to call out to her but his speech came out slurred.

"YYY-NN. YN." His eyes stayed open long enough to see the mystery man throw her into the back of a van and drive away. That was all that he remembered before he gave into the pain and blacked out ....

Guillermo was loading his shot gun as he sat in his car. It was hidden in the bushes about half a mile away from the compound where they were keeping YN. After he woke up after passing out, he found out that the remaining Estes cartel had saved him from the wreckage and they had gotten a doctor to patch him up. Even though he was told to rest, he wasn't going to lay down until YN was back by his side.

So he went looking for answers. The streets weren't speaking to him as he was being nice. But he was running out of time and patience. After catching one of the members of the rival gang running his mouth about the ambush, Guillermo was able to torture the information of where they were keeping her.

Normally he would be at ease but he was being fuelled by rage. All sorts of images of them touching and hurting YN were blocking his vision. He placed the shotgun on the passenger seat and checked his assault rifle and his pistol. His knife was strapped safely onto his leg. Once he was ready, he opened the door and made sure that all of his weapons were on him before he left his car.

Two guards were patrolling the main gate of the compound. They were sitting in front of the black iron gate on some deck chairs sharing a blunt. Their guns were on their sides.

"Look at this bitch though. Her pussy is so good. All them fat lips be hugging my dick nice." One of the guards said as he was holding his phone showing his partner a picture of one of his many companions. The partner laughed as he let out a cloud of smoke.

"Can I get with her? I'm tryna see if your words hold weight."

"Ahaha! Of course you can man." He took the blunt from his partner and as he was putting his phone away, he caught sight of a figure walking towards them.

The first guard frowned. "Who the fuck is that?" He asked as he sat up straight with his eyes focused on the walking figure. The second guard followed the sight of his friend and saw the man.

"I don't know. We weren't expecting any visitors today." He said as he stood up and picked up his gun ready to shoot. It was pointed towards the figure.

"Hey!" Then the second guard shouted as he kept his gun up. "Hey! You're not allowed here!"

When they saw that the man wasn't slowing down, the first guard scrambled to his feet, grabbing his gun. But it was too late for any type of action from the men. A rocket was now flying towards them. Before they felt the impact of the rocket head, they screamed loudly. It was inevitable. The rocketed came into contact with the iron gate and exploded.

As the rocket exploded after making contact with the gate, he threw the rocket launcher onto the floor and he took his HK416 into his hands and began to survey the area through the eyepiece as he jumped over the burning bodies. Once he saw that the coast was clear, he walked through the courtyard and bust open through the front door.

YN could hear the commotion in the house. After the explosion echoed through the house she knew something was going down. She hoped that it was Guillermo coming for her but they were in the midst of the drug wars, it could be anyone from the rival gangs attacking the compound.

Her hands were tied behind her back and her mouth was duct taped so that she couldn't make any noise and bring attention to herself. As gunshots rang through the air, YN thought about how she could escape the predicament that she was in.

For the past three days, she had been weak because of the accident prior to being held captive. Now that her energy had been restored, she was able to see and think clearly. Her eyes darted around the room to look anything sharp that she could use to cut the ropes. And to her luck she found shards of broken glass on the floor just below the boarded up window.

"Bingo." She mumbled to herself as she sat up on the mattress. She got up and walked to the window. She then got down onto her knees and picked up the biggest and thickest piece that she could find. Using it as a knife, using the technique that Guillermo had taught her, she cut herself out of the ropes.

.

In the foyer of the mansion, Guillermo was going through the gang members like a warm knife cutting through butter. Whilst he had one man in a chokehold, he was fighting another who was trying to fight him with a knife. As the man swiped for his face, Guillermo ducked down and punched the man in the stomach. As he doubled down, Guillermo took his pistol from his side and shot him in the head. He then shot the man that was in his arms twice in the chest and let him fall to the ground.

As he was about to walk up the stairs, he felt a bullet hit his chest. His body fell to the floor and he groaned as he felt the pain of the bullet through his bulletproof vest. He turned his body so that he could see the feet of his shooter. He shot at his knees. The man screamed as he fell to the floor. Guillermo shot him through the forehead. He rolled around the corner as he took the bullet off from the vest. He took some deep calming breaths as he loaded his gun and took an assault rifle from a deceased body on the floor. He checked the magazine and saw that it was still quite full.

He could hear the shouting of the men as they looked for him. He heard them going up the stairs which was perfect for him. He quickly got up to his feet and ran behind them and began shooting. The bodies all fell to the floor but Guillermo was still on high alert so as he began to yell for YN, his gun was still high up in position as he looked around making sure that no one was coming for him.

"YN!" She heard her name being yelled. It took her a moment to register his voice. She sat up from her mattress and ran to the door and began to bang on it.

"Guillermo! Baby I'm in here." She screamed as she made as much noise as she could to draw attention to herself. She could hear his footsteps getting faster and louder.

"YN?" She heard his voice on the other side of the door.

"I'm in here. I can't get out." She said.

"There's a padlock on the door. Step back a bit, I'm going to shoot at it."

"Okay." She took a few steps back and she covered her ears as she heard the fast rounds of bullets hit the door. Soon after she heard him kick the door open. Without waiting, she ran and jumped into his arms and captured his lips. He groaned softly as he wrapped his hands around her torso and held her close. He pulled away and laid his forehead on hers looking down into her eyes.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" He asked as he placed his hands onto her face and looked for any type of bruising.

"I'm okay. They didn't do anything to me either than tie me up and put me in this room." She replied. "What about you?" YN asked as she noticed a black eye forming and that he was wincing a little bit.

"Don't worry about me." He gave her a small smile. "Let's get out of here." With that, he handed her his pistol and then took her hand into his.

As they made their way out, they scouted the rooms making sure that there was no one left. Guillermo walked into the kitchen and turned the gas stove on. Once they were outside and at a safe distance, Guillermo looked through the eyepiece to see his target of the stove through the window. He pulled the trigger and moments later, the house exploded.

They walked to the hidden spot where his truck was.

"How long did it take you to find me?" She asked him as they stood outside.

"Not long. It was just the journey that took long." He replied. He tucked her hair behind her ear. She truly wasn't harmed and that gave him so much relief. Just looking at her face he knew how much he loved this young woman. He didn't want to tell her but he had to. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" YN frowned slightly as her back straightened up in alertness.

"They got to your father." He said. There was no mincing of his words. From the beginning they had wanted her father. Even if they didn't get to him, they were going to get to him through her.

"What?" YN stumbled as tears began to cloud her vision.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered as he held her close.

"How?"

"Don't ask me to tell you.” He mumbled. YN buried her head into his chest as she cried for her father. He held her tight as her sobs vibrated through his chest. He wanted to take her pain away but this was something that she had to feel for her to heal. There was no way that he was going to tell her the gruesome details of what the gang did to her father. The details would scar her for life and he was not about to give her that trauma.

As she calmed down, he placed a kiss on the top of her head. She turned her head to the side whilst she was laying on his chest.

YN knew about the life that she was in but it didn't make it hurt any less. Her father had taken her in and loved her unconditionally. He loved all of his children equally and she never felt like he was neglectful. Even though he was ruthless in his business when it came to his family Rafael kept that personality in a box. The pain she felt of losing her father turned into anger.

"I'm going to kill them." She mumbled as she sniffed. "I'm going to kill them all."

Guillermo took her words in. He could hear the conviction in her voice. She meant what she said.

"And we will." he replied. He pulled away from their embrace and looked into her eyes. "I promise we will."

[got-svt]

it could’ve been you

summary: it’s jinyoung’s engagement party and you find yourself wondering what could’ve been if you had said yes to his proposal years ago.  pairing: park jinyoung x reader (+ some platonic!jackson x reader) genre: angst word count: 2076

part of my tales from the lakes series inspired by taylor swift’s champagne problems

__

Jackson had been kind enough to ask you to be his date for tonight. “As friends, obviously,” he quickly added once he noticed the panicked look in your eyes. He insisted, claiming that you needed a bit of extra support if you were to make it out of that party in one piece. Maybe he was exaggerating, but you knew he cared for you. So, as you rolled your eyes and lightly hit his chest at his antics, you agreed. Jackson clapped his hands together and gave you the biggest, most reassuring grin he could muster, “Great! I’ll pick you up at seven.”

You didn’t tell him, but you were grateful. 

Because as you stepped inside the lavish restaurant that Jinyoung had rented out for the occasion, you became vaguely aware that all eyes were on you. You smoothed out the non-existent creases on your most expensive outfit as you avoided their eyes. Jackson sensed your anxiousness and took your hand in his, leading you away from their judgemental gazes to a table where Yugyeom and Bambam greeted you with a smile.

“Yn!” Bambam engulfed you in a bone crushing hug, “I’ve missed you so much.”

You let out a breath as he released you from his grip, “I’ve missed you too.”

“We saw each other last week,” Yugyeom said, looking at you and Bambam in confusion, “what are you talking about?”

“A week is too long.” Bambam joked, gently bumping his hip into yours.

Yugyeom was about to open his mouth to retaliate when people started crowding around the large entryway, catching all of your attentions. All four of you make your way to where everyone else was, meeting up with Mark, Jaebeom, and Youngjae in the process.

“What’s everyone gathered around for?” You asked to no one in particular.

“The man of the hour has finally arrived.” Mark replied, but his eyes were elsewhere, and you couldn’t exactly blame him.

Jinyoung walked in, handsome as ever, hair swooped back and in a fitted black tux. All smiles, eyes crinkling as he looked around the room. Your heart skipped a beat at the sight before it clenched as memories of him dressing that way for you entered your memory. 

Beside him was the most beautiful woman you had ever laid eyes upon. You had never seen her in person before, only on a screen as she acted alongside Jinyoung in several of his dramas. You hated to admit it, but she looked more radiant in real life. The cameras did not do any justice to her already perfect skin, shiny dark hair, and adorable button nose.

You forced yourself to look away when everyone in the room called out for them to kiss.

That could’ve been you.

___

You had been there for him since day one. 

From the day his family moved into your neighborhood, into the house next to yours. He was the one to approach you first, to the shock of those you tell the story to. It wasn’t that Jinyoung was awfully shy or terribly picky, he just usually preferred his own company to that of others. But when ten year old him saw you at tumbling around in your front yard, something in him knew he had to talk to you.

You had been the one to encourage him to audition at JYP, recognizing his talent even before he did himself. You helped him practice in his bedroom, learning choreography and singing songs alongside him. And when you tackled him with a hug at the news that he passed the audition, warmth and happiness radiating from your body, he knew he loved you. 

You were the first person who was able to sneak into their dorms. It was almost midnight and you wore anything you thought helped conceal your identity: sunglasses, a mask, and a hat. He met you at the backdoor and immediately ushered you inside, introducing you to the people that would, alongside him, eventually be got7.  The members immediately loved you, which in turn only made him fall for you more. 

You were there at the front row during got7′s very first concert. A sign in your hand that declared your love for him. He spotted you in the crowd immediately, heart jumping as he read the sign, which caused him to stagger on some of the lyrics he was singing. You and him had been friends for years. What exactly gave you the courage to be the first one to confess, he never figured out. But he was grateful nonetheless when you met him at his dressing room with a kiss. 

You never would have thought that someday you’d have to watch him get married to someone else. 

___

Jinyoung never thought that you would actually come, especially given your history. Truth be told, the invite was more of a courtesy rather than an actual invitation. You were no longer lovers, now reluctant friends. If it had not been for the rest of the members, he would’ve lost contact with you altogether.

Still, his feet seemed to have a mind of their own when they lead themselves straight to you— skipping his family and friends. He tried to tell himself to turn back, maybe talk to his future mother-in-law instead. But it was too late, he now stood a few feet in front of you, hands in his pockets with a small smile on his features, “Hi.”

“Your bowtie is crooked.” 

“What?” He uttered out, eyes alight with confusion. 

You let out a small chuckle and pointed at the black fabric, “I would fix it for you, but you know—”

Jinyoung looked around the room to see some of the guests watching the both of you, quickly looking away once his gaze met theirs. His hands left his pockets to fix his bowtie, “Ah. I see. Thank you.”

You both looked down, as if the soles of your shoes had suddenly become a point of interest, completely unsure of what to say. The rest of the members always made it a point to no longer leave the two of you alone, for fear of tension and the unavoidable awkward silence. Yet here you two were, without Bambam, Jaebeom, or anyone else to save either of you. 

“What happened to us?” You asked once the silence became too deafening for you to bear.  It was never this hard for you two to hold a conversation, more often than not people would have had to physically restrain you from talking. Now, you couldn’t even look at each other in the eyes. “How— why did we end up like this?”

For a brief moment, quicker than a flash of lighting, his guard went crumbling down. For the first time in years, he let you see the effect you truly had on him. His tone was calm, but not devoid of emotion.  Jinyoung wanted you to hear the sincerity, the vulnerability in his voice, “You said no.”

____

Jinyoung had spent months preparing, but he always knew he wanted to propose. He rented out the restaurant you had your first date in, where you spent each and every one of your anniversaries. He brought a bouquet of your favorite flowers and bought a brand new suit. He asked help from his family, his members, even JYP himself. He spent several nights composing the perfect speech, sacrificing sleep for endless revising. 

But he should’ve known something was wrong when your hand slipped from his as he lead you through a slow dance. When you just picked at your favorite food instead of eating. When you could only give him curt replies to his stories and questions. His mother’s ring was in his pocket, but it started feeling unusually heavy. He assumed it was just his nerves getting the better of him. 

Jinyoung knew something was wrong when you stopped him from getting down on one knee. When you said no before he could even ask. 

____

“You never gave me a reason, you know?” 

It had been three years since he proposed to you, well, tried to. Yet he still couldn’t figure out what prompted you to say no. You had always been on the same page as him, in fact that was what he loved about your relationship the most. Were you just not ready? Or was it because you couldn’t handle being married to an idol? But he would’ve waited, and he was fine with keeping your relationship a secret. He may have even preferred it that way, and when you left him standing that faithful night, he began to question everything he thought he knew about the both of you. But that was years ago, all he wanted now was an answer. For you to give him one good reason.

“I still can’t.”

____

All the guests had gathered around the center of the room. Chairs and tables had been moved to the side for a makeshift dance floor. The string quartet began playing, the notes guiding Jinyoung as he lead his fiancee in the most elegant waltz. Their happiness undeniable as they glided across the room like they were always meant to dance with the other. Their eyes glued to each other, uncaring of the tens of people watching their every move. 

“That could’ve been you.” Yugyeom whispered, earning himself an elbow in the stomach from Jackson. He doubled over in pain before letting out in a strangled whisper, “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

But he was right, it could’ve been you.

The one who wore his mom’s ring on her left ring finger. The one he twirled around the room, earning everyone’s quiet swoons of adoration. The one who gripped his hand tightly as they become illuminated by the soft glow of the chandelier. The one whose picture he carried in his wallet. The one he whispered ‘I love you’ to as he ended the dance with a dip, drowning out the room’s applause with a kiss. 

It should’ve been you.

But you said no, and you could give neither him nor yourself a reason. Maybe you couldn’t handle the life that came with being married to someone like him. You weren’t an idol, nor an actress. You were an outsider and no matter how hard you try, you’ll never be in. Maybe you just weren’t ready to get married. You were so young when he attempted to ask. Maybe you didn’t want to get married at all. The thought of marriage hadn’t even crossed your mind until he started getting down on one knee. Or maybe you were just afraid. Afraid that you weren’t deserving of his love. Afraid that someone else would come along and sweep him of his feet.

And someone else did come along because here she was in front of you, wrapped up in his arms, blissfully unaware of exactly how lucky she was to be with him. 

“I should go.” You muttered, though it was directed at no one in particular, unsure if anyone had even heard. But Jackson did. 

“You sure?” He asked,  “Let me give you a ride home at least.”

“No, please, stay.” You protest, shaking your head furiously, “Enjoy the party. I’m sure Jinyoung will be looking for you later.”

“Yn—” Jackson protested, gripping your wrist to stop you from leaving. His gaze was intense, almost challenging. But you had known him long enough to grown immune. 

You try to shake his hand off, offering him a smile to convince him you were fine with leaving alone, “It’s okay, I’ll just take the train. Or get a cab”

He stared you down, eyes scanning your face as he searched for any sign of reluctance or uncertainty, but he eventually let out a sigh when he realized there was no stopping you. “Text me when you get home, yeah?”

You nod, reaching up to hug him before whispering, “Thank you.”

The rest of the members said their goodbyes with a hug, promising to see you soon. You knew they meant it. 

As you went to the exit, something in you begged you to turn around, to give one last look around the room before you left. And so you did, only to find Jinyoung already looking back at you.

“I’m sorry.” You mouth, unsure if he could even see it.

But he smiled, giving you a small nod before he turned to face his fiancee; turning away from you.

[pookapics]

Sugar, Butter and Flour - A CEO!Steve Rogers x Baker!Reader (Christmas Series) Chapter 1 ~ Opening up!

Summary: Steve Rogers is a Grinch, he pushes through the Christmas holidays with a smile for his young daughter, Sarah. The widower doesn’t enjoy the holidays and would rather focus on his work at the ‘Avengers Law Firm’ but with an upcoming ‘Christmas Wrap Party’ at the firm, his path becomes entwined with (YN) (LN), the owner of a small bakery who’s catering for the event and has managed to steal the heart of Steve’s young daughter. Will he fall for the young baker? Or will his bitterness toward the Christmas holidays and his grief keep him from finding happiness again during the ‘happiest time of the year’?

Warnings - Nothing! This is just fluff~ Reader and Steve do not meet in this chapter though!

Word count - 6,038

Masterlist - https://protectthelesbians.tumblr.com/post/189337379588/are-you-wanting-a-heart-warming-fan-fiction-just

________

YOUR POV

Opening up the shop in the mornings was the most stressful but rewarding part of your day. The hustle and bustle of the city contrasted the almost serene and homely atmosphere of the bakery. Smells of freshly baked buttery croissants wafted out of the door, leaving a scent trail for the hungry passerby to follow. Flour dusted in your hair and hands, which you quickly dusted off onto your apron before waving to fellow shop-owners across the street, to Mrs Crazinski, who owned the flower shop or Mr McCloud, who owned the traditional-styled butcher shop. The shops in this corner of the city were like a little community, hiding amongst the busy streets of New York in plain sight.

Picking up a piece of chalk, you started to write up the special ‘Sweet Treat Of the Day’ upon the chalkboard, the treat of the day was never the same, always coming up with something new and tasty for your customers to try. Sometimes you spent hours the night before testing and trying out new ingredients which would make people’s mouths water at just the name alone. Just as you were writing up the special, your tongue poking out of the side as you focused on the chalkboard, trying to write it perfectly when suddenly the door crashed open which made you drop the chalk piece to the floor with a squeak.

“MORNING!?” A flurry of auburn hair ran in, a yellow scarf wrapped tightly around their neck, it was your best friend Dot or Dottie as you called her sometimes, she was a highly rambunctious woman and your partner in crime. She helped you out on the ‘business’ side of your business, your focus was mostly on the treats themselves and baking “Morning Dot, nearly scared me half to death.” You teased and picked up the chalk piece you dropped and resumed writing up the new ‘Sweet Treat Of the Day’ which you wrote in soft cursive.

Dot scoffed and put her bag down and pulled off her scarf “So, what the special today (YN)?” She leant against the counter and watched as you put the chalkboard up in its rightful place, facing the door “Today’s special is cinnamon spiced apple pie bites.” Dot let out a face of pure delight “Oh my god those sound heavenly! I don’t know how you do it, (YN).” You giggled in response “I just bake with the heart, when I get the idea I run with it. Want one to take with you?” You knew the answer already and approached the dessert cabinet which held your freshly-made treats. Dot nodded happily as she watched you gently take one out of the cabinet and wrap it in festive paper, starting to ring her up on the till.

“Already in the festive mood I see?” She looked around the bakery which had tinsel and decorations littered around the place, Christmas lights strung up above over the sit-in area of the bakery as well. Flushing gently, you nodded “I like to get in the festive season, it makes people more cheerful.” Pushing the buttons on the cash register “And I like to make people feel happy when they’re in here, a break from all the stress out there.” Pointing where the sound of car horns was coming from and the general sound of traffic.

Smiling, Dot got out her purse “I think you always succeed at that, you could even make the grinchiest person smile I bet! So! How much do I owe ya?” Unzipping her purse, ready to pay. With a gentle ring, the total came up “That’ll be $3.50.” watching as your friend pulled out a five “Keep the change” Dot winked which made you laugh “Well! Aren’t you being rather generous?” cashing the 5 dollar note into the register, Dot snorting “What can I say? The holiday’s makes me feel generous!” The two of you laughing as you handed over the wrapped up treat in a small paper-bag. You turned your head suddenly when you heard your phone going off and then hearing the oven timer go off “Dot, be a pal and see who’s messaging me, I’m not letting these loaves burn!” You always put your phone to the side near the office, the kitchen and ovens needed your attention more than your phone did.

Scuttling back into the kitchen, grabbing your oven mitts and opened up the large oven and took out the trays on trays of beautifully risen bread loaves, each dusted golden on-top. As you took out the last tray, you could hear Dot squealing happily, which made you call out “Dot? You alright?” Leaving the bread to cool for a moment, going to check on your friend and go see what was going on. Poking your head round front, seeing your friend clutching your phone in her hands with an awestruck expression upon her face “Uhm Dot?” looking at her as she turned her head to look at you

“The Avengers Law Firm want you to cater for their Christmas party…”

You coughed on your own spit, shocked beyond belief.

‘THE Avengers Law Firm’ wants you to cater for them! YOU!?

“W-What?! No! You’re not being serious!” The law firm was notoriously wealthy, the clients were high-end officials, hell even politicians used the firm for their needs. You’d never catered for this big of a client, this was a big opportunity for the bakery and you couldn’t give up this big of a deal. Dot was as shocked as you were “You have to respond!” shoving the phone into your hands which were still covered in oven-mitts, you quickly shed the oven-mitts “How did they find out about the bakery!?”

You were shocked, how would a big law firm like the Avengers find out about your bakery? You stared at the email which was sent by a representative from the company, your eyes scanned through the email, picking out the important parts.

‘Dear Miss (LN),

I am a representative from the ‘Avengers Law Firm’ and hoping to start correspondences with you concerning an offer for your bakery ‘Fairy-Cakes Bakery’ to work with our law firm for a catering job for our annual Christmas party. This is the biggest event for our company and we wish to share the opportunity with your business. If you wish to further communications and start working with us on the event, email back and we can organise a meeting with a representative who can agree to the terms. Thank you and hope to receive a response shortly.’

Maria Hill

(Representative for ‘Avengers Law’)

You looked up from your phone “I-I don’t know how to email back?! What if I sound like an idiot!” Looking at Dot, who took the phone “Hey Hey! Calm down, I deal with business emails all the time, I can sort this out! You focus on opening up the shop! We can do this!” Dot reassured you, you nodded and flipped the sign around to say ‘Open’. You let out a deep breath “Okay… I can do this! We can do this! I’m taking this offer!” Dot cheered as she typed out an email as you turned the ‘CLOSED’ sign around to say ‘OPEN!’.

This morning was definitely one of the most eventful opening mornings for the bakery yet.

____________

Steve’s POV

I was up making myself some coffee, dressed in my shirt and trousers, my tie not tied yet. Still in the process of waking up and getting adjusted and enjoying the morning-time for a little bit before the rush of work began. Sipping my black coffee, I relaxed at the kitchen-counter and enjoyed the peace and quiet for a moment

“DADDY!” A loud squeal could be heard from upstairs, peace never lasts when you have a tiny child tornado in your house. I turned to watch the stairs as the sound of little feet padded against the floorboards upstairs, a little figure appearing at the top of the stairs. The little girl with golden curls, matching my hair perfectly, said hair covering her eyes a little so she used her forearm to push the hair away from her face, letting out a large cheesy grin. That cheesy grin made me smile “Morning Sunshine, careful going down the stairs remember!”

His little girl.

His Sunshine.

His Sarah.

Sarah held onto the banister and headed down the stairs carefully, watching her feet as not to tumble down the stairs, she hopped onto the landing when she reached the final step, she rushed over to where I was sitting at the kitchen-counter. Sarah climbed up onto my lap, she was dressed in her ‘Winnie the Pooh’ onesie as it was starting to get cold outside and I didn’t want her getting too cold in the night. I brushed my hand through Sarah’s hair and smoothed it back away from her face “How did you sleep sweetheart?” Wrapping my arm around my daughter’s waist gently, holding her safely on my lap as she looked up at me “I slept good, Daddy!” giggling and stared up at me, she had her mother’s hazel brown eyes.

Humming softly, I held Sarah close “You’re getting to spend the day with Uncle Bucky today! You excited?” I began to softly tickle her sides as she squealed “I love Uncle Bucky!” It was the weekend and of course I was still working on a case so I asked Buck to babysit her today, not that Bucky minded. He loved his niece to death honestly and would do anything for her.

Holding Sarah on my hip, I decided that breakfast needed to be sorted out “What do you want for breakfast, Sunshine?” he asked and watched as Sarah tried to decide “Strawberry Jelly on toast!” She pointed to the loaf of bread “I can definitely get that ready for you, Sunshine. Want some fruit as well?” Placing Sarah down as I went to get started on her breakfast, she nodded and waddle around and went to watch some morning cartoons as she waited for her breakfast patiently, plopping down in front of the TV.

Putting the bread in the toaster, I finished off my coffee and watched over Sarah as she watched ‘Sofia the First’ on the TV. I began cutting up a banana for Sarah’s breakfast on a chopping board, plating everything up as I waited for the toaster to pop up, sighing.

Sarah was 5 already, in Kindergarten and growing up so fast. Too fast for my liking. I didn’t want my little girl growing up so fast. It felt like only a few moments ago, I was holding her for the first time, her head dusted with soft golden hair, no doubt I was her dad. The toaster pinged as the bread popped up, grabbing it quickly, I spread the strawberry jelly on for her “Alright Sunshine! eat your breakfast at the table!” Seeing her scuttle to the kitchen table, meaning I wouldn’t have to watch ‘Paw Patrol’ for the 8th time in a row. Placing the plate of food down in front of Sarah “want juice!” Sarah squealed and looked up at me from her seat “What’s the magic word?” Quirking my brow and watching as my daughter giggled “Pwease!” I nodded and ruffled her hair, getting her some orange juice.

“Good Morning!” Bucky burst in, his leather jacket in the crook of his elbow, wearing one of his burgundy Henley shirts, his hair swept back into a bun to keep it off his face, he grinned as he heard the squeals of little Sarah “UNCLE BUCKY!!!” obviously excited to see her uncle again, strawberry jelly on her cheeks from her toast. Chuckling, I embraced Bucky “Ready to spend the day out with Sarah?” Bucky hugged his best friend for a moment “Of course! Me and Sarah are going to have the best time together today! Just the two of us!” Bucky grinned and rested his back against the fridge as I checked my phone, it was from Maria saying that the caterer agreed to a meeting.

But we only had one person who could go out of the business today to go meet with said caterer, we always preferred to have a pair meeting with collaborators. And since this was a bakery, we needed someone to test the confectionery before we signed anything for certain. That’s when the idea hit.

“Hey Buck, could you possibly do me a favour when you’re out with Sarah?” Asking Bucky, knowing that as soon as I mention who would be joining the two, he would not be happy “A favour? Want me to do a grocery shop too?” Acting sassy and quirking his brow, making Sarah giggle into her toast. Rolling my eyes, I continued “We’re hiring a bakery to cater for our Christmas Party but we need someone to test out their goods before we sign anythin-” Bucky interrupted “I’m sold! You know I have a sweet tooth Bud, and so does Sarah. We’re perfect for the job aren’t we?” Sarah squealed and nodded “Yep yep!” finishing her toast.

“But you’ll have to go with someone who’ll sort out the business part so… I’m asking Sam to join the two of you.” I saw Bucky’s face drop, him and Sam had a rivalry of sorts, like siblings which keep trying to outwit each other, I always had to break apart any scuffles they had with each other, flashbacks to thanksgiving dinner last year made me shiver.

“NO!”

“YES!! UNCLE SAMMY!!”

Bucky looked betrayed at Sarah’s exclamations “But don’t you want a day with your favourite uncle?” He pouted towards Sarah, watching as she pondered up what to say back “No! I want to spend the day with my favourite uncles!” Bucky knew he couldn’t fight Sarah on this, not when he knew that if he said no, she’d pull out what he called the inherited ‘Steve Rogers Puppy Dog Eyes’. Anyone and everyone lost to those eyes.

“Fine… Bird-brain can come with.” Bucky was not impressed but Sarah wanted him there and Steve needed this for work. I smiled at him and nodded “Thanks Buck.” texting Sam that the plan was a-go and to get to his apartment as soon as possible. Watching as Bucky wiped Sarah’s face clean with a napkin since she had jelly all over her face “Well sunshine, you should go get dressed since Uncle Sam’s on his way!” Sarah nodded and scurried off to go get changed, she was quite independent for a kindergartner and liked getting dressed herself, together they usually laid an outfit out for her the day before just to make it easier for her in the mornings

“She’s grown up so fast…” Bucky sighed and watched as Sarah climbed up the stairs on her own “I remember her first taking her steps, it was on your birthday.” looking over to me, I remembered that day, I cried when she took her first steps “She’s still my baby, she always will be…” sighing as I heard Sarah giggling upstairs to herself. Hearing the front door open, I turned my head to see Sam walking in “Morning Steve! Sarah getting ready?” He wiped his shoes off on the doormat “Yeah she’ll be down in a sec.” Still sat at the kitchen-counter as I watched Bucky and Sam catch eyes, it felt like a stand-off.

Like cat versus dog.

Sam cleared his throat “Bucky.” Bucky frowned and glared at Sam “Samuel…” I just rolled my eyes “Can you two behave for Sarah’s sake?!” I honestly sounded exasperated, annoyed by the two of them. They both glared at me for a moment before they sighed, crossing their arms “Fine. We’ll behave!” still glaring at each other slightly but their eyes softened when Sarah came waddling in, wearing a cute pink polar bear jumper with a dungaree dress “Uncle Bucky! Can you help me with my hair!!” Holding pink hair ties, brush and a bow in her hands, needing help with her messy blonde hair. Bucky was immediately by Sarah’s side and had her on his lap, brushing out her hair and pulling her hair gently into two ponytails, sliding the bow into her hair as well “There! Now let's get your jacket and shoes!” Sam grinned and grabbed Sarah’s jacket and shoes for her “Hey Sarah-bean! Come get your jacket and shoes!” He called out, watching as Sarah rushed to cuddle Sam’s legs, happy to see him.

I watched my two best friends help Sarah with her coat and shoes, I grabbed Sarah’s backpack for her, it was a paw patrol backpack and was her favourite “Here you go Sunshine, you have fun with your uncles alright?” smiling and holding my arms out for a hug, Sarah launched herself into my arms “I will Daddy! Have fun at work!” She hugged me happily, I kissed her forehead gently as I watched her pull away and walk off with Sam and Bucky. Waving them off at the door, I turned to check the clock, I needed to be in work by for an hours time for a meeting with a client.

That was definitely enough time to make myself another coffee.

________________________

BACK TO THE BAKERY~~

YOUR POV

It had been a few hours since I had Dot write up that email response for me, Maria had gotten back to me and said that the representative would be out to the bakery in the next couple of hours to discuss the catering job and to test some of the bakery’s treats. You would be lying if you said you weren’t nervous about a company official coming into your small bakery, you were scared they’d rip into you. You kept serving up to your customers, chatting with your regulars who came in a lot when they were in the area, packaging up their orders. Christmas music softly playing in the shop, getting everyone into the Christmas spirit slowly “Here you go Barry! I hope your wife enjoys the cheesecake!” Handing the bag of treats over to Barry, who nodded “Its wouldn’t be a date night without one of your cheesecakes, (YN)!” He put a tip in the jar and took the bag, walking out of the shop happily. Waving him off, you put the cash in the register and heard the timer go off, that would be the shortbread.

Heading back into the kitchen, sliding on your mitts, you started to pull out the trays of baked shortbread cookies, the buttery smell wafting into your nose delightfully. The bell which notified when a customer entered went off, you turned your head “I’ll be there in just a moment!” you called out and put the cookies on a rack to cool off, quickly dusting caster sugar on-top of them before leaving them to cool. Walking up to the front, you took off the oven mitts and stuffed them into the string of your apron, you could hear 3 different voices. You entered the front of shop and now could match 2 of the 3 different voices to faces. There were two tall men, they had a sense of tension between them which was palpable, you held back a giggle but then heard a soft voice from just below the counter speak out “Uncle Sam! Uncle Buck! Look at all the caaaake!” Peeking your head over the counter, you came face to face with a big pair of hazel brown eyes and golden hair “Hello there!” you spoke softly, the little girl giggled “Do you make all of these cakes?” Smiling, you nodded “I do! I make everything fresh everyday!” your words made the little girl’s eyes widen “Really?!” You couldn’t help but smile at this little girl, she was just a bundle of sunshine.

Glancing up to the two guys “What can I do for you gentlemen?” Asking them, resting my elbow against the counter, watching as one of them stepped forward “Hello I’m Sam Wilson, I’m partly here on business, I’m a representative for ‘Avengers Law’.” You gulped and looked at him “I-I see.” you tried not to stutter but failed, Sam chuckled “But as you can see, I’m also here with my niece, she’s our taste-tester.” The little girl giggled at that, the other guy who was with them picked her up and held her on his hip with ease “I’m the other uncle, Uncle Bucky as you probably heard.” he shrugged his shoulders.

You nodded and slightly relaxed, realising there wasn’t a heavy pressure being placed on you right now “Shall we start with the taste test?” you quirked a brow which made the little girl nod fervently, excited to try some sweet treats “Now what’s your name, little taste-tester?” Asking the little girl, who looked at you happily “Sarah! What’s your name?” smiling you responded “Nice to meet you, Sarah! I’m (YN)! Would you like to pick some things for you and your uncles to taste test?” Little Sarah nodded quickly and wriggled out of Bucky’s arms so she could walk over to the dessert case, her little chubby hands on the glass as she stared at the pure variety of sweet treats, never seeing this many desserts in one place before.

Bucky laughed and watched his niece stare at the sweet treats in wonder “This place is like Willy Wonka’s factory!” he noted which made you and Sam snort “I get that comment a lot!” Glancing to Sarah, who was still trying to decide on what to test “So how long have you guys been open?” Sam asked and walked up to the counter “We’ve been open for a whole year actually! I’m happy that my little business is thriving!” giggling softly and dusting off your apron. Sam and Bucky nodded and smiled, Sarah called out “I’VE DECIDED!” She called out and was pointing at the cabinet, you walked over “Let's get your order ready then! What do you like the look of?” Doting on Sarah, picking up your kitchen tongs and taking out the cakes and desserts which Sarah chose and plated them up, putting them on the counter “Shall I bring these to a table?” Sam and Bucky agreed and herded Sarah over to a table, sitting down, the Christmas lights hung from above gave certain spots on the floor and table a soft red and green glow. You carried the plates over to the table and placed them down, giving each of them a fork and spoon to use.

Sarah had chosen 3 desserts.

Her first choice was a British classic, a slice of Victoria Sponge cake, the sponge itself was soft and moist with the top dusted in powdered sugar for decoration. The jam or jelly in the middle was a simple strawberry jam sandwiched together with a smooth buttercream, the two layers of the cake gently sandwiched together but not hard enough for the cream and jam to spill down the sides of the bottom layer. You hoped to introduce a British classic to your customers and possibly introduce a new favourite cake into their lives.

Her second choice was a donut, one of your late-night creations that you came up with. The donut itself was the perfect thickness, not too thin and not too thick. The flavouring was the special part of the donut, it was caramel apple flavoured. Inside the donut, there was an almost apple-pie filling inside with a caramel sweetness peeking through which would sate any sweet-tooth’s cravings.

The last choice Sarah made was a cookie, this was a limited edition Christmas cookie, it was created when you remembered the sweets and candy you ate growing up. The soft and still warm cookie was flavoured and inspired by ‘Terry’s Chocolate Orange’, you remember opening one of those around this time of year, sometimes getting them in your stocking. The chocolate bits in the cookie were melty, oozing when you broke the cookie apart, the chocolate infused with an orange zest and flavour. You hoped this would feel nostalgic to some people and make people smile.

You sat back and watched them take bits of your desserts, awaiting a reaction from them, most of your customers left with their desserts so you never got to see their reaction to trying out your creations so you were excited to see Sarah, Bucky and Sam’s reactions. Sarah’s little face lit up, she was digging into the Victoria sponge cake happily with her fork clutched in her tiny hand, crumbs all over her cheeks. Bucky on the other hand, had his hand on the donut and the filling was covering his lips and dripping a little bit into his facial hair which made you snort a little. Sam was trying out the cookie and was in awe when he broke apart the cookie and saw the gooey chocolate dribbling from the cracks when you pulled it apart. You bit your nails, watching them with a smile on your face, swaying to the soft sound of Christmas music playing.

“You like em?” asking the three of them who nodded, swapping around the desserts so they’d all get a taste of each of the chosen desserts, you giggled “I’m glad!” Bucky turned his head “They’re just… wow!” He wiped the filling from his facial hair with his finger and licked it off. Sam nodded “For once in my life, I agree with Bucky!” Bucky glared at Sam’s comment, who just smirked at him in response. Sarah had her mouth full of cake, cheeks covered in crumbs, legs swinging back and forth on the chair. Sarah finished her mouthful “They’re scrumptious!” You snorted a little, so did the boys, not expecting that word to come out of her mouth “Well I’m glad I get your seal of approval!” using your apron to gently wipe the crumbs off of her flushed chubby cheeks, she squealed “that tickles!” You finished wiping her face clean of cake crumbs “There.”

You turned to Sam “Has the taste test changed whether or not you want to work with me?” You were much more relaxed so joked around with them, Sam laughed “It definitely solidified us wanting to hire you for the catering job! Those were delicious!” He reached into his satchel “I suppose the fun stuff has to end for a little, boring business stuff now.” You nodded and glanced to Sarah “I have a small reading nook over there, I’m talking business with your Uncle Sam now.” Sarah nodded happily and dragged Bucky with her to go read, he was happy to be escaping the business stuff.

Sam brought out the paperwork to go over, you remembered what Dot had told you and knew what to look out for in a contract, Dot had a business degree so you trusted her advice. Flicking through the paperwork, eyes flickering across the page and taking in all the legalities of the job and the pay you would be receiving for said job. You’d only catered for weddings so you weren’t used to the extensive contract which was placed in your lap but you got through it and agreed to any terms and asked about anything that raised concern. And with a simple signature, you’d made the deal with ‘Avengers Law’, officially catering for their event. You even shook hands with Sam, officiating the deal.

Sam called over Bucky and Sarah “Business talk is over! You guys still up for seeing Frozen 2?” Asking Sarah, who’d been pestering Steve about wanting to go see it but suddenly she pouted “B-But I wanna stay here with (YN)!” She whined, the boys didn’t know what to do but you stepped in “Hey kiddo, going to the movies sounds fun! I wish I could go see Frozen 2 but I have to work! And hey, if you ask your daddy or your uncles, you’re welcome to come back here sometime and bake with me?” You suggested, kneeling on the ground and getting down onto her level, not towering over her. She gasped “Really?!” excited at that idea, you nodded and smiled “But only if you’re good and go have fun with your uncles!” She nodded and rushed over to stand with Sam. Bucky helped you to your feet “You’re really good with kids.” he noted, you smiled “I get a lot of customers with children, I learnt a few things.”

Bucky smiled slightly “Can we take something to go?  I think Sarah’s dad definitely needs to try one of these treats.” You smiled “Of course! What kind of flavours does he like? He got a sweet-tooth?” Bucky shook his head “He prefers savoury or deeper things like dark chocolate I suppose.” he tried to explain, but even with just a tiny description, you had a few things picked out already “I have a few things in mind.” walking back to the dessert cabinet, you picked out a few things “Here’s a bourbon and maple syrup donut, a personal favourite of my adult customers.” Bucky nodded as you wrapped it up in the festive wrapping paper, humming Christmas songs to yourself faintly “Do you think Sarah would like something for later? An after-dinner treat for being a good girl?” Sarah’s ears perked up at that “Can I Uncle Buck? Uncle Sam?” Looking between them for reassurance, they both nodded “Pick something, kiddo.” She rushed back up to the cabinet and pointed to the gingerbread men “One of those, please!” showcasing her manners and politeness “Thank you for being so polite, Sarah! I’ll get that right for you Little Miss!” Using your tongs to take one gingerbread man out and wrapped it up in the festive paper which made Sarah smile “The paper has candy-canes on it!” she squealed and peered up at the counter from where she stood “Indeed! Its coming up to Christmas after all!” smiling widely at the little girl who then spoke “How did you know I’ve been a good girl today?” tilting her head. You smiled faintly and knew exactly what to say “Well. A jolly man in a red suit told me you’d been a very good girl and only good girls get dessert after all!” Seeing her little face light up at that  “Santa told you I’d been good!?” she squealed and bounced up and down “Yes he did! Continue being a good girl for your uncles okay?” You winked, she nodded happily as you handed over the wrapped gingerbread man to her, giving Bucky the wrapped donut. Bucky reached for his wallet “How much do I owe you?” he opened it and prepared to pay when you held your hand up “Its on the house! Please just make sure you guys enjoy your day and the rest of the holidays.” smiling, watching as Bucky put his wallet away “Thank you Miss (YN), I hope you have a good day.” He walked towards the door as Sam followed, Sarah began to wave “Bye Miss (YN)! I’ll ask my daddy about coming to bake with you!” She waved and held her gingerbread man in her other hand, walking out of the shop with them.

“Bye! Have a nice day!” Waving goodbye to them, sighing softly, that little girl really did make you smile, she was just so darn sweet. Watching out the window, watching as Sarah happily skipped down the street, heading to their car. Turning away from the window, you headed round back to grab the trays of shortbread, which were probably fully cooled by now, preparing them for display. Hearing the bell go off again, you knew it was a customer, probably a regular in for their usual coffee and cake.

And you couldn’t help but smile even wider when you chatted with them, still buzzing and full of happy giggles from spending time with little Sarah, she really was a little ray of sunshine.

__________________

Steve’s POV

Arriving back from work, I parked in the apartment building’s secure parking lot before heading up, briefcase in one hand and my phone in another. Opening the front door gently, I called out “Guys! I’m home!” Wandering in, I came to find Sarah asleep on Bucky’s chest, who two was passed out, she was in her Elsa dress, obviously went to see Frozen 2 today as planned. Sam was in the kitchen, sipping a coffee “Hey man, yeah she crashed immediately after dinner, her face was nearly in her spaghetti.” Sam had cleaned the dishes clearly and left them to air dry on the rack “Thank you for today, so did you go to the bakery?” Sam nodded “Steve, the owner is extremely kind and their food is divine, you made the right choice choosing them to cater for the Christmas party.” I smiled “Good. What did Sarah think?” I asked, Sarah’s sweet-tooth was always the best judge “She loved everything placed in front of her but she loved the owner more, she was begging to stay and bake with her.” He chuckled softly, I smiled, “Well I trust my daughter’s opinion on sweet things.”

Sam smiled “Shall we get them to bed?” Pointing to the sleeping figures of Bucky and Sarah, both cuddled on the couch sleepily. Grinning, I wandered over to the couch and picked up Sarah, holding her to my chest gently and trying not to jostle her “Let's get you to bed, Sunshine.” carrying her up the stairs to her room. The walls of the room were painted with pictures of animals and mythical creatures, I’d painted her room for her when she was very little and I was on paternity. Memories flooding back to me as I picked up her onesie, helping her out of her Elsa dress gently and putting on the onesie, had to make sure she was kept warm throughout the night. New York winters can get very cold, especially for little ones like Sarah. After gently zipping up the onesie, I placed her down into her princess bed, pulling the covers over her and sliding her favourite teddy bear since birth, Bucky Bear under her arm. She immediately cuddled into it, I kissed her forehead softly and switched on her star night-light, quietly leaving her room, making sure the door was cracked open a little “Goodnight my Sunshine…”

I left her to sleep, walking down the stairs to see Sam trying to lift Bucky “I’ll give him a lift home, I can bring him back tomorrow to collect his car.” I nodded and helped Sam get Bucky to the lift “By the way, the baker picked something out for you, something to fit your tastes. Its on the counter.” Sam waved goodbye as the lift descended, taking Sam and Bucky to the parking lot, leaving me standing there in my apartment. I turned to the kitchen and found the little package on the counter, decorated in festive candy-cane wrapping, I wasn’t one for the holidays but the details of the packaging made me chuckle gently. Unwrapping it carefully, I pulled out a donut, I quirked a brow in curiosity and leant in to take a gentle bite.

Flavours burst into my mouth with a single bite, the faint sweetness of maple syrup coating my lips but it was nicely complemented with the smokey and deep taste of bourbon, I’d never tasted a donut like this before. Again, I didn’t usually enjoy sweet things, but the balance of the sweet maple syrup and the deep bourbon liquor made me go in to take another bite. This baker, the one who seemed to enchant his best friend and his daughter, definitely knew how to pick out a treat for those who didn’t like things ‘too sweet’.

I thought to myself for a moment, it entered my head as I took the final bite of the donut ‘I guess I just might have to go meet this baker and buy another one of these’ and as I thought, I turned to stare out my window. And as I did, the first snow for December began to fall gently, the snowflakes floating past the window-glass and cascading down, refracting light like shimmering glitters.

The Christmas season had officially and properly begun.

END OF CHAPTER 1 ------------------------------------------------

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[holykillercake]

Coin Stealer

Trafalgar Law x psychic!Reader

word count: 3.3k

summary: Law does not believe that you can see dead people, so you crochet him the strange-looking beanie of the strange-looking man that walks around the Polar Tang. 

highlight: ¨I´ll give a chance to the uniform, and I´ll only address you as Captain when you behave as Captain.¨

warning: You are entering Trafalgar´s room. 

notes: Bello, ma people! This is the 3/3 part of a lovely anon request in which the s/o makes them a thing with crochet! This time is Dr. Heart Stealer edition!! I really enjoyed writing this, and it got a little long, but I did not want to cut off important things. Anyway, I hope you like it!

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞!

¨Hey, Bepo! Have you seen Law?¨

¨Y/N! I don´t know where he is... I´m sorry.¨

¨Oh, it´s ok!¨ you patted the mink´s shoulder, giving him a warm smile. 

You were never a big fan of his constant apologetic personality, but you couldn´t deny that you missed it during your time apart from the crew. 

The Heart Pirates had parted ways a long time ago when your Captain decided that the time to put his life-long plan in action had finally come. The crew split into three parts, and each one followed a different path. 

After the sudden disappearance of the Strawhats, the Paramount War, the Rocky Port Incident, and Law obtaining his title as a Warlord of the Sea, you were the first to depart, remaining in Sabaody Archipelago, waiting for the owners of the Thousand Sunny to return. You fought alongside a fishman called Hacchin, a weird guy that reminded you of Black Leg and other allies to protect the ship. 

Next to leave was Law, who sailed to Punk Hazard, where he formed a partnership with a crazy scientist bastard. Then the rest of the crew went on their own towards the island where you would meet once the plan was concluded.

The trajectory was not smooth by any means, but you did it, all of you. And now you feasted along with the Strawhats, celebrating whatever it was that you did not understand. Maybe they were like that, or maybe they didn't understand the risks you would take from now on. 

Anyway, the crew seemed to be in need of some music and fun, and you were too busy looking for your Captain to care about that.

In the midst of the evening breeze, the crackling of the fire, and the barrels of beer crashing in celebration, you saw the answer you were looking for.

Of course.

¨If I didn´t love you...¨ you growled as you made your way out of the island to reach the Polar Tang. And let´s face it, that was a detour.

You went straight to your room, where Law would probably be sipping coffee, napping, or just running from the crowds. And just like you, it has been months since he stepped on his own ship and slept in his own bed. 

So maybe you could cut him some slack. 

However, as you approached the room, there was no smell of coffee. No smell of coffee and no light snoring. Just a stillness carried with heavy emotions and your boyfriend, sitting in the dim light holding tight the crochet piece you gave him years ago. You swayed in place, expecting that thing you made to provoke him to be at the sea bottom.

¨Wondering why I kept this?¨ he asked. 

¨Not really.¨ you replied. ¨But I am surprised. Am I disturbing?¨

¨You never do.¨

You jumped on the bed, sitting beside him and resting your head on his shoulder.

¨YN-ya... do you know how he...¨ the question struggled to come out.

¨Peaceful.¨ 

¨Hm.¨ he nodded.

¨I don´t like when he smiles, though. It creeps me out.¨ His body bounced slightly as he joined you in a chuckle. 

¨Remember when you gave me this?¨

¨Of course, you almost kicked me out of the ship!¨ you giggled with the memory.

¨You were really annoying back then.¨

¨Hey! Objection!¨

¨Objection rebuffed.¨ he smirked and moved on the bed, pulling you to lay down on his chest.

You told him to shut up before cuddling in, not falling asleep immediately. None of you said much. Instead, you enjoyed the calming and comfortable silence of each other´s company. 

It has been a while since you had that. 

You remember every moment of your early days as a Heart Pirate. You and Law hadn´t started on the best terms, but he needed you - well, your skills - and you were given a good deal. 

The pivot of your history together began on a chain of coincidences. The first one being both of you docking on the same island. The second one was him finding a rare coin for his collection, the same one you would later slip into your pocket. 

You wandered around towns using the beautiful art of distraction to get anything you wanted from anyone. Watches, necklaces, wallets, and, well, coins? It was all he had in his pocket, and since it was a cute one, you decided to keep it. 

Some called you a thief. Some called you a burglar, and some may even have called you a big son of a bitch. But the thing they all had in common was that none of them knew exactly who they were calling those names. 

The thing is, you messed up the first rule and made eye contact with him. Well, it was more of you not being able to take your eyes off of him. He stood out in the crowd, and you had gotten cocky. So when he later found out about the missing coin, it did not take him long to connect you to it. 

A lot of things went through his mind. He felt frustrated because his Haki failed him, annoyed for the trouble he would have going after you, and intrigued by the touch so light he did not feel at all. 

Or that is what he kept telling himself. 

Yes, he was interested in someone with skills like yours, but maybe there was something else he would not admit. The way you looked at him as if you had deciphered his entire life and found the missing pieces of his puzzle. Even the ones he tried to hide. 

That night he went out for your head. Or better, your heart, literally. 

You were enjoying the comfort of your hotel room, eating some snacks, and playing with your new commemorative coin when he materialized himself by the bed. You instantly knew something was about to go down.

Oh, fuck.

That situation got pretty tense pretty quickly, both ends asking things, and no one willing to offer any answers. The stakes were high, glares cutting the air like blades. It did not help to ease the mood when in the sway of his hand your heart popped out of your chest. 

Long story short, his plan was never to drag you to the Polar Tang. Law wanted you to go willingly, joining his crew in exchange for your heart. However, the unfortunate variable he did not consider in the equation was that you would not go down without a fight. So by the time he reached the ship, he noticed the gentle fresh breeze ruffling his hair. 

You know, since his hair was usually covered by the hat. 

...

THE FREAKING HAT!

The next morning when he returned, you were waiting for him with a satisfied smirk bending your lips, the hat on your head, and the coin dancing between your fingers. 

At some point, you had stolen it, and once again, it passed unnoticed by him. That was not a good night for the Heart Pirates. And that was also the night Trafalgar Law realized a couple of things. The first, he needed you on his crew. And the second, you were going to be the death of him. Or maybe the aneurysm of him, he would not give you such credit. 

¨You´re late.¨ you said, amused, and his grip tightened around the sword.

¨What´s your name?¨ he repeated the question you dodged several times during your last encounter. 

¨What´s with the dog?¨ you pointed at the tall, white polar bear wearing a uniform. Law pursued his lips, breathing heavily through the nose.  

¨I am B-¨

¨Bepo-ya don´t talk to he-¨

¨Your name is Bepoya?¨ you ignored the man, bumping into his shoulder as you walked towards the mink ¨Hi, I´m Y/N! Nice meeting you.¨  

The polar bear looked back and forth at you and his Captain, not knowing how to behave in this situation, so he apologized and stepped farther back. 

¨Alrighty, now that we are all introduced, shall we go?¨ 

¨What?¨

¨Come on, Law, focus.¨ you snapped your fingers multiple times, teasing him. ¨You came here to pick me up, right?¨

¨No. I want my hat back.¨ He tried to grab it, but you ducked in time, holding the hat on your head with both hands. It was so soft. 

¨How about a trade? The coin for the hat.¨

¨How about my hat for your heart? Do this, and I won´t...¨ his words died in his mouth as he clutched his pockets. 

¨Looking for this?¨ You held your heart, wrapped in a cold and gelatinous box that you retrieved when you bumped into him minutes earlier.

How could you fool him again? He kept seeking answers that explained why it was so easy for you to outwit him, and his expression showed. 

¨You´re getting close, Law. Put your little trash can to work.¨ you tapped your temple, smiling mischievously at him. 

¨YN-ya, you know I can kill you, right?¨

¨Yeah, but you won´t.¨

¨How do you know?¨

¨I got a sixth sense for these things.¨ 

The rest of the conversation did not take long to come to an end. Amid sarcastic comments and threats to each other's lives, what should have been the pinnacle of the moment became a random passage in the Heart Pirates´ logbook.

¨So, YN-ya, do you want to join us? You´re gonna have to wear a uniform and address me as Captain.¨

¨I´ll give a chance to the uniform, and I´ll only address you as Captain when you behave as Captain.¨

Law sighed, giving himself a carotid massage ¨Ok. Let´s go.¨

He walked a few steps ahead of you and Bepo, wondering why he spent so much effort on an arrogant thief that wouldn't even call him Captain.

You quickly became friends with the polar bear, even apologizing for calling him a dog. He strangely apologized for your apologies, culminating in what would almost make the notorious Surgeon of Death suffer a stroke.

¨What the hell is that?!¨ you shouted when the Polar Tang entered your field of vision ¨That´s not a ship!¨

What if I am claustrophobic?

The ya thing is a schtick?

Death? That´s a little borderline controversial for a doctor.

Trafalgar more like Trafraude!

On occasions like that, Law wondered how peaceful and quiet would be the sixth level of Impel Down. From a current perspective, your initial interaction served as a vaccine, creating the necessary antibodies Law would need to deal with future pirate alliances. 

The crew got attached to you very quickly. Your adventurous spirit, your stunts, and street trades fascinated them. Losing bets against you seemed acceptable, your card tricks and the thing of guessing the numbers they thought was like fuel for a good day at work.

Law didn't seem to mind that much. After all, you wouldn't get him on his nerves if you were busy with them. However, one day, you let slip something that caught his attention. 

¨YEAH! That´s exactly what she looked like! How did you do this?!¨ 

Law heard Shachi´s roar, followed by a wave of surprised ´ooh´s coming from the kitchen, where the majority of the crew hunched around the dinner table. 

The doctor leaned against the door, silently observing what could possibly be more important than keeping the ship working. He had been drowning in files all night, and now he decided to have a coffee break. That mess early in the morning did not make him happy. 

No one seemed to be too intimidated when he cleared his throat, announcing his presence. Everyone greeted him with smiling 'good mornings' and turned their attention back to you.

 ¨What is going on here?¨

¨Captain did you know Y/N can see dead people?!¨ 

The coffee left a bitter aftertaste on his mouth.

¨What?¨

¨Yeah, Captain!¨ Shachi yelled on Law´s face, earning a death glare ¨She just described my mom!¨

¨Really, Y/N-ya? Now you´re a magician and a psychic?¨ he asked, taking the seat across from you. 

¨The perks of being me.¨ you shrugged. 

¨Do you see more dead people here?¨ 

Yes

¨No. But you sound a little skeptical, Law.¨ 

It was way too early for that discussion, but your biological clock didn't seem to care. Whenever Law came with his teasing, you would be ready to strike back.

He gave everyone a lecture about empathic accuracy and how good you were reading cues communicated by words, emotions, and body language. Or some crap like that. 

¨Ok, let me see if I got this right.¨ You shifted in the chair, hands moving in the air ¨You can pull organs out of people´s bodies, cut them in pieces without killing, switch their souls, but you do not believe that I can see dead people?¨

He tilted his head, but not giving you an exact answer.  

¨Do you wanna know what I think?¨

¨No.¨

¨I´ll tell you anyway. I think you have something you don´t want people to know, like a soft spot or a tragic past.¨ you sought the answer in his eyes ¨I´m guessing a loved one who died?¨ 

Overall, he was not wrong. You were a master in reading people´s body language, but you were not a jackass. So when the slight twitch of his mouth cleared up your doubts, it was time to stop. 

You knew how it felt, soft spots, tragic pasts, or late loved ones. There was no need to go further and throw more salt on his wounds. Hopefully, that taught him a lesson. 

An awkward silence ensued while everyone watched the scene, uncertain how to act, fearful that an extra spark would make everything explode into massive destruction.

¨Whatever.¨ he sighed ¨Show´s over. We´ll be reaching land in a few days, and we should be preparing to dock.¨ 

When everyone left the kitchen to go about their businesses, you remained alone with the figure that constantly wandered the submarine. He didn't do it in a creepy way. Despite his extravagant makeup and the intimidating aura, he was not a bother.

And it wasn't like he was there all the time, definitely more than anyone else. His passages were guaranteed on the days when Law was more sensitive. For bad or for good. He would look after him from the distance like a parenting figure. 

¨Who are you?¨ you murmured under your breath. 

For the next few days, Law made sure you were too busy to foster discussions about dead people or paranormal abilities.

When your services stealing rare supplies or getting answers to your Captain's questions you weren't required, you would help him with mountains of paperwork.

Only this time, he had outdone himself.

He managed to assemble the annual check-up of the crew, the inventory packing list, and the update of the logbook at once. This last one could easily wait until after you docked. But that freaking workaholic sadistic surgeon would not let this opportunity slip. So you pulled several all-nighters writing, signing, and stamping, all without exchanging a single word.

When you emerged, a few miles from land, you barely enjoyed the fresh breeze and sunlight. The crew hopped around, getting ready to put their feet on the continent as you sat in the kitchen profusely grouchy.

Your brain was fried, burnt, carbonized. 

¨You´re not coming?¨ Penguin asked, and you shook your head. ¨It´s been a while, Y/N, you should come.¨ you shook your head again. ¨I guess you´re not buying anything for the Captain´s birthday as well.¨

An incohesive question came out of your exhausted being. Penguin couldn´t help but feel sorry for you. ¨By the time his birthday comes up, we will be underwater, so everyone is preparing.¨ 

¨Do I have to?¨

¨No!¨ he chuckled ¨He doesn´t really like it, but we still buy him something.¨

¨Why?¨

¨´Cause he is a good Captain!¨ he said and sprunt out by the voice of someone calling him, waving goodbye at you. 

 It wasn't that you didn´t think Law was a good Captain. It was just an inherent nature of yours to clash every time you looked at each other. 

But on such occasion, you could combine the useful with the pleasant. After all, you were grateful because he gave you friends. Of course, he was the unfortunate by-product that came with them, but you could handle him. 

So fighting against your will to stay and sleep, you forced your way out to the solid ground, hoping to find the most random store someone could wish for, a haberdasher. 

Much to your delight, you did it. You picked a burgundy color wool and the first hook you put your eyes on and returned to your soft bed. 

The chances of you having scared your crewmates by staring at the blank for hours were high. In reality, you wanted to memorize and come up with a pattern for the strange-looking beanie that man wore. 

It had no pompom at the top like Penguin´s. Instead, two long pieces of fabric ran down from each side with heart-like things hanging.

When the sixth day of the tenth month arrived, Law´s desk was cluttered with presents. You had decided to wait until you were done with work and heading to bed to give it to him. 

After conquering that task, you locked yourself in your room, where you stayed until you had it finished. For some reason, you bothered to buy a box to put it in. Whatever.  

On the sixth day of the tenth month, Trafalgar Law could not focus on work. Every slight movement of yours, every bathroom break got him jittery, rehearsing words that wouldn´t make you hate him more. 

Not that you ever hated him, but you didn´t talk, so he didn´t know. After some time starting small talks and being ignored, you just gave up trying. 

By the end of that night, he had given up too. So when you placed the golden-yellow box on his desk, he couldn´t vocalize his feelings. It became just another silent night. 

Chests tight and hearts clogged with unspoken words. 

Law did not work for the next couple of days, and if he left his room, no one saw. The gifts on his desk were not even opened. Everything was left the way it was. 

Maybe you had crossed a line. 

As you marched up to the room at the end of the hall, several paths popped into your mind. You could act like you didn´t care, so what if you left? You had been alone for so long, it wouldn't make any difference! Still, something was begging you to apologize. To ask to stay, because being there was good, everything you never knew you wanted.

You were ready to pack your bags and have your title as a Heart Pirate retracted when you woke up one morning, finding a note on your desk telling you to meet him in his room. Your nails dug into your sweaty palms. Where did this tightness in your chest come from?

When you set foot in the room, your eyes hovered around. It was the first time you saw Law's room. It was exactly how you thought it would be.

Keeping your gaze locked on his was more difficult. He was sitting in an armchair near the foot of the bed. From afar, his appearance remained neat, as always, but as you approached you saw the circles under his eyes even darker. A thing you didn't think was possible.

For the first time, you didn't know how to read his expression. And seeing him vulnerable like that made your stomach drop. So you prepared yourself for the worst. However, to your surprise, all he did was ask you questions. 

No snarky remarks. You just talked.    

That day something changed. And from that day on, Law had found someone to help him carry the unbearable weight he had on his shoulders, and you found a place to call home. 

                                                             ...

¨Y/N-ya.¨ he called you, who was a cuddle away from sleeping.

¨Hm?¨

¨Before you left, in Sabaody...¨

¨Uhm.¨

¨You stole the coin again, didn´t you?¨ 

You giggled and pulled the commemorative coin from your back pocket, snuggling closer to his body and feeling the vibration of his chest as he chuckled.

Extra notes: I hope you had enjoyed it! It came out a little too long, but I have been feeling like I´m limiting myself when it comes to the number of words... I don´t know, I´m confused. 

Anyway, is that pink and red that I see on the horizon?