#please put me back in the freezer until my winter coat comes off

[the-blueberry-sage]

Living in Norway, you'd think summers would go easy on me, but oh no. The coldness of the rest of the year sets my body up to be a cold-fighting machine and then BAM, summer massively turns up the heat over like 1 or 2 days. I'm an arctic fox stuck in the Sahara... I can't take this heat... the moderately warm day for people with normal relationships with temperature...

[thorfemmes]

Cloudy

in which harry hates summer storms, but she loves them.

Hi everyone! I know I’m not really a fan account, so please feel free to skip over this post if you don’t want to read fanfic! I’ve decided to take part in @helladirections​ ‘s Summer Feeling writing challenge, and this is what I came up with! Feedback is greatly appreciated, I’m trying to hype myself up into writing again. Also thank you @jasline-arod​ for being my beta reader, I love you endlessly!<3

Prompts: summer reading & ice cream

Rated 18+: fluff, SMUT, soft dom!harry, teasing, edging, punishment, impact play, light bondage, condescension kink if you squint, cute aftercare!!! 

Word Count: 3.8k

Summer storms were quite melancholy.

Harry supposed he was being a bit dramatic, considering (y/n) loved the rain. If it weren’t for the possibility of getting a cold and the wandering eyes from their surrounding neighbors she would be out dancing and skipping around the backyard in the puddles and mud. But alas, their neighbors were a bit too nosy and she couldn’t afford any sick time off at work right now, so she was using this day to clean the house. Some last minute spring cleaning as she called it.  

Harry, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to roll around in the sheets all day with her. The young couple had planned a nice date out for the day: a stroll around the neighborhood, a picnic in the park, maybe some window shopping in the plaza. Their car was currently in the shop so anything they wanted to do would have to be within walking distance -(y/n) really didn’t like Ubering around. Mother Nature apparently had other plans. 

Which leads us here. Harry had seen the storm die down and in all of his stubborn brilliance had insisted on making an ice cream run. ‘S just a little drizzle! He maintained. I’ll be back before you know it, Poppet. It turns out “a little drizzle” can easily turn into torrential downpour in the twenty minutes it takes Harry to bike to and from the grocery store. He couldn’t believe his luck, and now as he approached his front door sopping wet and dragging his bike up the steps, he was silently cursing himself for deciding Ben and Jerry’s was worth the trek. 

“Babe? Is everything alright?” (Y/n) proffered over the soft music she had put on when he left. She could hear his frustrated grumbles and sighs from the living room and had of course seen the storm pick up. 

“ ‘M fine, sweetheart, just a bit wet ‘s all.” Harry griped from the kitchen. He quickly dried off the pints of ice cream and stuck them in the freezer before pouring a bowl of uncooked rice for his cell phone. Flicking off the lights in the kitchen, spotless and dust-free thanks to (y/n), he walked into the living room to find her tucked into the corner of the couch reading a book.

Peering over the pages, her eyes softly danced over her lover -damp and frumpy from the rain outside. He had a slight pout on his face that made her giggle playfully, eyes glittering with nothing but adoration and humor. 

“My strong love, fought the rain and thunder just to get his girlfriend ice cream.”

He snorted at her, trying his hardest to hold back a smile. “Think I deserve a prize, don’t you think? It was quite brave of me to go out there, I could’ve gotten swept away by the flood of puddles!”

Her laugh rang like a chime. It was times like this, soft and quiet and domestic, that made his heart skip a beat. She made him delirious and dizzy with love. 

“Of course, my love. Your prize is in the bathroom, hanging from the towel rack. I saw the rain pick up and figured you might come home a bit soggy,” She said with a laugh. “Go get changed, when you come back we can lounge about and read together.”

Harry’s heart fluttered as he shuffled out of the living room. When he came back, now changed into a crisp crew neck shirt and some washed worn sweats, he quickly popped over in front of his love. She looked up from the novel in front of her, stars in her eyes. Harry quickly leaned down and showered her in kisses. Anywhere he could reach was covered in smooches. She wiggled and whined playfully as he threw his leg over her waist, but not before grabbing the book and laying it on the coffee table face down. They grappled and playfully dodged kisses until she cried “Alright! Fine you win!” with a ridiculous pout and her hands pinned to the couch under Harry’s grasp. 

“You’re so mean,” she pouted through puffs of air.

“Mean ‘m I? Would a mean boyfriend have gone out in the harsh winter storm for-”

“It’s the middle of July!” 

“For pints of Chunky Monkey, Phish Food, Karamel Sutra, and Tonight Dough? I don’t think tha’s very mean, d’you?”

Harry swore the sigh she let out sounded harmonious. “No, I suppose not. It sounds like you’re spoiling me, huh?” She tried to loosen his grip again. “Let me up, please?”

He grinned down at her. “Kissy first?”

She leaned up the best she could for a smooch before he let her get back up. Harry laid down on the couch and patted his tummy with the hand not resting under his neck. 

“C’mere, let’s read.”

(Y/n) crawled between Harry’s legs and laid between them, her head resting on his soft stomach. “Mm, nice and comfy.”

Harry chuckled with her, loving the warmth and comfort the weight of her gave him. He wrapped an arm around the front of her chest and softly rubbed his thumb over her shoulder. 

“Do you want me to start the chapter over?” She asked, perfectly content to reread for him.

“Course not, Petal! Just pick up where you left off, please.”

“ ‘I’m going to America. To seek my fortune.’ (This was just after America but long after fortunes.) ‘A ship sails soon from London. There is great opportunity in America. I’m going to take advantage of it. I’ve been training myself. In my hovel. I’ve taught myself not to need sleep. A few hours only. I’ll take a ten-hour-a-day job and then I’ll take another ten-hour-a-day job and I’ll save every penny from both except what I need to eat to keep strong, and when I have enough I’ll buy a farm and build a house and make a bed big enough for two.’ ”

Harry began to lose focus on the story, instead concentrating on his petal’s voice, soft and clear enough for just the two of them. Almost as if the bubble around them might burst if she spoke too loudly. She began to alter her voice, adding in dashes of accents and key changes as the characters varied. Harry let a heavy breath fall from his nose as he smiled and bit his lip with a smile. 

“ ‘Do you love me, Westley? Is that it?’ ”

Harry held his breath.

“ He couldn’t believe it. ‘Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches. If your love were-’ ” 

Now, Harry knows he has a very specific taste in literature. And while he may personally prefer obscene prose and Joan Didion, this line -from a novel built on fantasies -was embroidered on his heart in bright yellow thread. The millions of grains of sand could not even begin to embody how dearly and how fiercely he loved her. His heart physically ached at the thought of her; her presence, her laugh, smile, ambition, everything. He loved (y/n) in a way he never imagined possible. Harry could not even begin to fathom a world without her. And if the little velvet box hidden in an old shoe box behind a ton of winter coats in the upstairs closet was anything to go by, he didn’t want to begin imagining it. 

“Lovey, are you okay?” (Y/n) spoke up. She noticed him stiffen up immediately after she finished reading that paragraph. 

Silence followed her question. She stuck the loose playing card she had found into the book to mark her place and gently sat up to shift herself in his lap, setting the book down on the coffee table again. Harry was pulled from his thoughts of navy blue suits and white lace gowns when she softly called his name again and stroked his cheeks with her thumbs.

“Is everything alright Harry? You zoned out for quite a while there.”

Harry looked at the heavenly sight in front of him. Her hair was a bit mussed up from the cleaning and the sweat that had no doubt appeared in the slightly humid house. She sat in an old cropped cotton shirt that proudly touted a faded improv club logo from college on it (she had gone to one meeting and of course it was the meeting where they gave out free t-shirts) with wrinkles and dried stains from cleaning spray. Her gray pajama shorts had little line drawings of bumble bees on them, and were currently riding up her thighs as they sat straddling Harry’s hips. He dragged his eyes to look at her face. He swore she was glowing in the grayish sunlight streaming from the windows. Little moles and freckles and acne scars dotted across her makeup-less face. Her eyes were wide and her lips were gaped open slightly in worry as his silence continued.

Harry finally, finally took in a breath (he desperately needed it, he didn’t realize she had literally stolen his breath away) and mumbled “ ‘M fine, petal. I just love you so much,” and with that closed the all too wide gap between them. 

Her eyes widened just a bit more before kissing back, her eyes fell closed and her hands held tightly to his cheeks. Harry swore the kiss was meant to be gentle, but then he found himself nibbling on her bottom lip and soothing the slight sting with his tongue when she whined against him. She pulled away breathlessly and looked over his face, now flushed crimson with their movements.

“I love you too!” She breathily laughed. “Let’s-”

Her thoughts were lost as Harry began to kiss a trail from below her ear and down her neck, one hand squeezing her soft hip and the other holding her head in place as she squirmed (she was a bit ticklish). He sucked and softly bit at the junction between her neck and shoulder as she let out a faint moan at the attention being given to the sensitive skin. She ran her fingers through his loose curls and gently led his head back up to meet her lips. She tenderly rolled her hips against his -his hands quickly following the motion. 

“Ah, fuck baby. You’re so fuckin’ sexy m’love,” Harry groaned against her lips. They were breathing in each other's air, hips thrusting against the other and hands grasping at fabric and anywhere they could grab. Harry lowered his hand to cup her hot pussy over her shorts, rubbing his palms against her clothed clit.

“Mmf, please Harry please!” She wanted him so badly, she was this close to ripping his clothes off at the seams.

“What d’you want baby girl? Hmm? Ask me nicely ‘nd maybe I’ll give it to you.” 

The air shifted between them. She knew he would give her whatever she wanted, but the power was now in his corner. She whined loudly and bucked her hips up as he teased the waistband of her shorts.

“Don’t be a brat, petal. You won’t like the outcome.” Harry grinned up at her, running his thumb over her bottom lip that had stuck out with a pout. “Why don’t we run upstairs so I can fuck you properly. Tha’ is unless you want to stay down here with a sore bum ‘nd nothin’ else? Hmm, petal?”

“Harry, I swear if you don’t do something I’m going to screa- ah!” Harry’s hand came down on her ass with a loud smack! 

(Y/n)’s eyes widened as she scrambled off of his lap and up the stairs to their “guest” bedroom, Harry not far behind. Harry giggled at her antics. Of course he wasn’t planning on leaving her needy and wanting, but she was being bratty and he couldn’t have that now could he?

(Y/n) all but threw herself onto their bed and ripped off her clothing, absolutely desperate for whatever Harry threw her way. She’d ride his thigh if that’s all he’d give her. She was that needy right now. 

She scrambled up the bed and sat down with her legs crossed, patiently waiting as Harry stood at the foot of the bed.

“I think 10 swats on your bum are an appropriate punishment for you steppin’ out of line. Don’t you think, baby?”

“Yes, sir.” (Y/n) watched as he walked around the side of the bed. He reached into the bedside table and pulled out a bottle of shea butter lotion and the pretty pink ribbon she was all too familiar with.

“Lay down on your tummy, petal,” Harry said, setting everything on the table. 

(Y/n) quickly laid down, grabbing her pillow and nestling her cheek into it. Harry grabbed one of the extra pillows and shoved it under her hips. He then pulled off the t-shirt and shrugged off his sweats, leaving him in a pair of heather gray briefs that left nothing to the imagination. 

“You’ve such a pretty bum, sweetheart. ‘M so excited to see it marked up with my hand marks,” Harry caressed and massaged her cheeks carefully. “Count aloud for me, lovie.”

(Y/n) was about to answer when Harry’s hand came down on her left cheek, hard. “One!” She squeaked out.

“D’you know why you’re bein’ punished, lovie?” Smack!

“Ah! Two! Yes sir! I was being bad earlier. I was being naughty and begging without saying please!” 

Harry rubbed over the sore area. “Very good, baby. Are you going to do it again?” Smack! Smack! Smack! Three spanks came in succession.

“Three! Fou-, Four! Five! No, Sir! I won’t!” She squirmed and hid her face in the pillow as her grip tightened on the material. She was a bit embarrassed at the fact that she was already getting teary eyed, but it had been a second since she'd been punished like this.

Harry paused and moved her hair out from around her face. “How are you doin’ (Y/n)? Gimme a color, please.”

“Green, Harry. I’m good, please keep going.” She wiggled and lifted her ass up towards Harry's other hand.

“Okay, lovie. Just makin’ sure.” Harry quickly kissed her cheek then pushed her head back into the pillow. She moaned loudly at the forcefulness.

The rest of the spanks came and went, leaving both of them breathless and stinging. Harry reached up and grabbed (Y/n) by the hair to pull her on all fours, his other hand removing the pillow from under her hips before running his fingers over her pussy.

“Y’not gonna do tha’ again, are you, petal?” He said smugly.

“No sir,” She hiccupped. 

A jolt ran through her as he gathered her wetness and began circling her clit with two fingers. 

“So sensitive, petal. Bet you almost came jus’ from me spankin’ you. Maybe you don’ need my cock after all? Maybe I should jus’ take care of myself and leave you here, what d’you think, petal? ”

She let out a pitiful moan. (Y/n)’s whole body was shaking; she was desperately trying not to come, her arms were shaking from holding herself up, and her breath was shaking from the stimulation of it all. She was almost there, almost ready to come when Harry suddenly let go of her hair and stopping playing with her pussy. Her arms gave out under her as she whined desperately at the loss of stimulation.

“Please! No, don’t leave me!” She sobbed. “I need it! Please give me your cock sir! I’ll be so good, I won’t come without askin’ please! Ple-”

“Okay, shh baby. Shh, ‘m gonna make y’feel so good. Y’such a good girl f’me.”

Harry leaned down and kissed up her spine gently. As he reached the base of her neck he grabbed the pink ribbon and ran it teasingly over her shoulders. “Color?”

She sniffled a bit before answering confidently, “Green, sir.”

“Tha’s my girl.” He pulled her up so she was kneeling and grabbed her arms, skillfully tying a cute little bow around her wrists. She wiggled a bit to make sure it was comfortable. Once she was settled, Harry pushed her back down into the pillow.

“What a sight. Must’ve been savin’ this for a rainy day, huh petal?”

She snorted at his joke but was quickly silenced by his finger sinking into her pussy. She hissed at the sensation, already a bit sensitive from the first orgasm he denied her. 

“Y’always so warm for me, lovie. So warm ‘n tight. Can’t wait for my cock, can you?”

She whined and pushed back on his fingers as he added another, thrusting in and curling to find her g-spot. “Please! I’ve been so good, I’m ready!”

He chuckled at her begging, letting his thumb pet over her clit again before pulling his fingers out of her after one final thrust. “Y’think you’re ready, baby girl? I know I am.”

“Mhmm,” she nodded. “I’m ready, I promise.”

Harry used the wetness he had gathered from fingering her and stroked himself a few times, exhaling heavily as some pressure was finally released. He grabbed the ribbon where her wrists were tied and lined himself up, pushing gently into her soaked cunt.

They both released a guttural moan as he moved in her; her walls tightening around him and his length rubbing inside her perfectly.

As she felt him bottom out she let out a sob that was stuck in her chest. “Fu-ck. Thank you! You feel so fuck-fucking good!” He growled in response, reaching around and playing with her clit again while he waited for her to get accustomed to his size. She choked out another moan and squirmed, crying “Please! You can move now, please fuck me!”

He pulled out until only the head of his cock remained in her cunt, and then thrusted back in experimentally. Her moan spurred him on, allowing him to continue to set a slow and rough pace. 

“Holy fuck, bunny. Y'feel so good,” Harry grit through his teeth. “I love this fuckin’ cunt, this ‘s all fo’ me, huh?”

She moaned and nodded as she squeezed his cock as tight as she could like a good girl. She wanted to behave, be his good girl. (Y/n) wiggled her hands at him as he continued to thrust. He got the hint and laced his fingers with hers. She let out a contented sigh that melted into a moan as his thrusting sped up. He loosened one of his hands from her grasp to reach down and stroke her button of nerves. 

She wailed in response, tears brimming in her eyes again from the overwhelming sensations attacking her. Harry was all that existed. He surrounded her, stopped playing with her bundle of nerves and reached his hand up to wrap around her neck, pulling her up to meet his kisses. All she could feel, smell, taste as he paused thrusting to slide his tongue into her mouth before slamming back into her and letting her drop back into the pillow. 

“Sh-shit baby girl. I can feel y'squeezin me, you’re almost there aren’t you?” She nodded in response, unable to form words. “Hold it jus’ a bit longer, I know you can do it. Fo’ me please, petal. Wanna feel tha’ cunt come with me.”

She shuddered as she fought to hold her orgasm back. Her cunt clenched and dripped down her thighs as Harry pounded into her as quickly as he possibly could without hurting either of them. 

“N-now! Come now, petal! Give it to me, baby. Come for me!”

(Y/n) came with a shout, her eyes shut as tightly as possible. Her whole body clamped down onto Harry’s cock as she came and came and came. Her orgasm pulled Harry’s out of him, milking him for everything he had. One final thrust had him filling her with his cum, both moaning at the feeling of her pussy being filled even more.

She slumped into the pillow, body feeling like pudding. Harry leaned over her as they both took a moment to catch their breaths, both spent and relaxed after their afternoon delight. Harry recovered first, gently pulling out of her cunt. She clenched around him as he left her, almost as if she was inviting him to stay.

He quickly untied her wrists, mind set on dealing with his spilled seed later. He delicately rubbed the tender area, gently kissing the indentations.

“Y’did so good for me, (Y/n), thank you baby,” he whispered to her. She looked at him with foggy eyes, the afterglow finally settling in. She hummed in acknowledgment of his praise, smiling softly at him. “I’ll be ri’ back, petal. I’ve gotta go grab stuff to clean you up.”

He ran as quickly as possible to grab water bottles and snacks from downstairs, before stopping for a wet washcloth and a change of clothes for her on the way back. He set the food and spoons on the bedside table before cracking open a water bottle for her.

“Can you sit up a mo’? I know your bum’s a bit sore.” He helped her sit up enough to drink the water he gave her. As she gulped down the water, thankful for the cool drink to sooth her heated throat, he gently wiped up the mess he made of her pussy. He ran and tossed the cloth into their ensuite sink, quickly returning to his love. 

“Can I rub some shea butter on your bum and wrists? It’ll help with the soreness, lovie.” 

She sleepily nodded before asking “Could you please pull my hair back? It’s sweaty and itchy now.”

He laughed at her cloudy state and grabbed one of their scrunchies off of the dresser and carefully tied up her hair. He then pumped some lotion into his hands, warmed it slightly and guided her to lay down on her tummy again so he could soothe the red marks. After a few moments, when her fogginess had cleared and they were giggling and cracking jokes as he jiggled her bum in his hands, he helped her get up and walk to the toilet so she could relieve and redress herself before heading to their bedroom with the snacks. 

(Y/n) climbed into bed, mindful of her sore bum, and excitedly grabbed the remote to turn on a movie for the couple to unwind to. Harry followed closely with two pints of ice cream and spoons -Chunky Monkey for her and Karamel Sutra for himself. They giggled again and settled down under the blanket as the opening scene to Clueless started on their television. 

Taking a bite of the ice cream, (Y/n) looked over at her boyfriend. “Hey Har?” He looked at her, mouth full. “Thank you for getting us ice cream even though there was a storm. And for letting me read to you. I hope you enjoyed your prize.” She winked at him with a huge grin.

Heartily laughing, he leaned over and landed a loud smooch onto her cheek. “Of course, anything for you my love.”

As she cuddled into his side, snacking on ice cream and watching this cheesy rom-com, he knew he needed to find a reason to excuse himself to the closet that evening.

[anotherdayinchuckletown]

They’re Funny That Way, Chapter 2

A/N: Hey, guys!  I’m pretty happy with the feedback I received on Chapter 1, and I’m so so thankful to everyone who took the time to read it (especially those of you who offered me kind and encouraging words, ily!)  So, the story continues!

I’ve found over the years that dialogue is my biggest strength, and scenes with little to no dialogue stretch and challenge me a bit.  So this chapter was a touch longer in development than the last. But I hope to get a consistent update schedule going pretty soon here because I have a very fleshed-out plan for this fic.

That said, I hope you enjoy!  Please like, reblog, and comment if you do!

(cross-posted to my AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/users/marie_deneuve)

______________________________________________________

Arthur Fleck has seen an angel. There is no other way to describe it.

Things are especially tedious since he returned from his latest stint at the psychiatric ward. The same things, day in and day out, until each day begins to blur together like a watercolor painting. No clear lines separating one grueling day from the next, every shape hazy and undefined beyond the smoke of his cigarettes. He himself disappears into the smog and goes about his life unseen. Unknown. Not to mention, he's now on thin ice at work – Hoyt, his boss, made that much clear to him right off the bat. "You've missed a lot of days, Arthur," he had said the morning he came in to pick up his belongings. "Just try not to be a pain in the ass. No fucking up, you got that?" Arthur can't remember how he responded, if he responded. Only that the voice in his head (it's his mother's voice that time) told him to Smile. At least you got your job back. It's so much easier to smile when he's Carnival, and not just because the expression is painted on for him. He loves his job, honestly, he does. Every once in a while, when he's working gigs at birthday parties or at the children's hospital, when he's able to make the kids laugh, it seems worth it. For just a minute, it seems as though he's good for something after all. As though maybe when his mother used to tell him his purpose was to spread joy and laughter in the world, she was right. And maybe he could actually do it. Then he takes off the wig, the brightly-colored clothes, the greasepaint...and the illusion is broken. Sometimes it's easy to forget the husk of a man that lies underneath the makeup. Arthur Fleck. Who is Arthur Fleck? Hard to say. Carnival is easier. And so Carnival stays that evening as he walks home. Also because he's just so fucking exhausted. Not changing out of his clown costume at work means a little less dealing with his coworkers and a little more getting home to sequester himself from the rest of the world for the remainder of the evening. The woman on the elevator is not part of the plan. She holds the door open for him and retreats silently into a corner. The air between them is still as death as they ascend, her eyes burning holes in the back of his coat all the while. Arthur initially avoids looking back at her, afraid that if he does, she'll vanish into thin air. He's becoming too used to his lonely, damaged psyche playing such tricks on him. She never even pushes any of the buttons for a specific floor – if she's a hallucination, she's not even a convincing one. The trip is not smooth by any means – surprise, surprise – and the woman seems more than a little perturbed. "Does...that happen often?" Her voice, gentle and feathery, suddenly drifts over him, covering him like a weighted blanket. He turns to face her fully, intending to respond, but pauses when he feels his heart stop. She is undoubtedly the most beautiful creature he has ever laid eyes on. She instantly evokes images of those actresses in the black and white films of his youth. The same powerful air of sophistication as Grace Kelly. The same allure as Rita Hayworth. Only she's in vivid color, and they're not separated by a screen, and she's so close. Even in the elevator's dingy lighting, her blonde curls glow like a halo. Her full lips are pulled into a concerned frown, and her icy blue eyes are trained quizzically on him. Right, that's because she asked him a question. And he's so far done nothing but stare at her like a depraved creep. Carnival, his work persona, doesn't generally speak - and thank fuck for that. Arthur doesn't think he could power out a single word if he wanted to, his mouth has gone so dry. In the end, all he manages is a shrug. Idiot. She must not think he's a total loser because she keeps talking to him anyway, even pays him a compliment – a compliment! When's the last time that happened? He's definitely glad he kept the clown costume on now; interacting with her this way is safer, gives him less of a chance to screw it up. Less of a chance for her to see how pathetic he really is underneath it all. All good things must come to an end, however, and they do eventually reach the eighth floor. And when they do, she surprises him yet again. "I'm new to the building, by the way – my name's Emma. It's a pleasure." Emma. Emma. Emma. She extends a perfectly-manicured hand, and for a moment, Arthur just stares. This is most likely when he finds out that this woman, this magnificent vision in his hallway, this Emma, is nothing more than a fantastic dream. And if she is, in fact, a dream, he's not so sure he's ready to wake up. Nevertheless, he gingerly returns the gesture. Their hands connect. Soft and tentative, but tangible. Warm. Light. So light that Arthur feels as though he's floating, hovering just above the tiled floor, and he could continue to float forever, as long as he just holds on. To his disappointment, she is the one to let go. Arthur crashes back down to the floor, a chill running through him at the sudden loss of contact, simple though it was. She bids him good night and takes off down the hall, the click of her heels in perfect sync with the thrumming of his heart against his ribcage. Emma. Emma. Emma. He gets the feeling he won't forget that name for as long as he lives. Arthur Fleck has seen an angel. And she is so, so beautiful. _____________________________________ "Hey, you look like shit." "Thanks, motherfucker." On her way to the kitchen, Emma totters past the open bathroom door, where Eddie is busy shaving his face. Apparently not too busy to comment on her fresh-out-of-bed appearance, though. She will admit, she's not surprised if she doesn't look her best at the moment. Almost a week of sleeping on a rapidly-deflating air mattress on Eddie's living room floor has not done her back any favors. The bags forming under her eyes make her look like she hasn't slept since the seventies, and her hair has become stringy and unkempt since the last time it was washed. To top it off, she still has none of her clothes or other belongings. So she's currently sporting an oversized Creedence Clearwater Revival t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, both borrowed from Eddie. They hang off of her smaller frame, giving her the appearance of a sickly child who will be hard-pressed to survive the coming winter. "You making breakfast?" her brother asks, poking his head into the foyer. A glob of shaving cream drips onto the tile below him, and Emma grimaces. She returns her focus to her previous mission of rifling through the freezer, pushing past an assortment of cheap vodka and TV dinners until she finds his deposit of frozen waffles. "Eggos!" she calls out. "Cool! Pop an extra one in the toaster for me, yeah?" Emma complies, setting an extra plate out for him as well. As the toaster whirs quietly atop the kitchen counter, she begins her morning ritual of planting herself on the sofa and burying her face in the job listings section of the local newspaper. The job hunt so far has yielded results that are...less than stellar. So many applications, so many interviews, and so far...nothing. "We'll call you if something else opens up" here and "we'll keep you on file" there. Even a "your educational background is good, but we're looking for a little more experience". It's starting to take a toll on her self-esteem. The only real offer she's gotten is from a dive bar across town called The Harlequin. She's familiar with the bartending world – it's how she put herself through college. And she likes to think she's damn good at it, too – hell, she had mastered the Bloody Mary with only a couple weeks' practice! Run-of-the-mill margaritas and martinis? Piece of cake. Not to mention, studying psychology at the same time has granted her an uncanny ability to manipulate a conversation, bend it to her will. Sniff out how to get the biggest possible tips from each kind of patron. Yes, she's a master, all right. But she's really hoping to move on to something with a more...prestigious title. "Any new prospects today?" Eddie emerges from the bathroom just as the toaster lets out a soft 'ding!' He quickly joins Emma on the sofa, a plate of waffles in either hand and bottle of syrup under his arm, completely bypassing the dining room table as per usual. She hasn't seen him eat a single meal at that table yet, instead opting to bring his food into the living room and spill his goddamn crumbs all over the furniture. "Nothing yet, besides The Harlequin thing," Emma grumbles, taking the fork he offers and muttering a quick "thank you" as he sets a plate down on the coffee table for her. "I'm tempted to accept it, just so I can end the madness." "Didn't Sophie recommend you at the bank?" Eddie goes to town with the syrup, drowning his breakfast until the golden-brown liquid threatens to spill off of his plate and onto the coffee table. "She tried. Nothing was open." Emma puts down the newspaper for the time being, feeling the beginnings of a migraine creeping along her scalp. She instead grabs the remote and flips on the TV across the living room, the background noise helping her to relax her mind. Eddie shovels in a forkful of his syrupy concoction. "Sorry we couldn't get you on at the record store. We had a spot last week, but Ron's back from rehab now..." he says with his mouth full. "That reminds me, you still thinking about medical school?" That gives her pause. Honestly, she hasn't thought about medical school in quite a while. More pressing matters to attend to. Besides, it's been years since she last studied. Who's to say that she could pick up where she left off now, even if she were to apply? In the end, after a moment's hesitation, she shrugs. "Maybe. I'm a little rusty, you know?" She takes a meager bite of her own breakfast, chewing carefully. "Aw, come on, that's a cop-out!" Eddie abruptly stands and rushes to the kitchen, leaving his plate behind. As he begins to rummage through the fridge, he continues. "You gotta at least try! You're smart and talented, you work your ass off – where the fuck? – oh, there it is..." He returns with a can of whipped cream and unleashes about half of it onto his plate, and the other half directly into his mouth. "Plus!" He grins. "You look like me, so you know you've got it goin' on." The fraternal twins did bear a striking resemblance to one another as children, but age has individualized them greatly. Where Emma remains on the shorter side, Eddie is now a solid six feet tall. Eddie has also experienced a little more horizontal growth; although Emma suspects his rampant drinking (more so than his atrocious diet) is the cause. "I'm not sure what looks have to do with anything..." Emma scans her brother's plate for the waffle. She can't see it - it's forever lost to the sugary onslaught. Maybe it is his diet after all. "Looks have to do with everything, Em. Not fair, but true." His eyebrows furrow, and he scrutinizes her face. "Speaking of which, you really do look terrible." "You mentioned." "No, like...have you been sleeping at all?" His eyes narrow with concern, meeting her own sunken ones. "I know that air mattress is a piece of shit - you can get yourself something nicer if you want." Emma sometimes forgets how observant Eddie can be when he focuses. She really hasn't been able to sleep a wink since she arrived in Gotham several days ago. He's right, the air mattress is an awkward and lumpy piece of shit, but that's not the real reason sleep evades her. The walls of the tiny apartment seem to cry in anguish at night. Sirens blare outside the window near constantly; they're sometimes accompanied by flashing red and blue lights, the colors piercing through the curtains and waltzing unsettlingly across the floor. People wander the streets until the wee hours, shouting at each other, their combined voices drifting toward the sky in an unpleasant cacophony. Emma can easily understand why folks here on the East Side are so exhausted. The only person who sleeps less than she does is the man who lives next door. She's never seen him, but she's definitely heard him. At least once every night, when she least expects it, he bursts into sudden uproarious laughter. Normally, Emma would march right over and ask the man what could possibly be so fucking funny at three in the morning (only a bit more tactfully, she's not an animal), but she never brings herself to do it. Truthfully, she's scared to. Something is not right about that laugh. It's discordant and jarring, as if clawing its way into the apartment like a demon prying frantically through the drywall. It lacks joy, and in fact, actually sounds pretty damn miserable. A part of her wonders if the man is all right. Regardless, a better mattress couldn't hurt. "Yeah, I might do that," she says. "I probably should prioritize getting some clothes of my own first." Satisfied, Eddie returns to demolishing his waffle creation. "Get whatever you want, as long as you can make the space for it. Want you to be comfortable while you're here, however long that is." He chuckles. "With your money, I'm sure you can spoil yourself much better than I can." Emma snorts, gesturing wildly at herself and at her surroundings. "Money? What money?" "You kidding?" He looks genuinely surprised for a moment. "Your ex is a millionaire! You mean to tell me you haven't hopped on that alimony pony?" "Oh, don't be ridiculous, I don't give a shit about Daniel's money." Emma rolls her eyes. "Not to mention, we only separated a week ago. We have to set a court date, fill out the paperwork-" "Yeah, yeah," Eddie drawls, waving her off. "When that check comes, you remember who took your ass in, no questions asked. Got it?" It's nice to know his sense of humor hasn't changed. Emma nods once. "You got it." They eat in peaceful silence for a while, the distant voice of the news anchor on TV the only sound in the room. Something that doesn't happen often for the siblings. After a few minutes, Eddie speaks up again. "Hey, Em?" "Yeah?" "...Glad you're back. Missed you." "Hm." A faint smile plays along her lips. "Missed you too." 

[cdelphiki]

please write some casual tim and damian when you get the chance! love your writing!

Out of all the stuff I wanted to work on tonight, this is what I ended up doing.  😂  Thank you, anon.  I hope you enjoy this completely pointless Tim & Damian fluff.  

“Eww,” Tim said, interrupting Damian’s thoughts as he worked through his Algebra homework at the kitchen counter, “How can you eat that?”

Damian scowled, resisting the urge to snap his pencil in half in frustration.  Not only was it a mechanical pencil, and would likely take a bit of effort and cause injury if he were to snap it, it was his last one.  He had no idea where his pencils kept going, but he was down to just one and it needed to last at least until next Tuesday, when Alfred went to the store.  

After taking a breath, Damian continued on to the next step of his equation and took another bite of his celery and peanut butter.  

“You are ruining perfectly good peanut butter with that abomination of a vegetable,” Tim continued, rummaging through the cupboard, clinking together the bowls as he pulled one down, “why would you do such a thing?”

“If you don’t mind,” Damian said, through clenched teeth, “I am trying to do my homework.”

Tim dropped the bowl down on the counter across from Damian, then went and pulled out a spoon.  Damian was fairly certain Tim was making as much noise as possible as he did so, since he seemed to push around every single utensil in the drawer before pulling a spoon from the bottom of the pile.  

“Math, huh?  I know some math about celery.  Did you know, celery is 95% water and 100% not pizza?”

At that, Damian dropped his pencil in his textbook and glared over at Tim.  He promised Father he wouldn’t fight with Tim.  That had been part of the conditions when Tim moved back to the Manor.  He’d been against the idiot moving in, of course, but no one cared what his opinion was.  Apparently, Drake being 16 meant he was too young to be living alone, so Damian had to suck it up.  For two years.

Which meant he had to suck it up now.  And not fight with Tim.  

Damian screamed inside his head, then said with a flat voice, “Your math is sound but the point you are making is stupid.”  

Tim’s lips twitched, then he spun around and opened the freezer, “Anyway, is Alfred making you eat that crap?  Ice cream is a way better after school snack.”

“No,” Damian said patiently.  At least, he thought he sounded patient.  He probably had what Dick called his ‘murder face’ on. “He is not. I chose it because peanut butter is an excellent source of protein, and ice cream is nothing but sugar.”

“But why the celery?” Tim asked, after tossing two different flavors of ice cream on the counter and turning toward the pantry. 

“How would you suggest I eat the peanut butter?”

“With a spoon?” Tim said incredulously, “like a normal person.”

Damian scrunched his nose at that and picked up the jar of peanut butter, “That is disgusting. You don’t eat it straight out of the jar, do you?”

“Well, yeah kind of. But I get a fresh spoon for each scoop, relax.”  

“Tt.”  Damian set the jar back down and took another bite of his celery, which he’d already spread some peanut butter on with his knife.  

“Why don’t we have any fu…ricken sprinkles!” Tim shouted, knocking something over in the pantry. 

“Are you done yet?  I would like to finish my homework this year.”

“Harr harr.  No, I’m not done.  Where are the sprinkles?” Tim demanded, still rustling around in the pantry.  Had Alfred been in the kitchen, Tim would have already been kicked out, Damian was sure.  He was making quite the mess. 

“Why would we have sprinkles?” 

“Why would we have…” Tim repeated in horror, “because sprinkles are happiness in an edible form.  You can’t eat an ice cream sundae without sprinkes!” 

“Don’t you think you are being a tad dramatic,” Damian said dryly, rolling his eyes as he slathered his last piece of celery with peanut butter. 

“No,” Tim shouted, “look.  I’m not saying this house’s lack of sprinkles is the reason none of you ever smile.  But there is a very clear correlation, don’t you agree?”

All Damian could do was roll his eyes.  “Sprinkes are not that good.”

“You have clearly never had so many rainbow sprinkles on a scoop of ice cream that you cannot see the ice cream.  If you’d experienced the pure joy that is a rainbow-”

“Drake,” Damian cut in, “shut up.”

“No. We need sprinkes,” Tim grabbed the ice cream and shoved it back into the freezer, then spun to face Damian, “Go get your coat, brat, we’re going to the store.”

“I am not accompanying you to the store.”

“Yes you are.  You need more happiness in your life, and lucky for you Walmart sells it for 2.49 a jar.”

“It is 15º Fahrenheit outside.”

“And?” Tim asked, looking at Damian expectantly.  As if Damian were going to hop up and go get his stupid coat like Tim demanded.  

“I am not eating ice cream in the middle of winter.”

“The temperature outside has nothing to do with the deliciousness that is ice cream.  Go get your coat.”

“No.  I need to finish my homework.  Go to the store by yourself.”

“I don’t want to,” Tim whined, and honestly, how was it Tim was the one closer to adulthood out of the two of them? “Apples go good with peanut butter.  I’ll buy you some apples if you come with me.”

“We have apples.”

“Then why did you pick celery!”

Damian angrily twisted the lid back on the peanut butter, then got up to put it back in the fridge. The sooner Tim left, the sooner he’d be able to finish his homework and leave.  Go off and hang out with Jon.  Or just hide in his room until patrol. Anything to avoid tolerating annoying brothers. 

“Have you ever had the chocolate sauce that freezes on ice cream?” Tim asked, his tone curious now, instead of annoying and whiny and grating and ugh.  Damian really didn’t like having to deal with annoying brothers.

“No.” 

“It’s good. You pour it all over the ice cream and it hardens.  Then you have to smack it with your spoon in order to eat it.  It cracks into several pieces.  And if you put sprinkles on it before it hardens, the sprinkles freeze in it.”

That actually sounded pretty cool, Damian hated to admit.  He wasn’t a huge fan of sweets, but simple vanilla ice cream with a little chocolate syrup was one of his favorite treats.  And a chocolate syrup that froze sounded… decent.  

“Does it end up tasting like chocolate chips?”

“Way better,” Tim said, grinning, “We can get some of that, too.  They have all sorts of flavors.  I’ll let you pick.”

Damian spent a long minute scrutinizing Tim.  Staring at him with narrowed eyes.  Because going with him to the store would be…. He wasn’t sure.  It was something brothers did.  And it would be like admitting they were brothers, wouldn’t it?

But they were brothers.  And the promise of cool freezy chocolate sauce…

“I need more pencils,” Damian said, sliding back down off the stool he was sitting on, “and we need plain vanilla ice cream.  We only have those candy-filled abominations you and Grayson prefer.”

This time, Tim’s smile was so wide his teeth showed as he said, “All right.  And sprinkes.  All the sprinkles.”

- - -

“It’s good, right?” Tim asked, later that afternoon as they both sat on the couch, eating their sundaes and watching some ridiculous action film Tim purchased.  

Damian took another bite of his ice cream, which was just a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream with a lot of the chocolate sauce and half a spoon of sprinkles on it.  Half a spoon.  Not half a jar like Tim had put on his.  

“It is acceptable.”  

“Told you.  Way better than that not pizza you were eating earlier.”

Damian snorted, then took another bite to hide it as he suppressed the smile his lips were itching to show.  Because it was a dumb joke and did not deserve laughter. 

“See.  I told you sprinkles were happiness.”

“Shut up, Drake.”

[ragtag-writer]

WIP Extracts: Prophecy Prawns

Hello, I’m not dead!

I thought I’d shove a quick thing I pieced together on here, just to keep it up and running until I can truly get around to it. University really be like that, huh!

Like I said, I kinda threw this together from some of the bits and pieces I had laying around in my files, so it’s not a masterpiece just yet, haha! If you have any feedback or questions don’t hesitate to let me know!

Lawrence hadn’t expected much trouble being a fishmonger. All he wanted to do was give people their kippers and try not to think about how much he was disappointing his parents. However, his boss had rather skipped the lesson on what to do if the king prawns started declaring themselves Prophets of Armageddon to the Sunday morning customers.

The day had started perfectly normally, with him gutting out the latest shipment of haddock from Lowport, handing Mrs Jones her weekly order of cod and setting up the front stall. It had all started when he had gotten himself into the back room and was attempting to remove the head from a particularly unwieldy salmon.

“AND LOW, TERRIBLE PAIN SHALL SPREAD ACROSS THE LAND!”

Lawrence jolted up from his stool as a booming voice echoed from the front parlour. He hurriedly stepped back from his desk and shoved through the beaded curtains to see Mrs Alderton frozen in the middle of the room.

Lawrence shuffled his way past the counters as he watched the elderly lady looking back at him in shock.

“Mrs Alderton, we’ve talked about this kind of thing not being allowed in the shop anymo-“

“IT IS NIGH, THE END, THE GREAT WINTER IS UPON US,”

Lawrence paused looking down at the lady next to him

“That wasn’t you...was it?” He asked slowly

The lady shook her head with a scowl played across her lips

“This is demons, I bet it is, can’t even go and buy your groceries without em being all over the place,” She muttered, pulling out a small vial. The same one she waved at the bakers two streets down because she thought there were trolls hiding in the bread baskets. He couldn’t blame her, the apprentices they had hired recently really were shocking.

“You know I’m right! Bet it those things from last Thursday like I said it’d be!”

“Mrs Alderton, for the last time those were scallops not demon eggs,” He sighed, wiping his hands down his apron

“Now, can I get you anything? We have a great offer on sea bass at the mome-,”

“THE DARKNESS HAS ARRIVED FOR US ALL, REPENT, REPENT!”

Lawrence froze as the voice boomed once again from behind him, filling the room. Mrs Aldertone reached into her purse again, pulling out a large hairpin.

“Oh they aren’t taking me today! Come on you bastards!” She yelled out into the room, waving her hairpin around erratically,

“There watching us! I can feel it! Demons I say, demons!” She spat out at the ceiling,

Lawrence could feel it too. Eyes, all beadily trained on the back of his neck. He slowly turned and looked downwards at the cabinet before him.

They stared up at him expectantly

Lawrence gulped, rubbing the back of his neck

“YOU SEE US, BUTCHER,”

He nodded, terror seizing him

“H-hello, can I help you?”

The eyes didn’t stray from him

“WE LIVE AGAIN.”

“I can see that yes,” He laughed awkwardly as Mrs Aldertone swang her purse towards him, clattering the back of his head

“OW!” He yelled, wincing and drawing away from her furious stare

“Didn’t they teach you not to talk to strangers!” She shouted

“I gutted them this morning, I think that makes us at least acquaintances!” Lawrence said indignantly “and what do you have in there a brick!” He winced

She looked at him haughtily

“A priest is needed here boy, and exorcists, demonologists, investigators!” She muttered, hurrying towards the door, tossing the small vial to him

“Distract them until I get back here!” She called out, the door slamming behind her. So much for not talking to demons

He turned back to the cabinet

“WE LIVE AGAIN.” They stated

He nodded

“Uh, yes, um, lovely weather for it?” He said shakily, tentatively backing away from the cases.

“WE REQUIRE WATER,”

Lawrence nodded hastily

“Yes, yes that would be for the best wouldn’t it,” He stammered, turning and facing the shop. A fishmonger, whilst very good at keeping fish around, wasn’t so much in the business of keeping them alive.

Eventually he managed to grab a bucket from under the counter that he usually deposited fish innards into. Running to the tap he hastily filled it up and placed it in front of the cabinet,

He hesitated slightly before dashing into the back room, grabbing a box of salt that his boss had bought to make the salt lines by the window after the second incident. Running back into the main room he began to tip the salt into the bucket. From what Lawrence could remember of his year 7 biology class, he was pretty sure shrimp were salt water based. Pretty sure.

“If I unlock this, you’re not going to smite me or something are you?” He said suspiciously, hand hovering over the handle to the cabinet.

“WE ARE MEARLY THE CRIERS OF WHAT IS TO PASS,”

Laurence hummed

“Do criers bite or anything?”

“WE DO NOT CURRENTLY POSSES TEETH,”

He shrugged, flipping the handle and pushing the casing up,

“I mean you’ve got to be talking with something right?”

The prawns seemed to process this for a second

“WE ARE NOT…FAMILIAR WITH THIS MODE OF COMMUNICATION,”

Lawrence finally was looking at the prawns huddled together into the ice that he had rested them on not a few hours earlier.

“You guys talk to each other? How come I’ve never heard you before?”

“BEING DEAD HAS A TENDANCY TO MAKE ONE LOSE THEIR VOICE.”

Lawrence winced

“Ok, I guess, but how are you speaking English?” He said reaching into the cabinet. One of the prawns scuttled forward and onto his hand. The rest of the watched cautiously from the ice. Gently moving his hand back, he lifted them out of the cabinet.

“WE ARE MERELY CHANNELING OUR TRUTHS INTO THE UNIVERSE, IT HAS NO BARRIER OF LANGUAGE.” It blinked from the palm of his hand.

Laurence scoffed

“Yeah? Tell that to my French teacher,” He muttered darkly, placing the prawn into the bucket

“Better?” He asked

“MUCH, THANK YOU,”

“No problem. Do you always have to yell like that?” Lawrence questioned, placing his arm back into the cabinet, the rest of the prawns hastily scrambling onto his arm, as he deposited 5 more into the bucket.

“WE FEEL IT HELPS PUNCTUATE OUR WARNINGS,”

“Yes, but it is rather loud isn’t it?”

“Sorry. It’s rather hard being taken seriously these days, it helps get the message across,”

“Which is?”

“THE ARMAGEDDON IS NIGH, YOUR GODS STAND UNWATCHING. THEY ARE COMING.”

“Huh” Laurence looked down at the bucket

“So, what happened to you guys then? The last time I looked at you, you were all very dead,”

He thought he had made sure of that.

“We are…unsure. We can only see what is yet to pass. We have been modified for purpose,”

Lawrence nodded, sitting himself down in front of the bucket. He rubbed his head slightly, leaning back against the counter. It made sense. From what he could remember, prawns couldn’t walk on land. He couldn’t exactly sell them in this state either, he wasn’t sure what the food standards laws said about demonic possessions but it at the very least fell under cross contamination.

He sighed. Mrs Aldertone had probably gotten her hands on a priest or the like by now. The last time this had happened his boss was very clear on how expensive an exorcism is and how the next one would be coming out of his pay check if he let it happen again.

The prawns looked at him curiously as he stood up

“Well, I suppose I should be letting you guys get on your way then, starting the apocalypse and such,”

“We are merely predicting it’s forthco-“

He waved a hand dismissively

“Whatever, listen, you should really be getting going, there’s a very God fearing woman about to get back here and I hear she’s got an extremely good paella recipe-“

“The human digestive tract is not strong enough to hinder u-“

“Well I don’t care! I don’t get paid enough to deal with demons this regularly! Do you know what minimum wage is? Rent? Do you know how difficult it is to get the money together for a deposit with Balthazar sticking his head out of my freezer twice a week!” He grumbled, grabbing the handle of the bucket

“We are not demons, we ar-“

“I said I didn’t care! Look, there’s a tropical fish store just down the street, I’m sure they’ll take you if you wave your claws in sync or something.”

He tugged the bucket into the backroom, the prawns clicking in protest

“WE SHALL NOT BE TREATED AS MERE PETS” They yelled back as the bucket sloshed water onto the floor. A few pincers reached over the edge of the bucket, snipping at his hands

Lawrence yelped, stumbling back

“Paella it is!” He growled, rolling up his sleeves, reaching towards bucket.

A small ding rang out from the front of the store, and he and the bucket froze.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” A female voice called from the front room.

Laurence sighed. It looked like this would have to wait. Putting on his best customer service face, he left the bucket of flailing pincers on the ground and hurried out to the front desk.

As he pushed through the beaded curtain, he was met with the face of a young woman scanning the front room. She wore a thick green winter coat, a woollen hat with stands of brown hair peeking out over her forehead, and a large brown leather satchel slung over her shoulder.

He smiled at her graciously, stepping behind the counter

“Good morning! Can I help you today? We have a great offer on sea bass this week!” He rattled off, smile twitching slightly

The woman smiled back, waving her hand

“Oh no I’m fine, I heard a woman on the street mentioning demons at the fishmongers, could I speak to them please?” She said brightly, rummaging around in her satchel and pulling out a flashy green notepad

Lawrence gritted his teeth to keep his smile in place as he mentally cursed Mrs Aldertone.

“I’m so sorry, it would go against several workplace policies of supernatural-“

“I’ll pay you,” She countered, holding up an envelope

Waving his arm back he ushered her behind him

“Right this way Miss,”

[5am-the-foxing-hour]

Advent 2nd (9th of December) The Noodle Adventures

I decided to do this advent thingy, this will be a 5 part-ers.

One part posted on each advent: 2nd Dec, 9th Dec, 16th Dec and 23rd Dec and the last part on Christmas 24th of Dec

FamILY- Relationship

-

General Tag list: @ebony-wolf, @nashiraneko,  @secretlyanxiouspersona, @i-sold-my-soul-to-thefandom, @rabbitsartcorner, @punsterterry,  @sleepyssnail,  @nightmaresides, @virgilswritings, @ninja-girl2846, @ninjago2020, @starryfirefliesbloggo

-

Deceit was deep in the zone as he worked, keeping track of the lies Thomas told and the things he believed were true while also making future excuses if asked about said lie, or any good excuses for other times if they might need them. He also checked over the state in the dark sides domain to make sure the dark sides didn’t try anything to get to Thomas, they were hidden for a reason after all and he was the gatekeeper to make sure they didn’t reveal themselves to Thomas without his knowledge.

A couple knocks on his door snapped him out of his concentration and he looked up from his desk blinking, as another serie of knocks made him spin in the office chair to face the door, from the sound of things the one knocking had done it for a while.

 “What?!” he called, the easiest way to not get stuck in the yes or no territory.

The door opened a crack and Patton poked his head inside smiling brightly.

 “Heya kiddo, I was just wondering if you wanted to help me bake some saffron buns and make some gingerbread cookies, and maybe try making a gingerbread house with me?” the moral side asked with sparkling eyes.

Deceit blinked at him before he grasped the question he hadn’t been ready for, as far as he knew Patton only baked with the other light sides, even if he had caught sight of Deceit he never asked the dark side if he wanted to help.

 “Why?” Deceit asked with a confused tone before he was able to stop himself, bewilderment written all over his face.

 “Well… I wanted to spend some time with you is all.” Patton smiled, Deceit squinted at him at the half truth and Patton sighed sile falling a bit “Logan was busy, and Roman is out winter questing in the imagination and won’t come back until dark, and Virgil wanted to sleep... and baking alone is not as fun... so… do you wanna help?” The puppy eyes Patton threw into the mix, was not what did Deceit in, nope not at all, they played no part in that... and even if they did he was never gonna admit it.

 “No.” he huffed as he got up from the chair, while Patton at the same time squealed happily and grinned from ear to ear while making a little happy dance.

The moment Deceit was within reach Patton grabbed him by the arm and dragged him down towards the kitchen. Deceit yelped and stumbled after the moral side to keep up.

Deceit just stared at the kitchen, Patton had already gathered everything they would need on the counter along with bowls, measuring cups, pans and the cut-outs for the gingerbread figures.

 “You… haven’t been busy...” Deceit mumbled as he stared at everything as Patton clapped his hands summoning aprons on both of them.

Patton’s was light blue full of cats and dogs along with the text Everyday I’m Trufflin’. Deceit jolted and looked down at his own apron that was white and yellow checkered with the word Impasta on it.

Deceit looked back to Patton and raises his eyebrow before he smiled.

 “You and your puns…” he chuckled.

 “Not as if you don’t do puns yourself, kiddo, I have seen the end card of Can LYING be good, you know.” Patton said with a smirk. Laughing as Deceit blushed.

 “Whatever… pop-tart.” Patton gasped loudly

 “You gave a dad themed nickname!” he squealed in a pitched voice, before he hugged Deceit tight making the deceitful side screech “I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, KIDDO!”

 “GAAAH! LET ME GO THIS INSTANT!”

-

Virgil had tried to sleep. And he had actually managed a nap, but now he lay awake scrolling through the hell that was currently Tumblr, chuckling as the fanders said they were going to Myspace instead.

He jolted and almost fell of his bed when a loud screech came from downstairs.

Virgil grabbed his phone and scrambled to get to the door and threw it open, only to be met by the scent of saffron buns and gingerbread, he blinked before he remembered the screech and scrambled down the stairs to make sure no one was dying.

 “WHO DIED?!” Virgil shouted as he slid to a halt in the doorway to the kitchen, hair rumpled and hoodie almost falling of him, his eye shadow was darker than normal due to his heightened anxiety.

the sight that greeted him made him drop his jaw and he just stared.

 “What..?” he gaped out

 “Kiddo!” Patton cried out happily when he caught sight of him grinning, flour on his face and shoulders and gingerbread dough sticking to his cheek and apron and a icing bag in his hands.

Deceit turned around from there he stood with his back to the door, powdered sugar coating his hair and face, along with icing painting his scaled cheek.

his cloak and hat having been left in his room when Patton dragged him down to help with baking.

 “I thought you were awake...” Deceit said surprised as he squinted at Virgil.

 “I managed to sleep for a bit… but... who screamed?” Virgil asked and crossed his arms eye shadow getting less intense.

 “The icing was very warm...” Deceit grumbled and looked away, letting his flour dusty fingers touch, gloves gone to keep them from getting dirty, which revealed his scales that was on both hands, but more on the left one than the right.

 “Wait… that was you? I could have sworn that was Princy.” Deceit blushed and grumbled something under his breath, while Virgil snickered.

Patton smiled at both of them, happy his kiddos got along before he beamed brightly.

 “Virgil! Do you wanna join us baking? we got some more gingerbread dough left!” he said like a happy puppy who caught sight of their person.

 “Sure, soda-pop.” Virgil said and smiled. Patton gasped dramatically again before he gave away a pitched squeal at the nickname and quickly summoned a apron for Virgil as well, on it stood the words May the fork be with you. Virgil looked down at the purple apron and chuckled.

When Logan came downstairs it was to the sight of Patton, Deceit and Virgil working on decorating a gingerbread house and figures. while the saffron buns sat on the counter to cool. Logan smiled and couldn’t help chuckle at the offended look and hiss Deceit gave Virgil when the taller side smeared more glazing on Deceit’s face.

 “How is it going?” Logan asked as he entered the kitchen. Patton looked up sending a small swarm of flour falling from his hair and he grinned.

 “It’s going great! the kiddos really helped.”

 “I see, that’s good, do you want me to put the saffron buns away?” Logan asked pointing to the curled buns with raisins.

 “Yes please, but leave some out, will you Logan?”

 “Very well.” Logan said and smiled as he started to gather the buns in plastic bags to put in the freezer.

When that was done he clapped his hands and turned to look at the others who were putting the finishing touches on the house before Virgil put a layer of  powdered sugar over everything to represent snow.

 “Now when that is done with, off with you to the bathroom to get cleaned up, and i will clean things here.”

A small water war broke out amongst them in the bathroom before they cleaned themselves free of icing, flour and powdered sugar and gingerbread dough.

-

When Roman came home a while after dark he stomped his shoes free from snow before he took them off and entered the living room where the others were gathered, appearing to be playing a game of UNO.

 “Oh! Hey Roman! diners is in the refrigerator so you just have to reheat it, and there’s one saffron bun for you.” Roman grinned as he quickly fixed his food, as he did so he couldn’t help but snort when Deceit threw a take 4 cards on top of the pile making Virgil have to grab more cards.

 “OH MY GOD YOU DAMNED SNAKE! STOOOP!” Virgil cried as he struggled to hold all the cards in his hands. Deceit laughed and stuck out his tongue. causing Virgil to hiss and swear revenge.

To say the game ended in chaos was an understatement.

Logan had an urge to remove the game completely from Thomas mind.

[redheadedramblings]

Hiding in a closet (one shot)

Title: Hiding in a closet (one shot) Paring: Bucky x reader words: 2,609 Summary: You and Bucky hide in a closet together to keep from getting caught on a mission A/N: I don't know how I feel about this one! Please let me know if you like it!

masterlist

“Im hungry.” “We just ate Buck.” You sighed not even looking up from the computer screen. Hunched over the desk you tapped your nails on the hard wood as you watched loading percent icon. “Well I’m hungry again” “God, you are acting like a child” “I get cranky when I’m am hungry” he mumbles crossing his arms. “Uggggghhhhh. You want to complain about anything else?” Your words came out a little harsher than you thought they would, you didn’t mean to snap. You were just tired. Seeing you a bit angry Bucky leaned back in the chair slightly and looked down at his feet. Being teamed up with Bucky wasn’t your favorite thing in the world, especially when you two went on stupid assignments like these. Steve would always try to make you feel better before you headed out with Barnes. What did he call it again? Oh, thats right a “bonding experience”. He said it would be a good way to get used to each other in the field. Collecting intel had to be the most boring thing in the world to you, it wasn’t exciting at all. “Christ, this is taking forever!” you ran your hands down your face. “How long does it take to download a few files? We have been here for an hours now.” The flash drive sure was taking its good old time. You thought that they two of you would be in and out but unfortunately it didn’t turn out the way you planned. The plan was simple, you and Bucky had to break into a house that belonged to an aid of a senator. What was this guys name again? Morgan? Fuck it. You don’t really remember, you were too busy throwing grapes at Bucky while Steve had his back toward the both of you going over your mission. The reason for your unwelcome visit was that Morgan was somehow involved with the one and only Alexander Pierce. So that means he has some sort of ties with Hydra. The two of you snuck into his house and were tasked to steal some files on his computer. It wasn’t supposed to be taking this long, you have been there for hours. “….Its too cold in here” Bucky leaned back in the leather chair. “…Oh. My. God. Your nickname is the “Winter Solider”! How are you cold?!” You looked up at him and slightly chuckled feeling some of your anger shed off of you. “He has the AC up too high I feel like we are in a freezer.” “Eh, I guess you are right.” You rested your head on the table and looked around the room and then back to the computer. “There must be a lot of files, thats probably why its taking so long” you huffed. “We better find something good in there for how long its taking” Bucky groaned. “I know right?” You shifted in your chair and reached down to itch your leg when suddenly something caught your eye. Turning you peered out the windows that were overlooking the driveway. Lights beams from a car began to flicker and you watched as a car pulled into the drive way. “Oh shit!” you shot up from your seat. “What?” Bucky jumped. “He’s back!” “What?” “Bucky, Morgan is back!” “Uh-oh” You looked down at the commuter screen. “What percent is it at now?” he asks reaching to his belt. “99%” You lower your voice as you hear someone enter the house. Bucky runs over to the light switch and turns them off, the room is now black. “He wasn’t supposed to be back this early!” you whisper “Damn it” Bucky growls slightly. “He is coming up the stairs!” You look down at the flash drive in the USB and your eyes light up as you watch the 99% finally turns to an 100%. Sighing in relief you grabbed the flash drive out and look up to see Bucky pulling out his gun and you frantically search for another way out.  The last thing you wanted was tomorrows headlines to be all about a senators aid begin murdered in his own house and you and Bucky being thrown in the doghouse. “Closet!” you grab his wrist and drags him over to a door and throws him in. You shut the door behind your self right before the door opens of the study. Morgan walks into the room with a brief case in hand. You listen as he walks over to his desk and sits down in the chair and starts up his computer. He types away on the keyboard and he picks up the phone and makes a few phone calls. For the moment, the two of you are safe. On the downside the you two are squished together, there isn’t much room to really do anything. You and Bucky struggle to contort your bodies in a way were you can both fit. Bucky was fidgeting and you rolled your eyes as your grabbed his shoulders and moved him in front of you so you were face to face. He gave into your grip and carefully tip toed from behind you, in the process he stepped on your foot. You winced and bent down and he let out a breathy laugh of amusement and you replied by sucked air though your teeth. The door had small slits in it which you both could see out of, the streaks of light were the only thing helping you see. The light illuminated his face, his towering figure standing above you looking down with his steal blue eyes. Your cheeks began to feel hot and your heart began to pound, you have never been this close to him before. You were so uncomfortably close to him, you could feel his body heat radiating off of him. Looking up at his face you starting tracing his jaw line with your eyes, his face was beautiful. His lips parted as he turned his head head to look though one of the slits in the door. Bucky sure was a handsome guy, but you never really took the chance to study his face in detail like this before. He was always the solider who you could harass on missions. Bucky swallowed and you watched his adams apple bob up and down and you bit your lip. He looked down at you and noticed you were staring at him. Your eyes widen and you quietly cleared your throat and began shuffling through your coat pockets. Pulling out your phone you turned it on and the light from the screen lit up the small closet space and you both squinted at the bright light. Turning the brightness now you went into your texts and pulled up Sam’s number. “Sam, we are currently in a bit of a situation. Bucky and I are at Morgans house and he came back early. We weren’t able to get out in time. Currently hiding in a closet with Barnes” You texted him. You adjusted your phone volume of silent and waited for him to respond. Bucky leaned forward and pressed his forehead to yours and looked down at your phone. You both waited for a moment until you saw him open your text and began to type. “You are stuck in a closet with Barnes? Sucks to suck” he replied. “This is serious Sam!” “Does Morgan know you are there?” “No” “Well then its not that serious. Just wait it out. He will leave eventually” You sighed realizing that was your only option, looking up at Bucky you scrunched up your face. “In the meantime while you are waiting you two can always just fool around. Just don’t be too loud.” You read the follow up text and your eyes opened wide with embarrassment and Bucky watched your expression change and he grabbed the phone out of your clutches. With the phone in his hands he glanced down at Sam’s text and you watched as his eyes widen and his metal hand reaches behind his neck. He then brings the phone closer to his face and begins to type but as he types he stops and sticks out his tongue. His thumbs move on the screen and he pulls the phone back from his face and he raises an eye brow. You look up at him with confusion and he brings the phone down to your eye level and you watch him try and type. Realizing the problem you hold your hands to your mouth and shut your eyes desperately trying not to burst out laughing. You grab onto his metal fingers and lift them up indicating that they are the reason he can’t type. It was so amusing watching him type, he got so into it until he realized that his left arm wasn’t working so his words were all jumbled up. “fuck” he mouths to you. Trying to compose yourself, you wipe the tears away from your eyes and he squints his eyes down at the phone. He brings his phone up to his face again and this time he uses just his flesh hand. He slowly types on the phones keyboard with one finger looking like a old man trying to figure out how a touch screen works. When he finally finished he grabs your hands and places the phone back in your palms. “Bucky said to fuck off and that he was going to kick your ass” you read the text that Bucky sends. You bite your lip and Bucky looks down and smiles. “Bring it old man” Sam types back. You show Bucky the text and he just rolls his eyes and scoffs. You put the phone back in your pocket and you lean back. The two of you are there for another hour and a half. Morgan is chatting away on his phone about god knows what, it wasn’t really important what ever it was. You were getting tired, all you wanted to do was go home and sleep till noon. Bucky’s head was leaning against the wall and his eyes were closed. Slowly you leaned you head forward and pressed your forehead against his chest, you didn’t care anymore. The exhaustion was taking over and your eyes felt heavy. You feel his body lean into your and he slowly wraps his arms around your body engulfing you with warmth. He is so warm, you could fall asleep any second. You don’t know how long you closed your eyes for but you flinched when you heard the room the the study close and the lights shut off. You opened your eyes, Bucky’s arms were still wrapped around you and he was still leaning against the wall. Looking up at his face you were tempted to say something when he spoke. “He just left. I can hear him walking to another room” He said softly. “Alright lets go” You break free from his grasp and the warmth was gone. Bucky grabbed the door handle and twisted it, opened the door just enough that the both of you could peer your heads out and look around. The two of you snuck out of the room and were able to creep down the stairs silently. Once the two of you were out of his house you walked back to the car that was parked about a block and a half away. “Holy shit that was terrible” you yelled as you sat down in the passenger seat and shut the door. “I don’t want to do that ever again” Bucky yawned as he put the key in the ignition. You put your hands in the pocket of your coat playing with the flash dive with your fingers. Thank god this whole thing was over, you thought. The car began down the road and Bucky stopped at a empty intersection. “Hey, take a right here” You say pointing to the road next to you. “Thats not the way home though” “No, but it is a way to a 24-hour diner. I thought we could get something to eat since you said you were hungry. You are still hungry right?” you inquired. He just looks over at you and shoots you a cheeky grin. “Yea I am” “Well then lets go” “Alright sounds good to me” Bucky’s face lights up and you both drive down the road into the night.

[jrubalcaba]

Elevator Music - A Bucky x Reader x Steve one shot

author: jrubalcaba

featuring: Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes

word count: 3426

Rating: mature audiences please

warnings: cussing, suggestive situations

A/N: Ok so this was inspired by this prompt that @suz-123 tagged me in:

I didn’t feel comfortable writing this about Chris and Sebastian, so I changed it to Steve and Bucky. The outfits that the guys are wearing are the above ones from Civil War. Hope y’all enjoy this!

Today had been a terrible day, and all I wanted to do was go home, take off my cursed heels, slide into some sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt and polish off the rest of the Ben & Jerry’s pint I had stashed in the freezer for nights like this. My boss, on top of being a douche in general, asked no told me to stay late to get some last minute things done before the weekend, which took him to all around asshat supreme levels of dickheadedness. He did however, say that he owed me one, so I think I’m going to be calling in on Monday. Why? Because I fucking deserve it.

I entered the lobby of my apartment complex and headed to the elevator. I was about to hit the ‘door close’ button when I heard a man call out to hold the door. To my surprise, the Captain America and the Winter Soldier got on the elevator with me. 

“Thanks,” said the Captain, offering me a smile while his friend nodded his thanks as well. I smiled back at them.

“Not a problem,” I replied as I glanced at them out of the corner of my eye. Captain Rogers had on a pair of dark jeans, a gray shirt and a brown leather jacket. He was good looking, there’s no denying that. The Sergeant, who I stared at way longer than I needed to, was sex on legs. He had dark jeans on as well, but he filled them out waaaaaay more than the Captain. He had this red henley on, and a grayish-brown jacket. He looked hella fine.

I was staring at his ass when I looked up and noticed that he was watching me. I felt my face burn as I turned away. Suddenly, the elevator shuddered before coming to an abrupt stop that had me stumbling forward as I lost my footing. Luckily, Captain Rogers caught me before I could fall to the ground.

“Gotcha. You okay?” he asked, setting me right. The lights had gone out in the car, only to be replaced by an emergency light that was too dim to see very well, but I was able to make out his face. He was concerned for my safety, which was sweet.

“Yes, thank you.” I walked over to the control panel, picking up the phone to attempt at getting ahold of someone when I noticed there was no dial tone. “Okay, no dial tone so I guess I’ll just call the building manager and let him know about the elevator.” I opened my purse and began to search for my phone, but I couldn’t find it. “Oh no, I must have left it in my car or at work. Shit.” I looked back at the two men. “I know neither one of you lives here, but could you get ahold of whoever you were visiting and have them call the manager?” The Captain nodded before pulling out his phone and called his friend.

“Hey Sam. Look, Bucky, I and one of your neighbors are stuck in the, hello? Sam?” he looked at his phone before putting it back to his ear. “Sam? You there? Hello?” He shook his head at us. “I don’t think Sam is gonna be able to help. He sounded like he was at a bar or something. It was like he could barely hear me.” Well crap.

“Hold on, let me try. Maybe he’ll be able to hear me,” the Sergeant interjected before we could lose hope. He pulled his phone out and dialed Sam, smiling when he answered. “Yo, bird brain. We need your help. Yeah, Steve, your neighbor, and I are stuck in the elevator in your building. Call the manager for us. Thanks.” He slid his phone back in his pocket and shrugged at his friend. “Maybe you just had a bad connection.” We all exchanged glances before the Sergeant sat down and leaned back against the wall, his friend joining him.

“You might as well sit down too. It’s going to be a while before anyone gets here, and those shoes look uncomfortable to walk in, let alone stand around in,” the Captain noted, pointing at my shoes with his chin. I nodded before joining them on the floor, pulling the heels off and sighing in relief. “So, we can try and pass the time by getting to know each other a bit. What’s your name?” he asked me. I gave them my name and they nodded.

“I already know who you two are, but I’d feel weird referring to you by your first names when you both have titles,” I stated. They both gave me a weird look, so I went on and explained. “You’re Captain Rogers, and you’re Sergeant Barnes,” I began, pointing to each of them in turn. “Growing up, I was always told that if someone has a title, then I am to address them by that title only unless they give me permission to call them by their first name. So, unless you say I can call you Steve and Bucky, I can only refer to you by your titles.” Sergeant Barnes nudged my foot with his.

“Who taught you that?” he asked.

“My dad. It’s a form of respect in my family.” He smiled at me.

“Well, he’s a good man, your dad. You can call me Bucky, though. Being called Sergeant Barnes makes me feel like I’m in trouble.” I nodded in understanding.

“I agree with him. Being called Captain Rogers does make me feel like I did something wrong, so please, call me Steve.” I laughed

“Well, I don’t want you to feel like you’re in trouble, so I guess I can call you that,” I joked. Even though it was cold outside, our little car was getting to be a bit hot. I took my coat off, laying it over my purse. After a while, I noticed the two men take their jackets off as well. We started talking about anything and everything, just to pass the time. But, the more we talked, the hotter the car became, so more clothing was removed. I was starting to regret wearing this dress to work tonight. I was trying to catch the eye of the cute new guy, but when his boyfriend showed up with flowers and they kissed rather passionately, I threw in the towel. Even I know when to admit defeat.

It was apparently starting to get too hot, for Steve and Bucky had already removed their shirts (revealing the yummiest abs I’ve ever seen. Seriously I could trace over every muscle with my tongue if they’d let me). Thanking my lucky stars that I had shaved my legs this morning, I had taken off my boots and knee high socks. It helped, but it wasn’t enough. Movement caught my attention, and as I looked up, Steve and Bucky were taking off their own socks and shoes.

“You two gonna take off your pants too?” I asked, half serious and half scared. Bucky looked over at me.

“If we’re stuck in this elevator for much longer, yeah.” A sly grin grew over his face as he regarded me further. “Why? You hoping to check out the rest of me?” I felt my jaw drop in surprise. I didn’t think he was going to say anything about me staring at his ass earlier. I felt my panties dampen, and I hoped I wasn’t getting myself in too deep.

“No. Well, not unless you want me to,” I teased. Bucky glanced over at Steve, the two clearly having a silent conversation. I figured I wasn’t in terrible company, so I pulled my dress off, which left me in my slip and my underwear. I heard the two of them suck in a breath when they noticed my lack of attire.

“Wow. White satin,” Steve groaned. “I haven’t seen that on a woman since the 1940’s.” I glanced up at him, and noticed that his eyes had darkened. His gaze sent another flood of arousal through me, thoroughly seeping through my panties.

“Yeah, I’m with you Steve,” Bucky joined in. I caught his eye and felt a shiver run through me. His gaze was absolutely sinister, and I noticed a bulge in his jeans that wasn’t there before. “White satin is like kryptonite to me,” he growled, crawling over to me. I squirmed as he ran the tip of his nose up the side of my neck. “Doll, we can smell how wet you are. Don’t try to deny it,” he breathed in my ear. I looked over at Steve, who smiled and nodded in confirmation as he palmed himself through his jeans. Bucky stood then, unbuttoning and unzipping his pants. “Doll, we need to know if you want this. Otherwise, we’ll forget this happened and we’ll wait with you until we’re rescued. Okay?” I felt hands at my hips, grabbing my undies. I made eye contact with Steve, who was in only his boxer briefs, the same question on his face.

There was no way I was going to say no to Captain America and the Winter Soldier. I held Steve’s gaze as I lifted my hips, giving him room to remove my panties. Once they were off, I got up on my knees and pulled Bucky’s pants and boxer briefs down to his ankles, freeing his impressive length. I took him into my mouth, swirling my tongue around the tip, while Steve laid down on his back, my knees on either side of his head. As I began to bob up and down on his cock, Steve went to work on me, using his tongue to coax even more slick from me. I started to rock against his face, finding the friction I needed to get me closer to orgasm. Suddenly, he sucked my clit into his mouth, causing me to moan around Bucky’s dick.

“Mmmm. Fuck, darlin’. Seeing your lips wrapped around my dick while you ride Stevie’s face is fuckin’ beautiful,” he praised. I peeked up at him through my eyelashes as I hummed in my throat, earning another moan from him. “You keep that up and I’m gonna come, and I’m no where near finished with you,” he threatened. I felt Steve’s hands slide up my sides, bunching my slip as he grabbed my hips and pulled me down roughly against his face.

“Ohhhhh,” I moaned as he doubled his efforts, my orgasm coming to a peak before it washed over me. I let Bucky slide from my mouth as I came down from my high, while Steve greedily lapped up everything I had to offer. He then slid out from between my legs, kneeling behind me as he ran his hands all over me.

“Buck, she tastes so fuckin’ good,” he swore while licking his lips. “You wanna taste her?” he asked as he began massaging my breasts. I looked up at Bucky, dying to know where he wanted to take this.

“Nah, it’s ok. I’m not really done enjoying her mouth. Go ahead and get yourself wet though,” he offered as he sat back down, beckoning me forward. I followed him, grabbing his cock and bringing it to my lips again, licking it before sliding back down on it. I felt Steve behind me, his strong thighs against mine. His cock, long and hot, brushed against my folds, collecting the remaining slick before nudging his tip inside me.

“Is this ok? If this is too much I-oh!” he cried out as I pushed back against him. “I take that as a ‘yes’ then.” I felt Steve pull all the way out before slamming back into me, thrusting me forward onto Bucky. “Fuck doll, you’re so tight. Has it been a while since the last time a man had you?” he asked breathlessly as he continued to pound into me. I couldn’t talk, for I had a mouth full of Bucky. Suddenly Steve grabbed me around my chest and pulled me upright against him, pulling out of me entirely. “I think Bucky needs to feel how tight you are. Do you want Bucky to fuck you too?” he growled in my ear. I nodded, not trusting my voice.

Bucky smoothed his shirt out before laying flat on his back on it, while Steve laid me on his chest. I pushed myself up on my hands to look at him, smiling before leaning down to kiss him. Two hands, one warm and one cool, came up to hold my face as I maneuvered myself around to straddling him. I broke the kiss to sit up, grabbing his straining cock and easing down onto it. I moaned at the feeling of being filled again.

“Ohhhhhh fuck, Bucky.” I began to roll my hips, loving just how deep he could reach. He pulled my slip up and over my head, leaving us all bare to each other.

“Fuck Stevie, you’re right. She’s so fuckin’ tight and wet. Come here baby,” he cooed, pulling me down for a kiss. I kept moving, chasing another orgasm that was fast approaching, thanks to him constantly touching that sensitive spot deep inside me. “Yeah, that’s it, baby. Ride that dick. I can tell you’re getting close.” Finally, after a few minutes, my release came and I slowed, trying to ride it out as long as I could. My legs and arms threatened to give out, and luckily both men caught me. I laid my head against Bucky’s chest, listening to his hammering heart while he held my hips in place as he thrusted up into me. Just then, I felt something warm teasing against my back entrance. Steve leaned against my back and whispered in my ear.

“Have you ever had anyone take you back here?” I moved my head to see him better, before mouthing ‘no’. He smirked before slowly easing a finger inside. “If this is too much for you, I’ll stop.” I was so relaxed that it barely stung, which prompted him to add another finger. “Can I try it with this?” he asked, leaning back to rub his tip against me.

“Go for it,” I rasped. He positioned his tip against my hole and slowly pushed in. Once he got past my initial resistance, he was able to push himself all the way in. I groaned, not in pain, but in pleasure, the feeling of being stretched by the both of them at once was almost too much to bear.

“Jesus that’s amazing. And you’re taking all of me so well, baby,” he crooned. “Buck, you hold her hips while I hold her shoulders. I think we might be able to get one more out of her,” Steve instructed as the two of them began to thrust in turns. At first, I was skeptical that I could have a third orgasm, but with the way they were moving, I was quickly proven wrong. The longer they went, the stronger my orgasm was going to be. “Fuck I’m almost there, Bucky how about you?” Steve asked, his pace picking up speed.

“Yeah I’m almost there, and judging by how she’s squeezing the hell outta my dick, she’s almost there too.” Steve let go of my shoulders to pull my hips up just an inch, but that inch was all it took for Bucky to hit that spot a few times and I was coming again. “Steve that was it. She just came again and fuck!” Bucky cried out as he wrapped his arms around and thrusted inside me as hard as he could, coating my walls with his seed. We both slumped over in exhaustion while Steve made sure we were okay.

“Now, it’s my turn,” Steve muttered as he began to ram into me at a grueling speed. After a few minutes of relentless pounding, he too came, squirting his release inside me as well. He collapsed on top of us, smushing me against Bucky’ chest. I was in the middle of the most amazing super soldier sandwich, and I had no intention of moving unless I needed to. We laid there, relishing in the feeling of flesh on flesh for god knows how long before Steve gently peeled himself off me.

“There are some body wipes in my purse if you need them,” I called out to him, noticing that he was looking around for something to clean up with. He grabbed my bag and rifled through it, finding the pack of wipes and pulled them out, using them to clean himself up. Bucky and I remained where we were, his metal hand drawing random patterns on my back. I was in a state of bliss, and if truth be told, I was more fond of Bucky than Steve. They both had their merits, but I’m particularly drawn to bad boys.

Steve was pulling his shirt on when Bucky and I finally decided to get ourselves dressed. Steve handed me the wipes so we could clean up as well. Bucky and I couldn’t keep our eyes off one another, a smile on both our faces as we helped each other get dressed. Steve watched us from the corner, shaking his head in our direction. Once we were decent, we could hear lots of people talking on the other side of the doors.

“Hey! This is the fire department. Everyone okay in there?” we heard someone ask. I looked from Bucky to Steve, all of us nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, we’re fine. Are you here to get us out?” I asked in return.

“Yes ma’am we are. I need you all to stand back while we try to get this door open, alright?” the firefighter instructed. The three of us did as we were told, Bucky draping his arm around my shoulders. There was a lot of noise that followed; metal upon metal, a motor starting and whirring, and then the sounds of heavy doors being pulled open. The firefighters got the doors open a bit, and then Bucky and Steve joined them in pushing the door open. Once it was opened, I was sent out first, followed by Bucky and then Steve.

“Thank you gentlemen. You saved the day,” I cheered. The firemen all smiled and waved me off.

“Thank you ma’am, but the pleasure is all ours. It’s not everyday we get to swoop in and save Captain America and his best friend, Sergeant Barnes,” the lead fireman bragged. He and his men all chuckled, Bucky and Steve hanging their heads in shame before joining in with them.

“Thanks fellas. I think we’re gonna escort this young lady home, and then we’re going to turn in for the night as well,” Bucky replied. The three of us began to walk down the hallway towards the stairs. We had gone up a flight when a good looking dark-skinned man came bounding down the hallway, coming to a halt in front of us and gasping for breath.

“Steve, Bucky, I’m sorry it took so long,” he panted, bending over to catch his breath. “I tried getting ahold of the manager, but his phone was busy.” He straightened up and approached them. “You guys ok?” he asked. Steve and Bucky looked at each other before turning to look at me, a grin on both their faces.

“Oh yeah, we’re great,” Steve replied, gesturing at me. “You’ve got a great neighbor here, Sam. Very hospitable.” Sam turned to me in surprise.

“Oh really? You’re….5A, right?” he asked, extending his hand out for me to shake.

“5E, actually. 5A moved out a while back,” I corrected, returning his handshake.

“Gotcha. Well, Cap, Tin Man. You guys wanna come on up to my place and watch the game?” Sam asked them. “You’re welcome to join us 5E,” he added.

“No thanks. I’m gonna head to my place,” I answered. I began to walk down the hall when I turned back to wave at them. Steve and Sam returned the wave, but Bucky looked conflicted, looking back and forth between his friends and me.

“You know what, I’m gonna make sure she gets home safe,” he explained, glancing at me for a moment before looking back at them. “And make sure that there aren’t any bad guys waiting in her living room, or kitchen, or bathroom, or her bedroom,” he added on, a sly smile crossing his face. Bucky turned back and ran up to me, sweeping me off my feet and running to my door.

TAG LIST:

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[sungvin97]

Countless Promises

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Prompts: “So…Looks like we’re the only ones without dates, huh.” “Did you actually get a Santa suit?” “I think I love you. Wow that sounds so cliché.”

Word Count: 10,735

Part of the wonderful collab with some amazing authors! Please go check out the other stories! 

The streets were crowded with people walking into shops that were lit up with beautiful Christmas displays. People moved quickly, the close date of Christmas pressing on their backs as they hurried to buy last minute gifts for their friends and family. The snow had been falling for a week now, covering the pavement. Every now and then the roads and sidewalks had to be cleared of snow to allow pedestrians and vehicles to pass through safely. Christmas lights hung from stores and lined the streets. Music singing of the holiday could be heard everywhere, the same songs over and over again just with a different arrangement or singer. The snow that lined the sidewalks and fell in small snowflakes on the ground made the already cold winter weather even colder. The people walking through the cold, took in the beautiful lights of the season with smiles on their faces. You didn’t look at any of the lights. You ignored the Christmas music spilling out of the stores. Instead, you were walking fast, dodging people left and right in an effort to get back to the warm comfort of your apartment.

“No Hoseok. I really just want to stay inside tonight. I have to pack,” you said into the phone that you held to you ear.

The cold metal of your phone against your skin were causing shivers to pass through your body and you pulled your beanie down on your head a bit more.

“Oh come on! You never get out! It’s Christmas! And you’re not going home until tomorrow. You have time!”

“First of all: it’s not Christmas yet. Christmas is on Monday. Second of all: I get out! I’m out right now!”

You could practically see Hoseok rolling his eyes through the phone.

“Yeah and I bet the only reason you’re out right now is you went to the market to buy something really quick.”

You glanced down at the bag in your hand, seeing the tea boxes and ice cream staring up at you.

“Thought so,” said Hoseok, taking your silence as an acknowledgement of the truth.

“Well either way, I’m not going to your work party. You already said you had a date to it.”

“Yeah but I can have two dates right?”

“Hoseok!”

He laughed as the door of you apartment came into view and you breathed a sigh of relief.

“Please Y/N! Just come and have a good time. Most of my coworkers know you already and have been asking me if you’re coming.”

You unlocked the dark blue door, the warmth of your home setting you at ease. You set down the bag by the door as you closed it behind you, dropping your keys into the small bowl on the table in the hallway.

“I only know Jimin and Taehyung, Hoseok.”

You unwound the scarf from your neck and took off your coat, hanging both up on the rack by the door. You picked up the bag and went to your kitchen, putting the ice cream in the freezer so it wouldn’t melt in the warmness of the apartment.

“I already put your name on the list.”

You should have known Hoseok would do this. Sometimes you wondered why Hoseok was your best friend when you were complete opposites but then you remembered all the times that Hoseok had stuck with you and in return, you had done the same. The saying opposites attract was not only related to romantic relationships but also friendships.

“Dress code?” you sighed into the phone.

“Drop them dead girl,” he said with a smile that you could hear.

Arriving to a Christmas party alone really wasn’t something on your bucket list. You tugged a little at your dress as you walked into the hotel where the party was being held. You thanked your mother in your head for buying you the black and red dress that hung off your shoulders. She had always told you that you would need it one day. And tonight  you needed it. The staff at the hotel checked your name off the list and directed you to the room on the left where the clinks of glasses and the murmur of voices could be heard over the soft piano in the background. You thanked them, walking into the spectacularly decorated room that took your breath away. A huge Christmas tree stood in the center of the floor, covered in lights and topped with a bright star making you wondered how the staff had gotten it on top. Guests surrounded the tree, all talking and exchanging pleasantries with each other. Hoseok worked for a well-known record label that meant his company spared no expense when it came to their holiday parties. Speaking of Hoseok, you wondered how you were going to find him in the mass of people.

“Y/N!”

You turned, a smile breaking out on your face when you saw Hoseok walking towards you.

“Thank god. I was trying to figure out how I was going to find you in this mess,” you said, lightly punching his shoulder.

He grinned, his eyes taking you in.

“Wow Y/N. Where did you get this dress? I’ve never seen this dress in your closest.”

“My mom got it for me. I keep it hidden,” you laughed.

“Well you look great. Come on, Jimin and Taehyung have been wondering about you.”

You followed Hoseok through the crowd of people towards his two friends that he worked with.

“Y/N!”

“Wow…”

Jimin and Taehyung stared at you, not used to seeing you in anything besides jeans and sweaters. You laughed at them.

“Nice to see you too.”

Taehyung grinned, his mouth turning into a square to display his charming smile.

“I’m glad Hoseok convinced you to come,” he said.

Jimin nodded behind him, his eyes becoming crescent moons as he smiled. Now that you were here, you were glad as well. You caught up with Taehyung and Jimin for a bit while Hoseok left to find his date. The other two boys had dates as well and the more you looked around, the more couples you saw. You had thought that perhaps there would be other people like you that had come alone but it looked like you were alone in more ways than one. Jimin and Taehyung began talking to one of their coworkers so you slipped away, seeing the plates of cookies that covered a table by the wall. You leaned against the marble wall as you ate a cookie, just watching the people pass by you. The cold stone pressed against your exposed shoulders but you didn’t mind it.

“So…looks like we’re the only ones without dates, huh.”

You turned to see a tall man leaning against the wall a couple feet away from you. He watched the party before him, not even turning your way. To say that he was handsome was an understatement. He was drop dead gorgeous. His dark black hair was styled neatly, showing his forehead, and he wore a traditional black suit with a white button down and black tie. His eyes were dark and doe like that made him look too innocent for this world. He turned then, the same eyes looking straight into yours and you suddenly froze. It felt like he was picking you apart bit by bit and soon he would know everything about you.

“Looks like it,” you said quickly turning away from him and staring at the Christmas tree in the center of the room.

You missed the little smile that graced his lips as he looked at you.

“Jungkook.”

You turned back to him as he held out a hand, watching you carefully.

“Y/N,” you said, taking his hand.

His skin was warm and smooth. His hand covered yours completely and the two of you stood there, holding each other’s hand a bit longer than was necessary. You let go of his hand as if it had burned you and turned away again. You had just met him and you were already star struck by him. He cleared his throat and scratching the back of his head as if unsure what to do.

“I haven’t seen you before.”

“I don’t work here. I’m a friend of Hoseok’s and he pressured me to come,” you responded.

“Ah,” he said, nodding a little.

“I’m glad he did.”

It was quiet but you heard it. You turned once again to face him, a small smile on your face. Jungkook looked at you, his cheeks turning a light pink as he realized you heard what he had said.

“You don’t have a date though?” you asked.

“No. I don’t really have anyone I can ask. I’m not too good with women,” he laughed.

“What am I then?” you teased him.

You wondered where your courage was coming from to flirt with Jungkook. Normally, you would have walked away by now after stuttering out some words.

He smiled at you and you couldn’t help but look at his full lips.

“True,” he said and you struggled to remember what he was replying to.

There was a lull in the conversation, the only noise coming from the party in front of you.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

You nodded, not even fully processing Jungkook’s words before you were walking out the door and stepping into the night air. The moment you were outside, you relaxed. Being inside had made you so tense that you hadn’t realized it. You laughed a little, smiling at Jungkook next to you.

“I hate work parties. I have to go because I work there but I wish I didn’t have to go.” The two of you walked away from the hotel and down the sidewalk, no destination in mind.

“I hate parties in general,” you said with a shrug.

“How do you know Hoseok?” Jungkook asked.

“We went to college together and somehow became friends.”

Jungkook nodded at your words.

“How long have you worked for the label?” you asked as you turned a corner.

“Just a year. It hasn’t been that long.”

The snow was still falling, some snowflakes landing and melting on your exposed skin causing shivers to run up your body.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Jungkook asked suddenly, glancing at you.

Your black heels clicked against the pavement as you continued to walk.

“No. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No.”

The two of you shyly smiled at each other before glancing away, the heat building in both of your faces.

“How do you feel about pancakes?” you asked.

“I love them. Why?”

“Because there’s a pancake house that is open 24/7 down this street,” you said, pointing.

Jungkook looked the way you were pointing before smiling.

“What are we waiting for then?”

Only a couple people were in the restaurant, most of them college students. Eyes turned to take you and Jungkook in as you entered in your formal attire. You giggled as the two of you sat down at a booth by the window.

“We stand out, don’t we?” asked Jungkook, looking around.

“Just a bit,” you said, smoothing the fabric of your dress.

Jungkook took off his jacket and passed it to you. You looked at him with confused eyes.

“It will cover up your dress a bit. And it’s cold. You’re probably freezing.”

You blushed as you took his jacket.

“Thanks,” you muttered, pulling his jacket on.

You laughed as his jacket swallowed you whole, completely covering your hands. Jungkook grinned, leaning over the table a bit as he rolled up the sleeves so your hands could be seen. You couldn’t help but feel like this was date even if you had just met him. A waiter came to take your orders, both of you choosing to go with pancakes. Jungkook rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt as the waiter left, showcasing his forearms to the world that had you staring for a second before you snapped back into reality.

“Do you come here often?” he asked, looking around the restaurant.

“Not too often. But I’ve come now and then,” you said with a shrug.

Your phone vibrated and you saw that Hoseok was calling you. You cursed at yourself for forgetting to tell him that you had left.

“Sorry. It’s Hoseok,” you said and Jungkook nodded with a smile.

“Hoseok-“

“Where are you? Are you ok? Please tell me you’re ok!”

“Hoseok I’m fine! I’m sorry I forgot to tell you. I left the party.”

“Don’t scare me like that! What would I tell your parents if you were murdered or something!?”

“Really? Why do you jump to murder?” you rolled your eyes at your friend as Jungkook laughed quietly.

“Where are you though? Are you alone?”

“I’m at the pancake house down on First Street. I’m not alone,” you said, your eyes sliding to the man across from you.

“Who? Do I know them? Are they safe?”

“You worry too much Hoseok,” you sighed.

“You know him.”

“Who is it, Y/N? I’m dying of curiosity over here!” he wined and you could practically see him begging you with his eyes.

Jungkook nodded to you, saying that it was ok to tell Hoseok.

“Jungkook.”

Hoseok must have been drinking something because he suddenly started choking on the other line.

“Hoseok? Are you ok?”

“Jungkook? Jeon Jungkook? As in the Jungkook that works with me? Really attractive Jungkook?”

“Can you say that he’s attractive Hoseok?” you sighed again.

“You’re with Jungkook?”

“Yes I am. Get back to the party Hoseok,” you said and hung up, shaking your head at your friend.

“What happened to him?” Jungkook laughed.

“He seemed shocked that I was with you.”

“And called me attractive? How am I going to be able to face him at work now?” Jungkook joked.

“Well he’s not wrong,” you shrugged before realizing what you had said.

Jungkook raised an eyebrow as you scrambled for something.

“I mean-well-everyone is attractive in their own ways-so you know-“

Jungkook chuckled, making you silent as your face burned with embarrassment.

“Thanks. It’s not every day that a beautiful girl calls me attractive.”

You blushed harder at his words.

“That was on purpose,” said Jungkook, pointing his knife at you.

You held up your hands in surrender.

“Ok. So we both admit that we find each other attractive. Now what?”

“We eat,” he said, his eyes locked on somewhere behind you.

You were about to turn when two plates of steaming pancakes were set in front of you. You grinned, grabbing the syrup before Jungkook could.

“Hey!” he pouted.

“Ladies first!” you giggled as you drowned your pancakes in the sugary goodness.

The pancakes were still hot and you fanned your mouth as Jungkook watched you in amusement. The snow was still falling outside and the streets were quiet. The restaurant was emptier now, only a couple of people still seeking warmth inside including you and Jungkook. The Christmas lights filled the streets with a glow that spread warmth through anyone that looked outside. Jungkook finished his pancakes first, prompting him to lean over and steal some of your pancakes off your plate much to your dissatisfaction. As the time passed, the more it felt like you were in a dream and you were just waiting to wake up. Jungkook’s smile never left and you melted whenever you looked at him. It was midnight when the check came to your table and Jungkook grabbed it before you could even look at it.

“Hey! That’s not fair. At least let me pay mine,” you said as his card disappeared with the waiter.

“I thought men were supposed to pay on the first date,” Jungkook said with a small smirk.

It felt like the blush on your face had never left since Jungkook had first spoken to you only hours ago.

“I’m not sure we can call this a date,” you mumbled, leaning back against the booth.

“Then what is this?” Jungkook asked, tilting his head at you.

“Because it feels like a date to me.”

You glared at him.

“What happened to being bad with women?”

He shrugged.

“You’re different I guess.”

“Can you stop being attractive for at least a minute? It’s really hard for me to act like everything is fine when I’m dying on the inside,” you confessed.

You felt better about saying what was on your mind since the two of you were obviously attracted to each other.

“I’m having a hard time too,” said Jungkook as the card came back to the table.

You watched as he signed the receipt and put his card back in his wallet.

“Ready to go?” he asked as he stood up.

You nodded, grabbing your phone and walking out of the restaurant with Jungkook behind you. The snow had picked up its pace, falling harder as if it knew it wouldn’t be cleared from the ground until morning and it had all night to turn everything white. Jungkook’s jacket helped keep you warmer but you worried slightly about him since he had no protection against the snow.

“Aren’t you cold?” you asked, looking at him.

He shrugged.

“Better me being cold than you. I’m fine, don’t worry.”

The streets were totally empty now, the late hour and the chilly weather keeping everyone inside. Somehow the two of you ended up back at the hotel where the party had taken place. The lights were turned off and it looked like there had never a party only a couple hours ago.

“My car is here. I can take you home,” Jungkook said, pointing to the parking lot next to the hotel.

“Ok,” you said as you followed him to his car.

You didn’t want to go home but you knew that sooner or later you would have to part from Jungkook. But it scared you a little. You didn’t know if you would ever see Jungkook again. Sure, you could see him again since he worked with Hoseok but you didn’t know if the connection would be the same as tonight. You directed Jungkook to your apartment while still talking about little things with him. He pulled up in front of your apartment and you stared at your door for a second, filled with thoughts. The feeling of Jungkook’s jacket on your skin reminded you to return it to him. You began to take it off when Jungkook stopped you and you looked at him with confusion.

“Keep it.”

“But it’s yours.”

“Yeah but then I have an excuse to see you again,” he said with a smile.

You stared at him before smiling shyly.

“What are you doing for Christmas?” he asked suddenly.

“I’m going to my parents’ house. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“You mean today,” he said, looking at the bright numbers displaying the time on the dashboard of the car.

Your eyes followed his gaze.

“Oh, yeah I guess so then.”

You turned away from the clock to look at Jungkook. He wasn’t looking at you but rather seemed lost in thought.

“So can I ask for your number or do I have to get it from Hoseok?” you asked, grinning at him.

He laughed.

“I thought I was going to have to ask Hoseok for your number,” he said, taking out his phone and handing it to you.

He watched as you typed in your number and called yourself so that you had his number too.

“I don’t want to sound creepy but I was kind of watching you the whole night. I saw you when you walked in and I was trying to ask people about you casually but no one knew anything.”

“Not many of Hoseok’s coworkers know who I am,” you said with a shrug.

“I’m glad you approached me though,” you said.

He nodded with a smile.

“So I guess I have to let you go now?”

You sighed, leaning back in your seat.

“I guess.”

You glanced at your apartment door again, not wanting to leave Jungkook. A thought struck you suddenly and you turned back to face him.

“What are you doing for Christmas?”

Jungkook looked a little surprised at your question.

“Nothing. I’m just staying here. I’ll probably work a bit.”

“Do you want to come with me?”

His eyes widened at your suggestion.

“Come with you? Like to you parents’ house? Spend Christmas with you?”

You nodded.

“I know it’s a little weird especially since we just met and all but-“

“No, it’s not weird,” Jungkook cut in.

His hands tightened on the wheel of his car as he thought about your offer.

“You don’t have to. I just-don’t really want to leave you,” you said quietly, looking down at your hands in your lap.

“I’ll come with you.”

Your head snapped up.

“Wha-really?”

“Yeah. But would your family be ok with it?”

You nodded.

“They’ll be ecstatic that I brought a guy with me,” you joked.

Jungkook smiled.

“So when do we leave? I guess I should go pack.”

“I was going to leave around 10 in the morning. It’s a four hour drive.”

“I’ll pick you up around 9:50 then. Is that ok?”

You nodded.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” you said with a smile.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep due to excitement,” he said.

You giggled, leaning forward and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. You opened the car door, waving at him as you ran up the steps to your house. Your bed greeted you and you fell onto your bed, your smile never disappearing from your face as you drew Jungkook’s jacket tighter around yourself. You couldn’t believe that Jungkook was going to come home with you for Christmas. You rolled over onto your side, Jungkook’s jacket smelling of clean laundry as you fell into a deep sleep.

The sun woke you up, poking through the window and straight into your face. The sound of cars driving by was normal, although it seemed louder than it normally was. With a groan, you sat up and looked around. You were still dressed in your attire from last night with Jungkook’s jacket still on your shoulders. You gasped, quickly grabbing your phone and checking the time. Your shoulders deflated in relief, seeing that it was only 7 AM. You still had little time though. You peeled off your clothes, quickly taking a warm shower. You dressed again in jeans and a sweater before pulling your suitcase towards you, grabbing clothes from your closest and throwing them in. Your phone rang on your bed and you grabbed it, seeing who it was.

“Hey.”

“Hey honey. When are you coming today?”

“I’m leaving around 10 so I should be there around 2.”

“Ok you should miss traffic then.”

“Yeah. Oh mom. I’m bringing someone too. Is that ok?”

There was silence on the other end for a second before your mom responded.

“Of course! We’ll look forward to seeing you and your boyfriend!”

“Mom, he’s not-“

“Bye honey!”

Your mom hung up, leaving you with a sigh.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you said to your bedroom.

“Not yet anyways.”

You continued packing, remembering to throw in a nice dress for Christmas dinner. You finished packing at 9:30, leaving you with a little time before Jungkook got there. You made a quick breakfast and brought your stuff out to the hallway by the door. A couple minutes later, the doorbell rang and you jumped in surprise, excitement, and nervousness. Taking a deep breath, you opened the door to reveal Jungkook standing there, dressed in black jeans and a white long sleeve. He looked so effortless but still so unreal.

“Hi,” he said quietly.

“Hi,” you responded back.

“Are you ready to go?”

You nodded, turning to get your things. Jungkook took your suitcase, putting it in the truck next to his. You both got in the car before you looked at each other again. You burst into laughter at the thought of what was going to happen.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” you said.

“Me neither but here we are,” he said, smiling.

“Shall we go then?”

You nodded, typing in your address into his GPS. Jungkook drove through town and onto the freeway, settling into the long drive.

“Do you want me to drive part of it? It’s really long,” you said, concerned about him driving the whole thing.

“No it’s fine,” he reassured you with a smile.

“Did you sleep well last night?” he asked.

You nodded.

“I fell asleep as soon as I got home honestly.”

“Lucky. I didn’t. I was too nervous about today to do that. I kept waking up throughout the night.”

“Sorry.”

He shook his head, changing lanes as he did so.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

He paused.

“Ok I guess it is kind of your fault I’m this nervous but I don’t blame you for it.”

“I’m nervous too. My mom thinks we’re dating,” you said, looking out the window.

“That’s going to be fun to explain,” he said.

“Hi, I’m here to spend the holidays with you. No, I’m not dating your daughter. I just met her last night.”

You laughed at Jungkook.

“Please say that. I would love to see my parents reaction to that.”

Jungkook shook his head.

“No thanks. I want to make a good impression so that when I do come back as your boyfriend they’ll like me.”

You glanced at him, seeing his pink cheeks.

“Ok, I agree with that.”

He glanced at you, smiling.

“I’m glad we agree with us dating in the future,” he said.

“I don’t think I could say no to you,” you confessed.

“Me too.”

The drive went smoothly, both of you sharing details about yourselves and lives. You stopped for gas twice, each time Jungkook reassuring you that he was fine to keep driving. You were drawing close to your house, turning off the freeway finally, when you noticed how tense Jungkook had become.

“Hey, are you ok?” you asked, concerned.

He nodded.

“You don’t look it.”

“I’m just nervous.”

You looked out the window at your town before back at him.

“Sorry. This really is all my fault. We could have just parted ways yesterday and met each other again after Christmas.”

“No really it’s ok. I don’t think I would have been ok not seeing you for weeks. I probably would have called you every five minutes.”

You nodded.

“Me too.”

“I’m just nervous for meeting your family. I’ve never really done this, especially with someone I like.”

“Me too,” you said again.

“But it will be fine. Don’t worry.”

You reached over, laying a hand over his on the wheel. He glanced at you before lifting his hand off the wheel and interlacing your fingers together, resting your hands in the middle between your two seats. You were still holding hands when you pulled into your driveway. Jungkook took a deep breath before getting out of the car, breaking the connection between you. You followed him, grabbing your things from the trunk as you heard the door open behind you. You shot Jungkook a glance as he straightened, seeing your parents heading straight for you.  

“Y/N!!”

“Hi mom!”

You hugged your parents, telling them that the drive was fine before they were turning their eyes on Jungkook. It looked like two lions had cornered a deer and were planning on the best way to eat it.

“Um, mom, dad. This is Jungkook,” you introduced.

“It’s nice to see my daughter has finally found someone. It’s been so long since she last dated,” your dad said, shaking Jungkook’s hand.

Jungkook nodded with a smile.

“Wow, you’re so handsome. Y/N, how could you keep him from us for so long?”

You were about to respond to your mom but they were already dragging you into the house.

“You two are in the guest room at the end. Go get settled.”

You and Jungkook were pushed to your room, your mom closing the door behind you with a small giggle. You looked at each other, quietly laughing before a bigger problem occurred to you.

“So what do we do about sleeping?” Jungkook asked.

You looked at the king sized bed with a sigh.

“The floor is too cold to sleep on. Let’s just deal with it,” you told him.

“Should we just pretend we’re dating? I feel kind of bad to let your parents down,” he joked, setting his suitcase in the corner.

“Pretend dating never works out,” you said, sitting on the edge on the bed.

“Should we just date for real then?”

You looked at Jungkook who looked back at you.

“Honestly I would love to but it just doesn’t feel right yet. We only just met and no matter how much I already like you, I don’t want to rush things and have them ruined.”

Jungkook nodded.

“Me too.”

“So do we tell them that we aren’t dating?” you asked.

Jungkook shrugged.

“I guess.”

You and Jungkook unpacked your things before walking back out into the living room where your family was. You were discussing the best way to tell your parents you weren’t dating when your grandparents suddenly appeared in front of you.

“Y/N!”

“How are you? Oh you look thinner. Have you been eating?”

“Oh this is Jungkook?”

“It’s so nice to see you happy with someone, Y/N.”

You and Jungkook could say nothing as your grandparents swarmed you.

“Grandma, let Y/N breath a bit,” said a gruff voice behind you.

You turned, letting out a squeak at the sight of your older brother.

“Yoongi!” you yelled, throwing yourself into your brother’s arms as he rolled his eyes at your actions though he smiled.

“Nice to see you too, sis.”

His eyes went to Jungkook, taking him in slowly. Jungkook fidgeted, unsure of what to do.

“Ah Yoongi, this is Jungkook. Jungkook, this is my brother.”

Yoongi stepped forward, shaking Jungkook’s hand with a dark stare.

“Be good to my sister. If you don’t-“

“Yoongi,” you wined at him.

Jungkook cleared his throat a little.

“Uh honestly, we should probably clear this up before it gets more out of hand.”

Jungkook looked at you quickly before continuing.

“Y/N and I aren’t dating. We just met actually.”

Your grandparents traded looks of astonishment with your parents while your brother narrowed his eyes at Jungkook.

“So you just brought a guy you met to Christmas?” Yoongi asked you.

“Yeah,” you said quietly.

“But Jungkook isn’t a random guy. He works with Hoseok. Besides we-“

Jungkook cut you off with his words.

“We aren’t dating but I hope Y/N will accept me soon.”

You blushed at your parents’ smiles and your grandparents’ looks of encouragement towards you. Yoongi nodded at Jungkook’s words.

“I’ll be testing you the whole time you’re here then.”

You breathed a sigh of relief as your family melted away, each doing their own thing leaving you and Jungkook alone. You fell onto the couch with him beside you. You lightly poked his side.

“Where did that courage come from? You straight up told my family that you were going to date me.”

Jungkook shrugged with a grin.

“I guess love really does make you stupid.”

You shook your head.

“Do you know how many guys have run away after meeting my brother?”

Jungkook glared at you.

“I don’t want to know because then I’ll be jealous.”

“Lots. He always scared them away,” you said, glaring in your brother’s direction.

“Looks like I have to stand up to him then.”

Jungkook leaned back into the couch, his shoulder brushing against yours.

“Please do. I’ll support you so that he can’t throw you out.”

The day melted into evening as your parents cooked dinner. Your grandparents had gone back to their house, just fifteen minutes away and Yoongi had been in his room working on something. Your older sister and her husband were coming the next day, bringing their kids with them.

“How old are they?” Jungkook asked you as your parents cleaned up from dinner.

“They’re six and seven,” said Yoongi from across the table.

“And they’re a handful. I swear they have an endless supply of energy,” you sighed.

“Sounds like a fun Christmas.”  

“You have no idea what you signed up for,” Yoongi said.

Jungkook glanced at you, wondering if Yoongi was talking about the kids or the tests he would be put through by your brother. You shrugged, moving to help your mom with the dishes. Jungkook’s eyes followed you before he caught sight of Yoongi watching him out of the corner of his eyes. Quickly, he looked away from you so he didn’t entice the older man's wrath.

Sharing a bed with Jungkook wasn’t uncomfortable. You were a little unsure about the whole thing but you didn’t want Jungkook to freeze on the floor, which left you to share the bed with him. But it felt fine, almost natural to wake up in the morning with your face buried in his chest and his arms around you. Part of you told you to move away and pretend it never happened but most of you told you to stay where you were and enjoy this moment. So you stayed, drifting in and out of consciousness until you felt Jungkook shifting as he woke up. You opened your eyes, looking up to see him looking down at you.

“When did you get over here?” he asked, his voice hoarse from the night’s sleep.

You shrugged.

“No idea.”

He smiled, pulling an arm away from you to rub his tired eyes. You wined a little at the burst of cold air that washed over you now that Jungkook’s arm was gone. You moved closer to him, ignoring the voice in your head that said you were moving too fast.

“What am I? Your heater?” he teased, watching you.

“Yes. Deal with it.”

After lying in bed for another couple of minutes, you got up and took a shower, leaving Jungkook behind. While Jungkook showered, you went into the kitchen to make yourself some breakfast. Only Yoongi was sitting at the table, your parents nowhere to be seen.

“Morning Yoongi,” you said, while the kettle boiled.

“Morning. Where’s your man?”

You turned to send a glare his way.

“He’s not mine.”

“Do you want him to be?”

Your cheeks turned pink at your brother’s words.

“It’s too early for this. Besides, you hate every single guy who ever showed an interest in me.”

“Jungkook seems like a good guy. And I can tell he really likes you. That doesn’t mean he has passed yet though.”

You shook your head, sitting down at the table across from him with your hands around your hot mug to keep the cold away.

“You weren’t like this with Seokjin,” you muttered.

“That’s not true. I put Seokjin through the same that Jungkook is going to go through. Seokjin passed so maybe he can give some tips to Jungkook when he gets here.”

“When are they getting here?” you asked.

Yoongi looked at the clock.

“I think in about an hour. If they’re lucky. The kids might have given them trouble.”

Jungkook emerged from the room, taking the mug you offered him as he sat beside you. His hair was still damp from the shower, little droplets of water clinging to his skin. He looked like he was glowing. You wondered if you would ever be able to get over his good looks.

“Jungkook, what do you do? Y/N said you work with Hoseok.”

You glanced at your brother, seeing that he was beginning the questioning. Jungkook straightened.

“I work as a producer at the label.”

Yoongi’s eyes widened and he looked at you with amazement. You sipped your drink quietly, glad that Yoongi was surprised. You knew he would be.

“A producer? Really?”

Jungkook nodded.

“Yeah. I mean, I’ve only worked there for a year so I’m more of a check over things person but I still do some producing of my own. I work with Hoseok on a lot of music.”

Yoongi leaned forward, his eyes watching Jungkook carefully.

“Have you heard of Genius Records?”

Jungkook nodded.

“Of course. They work with us sometimes.”

Yoongi grinned.

“I’m one of their top producers there.”

Jungkook coughed, shock apparent on his face.

“What?”

He looked at you as you watched the whole thing with laughter brimming.

Yoongi laughed at Jungkook’s expression.

“So I guess I’ll have to listen to your work and maybe go to your label more.”

Jungkook looked happy and terrified at the same time.

Your older sister arrived three hours late, waving at you from the car as your niece and nephew ran up the steps, ignoring everything except you.

“Auntie Y/N!!!!”

“Hi guys!” you smiled, bending down to hug both of them.

“Look at you, Holly! You’ve grown so much,” you said to your niece, playing with her braids.

“What about me?” your nephew pouted.

“You too, Jihyun.”

You brought them into the house, taking their backpacks and putting them in their room. Behind you, your sister and her husband followed.

“Y/N. I’m so glad to see you,” you sister said, hugging you tightly.

You laughed.

“The kids made you very late, Mina.”

“Yes they did,” she said.

“Y/N, your mom said that you had a boyfriend? Where is he?” asked your brother in law.

“I should give him some tips for getting past Yoongi.”

“Please do Seokjin. But he’s not my boyfriend.”

Mina and Seokjin looked at you confused.

“He’s not your boyfriend but you want me to give him tips on getting on Yoongi’s good side?”

You nodded.

“He would like them too.”

You moved past the two of them, going to find Jungkook who was in the backyard helping your dad clear the patio. You stuck your head out the door to call to them.

“Mina and Seokjin are here finally.”

“Oh good. Kids again?” asked your dad, straightening up to look at you.

You nodded.

“Auntie!”

You turned to see Holly and Jihyun running to you, throwing their small arms around your legs.

“Hey you two. What’s going on?”

“Uncle Yoongi scared us again,” Holly complained.

“Again? Should we go scare him?”

“Uncle Yoongi doesn’t get scared,” Jihyun said, rolling his eyes at you.

Jungkook came in from outside, closing the door behind him. The kids turned their eyes on him.

“Auntie, who’s this?”

“This is Jungkook. He’s my friend,” you told them.

Holly looked at Jungkook, before holding out a hand.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Holly and this is my younger brother Jihyun.”

Jungkook chuckled, bending down a little to take her small hand in his.

“Nice to meet you Holly and Jihyun.”

They stared at Jungkook before smiles broke out on their faces and clinging to his legs.

“I like him!”

“Uncle Jungkook can we play?”

You giggled, watching as Jungkook walked away with two kids holding onto him to go play whatever they wanted.

“Why does it look like my kids have suddenly changed who their dad is?” asked Seokjin next to you.

You smiled.

“You know how those two are.”

You were sitting in the living room, wrapping presents for your family who was out at the Winter Wonderland in the central park in your town when Jungkook sat down beside you, leaning his back against the couch.

“Tired from the kids yet?” you asked, taping a corner down.

“Yeah. I’m not tired when they’re here but when they’re gone I feel like all the energy has been sucked out of me.”

He leaned his head back, closing his eyes as the crinkle of wrapping paper filled the silence. You looked at him, admiring him again in the soft light coming from the lamps and Christmas tree lights.

“Is there a reason you came over to me at the party?” you asked, turning away from him and cutting a new piece of wrapping paper.

Jungkook opened his eyes, keeping his gaze pointed towards the ceiling as he thought.

“You can’t really see a person’s personality from the outside unfortunately. You just kind of go with what’s on the outside first and see if that person is still attractive to you or not later. You looked really beautiful so I just went over to you, hoping I could somehow stumble my way through a conversation.”

You laughed softly.

“And I was trying to be calm while you were talking to me. I felt like I was going to mess up and make myself look stupid.”

“But you didn’t. Even if you did, I would still like you.”

“Good to know that I can be an idiot and still have an attractive man next to me.”

Jungkook laughed.

“Exactly.”

You set the finished presents under the tree in the corner, looking at all the ornaments that decorated the branches.

“Some of these are so old,” you said, seeing a few from your childhood.

Jungkook moved over to you, looking at the ornaments.

“This one is cute,” he said, pointing to a small deer made of paper.

“I made that when I was in first grade,” you said with a laugh.

“And this one was my parents’ first ornament they bought after they were married,” you said, pointing out a small crystal higher up on the tree.

“Oh and this box! This was the box to a bracelet I bought but it was too cute to throw away so I turned it into an ornament.”

You pointed out some other ornaments to Jungkook, missing the way that his eyes had left the tree and was instead, watching you as you retold parts of your life through the Christmas ornaments. Your family returned and the kids were promptly tucked into bed, worn out after so much fun in the snow. The rest of you stayed up a bit longer before one by one, you trickled off to bed as the night deepened. You were arranging your clothes in the closet with Jungkook sitting on the bed behind you, texting on his phone.

“Who are you texting?” you asked curiously, walking to the bed, and sitting down.

“Hoseok. He was asking if I could check some things in the office for him. I told him I wasn’t there.”

“He’s going to scream if he hears that you’re with me.”

You pulled the blankets back, pulling them over you to keep the cold away.

“Should I tell him then?” Jungkook asked, showing you his phone.

You saw Hoseok had asked him where he was.

“Should we have a little fun?” you asked, smiling mischievously.

Jungkook grinned, typing his reply that was sure to lead to a phone call. Sure enough, two seconds later Jungkook’s phone rang. He answered, putting the phone on speaker.

“Jeon Jungkook! What do you mean you’re with Y/N at her parents’ house for Christmas?”

“Hi Hoseok,” you said, laughing at him.

“Oh you’re here too. What is going on, you two? I need details here!”

“I’m spending Christmas with Y/N and her family,” Jungkook said.

“That’s it?” Hoseok asked.

“I don’t believe you. Are you dating? Engaged?”

“No Hoseok. We just met remember?”

You rolled your eyes at your friend.

“How’s Yoongi handling this?”

“He’s fine,” you shrugged.

“Of course you had to pick the girl with the scariest brother, Jungkook,” Hoseok sighed on the other end.

“Do you know that Yoongi scared me so much when I met him that I decided right then and there that I would never date Y/N,” Hoseok said with a laugh.

“I’m glad then,” Jungkook said.

“Otherwise I wouldn’t get a chance to date her.”

Hoseok was silent on the other end.

“Ok really. Are you two dating or what?”

“We aren’t dating,” you sighed again, leaning back against the headboard of the bed.

“Not yet anyways,” said Jungkook, sending you a wink.

“Ok I’m done here. Bye lovebirds.”

Hoseok hung up as you lightly threw a pillow at Jungkook.

“I swear one of the first things you said to me is that you are bad with women. That was a total lie, Jungkook! How many other girls have you flirted with?”

Jungkook laughed, catching the pillow and hugging it to his chest.

“I really am bad with women. I can’t talk to them and just walk away usually. I haven’t flirted with anyone. I haven’t even dated anyone since high school.”

You glared at him.

“I bet there are so many girls staring at you as you walk past. I would be too. I mean I was staring when we met!”

“Thank you for saying that you were checking me out,” Jungkook teased.

“Like you weren’t checking me out that night either,” you mumbled.

“I was,” he said with a smile.

“Knew it.”

Jungkook looked at the window behind you, his eyes widening. You turned to see what he was looking at before gasping and running towards the window, pressing your hands against the cold glass.

“Wow! I don’t believe it! It’s snowing!”

Jungkook joined you at the window, his body heat pressing against you in a comforting way.

“It doesn’t snow here that much?”

You shook your head.

“It snows sometimes but only for a couple days.”

The two of you watched the snowfall onto the ground outside for a while, content in the silence.

“This reminds me of the night of the party,” you said.

“It was snowing then.”

Jungkook nodded. You watched the snow for a bit longer before turning and running back to the warmth and safety of the bed. Jungkook turned off the light, joining you under the blankets. You moved closer to him in the dark, smiling when you felt his arms pull you closer.

“I guess I really am your heater.”

The screaming of Holly and Jihyun, alerting everyone in the house that it had snowed last night, started Christmas Eve morning. Mina and Seokjin could barely get jackets and gloves on the kids before they were running out into the whiteness. You watched them from the kitchen window with your mom next to you. In the living room, Yoongi, Seokjin and Jungkook were talking together.

“You know having two grandkids is nice but more would be wonderful,” your mom said to you as you made some tea.

“Mom!” you cried, looking at her in amazement.

“I’m not even dating anyone!”

She raised her eyebrows, looking in the direction of the living room.

“Ok fine but still we aren’t dating yet,” you mumbled, pouring hot water over the tea bag.

“Yet,” your mom said happily.

You rolled your eyes as you walked into the living room, sitting next to Jungkook. He glanced at you as you sat down.

“Why is your face red?” he asked, looking concerned.

“Is it?” you asked surprised.

You lifted a hand to your cheeks, feeling the heat on them.

“Ah mom,” you said, looking towards the kitchen.

“Oh did she tell you to have kids?” asked Seokjin with a grin.

You nodded with a sigh.

“She’s given up on Yoongi then,” Seokjin said.

“There’s no chance of that for me,” Yoongi snorted, leaning back.

“I’ve been giving tips to Jungkook, Y/N,” Seokjin said with a wink.

“So far they’ve been helpful,” Jungkook laughed.

“Hey Yoongi. Why did you finally accept that I was dating your sister after a year of us being together?” Seokjin asked.

Yoongi laughed.

“I said no at first because you told the most ridiculous and stupid jokes.”

Seokjin frowned.

“That’s mean. Mina loves my jokes.”

“Yeah, because she loves you that’s why,” said Yoongi.

“That’s why I accepted you. Because Mina really loves you.”

Seokjin nodded turning to Jungkook.

“So make sure Y/N really loves you. That’s how to pass.”

The three of you laughed while Yoongi shook his head at you. The door opened bringing Holly and Jihyun into the house with snow falling off their clothes and onto the floor.

“And watch out for kids. They’re a handful,” said Seokjin, standing up to take care of the two children.

“But Uncle Yoongi says that Santa isn’t real…” Holly said quietly for fear her uncle would overhear her.

Jungkook sat on the couch with Jihyun by his side and Holly sitting in his lap looking up at him with big eyes. Jungkook looked around for Yoongi, playing along with her.

“Well don’t tell Uncle Yoongi, but I’ve seen Santa.”

The two kids sat up straight and leaned forward.

“What!?”

“Shhh!”

Jungkook quieted them.

“This is a secret. Not even Auntie Y/N knows. This is our secret. You can’t tell anyone ok?”

They nodded, pressing their lips closed, desperate to hear more. Jungkook looked around, his eyes landing on you as you stood by the doorway. You raised an eyebrow with a smile. He smiled before turning back to the kids waiting to hear his story.

“When I was about your age, Holly, I stayed awake for the whole night. I stayed in my room with the door closed and waited. Sometime early in the morning, I heard something on the roof. Then I heard the sound of bells. Next I heard something in the living room. So as quick as I could, I opened my bedroom door and ran out into the living room to see a pair of boots disappearing up the chimney. I looked at the table where I had put the cookies and milk the night before and they were all gone.”

Holly and Jihyun gasped at Jungkook’s story.

“If we stay awake, will we see him?”

“You might. He’s very quick so you might get a glimpse of him just like me.”

The two kids looked at each other with excitement. You chose to enter the frame then, stepping into the room.

“What are you guys whispering about in here?”

“Nothing!” Holly and Jihyun quickly said.

They ran out of the room, probably going to plan how they were going to stay awake for the entire night.

“You saw Santa?” you teased Jungkook.

He stood from the couch.

“No, I made that up.”

You smacked his shoulder with a laugh.

“You just lied to them,” you giggled.

“Y/N! Jungkook!”

You turned, seeing your dad approach you with a list in his hands.

“Can you two run to the store and grab some things?”

You nodded.

“Sure dad.”

Jungkook drove to the store as you listed off the things that your dad had asked for.

“Extra Christmas lights? I wonder if some broke again.”

“You can never have too many Christmas lights,” said Jungkook, parking the car and turning off the engine. The store was packed with people, all doing what you were doing and buying last minute stuff before the big day tomorrow. You quickly found the things your dad had asked for and made your way to the register. Jungkook followed behind you with his hands behind his back.

You looked at him curiously.

“What do you have?” you asked, trying to look.

He moved back.

“Nope! Surprise.”

You glared playfully at him as you bought your things and turned around with a sigh as Jungkook paid for his mysterious item. You loaded the car up with the bags, still trying to see what Jungkook had bought.

“It better not be something weird,” you said as you drove home.

“It’s not. I think…”

You gave the items to your dad before going to your room, seeing Jungkook disappear with his bag.

“Seriously what did you buy?” you asked, closing the door behind you.

Jungkook turned around, proudly holding up a red, white and black costume.

“Did you actually get a Santa suit?” you asked in amazement.

He shrugged.

“It was on sale so I thought why not. Seokjin asked me to eat the cookies anyways. He said he didn’t want to get fat. Plus you never know when it will come in useful.”

You shook your head at Jungkook.

“I can’t believe this is the guy I like,” you sighed.

“At least you still like me,” said Jungkook, folding and hiding the Santa suit.

You shook your head, leaving the room and the Santa suit behind.

No matter how much Mina and Seokjin bribed Holly and Jihyun, they would not go to bed.

“No!”

“We have to stay up to see Santa!”

“Santa isn’t going to come if you’re awake though,” Seokjin tried to tell them.

“But-“

Holly looked at Jungkook, who smiled at her.

“Ok we’ll go to sleep.”

Seokjin and Mina stared at their kids.

“What? You didn’t want to go but now you do?”

“Ok let’s get ready for bed then!” Mina said, quickly dragging the kids into their bedroom before they could change their minds.

“They’re going to stay up still,” Yoongi said to Seokjin.

“Yeah but at least they’ll be in their room and they’ll fall asleep in an hour or so.”

“When am I supposed to eat the cookies then?” Jungkook asked, looking at the plate of cookies and glass of milk on the table.

“Now,” said Yoongi.

“I can’t do that. If they come out, that means Santa was here when we were all still awake,” Jungkook said.

“Probably around midnight then. They should be asleep by then. You’ll have to be really quiet,” you said, standing up to get ready for bed.

“Are you going to sleep already?” Jungkook asked.

You nodded.

“Yeah. And I’m sure those two will get up early and wake everyone up so I’m going to get extra sleep,” you said, glancing at the door to Holly and Jihyun’s room.

Yoongi sighed, getting up as well.

“Good point Y/N. Goodnight everyone.”

Muttered goodnights were exchanged as you drifted off into the different rooms. You washed your face in the bathroom while Jungkook changed in the other room before you traded places. When Jungkook came out of the bathroom, you were already in bed, blankets pulled up to your chin with your phone in your hands.

“What are you doing?” Jungkook asked as he climbed into bed beside you.

“Looking at ways to keep sleeping through kids screaming in your ear,” you replied.

Jungkook chuckled.

“I didn’t know you were already thinking about us having kids.”

You lightly kicked him under the blankets, hearing him yelp in pain.

“Hey!”

“You deserved it,” you muttered under your breath.

Jungkook watched as you continued scrolling on your phone about Christmas mornings with kids.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked quietly.

“No.”

“I knew you were going to say that,” he sighed, leaning against the headboard of the bed, focused on keeping awake until midnight.

“Why did you ask then?”

“In case you said yes.”

You looked up at him from your phone, your eyes tracing his sharp features slowly.

“One day I’ll say yes.”

Jungkook glanced at you with a smile.

“I’m holding you to that.”

Sometime in the next hour you drifted off to sleep, vaguely aware of Jungkook adjusting the blankets around you and running his hands through your hair as sleep overtook you. You barely felt him get up and go to eat the treats meant for Santa around midnight. You heard no screams so you assumed that he got away with it. However, screams did spread throughout the house at around six in the morning, the sun barely coming out of hiding as the door to your room burst open. Two small figures launched themselves onto the bed, succeeding in jumping on you and Jungkook.

“It’s Christmas!”

“Santa came!”

“The cookies are gone!”

“There are presents!”

“We feel asleep!”

“Hurry!”

“Get up!”

You groaned at the two children jumping all over you. Jungkook sat up slightly to look at them through half lidded eyes.

“Did you get your parents up yet?”

They shook their heads.

“No not yet!”

“Why don’t you go get them up then?” Jungkook suggested.

Holly and Jihyun nodded, darting out of the room and leaving Jungkook to collapse back next to you.

“Why us first?” he complained tiredly.

You rolled over, tucking your face into his chest. It had become your favorite position since arriving at your parents’ house.

“They really like you. That’s probably why,” you muttered into his chest.

The patter of feet sounded out in the hall with the opening of another door. There was silence before Yoongi’s tired voice was heard through the door the children had left open.

“Why don’t you go get Uncle Jungkook and Aunt Y/N up?”

“Oh no,” Jungkook said softly, pulling the blankets up over your faces. You giggled at him while he quieted you with a glance.

“We already got them up though,” came Holly’s voice.

“Well get them out in the living room and I’ll get up.”

“Goodbye bed,” you sighed dramatically as you heard Holly and Jihyun entered the room. The bed shook a little as they jumped up and sat on top of the lumps that were you and Jungkook.

“Auntie Y/N! Uncle Yoongi says he won’t get up until you’re up.”

You poked your head out of the safety of the blankets to look at your niece and nephew.

“Ok I’m up. Come on.”

You sat up, leaving Jungkook to wine at your movement.

“Come on Jungkook,” you said, pulling lightly at his arm.

You moved out of the room and into the living room, the children bouncing around you excitedly. They sat in front of the Christmas tree, looking eagerly at the gifts lined up for them.

“We can’t open them until everyone is here,” you said, grabbing a blanket and wrapping yourself in it on the couch.

Holly and Jihyun pouted at the thought of waiting.

“You go get your parents. I’ll get grandma and grandpa ok?”

They nodded with smiles, running to Mina’s and Seokjin’s room. You woke your parents up and went to get Yoongi. Yoongi slowly got up, taking a blanket with him to continue sleeping on the couch although the kids wouldn’t let him sleep, constantly screaming in glee and jumping on the couch. You went back to your room, seeing Jungkook asleep. You smiled as you woke him, pushing away his black hair from his sleepy eyes.

“Come on. Everyone is up now.”

“It’s too early Y/N.”

“If you get up I’ll kiss you.”

Jungkook’s eyes snapped open and he sat up so suddenly, you almost fell in shock.

“I’m up,” he said, his voice clear of sleep and his eyes bright.

You giggled, leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. Jungkook’s eyes narrowed at you.

“If you’re counting that as your kiss…”

You shrugged.

“What if I am?” you teased.

Jungkook made to grab you but you darted out of his reach.

“Let’s open presents, Kook.”

His eyes widened at the nickname you threw at him.

“Nicknames now? I guess I could get used to that.”

Christmas morning was always something you had liked. You had been like Holly and Jihyun when you were younger, always getting up early and waking the whole household up just so you could open gifts. You could hardly contain your glee as the floor became covered in wrapping paper and bows were stuck on heads with laughter. Jungkook managed to tie a ribbon over your head and finish it off with a bow under your chin, laughing as he said that you looked like a small baby wearing a bonnet. You glowered at him though your mouth lifted at the corners, suppressing a smile. Holly and Jihyun played with their new toys, surrounded by wrapping paper while your parents tried to clean up the mess. Jungkook and you leaned against the couch on the floor while Seokjin and Mina kept an eye on their children. Yoongi was busy looking through his new composing notebook in a chair by the tree. Jungkook leaned over, his warm breath ghosting over your exposed neck.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

You smiled, remembering when he had first said those words to you, not even a week ago.

You nodded. You stood and went to your room, grabbing your jacket and scarf. You slid on your boots as Jungkook called to your family that you would be back soon. The two of you wandered out into the snow, the door closing behind you to leave you in the coldness of winter and Christmas day. The snow was packed on the road and sidewalks, not yet cleared from the night. You smiled at the sound of snow crunching underneath your feet as you walked down the street.  Jungkook walked beside you, his hand lightly brushing against yours, on accident or on purpose you weren’t sure.

“What did you have in mind?” you asked, your breath coming out in white mist against the freezing air.

Jungkook shrugged.

“I just thought we should go out and enjoy the silence. Everyone is inside so it’s a little comforting to be out when no one else is.”

You nodded, agreeing with his words. You missed Jungkook’s glances at you every now and then as you were focused on the snow and the whiteness of the world around you. You passed houses that showed glimpses of families together, opening gifts or sitting around for breakfast, through their windows. On the corner of the street, Jungkook’s hand caught yours, making you pause. You looked up at him, a question already forming on your lips before he was talking.

“I know you said that you wanted to take things slow and I agree with you but I feel like I should tell you. I really don’t want to take it slow. I’m not good at expressing myself but I really like you and I want to be able to walk around holding your hand, showing you off to people, to call you mine. I don’t want to question my actions, wondering if I can do something or not when I’m with you. And we just met, a couple days ago but there’s just this...connection I guess. And I’ve never felt this with anyone and it’s driving me insane.”

Jungkook’s eyes connected with yours, seeing your shocked expression at his honest words that said exactly what you had been feeling and thinking since seeing him for the first time on that snowy night. Jungkook swallowed, nervous as he averted his gaze from yours to look at the snow covered ground.

“I think I love you. Wow, that sounds cliche,” he said, breathing out a sigh with a small chuckle.

He tilted his head back, taking in a breath with his eyes closed. He lowered his head again and opened his dark eyes to look at you.

“I know you probably don’t feel the same-”

You stepped forward, rising on your toes to press your lips against his, cutting off his words. Jungkook’s eyes widened and he froze, his mind reeling while trying to process what was going on. You pulled back, your feet flat on the pavement again. Jungkook’s cheeks were flushed and his mouth parted in a silent gasp.

“Wha-”

“I guess you are an idiot around women, Jungkook. You don’t realize when a woman is in love with you,” you teased him with a smile.

“You’re in love with me?” he asked.

His voice sounded raw and he cleared his throat quickly, his cheeks flushing even more.

You nodded.

“I don’t think I really knew until you said it.”

“I’m so glad Hoseok convinced you to come to the Christmas party,” Jungkook said with a smile.

“So…” you began, glancing around at the quiet streets.

“Should we tell my parents?”

Jungkook grinned.

“Definitely.”

“And Yoongi?” you asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jungkook grinned even more.

“He can’t kick me out when I love you.”

Your face burned at his words with your heart hammering almost painfully fast in your chest. Jungkook’s hand left yours to settle on your waist, his other hand coming up to cup your red face. There was something in his eyes that captivated you and closing your eyes as his lips met yours, you realized what you were seeing in his dark eyes that held you so deeply. It was the stars and countless promises that would never be broken.

[mnm-inc-miles]

05/22/2020

"Hey, wake up...come on fella, wake up now..." a quiet voice spoke in a English accent. Slowly the other's eyes began to flutter open and a comical gasp from the one waking him. "Ahh, there we go now. Welcome back..."

 "What...what's happening?" He too spoke with an accent, his tone very soft. "Ow..." he suddenly moaned as he grabbed the back of his head. Feeling something wet he brought his hands before his eyes and he leaned forward in horror. "Oh my god, I'm bleeding..."

 "Don't you worry, I've inspected it. Just a flesh wound, you'll be alright. I'll take care of you. The name's Newt. Newt Scamander."

 Shaking his head the other closed his eyes and whispered desires to wake from this dream. "This can't be happening...you're not...real..." he then opened his eyes and peered into a mirror version of himself. "Do you not notice...?"

 "The striking resemblance? Yes...but we must be so focused on that now. We're in the middle of a predicament..."

 "Of course we are..." he mused softly.

 "What's your name anyhow?"

 "Eddie..."

 "Well Eddie, it seems the rules state that only one of us is to make it out of here alive, but you see...I've always felt like rules were meant to be broken...especially in the preservation of life." He flashed a coy smile and stood up, holding out a hand. "You've got to trust me. I'll get us out of this mess."

 Taking his hand, Eddie allowed the wizard to pull him to his feet. "Where are we?"

 "Some sort of maze, it would seem, but no worries. Upon retrieving us and tossing us here I managed to bring along a useful tool." He produced from the sleeve of his coat, a wand. "This will help us immensely."

 "Yes I'm sure...magic is incredibly useful."

 "Ahh, you know of it?" Then without allowing Eddie to respond Newt continued. "No matter with the silly questions, we must start at once. Unfortunately I believe we're already behind." He grabbed his suitcase and opened it briefly and pulled out a very small golden bird-like creature. "This Snidget should help us navigate the maze quickly. Come, let's go." He released the bird and picked up the suitcase and gently took hold of Eddie's hand.

 As they traveled through the maze, Newt quickly explained that someone announced the rules while Eddie was unconscious. He said the person explained, "Only one person will be allowed to leave this maze alive, so it best to take out your competition right away. In the event that you choose to try and help each other to the finish line you will be met with additional challenges to foil your efforts at breaking the rules. Good luck."

 "Yeah...sounds like Miles..." Eddie breathed as he continued to allow himself to be whisked through the maze. He suddenly tripped and looked to see nothing in his path. Invisible rock, perhaps? A brief smile when he realized if he makes it out of this there are people he very much cares for that he'll be able to see again. Then once again despair when he almost immediately followed that realization with the thought that he was now being taken away from his other life, from his wife and children. He got up and followed after Newt only to trip again. "What's going on?"

 Newt stopped and looked around then saw a very small rock. "Clever bugger," taking his wand he cast a Stupefy spell and helped Eddie to his feet. "Just a Pogrebin, little creatures that like to follow people around...they feed off ones positive energy until they feel too hopeless to go on, then the take advantage of your weakened state and attempt to devour you."

 Eddie blinked, the story felt familiar but knowledge of all the fantastic beasts wasn't readily available in his brain as it was to Newt. "Is that..." as they reached a rather large opening the head of a Sphinx came into view.

 "Well this is an interesting turn of events..." he gave a little whistle and the bird flew over and perched on his finger. He gently gave it a pat and tucked it into his suitcase. "Follow my lead..." he spoke under his breath. "Hello fair beauty," Newt gave a slight bow and Eddie followed suit. "Care to hear a riddle?"

 The stone faced creature suddenly smirked ever so slightly. "I know every riddle there is, but if you fancy a go."

 "This all things devour: birds, beasts, trees, flowers..."

 "Time," the Sphinx interrupted. "Come, let's be more clever than that age old riddle."

Newt chuckled, "Of course, I should have known. Here, this is one of my favorites. "In spring I am gay in handsome array; in summer more clothing I wear; when colder it grows, I fling off my clothes; and in winter quite naked appear."

 A very brief silence and the smile widened, "A tree. Beautiful. I have one for you."

 "If I solve it, may we pass?"

 The Sphinx was quiet again, her eyes narrowed. "So long as you don't steal what is mine."

 "I wouldn't dream of it, just wish to go by."

 "Let's see..." she thought for a moment then smiled, baring sharp teeth. "What is always old and sometime new; never sad, sometimes blue; never empty, but sometimes full; never pushes, always pulls?"

 "Oh that's lovely...hmm," Newt thought for a moment, glanced back at Eddie who offered a shrug as he could barely listen in the amazement of the creature. "...blue...never empty..." he scratched his head comically then smiled, "The moon?"

 "Indeed, well done. You shall pass. Good luck on your journey."

 "Thank you," Newt smiled, and as she lifted her wings a blinding light shown just beyond her.

 "Yes thanks," Eddie offered another bow and followed quickly after Newt.

 Newt stopped just as they approached the opening and held an arm out for Eddie to do the same. "There's some sort of force field...I can sense magic but I don't...I don't recognize it."

"That's because it's not of your world," a voice boomed. Eddie recognized it immediately as Miles. He'd been in far too many situations that he shuddered to even think of again. He'd never forget that voice though. "This is where only one of you can pass. Once you pass through this light you'll be thrown into another universe. Anyone who shall pass through afterwards will be obliterated."

 "Hmm, physically or mentally?" He paused a moment and shook his head, "Neither will be a very good result, come to think of it..."

 "I...I can't go anyway. Maybe...if you go, he'll just send me home?"

 "I don't think it's that simply, Eddie." Newt approached him and put his hands on either side of Eddie's face. "I've been taught by the best to break rules, so that's just what we're going to do. We'll come up with a way around this." Newt paced some as he thought then raised one finger and said, "I think I've got it...one moment." He opened his suitcase and stepped inside. "Feel free to join me..." he called out as he disappeared.

 Eddie's eyes widened and his jaw went slack, cocking his head he inched closer to the open suitcase then took a deep breath before stepping inside. It was surreal. Although he had seen it happen on the screen, due to his having filmed as Newt for the Fantastic Beasts series, it was nothing at all comparable to the real thing.

 "What are we doing?"

 "I have a potion here..." he paused and looked over at Eddie. "It's a bit experimental, but...think of it as...a temporary fix to our problem."

 "Yes, okay...but what is it?"

 He pushed through a few things on a shelf and finally found a small vial. "This..." he moved to a desk that held an array of ingredients and poured it inside a bleaker. "Okay..." he looked at Eddie very seriously. "You may not want to look to see what else I put in here...but when it's done which...will be very soon, and you drink it...immediately, as it will have a weaker effect the longer it oxidizes, then you and I can both leave..."

 "How..."

 "You see, who says two man cannot be one man?"

 "Am I going to...to drink you?"

 "In a sense...but trust me, it will be okay...although no muggle has ever done it before...perhaps...we should take some precautionary measures..."

 "Why...why don't you drink it..."

 "Well," he sighed. "Remember I said it was...well, experiemental?" Eddie nodded and Newt shrugged. "Well it's possible I'll die making it...so I'd rather it be me and if it goes wrong you can simply leave on your own."

 "Oh...Newt...I...I don't know."

 "Well you'll just have to trust me. Now...you might want to turn around...in about two minutes I want you to look again and drink what is in this beaker, in its entirety? Can you do that?"

 "Yes...but uh, what about the precautionary measures?"

 "Ahh yes," he shook his head and walked over to a freezer, took out a small egg of brilliant red and handed it to Eddie. "It's quite cold, best to pocket it for now. You should take that if you start feeling hot and shaky...to avoid ague."

Eddie swallowed hard and listened carefully, pocketing the egg and turning around so as not to watch what might be going into this potion. He sang to himself twinkle twinkle little star and then you are my sunshine before counting once to sixty, that marking close to two minutes. Then he turned around and saw a lifeless Newt slump in a chair. Hoping this was part of the magic he took the beaker and began to drink it. The taste was something sweet and almost minty but the aftertaste left something to be desired. A metallic almost rancid flavor that caused Eddie to gag for moment, but he finished the beaker just as Newt asked. Then he saw a note, "Please watch over my suitcase..." scribbled in very messy handwriting.

 He felt himself get lightheaded for moment and he figured he should hurry. He climbed out of the suitcase, locked it and held it close to his chest as he pushed through the force field before him.

[high5nerd]

Alone Together---Chap. Eleven

Forgot to mention, this fanfic was abandoned.

Fall slowly turned into winter. The leaves shriveled and fell to the crisp ground in haste by the wind, and the winds themselves grew colder and bit at exposed skin as the month slowly slugged by to December. Frost was already starting to coat the windows of Alice's house and her clunky car, and occasionally snow fell only to melt away hours later. I used to like the cold before meeting Jack Frost, but afterwards I can't stand the sight of it. Not even the idea of people slipping on black ice could make me snicker anymore, especially with what happened at the North Pole.

Sadie already got enough snow outside to form into a light snowball and put it in the freezer for safekeeping, even if it was only the start of the season. When we returned from the North Pole, it took her days to realize I was mad at her. She seemed to only care that I stayed in the house and that she knew my presence was closeby if she needed to talk to someone, even if they never responded and just stared out the window like I did.

Alice was the first one to notice my withdrawal. It was late at night, a day after our return. She was just passing by from putting Sadie to bed when she saw me sitting in the armchair, head craned up to look at the stars. I have to admit, they're much brighter and prettier in the wintertime.

She came over and whispered, "Do you get the winter blues?"

"Hm? Oh, no. Winter's my quiet season. That's all." I looked at her, not bothering to smile.

She noticed that immediately. She pulled up a footrest for the couch and put her hand on my knee. I didn't like that. Warmth was already flowing from her hand to my knee and somehow it struck sparks in my heart. This sort of chemistry of a human body should downright just be called witchcraft.

"What happened? I saw you go off with North and you came back looking very furious. You haven't spoken to Sadie since we got back."

Her honeyed voice wasn't making me feel any better. It was just making me feel worse. I couldn't even hold her, touch her, let alone smile at her. It's all forbidden...and North's words still rang through my head like the bells that ring before an execution, harmonized by the flutter of raven's wings.

"Nothing happened, Alice."

"You're lying."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. I see it in your eyes."

That struck another nerve. A big one. I snarled and stood up abruptly, my hands clenched into fists so tightly they turned white at the knuckles. Alice looked surprised at the reaction, and I could tell she thought she did something for that.

"Why does everyone tell me that? Am I a fucking open book? Am I just so damn readable that anyone could easily tell I'm bothered that a child promised to keep a secret yet told someone else despite that promise?! Am I just...so desperate for someone to notice my presence in the world I actually thought entrusting my first believer with a secret would be a smart move?! North was right along with Misery and-and everyone else! I'm a fucking monster that only scares people for-for-!"

"...Pitch…"

"What?!" I looked up at her. My face felt hot. And wet. Why did it feel wet? I swear I didn't mean to shout at her like that...Whoa...I've never exploded like that before. Usually I'm very calm and collected no matter how angry I was but...where this all came from I do not know.

"You're crying." Alice took a step towards me, concern etching her face and making her supple lips turn into a worried frown.

I growled and turned my back on her, wiping my face hurriedly with the heels of my palms. There's no way in Hell I'm letting Alice see me like this. I have to remain dignified, resilient, smooth...Boogeyman-like. I'm no longer a part of humanity, I can't be vulnerable. I can't...I can't…

I felt hands on my shoulder, and then one sliding upward to bring my face down. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to look at her. I hated this. I hated looking vulnerable. I just wanted to run. Run away and not look back. Run into the forest and never come back until daybreak, or at least when she's forgotten this. But I'm frozen stiff, stuck, while her hands cupped my face.

"Look at me, Pitch." she whispered gently.

"No."

"Why?"

"I shouldn't have said those things."

She was silent for a while. I could hear her breathing. I felt...sadness in the air. I could sense it. It didn't feel colder, just...it sent chills up my spine. Like when someone hurts your feelings or you see someone you love walk away from you forever.

"Then listen to my words, and believe me completely."

I only remained still, and refused to open my eyes in case they were red or threatened to spill more. Her hands stayed on my face, but I felt one go up and brush my hair, tracing it to my temple. God, how I longed for her touch…

"You are not a monster. No matter what others say about you, don't believe them. Believe those who care about you, like Sadie and...and me. I...I wouldn't have gotten better without you. Though you spread fear as your job...you helped me face it and...come to love it. Accept it as a part of life. You brought Sadie and I closer as sisters instead of survivors, and you're the only person in the world I would trust...no matter what."

With that I opened my eyes, and saw that she had tears as well. But just like I did, she hid her face from me, by hugging me tightly and burying her face into my shoulder. Again, I was frozen. I'm still not good at this, despite dreams of holding her and making her happy.

"When I was little...people called me a monster, too. They called me that because I believed in magic, along with magical beings like mermaids and fairies. People would bully me into silence to the point I just wanted nothing more than fade away from reality...I know that feeling, Pitch. I'm all too familiar with it, and it makes my heart break knowing you go through it as well. It breaks my heart that someone I care about...someone I care about a lot is hurting so bad."

...What was I supposed to say to that? I can't just stay silent to that confession...but no words of consolation or respect, or even gratitude for her kindness came to mind.

So the only thing I could think of doing was enveloping her in an embrace. She melted into me, still hiding her face from that, and I guess she was embarrassed about admitting something so dark.

"Well….does it make you feel any better knowing you were right all along?" I asked in the stillness.

Damn. Was that really all I could say? I'm terrible.

She looked up at that, confusion written in her dark chocolate eyes. "Huh?"

I smiled at that and took her hand, beckoning her to follow me into the cold air outside. She was able to grab a knitted hat before the back door was swung open by yours truly. I never let go of her hand as I guided her towards the forest, right at the edge where the woods met the backyard. The stars glimmered in the sky brighter than any day so far, not a cloud in sight either. The moon was full, like a glowing moonstone one would find in a stream.

"What are you showing me?" she asked, her breath steaming in the crisp air.

"Watch the forest." I said, guiding her neck gently to turn forward and watch with a trained eye.

A few minutes passed where nothing happened, and I could tell Alice was getting colder by the second. She started shivering, rubbing her hands together before rubbing the sides of her thighs for friction. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her from behind, resting my chin on the top of her head. I didn't need to look to know she was smiling. I felt it by the warmth her body gave off despite being cold.

Sure enough, twinkling lights floated out of knots in the trees, up from the leaves and down close to the ground. Mostly ranging in glowing colors of white and yellow hues with some green, they danced around in the air, following the call of the wind. Faintly, one could hear their tiny music play, a chorus of singing and panflutes and instruments that resembled the sound of a music box.

I heard Alice draw in a breath of utter awe, and I couldn't help but smile in victory. I knew that would please her.

"They're...Oh my God." were the only words that were whispered from her mouth.

Closer and closer they danced in the air, being carried by the wind and upwards above our heads. By this time Alice could see that they donned silkworm clothing and were as tiny as her pinkie finger. Their gossamer, dragonfly wings fluttered along with their dance in a rhythmic pattern to the tune of their music, and some noticed us below, but barely enough to cause a disruption in their dance.

By the time half of them were above in the air and reaching the other side of forestry across the backyard, we were bathed in their light. It was a dim glow, easy on the eyes for an evening that was meant to get ready for bed. The moon's glow made it seem more majestic, probably than I have ever imagined.

I felt eyes on me, and I couldn't help but think they were the eyes of the fairies that glided upwards into the sky, finally noticing our presence. Fairies were usually calm beings, though preferred to be hidden from human sight, as well as any other animal that was larger than them. They were timid yet peaceful, never biting people's ears or tricking unfortunate wanderers like pixies and sprites do. If they noticed us they would not be bothered since we weren't bothering them. Just observing.

But then I felt those same warm hands from before take my shoulders, causing me to look down at Alice if she needed to go back inside.

But then I saw her face come closer, and closer...and closer...really quickly.

Before I knew it, her lips were pressed to mine.

My neck stiffened…

This. This happened. It wasn't I who kissed her first. It was her. My eyes never closed, I was too deep in shock. My mind was blank, or maybe I can't remember what I was thinking when she kissed me.

She finally pulled back, blushing brightly and busy fidgeting with her winter hat to look at me.

"S-sorry. I-I just thought, uh-w-well, I um-" she stammered.

...She likes me. I really matter to her that much. She kissed me….God Above she kissed me.

Shut up and let me kiss you.

And I did just that. Her stumbling words were ceased once I kissed her back bravely, now feeling a giant weight lift off my chest. I no longer had a burden to wear...or at least this one. Many burdens will weigh on me, but this one can be relieved for good. Her lips gently pressed back, causing me to hum happily and embrace her tightly, and her arms wrapped around my neck.

Screw the spirit rules. Screw the Forbidden Bond...Alice was mine, and mine alone. I'll love her like no man would ever love her, make her feel whole and happy til her final breath. Or at least...make her happy for now until she moves on.

She finally pulled away, smiling a bit, as if she knew something that I didn't. After shaking myself out of my stupor I gave her a quizzical look.

"What?"

"You know how long I've known you liked me?" when she got the embarrassed blush of mine she continued with a wild grin, "since the day you told me that dream you had."

"Oh, come on, are you serious?" I rolled my eyes and dropping her.

She laughed brightly as she followed me back towards the house, causing me to grin widely as well. It's no longer a problem of mine now that I knew how she felt in return.

"You were staring right at me when you said it! How was that not a clue?" she snickered, jogging up next to me to lace hands with mine.

"I was engaging us in a conversation! You're supposed to look at who you're talking to." I protested.

"Oh please, you totally were giving me baby eyes."

"Baby eyes?"

"Those big eyes you make when you want something?"

"Damn, you know me well. Am I cute like that?"

She giggled before jumping to her tip-toes and kissed my cheek, grinning wildly, "Very cute."

So take that and stick it up your ass, North. I don't give a damn about the Forbidden Bond, nor does Alice.