#plus we’ve been watching this show for seven or more years at this point but in canon just barely over a year has passed

[seagreenstardust]

I love that we get to see the moment Katsuki Bakugo’s worldview starts to change. I love that he gets a center stage moment to realize he might not be everything he thought he was before UA. He coasted for so long on the assumption that he was just better than everyone else that having to face a class full of peers who were just as good as he is, even better in some ways, sent him into an actual panic attack and I cannot stress enough how important that moment is for him as a character

But what I love most is that Katsuki had his moment of panic and doubt, then said “okay, they’re good. I can still be better” and then buckled down and got to it. He could have sat in his tantrum and refused to change. He could have held on to the idea that he was born better and that was all it would take. But he didn’t. He decided that the one who was the best would just have to be the one who put in the work and then he DID it. Entitled asshole to hardworking asshole is not an easy leap to make but he did it.

[study-coffee-chicago]

Royalty AU Part 2 (An Upstead + Upton Sister imagine) {Part of AU-gust}

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please remember to like/reblog, comment, and send me asks! Here's the link to the playlist I listened to while writing in case you want to listen to while reading (not my playlist): royalty au that is not just waltzing.

masterlist

"I don't even understand why I have to do this in the first place," sixteen-year-old Harper complained to her older sister, Princess Hailey Upton-Halstead, and her brother-in-law, Prince Jay Halstead.

"We've gone over this," Hailey groaned.

"Yeah? Well, do it again. Because I seriously don't see the point in dancing with a ton of strangers and trying to find a suitor. You expect me to choose who I'm going to marry in one night after one dance? I don't even like dancing."

"Well, pretend anyway!" Jay snapped.

Harper rolled her eyes. "And who do you think you are? My father?" she sneered.

"Hey!" Hailey yelled. "You do not talk to him like that! He and Will are more like fathers to you than our actual father, so I suggest you show Jay here some respect!"

"Ugh!" Harper yelled and stalked off outside into the spring air.

Then, she made her way out to the stables. She walked in and she made a beeline to her horse, Blue. Jay had taught Hailey how to ride this exact horse and after she and Harper officially moved in, Jay took some time to teach Harper how to ride as well. Blue quickly took a liking to the then six-year-old as she always fed him blueberries because Harper said that Blue needs blueberries and Jay couldn't tell her no. So, she fed him and brushed him and gave him all the attention in the world, so eventually, he just became her horse.

She opened the stall door and sat on a bale of hay, right next to Blue. He nudged her arm.

"I know," she said. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any treats for you right now. Jay and Hailey told me that I can't get dirty so I can't ride you right now either." He nudged her again. "How rude of them, I agree." She sighed. "It's just ridiculous, Blue. I'm not even a princess, I don't know why they're doing this. I'm not Hailey's and Jay's child, even though they treat me like a child most of the time, and I didn't marry a prince. Therefore, I'm not a princess. So why do I have to go to this stupid ball to find someone to marry who I won't even love in the first place?"

Blue's ears perked up and he looked up. So, Harper followed his gaze. And, she saw Jay standing there, outside of Blue's stall, with a few sugar cubes in his hand.

"Can I come in?" he asked. "I'm pretty sure Blue would be quite mad if he saw the sugar cubes and didn't get them."

Harper nodded her head once and he opened the stall door and then closed it. But, she wasn't going to talk to him.

He set his palm flat and allowed Blue to start eating the sugar cubes. Harper rested her elbow on her knee and put her head in her hand, just waiting for Jay to leave.

"You know, there will be other balls besides this one," he said.

"I have to do more of these?" she whined.

Jay chuckled. "Well, yeah. Me and your sister don't expect you to find your perfect match after one dance. Just have some potential suitors open. And then, there will be more balls, and when you find someone you like, more balls after that with the main event being you and him."

"I just don't get it," Harper stated. "I'm not a princess in the first place. And, our neighboring kingdom is on the brink of war and you want me to focus on a damn ball? For crying out loud, the Severides don't like our rule and for all we know, rebels have invaded their kingdom and taken them over! And, since they don't like us, the Severides and rebels could be allies and be trying to infiltrate us."

"Listen," Jay started after Blue finished the sugar cubes. He motioned to the hay bale right next to Harper. "Can I sit?"

"I guess," she huffed and crossed her arms across her chest.

Jay sighed. "Listen, Harper. You say you're not a princess, but you are."

"No, I'm not! You know this!"

"Me and your sister aren't going to have any kids, Harper. After everything you both went through with your father, Hailey doesn't want kids in the slightest. And, I'm respecting her wishes. So, I'll take over for Will when he's done ruling. But, after that, I've named you as my heir."

"W-What? But legally, I can't."

Jay shook his head. "Harper, I'm a royal. I can make whatever rules I want. Hailey and I were going to tell you together after the ball, but seeing as you aren't a big fan of it, we've decided to tell you now."

"What does this mean?" she asked. "I have to marry a prince? I can't marry a commoner if I happen to meet one?"

"No, no it doesn't mean that at all. It just means to be smart with your decision. And, well, if you see Blake at the dance, don't shy away from him."

"Jay," she groaned.

"Hey, it's up to you, but bringing two kingdoms together would be a plus...even if they aren't really on our good side right now."

Jay looked down at his watch.

"I need to go, don't I?" Harper asked as she looked down.

"Yeah, you should probably start getting ready. Are you nervous?"

"I mean, now that it's finally becoming real and I actually have to go, I guess I am a little nervous. What if I fall or mess up during a dance?"

"Harper, we've practiced these dances since you were seven. You'll do fine."

"When do I get to dance?" seven-year-old Harper asked sweetly as she walked into the ballroom where Hailey and Jay were practicing the dance that they had to do for their wedding.

"God, Jay," Will said as he entered, not noticing little Harper. "You're terrible at leading. Maybe Hailey should lead instead. You're sh--"

Hailey cut him off by coughing and subtly pointing at Harper.

"--you're not very good at it," Will said.

"Says the man who hasn't even gotten married yet," Jay scoffed.

"I can do it!" Harper exclaimed. "I can dance, too!"

Will smiled down at her. "I'm sure you can. But, this is big kid dancing."

"B-But I am a big girl," Harper said as her bottle lip began to wobble. "Hailey said so."

"Harps, do you want to dance with me?" Hailey asked as she let go of Jay's hands and made her way over to her little sister.

"Can I?" she asked timidly.

Hailey smiled. "Of course you can. And, maybe while we're dancing together, Will can help Jay learn how to lead a little bit better." She threw a wink her future husband's way and Jay threw his arms up in exasperation. Will just held back his laughter.

Harper grabbed Hailey's hands and the two sisters began dancing together.

"May I cut in?" Jay asked and offered his arm to Harper. She giggled and nodded and then the two of them danced. Then, Will took over dancing with Harper so that Jay could practice with Hailey again.

"Between all the times I danced with Will when you and Hailey were practicing for things, I barely had to practice for my first ball," Harper joked.

"But now everyone's eyes will be on you and not me and Hailey," Jay pointed out.

Blue let out a neigh. "I know, Blue," Harper said and stroked her horse. "You tell him. That didn't help at all."

"Sorry." Then, Jay held his hand out to the girl who he viewed as his little sister. "Ready?" he asked as she took his hand.

"As I'll ever be," Harper answered nervously and allowed Jay to help her up. Then, they walked out of the stables and back to the castle so that Harper could continue getting ready.

***

Good Lord this gown is itchy, was what Harper was thinking. And, I could really use a drink if I have to dance with more ugly royals.

Harper glanced at the ballroom entrance where Adam and Kevin were guarding the doors. Maybe she could sneak out undetected. But, Adam made eye contact with her and just shook his head and chuckled.

Okay, so getting out of here's a no-go. Stupid rule that Jay and Hailey put in place that I can't drink until the end of the dance. Easy for them to say, they're just chatting it up in the corner with glasses of wine and don't have to worry about the future because they've already found their soulmate.

So, Harper swallowed her pride and made her way over to her sister and her brother-in-law. She really needed something else to focus on, and maybe focusing on the sweet taste of sips of Moscato falling down her throat would help. (After all, this is the victorian age, there's no age limit on when someone can start drinking.)

She picked up a glass from the servant's tray and said her thanks, but Hailey quickly swiped it from her hand.

"Hailey, c'mon. Please," Harper whined.

"No, Harper. You know the rules: no wine until after the ball is over."

"But you two aren't even dancing. Why do I have to?"

Hailey sighed in frustration. "Harper, we've been over this. You have to find a husband. You can't just be a spinster all your life."

"Why not? Because I know once I get married, I won't have any power or say in anything and I'll just be nice to look at. My husband will make all the decisions and I won't have a say in my own life!"

People turned their heads at her raised voice.

"Harper," Jay whispered sternly. "I suggest you go dance with someone or talk with someone else before you make both of us even more frustrated than we already are." Harper scoffed. Jay raised an eyebrow. "You will not dishonor this family, this kingdom, not after everything Will, Hailey, and I have done for you. Now go."

Harper resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn't the one who asked Hailey to bring her here ten years ago when she woke her up in the dead of night to get her away from their abusive father. She never asked for this. But, here she was, having to dance and find someone who would control her for the rest of her life...just like their father did with their mother.

But, she walked away anyway...just as a waltz began to play.

Fantastic, she thought.

She started to walk towards the sides of the ballroom, maybe she could avoid having to waltz with a stranger, but she knew that it'd probably be no use seeing as this ball was for her in the first place.

She looked down at her feet as she walked, the end of her light blue ball gown dragging on the floor behind her.

She stopped when she saw that someone was blocking her path. Because she wasn't looking up, she only saw his shoes and the black dress pants he was wearing. Slowly, she raised her head.

He had brown hair, a cocky smile, and his eyes sparkled. He held out his hand.

"May I have this dance, Princess?" he asked.

Harper nodded. "You may," she answered.

She knew that if Jay, Hailey, or Will saw her turn down a dance, that they wouldn't be too happy, so she reluctantly accepted his hand and they started to waltz.

"By your facial expression, I take it you don't want to be here?" he asked.

"It's that obvious, is it?" she asked.

"Only a little. By the way, I'm Blake G--"

Everyone in the ballroom gasped as the lanterns that were lighting the room went out, and the musicians stopped playing a few seconds later as they couldn't see.

"If we can't get a real royal, we'll have to take you instead," was the last thing that Harper heard before a rag was shoved against her mouth and nose. She felt herself being carried, felt her hand still holding this Blake character's hand, and then she felt herself quickly slip into an unconscious state from whatever poison that rag had been soaked in.

***

Guards came up from the shadows and ushered Hailey and Jay into a secret hideout behind where they had been standing sipping on their wine and watching Harper dance with Blake Gallo-Severide.

"What the hell's going on?" Jay whispered angrily at the guard.

"We don't know, your highness. The lights went out so we figured it best to get you to safety as quick as possible."

"What about Harper?" Hailey asked worriedly. "Where is she? Is she safe?"

"That I don't know, my lady."

Then, the door came busting open and the guard drew his sword.

"It's only me; it's Ruzek," Adam said as he entered.

"Adam!" Jay whisper-yelled. "Where's Harper? Is she in another hideout?"

"Jay, I don't know, I just came through the tunnels to make sure that you and Hailey were safe. I can go look in other ones if you want. But, along with you, I'm trying to find out what happened in the first place. I have other guards, being led by Kevin, who are making sure that Harper and Will are safe."

"Good," Jay said. "If they're being led by him, that means they'll do a thorough sweep." He paused. "Just keep doing what you planned on, Adam."

"Alright, I'll let you know when it's safe to come out. It'll probably be at least half an hour because, even though the lights are back on, we need to make sure that the guests are all out safely and do a sweep of the palace to make sure that you can come out. This will all be done at the same time. There are servants and guards getting the guests out safely while the rest of us will sweep the palace and the tunnels."

"Okay." Jay gave him a nod, which signaled that Adam Ruzek could leave to continue his job of keeping the royal family safe.

***

"You may come out now," Adam said and then ushered Hailey and Jay out of the secret room 45 minutes later.

"Where's Harper?" Hailey asked.

Silence.

"Where's Will?" Jay asked.

"Jay!"

Jay heard his name being called and looked up to see his older brother, the king, running towards him.

"Are you and Hailey alright? I had one of the guards run down to the infirmary to tell April what was going on in case we or guests got hurt when the lights went off."

"We're fine," Hailey said quickly. She turned back to Adam and took a few steps toward him so she was only separated from him by a matter of inches. "Where is my little sister, Adam? And it'd be in your best interest to tell me the truth. Right now."

"Hailey, Jay, we couldn't find her."

"What?" Hailey screamed.

"We searched all the hideouts and the tunnels and swept the palace left and right, but there was no sign of her. I'm sorry."

Hailey took another step forward. "You're sorry? You're sorry?" she yelled. "It was your job to keep every single person in this ballroom safe and you let the person that this was meant for go missing! Missing! God, how could you let this happen? We trust you with our lives, Adam!"

Hailey felt someone place a hand on her shoulder.

"Hailey, sweetheart, how about we go get a cup of tea or coffee, and you let Adam explain what happened to Will," Jay suggested calmly.

"No! I don't need tea or coffee or any other hot beverage, Jay! I need my sister!" she yelled and spun around to face her husband.

"Sweetheart, I understand that. We all understand that. But, yelling at Adam here isn't going to get her back. We need to understand what happened so that we can find her. And for that, Adam needs to be able to do his job."

Hailey took a deep breath. "You're right, you're right. It's just, the last thing we did was fight. I can't-- what if..." She sniffled. "What if that's the last time I saw her?"

Then, she threw herself into Jay's arms and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.

"I'll take care of her," he said quietly to Adam and Will. "Figure out what happened. And, Will, come tell us right away."

Will nodded and then Jay walked away with his very distraught wife still holding onto him.

Once they were out of earshot, Will turned his gaze directly onto Adam.

"What the hell happened?" he asked and threw his arms up above his head in exasperation.

"Let me preface this by saying that you will not like this answer." Will cocked an eyebrow at the head guard, urging him to continue. "A new guard had to take a leak."

"A guard had to take a piss?" Will practically yelled. "That's why we're in this mess? That's why Harper's missing? They know they aren't supposed to use the bathroom unless someone else can cover their post for them when there's a huge event or until the event's over."

"Kevin's already fired him, don't worry about that."

Will sighed in frustration. "So how'd it happen? How'd the lights go out?"

"You know how they're all connected to one main lamp?" Will nodded. "Whoever infiltrated lit a match and caused the coil to get too hot, thus causing the main lamp to pop--"

"...which caused all the rest of them in the ballroom to go out," Will finished. "I knew it was a bad idea to have them connected to one. I'll send a telegram to Casey right now to get him to change that and make them have different sources. Do you have any idea where they went? Any horse or wagon tracks to go off of?"

"That's what Kevin's looking at right now with others. But, I'm assuming that since they came in through the east window, that they came from the east."

"Is that the first place he's checking for tracks?"

"Yes."

"Good. We need to find her and get her home in one piece."

***

"God!" Hailey yelled when she and Jay were back in their bedroom, a guard outside their door. She was pacing nervously in front of their large, canopied bed while Jay sat on the edge of it, trying to calm down his wife. The coffee that he had Kim bring them was all but forgotten on the table in front of the newly lit fireplace. "She didn't even want to have a ball in the first place! If we just listened to her--"

"Hailey!" Jay yelled at her. She stopped pacing and whipped around to face him. He never raised his voice at her. Ever. Jay held his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. But, I need you to calm down--"

"Don't tell me what to do!" she snapped. But then, she took a deep breath and lowered her voice. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I expect you not to yell at me, but then I yell at you. It's unfair, really. I'm sorry."

Jay stood up and walked over to her. Then, he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked directly into her teary eyes. "Hailey, you have nothing to apologize for. Your sister's missing. You have every right to be angry and yell."

"I know, I know. But this isn't your fault. And here I am, yelling at you. It's not fair for me to do to you."

"Listen, they'll find her. I promise you that."

"But how do you know that?"

"Because you and her didn't just escape your hellish dad for her to go down like this. She'll be okay. We'll find her and bring her home."

A tear rolled down Hailey's cheek and she took a deep, shaky breath. "How do you always do this? Talk me down?"

"Well, I have had ten years of practice now," he replied cheekily. Hailey faintly smiled and shook her head. "C'mon, let's drink this coffee before it turns into icicles, and then we can go to bed or get an update from Adam, Kevin, or Will if you want."

Hailey took Jay's hand and the two sat by the fireplace and drank their coffee, but worry was swirling around both of their heads.

***

Harper coughed as she slowly awoke in a damp and dingy place, the candle on the floor sitting in the rusty candle holder the only light. She felt rope digging into her wrists. The stone was rough and cold against her back.

"Princess, you awake?" she heard someone say.

Wait, she knew that voice. That was the voice of the man she was dancing with at the ball when all the lights went out. Blake something.

She coughed again. "I think so."

"I'll take that as a yes, then."

"Where are we?" she asked, her voice scratchy.

"Some dungeon of sorts, I think," Blake Something answered.

Harper's eyes grew wide as the door opened and closed. A burly man walked in, holding two bowls of what looked to be soup.

"Harper Upton and Blake Gallo-Severide," the man said as he paced the small, dimly lit room. "I was just going for the girl, but picking up another royal at the same time, one that the family doesn't like, well, I'd say that's quite a catch."

"What do you want?" Blake spat.

"Oh, wow, quite a mouth on you for a royal, huh, boy? Well, since you asked, I didn't particularly want you; you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Harper here..." he trailed off and walked closer to Harper. He twirled a strand of her blonde hair, causing Harper to squeeze her eyes shut. "I needed her to get the king to agree to my demands."

Seeing as Harper was too terrified of this man to even speak, Blake took it upon himself to speak on her behalf. "You'll never be able to get King Halstead!" he yelled. "And, if you take her, there's no way in hell he'll give himself up!"

"Oh, but if I take the prince in exchange for Harper, then the king will give himself up for his brother. Funny how family works, isn't it? Now, here's your broth. Your hands are tied, so figure out how to eat it."

He let out a menacing laugh and then left the room, slamming the door shut with a loud thud.

"Do you know him?" Blake asked.

"No," Harper answered. "I have no idea who that it is. All I know is that he's going to hurt the only real family I've ever had." She paused. "And, you're a Severide? God, of all the people I had to get kidnapped with, it had to be you, didn't it?"

"Look," he started, "I know our families don't see eye to eye on how to treat their people--"

"Treat them?" she asked rhetorically. "Your family doesn't even help them! If there's a drought, you do nothing! A flood, you do nothing! You let your people starve when you could be helping them!"

"It's not me!" he yelled, but then quickly lowered his voice. "It's not me. It's my Grandpa Benny's rule. My mom and dad vowed to change things, but since he's still alive..." he trailed off.

"You can't do anything."

"Correct. Now, let's try to eat this soup, yeah?"

"But how? Our hands are tied."

Blake scooted himself across the floor and gripped the bowl with his tied hands. He could move his hands in the knot they were in, just not have them separate at the wrists. And, since his hands were bigger, he had no trouble wrapping his hands around part of the bowl. "Like this," he said.

Harper tried what he was doing, but since her hands were a lot smaller, it wasn't working. And, there's no way she'd be able to grip a spoon since her fists would just touch. The only thing the two could do was move their hands in and out since they were tied together at the wrists.

"C'mere, Princess," Blake beckoned.

"Why?" Harper asked.

"Well, you're hungry, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," she replied, still very confused.

"Move closer to me and I'll tip the broth into your mouth for you to sip. Fine by you, Princess?"

"I mean, I guess," she answered sheepishly and did her best to move closer to Blake.

Once she was close enough, he told her some more important things. "If you want me to put the bowl down, just tap the back of my hand twice." She nodded. "Ready, Princess?" She nodded again and he held the bowl up to her lips and slightly tipped it.

She sipped and never once had broth tasted so good. She was so hungry, as she had no idea how long she had been out or down in this dingy, dungeon-like area.

"I can promise you," Blake started after he and Harper were both finished with their broth, "that we'll get out of here."

"How can you promise that?" she asked, whipping her head towards him. "We don't even know where we are for Christ's sake!"

"Hey, my dad may be a prince and next in line for the throne, but he taught me a lot of things that might end up being useful in this very type of situation."

***

"What the fuck do you mean you haven't found anything yet?" Jay roared at three in the morning.

Hailey had finally fallen asleep from the pure exhaustion of crying her eyes out. Jay had had his arms wrapped around her in bed and hadn't slept at all, so he had untangled himself from her slowly and quietly enough that she didn't wake up, and made his way around the castle until he found Adam, Kevin, and Will talking in Will's study.

"Jay, calm down! We're working as hard as we can! Me and Kevin haven't slept in almost a day!" Adam said, trying to calm down his friend.

"Well, me either! God, how did this happen in the first place? I mean, I know, but how can you not find her? She couldn't have gotten that far, goddammit!"

"Everybody, just take a deep breath," Will said, commanding the room. Then, he turned to Jay. "Jay, I know you're frustrated because she's like a little sister to you--hell, she's like a little sister to me, too--but we can't do anything if Adam and Kevin don't get some sleep and let other guards take over--"

"So you're letting our two best guards sleep when Harper's missing? Unbelievable!" He threw his hands in the air.

"It'll be until sun up and then they'll be back helping the others," Will reassured his little brother. "But right now, what's best is for them is to sleep and let another head guard take over."

"Then give me all the information you've already gathered and let me lead the guards," Jay argued.

"That's not safe and you know it," Kevin said.

"He's right," Adam agreed. "Even if we did give you all the information we had, you'd still hit a dead end. And, you have battle training obviously, but not as extensive as we do. If they took Harper, that probably means that they want you and Will, so as Kevin said, it's not safe for you to go out and try to find her." He looked between Jay and Will. "That goes for both of you."

"Fine. Sleep why don't you. In the meantime, I'll look over these notes and maps and see if I can find anything."

"Jay--" Will began.

"No, Will! I know you're the king and all, but I was the one who pulled her out of that river ten years ago! I'll be damned if I let her die from this!"

***

"I got it! I fucking got it!" Jay yelled around six in the morning while he was working on his third cup of coffee and Will was half-asleep in his desk chair.

"How?" Will yawned. "How'd you figure it out when even our highly skilled guards couldn't?"

"I just, I remembered something, okay?"

"And that something is...?" Will trailed off.

"She was dancing with Kelly Severide's son when she was taken."

"Blake?"

"Yeah. So, they either tried to get into Severide's kingdom after they took the two or they're in ours or they're really close to Severide's."

"So they're in a place where they know we wouldn't look because it's not in our kingdom," Will said as he put the pieces together and sat up straighter in his chair, suddenly wide awake.

"Exactly."

"I'll go tell the guards."

***

"We're never gonna get out of here," Harper groaned as she and Blake tried their best to get some sleep with their backs against the stone wall.

"Never say never, Princess. Never say never," Blake said.

"Wow, didn't know you were a poet, too. Fantastic."

Harper closed her eyes again to try to get some sleep before they'd be woken up at god knows when to eat god knows what. At the same time, Blake was looking around the dungeon-like room for anything to help get them out of there.

He stood up, which caused Harper to open her eyes. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

"They missed a spoon when they brought the dinner dishes up," he answered as he sat down and then picked up the spoon with his hands which were still tied in front of him.

"How's a spoon going to help us?" Harper skeptically asked.

Blake moved closer to her, the spoon still in his hands. "Great question. I'm gonna get the end of  this spoon in the space between the knots to hopefully make it loose and then untie the knot."

"And how do you expect to do that with tied hands?"

"Wow, you're quite the pessimist, aren't you?"

"Sorry, when you listen to Jay and Will bicker all the time, the negativity kind of just happens."

Blake chuckled. "Whatever you say, Princess. Whatever you say." He paused. "And, to answer your question, I am going to get your ties off first, then you'll help me with mine."

"But I don't know how to do that!"

"Just watch me and hopefully that'll help. And, it's not that hard; you just stick the end of the spoon in a knot to make it loose. Pretty simple actually."

Harper raised her eyebrows but held out her hands to Blake despite her skepticism. He stuck the end of the spoon in the knot he thought was the loosest and twirled the spoon back and forth until the gap was big enough that he could fit a finger from each hand in and wiggle it. Then, he worked on the remaining knots.

Ten minutes later, Harper slid her hands out of the rope.

"You did it!" she whisper-yelled. "Now, time for me to get you out of here."

Blake told her the knot he thought would be the loosest and she got the end of the spoon in there and twirled, just like Blake did. With Blake talking her through the entire thing, she got the rope off his wrist in fifteen minutes. There was some fraying in his, but it was off nonetheless.

"What now?" Harper asked.

"See that window up there?" Blake asked as he pointed above the right of their heads. It wasn't much of a window, just a collection of bars that were bolted together and were bolted to the inside of the wall. Harper nodded. "Now, we tie the rope to the third of five bars so it's centered and we pull it off the wall."

"Rope? Against iron? I may be a woman, but even I know that iron is stronger than rope," Harper said.

"It's rusty," Blake pointed out. "Therefore, it should be easy to get off its hinges."

"And how do you propose we tie the rope to it since it's so high up?"

Blake squatted down. "Grab the rope and hop on my back, Princess."

"Fine. Just let me move these candles over here more so that I can actually see what I'm doing."

Harper moved the candles to either side of the window--on the floor of course--and then grabbed the less-frayed rope. Then, she got on Blake's back.

He boosted her up as high as he could, but she still had to stretch to tie the rope to that third bar on the window. Once she tied multiple knots that Blake deemed tight enough, only then did he put her back on her own two feet.

Then, he grabbed the slightly more frayed rope and tied it to the end of the other rope.

"Now, we have to pull hard. And, I want you in front of me because it'll work best if I'm in the back," Blake explained.

"But what if that grate hits me in the face?" Harper asked.

"Well, for starters, the minute it starts getting really loose, I'll tell you to get out of the way and I'll finish pulling it off. Secondly, when it comes off, I need to make sure it doesn't hit the floor, so I'm going to need to choke up on the rope when it starts getting really loose so that I can hold it and make sure it doesn't hit the floor."

"Okay, this is actually a pretty good plan. Who knew Prince Severide would be able to teach his son all this?"

"It's all--"

"I know, it's all Benny who's doing the things to your people. Now, let's get out of here. Maybe you can talk to Benny after this, but first, we need to get out of here before people wake up."

They positioned themselves on the rope, Harper in the front and Blake in the back. Then, they pulled, making their hands rope burned. But, at this point, neither of them cared; all they cared about was escaping wherever the hell they were.

Once Blake deemed it loose enough for Harper to let go, she did and stood off to the left. Then, he got closer on the rope and pulled. He heard the tell-tale creak of it only hanging on by one side.

He gave it one more pull...

Harper could've cheered when the grate came free of its bearings, giving them an out. But, she kept her mouth shut. Blake made sure to still be choking up on the rope so that it didn't hit the floor. It swung past Harper on her right side and towards the back of the dungeon-like room. But, she didn't know where it was on its backswing.

"Har--"

Harper felt a searing pain as the jagged edges of the grate ripped through the sleeve of her blue ballgown and into her tricep. She was about to cry out when she felt a hand clamp over her mouth.

"Don't scream," Blake whispered as he slowly lowered the rope connected to the grate to the ground, making sure that the grate barely made a noise as it hit the concrete.

Harper nodded with his hand still clamped around her mouth.

"I'm going to let go now," Blake warned. Harper nodded again.

Then, he removed his hand.

Harper bit down on her lip from the pain. She knew it was deep because she felt the blood trickling down her arm and heard the pitter-patter of blood droplets hitting the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she also saw the sleeve of her ballgown was beginning to be stained a shade of crimson.

"So, how we're getting out of here," Blake began, "because we'll talk about that cut once you're out, is that I'm going to boost you up so that you can crawl out." He handed her the less frayed section of the rope after he untied it from the other section which was still connected to the grated window. "Then, you tie this to the first tree you see and toss the other end back down and I'll scale it and get myself out the window."

Harper clamped her left hand over her right tricep. "How do you--"

"Know how to scale a wall?" Blake asked. She nodded. "There's only so many ways you can sneak out of a castle and not get caught...also pretty sure my dad did that when he was a kid, so I guess it runs in the family."

"Okay," Harper said and removed her hand from her arm. "Let's get out of here."

Blake untied the section of rope and handed it to her. Then, she gingerly got on his back once more, being careful to use her right arm as little as possible. He walked forward and stopped in front of the window.

"You can do this, Princess," he encouraged.

With that, Harper pushed herself up and out of the dungeon-like wherever they were, and then started running, the rope trailing behind her.

She saw a tree to her left and ran towards it, cut arm forgotten because of all the adrenaline rushing through her veins. Then, she wrapped the rope around the tree and tied a few super tight knots.

She ran back to the window with the end of the rope.

"Coming down," she whisper-yelled to Blake and dropped the end of the rope down to him.

She watched as he effortlessly scaled the wall and pulled himself up and out the window.

"What do we do now?" Harper asked once he was out as well.

"Run," he answered.

So, Harper hiked up her blue ballgown and tried to keep up with him as the two of them ran to the left and to their safety.

***

Jay stared at the maps in front of him for what seemed like hours. He went back and forth over the map of the border between his and Severide's kingdoms (a few miles of each kingdom included on each side) and the map of Severide's kingdom. He had maps from fifty years ago, twenty years ago, ten years ago, and current maps spread out on Will's desk and on the floor. He was frantically trying to find any notable difference in any of the maps, frantically trying to find any place that Harper and Blake could be hidden away that no one thought existed anymore.

His eyes widened when he found a small difference in the map of the border: it was an old well that had been there ten years ago but wasn't there now. This meant that there was an old well worker's house near there that wasn't being used now, either.

Jay grabbed the pencil he had been using and quickly drew a circle around the well and the house.

"Will, Will! I think I got it!" he exclaimed.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," Will repeated from his chair where he had previously been half asleep. He rubbed his eyes and sat up straight and leaned towards his little brother. "What have you got now?"

Jay waved him over and the two leaned over the desk. "This," Jay said as he jabbed a finger at the map from ten years ago. "This well was there ten years ago, but it's not there now." He pointed to the empty spot on the map. "See?"

Will nodded. "And you think they took Harper there because it's close to the border."

"Exactly."

The door creaked as it was pushed open and Jay and Will immediately looked up.

"Hailey," Jay said and started towards her. "What are you doing awake? It's five in the morning."

"I'm well aware of the time, Jay. But, I couldn't sleep. I'm too worried."

She made her way over the desk and her eyes scanned the maps in front of the two royals. She furrowed her eyebrows.

Jay noticed how pensive she was. "What? You look like you're thinking pretty hard there."

"That well," Hailey began as she put her finger on the map right where that well was. "I know it."

"You do?" Will asked, now as intrigued as his brother.

Hailey nodded. "That was about half a mile (800 meters) from my house. My mother used to go down to get our water from there. But, they stopped using it because there was a new one built a few months before me and Harper came here." She paused. "You think that's where they're holding them?"

"I mean, it's plausible," Jay answered, not wanting to be the one to give her hope or give her disappointment. "It's five miles from the border, making it seven miles from the palace. They could force them to walk five miles in a day or during the night if they had to."

Hailey quickly started towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Jay asked, starting towards his wife.

"To get our coats. I know the area better than you, so I'm going with you and the guards to find Harper. And don't you dare tell me no. If it'll make you feel better, I'll even ride with Adam so that I'm safer."

Jay pursed his lips.

"You cannot be thinking about letting her go!" Will yelled and then received a stern look from Jay for yelling. "Sorry, sorry, Hailey," he quickly apologized. "And, neither of you or me for that matter, should be going. It's too dangerous."

"Will, we'll be okay. We'll bring multiple guards and me and Hailey will stay in the middle, so that way we won't be open targets. You, on the other hand, do need to stay here," Jay said.

"And let you two go alone...even with guards? No way! There's no way in hell, Jay!" He yelled this quieter than the last time so that he didn't receive a glare from Jay.

"Man, you're the king. You've probably got a bigger bounty on your head than me and Hailey, so please, for the love of all things holy, stay here."

"If you two go, make sure you both come back in one piece. And bring Harper back."

***

As Harper's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the night while she and Blake ran away from the place where they were being held captive, she thought she recognized where they were. She vaguely remembered seeing that well that they had just ran by. She and Hailey would come to it for a drink on a hot summer's day after being outside in the heat all day. In the winter, she remembers being cold while she carried a bucket maybe a quarter of the way full back home while her mother and Hailey each carried two buckets that had been practically full. But, Harper had been eager to help and their mother took any chance that she could get to get her children away from their abusive father.

"Wait," she said, which caused Blake to slow down so that Harper could catch up to him. The blood on her tricep was now oozing down onto her wrist and hand as her wound continued to bleed. "I know this place."

"You do?" Blake asked.

"I think so. I'm pretty sure this is where me and Hailey grew up before she got us out of there and we went to live with Will and Jay. It'd be a lot easier to know if we had a torch."

"I mean, I'm pretty sure I could make us one," Blake said.

"No, that's okay. We just need to walk close to the houses. Most of them should have fires lit for a bit of heat and light...that is, if I'm remembering right. That should help us until we find the right house."

"The right house? Princess, not to be rude, but what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about us staying inside my old house until the morning if it's empty."

Blake cocked his head to the side. Harper's idea actually wasn't that bad. "Lead the way, Princess."

***

They were there: safety.

Blake put an arm out in front of him, silently telling Harper to stay behind him. Then, he pushed the old wooden door open. It wasn't that hard even though it did creak loudly due to all the rust on its hinges.

Then, he took a step inside and a few seconds later, beckoned for Harper to follow.

He walked over to the fireplace and swept a finger over the mantle, which caused his finger to be covered in dust. He waved his hand in the fireplace, gathering cobwebs all over his hand.

"I don't think this house has been used in years," he said. "Cobwebs are all over my hand from the fireplace."

"And they wouldn't be in there if someone had been lighting fires," Harper finished.

"Exactly." He felt around the mantle some more and then he felt what he was looking for: two candles and a box of matches. Most people left theirs on the mantle, and if this was Harper's family's old house, he was glad that they had done the same thing.

He fumbled with the box of matches until he got one out and then he struck it against the box and quickly used it to light the candles and then blew out the match and dropped it on the floor and crushed it with his foot.

He handed a candle to Harper but gasped at the same time.

"What?" she asked immediately. "What's wrong?"

"It's just that, you're really bleeding."

"Yeah, I know. But there's not much I can do about that right now." She turned her attention to where the door to the kitchen was and took a few steps closer. There, in that door, was the hole from the doorknob that Hailey had cut out all those years ago. "This is my old house."

"How do you know?"

"The hole in the door."

"How'd that happen?"

"That's a story for another day."

Blake nodded. "Fair enough. But for now we need to figure out how to stop that bleeding. How many layers are in that dress of yours, Princess?"

"Now, why would you need to know that, Prince?"

Blake chuckled. "I'm Prince now, huh?"

"You keep calling me Princess, so I figured it's only fair. But, why do you care so much about my dress?"

"I wanted to rip off a piece of the top layer and then tie it around your arm to hopefully stop the bleeding."

Harper sat down on the dirty floor and splayed her dress out in front of her. "Do it. It's really hurting."

Blake squatted down next to her. "You haven't complained once, though."

"Yeah, because we were running for our lives, Blake! I had more pressing matters to attend to!

Blake laughed. "Slow your roll, Princess." He set the candle down next to him and gently separated the first layer of the dress from the rest of the layers of the dress. Then, he made a tiny rip and paused and looked up at Harper. "Time to get that wound covered for the time being."

Then, all that could be heard between the two was Blake ripping a layer of fabric and then Harper grunting in pain when he tightly tied the strip of fabric around her right tricep.

***

The group of guards, along with the prince and princess, rode through the kingdom on horseback in the dead of night. Even though Hailey knew that the guards knew every inch of the kingdom inside and out, she still gave directions every once in a while.

They got to the old well and the old well worker's house.

"I'll stay here with two others," Adam said. "Kevin, you and the other four go inside and sweep the place. Go get Harper. Do whatever you have to do to get them back."

***

It felt like forever to Hailey and Jay, but it was only ten minutes. They heard yelling and sounds of things crashing to the floor and when they came out, they had three men with them.

"It looks like Harper and Blake escaped," Kevin announced. "We found these three bastards asleep and they didn't even realize they were gone."

"We just wanted change in our kingdom--" one started.

"Quiet!" Kevin boomed. "The only change you're gonna get is living in a dungeon the rest of your life. Now, did anyone help you besides these two? And I suggest that you don't lie to me or else I can easily make sure there's rats in there with you every single day."

"No," the man said and the two others shook their heads.

Adam waved his hand.

"We'll get them to the dungeon. We'll question them more once we're there."

Adam nodded and then Kevin and three other guards got the men on horseback and walked next to the horses so that they knew that the prisoners wouldn't escape. Then, they made their way back to the Halstead palace while Adam tried to figure out what to do next.

"Go half a mile that way," Hailey suggested as she pointed to the left.

"Princess, no disrespect, but why?" Adam asked.

"Our childhood home is that way. Maybe Harper and Blake went to stay there for the night."

"You heard her!" Jay ordered. "Go!"

***

Harper stiffened as she heard muffled voices coming from outside.

"You hear them, too?" Blake asked.

"Uh-huh," she confirmed.

He grabbed a candle and held it out in front of him. "Get behind me, Princess."

The door started to open slightly.

The minute Harper saw to stripe of color on the guard's boot, showing what kingdom she was from, she rushed out in front of Blake.

"Harper--"

"It's okay! It's okay! They're guards!"

When Hailey heard Harper's voice, she immediately jumped down from the horse, despite Adam trying to stop her.

"I don't care if it's not safe, Adam!" she argued. "Harper's in there, so I need to go!"

"I'll go with her," Jay said quickly and jumped off of his horse and quickly stood in front of Hailey.

The minute the two were in the door, Hailey rushed out from behind Jay and sprinted to her little sister.

"Oh thank God," she exclaimed and pulled Harper into a tight hug. "Thank God you're okay!"

Harper winced as Hailey's arm wrapped around the wound on her arm and squeezed. Hailey quickly pulled away.

Jay's eyes widened as he saw the wound on Harper's arm. The girl who he saw as a little sister was hurt...and he couldn't be sure who did it. While Hailey started to bend down to take a closer look at the ripped flesh, Jay took a giant step towards Blake.

"Did you do this?" he yelled.

"No, I--"

"Then explain to me! Explain to me what happened to her!"

"He didn't do it!" Harper yelled. Jay and Hailey looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. "When we got out and got the grate off, when it came down, it hit me in the arm and cut me." She winced as Hailey lifted up the fabric that Blake had tied her arm off with. "Shit, this really hurts."

Normally, Jay or Hailey would scold her for her language, but given the circumstances, they both found it appropriate to swear.

"Does anything else hurt besides the arm?" Jay asked, seeing as Hailey was too worried about her sister to even speak. "Did they hurt you at all?"

"No, no they didn't. Just tied our wrists and kept us in this dingy dungeon place."

"Okay, well we should get you back." He turned to Blake. "We should get both of you back."

Blake nodded. "With all due respect Prince Jay, my family's palace is closer. Wouldn't it make more sense if we brought Harper there? Sylvie could stitch up her arm and she could rest there a few hours before you started back to your palace."

Hailey turned to Jay. "He does have a really good point."

He sighed. "Fine. But, I'm going back to our palace with one of the guards and then I'll meet you at Severide's. I want to know why this happened."

***

A few hours later, Harper's wound was fully stitched up and free from any bacteria thanks to Sylvie. Hailey was sipping coffee near her sister's bedside while Blake sat across from her, finally succumbing to sleep the same as Harper.

Jay, on the other hand, was just entering Severide's palace with Will in tow.

"Halsteads," Kelly said as Will and Jay, along with Kevin, entered Kelly's huge study. Benny was there, too. "Blake filled me in on what happened. God, that kid. From having his parents die in a fire and me and Stella taking him in, it's like he can't catch a break. We just wanted him to have a nice time at the ball last night and then all this happened."

Will cocked his head to the side and took a step forward. "Wait. So you knew that Blake went to the ball and that he still wasn't home and you didn't send guards out to search for him? Unbelievable."

Kelly held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I thought the kid might be getting some action. Lord knows all three of us did after balls back in the day."

Benny cleared his throat, clearly not wanting to hear about his son's escapades.

"Did we get anything from the kidnappers?" Benny asked.

"First of all," Jay began, "we, didn't do anything. Kevin here did most of the work and yes he did get some answers." Jay took a step back. "Kevin, care to explain what they told you?"

"The three men that kidnapped Prince Gallo-Severide and Princess Halstead were from your kingdom," he said as he nodded towards Benny and Kelly. "They were angry that you weren't doing anything for your people, and since our palace is apparently easier to get in just because of the architecture, they decided to get into the ball, kidnap the princess to try to get to King Will here, and then hold him for ransom until either Prince or King Severide came to get him."

"And why would we--" Benny started, but his son quickly cut him off.

"Oh shut up, father! You know I'd do it!"

"I mean, I guess I can see it." Benny shrugged.

Will cleared his throat. "With that now explained, are you going to do anything to help your people? Because if this happened once, it could easily happen again. I'm not usually one to give in, but in these circumstances, you need to. Hell, you've needed to before Harper and Blake were kidnapped!"

"Don't you dare--"

"Father!" Kelly yelled. "Will's right! Things need to change! Not that you'd understand because you barely know how to run a kingdom, hence why ours has gone to utter shit. We need change and we need it now."

"I'm still the king!"

"And I don't give a damn! You were galavanting the world, leaving your people, our people to suffer and being a terrible ruler." Kelly took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "If you don't do this, I will side with the rebels so that they can get what they want."

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh, but I would. And, you know as well as me that I never back down."

Kelly and Benny stared at each other.

"So?" Jay asked. "What's it going to be?"

"Yes," Kelly agreed. "What is it going to be? Have a traitor for a son or be a good person and help the people of our kingdom?"

Benny threw his arms in the air. "Fine, fine! I'll do it! I'll start focusing more on our kingdom, starting by making sure that prices for food are reasonable so that everyone can have food."

"That's all I ask," Kelly said. He turned back to the two Halsteads. "Now, do you guys want to see Harper? I'm pretty sure Hailey and Blake are with her now, but I've got no problem bringing you two down there while my father sorts things out." He threw a glare towards his father and then quickly turned his attention back to Will and Jay.

"That'd be great," Jay said. "Thank you."

***

"Good morning," Blake whispered when he noticed that Harper was finally waking up. That girl slept a lot compared to how much he slept after their whole ordeal. "Or should I say afternoon," he chuckled.

"It was a long night," Harper said.

"Care to head back to our palace in a few hours?" Jay asked. "No offense, Blake, but I'm sure her bed would be more comfortable than an infirmary bed."

"No offense taken at all."

"I'm just so glad you're okay," Hailey said and reached for Harper's hand. She moved her gaze between both Blake and Harper. "I'm so glad that both of you are okay. And, according to Jay and Kelly, some good is going to come out of this in that Benny is going to try and help his people."

"Good," Harper said. Then, she turned to Blake. "Since I guess you're not so bad at all, Prince Blake, I hope to see you at the next ball?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Princess." Blake smiled.

"See?" Jay started. "I told you that you're a princess, Harper."

A/N: Sorry this has taken me so long to get out! School started and I had a couple of rough shifts at work, so I wasn't in the mood to write. I know it's not August, but I started this at the end of August, so I'm still counting this as part of AU-gust. Also, the picture at the top is from the Biltmore House/Mansion that I visited in mid-August. (I took the picture.) Anyway, thank you so much for reading! And, please remember to like/reblog, comment, and send me asks! I love hearing what you guys think! As always, if you want to be added to my taglist, just tell me and I’ll add you.

taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl @dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @onechicago18 @iamasimpingh0e @i-like-sparkly-things @herecomesthewriterwitch @liampayne88

[methodstomymadness]

I’ve been waiting to watch this installment of her Arcane series because I wasn’t certain I could handle it emotionally (plus I was busy visiting my grandmother) but I finally watched it today and here are my thoughts:

• Not to say my sister and I have a bad relationship because we don’t (in fact not only do I admire and love her dearly as my older sister but also as another maternal figure, given we’re seven years apart and we’ve gone through some of life’s struggles together) but I love how Georgia pointed out that Vi’s attachment style is avoidant while Powder’s is anxious. Not only is she right but that’s how my sister and I are and I never realized you could put a name to it. I looked it up after I heard her use the term “attachment type” and learned there are four attachment styles; anxious (or preoccupied), avoidant (or dismissive), disorganized (or fearful/avoidant), and secure. I’m a mix of anxious and disorganized myself, depending on the situation or even the person I’m with, but my sister for the most part is the avoidant type. I’ve been saying one of the reasons I love this show so much is because of the storyline of the two sisters, no matter how heartbreaking it’s been so far. I see the parallels between Powder and Vi and my sister and I when things are good between them and I see myself in Powder with how reliant she is on Vi when things are tough for them. I can also see myself being as screwed up as she was when Vi left had my own sister done the same thing. It was hard enough for me when she left for college and then when she moved to another state, I couldn’t imagine going through what Powder went through. Years passing without ever seeing my sister or hearing from her, thinking she’s dead, thinking she abandoned me. That’s awful.

• When Georgia says that what you call a child or say to a child imprints on them forever, that’s true. Again, not that my sister is a bad sister or we don’t have a good relationship because that’s really not the case but she called me something when I was younger that has stuck with me to this day and has been an insecurity of mine for all these years. I hide the fact from her because I know she would feel really bad if she knew and I know that she didn’t mean to hurt me.

• Georgia’s explanation of why Vi left Powder at the end of Act 1 had me forgive Vi for her actions then, as I initially thought she did indeed abandon her. However, I definitely agree with her that she didn’t necessarily do the right thing when she turned away from Jinx and left with Caitlyn on the bridge. I understand Georgia’s explanation on why she did it again then, but I 100% agree that if she were better with using her words she could’ve prevented further damage. In Jinx’s eyes, Vi abandoned her again. She chose someone else over her. She’s leaving her to possibly get hurt. She’s not enough for her or she’s possibly a disappointment to her. It hasn’t been mentioned in any of these videos that Georgia’s done yet but when Vi tells the counselors about Jinx I was like what are you doing?! Why’d you give up your sister like that and give up on her by doing so?! It was then that I felt so certain, even more so than at the end of Act 1 or the scene on the bridge, that Vi had abandoned her sister. I felt that in the moment she really didn’t know if they would arrest her, kill her, or what and that she hadn’t really had a chance to talk with her yet but she already decided her sister was gone and something needed to be done about her.

• I did not realize until Georgia pointed it out that Silco pulled the gun on Vi not only because he didn’t want to lose Jinx to her but also because he noticed she was putting Jinx in distress 🤯 She’s a therapist for a reason/making these videos for a reason because kudos to her for catching onto that as that went right over my head

• Yes, she really did say “really good friend” lol

[hughjidiot]

Jelly Beans, A Sashannarcy Oneshot

So I’ve written a number of Sashannarcy oneshots that I’ve posted over on AO3 and figured it was about time I start sharing them here as well. So here’s the first oneshot, in which Sasha brings some special candy to spice up the girls’ weekly game night

---

“BeanBoozled?”

 Anne blinked in confusion as she beheld the colorful box Sasha was holding up. She and Sasha sat on the couch in the living room of the apartment they shared with Marcy, who at the moment was searching through the board game cabinet for a suitable game for their weekly game night.

 “Picked it up while I was out running errands today,” Sasha said. “Thought it could be a fun way to spice up game night.”

 “How are jelly beans gonna make game night more interesting?” Anne asked with a furrowed brow.

 Sasha grinned and gave the box a shake, the candy contents rattling within. “Ah, but these are no ordinary jelly beans. There are ten colors, but twenty possible flavors. Each color can be something really good, or really  really bad, and the only way to tell is to pop one in your mouth and hope for the best. Take a look.”

 Sasha passed the box to Anne. Her eyes widened as she beheld the flavors on the back. “Birthday cake or dirty dishwater? Coconut or spoiled milk? Peach or  barf!? Jeez, it’s like Russian Roulette with candy!”

 “Nah, at least with Russian Roulette the odds are five-to-one in your favor,” Marcy said as she walked over to the couch, a huge stack of boxes in her hands. “With those it’s more like a coin flip. Heads you get a delicious bean, tails you get one that’ll make you wanna die.”

 “Exactly,” Sasha said with a smirk and a mischievous glint in her eye. “What do you say, girls? Wanna raise the stakes this week?”

 “Sounds potentially disgusting and humiliating,” Marcy said, setting the board games on the table and taking a seat on the couch next to Anne. She grinned. “I’m in.”

 “Me too,” Anne said, smiling and handing the box back to Sasha. “What did you have in mind?”

 Sasha  hmmm’ed  as she looked over the games Marcy was offering. “We need a simple game. Let’s see here...  Clue,  no…  Cards Against Humanity, Settlers of Catan, Boss Monster…  no, no, nope… Ah, perfect!  Would You Rather.”

 Sasha opened up the game in question, took out a stack of cards and began shuffling them as she continued speaking. “So here’s what I’m thinking: we each take turns drawing a card and asking an either/or question for the other two to answer. Anyone who picks the less popular option has to eat a random bean out of the box. Sound good?”

 Anne and Marcy nodded. Sasha set the deck of cards down and drew the top one. “Cool, I’ll start us off then. Anne, Marcy, would you rather… punch a pilgrim or eat an avocado?”

 Anne sputtered out a laugh. “What kind of question is  that?”

 “That’s just the game,” Marcy said with a shrug. “Some of the choices have logic to them, others are just completely random. I think I’d rather eat an avocado, they’re loaded with nutrients and can be used to make guacamole.”

 “Avocado it is,” Sasha said. “Anne?”

 Anne pursed her lips. “Well from what I remember from history class, the Pilgrims  were kind of dicks… But I think I’ll go with the avocado too.”

 “And those are your final answers?” Sasha asked her girlfriends. Anne and Marcy nodded. “Well congratulations! According to the card fifty-nine percent of people agree with you.”

 Marcy and Anne high-fived. Sasha discarded the card and Anne reached for the deck to draw her own card.

 “Okay Marcy, Sasha, would you rather… have no teeth or have no tongue?”

 “Oof, that’s a tough one,” Sasha said. “Either one of those would make eating a pain in the ass.”

 Marcy rubbed her chin. “I think I’d rather have no teeth. ‘Cause at least if you have a tongue you could still taste stuff.”

 “But how would you chew with no teeth so you don’t choke and die?” Sasha asked.

 “Well that’s what blenders are for. Plus no tongue means you can’t  talk either.”

 “Oh, that’s a good point. Yeah, I’ll go with no teeth too.”

 Anne nodded, discarding her card. “You and sixty-three percent of people. Congrats girls, no one gets to try the beans yet. You’re up Marbles.”

 Marcy drew a card. “Sash, Anne, would you rather… sing everything you say or dance all your movements?”

 “Sing everything,” Sasha said with a proud smirk. “After all,  I’m a heart-stomper~! Stompin’ on hearts~!”

 Anne and Marcy laughed. “Oh man I haven’t thought about our old garage band in  years,” Marcy said. “We should break out the instruments one of these days, for old time’s sake.”

 “Yeah but it’s been so long we probably suck,” Anne said. “Dancing was always more my thing, so that’s what I’m going with.”

 “Ooh, first time two of us have picked different options,” Marcy said. She reached down for the BeanBoozled box. “Those are your final answers?” The other two girls nodded. “And the jelly bean goes to… Anne!”

 “Aw, for real?” Anne asked as Sasha pumped a fist in the air. Marcy nodded and showed the text on the card: fifty-six percent of people would rather sing as opposed to forty-four who’d rather dance. “Damn it. Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here…”

 On the back of the box was a circle of the ten jelly beans with a built-in spinner. She gave the spinner a flick and watched it slow until it settled on brown. “Okay that’s… chocolate pudding or canned dog food? Oh boy.”

 Anne picked through the box of candies, pulling out a single brown bean. She held the candy up between her thumb and forefinger, gulping audibly. “Well. Here we go…”

 Marcy and Sasha watched with great interest as Anne plopped the candy in her mouth. She slowly chewed… and a smile graced her face.

 “Oh thank God, it’s chocolate pudding!” She said, swallowing.

 “Aw, well that’s no fun,” Sasha said with an exaggerated pout. “You were supposed to get a gross one so me and Marcy could laugh at your misfortune.”

 “Hey, the night’s still young,” Anne said. “Don’t forget  you could also end up with a gross bean, Sasha.”

 “Well not this time, ‘cause it’s my turn to ask the question.” Sasha drew the next card of the deck. “Would you rather… be dangled over the edge of the cliff or forced to speak in public?”

 “Dangled off a cliff,” Marcy said instantly.

 “Really, Mar-Mar?” Anne asked flatly.

 “You girls  know how I am about public speaking! Why do you think I did most of the work during our group projects back in school and left the actual presentations to you two?”

 “Yeah, but we’re talking about public speaking vs. being dangled off a cliff!”

 “It doesn’t say anywhere that you actually get dropped!”

 Anne rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’ll still go with public speaking.”

 “You and seventy-eight percent of people,” Sasha said. “Sorry Marcy, but the price of not having to speak in public is a gross jelly bean.”

 “Totally worth it,” Marcy said defiantly. She picked up the box and flicked the spinner. “And I get… toasted marshmallow or stink bug.”

 She plucked a brown-and-white bean from the box and plopped it in her mouth. She slowly chewed, and her neutral expression slowly morphed into disgust.

 “Oh. Oh that doesn’t taste good,” she said. Her jaw moved again and she gagged, hand going to her mouth. “Oh that’s really not good!”

 Anne tried to cover her giggle with a closed fist. “I don’t think she got the toasted marshmallow,” she said to Sasha, who openly laughed and slapped her knee. Marcy hunched over, face contorting.

 “Ugh, it tastes like how stink bugs smell,” Marcy said with a grimace. “That  sucked .”

 “Could’ve avoided it if you just did a little public speaking,” Sasha said in a sing-song voice.

 “Bite me, Sash,” Marcy grumbled. “Let’s see how you like it when  you get one of those beans. Draw a card, Anna-Banana.”

 Anne nodded and did so. “Would you rather own a mini horse or own a regular horse?”

 “Ooh, I’d love a mini horse,” Sasha said with a smile. “They can actually be kept as house pets, right?”

 “Yeah, but they still require a lot of upkeep,” Marcy pointed out. “If you’re gonna have a horse, it might as well be a full-sized one you can actually ride. I’d rather have a regular horse.”

 “Well I’ve got good news Marcy, so would fifty-nine percent of people.” Anne said. Sasha crossed her arms with a  hmph as Marcy smirked. 

 “Go ahead, take a bean Sasha,” Marcy said, holding the box out and giving it a taunting rattle.

 “Fine, I will,” Sasha said haughtily. She accepted the box and spun the spinner. “And I got… buttered popcorn or rotten egg.”

 Sasha quickly fished a yellow-and-white spotted jelly bean out of the box and quickly popped it in her mouth, face full of determination. Seconds passed as she chewed, Anne and Marcy watching her expression closely.

 Finally, Sasha smirked.

 “Buttered popcorn it is!” She said triumphantly. “Once again Sasha Waybright comes out on top.”

 “Seriously?” Marcy plopped back on the couch, crossing her arms and letting out a frustrated exhale. “I can’t believe I’m the only person who didn’t get a good bean yet!”

 “Cheer up Marbles, I’m sure you’ll get a tasty bean at some point,” Anne said. “Now draw the next card, this is getting good!”

 ---

 “Green,” Marcy said. It was a few questions later and she’d picked another lower option, choosing to only have access to games online along with thirty-three percent of people, compared to sixty-seven percent who’d rather have access to only Youtube. The spinner had given her a light-green bean to sample. “That’s juicy pear or  booger?  Oh jeez…”

 She picked a green jelly bean from the box and popped it in her mouth, chewing tentatively. She retched, cheeks turning as green as the candy she just ate.

 “Oh God it’s booger,” she said with a retch, to Anne and Sasha’s shared amusement. “ Blech, plech!  Oh that’s foul!”

 “Okay, so you got two bad ones in a row,” Anne said between giggles. “I’m sure you’ll have better luck next time.”

 ---

 “More people would rather drink tea than coffee, are you for real?!” Marcy asked, incredulous.

 “Well coffee  is an acquired taste, and there’s like a million different varieties of tea,” Anne pointed out, having picked the tea option to the question Sasha had given.

 “Yeah but… coffee!”

 “We get it Marcy, you love your bean water,” Sasha said. “But you still picked the lesser option, so it’s jelly bean time.”

 Marcy gave the spinner a twirl and grimaced. “Strawberry banana smoothie or dead fish?! Oh this isn’t gonna be fun.”

 She dug through the box until she found a lightly-colored orange bean with red speckles. With a heavy sigh she tossed it in her mouth, and her face contorted in disgust almost instantly.

 “Dead -  ack, hack - fish!” She said between gags. Anne looked like she was caught between sympathy and amusement, while Sasha was openly laughing.

 “Man Marcy, those beans really hate you,” Sasha said, wiping a tear from her eye.

 ---

 “Oh goodie, I got another one wrong,” Marcy said with a too-wide smile. “Silly me for thinking more people would rather die by drowning in a tsunami than throw themselves in lava.” 

 She let out a short, desperate laugh as she grabbed the box of jelly beans. “You know what? That’s fine, it’s fine. So what if three of three beans have tasted like garbage? One of them is bound to be good sooner or later. I mean if you flip a coin enough times, it’s bound to come up heads at some point. That’s just the law of averages, yeah.”

 “Uh, I think that’s the gambler’s fallacy,” Sasha pointed out with a raised brow.

 “Shut up and let me have hope, Sasha.” Marcy spun the spinner and giggled again. “Oh good, it’s peach or barf. That’s fine, that’s totally fine. Nothing to worry about, I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”

 She plucked another jelly bean out of the box, this one a darker orange with red flecks. She kept giggling, one of her eyes twitching.

 “You sure you’re okay, Marcy?” Anne asked, concerned.

 “I’m just  peachy , Anne!” Marcy said, far too brightly. “Peachy like I’m sure this jelly bean will be!”

 She stuffed in her mouth, chewing quickly. The smile remained frozen on her face even as her eyes began to water.

 “Aaaand it’s barf because  why not?!”  Marcy doubled over, hacking and coughing. “Oh God it’s on the sides of my tongue!”

 Anne gave Marcy a comforting pat on the back. Sasha just shook her head with a chuckle.

 “Okay, maybe we should give BeanBoozled a rest before Marcy keels over,” she said. “It was funny at first, but now it’s just getting sad.”

 “No no, I’m fine,” Marcy insisted even as she kept gagging. “I can get a good bean at some point, I know I can!”

 Anne and Sasha exchanged uncertain glances as Marcy grabbed the next card, it being her turn to read the question. “Okay, would you -  blech - rather be a Jedi master or an elite Saiyan?”

 “Ooh, I’d rather be a Saiyan,” Anne said instantly. “I love Dragon Ball!”

 “Well I guess I’ll be a Jedi,” Sasha said with a shrug. “At least I’ve actually seen Star Wars. I’ve only seen like a handful of Dragon Ball episodes.”

 “Well sixty-eight percent of people agree with you, Sasha,” Marcy said. “Sorry Anne, looks like it’s your turn for a bean.”

 Anne nodded and spun the box’s spinner with a swift finger flick. Around and around it spun until it landed on blue. “That’s berry blue or toothpaste.”

 “Aw man, you got an easy one,” Marcy said with a pout as Anne picked a blue jelly bean out of the box. “Toothpaste doesn’t even taste that bad.”

 Anne looked to Marcy as she plopped the bean in her mouth. Marcy, who’d been unfortunate enough to get four terrible-tasting jelly beans in a row. She smiled as an idea formed in her brain.

 “Hey Mar-Mar,” Anne said, voice slightly muffled with her mouth full.

 Marcy looked up, and didn’t even have time to react before Anne pulled her in for a surprise kiss. Marcy’s face lit up as she felt Anne’s tongue push past her lips, too stunned by the audacity to offer any sort of resistance. Anne pulled away after a few seconds, and Marcy felt a familiar lump in her mouth.

 “Oh my God!” Sasha laughed, a splash of red on her own cheeks as she brought a closed fist to her mouth. “Did you really just…? You  didn’t! ”

 “Yeah, I totally did,” Anne said proudly, blushing herself. “Well Marcy? What’s the verdict?”

 Marcy’s face was burning as she slowly chewed, a pleasant taste spreading across her taste buds. “Berry…”

[fanficbitch]

Aaron Hotchner// Jealous Reader

A/N: This one was really fun to write. Let me know what you guys think! Another one of those situations where you and Aaron are together but no one else knows.

We just arrived in Miami and it is hot, really hot. I pull my blazer off as we walk into the Miami police station. “Feeling the Miami heat?” Morgan asks me.

I show him a slight smile. “You could say that. I know you like the heat though,” I say and he smirks. 

Aaron leads the seven of us. He stops suddenly, almost causing me to run into his back. I hear him talking to someone, but I can’t tell who it is. “I see the heat snuck inside,” Morgan says under his breath. What is he talking about? I finally move so I can see who Aaron is talking to and I make the connection with Morgan. Aaron is talking to a woman who is very pretty. She has long blonde hair, bright blue eyes and tan skin. She looks a bit older than me, probably closer to Aaron’s age.

“Detective Hanes, this is Morgan, Prentiss, Jareau, Rossi, Reid and Y/L/N,” Aaron says, pointing to each one of us. 

“Wow, good looking team,” Hanes chuckles, her eyes lingering on Aaron a little too long. “Let me show you to the conference room,” she says then leads us down the hall. I notice that her and Aaron are having a little conversation as we walk down the hall. She even makes him laugh. He never laughs.

Once we get to the conference room, we look over the files a little deeper then Aaron gives out assignments. “Morgan, Prentiss, Y/L/N, go check out the most recent crime scene. Reid and Rossi, go talk to the victim’s family. JJ, you stay here and deal with the media. Hanes and I will work together on developing a profile from what we both know,” Aaron finishes. 

I don’t know why I say it. But part of me feels like if I don’t say it I’m going to explode. “Hotch, I can work with you guys,” I say quickly.

“No, that’s alright,” Aaron says without even looking at me. “You stick with Morgan and Prentiss. Let’s go people,” he says then leaves the room. 

                                                       **********

Things have not been getting easier here in Miami. I checked out the crime scene with Morgan and Prentiss, but I couldn’t focus. That one small minute of Hanes and Aaron really irked me. To make things worse, Hanes and Aaron have been together nonstop the whole day. Why would he want to work with Hanes? Him and I always work together. 

I sit in the conference room with Reid as we go over all the facts. Reid is talking, but everything is going right over my head. Hanes and Aaron are talking while they each help themselves to coffee. He’s currently smiling again, so is Hanes. Then it happens. He throws his head back in laughter. He never does that. Never. 

I grip my pen in my hand so tight I’m afraid it might snap. “Y/L/N?” Reid asks.

“What?” I snap at him. His eyes widen and he sits back. I immediately feel bad, but don’t have time to say anything because Hanes and Aaron walk into the room. 

“Oh my gosh, you are too funny,” Hanes laughs as they walk in. “How do you get anything done with this guy? He is such a jokester.”

“Are you sure Hotch is who you’re talking about?” Reid asks.

“Yes of course! Him and I have had a lovely day together-,”

“A lovely day investigating a murder?” I say under my breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Yeah, we took a little detour and visited the other crime scenes. I have never had someone so helpful at these crime scenes,” Hanes smiles up at him.

“Well you’ll have to call us down here more often,” Aaron smiles.

“I’ll definitely take you up on that,” she says then places her hand on Aaron’s shoulder then gives it a squeeze. 

Okay, I’ve had it. I stand up suddenly, scrambling to gather all my things. “I-I need to go to the hotel,” I stutter. 

“Y/L/N, are you alright?” Aaron asks me.

“Yep, I’m fine,” I say, avoiding eye contact with him. With that, I march out of the room then out of the station.

                                                     **********

I’ve had a few hours to calm down. I went to the hotel, got checked in, then took a bath which is something I never do, let alone on a case. When I’m on a case I hardly get to sleep. But I just couldn’t take it anymore. 

Aaron and I have been together for the past few months, but we’ve been hiding it from the team. We just know they would make jokes all the time. Plus, it looks a little weird because Aaron and I have about a ten year age gap. That is part of the reason why we have been able to get away with this for so long, no one suspects that we would be together.

I can usually keep things very professional. But when it comes to Aaron I can be a little protective. There have been a few times when the police we have worked with have flirted with Aaron here and there, but never this much. I just couldn’t watch Hanes and him anymore. So, that led to me ordering takeout and taking a nice relaxing bath. I even cracked into the mini fridge and helped myself to a bottle of wine. I’ll pay for it later.

Just as I am pouring myself a glass of white, there is a knock at my door. I don’t look through the peep hole because I have a feeling I know who it is. My feeling is confirmed when I swing open the door and see Aaron.

I sigh, then turn around and let him walk in. Once I hear the door shut again, I turn around to face him. “Can I help you with something?” I ask.

“I was going to ask you that,” he says then sits on my bed.

“Aren’t you busy solving a case?”

“I thought we were busy solving a case,” he says.

I let out a laugh. “We? That’s funny. There wasn’t much ‘we’ going on,” I say.

“You know I can’t work with you all the time.”

“But with Detective Hanes? You two can work together all day long,” I say then take a sip of wine.

“What does Detective Hanes have to do with anything?” Aaron asks, clearly confused. 

“You guys are just together all day, making each other laugh, having your hands all over each other,” I say.

“I believe the only time I touched her is when I shook her hand,” Aaron recalls.

“Well, she had her hands on you,” I say. “I’m sure she can’t wait for you to get back to the station and help her with all her files.”

“Am I detecting some jealously?” he asks carefully.

“Wow, bravo mr. profiler!” I shout. I wait for Aaron to respond, but he just looks confused, his hand scratching behind his neck.

“I don’t understand why you are jealous now when I have worked with other female officers before,” he says.

That breaks me a little because I have to actually think of an answer. “Because she makes you laugh, and sometimes I can’t even do that. And she’s pretty and closer to your age. I mean, why not? You two would make a lovely couple,” I say as I pace. 

Aaron reaches out and lightly grabs my hand, and I let him. He pulls me down next to him and into his chest. “You are so many things that no one else can be,” he says softly. “You pick me up when I fall apart, you make me smile, you make me happy, you are a mom figure to Jack. She is none of those things. No one else can do any of those things but you,” he says and I perk up.

“It’s just hard,” I say. “Having to keep this a secret and everyone assuming you’re single. And then there are women that are closer to your age and I think, wow, there’s a good couple. No one would look at us and say that.”

“I say that,” Aaron says. “I think it all the time too.”

I sniffle then look up at him. “You know I love you right?” 

“Yeah I know,” he says. “I love you too.”

[caspianjames]

BONUS Up And Coming: Julie and the Phantoms

Up and Coming: Julie and the Phantoms Jennifer McCreedy, Junior Correspondent 

On this month’s issue of Up and Coming I had the privilege of sitting down with one of America’s biggest up and coming bands, Julie and the Phantoms. Julie Molina (17), Reggie Peters (18), Alex Mercer (17), and Luke Patterson (17) began rapidly gaining popularity as YouTube stars last fall. They created music videos for songs they wrote themselves, editing them to appear as if the band were ghosts “popping in” behind Julie. Don’t understand what I mean? You can click here to check it out for yourself!

The band has a strong air of camaraderie, and it’s the first thing I notice when I walk into the room with them. They’re all piled on our big interview couch, Molina and Mercer are pressed together whispering. Patterson is bantering with Peters and flicks him in the forehead. They’re like any group of teenagers bordering on adulthood, excited and eager to please. It’s immediately apparent that to all of them, the band has a deep meaning of friendship and support. 

Of course, the first topic of conversation was about the band - what inspired the structure of their music videos, how they got their name, and which came first - the ghost music videos or the ghost band! 

“Since my mom died, my brother has really been into ghosts,” Molina explained to me. “It was actually his idea for the band to pop in like that. My dad does videography as his job, so he was able to help us film and edit. My best friend, Flynn Taylor, came up with the band name.”

The boys all laugh when I ask if they liked the name right away or if there were discussions before they went public with it. “Flynn doesn’t do discussions,” Mercer smiles at Julie like there’s an inside joke there. There probably is, seeing how close these four are. “They came up with the name and made us posters, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter before even asking us what we thought.”

“We loved it,” Peters is quick to jump in. “And we love Flynn. She knew we’d like it, or they wouldn’t have gone ahead with everything.”

Flynn Taylor, Julie’s best friend, doubles as the band manager - she is on tour with them, but opted not to be present for the interview. 

Since beginning their tour with Panic! At the Disco, all their videos have amassed over one million views each on YouTube and their music has been released on Spotify with startlingly quick success. Molina, I discovered, is actually the newest member of the band, although I would never have known from watching the four bandmates interact. She is also the youngest by a year, having just had her seventeenth birthday as the boys are all turning eighteen, but she holds herself with a quiet confidence that all the boys seem to look to. Even this early into the interview they defer to her to answer questions and look to her for reactions to their own answers. 

This made it especially surprising to find out that the band existed before Julie joined it, just under a different name. Sunset Curve. Clearly, it did not have the popularity that Julie and the Phantoms has even a few months into their creation. “We played a couple school shows and stuff,” Patterson told me, “but nothing clicked until we met Julie.” Luke Patterson carries a humming energy with him that comes across in his words. In true rocker fashion, he struggles to sit still, tapping his fingers on his thighs and softly bouncing on the couch. 

Unsurprisingly, Molina used similar words to describe the band’s first meeting. “The first time I sang with them at school we just clicked,” she says, smiling at Luke. 

Of course, given their success, I had to ask the question everyone wants to know. How did they end up opening for Panic! At the Disco, despite being relatively unknown outside the Los Angeles music scene previous to their debut at The Orpheum?

“We’ve seen some wild theories,” Mercer confides to me with a small smile on his face. He is arguably the most subdued of the group and generally seems content to watch his bandmates answer my questions. Don’t be fooled, though - not only is he a phenomenal drummer, he also sings backup vocals for Julie and the Phantoms. “My favouirte theory was one that caught a lot of steam on Twitter about us using ‘ghost powers’,” he adds air quotes with his hands and laughs, “to hide the scheduled opener’s tour bus and then pop into the venue in their place at the time they were supposed to perform.”

The whole band laughs at this - clearly it is a favourite theory amongst them. Peters adds, though, that it was clearly an unfounded theory given that “Julie doesn’t have any ghost powers, anyways. That’s why it’s Julie and the Phantoms. But I’d kill for ghost powers in real life.” When I ask what he’d use them for, though, he seems stumped. “I think it would just be cool to walk through walls.” We’re with you on that one, Reggie!

But what actually did happen to get them into the coveted opening spot at The Orpheum? Molina gives me a modest smile when I ask. “We were honestly just in the right place at the right time,” she explains. 

Patterson picks up the story from there with a little bit more flair, telling me that the opening band had actually gotten food poisoning - “from a street dog vendor, believe it or not” - and the manager of the Orpheum happened to be familiar with the Julie and the Phantoms YouTube page. 

“Since we were local,” Peters explains, “It was just a phone call. And then suddenly we were on stage doing a proper professional soundcheck for the first time in our lives.”

“Everything moved so fast after that,” Patterson adds. Each of his bandmates nod in agreement as he speaks. “We blinked and we were on a tour bus, suddenly.”

It seems that the band is handling the change well, though. 

“It’s definitely different,” Molina tells me. “We have to be responsible for our own school and make sure we’re turning in assignments on time. There’s a lot of driving and a lot of time to kill. We can get on each other’s nerves quite a bit, but there’s always a lot of time for songwriting, too.”

When I prompt her about who gets on who’s nerves, the whole band turns in tandem to look at Luke. He laughs and shrugs at me. “I’m an early riser,” he explains. “I like music in my hands twenty-four seven. I always have my guitar, but it isn’t always appreciated.”

“We’ve had to compromise,” Mercer says with a long-suffering sigh. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was the oldest of the group. “Luke isn’t allowed to start playing music until eleven in the morning the day after a show.”

As for being on tour with Panic!, none of them seem all too bothered by the fame of the headliners. “They’re really cool,” Peters explains to me. “They’ve been doing this a long time and they always have advice for us which I think we really value right now.”

Otherwise, though, the band seems to keep to themselves. When asked about their favouirte hobbies, Peters speaks at length about Star Wars. “I can’t watch the prequels before bed,” he says. His bandmates groan and shake their heads, although he seems unbothered. “Jar-Jar gives me nightmares.”

Other than Star Wars, “We try to make sure we get time and space for ourselves every day,” Molina says. “It’s a lot of us in a small space, and if we don’t get away from each other for a bit we argue a lot more.”

When I ask each of them who their favourite bandmate is to live with, all the boys say Julie and then turn expectantly for her answer. “I suppose Flynn doesn’t count as a bandmate,” she said with a sigh. “Probably Alex, but we live together normally so it’s not something that’s new.”

Mercer confirms this piece of information with a nod and a smile. “I prefer sharing a room with your brother to sharing a bus with you, though,” he says to Julie. She just rolls her eyes. 

When pushed, Mercer elaborates a little bit. “I’ve been living with Julie’s family for my senior year. It’s a better environment for me and is much closer to our school than where I lived. My parents are happy that it gives me more time to focus on school.”

Since I have Mercer’s attention now, I ask him a question I’ve been dying to know the answer to. Does he know what a role model he is to gay and questioning children and teens that get to see him be himself so publicly? 

As all the boys have been doing, he looks to Julie before answering. “I don’t think about it much, to be honest,” he says candidly. “If people think I’m a role model then I’m glad, but I’m just me. And being gay is part of me, a part of me that’s always been completely accepted by my band, just like my drumming or my singing.”

There was no tension, the band members explain, upon finding out about Alex’s sexuality. “No one was surprised when Alex came out,” Patterson adds. “We were only, like, twelve when he came out to us, anyway. It’s just a fact about who he is. Like, Alex is gay and hates mornings and I play the guitar and love mornings and we’re best friends.”

“Plus, I’m bisexual,” Peters adds, “So it would be hypocritical to have a problem with Alex.”

“I’m pansexual,” Patterson pipes up again. “And Alex being himself helped me figure out that part of myself.”

Molina doesn’t seem to have much to add. “Alex was already out when I met him,” she says. “It was never a surprise and someone’s sexuality shouldn’t be something that causes tension or makes people upset anyways.”

When I point out that it has seemed to cause some tension among fans, they all sigh. For unaware readers, the band has been stirring up quite the debate on Twitter and Instagram amongst fans and haters alike as to who is dating who. Patterson and Molina confirmed their relationship before going on tour and have been dating since before their band became popular. Recently, a Twitter user attending a Julie and the Phantoms meet and greet noted the closeness between Molina and Peters, causing fans to speculate that Molina is cheating on Patterson with Peters. When I ask if they'd like to address it, however, they all nod. 

“Luke and I have been dating for a few months,” Julie says, “very happily. Neither of us have cheated on each other, nor would we ever. But we’re both also dating Reggie.”

When I ask for clarification, Peters adds, “I’m dating Luke and Julie, just like Julie is dating me and Luke and Luke is dating Julie and me.” Although it doesn’t sound clear, it does seem to be clear for them. 

“We’d like people to give us our privacy, although we know that probably won’t happen,” Molina says. “We’re allowed to define our own relationships in the way that works for us, we don’t have to hold them up to anyone else’s expectations or preconceived notions of what a relationship should look like.”

When I ask if there’s anything they’d like to add before we wrap up, Patterson pipes up with a confident “Yes.” 

“We’re Julie and the Phantoms,” he says, prompting Peters to follow up with “Tell your friends!”

Tell your friends, indeed. You can find Julie and the Phantoms everywhere that Panic! At the Disco is playing for the next four weeks. 

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[broccoliboix5peepeeman]

Prompt: Class 1-A is tired of tododeku dancing around each other so they propose a little round of 7 minutes in heaven to try getting them together. Bonus: Shoto doesn't understand the game so he asks Midoryia to explain it when they're locked together.

Omg the drama, yessssss!

Ochaco was annoyed.

Granted, this wasn't an uncommon occurrence. When Bakugou said something mean to Deku, she was ready to float that demon gremlin into space. When Mineta objectified her female classmates, she conjured the wrath of the whole universe to send him into oblivion. When people called Iida 'too robotic to have any real feelings', she responded by doing things the class rep definitely wouldn't approve of.

Yeah, Ochaco could get very irritated.

However, this time, it wasn't a rude comment or a perverted action that infuriated her. It was a lack of… Well, anything really.

She sat at the dining room table, ignoring her maths homework as she stared across the room and glared at Deku, who was sitting on one of the sofas, frozen in place as Todoroki napped next to him, resting his head on her friend's shoulder.

Ochaco knew the two liked each other. It was obvious from the way Deku talked about him and through the fact that Todoroki literally felt comfortable enough to fall asleep on him. Yet, neither of them would do anything about it!

She made eye contact with Deku and glared, as if to say, 'Do something, moron!' but he just shook his head and remained still. He could’ve at least wrapped an arm around him, or rested his head against him, but no. He had to be all flustered and awkward.

'Something has to be done.' She announced.

'I agree.' Jirou muttered, voice monotone as she twirled one of her earphone jacks around her finger. 'If I have to watch them dance around each other for much longer, I'm gonna lose my shit.'

'Right?!' Hagakure added, exasperated. 'I walked in on Todoroki waxing poetry about Midoriya's perfect freckles last week. I swear, I've never heard him talk so much. Even Yaomomo looked like she wanted to vomit.'

'What do we do though?' Ochaco sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

'We can't force them together.' A new voice spoke. 'But we can nudge them in the right direction.'

Everyone turned to watch as the back of a nearby desk chair swivelled around to reveal Ashido grinning at them. She was dressed in a suit with black sunglasses, stroking Koda's rabbit on her lap.

When they stared at her in question, she peered at them over the top of her glasses. 'I propose a game.'

'A game?' Jirou raised an unimpressed eyebrow, while Hagakure hummed excitedly.

'What kind of game?' Ochaco narrowed her eyes. As much as she was annoyed at them, Deku and Todoroki were still her friends.

'Gather around, girlies.' Ashido beckoned them closer, confidence ebbed from her very being. 'Allow Auntie Mina to show you the way.'

☀️🌙

The girls were quiet.

Izuku narrowed his eyes at them, gathered around the dining table as they whispered in hushed voices.

Too quiet.

Todoroki shifted slightly and Izuku quickly turned his attention away from his scheming classmates and to his best friend. He loved moments like this. Todoroki looked so peaceful and Izuku felt honoured that his friend trusted him enough to be so vulnerable around him.

He smiled softly, noticing the often hard lines of his face soften - an unguardedness that looked so out of place, yet had started to become increasingly familiar on Todoroki's features. Overwhelmed with emotion, Izuku wanted nothing more than to reach out and stroke his chubby cheeks, run his hands through silky hair, squeeze his arms around him and bring him closer.

But he didn't want to ruin things.

He knew Todoroki had a difficult home life. He had years of trauma to work through and Izuku was no different. He still flinched when he heard loud noises, just like Todoroki did when touched unexpectedly. Izuku also knew that he was Todoroki's first ever friend.

He couldn't risk destroying that by being selfish enough to tell him how he really felt.

'Hey, Deku-kun!' Uraraka sang, suddenly in front of them.

Izuku waved in greeting, before gesturing to Todoroki and urging her to be quiet.

She ignored him.

'Aw! Is Todoroki-kun asleep?' She batted her eyelashes innocently and Izuku mustered his biggest warning glare. 'Don't worry, Deku-kun! I'm glad actually, because I wanted to ask you, when do you plan on telling Todoroki-kun how you really feel about him?'

'Shhhh!!!' Izuku frowned and shook his head. 'Oh no. We're not doing this again, Uraraka-san.'

'Why not?' Her voice was sickeningly sweet. 'It's not like he can hear us.'

'It doesn't matter.' He whispered harshly. 'We've been through this. I'm not confessing because Todoroki-kun doesn't like me like that.'

'How do you know?'

'Because I'm me. No one feels that way about me.' Izuku sighed. 'And he doesn't care about romance stuff anyway! He’d totally freak out if I told him I wanted to hold his hand or kiss him-'

Todoroki suddenly twitched on his shoulder and Izuku almost launched himself into the air. Instead, he covered his mouth with his hand and stared at him in alarm.

He missed Uraraka's amused smirk.

'I'll hold your hand, Deku.' She spoke, smoothly, causing Izuku to shoot her a look. However, he quickly became distracted by the increase in temperature around him.

Is it getting hotter in here?

'Just kidding. I know you’re off-limits.’ His friend winked, before collapsing onto the arm of the sofa. ‘Anyway, I actually came over because me and the girls are organising a sleepover tonight and we want you and Todoroki-kun to come!’

‘I dunno, Uraraka-san.’ Izuku bit his lip.

‘Oh Deku-kun...’ Uraraka smiled playfully and crossed her arms. ‘Were you under the impression that this was an optional invitation?’

Izuku stared into determined hazel eyes and gulped.

☀️🌙

Shoto wasn’t quite sure how he got himself into this position.

One moment, he was asleep on Midoriya, having a lovely dream where his friend admitted to Uraraka that he wanted to kiss him, and the next, he was sitting in a circle with the rest of his class, waiting while Mineta and Bakugou stood in a broom cupboard together.

Shoto wasn't entirely sure what the point of that particular game was, but he'd learnt long ago not to question his classmates' antics. Plus, he had more important issues to focus on, like the fill-in game Ashido had decided to start between each pair-up. Apparently, everyone had to raise their hands, while the speaker admitted to never having done something before. Then, if you had done it before, you had to lower a finger.

Shoto wasn't sure what happened when you ran out of fingers.

'Never have I ever been walked in on by my parents.' Jirou smirked.

Several people lowered a finger, including Shoto. After all, his father never had learnt the concept of knocking. Privacy was non-existent in the Todoroki household.

'Woah, dude! You're telling me Endeavour has walked in on you jerking one off?' Kaminari sputtered.

'What?' Shoto raised an eyebrow. 'He used to walk in my room all the time when I was studying or napping. Yeah, I called him a jerk because of it, but-'

'It's okay, Todoroki-kun. Ignore him.' Midoriya laughed nervously. 'You can put your finger back up.'

'But-'

'Never have I ever broken a bone in my body.' Uraraka interrupted with a giggle. Shoto hummed suspiciously but let the matter go this time.

'URARAKA-SAN!' Midoriya exclaimed. 'How could you? This is a betrayal of the highest form.'

'Suck it up, Osteoporosis.' She stuck her tongue out and waited. Over half of the room, once again including Shoto, lowered their fingers.

'Fine, be that way.' Midoriya mumbled, before stroking his chin in thought. 'Never have I ever-’

'HAS IT BEEN SEVEN MINUTES YET?!' Bakugou suddenly roared from inside the closet, promptly silencing Midoriya. 'I swear, even an unconscious grape bastard can be annoying as fuck!'

'You knocked him out?!' Uraraka gasped, smacking her cheeks, before her face became eerily stoic. 'Good.'

When Bakugou was finally released, along with a limp Mineta, she then turned back to the circle and handed the empty bottle to Midoriya.

'Your turn, Deku-kun!' She sang. Shoto noticed how his friend turned bright red at the declaration. 'Come on, spin it!'

'O- Okay, fine!' He stuttered, taking it from her with shaking hands. After he placed it back in the centre of their circle, he flicked it with his wrist and it began spinning quickly.

Shoto narrowed his eyes when the bottle cast a small shadow as it rotated, but he quickly became distracted when the bottleneck suddenly came to an abrupt stop in front of him.

'Well, would ya look at this!' Ashido gasped dramatically. 'Midoriya, Todoroki! Give us your phones and get in the closet!'

'Wait!' Midoriya exclaimed, but he was promptly silenced when Uraraka pounced on him, stole his phone and carried him to the storage room, throwing him over her shoulder like he weighed nothing.

Shoto looked at the rest of the class, sighed and handed Hagakure his phone, before he followed his classmates, significantly more civilised than Midoriya, who was flailing around and shouting for Uraraka to put him down.

'Whatever you say, Prince Deku.' She smirked, before opening the door and throwing him into the small room. When he landed with a thud, she gestured for Shoto to follow.

The moment they were both inside, the door slammed shut behind them and they were surrounded by darkness.

'Are you okay, Midoriya?' Shoto asked as he heard his friend clamber to his feet.

'Yeah, yeah. I've had worse.' Midoriya laughed, before his tone became more sombre. 'Ugh, Todoroki-kun, I'm so sorry about this.'

Why was he sorry?

'It's okay.' He shrugged. 'I know they took our phones but we don't have to stay in the dark.' 

'Wait, no. Todoroki-kun, I didn't mean-'

Shoto raised his left hand and conjured a small flame, which illuminated the broom cupboard. Cylindrical shadows cast upon the walls, dancing slightly as his fire flickered. The action also allowed Shoto to glance at Midoriya, who rubbed the back of his neck nervously. A harsh flush decorated his cheeks.

'Are you sure you're okay? You look hot.' Shoto reached out a cool hand to check his friend's forehead.

'Ah!' He felt slightly hurt when Midoriya jumped back. 'I'm f- fine, really! I'm just… Sorry for dragging you into this.'

Yeah, about that…' Shoto looked away and scratched his cheek. 'What exactly is this?'

Midoriya somehow managed to turn even redder.

'W- Well, I didn't th- think you'd ask that-' He covered his face with his hands and began mumbling to himself about how they were friends and something about crushing someone.

Shoto was very confused.

'No, what's this 7 Minutes in Heaven game we’re supposed to be playing?' Shoto raised an eyebrow. 'I don't actually understand why we're in here, but I didn’t want to ask the others.'

The mumbling stopped. Midoriya's head shot up and he looked at Shoto with watery eyes that reflected the light of his orange flames.

'O- Oh…' He looked momentarily relieved and let out a laugh. 'That… Makes more sense. Ignore me!'

'But I asked you a question?' Shoto tilted his head to the side. 'There would be no point asking if I ignored you.'

'I… I didn't mean… Oh nevermind!' Anxiety came flooding back to Midoriya's face. 'Okay, so basically two people get randomly picked to go into a small space together for seven minutes - but you already knew that, huh? Of course you did. Right so, there's no set rules for what we're meant to do in here, we can technically do whatever we want, but usually, the two people selected have to… Er…’

‘Yes?’ Shoto pressed.

He watched as Midoriya twirled a loose strand of hair around his finger and narrowed his eyes.

‘We’re expected to k- ki- kiss and stuff.’ He finally answered. ‘The game’s designed to get people together romantically.’

‘Oh...’

'Not that we have to kiss or anything!' Midoriya scrambled to clarify, frantically waving his hands in front of him. 'I don't want to make you do anything you're not comfortable with and I totally understand that you don't want to kiss me!'

'I never said I didn't want to kiss you.' Shoto frowned. He actually quite liked the idea of kissing Midoriya. He was brave, kind, attractive and someone incredibly special to Shoto. He’d never wanted to kiss someone or hold their hand before, not until Midoriya came into his life. Now, the idea was rather appealing.

‘Well, no… But I just sort of assumed-’

‘Do you want to?’ Shoto suddenly blurted out, before he could stop himself.

Midoriya’s eyes widened.

‘Do I want to what?’

‘Kiss me. Do you want to kiss me?’ Shoto clarified, shuffling on his feet. Heat flooded to his cheeks and his stomach felt funny, but all he could focus on was the surprised look Midoriya flashed him, as he searched Shoto’s eyes questioningly.

‘Y- Yes...’ He stuttered out, taking a step closer.

Shoto mirrored the action.

'Good, because I want to as well.'

Izuku smiled at that and found Shoto's free hand, tentatively intertwining his fingers with his own calloused ones.

Shoto swallowed at the contact, familiarising himself with how much warmth such a small touch could radiate. 'Kiss me.' 

He watched as Midoriya drew closer, regarding him through heavy-lidded eyes as he reached up. Shoto felt the pad of a rough thumb stroke his cheek and immediately leant into the touch, eyelashes fluttering.

'With pleasure.' Midoriya's breath fanned against him and Shoto inhaled sharply when those wonderful lips finally met his own.

His flame burnt ever brighter and Shoto quickly extinguished it before it could grow out of control. When darkness surrounded them once more, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be completely consumed by the feeling of slightly chapped lips pressing against his own. He had no idea what to do next, but when Midoriya opened his mouth and licked at the seam of his lips, Shoto eagerly parted them in response.

As they deepened the kiss, he let go of Midoriya's scarred hand and wrapped his arms around his waist instead, pulling him closer as his friend tangled his fingers in his hair. A slight tug at his roots had Shoto gasping into Midoriya's mouth.

Feeling bold, he snaked his hands under his friend's shirt and explored his toned torso with half-hot half-cold hands. The juxtaposition in temperature coaxed a string of moans from Midoriya, which sent shivers down Shoto's spine. Hoping to hear more of those wonderful noises, he proceeded to drag his nails down a freckled back, eliciting a guttural sound that he'd never heard from Midoriya before. However, it was quickly swallowed by another kiss.

When Shoto's hands eventually came to rest on his hips, Midoriya pushed him back until he hit the locked door with a thud.

'Fuck, Midoriya.' He barely had time to whisper before those lips were on him again. 

It was all moving so fast, but he didn't care. Shoto had gotten a taste of Midoriya and now he was addicted. He craved more and more.

'Is this okay?' His friend asked between each peck of lips.

'Mm, perfect.' Shoto bent forward to mouth at Midoriya's neck. He sucked at the sensitive skin there, not caring if he left a mark.

'This goes without saying, b- but I- ah!' Midoriya panted, tilting his head to give Shoto more access. 'But I really- really like you, Todoroki-kun.'

Shoto pulled off him with a pop and kissed a trail along his jaw, before his lips came to rest against Midoriya's own, their breath intermingling.

'I like you too, Midoriya.' He whispered, rubbing their lips together as his back rested against the door. 'So much.'

Their chests heaved in tandem as they kissed once more, simply enjoying the feel of one another. Touching and smelling and tasting. Shoto had never felt so at peace...

Then the door opened.

Shoto latched onto Midoriya out of reflex as the two of them fell backwards. Calloused hands scrambled to cradle the back of his head, cushioning him when they landed on the floor with a loud thud, and Shoto had to marvel at Midoriya's inherent instinct to protect.

'Todoroki-kun, are you okay? Are you hurt?' He pulled back and cupped Shoto's cheeks to check him over.

'I'm fine, Midoriya.' He reached up to cover his hands with his own and smiled softly.

'Good.' His friend leant back down to kiss him languidly, ignorant of their classmates around them, who were stifling giggles.

'Wow, get a room, guys.' Kaminari heckled.

'We had one actually.' Shoto pointed out as his hands wandered lower. He squeezed Midoriya's ass through his shorts unabashedly, relishing in the small squeak he let out, followed by the jeers from their peers. 'Not our fault you guys decided to interrupt.'

'Bro!'

'Disgusting!'

'Put them things back where they came from or so help me!'

'Stupid Deku and Icyhot!'

'That's one way to come out of the closet, Deku-kun.'

Midoriya giggled quietly at that. Shoto had no idea what Uraraka meant, but he didn't mind. Instead, he just smiled softly and looked up into verdant eyes filled with mirth.

Perfect.

[dazenightmare]

Birds of a Feather

This scenario has been in my head now for weeks, so have small fic :)

Maybe I’ll expand on this, maybe not

T.W.: Yelling, sudden movement, somewhat crappy writing, cussing, cursing, let me know if I need to add more

~~~~~~~~

They’d had Ranboo for about seven months now.

One day Philza was flying above when he saw the teen, huddling under a tree in fear of the pouring rain. Philza stopped and sat with the Enderian until the skies cleared, and led the boy home with him.

Since then, they learned he was quite skittish, and showed signs of small memory problems. Ranboo didn’t want to talk in Common, or at all it seemed. He only muttered in End from time to time, to himself. He didn’t seem to quite trust them either, showing clear distrust pretty often. They did everything to get Ranboo to open up, from hang out with him, to trying to teach them Common like they taught Jack all those years ago, to Philza trying to pick up End, which, mind you, was not easy.

Eventually, they decided Ranboo would open up in his own time. They just needed to be patient, which was awful for some Avian fuckers.

It seemed like a pretty normal day when it happened. Philza and Niki were over at Wil’s house (plus the addition of Ranboo, because he clung to Philza most of the time). Tommy and Jack were out adventuring, but got stuck somewhere after it started raining, which currently was clearing up after hours.

They sat there talking until Wilbur’s comm started ringing, making Ranboo teleport behind the couch in surprise. Wilbur barely glanced at the ID before picking up.

“WILBUR! MAH FRIEND!”

“What’s up Tommy?”

“So, like, me and Jack were walking ‘ome, right? And we found something focking weird mate!”

Wilbur rose his eyebrow, everyone in the house showing clear confusion.

“What’d you find?”

“We think it’s a person! Either that or some weird mole-box thing. Whatever it is, we’re bringing it ‘ome! We’re almost there, actually! The pub just came into view! We’ll be at your house soon, bye!”

“Wait Tommy that—“ the line died, and Wilbur sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“That barely explains anything...”

“Wonder what they found,” Niki mumbled from the tank, Philza nodding in agreement. Ranboo just stared at them blankly, still behind the couch. They really needed to teach the boy to at least understand Common...

“Whatever a mole-box is,” Wilbur snorted, phasing through the floorboards for entertainment. “What do you think it is Phil? You’ve explored for years, does a mole-box sound familiar?”

Philza hummed, tapping his fingers together. He sat there for a bit before sighing.

“Sounds like nothing in the Overworld. It kinda sounds like a shulker, but those don’t leave the End... maybe they found someone’s shulker box?”

They sat on the idea for a while before Tommy threw the door open dramatically, making everyone flinch. Jack followed him, holding something close to his chest as he closed the door behind them.

“BEHOLD!” Tommy yelled, gesturing towards Jack, who held up a purple box for all to view. “THE TUBSTER!”

“The what?” Niki asked from the tank, ruining the moment. Jack put it down on the table so they could inspect it. They didn’t notice Ranboo edge closer with a curious look as Tommy huffed.

“We dunno what it is, so we’ve been throwing out random names. Tubster is the best one so far.”

“It also literally means ‘box’ in Netherish,” Jack added on, yelping when Tommy elbowed him harshly.

“The Box,” Wilbur said dramatically, kneeling before the table. “Sent from above to bless us! The Box! What shall it say?!”

They all tried not to laugh as Wilbur moved closer, listening for something. They were about to crack until a noise actually came from the box, making Wilbur yelp in fear, turning invisible.

Before they could process the fact a box made a noise, Ranboo moved quickly. Quicker that any of them had ever seen him move before. They flinched until they saw Ranboo was just... sitting before the table, hunching into himself so he was eye level with the box. He just stared at the thing... waiting.

Breathing deeply from the scare, they stood in silence before Jack whispered loudly.

“What the fuck is he doing?”

“I don’t know,” somebody whispered back.

More silence.

“Is this like his weird obsession with grass blocks?” Tommy whispered this time. Philza shrugged. None of them dared to move.

After another minute of silence Ranboo muttered in End, eyebrows furrowing. Nothing happened for a moment before the box made another, smaller noise. The box opened a tiny bit, before gradually opening more.

They all gaped at the small person inside the box warily staring out. The person scanned over all of them before their eyes settled on Ranboo. They stared at each other.

The box boy, without breaking eye contact, slowly emerged from the box. They quickly tapped Ranboo’s nose saying something in what they now recognized as the language Ranboo spoke.

Ranboo’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas, tail wagging at lightning speeds as he spoke quickly and loudly, throwing everyone off guard.

“Oh my god,” Philza said suddenly, looking irritated that he didn’t figure it out sooner. “That’s a Shulk!”

“Bless you,” Tommy murmured.

“No, no, no Tommy! A Shulk is another hybrid!” Philza said, wings puffing out slightly as he watched the two interact. He continued as if reading from a book. “A mix between a human and a shulker, a Shulk is from the End! Unlike Enderians, who sometimes accidentally teleport from the End to the Overworld, and sometimes the Nether, Shulks almost never leave the End. They only leave if forced by an outside source or if they want to!”

“... Wilby, why’s our father a nerd?” Tommy whined. Wilbur only shook his head and shrugged.

“All I’ve learned from that rant is that this thing,” Jack said, pointing at the Shulk. He then pointed at Ranboo. “Can talk to this thing.”

“Does that mean we have to name him?”

“Mm... Tubbo. His name is Tubbo.”

“What?”

They never heard Ranboo speak so much in his seven months with them until they found him a best friend.

[sachiwrites]

some friends to lovers hcs for sakusa pls? i've been thirsting over him for a while and seeing him in the recent manga chapters plus season 4 is just--

same fam, same. its been a whole mess over here. yikes this got long

— you are 210% that neighbor who his parents rely on to acclimate their son into being a somewhat decent member of society. is it a hardy task for someone at the age of six? yeah. was sakusa an absolute shit at that age too? of course. but he stopped that one kid from pulling your hair in class that day so he’s basically your unofficial hero. even if it was only because apparently you had ‘cooties’.

— naturally you continued to have this unknown disease for most of your life. but apparently so did everyone else in Japan. except when you got older it simply became known as- physical contact.

— “kiyoomi, why don’t you play outside with your friend?”

—“ they’re dirty.”

— sticks and stone may break your bones but the mud streaked across your face and hands would most certainly kill sakusa. or at least that’s what you thought at the age of seven when you went grab him off his front porch anyway. he sort of whined and pushed you for it, causing you to fall back on your rear, much to his parents obvious disdain. or as so you gathered as you smirked over their shoulder as they carried you inside, earning an extra few years of sakusa’s ire.

— “yoomi, lets play tag.”

— “it’s kiyoomi. and no, play by yourself.”

— “sakusa-san, yoomi doesn’t want to-“

— “run”

— the two of you were ‘reluctant’ friends until the age of eight. more or less, sakusa was required to spend at least half an hour outside with you a daily. half way through that the tenture you had mercy on him and introduced him to video games within the safety of his own home. sakusa has zero interest in crash bandicoot, but he likes you a little more for your concede.

— but his parents knew what they were doing when they put their son’s social reputation into your hands. for a while you were his only friend but occasionally you were able to integrate him into society. through little things like sitting down your lunch next to his and offering to be his partner in project.

— “i don’t need your help with this.”

— “maybe, but i need yours, so pretty please.”

— sakusa was a young genius and it would benefit you to take advantage of that feature. call it payment for all your years of servitude.

— the only time you found yourself not needing to be a crutch in his life was when he was playing volleyball. it was an option during recess to give the students an opportunity to scout out interests in athletic ventures. the sport was almost too perfect for sakusa- as an indoor requirement with almost no physical contact. it was his niche. a part of society that catered to his needs in a way that didn’t require your intervention.

— naturally, others began taking notice of his talents. other students were more likely to invite him for games during breaks- most knowing to keep their distance and touch to a limit. his own enjoyment of the sport slowly geared him towards pseudo-friendships that allowed him to play more and garner his skill set.

— “im going to try out for the volleyball club.”

— of course you knew this much. it was what he was so obviously looking forward to the most in junior high. it was just his decision to share his own thought with you the struck home.

— “yeah? i guess i should get some cheers ready for you games, eh?”

— he flinches away from your enthusiasm, his face portraying a mistake in letting you know so soon. but not once did he ever deter you from coming. in fact, you continued to be made aware of each an every upcoming match regardless of importance.

— “we have a practice match against haizen today.”

— wasn’t the most significant but he invited you so you’d be there. probably more vocal than you needed to be but he could mark your attendance and that’s all that mattered.

— a small part of you was worried that volleyball would take your place. it obviously had more suitable attributes than you. but it almost became a staple in your evolving relationship.

— in fact the first game you missed inflicted the first real argument you could remember having with sakusa. it surprised even his parents when you met him the next day to walk to class. you were use to a quiet shoulder but not a cold shoulder.

— “is something wrong?”

— it continued for most of the trip until you couldn’t take it anymore and reached for his arm. instead of shaking you off, he turns on you, gaze lit a flame with an emotion you didn’t recognize.

— “i had a game and you didn’t show up.”

— thinking back you did recall most of the students congregating towards the gym after class. it vaguely registered but you’d seen less of sakusa that day and more of pressing from your teacher to get your grades in order.

— “i had to stay back with my instructor. i needed help with my studies.”

— it was a little embarrassing- not something you wanted to admit. especially to someone like sakusa who obviously excelled where you fell short.

— “you’re an idiot. you come to me for that. ill help you after my games.”

— perphas it was in that moment that you should have realized that sakusa was more cognitive of his reliance than you were.

— what he does realize it how much he’s going to have to help you if he intended for you to join him at itachiyama. the school had shown interest in him earlier than year and it was mutual. but it’s prestige called for academics when sports weren’t your strong suit.

— matches weren’t the only appointments sakusa held you to. nearly everyday after class, whether your place or his, he made himself present while you studied. he wasn’t an overbearing tutor but he called you out in your faults and made you aware of mistakes before they became a habit. he wasn’t going to make you a super genius but you would become a student worthy of acceptance.

— the two of you were building something that only your parents noticed at first while watching from the doorway. itachiyama would be a dynamic chapter for both of you.

— the title of that chapter is: volleyball. because wow does that become an even bigger part of your life. itachiyama was already a powerhouse before sakusa but now he’s a cog in the wheel and an important one at that. quickly climbing ranks and becoming an imperative part of the team. if only he was more receptive to his newly popular status.

— he was still the same old germaphobe- avoiding crowds and wanting to get home as soon as possible to shower in his own tub instead of the school issued ones.

— his personality sort of highlighted your presence more than you expected. but given sakusa’s overall avoidance of unnecessary interactions, it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise.

— “he can be a bit much, but please take care of him.”

— above your bowed head, his older teammate coo and awe at sakusa’s cute little friend. this of course leads to more teasing for him but it’s all part of being part of a team- a larger whole. something you were willing to give up a bit of sakusa for.

— “are you two dating or something?”

— oh but that. you get a lot of that. not just by his teammates either. everyone seems to notice how sakusa tolerates you more than anyone else. though part of you wants to point out to his fan base that they would get a lot further if they just gave him his space. -yet here you were huddled up close in the library while he looked over your school work, so what could you say to that?

— “are you paying attention?”

— “hey, i got most of these right. give me a break.”

— not thinking about it, you go to ruffle his hair as a retort. an action sure to give you his ire- but it doesn’t? in fact his gaze doesn’t even lift from his book. and is he leaning closer? weird.

— sakusa is making rapid progress not only within tokyo but on a national level. it’s one of his teammates that points out his accomplishments to you one day while you’re waiting for sakusa to emerge from the locker rooms.

— “your boyfriend is really something else. already the ace of the team and he’s climbing the stats nationally too. you must be proud.”

— you are proud. very impressed, in fact. but sakusa is not your boyfriend. an important note that you most certainly do not get to point out because now sakusa is here and is corralling you towards the exit from his pressure of his chest against your back.

— he’s much more hands on now. less in tolerating your touch and more so initiating his own. it’s a late realization but most of your attention is stuck on that same teammate who is waving mischievously from the door.

— but oh man. it’s becoming a lot more obvious to you now when sakusa offers to hold you books while you change your shoes, and holding on to them even as you travel to class. he sits a little bit closer to you during study hall now, the erratic hitter of your knee brushing against his with every jerk up.

— “...are you okay, ‘yoomi?”

— he doesn’t complain about the name. not even a pinch of his brow, just confusion as he peers down at you.

— “im fine.”

— huh

— it’s all fun and games until his fingers catch yours one day while you walk side by side. it seemed like a fluke, just an accidental swing and bump. but then they’re latching and now you’re connected?

— “yoomi?”

— “it’s cold”

— yeah. okay, fair enough.

— periodic becomes occasional and now it’s a habit.

— and of course everyone takes notice. because sure sakusa tolerates you more than most. but now there’s a basis for it.

— “ah, so tables have turned.”

— “i knew it.”

— “top in the nation and already dating. our little kohai is such a pillar.”

— you’re beyond overwhelmed. worse because kiyoomi looks mildly irritated but doesn’t seem to be denying any of it.

— and you just have to ask.

— “yoomi are we dating?”

— because wow, only yesterday it seemed like he was still just your best friend. one who held your hand, shared his lunch, fell asleep on your shoulder in more than one occasion-

“— “we’re together. we’ve always been.”

— okay, yeah but context here.

— but then he’s dragging down the mask across his face, letting it hang under his chin. his lips are on your temple and phew, that’s new.

— “we should get home. i have a match tomorrow.”

— a game that becomes a statement in more ways than one.

— “ooh, is that sakusa’s jacket? so the rumors are true.”

— you fumble with the sleeves that seems to be determined to swallow up your hands. when he’d first offered it to you, it seemed so natural.

— “you might get cold.”

— god your boyf-... friend was so confusing.

— “not really. he hasn’t asked.”

— your classmate seems unconvinced but doesn’t comment further. that’s doesn’t say the same for the rest of the class who use every opportunity to chip at your resolve.

— “haven’t they been dating the whole time?”

— “they always hold hands now.”

— “i mean that’s his jacket isn’t it? it’s he like a germaphobe?”

— it’s getting harder to concentrate on the game. and certainly doesn’t help with every glance sakusa tosses up into the stands. by the end of the match, you’re beyond frazzled and ready to just sakusa the second he emerges from the gym.

— his teammate offer thanks in exchange for your praises on a game well won. it helps to distract you for a brief moment-but there he is now.

— his fingers slip befeeen yours like they belong and you can’t find the voice to complain. after congratulating him, there’s not much more said on your part. he walks you to your doorstep, not just the entrance, and lets his hand fall away. yet you both linger.

— “are we-“

— “are you-“

— when it comes down to it. obviously sakusa fails when it comes to words and actions seem to speak clearly.

— sakusa doesn’t protest when you reach up and undo his face mask for him. going as far as to lower his head, aware of your intentions, when you lean in.

— it’s a short kiss. a testing peck to balance in the shallow end before diving deep. his nose nudges yours and it’s your laugh that breaks the kiss.

— kiss-with kiyoomi sakusa-your once reluctant friend and now?

— sakusa leans in again. this time his hand on your shoulder for stabilization. there’s no tongue or extra touches. it’s just the act.

— life is all about changes.

— you smile and decide, yeah, you can do this.

— before he can leave, however, he’s tugging at the collar of his jacket.

— “i prefer to use my own detergent. but you can have it back tomorrow.”

— or maybe just some adjustments.

[thewidowsghost]

The War Gone Wrong (Obviously) - Stark! Reader x Steve Rogers

This is written for @rogersrogers334​.

3rd Person POV

Tony and (Y/n) Stark, the father-daughter duo, stand in the shadows as a projection shows Maria, Howard, and a Younger Tony talking.

After the projected scene is over, both Tony and (Y/n) walk out, side by side, to the front of the stage.

"That's how I wished it happened," Tony says softly into the microphone. "Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing, or BARF."

"You really need a better acronym," (Y/n) teases which makes the crowd laugh for a minute or so before the attention turns to the two Avengers. "An extremely costly method of hijacking the hippocampus to . . . clear traumatic memories."

Tony blows out a candle, "Huh." The whole scene around Tony and (Y/n) dissolves. "It doesn't change the fact that my parents never made it to the airport . . . or all the things I did to avoid processing my grief, but . . ." Tony takes off his glasses. "Plus, six hundred eleven million dollars for my little therapeutic experiment? No one in their right mind would've ever funded it.

"Help me out, what's the MIT mission statement?" (Y/n)'s voice echoes through the hall now. "'To generate, disseminate, and preserve knowledge.' And work with others," she adds, "to bring it to bear on the world's great challenges."

"Well, you are the others," Tony picks up (Y/n)'s words - the two having rehearsed this. "And, quiet as it's kept . . . the challenges facing you are the greatest mankind's ever known."

"Plus," (Y/n) says, amusement lighting in her eyes, her voice taking on a teasing tone, "most of you are broke."

The crowd chuckles again and after a moment, Tony says, "Oh, I'm sorry. Rather, you were. As of this moment . . . every student has been made an equal recipient of the Inaugural September Foundation Grant. As in . . . all of your projects have just been approved and funded."

The crowd of college students breaks out in applause and cheers.

"No strings, no takes . . . just reframe the future!" (Y/n) says over the cheering. "Starting now!"

Above the audience, the teleprompter now reads: Tony: Now I would like to introduce the head of the Foundation, Pepper Potts

Tony stares at the words sadly and then says, "Go break some eggs."

The two exit the stage, side by side.

Ignoring one of the teaches and one of her father's assistants, (Y/n) walks over to the bathroom and changes into a pair of casual clothes for the mission she was supposed to be on.

Approaching her father, (Y/n) says a quick goodbye, and the twenty-four-year-old woman closes her eyes and disappears, arriving in Lagos, Nigeria.

(Y/n), like her mother, was a mutant. (Y/n) had the powers of teleportation, absorption, and the ability to control elements, as well as the ability to shape-shift. 

Glancing around for a moment, (Y/n) pulls on a pair of sunglasses, places her COM set in her ear, and walks over to the Black Widow, who is sitting by herself with a tea in her hands.

"Morning, ma'am," (Y/n) greets Natasha Romanoff, "you mind if I sit here? There are no more open tables."

"Sure, go right ahead," Natasha says, hiding a smile at the sight of her best friend. Natasha and (Y/n) had been friends since Natasha had joined SHIELD, as (Y/n) and their partner, Clint, had recruited her.

A waitress walks over and (Y/n) orders a coffee, listening in on the conversation between Natasha, Wanda, Steve, and Sam going on.

"All right, what do you see?" Steve asks.

"Standard beat cops," Wanda murmurs around her cup of coffee in her hand. "Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target."

"There's an ATM in the south corner, which means . . ." Steve begins but Wanda cuts him off.

"Cameras," Wanda says.

"Nice Wanda," (Y/n) murmurs, and Wanda smiles softly at the approval in the older woman's voice.

"Both cross streets are one way," Steve says into the COMs.

"So, compromised escape routes," Wanda guesses.

"Means our guy doesn't care about being seen, he isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out," (Y/n) says softly.

"She's right," Steve says and (Y/n)'s cheeks dust a slightly darker color. "See that Range Rover halfway up the block?"

"Yeah, the red one?" Wanda asks. "It's cute."

"Looks like my first car," (Y/n) says with a soft laugh.

"Not the point," Natasha says and (Y/n) grins. "The point is, is that it's bulletproof, which means private security, which means more guys, which means more headaches for somebody."

"Probably us," (Y/n) adds. "I should have stayed with Dad.”

Wanda laughs but then says, her voice more serious, “You know I can move things with my mind, right?”

“You know I can set things on fire, or freeze them, or throw them at people?” (Y/n) says. 

“Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature,” Natasha and (Y/n) say in unison. 

“Anybody ever told the two of you that you’re a little paranoid?” Sam asks. 

“Not to my face,” Natasha scoffs, exchanging an amused glance with (Y/n) for a moment. 

“Nor mine, probably cause my Dad could sue anyone for some odd reason, but, you know, whatever,” (Y/n) says. “Anyway, why?”

“Did you hear something?” Natasha asks. 

“Anybody tell you that you two are perfect together?” Sam asks and (Y/n) holds back a fit of laughter and from the expression on Natasha’s face, she was doing the same. 

“Eyes on the target, folks,” Steve says, keeping Sam from saying anything else. “This is the best lead we’ve had on Rumlow in six months. I don’t want to lose him.”

“Oh, that’s why we’re here,” (Y/n) says. “Watch me get deaded by Rumlow if he’s here.”

“Okay Crazy,” Wanda says, holding back a laugh as the sound of Natasha smacking (Y/n)’s arm sounds through the COMs. 

Unknown to everyone but Steve, a garbage truck begins pushing its way through traffic, showing no regard to pedestrians or other vehicles. 

“Sam, see that garbage truck?” Steve asks. “Tag it.”

There is a moment of silence before Sam speaks, “That truck is loaded for max weight. And the driver’s armed.”

“It’s a battering ram,” Natasha realizes and (Y/n) sets a twenty on the table and stands up, heading for the alleyway where she’d teleported from MIT. 

(Y/n) teleports on top of the truck then just outside the Institute for Infectious Diseases Ward. 

Soldiers in black armor emerge from two trucks that had driven through the entrance to the Institution. 

“Go now!” Steve orders, readying his shield. 

“What?” Wanda asks. 

“He’s not hitting the police,” Steve says. 

“Yeah, no kidding,” (Y/n) grumbles as one of the soldiers shoots where she’d been standing a few moments before, while some of the soldiers shoot gas bombs into the building above (Y/n). 

Her fists lighting on fire, (Y/n) knocks out a few of the soldiers before Steve shows up.

“Nice of you to show up,” (Y/n) says with a warm smile towards the super-soldier. 

Steve smiles and says into the COMs, “Body armor, AR-15s. We make seven hostiles.”

Sam flies in and up to a rooftop, spinning and using his wings to block the gunfire, taking out two soldiers in the process. 

“I make that five,” Sam says. 

Wanda arrives and flies over a rooftop into the courtyard, blocking bullets with her powers. She takes control of a soldier and lifts him upwards. “Sam,” she calls, and the Falcon flies down and catches the soldier with one of his wings. 

“Four,” Sam says with a grin.

One of Sam’s drones flies by, scanning the inside of the building. “Rumlow’s on the third floor.”

“Aye Wanda,” (Y/n) says, running towards the girl. “Just like we practiced.”

“What about the gas?” comes Wanda’s questioning voice, her Sokovian accent thick at the moment. 

“Get it out,” (Y/n) says. 

Wanda uses her powers to lift (Y/n) up and through a window. 

(Y/n) grabs one of the soldiers and pulls off their gas mask. 

(Y/n) advances, taking out about five solders before making her way to the Bio-Hazard area. 

“Rumlow has a biological weapon,” (Y/n) warns. 

“I’m on it,” Natasha tells her, riding in on a motorcycle. She turns it on its side and skids it towards a soldier, taking out a few more in hand-to-hand combat. Rumlow comes up behind her, dragging her onto an armored vehicle. Natasha tries to electrocute Rumlow but it doesn’t work. 

“I don’t work like that no more,” Rumlow taunts. He throws her through a roof hatch into an armored vehicle, drops in a grenade, and shuts the hatch. “Fire in the hole!”

“Get out of there Nat!” (Y/n) calls, moving to stand on a balcony. 

Rumlow catches sight of her and sends a bomb her way and (Y/n) gets blasted back into a wall. 

Scrambling her feet, (Y/n) presses a hand to her bleeding forehead and breaks into a run as another blast shakes the building behind her. 

Another blast sends (Y/n) through a window and she falls over the side of the balcony, onto a metal container, and down onto the concrete below. 

(Y/n) groans, rolling over and staggering to her feet, her arm pressed tightly to her ribs, guessing some had broken. “Oh man, those are broken,” (Y/n) grumbles and Wanda rushes over, throwing an arm around (Y/n)’s shoulders, taking some of her weight. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Wanda says. 

Steve, Sam, and Natasha rush after Rumlow and the soldiers, Steve finally pinning Rumlow to the ground. 

“Something’s about to happen,” (Y/n) says, her eyes widening, hearing the conversation between Steve and Rumlow over the COMs. Then she turns to Wanda, “You gotta trust me? All right?” Wanda nods and (Y/n) teleports them to where Steve and Rumlow are. 

(Y/n) wraps her arms around Rumlow and nods to Wanda, who shoots the two into the air, not a moment too soon it seemed, because Rumlow explodes, (Y/n) screaming as she absorbs half the blast. The remaining energy hits the side of the building, shattering glass windows and setting the building on fire. 

(Y/n) drops back towards the ground, her eyes blurring slightly and Wanda shoots her arms up, catching (Y/n) and lightly lowering her to the ground before the Scarlet Witch looks up at the building in flames and covers her mouth with her hand. 

“Oh my . . .” Steve’s bright blue eyes, wide with shock, his mouth hanging open murmurs, “Sam . . . we need . . . Fire and Rescue . . . and a MedEvac team . . . on the south side of the building. We gotta get up there.”

Wanda glances down at (Y/n), whose forehead was bleeding, her right arm resting on her stomach, and the side of her face slightly burned, the woman’s (E/c) eyes fluttering shut. 

Natasha and Sam show up a few moments later and Natasha stares wide-eyed at her best friend’s unconscious body resting in Wanda’s lap. 

Natasha rushes over and helps some of the medical workers lift (Y/n)’s body onto a stretcher. 

The next day finds Natasha and Steve fussing over (Y/n) as she sits up in the Med Bay in the Avengers’ Compound. 

“I love all of you, but stop fussing over me,” (Y/n) says, getting to her feet and shrugging off Natasha’s hand on her shoulder. “I’m injured, not dead.”

Steve smiles at the thought, the same words as he had said to Natasha and (Y/n) a few years back when they were on the run from SHIELD, well, HYDRA. 

“Steve,” (Y/n) stops the super-soldier as she, Steve, and Natasha walk out of the Med Bay together. “Would you check up on Wanda? She probably feels responsible for what happened.”

Natasha turns to (Y/n) as Steve walks away, towards Wanda’s room, (Y/n) guesses. “Don’t you ever do anything that stupid ever again,” Natasha scolds her friend. “You did it in DC and Sokovia before now. You’re going to kill yourself by the time you die.”

“That’s incredibly strange wording there Miss Romanoff,” (Y/n) says with a smile. 

Natasha goes to say something but Sam walks up and leads Natasha down to the briefing room. 

A few minutes later, after (Y/n) had changed into a pair of jeans and a loose t-shirt, she makes her way down to the briefing room, leaning on the doorway as she listens to Thunderbolt Ross, the Secretary of State, speak. 

“Five years ago,” Ross begins. “I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my back-swing. Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass . . . I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me: Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an un-payable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives . . . but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some . . . who would prefer the word ‘vigilantes’.”

“And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?” asks Natasha in a falsely respectful voice. 

“How about "dangerous"? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?“ Ross says and (Y/n) steps forward into the room from the shadows. 

“You don’t think we’re unconcerned about what we leave behind, Secretary?” (Y/n) says in a soft voice, which still carries through the silent room. “I think the Avengers, above all others, know what it’s like to lose the ones they care about and the wreckage left behind.”

Steve and Natasha look over to see (Y/n) standing behind Sam’s chair at the back of the room. 

“But,” (Y/n) smiles with a look of disgust in her eyes, “if you must, please, continue.”

“Thank you, Miss Stark,” Ross says, rolling his eyes and pressing a button on a remote in his hands. 

News footage from past Avengers and SHIELD matters flash on the screen as he speaks, “New York.” A Chitauri leviathan. Terrified citizens. A soldier firing a gun. The Hulk smashing into buildings, sending dust clouds engulfing the camera.

Rhodey’s expression turns regretful and he glances over his shoulder at Natasha. 

“Washington DC,” Ross continues. Three Insight helecarriers, firing on each other. The destroyed Triskelion. A helicarrier crashes into the Potomac throwing up a massive wave while in the background, (Y/n)’s body hits the river below. 

Sam is the one who looks down this time, and Steve spares a glance at (Y/n), whose expression had hardened into one of carefully controlled anger. 

“Sokovia,” Ross says, pressing yet another button on his controller. Terrified citizens running. The city rising. A building falling over. Wanda and Tony continue to look at the screen, Wanda swallowing thickly at the sight of her former home behind destroyed. 

“Lagos,” The burning building. Paramedics moving bodies. A dead girl. An unconscious (Y/n) being lifted into an ambulance.

Wanda looks particularly affected by the footage from Lagos and (Y/n) steps forward to place a comforting hand on the young woman’s shoulder. Steve also sees how discomforted Wanda seems and intervenes. 

“Okay, that’s enough.”

Ross nods to an aide and the images disappear. 

“For the past four years, you’ve operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That’s an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.” Ross receives a thick book from one of his aides and slides it across the table to Wanda. She picks it up and then slides it to Rhodey. 

“The Sokovia Accords,” Ross tells the Avengers. “Approved by a hundred and seventeen countries . . . it states that the Avengers should no longer be a private organization. Instead, they’ll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary. You say that it's enough to be a man. But there are gods. And the rest of us, what are we? They’re giants, we’re what they step on.”

The conversation has (Y/n) remembering what Phil Coulson had told Mike Peterson before he had become DeathLok. 

“The good ones, the real deal,” comes (Y/n)’s voice and everyone turns to look at her once again. “They’re, we’re, not heroes because of what we have that you don’t. It’s what we do with it that matters.”

Steve nods and sends (Y/n) an admiring glance. “The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we’ve done that,” Steve adds to (Y/n)’s words.

“Tell me, Captain, Miss Stark, do you two know where Thor and Banner are right now?” Ross asks, meeting Steve’s eyes. 

“I have a guess,” (Y/n) says, meeting Natasha’s green gaze. “Asgard.”

Ross ignores (Y/n) and says, “If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes . . . you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground.”

“So, there are contingencies,” Rhodey guesses. 

“Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords.”

Steve glances at Tony as Ross heads for the door. 

“Talk it over,” Ross finally says. 

“And if we come to a decision you don’t like?” Natasha asks. 

“Then you retire,” Ross says and Natasha stifles a smile. 

A few minutes later, (Y/n) finds herself sitting at the counter in the briefing room, her fingers pressed to her temples as Sam and Rhodey argue behind her. 

“I have an equation,” Vision interrupts. 

“Oh, this will clear it up,” Sam says, turning to listen to Vision.

“In the eight years since Mr. Stark and Miss Stark announced themselves as IronMan and Phoenix respectively, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially.”

“Are you saying it’s our fault?” Steve asks his eyes remaining on (Y/n), whose fingers had begun tapping lightly on the countertop in front of her.  

“I’m saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict . . . breeds catastrophe. Oversight . . . oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand.”

“Boom,” Rhodey says. 

(Y/n) glances over at her father, who was lying on one of the couches, one hand on his face. 

When Natasha speaks, he removes his hand to look at her. “Tony,” Natasha prompts. “You are being uncharacteristically non-hyper-verbal.”

“It’s because he’s already made up his mind,” Steve guesses.

“Boy, you know me so well,” Tony gets up, wincing, rubbing the back of his head. “Actually, I’m nursing an electromagnetic headache.”

He walks over towards the kitchen and grabs a mug. “That’s what’s going on, Cap. It’s just pain. It’s discomfort. Who’s putting coffee grounds in the disposal” Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?” 

Despite the negative thoughts running through her head, (Y/n) cracks a smile at her father’s question.

Tony sets his phone in a basket and taps it. The phone projects an image of a smiling young ham. Tony looks down, then back up, and pretends to notice the picture for the first time. “Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA. Had a floor level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul, before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where Sokovia.”

(Y/n) swallows thickly and glancing at her teammates, she can tell that the others are also affected by this. 

“He wanted to make a difference, I suppose,” Tony says softly. “I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass.” Tony takes a pill with some coffee, then faces the others. “There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys.”

“Well said,” comes (Y/n)’s quiet voice, though everyone in the room heard it. 

“Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don’t give up,” Steve says. 

“Who said we’re giving up?” Tony asks. 

“We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blames.” 

“I’m sorry,” (Y/n) says softly and the others turn to her once again. “Steve,” she pauses for a moment. “That’s dangerously arrogant,” there is an apologetic undertone to her words and now Rhodey speaks. 

“This is the United Nations we’re talking about. It’s not the World Security Council, it’s not SHIELD, it’s not HYDRA.”

“No, but it’s run by people with agendas, and agendas change,” Steve argues. 

“That’s good,” Tony presses. “That’s why I’m here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing.”

“Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.”

“If we don’t do this now, it’s gonna be done to us later. That’s the fact. That won’t be pretty,” Tony says, shooting an apologetic glance towards his daughter. 

“You’re saying they’ll come for me,” Wanda’s gaze flickers to the others. 

“Us,” (Y/n) corrects, meeting Wanda’s fearful green gaze. 

“We would protect you,” Vision says. 

“Maybe Tony’s right,” Natasha says, shooting a glance at (Y/n), then Wanda.

Tony looks at the former assassin, surprised. 

“If we have one had on the wheel, we can steer. If we take it off -” Sam interupts Natasha. 

“Aren’t you the same woman who told the government to kick her ass a few years ago?” Sam asks as (Y/n) rises from her place slumped against the countertop and walks over to sit by her friend. 

Natasha looks over at (Y/n) and sends her a comforting smile. 

“I’m just . . .” Natasha begins but (Y/n) continues for her. 

“She’s reading the terrain,” (Y/n) explains. “We have made . . . some -”

“Very public mistakes. We need to win everyone’s trust back,” Natasha finishes. 

“Focus up,” Tony says, still staring at Natasha in disbelief. “I’m sorry, did I mishear you or did you agree with me?”

(Y/n) cracks another smile as Natasha replies, “Oh, I want to take it back now.”

“No, no, no,” Tony argues. “You can't retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay, case closed--I win.“

Steve’s phone buzzes and he pulls it out to check it. (Y/n) glances over at Steve, a question in her eyes. 

(Y/n) knew that Steve had feelings for her - and (Y/n) did as well - and judging by the look on Steve’s face, she knew it had to be about Peggy. (Y/n) knew that, deep down, Steve still loved Peggy. 

“I have to go,” Steve says abruptly, dropping the Accords onto the coffee table and going downstairs. 

The others in the room glance at each other for a moment before Wanda stands up from her place next to Vision and (Y/n) stands up, following her. 

(Y/n) jogs after Wanda, catching up with the young brunette. “Wanda,” (Y/n) places a hand on her shoulder, but the girl continues to walk. “Wanda, stop.”

“What?” Wanda snaps, turning on (Y/n). 

“What are you going to do?” (Y/n) asks softly, her hand remaining on Wanda’s shoulder. 

“What are you going to do?” Wanda asks in return. 

“I’m going to sign,” (Y/n) says softly. “I think you should too. Like my dad said, if we don’t do this now, it’s going to happen later.”

(Y/n) gives Wanda’s shoulder a comforting squeeze before she turns, walking away. 

A few days later, (Y/n) and Natasha walk into the cathedral where Steve had just been mourning the death of Peggy Carter. 

(Y/n) smiles nervously at Steve as he speaks, “When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out that she was alive. I was just lucky to have her.”

“She had you back, too,” Natasha says, shooting (Y/n) - who was standing at her shoulder - a glance. 

“Who else signed?” Steve asks. 

“Tony. Rhodey. Vision.” (Y/n) answers. 

“Clint?” Steve asks. 

“Say’s he’s retired,” Natasha says, and (Y/n) and the redhead share an amused smile. 

“Wanda?”

“TBD,” Natasha answers. 

“We’re, well, off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords,” (Y/n) says. “There’s plenty of room on the jet,” she offers, hoping with all her heart that Steve would come. 

Steve sighs and bows his head and (Y/n)’s composer seems to fall. 

“Just because it’s the path of least resistance doesn’t mean it’s the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together,” Natasha tells Steve.

(Y/n) had the feeling that her best friend was trying to convince herself as well. 

“What are we giving up to do it?” Steve asks, avoiding meeting (Y/n)’s eyes.

Natasha sighs and Steve shakes his head, unconvinced. 

“I’m sorry, Nat, (Y/n),” Steve says softly. “I can’t sign it.”

“We know,” (Y/n) says softly. 

"Then what are you doing here?" Steve asks. 

"I didn't want you to be alone," (Y/n) says, stepping forward to wrap the super soldier in a hug. 

(Y/n) pulls back after a moment, holding back tears as she says, "Good luck, Steve." 

Natasha puts a comforting hand on (Y/n)'s arm and the two walk out of the cathedral. 

A few hours later, (Y/n) and Natasha are standing in the UN building signing papers for the Accords. 

"Excuse me, Miss Romanoff, Miss Stark?" asks a UN staffer. 

"Yes?" Natasha responds.

"We need your signatures," the staffer says. (Y/n) and Natasha sign the papers. 

"I suppose neither of us are used to the spotlight," comes a voice and the two women turn to see Prince T'Challa standing in front of them. "Though, Miss Stark, it seems to follow you everywhere."

"Well, it's not always so flattering," Natasha answers with a smile. 

"You seem to be going alright so far. Considering your last trip to Capitol Hill . . . I wouldn't think you would be particularly comfortable in this company."

"Well, I'm not," Natasha replies. 

"That alone makes me glad you're here, Miss Romanoff," T'Challa continues. 

"Why? You don't approve of all this?" (Y/n) asks. 

"The Accords, yes," T'Challa answers. "The politics, not really. Two people in a room can get more done than a hundred."

"Unless you need to move a piano," comes King T'Chaka's voice. 

"Father."

"Son. Miss Romanoff. Miss Stark," T'Chaka's says in return, nodding to his son. 

"King T'Chaka," (Y/n) says, nodding respectfully to the king. "Please let us apologize for what happened in Nigeria."

"Thank you. Thank you for agreeing to all this. I'm sad to hear that Captain Rogers will not be joining us today."

(Y/n) and Natasha share a glance. "Us as well," (Y/n) answers.

"If it is okay, I would like to have a word with Miss Stark," T'Challa says and (Y/n) nods. 

Smiling at Natasha, then nodding to the king, (Y/n) follows T'Challa to the window. 

Before T'Challa can say anything, T'Chaka begins to speak. "When stolen Wakandan vibranium was used to make a terrible weapon, we in Wakanda were forced to question our legacy. Those men and women killed in Nigeria were part of a goodwill mission from a country too long in the shadows. We will not, however, let misfortune drive us back. We will fight to improve the world we wish to join. I am grateful to the Avengers for supporting this initiative." (Y/n) spots something outside and she nudges T'Challa, pointing to a news van outside where several officers were milling around the back. "Wakanda is proud to extend its hand in peace."

"Everybody get down!" (Y/n) and T'Challa yell, sprinting towards where the king was still standing, giving his speech. 

An enormous explosion goes off between the two buildings sending (Y/n) and T'Challa flying back. 

(Y/n) staggers to her feet, her hand wrapped around her bleeding forearm, and watches, horrified as T'Challa finds his father lying on the floor with his eyes closed. The Prince grabs his father's wrist and feels for a pulse, but King T'Chaka lies still. Devastated, T'Challa lies across his father, then lifting him and rocking him. 

Natasha darts forward and pulls her friend down onto the floor and rips off part of her sleeve to wrap around (Y/n)'s arm, (Y/n)'s eyes wide with shock.

The survivors are evacuated from the buildings and fire crews begin to hose them down.

Natasha and (Y/n) sit on the bench beside T'Challa's. 

"I'm very sorry," Natasha says softly. 

T'Challa glances at the two, holding a silver ornate ring which he toys with between his fingers. "In my culture, death is not the end. It's more of a . . . stepping-off point. You reach out with both hands and Bast and Sekhmet, they lead you into the green veldt where . . . you can run forever."

"That sounds very peaceful," Natasha replies, her voice still soft. 

"My father thought so," T'Challa answers, placing the ring on his finger. "But I am not my father."

"T'Challa. Task forces will decide who brings in Barnes."

T'Challa clenches his fists, "Don't bother, Miss Romanoff. I'll kill him myself."

3rd Person POV

Steve - in his uniform - strides through an underpass, then jogs onto a private runway, heading for a grounded chopper. An electro-disabler slams onto the chopper and Steve looks up. 

Above him, Tony and Rhodey descend, landing on the ground. 

"Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport. Don't you think that's weird?" Tony asks, his helmet retracting.

"Definitely weird," Rhodey answers. 

"Hear me out, Tony," Steve says. "That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this."

T'Challa, clad in his Black Panther uniform, leaps over a truck. "Captain."

"Your highness."

"Anyway," Tony says, walking behind Rhodey. "Ross gave me thirty-six hours to bring you in. That was twenty-four hours ago. Can you help a brother out?"

"You're after the wrong guy," Steve answers calmly. 

"Your judgment is askew," Tony replies, some of his anger showing now. "Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday. 

"And there are five more soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't."

"Steve . . ." It was Natasha's voice now. ". . . you know what's about to happen. Do you want to punch your way out of this one?"

"All right I've run out of patience. Underoos!" Tony calls. 

A figure in blue and red spandex shoots what looks like a web, stealing Steve's shield and binding his hands, landing on a car. 

"Good job, kid," Tony praises. 

"Thanks. Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's just the new suit… Well, it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's--it's perfect. Thank you," Peter stumbles over his words.

"Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation."

"Okay. Cap . . . Captain. Big fan, I'm Spider-Man." 

"Yeah, we'll talk about it later. Just . . ."

"Hey, everyone."

" . . . Good job."

"You've been busy," Steve interrupts. 

"And you've been a complete idiot. Dragging in Clint. 'Rescuing' Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place. I'm trying to keep . . . I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart," Tony finishes. 

“You did that when you signed,” Steve answers calmly. 

“Alright, We're done. You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us. NOW! Because it's us! Or a squad of J-SOC guys . . . with no compunction about being impolite,” Tony scowls at Steve. 

Steve holds up his hands and Clint shoots the web off with an arrow. “Alright, Lang.”

“Hey, guys, something . . .” Peter says. 

He gets kicked back and a full sized man is now standing beside Steve, holding out his shield.

“Oh great,” Tony says. “There’s two in the parking garage. One of them’s Maximoff I’m going to grab her.” Tony flies off in his suit. “Rhodey, you wanna take Cap?

“Got two in the terminal, Wilson and Barnes,” Rhodey answers. 

“Barnes is mine!” T’Challa shouts. 

“Hey, Mr. Stark. What should I do?” Peter asks. 

“What we discussed. Keep your distance. Web ‘em up,” Tony answers.

“Okay, copy that!” Peter uses his webs to swing away. 

Scott Lang - Ant Man - faces Natasha. “Look, I really don’t want to hurt you.”

“I wouldn’t stress about it,” Natasha replies. She kicks him in the groin and he miniaturizes, throwing her head over heels. She zaps him off her wrist and he slams into a nearby truck, leaving a small dent. 

Tony is now hovering over Wanda and Clint. “Wanda, I think you hurt Visions’s feelings.”

“You locked me in my room,” Wanda retorts. 

“Okay first, that’s an exaggeration. Second, (Y/n) wanted me to protect you. Hey, Clint.”

“Hey, man,” Clint answers, readying his bow. 

“Clearly, retirement doesn’t suit you. You get tired of shooting golf?”

“Well, I played eightteen, I shot eightteen. Just can’t seem to miss,” Clint fires an arrow which Tony deflects. 

“First time for everything,” Tony replies. 

“Made you look,” Clint smirks. 

“Suddenly a sar slams past Tony and he looks up as dozens more come crashing down. Wanda moves her glowing red hands until Tony is burried under a pile of cars. 

Tony flies over to Natasha once he unburries himself and helps her up. 

“Is this part of the plan?” the redhead asks. 

“Well, my plan was to go easy on them. You wanna switch it up?” the billionare asks. 

Clint spots the Quinjet. “There’s our ride.”

“Come on!” Steve calls. 

Steve’s team runs towards the Quinjet but they are stopped by a fizzing stream of energy slicking across the runway and they stop. Looking up they see Vision hovering overhead. 

“Captain Rogers,” Vision begins. “I know what you believe what your doing is right. But for the collective good you must surrender now.” As he speaks, the rest of Tony’s team arrives. 

“What’d we do, Cap?” Sam asks. 

“We fight,” Steve answers. 

“This is gonna end well,” Natasha says. 

The two teams stride towards each other with grim determination etched on their faces. 

“They’re not stopping,” Peter says. 

“Neither are we,” Tony replies grimly. 

Steve blocks a punch with his shield from Tony as he lands. Clint fires an arrow at Vision as Rhodey flies after Sam and and Bucky, trading blows with T’Challa.

An explosive arrow hit Tony.

Natasha throws Scott as Peter wings through the air, struggling to evade flying vehicles.

Bucky lands punches on T’Challa. 

Clint and Natasha battle with batons and eventually, Clint pins her down with his bow. 

“We’re still friends, right?” Natasha asks. 

“Depends on how hard you hit me,” Clint answers.

Natasha spins the archer with her legs and jumps to her feet. As she’s about to kick his head, her foot stops and glows bright red. With a wave of her hand, Wanda throws Natasha back. “You were pulling your punches. 

As Natasha’s thrown back, someone catches her before she can hit the ground. 

“Nice to see you,” the figure says with a ghost of a smile as she sets the redhead back on her feet. 

“(Y/n)! What are you doing here?” the redhead asks. 

“I’m making sure nobody dies today!” (Y/n) yells over her shoulder, running to where Steve was talking to Peter. 

“Look kid,” Steve says as (Y/n) comes up behind him. “There’s a lot here that you don’t understand. 

“Mr. Stark said you’d say that,” Peter replies. “Wow.” He fires webs which stick to Steve’s leg and shield. He pulls and Steve slides towards him. Peter kicks him backwards and then rolls clear. “He also said to go for you legs.” As Steve runs to get his shield, Peter webs his hands and pulls. Steve grits his teeth, spins and somersaults, propelling Peter through the air. 

Steve catches one of Peter’s webs and tugs the boy near him, knocking him down with the shield. Peter recovers and pull himself on top of a gangway. “Stark tell you anything else?” Steve asks.

“How about don’t beat up kids?” (Y/n) asks teleporting in between the kid and Steve. 

“Go,” (Y/n) tells the kid, then readies her fists at Steve. 

Growling with frustration, Steve throws his shield at (Y/n) but (Y/n) stops it with a jet of water. 

(Y/n) charges at Steve but is stopped by Bucky, who had launched himself at her and pinned her to the ground. 

Bucky goes to punch his metal fist into her face but (Y/n) teleports away. “What the!” Bucky exclaims. 

Vision had just shot a shining beam of energy at the control tower and it collapses towards the entrance of the hangar. Wanda holds other hands, keeping the tower from collapsing, letting Steve and Bucky run through it. Rhodey descends behind her and fires a sonic disruptor and Wanda holds her head and screams. The tower falls around Steve and Bucky but they make it into the hanger. 

Natasha, who was in the hangar, catches sight of the tower falling on top of another figure. The two had made eye contact before the tower had collapsed on top of her, (E/c) on green. 

“Tony!” Natasha yells, running past, completely ignoring Steve and Bucky, who run past her into the Quinjet. “We’ve got a big problem!”

“Romanoff, what is it?” Tony asks. 

“(Y/n) . . .” the redhead trails off. 

“What happened?” Tony asks frantically.

“The control tower, it collapsed on top of her,” Natasha breathes. “We need somebody who can lift heave things.”

Tony, Rhodey, Wanda, and Clint show up soon and the five dig through the rubble and Natasha heaves one chunk of rock, moving it. 

(Y/n) raises up her arm, her hand trembling and everyone rushes over to move the rest of the rock. Her hand falls, palm facing up, and she exhales, her breath ragged. 

“I hope one of y-you can c-carry me,” (Y/n) stammers. “Cause I think my leg’s b-broken.”

The last slab of rock is removed and everyone looks at each other. A sheet of metal was stuck in her abdomen, and blood was pooling under her. 

“Y-you’re gonna have t-to c-carry me.”

Tony comes out of his suit and takes his daughter’s hand in his own. Natasha moves to take the other. (Y/n)’s eyes close in pain for a moment and then she opens them again. 

“I-I think i-it’s bad,” (Y/n) voice trembles. “Cause I can’t feel it.” 

Her eyes close once more and then she opens them again, looking at her father. 

“D-dad? W-when di-id you get h-here?” (Y/n) stutters and Tony squeezes his dying daughter’s hand. 

“Oh sweetheart, I’ll always be here.” Tony says, a tear falling from his eyes. 

“T-that’s sweet,” (Y/n) slurs. Her head lolls to the side and she sees Natasha and Clint, the archer’s hand placed on his redheaded friend’s shoulder. “Nat. C-clint.” A tear streaks down Natasha’s face. “D-don’t c-cry. I-I’ll be o-okay.”

“Only you could comfort us like this,” Natasha says, tears falling onto her hands. 

(Y/n) looks over at Rhodey, and his helmet retracts. “U-uncle R-rhodey?”

The man nods. 

“W-watch m-my Dad,” she says. “H-he tends to be r-reckless sometimes.”

“I will,” Rhodey promises. 

“Doll, that’s not every nice,” Tony scolds lightly and (Y/n) lets out a soft laugh. 

“Wanda,” (Y/n) says, addressing the youngest. 

Wanda looks up from her feet. 

“Y-you’re so s-smart and t-talented,” (Y/n) tells the young girl. “And d-don’t le-et anyone tell y-you different.”

Wanda chokes down a sob as (Y/n) falls limp against the rocks under her. 

Natasha runs her hands gently through her friend’s hair and (Y/n) jolts conscious once again. 

“N-nat,” (Y/n) stammers. 

“Breathe, just breathe (Y/n/n),” Natasha murmurs. 

“N-nat, t-ell St-teve I’m sorry,” (Y/n) slurs.

Then she falls limp . . . 

She breathes her last breath . . . 

And falls silent, not moving again . . . 

Well, this was, well, this made me cry writing it, so . . .

Word Count: 7,164 words

So yeah, I don’t know if this was what @rogersrogers334​ was looking for, but here it is. 

Anyway, Imma go cry in the safety of my bed now . . .

Love,          Kaitlynn ❤️😍

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 280: I Am Red Riot

Previously on BnHA: The pro heroes over at Gunga Mountain struggled against Gigantomachia and the League until finally Midnight was all, “fuck it, let’s just put the kids in charge.” Momo immediately got to work organizing a sophisticated counteroffensive involving an exploding swamp, a bunch of sedative cans, and a massive coordinated team attack. I gotta tell you guys, it’s really something to watch a large-scale group attack in which all of the team members are actually competent. I don’t know what Japan put in the water when all these sixteen-year-olds were growing up, but that shit has paid off big time, and basically the only reason Machia hasn’t gone down yet is because he cheated and was all “sneeze” and the kids all got blown away because they are little and because he is really, really big. Anyway so then Dabi set the forest on fire because he loves doing that, and the chapter ended with Mina using her Acid Man attack to make herself FUCKIN’ FIREPROOF so she could charge through the woods ready to save the day and stuff!

Today on BnHA: Mina launches herself straight at Machia like the beautiful corrosive wild child she is, but then everything goes to shit when she recognizes him from that one time she almost got murdered while giving a strange man directions. Just when it’s looking like she might get killed for real this time, KIRISHIMA SHOWS UP TO SAVE THE DAY AND SHOVES HER TO SAFETY AND IS ALL “BOTTOMS UP” AND HEAVES A LITERAL CAN OF WHOOPASS RIGHT IN MACHIA’S MOUTH. At this point the grown-ups are all “oh wow look at that, time for us to take over for you kids now, don’t worry we’ve got it all under control” because Oh Those Wacky Pros and all that, but at least Majestic finally deigns to show his face so that’s a plus! The chapter ends with us cutting back to the Jakku battle, where Tomura is curled up in a little ball all “curse you heroes, how dare you [checks notes] save people all the time”, which is a real take and a half. Anyway so things are looking up, which can only mean everyone is about to die. That’s how it works, right. Shit.

HOLY SHIT LOL

THIS IS MINA. SHE’S REALLY COOL AND SHE CAN MELT PEOPLE. um, the hell kind of tagline is that?? holy fucking shit?? “melt and succumb”?? IS THE SUCCUMB PART REALLY NECESSARY. IS THAT NOT ALREADY IMPLIED. it’s like saying “die and then perish”, which actually sounds really badass and I’m about to make it my new go-to threat actually so you know what never mind. where the fuck were we anyway

“IS EVERYONE SAFE” some absurdly bad-at-gauging-situations kid from class B is yelling while the forest is on fire and all the kids are recovering from having been catapulted fifty miles by King Dodongo’s windy yeet breath. of course they are safe, sweet child. of course everyone is absolutely fine, why the fuck would they possibly not be safe after something like that

KAMINARI NOOO MY POOR SWEET BABY

AT LEAST HE’S STILL CONSCIOUS ENOUGH TO MAKE STUPID JOKES. holy shit this baby got concussed to hell and back and then Machia turned him and the others into precipitation and he wasn’t in any kind of state to even try to land safely, I hope to god someone caught him

Sero is all “is there anyone still in range!” and damn, I like that he’s taking charge and trying to regain their momentum. he is so criminally underrated. I feel like he’s in the top six or seven of class 1-A kids who I would most trust to take charge. which is very high praise because that class has a lot of charge-taking kids

SPEAKING OF

it “probably” can’t get through her acid, she says. my god. sometimes the spirit of Plus Ultra just takes ahold of these kids and it’s like, I want to ruffle their hair proudly and then grab them by the shoulders and shake them vigorously because WHERE EVEN IS YOUR SELF-PRESERVATION WHY DO NONE OF YOU HAVE IT GODDAMMIT AIZAWA REALLY SHOULD HAVE EXPELLED YOU GUYS AFTER ALL

man. and yet I really do love this “be the one who can do it” stuff. what a heroic fucking attitude dfjfklks. I’ll just go put on my humongous sandwich board that reads GIANT FUCKING HYPOCRITE and go stand in the corner

damn it this week’s scan is annoyingly dark, it’s really hard to tell what’s going on but it looks like the pros are attacking Machia and the League at long last. way to go guys it only took you seven years but you finally hopped to it

MINA WHY IS THE ACID COMING OFF OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD. PUT IT BACK!!!

I KNOW SHE’S NOT GONNA DIE DAMMIT BUT AHHHHH AHHHHHH AHHHHHHHH

okay what the hell is up with these weird zen proverbs though

“your fear stricken heart”, “the shortest path”, what the fuck even is this. whose thoughts are these. normally these translations are honestly decent enough but I gotta say this time around I’m totally being thrown for a loop lmao

(ETA: FYI I’m only just now realizing that he was saying the shortest path to Master, as in Tomura, not “master” as in to master something fjkldjskf lol some delayed reading comprehension there. so basically he’s just bitching about how annoying these little “flies” are proving to be.)

JESUS CHRIST

okay is it just me, or is Gigantomachia suddenly showing intelligence in his eyes instead of mindless animal instinct the single most pants-shitting thing you’ve ever seen?!! holy shit. the way he just LOOKS at her out of nowhere all of a sudden?? holy fucking shit DO NOT HURT MT. LADY OH MY GOD I’M FREAKING THE FUCK OUT. AND DON’T YOU DARE HURT MINA EITHER!! JUST FUCKING DIE AND PERISH

but also though, is that recognition in Mina’s eyes?? because even though this dude is 80 feet tall now, her encounter with him a couple years back had to have been one of the more memorable experiences of her young life. damn I was wondering when this would finally come into play

OKAY YES THE NEXT PAGE IS A FLASHBACK OH SHIT

this has nothing to do with anything but Mina just has the prettiest hair, btw, and this “just woke up covered in acid” look is a particularly good one on her. it looks so soft and fluffy, like damn. this is like Shouto-hair-billowing-in-the-wind levels of pretty here

NOOOOO

oh my god holy shit?! putting her back in the school uniform to show the slip in her mentality is a PUNK MOVE, HORIKOSHI, and I respect the shit out of you for it you manipulative bastard. goddammit. bracing myself for the incoming wave of Mina feels... here they come... they’re a lot... let’s see if I can latch on to anything I can actually figure out how to describe in words

okay well here’s one, my respect for Mina’s bravery just went up like a thousand percent in this instant, because now we know this was actually such a traumatizing event for her that hearing Machia’s voice again years later immediately sent her into a full-blown flashback. she was that scared and yet she still stood up to him and didn’t hesitate. and now I’m remembering how her knees just buckled right afterwards, and just...

and this visual, though!! what a brutally effective way to show that in her mind she went right back to being that scared middle schooler again for a moment. god fucking damn. holy shit you guys is Kirishima fireproof because if he comes waltzing out of the woods next I don’t even know what I’m gonna do. lolo kids getting traumatized left and right this arc is fucking merciless

um eXCUSE ME!?!?!

YOU MOTHERFUCKING PIECE OF SHIT LET GO OF HER RIGHT NOW OR I AM GONNA LOSE IT!!

THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!!

holy shit he could have fucking snapped her neck like that??! I don’t like this at ALL WHAT THE FUCK

OKAY SERIOUSLY

I’M GONNA NEED ANOTHER KID TO STEP IN HERE WITH A LAST MINUTE SAVE LIKE RIGHT THE FUCK NOW, OR I AM GOING TO THROW MY COMPUTER OFF A FUCKING CLIFF AND MOVE TO THE DESERT AND BECOME A HERMIT AND NEVER READ MANGA ON THE INTERNET AGAIN

OH THANK GOD

TODAY WE SPELL “REDEMPTION” K-I-R-I... ETC. THERE’S A LOT OF LETTERS BUT YOU GET THE DRIFT!!!

holy fucking shit y’all. I mean, it’s not like it came out of nowhere, like the setup could not have been more obvious, but let me assure you that none of the predictability lessened the actual impact of this moment in the SLIGHTEST. Horikoshi really wrote a flashback scene one hundred and thirty five chapters ago and planted it, watered it once a day, and patiently waited for THREE LONG YEARS until he could finally harvest the badass fruits of his labor in the midst of his most epic arc to date. I’m so fucking hyped I’ll even forgive him for sacrificing Mina’s big moment and having her get rescued, because it’s such a good reversal. he didn’t freeze up this time. he promised himself he’d never freeze again and he didn’t and he saved her and god fucking damn. anyways so now Machia is going to treat him like a fucking action figure though but he’s a solid little dude he can take it hopefully

NO WHAT IS THIS!!! STOP KILLING MY MOOD!!!

she better not be dead!! SHE BETTER NOT FUCKING BE DEAD I WILL RUN MY PC THROUGH A PAPER SHREDDER AND GO AND LIVE ALONE WITH MY FEELS ON A MOUNTAIN IN TIBET

CHINTETSU!!

well we know he’s fireproof. another callback at the least expected of times lmao

so Tetsu’s all “yeah Kirishima’s not really all that fireproof but he totally ran over here anyway to save you. oh wait that probably wasn’t very comforting of me to say.” maybe that’s why it seems like he might not have actually said it out loud, now that I’m reading this over again. good call Tetsu

ARE YOU STANDING UP AND CASUALLY STRETCHING OUT YOUR BACK

I CAN’T EVEN BELIEVE HOW MUCH I HATE THIS GUY RIGHT NOW. WE’RE REACHING LEVELS OF HATRED RESERVED FOR NAZIS AND PEOPLE WHO WALK TOO SLOWLY IN FRONT OF ME IN A GROUP SHOULDER TO SHOULDER INSTEAD OF SINGLE FILE SO I CAN PASS IN FRONT OF THEM. YOU’RE A FUCKING TOURIST IN NYC YOU PIECE OF SHIT

lmao he’s just dropping this random hero person and letting him fall to his doom wheeeeee

remind me to leave all of the League of Villains’ texts on read for the foreseeable future. goddamn. I still love you guys but also, fuck you so damn hard

OHO A LIL RED SCALY BOI ISN’T DONE YET!!

real talk, just between you and me, I’ll lower my voice so that Kirishima can’t hear. so uh. we all agree that even if Kiri is fireproof and squishproof, that little can of tranquilizer juice technically shouldn’t have been, right? but we’re all going to hush and pretend like it was anyway for the sake of not spoiling his big moment. even though I am crossing my arms and tapping my chin with my finger while doubtfully glancing to the side

anyway here he goes!

YEAH KIRI GO GETTIM [stage whisper] there it is, in his pocket. should’ve burned. we won’t discuss it

OH FOR FUCK’S

TOGA YOU LITTLE WIENER BUT WHAT’S THIS ABOUT “MY HALF” NOW????

DID HE GRAB MINA’S MID-AIR?? IS HE REALLY REACHING INTO HIS BACK POCKET AND FUCKING UNZIPPING IT RIGHT NOW WHILE HOLDING ON TO NOTHING AND PRESUMABLY FALLING THROUGH THE AIR. DID A LITTLE BIT OF OCHAKO’S QUIRK RUB OFF ON YOU OR WHAT

OH SNAP SON HE REALLY DID THE THING HOLY SHIT???

AND TOKAGE FLEW OVER AND SAVED HIM AND NOW TANKS ARE SHOOTING AT MACHIA, LMAO WHAT IS THIS. MOMO HOW MANY GUNS DID YOU MAKE

Shouji standing there trying to be useful any way he can. are eyeballs really that much more effective if you make them the size of tennis balls and hold them up above your head. legit question, I don’t really know how eyes work

okay after 45 seconds of googling this my impression is that no, they are not. well good on you for giving it the old college try anyway though Shouji

oH MY GODLKDLK?!?!

DID SHE SAY WHAT I THOUGHT SHE SAID, DID SHE SAY MAJESTIC, ARE WE GONNA SEE MASJKESLTKCI DSFLKJL

oh my god he really is the Magic Man dude??? TIME TO DUST OFF MY INVENTORY OF ADVENTURE TIME QUOTES

(ETA: AHH FATGUM AND GANG ORCA ARE THERE TOO YESSSS!)

“that’s enough depending on some interns” oh, okay. now that they’ve done all your work for you. I see, I see

so now Gigantomachia is LITERALLY UNHINGING HIS JAW I can’t fucking believe this dude you guys. everything he does is just like, ARE YOU SERIOUS

please go to sleep already. thanks to you I have my keyboard set to capslock as the default for the duration of this chapter

ARE YOU SERIOUS YOU FUCKING WAITED UNTIL MAGIC FUCKING MAN SHOWED UP TO TEACH US MAGICAL LIFE LESSONS AND NOW YOU’RE CUTTING BACK TO THE TOMURA FIGHT?? WHY DO WE KEEP LETTING THIS MAN GET AWAY WITH THIS

oh my god you guys they really fucking did it

I guess that Howitzer slash fire punch combo really was that potent huh

anyway so now Endeavor is standing there making a big speech instead of reaching into Tomura’s pocket and taking the bullets that he doesn’t know about and shooting him with one asap. dammit Endeavor

aaaaand Tomura is firing back with the wisdom of Shimura Fucking Kotaro of all people

well you sure convinced me. damn I don’t know what I was thinking. heroes suck you guys. how dare they help other people all the time

so now he’s all “PERIOD, EXCLAMATION POINT!!”

take that Endeavor. you heard the man. it’s not destruction without conviction, as god as his witness he will have you know it is destruction WITH conviction. something something the great sage Shimura “I hurt my family for absolutely no reason at all, fuck this ‘helping others’ bullshit” Kotaro. I hope you packed your textbooks because you just got SCHOOLED. I hope the person who ordered you signed up for delivery notifications because you just got SENT. I HOPE YOU LIKE CAPITALISM BECAUSE YOU JUST GOT OWNED. I HOPE YOU CHOSE PAPER AND NOT SCISSORS BECAUSE YOU JUST GOT ROCKED

what an absolutely, unreservedly bizarre place to end the chapter lol. we’re really just done with this week, just like that. Majestic showed up and Gigantomachia opened his chin like a garage door and Tomura is all “you may have won the battle but you suck” while he buys time for Aizawa to suddenly sneeze or something so he can make his terrible comeback and continue Horikoshi’s Traumatize Every Kid in Class 1-A 2020 campaign. what an arc this is my friends. what an arc

[themadauthorshatter]

If you're up to date with my posts, then you know what's about to happen.

I've read the books, WE'VE ALL READ THE BOOKS, but this is a somewhat fun switch-a-roo.

Expect a BUNCH of changes that I'll try justifying, especially painful ones, so bear with me🙏

OTP SWAP PART 1: THE CRUEL PRINCE!!!!

I'm starting with the first book for obvious reasons

Like before, we start in the mortal world with Ashley Duarte(yes, human!Cardan's last name is Duarte, but like I said, bear with me) making tacos in the kitchen while one of the MANY dogs and other animals wait for her to drop some food. Baby boy Cardan and his older half-sister Rhyia are watching some human stuff, maybe Looney Tunes or old Mickey Mouse cartoons, when the door is knocked on, which alerts the animals and wakes a half asleep Cardan; Rhyia does not wake up.

Cardan answers it and finds a cloaked Madoc at the door. Rather than ask who he is or call for his mother, he stares at this man, who kneels and asks as evenly as possible if his mother is home.

Cardan slams the door in his face, which prompts Ashley to ask why he did so.

Madoc BANGS on the door and shouts, "Asha!" and Ashley pales as she realizes who is at the door.

She demands Cardan to go upstairs as Madoc kicks the door open and walks inside, giving the same speech as the original, that Balekin told him she'd ran away with his daughter, that she killed a woman who was just as pregnant as her, that she ran away and married some lowly farm hand and blacksmith. He thought it was a lie, but nope. Here she stands.

Asha(which is her real name) is deeply ashamed at his words, and tries to pull Cardan away; an angry Madoc is an unstable Madoc.

Like before, Justin rushes in to save his family, but ends up getting kebabbed with his wife.

Rhyia does wake up to see both and Madoc spills the tea that she's his and needs to pack her bags because they're leaving, and Cardan's coming with.

Cardan, despite being seven, is outraged and tries to kick Madoc into oblivion with no avail. Rhyia, however, swears that she'll never love a monster like Madoc, who simply scoffs and tells her to wrangle the human and gather her things in half an hour, because they're leaving for Faerie.

Reluctantly, they do and they never see the mortal world again for a very long time.

Jump to the present day as Cardan, a now seventeen year old human heart throb, is getting prim and proper for a revel. His hair is getting styled nice, he's in a nice suit, he's wearing a cool belt that makes him look like he has a tail, and has ear cuffs that make his ears look pointed like a faerie.

He also has rowan berries on his wrist, because he doesn't want the necklace to be easy to see as a lot of his shirts show his chest.

He's dolled up and meets Locke, his brother that came around when Madoc married Oriana and had Oak. The two did not get along, at first, but they began to tolerate each ither as they realized they were the only humans in Faerie that were gentry kids.

Locke is more of a bard or a poet, always seen with a little book, and doesn't wear the same stuff Cardan does, so no pointed ear cuffs for him. He's also more accustomed to Faerie, being good with half truths and minor deception. He's on good terms with both Madoc and Oriana.

Cardan, however, is not on good terms with either of them, as he has tried multiple times to leave Faerie, with and without Rhyia with him, and every time ended with Madoc outside scowling at him and leading him back to his room. Still has that 'no kill' rule, but he's better with sneaking and a sword, having been able to lighten his steps so he could sneak past Madoc and his guards whenever he tried to leave. He's not bad with a sword, but he still has a lot to learn, being 17 and all. When he doesn't have a sword in his hands, he has an animal in them, i.e. a foal, a dog, or, at one point, a skunk that was calm enough to not spray him. Yeah, animal lover that can hold his own.

The two exchange banter and Locke shows show rare excitement for this revel, saying the two will have the time of their lives. Locke, who isn't as close with her, wonders where Rhyia is, but Cardan reveals she's not attending, instead going to visit some friends in the mortal world.

Her funeral as the boys saddle up with Oriana amd Madic and go to the revel.

Similar events occur, like Oriana telling the boys to be careful, Madoc talking to Dain and Balekin, and Locke leading Cardan through the revel so they can have a good time.

IT GOES DOWNHILL WHEN THE GREENBRIAR TWINS AND THEIR FRIENDS ARRIVE. Jude, her older sister Taryn, and their friends, Edir, a bard that can sing and play anyone under the table, Valerian, who's a sadist, and Nicasia, the princess of the Undersea.

Jude and Taryn may have the same face and body, but don't be fooled, Jude has horns, always wears a sword, and will slap you in a dress and then set it on fire without a second’s hesitation. Taryn, however, always has a bunch of flowers in her hair, always wears a dress, and uses words as her weapon. Did you know that she broke on of the most boisterous men in Faerie qith nothing but her words? True story. Edir is the guy that keeps them both in check, an order of Balekin's, which we'll learn later. He is also more of Jude's friend and Taryn's bed buddy, in SFW terms. Nicasia is Jude's friend, like FRIEND, and Valerian is the same, really, just more of an ass now that he has more even targets.

Everyone bows to these guys, even Cardan and a smirking Locke. That smirk vanishes when Taryn winks at Cardan, who Jude GLARES AT.

Locke feels the same way, cinfused and angry, but no time to think in it because Valerian storms toward a confused Cardan and grabs him by the collar, snarling that he can play dress up and make believe all he wants because it won't hide his plain hair or round ears or barn dog smell, so he shouldn't even bother.

Valerian throws him back and Locke rounds on Cardan, asking him what the hell that was between him and Taryn. Cardan brushes him off, as it was just a wink, not a lap dance. Before they can REALLY go at it, crying draws their attention and see that Jude just pincushioned someone who didn't bow, said someone nkw having a hole in their stomach and a slash across their torso. Taryn is annoyed, Nicasia and Valerian are trying not to laugh, and Edir, who's embarassed, is scolding Jude for losing it at a revel.

Jump to after the revel and the day of school. The boys do indeed get dirt kicked on their food, but instead of 'make me,' Cardan snaps, 'TRY me,' because Nicasia asks if he's as filthy as other human boys. Locke talks him down, but Valerian, kicking more dirt and even throwing some IN Cardan's face, asks if the two qould like them for friends.

Locke apologizes for Cardan, but Jude commands he prove it by dropping out of the tournament, it'll be less embarrassing than getting his ass beaten in front of everyone.

Nicasia spots one of the ear cuffs and pulls it off, asking if he stole it. Big mistake because the cuff burns her hand, as it is iron and iron hurts Faeries.

Cardan smirks and the group leaves, Locke scolding him for being stupid.

Later, at dinnner, after talk of Dain's coronation, Cardan, despite some minor objection from Rhyia, asks Madoc a question: May he please have a green sash for the tournament? Why? He would like to be a knight, please and thank you. Madoc chikes on his wine, Locke coughs to hide a laugh, Rhyia winces, and Oriana os shicked into silence.

Madoc gives it to him straight: he's not bad with a sword, he's good on his feet,and he's the best damned rider that anyone's ever seen, but no. He cannot compete for knighthood, on the count of being the furthest thing from a killer imaginable and just being in over his head.

Cardan protests that he can do just fine, but Madoc warns him to stop before he gets himself thrown in a dungeon instead if his room until the coronation of prince Dain.

Cardan relinquishes and we get the salt prank like before, except Locke is pissed beyond all reason at his foster brother. Cardan doesn't mind until he's grabbed by Edir and Valerian, Locke being pulled by the hair by Jude and both are thrown in the river, which has Nixies in it.

Thier supplies get yeeted, Locke gets pulled out by Valerian and is made to kiss Jude on the lips and both her horns, but, when asked, Cardan does not give up, vowing that he will never give up, which makes Jude laugh and the group leave.

Locke and Cardan walk home, get some baths, and go to bed, except they go to the mortal world with Rhyia and meet her friends Vivienne and Heather at the mall. Vivienne apologizes for Jude's behavior, and we learn that Rhyia is planning to leave Faerie, and is probably going alone.

The boys return and endure a lesson, but Jude pushes Locke's buttons, so Cardan pushes her into a tree. Challenge accepted.

TOURNAMENT TIME!! Cardan fairs wellin that Valerian is lazy, Edir is out of shape, and Jude got cocky, so he wins.

Jude fumes at him, later grabbing him by the tail on his belt amd demanding he beg for her forgiveness. He does... NOT! And spits in her face that she may push him down, but he'll pull her down with him, and it will hurt her like hell.

Taryn approaches him and expresses interest in him, saying that she once took both Edir and Nicasia from Jude because people just like a sensitive girl.

She leaves and the tournament eventually ends, which leads Cardan to return hime and meet Dain, who requested one of Madoc's people to tell Cardan one of Eldred's children had come for a visit.

Dain and Cardan get talking and Dain offers him something that isn't knighthood: spying. Plus one wish.

Cardan knows what he wants: to not be controled.

Granted, but Dain can still control him and the fruits of Faerie will still effect him.

Screwy, but deal, he's a spy now

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!!!!!

[scribble-blog]

Soulmate AU part 3!!

First • Previous • Here • Next

Side note, I’m a grandma in a 22 year old body who doesn’t understand technology. If somebody can teach me how to get readmores to work on tumblr mobile, and possibly how to start linking the posts together, I’d appreciate it!

Also, the taglist is now full! Though if people want, I could try doing a supplemental taglist? Either in a reblogged or in a separate post to notify you? Let me know in the replies!

Damian Wayne, as it turns out, is almost very certainly the son of Bruce Wayne, who sponsored their entire trip to Gotham. There are only two official pictures of him that are clear enough to truly check against, but Marinette sees the eyes and she nods. “That’s him.”

Trixx, Pollen, Kaalki, and Plagg are scattered about the bed, napping and lounging. Adrien also lounges, catlike and crosswise with the bed, entirely over the pillows at their back. Chloé holds the laptop that Marinette is hovering over, even from her seated position with her much smaller stature.

“It would be you,” Chloé snorts. “Oh, let’s just traipse over to America for a quick class visit! Oops, my soulmate is the incredibly handsome son of the incredibly wealthy man who invited us here!”

“Still more believable than you, Miss ‘My soulmate and I have literally been standing two feet from each other for weeks because not only do we have the exact same friends, but we’re part of the same superhero group and never realized until Ladybug allowed us to learn each other’s secret identities.’” Adrien doesn’t move as he calls her out, lazily curled into the warmth of his two friends and the pillows cocooning him.

“I don’t think any of us can speak,” Marinette groans. “I’m living a cheap rom com, Chloé’s got all the plot elements of a high budget Shakespearian drama, and Mr. ‘Didn’t know I wasn’t straight until my soulmate mark was a guys name” is straight out of a b movie comedy.”

“At least I got my act together pretty quickly once it occurred to me that I could like guys too,” Adrien points out. “And now Jon and I talk all the time, and he even comes to Paris sometimes to see me, or we’ll meet up for my occasional business trips in America. Which reminds me,” he pulled out his phone, sending off a quick text, “he wants to come meet you guys. Next week, while we’re all actually on the same continent.”

“Kudos to you for shaking off whatever Gabe tried to stuff your head full of,” Chloé says. “Took me ages to admit that I was gay, and that was even WITH my soulmark and both Marinette and Ladybug constantly in front of me.”

“Feeling pretty objectified,” Marinette protests.

“Oh shut it, I know for a fact that you’ve basically been the gay awakening crush of every not straight girl in our class. And several outside of it. And that’s not even counting all the dudes that fall in love with you.”

“I still object,” Marinette pouts at Chloé.

“Objection overruled.” Adrien sits up. “Marinette. You’re like, the perfect crush. They have a warning about you in the introductory packet for Mme. Bustier’s class.”

“They do not,” Marinette gasps, outraged. “I wrote that packet!”

“And then the class unanimously decided you were too dangerous to be walking around without a warning sign,” Chloé pinched her cheek. “If it makes you feel any better, it’s still in the packet despite Lila’s best efforts to get it thrown out.”

That does make Marinette feel better.

“Damian Wayne resurfaces after year of being believed dead,” Adrien reads from his phone. “Gotham’s Newest Wayne: The True Son! These all read like tabloids but as far as I can tell the Wayne’s don’t tolerate stuff like that. So I guess it’s true?”

“I’m tired of looking him up,” Marinette groans. “Can we just leave it be?”

“Nope,” Chloé pops the P. “Congrats, Dupain-Cheng, this is what friends are for.”

“I wish I could talk to Tikki about it,” Marinette sighs. “Especially because I have literally never heard anyone talk about that- electric feeling when we touched. Is it a Ladybug thing?”

Plagg opens one big green eye. “Cool it, Spots. It’s definitely a Ladybug thing. You’re literally the reason these marks exist.”

Marinette sticks her tongue out at the mini god. “I just miss her.”

“Join the club,” he grumbles, closing his eye and going back to napping.

“Good news,” Chloé says, bringing her attention back to the laptop. “Searching your name very easily leads to you, and our class, and the fact that we won the contest. So, unless he decides he’s not ready to meet you, you’ll have the chance to find him at the gala. Or at Wayne Enterprises. Or at any of the places the Wayne’s own, which is two-thirds of our trip destinations.”

“Oh god,” Marinette says. “What if he didn’t want to find me?”

Adrien, Chloé, and four Kwamis hit her at the same time, shoving her back into the bed.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mari,” Adrien scolds her from his position atop the newly formed cuddle pile. “I saw his face too. If the boy isn’t already in love with you, he’ll be hunting you down just for the chance to fall.”

Trixx nuzzled into her side. “I may not be Tikki but all of us Kwamis know how incredible you are, Marinette.”

She sighed. “Alright guys, get off.”

———

Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Tim already knew who the girl was, because he’d been curious when his favorite artist had started talking about the source of his newest looks.

But having Damian demand his help in searching for everything he could find on her, and then only asking for the bare minimum of information about her trip itinerary- Tim wasn’t an idiot.

“So. She’s your soulmate.” Tim takes a sip of the coffee he’d been working on, making a face and instantly setting it back down when he realized it had gone cold.

Damian carefully did not change his expression, but it wasn’t fooling anyone. “And so what if she is?”

Tim looked back at the monitor. “So nothing. Congrats, Demon Spawn. I’m happy for you.”

He barely caught the edge of the scowl the younger Wayne tried to hide.

“Hey, no.” Tim spun his chair to face Damian. “Look, we’ve had our differences and disagreements-“

“You had me on the superhero equivalent of a terrorism watch list,” Damian interrupted.

“And you literally tried to kill me within the first day of meeting me.”

“A byproduct of my indoctrination from birth into a murder cult,” His brother kept his face still but the tone was wry.

“You kept trying to kill me.”

“I wasn’t trying to kill you!” Damian finally exclaimed, losing his collected demeanor. “Just-“

“Point being,” Tim stressed, “even if we haven’t always gotten along- haven’t ever, really- I’m still happy for you. Soulmates are a special thing. We all kind of thought you might not have one, with the way you always acted when Dick tried to ask.”

Damian forced down the immediate retort and looked at Tim. “I thought that maybe my dying would have prevented my name from showing up for them. And my teachings-“ he said the word with the inflection that meant he was discussing Assassin Upbringing rather than here- “were as such that most connections, be they familial, friendly, or romantic, were- unnecessary and even dangerous.” It felt tantamount to a betrayal of his younger self to confide anything in Drake like this, but... Damian really was, in many ways, a better and more mature person than the spoiled, aggressive, near sociopathic brat he’d arrived as seven years ago. He still kept the veneer of it up, but he was no longer the boy who needed to fight Drake to prove his worth as Bruce’s son.

Now he just waited for Drake to embarrass himself by passing out after staying up for far too long surviving on caffeine and energy drinks. Much easier.

And Drake didn’t ever seem as eager to blackmail and fight as Damian ever had, so he figured a small amount of vulnerability was a proper thank you for his discretion in finding Marinette.

Tim just took another grimacing sip of the cold coffee. “Man. In that case, even happier for you that you’re shrugging off yet another of the Child Assassin School’s upsetting and frankly terrible rules. Though as for the dying thing, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter as long as you don’t actively die now that you have the mark.”

Damian shrugged. “Irrelevant now, as I will not be dying anytime soon, and neither will she. And she clearly knows that we’re soulmates.”

“Still confused about that,” Tim frowned, looking back at him. “You said there was an electric current between you? Or it felt like that?”

Damian couldn’t stop his hand from twitching, the memory of it clear enough to feel. “Yes. I don’t understand it myself either.”

“I’ll search around. See if anything comes up.” Tim handed him a pile of papers. “Here, the info you wanted on her itinerary, plus things I thought would be pertinent without going over whatever line you seem to have drawn.”

Damian took them, and very begrudgingly said, “Thank you,” before ducking out of the room.

He waited until he was back in his own room before flicking through them, finding the trip schedule and the hotel rooms listed, the names of her class and teachers, and finally a list of her accomplishments and a copy of the paper that had won her class the trip, authored by her.

He read through it, noting the names of her classmates and their own community efforts, and the way her own section in the paper was minuscule compared to both each other persons section and the list of accomplishments Drake had drafted.

One classmate had, if no less written than than any other person, a distinctly different tone to what Marinette had written, and most of her community building and service events were merely echoes or assisting what another person had done. Damian shrugged it off, as there were sometimes people who simply tagged along, and never put their own effort out there. Followers, and not leaders.

All in all, he found himself more intrigued than ever about her.

TAGLIST:

@the-fusionist @rebecarojas07 @lowandco @kotaleartzu @resignedcatservant @alenee13 @mystery-5-5 @ladybug-182 @actual-disaster-human @loysydark @rumbelle18 @magic-miraculous @vixen-uchiha @athena452 @mochegato @ash-amg @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @thestressmademedoit @sassakitty @doriebell @jessigurl-design @emotionalsupportginger @kceedraws @kuroko26 @moonystars14 @toodaloo-kangaroo @myazael @theatreandcomicfreak @mer-mel @dahjokester @northernbluetongue @area51qt @renscorpio @redscarlet95 @razzledazzle247 @rosep16 @tired-butterfly @catthhay @shamefullove @imanerddealwith @chaosace @captainmac6 @bigpicklebananatree @abrx2002 @cici-schnee @multplelifes @shreky-boi @purple-people-eaters-productions @crazylittlemunchkin @weird-pale-blonde-person

[dindjarinbae]

Safe and Sound (Kylo Ren x Reader)

request from @thefandomnetworkingchannel-32 : Can I have a request for Kylo Ren where the reader is dating him and is being trained by him? One day as they are training in the snowy forest, disaster strikes as an avalanche occurs. Kylo was able to escape it while the reader got trapped under the snow. When he goes looking for her, he digs her out just in time as she was running out of oxygen. He than takes her back to base and takes care of her, making sure she was okay.

okay hi, first of all, it took me nearly twenty minutes to decide on this dumb title, and second: i loved this so much. protective and soft kylo>>>>> thank you so much for the request, i hope i didn’t run too far with it. <3 also just a reminder that requests are open and i would adore to get some more! i’ll literally write whatever you want.

 TW: none really

 WC: 2240

“Again.”

You let out an indignant breath and looked at Kylo, sweat beading along your hairline, “What do you mean ‘again’?” You asked and ran the back of your arm over your forehead.

Even though it was freezing and snowing outside, Kylo had insisted that you allow him to take you out to the forest to train. You loved him, you really did, but he was a beast when it came to your training. A few years ago, he had found you on Tatooine on one of his missions, and it almost seemed like fate drew him to you. Life wasn’t easy for you by any means before he had found you. You had made a living on your own working on ship repairs after your parents had died and you had led a fairly lonely life until you met Kylo. He had sensed The Force within you and was quick to pluck you right off of your home planet, offering to teach you how to use the power you hadn’t even known you had. After that, falling in love was inevitable for both of you.

The two of you were practically inseparable, walking the halls of the Starkiller Base hand in hand, and it was learned by each and every man, woman, and stormtrooper that you were not to be touched or disrespected in any way whatsoever. Kylo made that very clear and was sure to exemplify his acts of violence against anyone that even looked at you wrong to everyone as a warning. Though you were capable of taking care of yourself, Kylo seemed to take pride in being your protector, and this certainly reflected in his training with you. He seldom took it easy on you, insisting that you needed to be able to defend yourself if there was ever a situation where you needed to. Thus why he always had you out in the cold of the ice planet that the First Order called their base, training until your legs wanted to give out and your arms wanted to fall off.

“I mean exactly what I said. That wasn’t right, your footing is off. Plus, you almost slipped on the snow. I told you that your balance needs to be better. So do better,” he explained and watched you, motioning for you to lunge at him again as he raised his crackling lightsaber.

You groaned and activated your small training saber and rolled your head a few times before finding your footing to lunge at him. You clenched your jaw and pounced, striking your saber downwards onto his. Expecting him to swing back or even fight you off, you quickly jumped to the side. But instead, all he did was laugh, his snow-dampened hair falling around his face, sticking to his cheeks.

You furrowed your brows together and shook your head, stepping back, “What are you laughing at, Kylo?” You asked, not amused.

He clicked his saber off and hooked it securely on his belt before he shook his head, his laugh fading into a soft chuckle, “You just look unbelievably cute when you’re so determined. I couldn’t help but laugh a bit,” he admitted and placed his gloved hands down on your waist.

Moments like this were rare with Kylo, and you made sure to cherish them, because he wasn’t really a laughing type. Or an emotion-showing type in general. You shivered a bit and took note that you were very underdressed in your simple long sleeved tunic and tight black pants compared to Kylo in his full black outfit and cape. You absentmindedly holstered the saber hilt on your belt and leaned against Kylo, your head resting against his chest, trying to warm your nose and cheeks. He hummed and wrapped his arms around you, drawing you in closer.

You slid your arms behind him and shivered just a bit, trying to warm them in his cape. He shifted just enough so that the thick, dark fabric of his cape draped over your shoulders just slightly and he clicked his tongue, “What have I told you about dressing warmly?” He asked and looked down at you.

You smiled sheepishly and shrugged, “Only that it was important that I did.”

“Mhm. Do you want me to go get your coat for you?” He asked and looked down at you, his pale face showing no signs of the cold. You really wondered if he was human sometimes.

You nodded and he slowly pulled away from you, “Stay put. Work on your balance while I’m gone. I’ll be right back,” he pointed towards the tall metal structure of the base, “Five minutes.” He promised, and you nodded. Kylo was very punctual, so you didn’t fret about him not being back a second later than five minutes.

He kissed your cheek, and you sighed in relief at the feeling of his warm lips against your cold skin. He nodded towards you and began to briskly walk back towards the base, black fabric billowing in his wake.

You looked around yourself at the snowy forest. Snow fell from the sky and there were dead trees which the snow stacked on, weighing the branches down. The fading sunset made the snow up on the large mountain which you stood at the base of glow a soft shade of orange, and all you could do was stare in awe. You turned away from the mountain and reached down to cup some snow in your hand and pack it into a round ball, with the intention of maybe starting a good natured fight with Kylo when he came back.

A loud rumbling from behind you was enough to make you jump a bit and you dropped the half made snowball onto the ground beneath you while you snapped your head over your shoulder just in time to see a wave of snow cascading dangerously fast down the mountain side.

You gasped and began to run away from the impossibly quick river of snow behind you, trying to make your way to the base as fast as you could. You remembered in your panicked state about Kylo telling you of the avalanches that often occurred upon ice planets such as this one and how deadly they were, and the memory alone was enough to make you run faster, your chest burning for a proper breath of air. At this point, the cold was the least of your worries as you trampled your way through the deep snow. And just as you had gotten nearly to the base of the hill that would’ve saved you from the raging avalanche behind you, your boot found no traction on a thick patch of ice beneath your feet, and you fell backwards, your head smacking the ice with a sickening crack, and the last thing you saw was a blanket of white settling down upon you heavily.

—

Kylo carried your coat over his arm as he walked down the main hallway to the airtight metal door outside when he heard yelling behind him. He looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes as a handful of men in uniforms ran towards him, followed by Hux walking haughtily behind them. Once they were a respective seven feet away from Kylo, he raised his eyebrows and nodded towards the door.

“Hux, have your men open this door immediately. y/n is outside waiting for me,” he commanded and Hux’s face flushed itself of all color, and this did not go unnoticed by Kylo, “What? Why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost? Open the door immediately,” He spat snappily and Hux shook his head speechlessly.

“Ren, The eastern peak just had the largest avalanche we’ve seen since landing, there’s- there’s no possible way she is still... out there,” he explained, his tone thick with nervousness.

Kylo’s eyes widened and he dropped the thick black coat that was draped over his arm, “Open the door. Now! And assemble a search team!” He commanded, his hands balling into fists. Fear crackled through his stomach like lightning, the fear that you were hurt, the fear of losing you. Hux complied reluctantly and the door opened, and no sooner as it was it possible to exit, Kylo was out the door, marching through the cold. He walked up over the steep hill prefacing the deep valley at the base of the mountain and he looked down at the deep ocean of snow. You could’ve been absolutely anywhere.

He closed his eyes and tried to reach out to you. He knew you weren’t dead... yet at least. Time wasn’t a luxury he could afford he found out, as he could feel your energy lessen more and more by the second. In a frenzy, he dashed down the hillside and waded out into the deep snow up to his waist, calling your name as if it would help.

He grew more and more desperate to find you as he could feel you barely there in the back of his mind, and he tried to reach out to you with the Force. But this turned out to be useless, because you couldn’t respond. Hux’s men filled the hillside behind him and were making their way through the deep snow as well, searching for you. Kylo walked along the edge of the hillside, and his boot hit something hard.  Anxiously, he reached down and grabbed it, pulling your saber up out of the snow. His heart raced in his chest and he began to dig around himself in every direction that he could. He snarled angrily as the snow seemed to be only regenerating where he dug it away, and he could sense that you had mere seconds left to live. Those seconds seemed to tick down painfully slowly until he saw the bare skin of your hand. He quickly grabbed it and yanked your unconscious body up, gathering you into his arms.

He looked down at you and leaned down to press his ear against your chest, and was relieved when he heard your weak heartbeat. As quickly as Kylo had come down the hillside, he was trudging his way back up. He reached behind himself and yanked his cape away from his tunic and he draped it over your body as he walked inside of the base, paying no mind to the bewildered General Hux calling for his men to get back inside of the base.

Kylo practically ran with you through the winding halls to the infirmary, clutching your body close to his chest, his hair a soaking mess on his head. He walked into the medbay and he angrily grunted, “Get her help! Now! She’s dying!” He yelled and a few medics scuttled toward him as he laid you down on a table. He didn’t move once as they worked to get you hooked up to oxygen and cut your cold, wet clothes away from your body. He slapped their hands away from you as they tried to redress you, and insisted that he could do it himself, muttering something about no one else laying their hands on you when you were unclothed.

He was uncharacteristically gentle as he slid the warm, dry, loose fitting clothes on your body, and once you were clothed, he sat down by your bedside and held your hand gently with one of his hands, using the other to carefully push your wet hair away from your forehead, sighing, “My sweet girl, I’m sorry,” he mumbled and leaned over your bed to place a small kiss to your temple. He got up and located a blanket before returning to you and laying it out across your body. He stayed by your bedside through the night, and it wasn’t until morning that you were able to find yourself slowly entering consciousness.

Kylo had stayed awake all night watching you, keeping you warm, keeping your hair away from your face, and when your eyelids fluttered open, he let out a long sigh of relief.

“Kylo? Where are we?” You asked hoarsely and he frowned, shaking his head.

“Don’t speak. Just rest please. You’re at the medbay because you got caught up in an avalanche,” he explained and squeezed your hand gently, “I should’ve stayed out there with you. I’m so sorry,” he breathed and frowned, regret painting his pale face.

You shook your head weakly and chuckled, “No, it was my fault. You said it yourself, my balance needs to be better,” you said playfully, trying to get him to crack at least a small smile.

He scoffed and shook his head, “Oh, shut up,” he dismissed and turned his head away, but he certainly wasn’t angry.

“I mean, I guess it doesn’t matter though, because as long as I’ve got you, I’m as good as immortal,” you teased and squeezed his hand a few times.

He looked back at you and rolled his eyes, leaning down to peck your lips, “Something like that,” he muttered and rested his forehead against yours, “why don’t we train inside next time, yeah?” He asked and pulled away to look down at you.

You nodded and smiled up at him, “And it only took an avalanche for you to finally let me train somewhere other than a snowy forest,” you laughed.

And as Kylo turned his head, you swore you saw the smallest smile begin to form on his lips.

[aggressive-positivity-network]

General Demo in a relationship Headcanons?

Demo in a Relationship

Headcanons

Meeting for the first time:

Probably either at a pub or some sort of restaurant that serves drinks.

He sees a person put something in your drink, and he absolutely loses it. He’s not even drunk (bonus headcanon: he only gets himself drunk if he’s tired or upset) but he just chews the guy out. Tears him a new one.

“YA CAN’T FIND A LASS WITH THAT WORMTOOTH SMILE ‘A YOURS, SO YA DECIDE TA GET ONE ALL DRUGGED UP AND DRAG HER HOME LIKE THE FAE?! YOU’RE GONNA BE THE ONE STUMBLIN’ AROUND ONCE I GET AHOLD OF YA!”

He starts beating the guy up, and invites you to join him. You accept, fists swinging. The manager and bartender say nothing, since they are all very good friends and they watched the whole thing unfold. However, they had to “kick” Demo and you out, since to technically caused trouble on the property. However, they were very nice about it and even got you a free drink to replace the tainted one.

Demo introduces himself and asks if you’d like some company on the way home, since it was getting late. You say yes, and he ends up sleeping on your couch. You don’t mind, and he even calls you that next afternoon to thank you and ask if you’d like to go to dinner as payment.

At first you refuse, because it was no trouble at all, but then realize that this is Demo asking for a date. You set the time, ask off work, and get yourself ready.

First date:

He’s the kind of person to just talk about anything and everything when he’s nervous. And he is certainly nervous on this date.

He’s wearing his normal clothes plus a bow tie and sans his beanie. He still has it in his pocket though - for luck.

He picks a seafood restaurant next to a pier, after making sure that you were a fan of seafood, of course.

The people at this restaurant know him too, and the waitstaff tease him about having a date. He smacks them on the shoulder and says something between his teeth, and they walk away, still laughing.

After the meal, which was comped because of the “entertainment,” they say Demo provided them with, you both walk to the edge of the pier and look at the stars. However, rather than ecstatic, you feel nauseous. The shrimp must have been bad...

You finally puke off the edge of the pier, and Demo pats your back and guides you back to the car, even offering to carry you. He apologizes profusely, and says that he will make sure it never happens again.

You wait in the car while he goes in the restaurant. He comes back with a two-liter bottle of ginger ale, a straw, and a huge gash on his knuckle that was bound up with a washcloth.

When you ask about it, he says not to worry about it and that he took care of it. You decide not to press him.

Romance beginning:

He asks you out on a park bench, on your fourth or fifth date.

“Er...I know we’ve not know each other long...but I think you’re a real bonny lass, y’know? Perhaps we can...well, I can be your lad?”

At first you don’t get it, and ask if he is asking to marry you. He stumbles and sputters.

“N-no, lass, we’re just kids...I meant...y’know...boyfriend and girlfriend.”

You smile and kiss him on the tip of his nose, which causes him to stammer even more. He didn’t think he would get this far. Embarrassed, he pulls his beanie over his eyes, his usually dark cheeks turning even darker.

You eventually say yes, but you had to wait for Demo to lift his head up from his hands.

Jealousy:

Demo doesn’t get very jealous - he has friends that are girls AND boys, so shooing other boys away doesn’t make much sense to him.

Sometimes he jokes about your guy friends, saying, “What, are ye gonna up and leave me for tall, blonde, ‘n handsome over there?”

But you know full well that he trusts you, and that he knows you can hold your own.

Even if someone flirts with you while you’re out somewhere, he’s relatively civil, even friendly.

“Aye, sorry lad, this one’s taken. Better luck next time.”

There was one time when a guy pushed it way to far.

You two were at the mall - you were looking for a certain figurine of your favorite character, and he was looking for a few...undisclosed items.

A guy asked if you were single, you say no and pointed to Demo, who said the same cheery spiel he always did.

“Huh...though he was your father or somethin’. You sure you should be with a guy that old? He’ll die before you’re in your prime.”

Demo had mellowed out, especially since he was with you, so he just shrugged.

“It’s ma beard. Adds ten years on me.”

“Shows every bit of it, huh?”

Demo begins to look physically frustrated, so you jerk your head, to signal that it was about time to leave the situation.

You guys try to leave, but the guys follow you, continuing to comment about how old Demo is for you.

Finally, the guy says, “I mean, if you guys wanted a threesome, maybe...”

Demo swirls around and punches him in the face, not realizing he still had a brass knuckle he had bought still on his fist. The guy’s nose is broken, and his left eye is bleeding.

The guy tried to sue, but because of Demo’s near immunity (the mercs have great resources), he wasn’t charged. The guy, however, was charged with harassment.

Introduction to the Mercs:

Instead of meeting Demo’s family, you meet his coworkers, which you find a little strange. Demo brushes it off by saying that these people were pretty much his family.

You enter the base’s lobby, and the first thing that you see is a tall, thin man pointing a revolver at you.

“Who are you, and whom do you work for? I’ll gladly get rid of a weak link.”

You, being a detective, cooly draw out your own gun before Demo walks in. He’s absolutely horrified.

“I told ya she was comin’, didn’t I? Ya don’t have ta give her the third degree, Spy!”

Spy raises his eyebrows, checks his watch, and puts his revolver away. “You are a bit early, oui?”

“By five bloody minutes!”

“You can never be too careful, mon ami. My deepest apologies, mademoiselle...”

Spy takes your hand and starts to kiss it, but then just touches it lightly with his forehead for a few seconds.

The other mercs trickle in, starting with Scout.

“Hey, so this is the broad you’ve been talkin’ about, huh?”

He takes a closer look at you, then grins.

“She doesn’t have a little sister, does she?”

Demo smacks Scout in the back of the head playfully. “She’d be out of your league even if she was just half as beautiful.”

“Aw, c’mon, who can resist this?” he says, gesturing to his face and winking at you.

Engineer and Heavy are next.

Engineer shakes your hand and takes off his building hat.

Heavy tries to get down to your level. “She is...small...” He glances at the gun, which is still in your hand, and laughs a booming laugh. “But she is fierce!” He glances at Demo. “Be careful with this one.”

By the time Sniper walks in, you’re wondering how many there are.

Sniper tips his hat so far down that is covers his eyes. “G’day.”

Soldier and Pyro come in together, and Soldier salutes and says, “Welcome to the ranks, maggot!”

Pyro, on the other hand, runs up and hugs you, almost lifting you completely off the ground. You’ve seen a few hazmat suits, but you’re still a little unnerved.

Finally, Medic walks in, Archimedes still on his finger.

“Ach, vhy are there alvays visitors during feeding time...?”

Six or seven doves soon follow, landing pretty much anywhere they can. In fact, one of them lands on you. It startles you a bit, but you are soon petting it’s head. Medic gently retrieves it from you.

Instead of greeting you, he looks you up and down.

“Five foot seven - a bit tall for a woman - Indian descent, I’m sure. But...there is something else...ah! Yes! African American! Your hair is straightened, but has that same texture that is common in that race. About thirty years of age. And...”

He looks at your feet.

“...slightly pigeon-toed.”

You blink, then start putting your hair in a ponytail.

“Six feet. Pure German descent. Mid-forties. Ambidextrous, though you lean more towards your right, ‘cause your callouses are bigger on your right hand. May or may not be sociopathic, since you studied everyone’s faces and matched their expressions before you talked to me. And...do you usually wear gloves?”

Medic nods, his eyes wide and his mouth on the verge of a smile. He looks at Demo, then back at you.

“God help you if you decide to cheat.”

Demo shakes his head. “I would never.”

That’s about all I have for you folks! If this is popular enough, I might make a part two!

But hey, my TF2 headcanons are always open!

[niksixx]

Plus One

Welcome to part 5 of Plus One. We are approaching the end of this mini fic, but do not worry my loves. We still have a few parts left. I hope you enjoy part 5, and please remember to leave comments, reblog, and add tags. It motivates me to continue writing for you all. 💜

Note: Just a reminder, though this fic may seem fast, it takes place over the course of a few months!! 

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*Pia’s POV*

Eight bright, colorful beanbags are scattered around the floor in a private room at the back end of the library. It’s quiet, far away from small children who squeal excitedly when they spot their favorite comic book and a good distance away from the college students who gather at the old wooden tables to recite chemistry flashcards in one big study group.

Black coffee and burnt wood is the signature smell of the book club room. Only a few windows are open, allowing just a bit of sunshine and breeze to fill the room. The aura is comforting.

“Okay, everyone,” I say, setting the book in my lap. I believe The Catcher in the Rye is a classic, but various opinions, both positive and negative, have been directed toward the book over the years. Romance is the genre I’ve always been drawn to, fiction or nonfiction, but I can certainly appreciate a coming-of-age novel. “How did we feel about the story?”

Margaret, an elderly woman with curly gray hair and silver glasses, raises her hand timidly. It’s the first time she has volunteered to speak since the start of our club. I give her an encouraging smile, nodding. “I enjoyed it very much, though it was slow at times.”

A small contribution, but a contribution nonetheless. “Thank you Margaret. Would anyone else like to share?”

Shayne, a third-year college student, wiggles his fingers and clears his throat. “I would.” He snaps the book shut with one hand. “The book itself is enjoyable. There’s a lot of important themes that are entwined in the storyline. But Holden, and let me be clear, I feel terrible for saying this about a sixteen-year-old, was insufferable.”

“I thought I was the only one who thought so!” Stacy chirps from her beanbag. The thirty-year old mother of two crosses her ankles, drumming her fingers on the spine of her novel. “I was under the impression that Holden believed he was better than everyone else. His personality alone was enough to make me despise the book and it’s a shame. I wanted to love it.”

“That’s an interesting point, Stacy.” Setting my book on the ground, I adjust my legs deeper into the beanbag while the rest of the book club eagerly sits forward, awaiting my response. “And this is why I love reading so much. Whether the story is true or not, we know Holden Caulfield is not a real person, though there have been assumptions that J.D. Salinger modeled Holden after himself. Stacy, you said that Holden’s personality gave you enough reason to not enjoy the book. We certainly have to appreciate Salinger’s talent as an author. He was able to create a character that made you feel such strong emotions.” The club nods in agreement before I continue. “Now Shayne, you mentioned themes. Explain a bit more for me.”

“Gladly,” he answers eagerly. “Innocence. It’s the main theme. Holden, for lack of a better term, is obsessed with the preservation of childhood innocence. I do think that’s admirable, and while he was intolerable in my opinion, I can understand his desire to conserve one’s purity.”

“I assume there’s going to be a but in your next statement,” Charlie pipes up with a chuckle. The forty-seven year old retired firefighter wears a kind smile on his face.

“But,” Shayne smirks and holds up a finger. “Holden is one big contradiction, and here’s why. We know how much Holden hated the adult world and it’s “phoniness”. It’s the whole reason he wanted to preserve innocence wherever he could. Holden himself was a phony, a fake. He condemns adulthood but is seemingly unaware of his own phoniness. I now hate this word, by the way.”

A collective chuckle sounds in the room. I shake my head but can’t help the growing smile. The book club has been the highlight of my week so far.

“Anyway,” Shayne continues. “He’s deceptive and a compulsive liar. Holden is the epitome of what he hates.”

“That is a fantastic observation, Shayne, and thank you for sharing.” He bows dramatically before slinking back deeper into the beanbag. “Before we conclude our meeting and I introduce our new book, I have a question. Does anyone know why Holden’s name is symbolic to the story?”

I can see the wheels turning in their brains, and for a moment I think I’ve stumped them. Charlie looks like he wants to answer, but nothing comes out of his mouth. I take the chance to speak up. “First, does anyone know what a caul is?”

Stacy’s hand shoots up in the air. “I think I learned about this in one of my birthing classes but forgive me if I’m wrong. But isn’t the caul a part of the amnion that protects an unborn baby? Near the head, right?”

I snap my finger and point to Stacy excitedly. “Yes! And what does the name Holden sound like?”

“Holden...hold...en...hold...hold on?” Charlie asks skeptically.

“Exactly right,” I grin proudly. “Put it all together.”

“Oh my gosh,” Margaret says softly. Everyone turns toward the older woman. “In the book there was mention of Holden imagining children frolicking in a rye field. I just realized it now. He’s the catcher in the rye field, protecting the children. Holden Caulfield. Hold on to childhood innocence.”

I grin wildly, clapping along with the rest of the book club members. “Incredible, Margaret. You’re exactly right.”

“So, what’s our next book?” Shayne asks, hands tapping his thighs. “I’m feeling a mystery book.”

“Or Sci-Fi,” Charlie answers.

“Oooo, Sci-Fi,” Shayne murmurs excitedly.

“Neither,” I say, giggling at their frowns. From my purse, I pull out a purple paperback book and show it to the group. “Historical fiction mixed with romance. Our next book is The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. I’ve never heard of it, so I’m sure you haven’t either. It’s about the same length as The Catcher in the Rye, maybe only a few pages more. Let’s all try to read the first five chapters and we’ll meet again next week.”

Stacy, Charlie, and Margaret bid farewell. Shayne stays back with me, shooting me a smirk as I gather my belongings. “Another romance novel, huh? Something you’d like to share with the class? Maybe his name?”

A slow smile spreads across my lips. I sling my purse over my shoulder, clamping a hand down on Shayne’s. “He’s a dream, Shayne. I’ve known him forever, but it’s finally official,” Two months ago, I used to cringe on the word official when it wasn’t. It still isn’t, but something between us feels different, feels real. The more I’m with him, the more I don’t want to pretend.

Shayne slings an arm around my shoulder, leading me out of the room. He’s had his fair share of relationship issues as well, but at twenty-one, he’s still young. “I’m glad one of us isn’t having boy trouble. Philip called me the other day, said he wants to get back together.”

“Are you going to?”

Shayne makes a face, opening the front door of the library. He scoots aside, letting me walk first. “Hell no, Sweets. He was a terrible boyfriend,” Shayne considers for a moment. “At least the sex was good. You think he’d settle for friends with benefits?”

I laugh heartily, pushing Shayne’s shoulder. “That’s a recipe for disaster, my friend. You want my advice? Spend some time on yourself. Find out what you really want in life.”

I head off to my car, Shayne walking the opposite way to his. Before I can slide into the seat, Shayne calls out to me. “Is he the one?”

I don’t have to think about it. It comes out naturally. “Without a doubt.”

~~~

Janielle has outdone herself, but I never expected anything less. Desserts are on every counter in her kitchen, from cupcakes to brownies and pastries. Outside on the back deck, a long white table is filled from end to end with finger foods and appetizers. With a beer in his hand, Dominic flips burgers expertly at the grill, shooting his wife a goofy grin when she utters a stern ‘be careful’. The rest of the adults gather on the patio, laughing and drinking, while the kids swim excitedly in the pool.

It’s the hottest day in August so far, and I can’t tell if my cheeks are red from the heat or from my constant ogling of Nikki’s shirtless chest. I watch from the deck as Nikki, Vince, and Amanda clink their bottles together and down their drinks. Nikki wins, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically, before turning his head to shoot me a wink. I laugh and shake my head, holding up my glass of wine that is still half full.

“So, you and Sixx,” My laughter is cut off by Dom, whose eyes twinkle with the same amusement present in his voice. “How about that?”

My stomach flips just at the mention of Nikki. “Going on almost four months,” I answer proudly, swirling the wine in my glass. “We’ve got nothing on you and Janielle, though.”

Dom smirks, carefully plating more burgers. I take the plate from him, and he nods in thanks. “Hey, not everyone knows who they’re going to marry at sixteen years old.”

This time, my heart beats faster just at the brief mention of marriage. I try not to let myself think of a long-term commitment with Nikki just yet. To everyone else, we’ve been official for a few months. But to myself and Nikki, we’re just two best friends playing a role.

“It’s too early to talk about marriage just yet,” I reply with a soft grin.

“But it’s a possibility in the future, yes?” Dom asks, stacking the last few burgers on the plate.

All I can answer with is a subtle nod just before I feel an arm snake around my waist. I crane my neck to glance up at Nikki just as his lips press a kiss to my jaw. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dom’s lazy smile and it puts me at ease knowing that Nikki and I have done our job at convincing everyone that what’s between us is true.

“Hi gorgeous,” Nikki greets breathily. “You doing okay?”

“Never better,” I answer truthfully, leaning back into his chest. I hand off the plate of burgers to Dom before directing my attention back to Nikki. “Are you?”

Nikki nods, arm tightening around my waist. “I’m perfect.” He holds up three empty beer bottles. “Come with me?”

I nod and take his hand, letting him lead me into the kitchen. While Nikki rummages through Janielle’s fridge for more beer, I steal a cannoli from the dessert tray, biting into the sweet cream.

“I’m having so much fun with you,” I blurt out honestly, licking the cream from my lips.

For a brief second, something flashes across Nikki’s face, almost as if my statement mimicked a bitter taste in his mouth. It’s gone just as fast as it came, replaced by an easy smile. “I am too, P.”

I bite my lip as Nikki opens the three bottles, eyes lingering on his tattooed arms. He catches me, smirking. “Pretty girl, you’re not exactly trying to hide it, you know.”

I blush, looking away like I always do when a compliment from Nikki is directed my way. And because I look away, I miss Nikki freeze in alarm, eyes wide, studying me.

When I turn back around, I notice his lips are in a thin line, jaw clenched ever so slightly. “P, I think we need to talk about something.”

His voice is serious, more serious than it’s ever been, and momentarily I fear the worst. Nikki’s fingers fidget nervously, and I can tell whatever is on his mind has been there for quite some time. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” It’s not a convincing answer, but I don’t say anything as he continues. “It’s more of a question, actually.” His hands fall at his side as he steps forward, exhaling a strangled breath. “Are we...what we’re doing…” His voice goes low. “We’re still pretending, right?”

There’s a lump forming in my throat, and I try my best to speak around it without giving off the impression that I’m either extremely hopeful he wants to make this real, or going to start crying because he wants to call everything off. “Yeah. Unless…unless you don’t want to pretend--.”

“No, no,” He says all too quickly, hands skimming my arms. “I like pretending. Pretending is good, safe. I just...wanted to make sure we’re still on the same page.” He grabs my hands, pressing a gentle kiss to each, before grabbing the bottles from the counter.

And as he leaves Janielle’s kitchen with a smile, I’m left standing alone and more confused than I’ve ever been.