#she just asks me to carry on the lesson for 30 minutes after it ends

[nameforthemain]

It's really hard to annoy me but my tutee is actually getting on my last nerve

[pennyblossom-meta]

The Ides of April, upcoming chapter 02: pt 02

Semi-draft mode, let me know if L's characterization seems off. Will eventually add all parts into a long chapter at AO3.

3564 words.

--

April 7, 2004

There were whispers around campus in those first few days, the kind that became impossible to escape even the ears of someone like Anna. 

It was mid-afternoon when she left the Engineering building, face flushed and hair swaying in the wind as she made her way down the back stairs rather than the front, carrying an old leather suitcase in hand. It was rather heavy; originally she had applied a temporary, albeit lesser version of the Feather-light charm to keep it manageable, though hours later it was wearing off. Had she been asked, Anna would’ve replied that the blasted thing was in mint condition. Time wears all things down, however; the surface layer had started to peel off somewhat, having turned brittle and dry with age; there was a bit of rust around the lock and the hinges screeched when she opened it over the flimsy side; and though there was some staining here and there, otherwise it wasn’t too shabby. 

It did, however, stand out. 

Nothing had prepared Anna for the bemused stares and murmurs in her first programming class. Having gotten lost in the maze that formed the several departments on campus she arrived a few minutes late to the start of the lesson, quietly looking for a seat as a heavy silence fell upon her arrival. She found one at the farthest workstation from the classroom door and sat down, surrounded by a majority of wide-eyed male students who made no effort to hide their staring. Unsettled, she placed her suitcase on the table and then folded her hands over her lap, sitting very straight as she fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. Even the tenured professor, a middle aged man in a dark suit, pulled down his glasses and stared at her, perplexed. 

Shifting awkwardly in her seat, Anna gave the class a curt wave and a tight lipped smile. When this didn’t break the silence, she decided to show her dedication towards academic pursuits by taking out her own technology based notepad. Under the scrutiny of at least 30 pairs of eyes, her sweaty hands struggled with the lock on the suitcase for a few unnerving seconds before she took out a huge, foldable portable computer, which she had borrowed at the behest of the kindly fellow running the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. 

Satisfied, Anna smiled to herself, placing the computer on the table. She unfolded it, watching the small square in the middle light up and display a few words of welcome. Once she looked up again, all hell broke loose.

Class had ended then and there, with the professor sitting down heavily with his head in his hands after coming over to tell her something in unintelligible English. Anna stared up at the man, slack jawed and bewildered, as he gesticulated at her and then wildly at the door before turning around in defeat like a perfect symbol of martyrdom. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the students had gotten up from their seats and circled her, pointing and talking in excited whispers as if she were a Demiguise in a cage; she identified the words ‘baka’ and ‘sugoi’ being repeated often, though she was too overwhelmed to ask for clarifications. 

She was eventually escorted out by a member of the department’s support staff amidst a round of applause — a short, gangly fellow dressed in a blue uniform, whom she had seen trimming the bushes and tending to the bins across campus. He hadn’t given her time to properly close her suitcase either; in a polite yet firm manner, he ushered her out of the classroom speaking very fast Japanese despite her protests, and then led her along a labyrinth of hallways before practically pushing her out the back door. 

“Well, I never! —”

Appalled, Anna turned around just in time to see the door get closed shut with a loud 'click'. Her face felt like it was on fire.

What in Merlin's name had just happened? 

Mustering what little was left of her dignity, Anna stood a little straighter as she gathered her bearings. She clenched her jaw and gripped the handle on the suitcase tightly until her knuckles turned white, taking a few wobbly steps forward in what she reckoned was the correct path towards the cafeteria. 

She swallowed hard, eyes reddening as she held back tears.

As Anna dragged her feet through the beaten paths and roundabout walkways between department buildings, she kept replaying the past half hour in her mind; she had committed some sort of social faux-pas, for certain. Whatever it was, she’d need to figure out how to avoid it next time. Perhaps a re-read of the Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles would shed some light into it — although she could always ask her little group. Rumours about the uncultured foreigner who got kicked out of class should be flying by the time she ordered a piece of shortcake. 

Oh, what she wouldn’t do for the ability of precognitive sight! She would’ve never stepped foot in that class.

The birds chirped, hidden in the blooming greenery above. With heavy steps, Anna trudged through the cherry blossom road, feeling a tad lightheaded. Petals drifted down in a gentle sway, but the air felt somewhat heavy in her shame.

Only there was a grease that lingered with every step she took, not unlike the opening ceremony — though much less intense. Like a distinct smell that filled her nostrils. Indeed, her nose felt a little stuffy but it was not from congestion. Agitated, she whirled, looking around aimlessly, searching for something, anything, amongst the passersby, between the trees, until her gaze landed on a bench nearby and she locked eyes with a most undesirable individual wolfing down a muffin —

And then she felt a sudden jolt of anxiety running through her body like a shiver. Startled, she jumped as her suitcase opened and the computer fell on the ground with a loud crash. The case followed suit as if out of spite, the cold iron twisting her fingers as it painfully slid off her hand. 

“Ouch, blasted — galloping gargoyles,” Anna hissed under her breath. People were staring, a mockful kind of pity that bordered on schadenfreude. She closed her eyes for what felt like an eternity, taking a deep breath, lips pursed in a grimace, pinching the bridge of her nose. When she dared to look at the damage, she was instead struck by a familiar figure hunched awkwardly, wide eyes darting back and forth between her face and the ground. 

She leaned back at once, sucking in a breath. 

“You’ve dropped a perfect replica of the 1989 Macintosh Portable,” the young man told her in a soft-spoken mutter, biting the nail on his thumb as he considered her. He spoke in flawless English, no hint of an accent. “Also known as the ‘Luggable’ in some circles. There are better options for coursework.”

Anna’s brows furrowed, but she said nothing. With her right hand, she reached for her left forearm to feel up the comforting, hidden contours of her wand’s handle as the words for a Bat-Bogey hex rose in her throat. However, the gesture itself would not go unnoticed — despite her attempts at subtlety. 

“It weighs approximately 16 lbs or 7.3 kilograms, depending on your preferred measurement unit. That should explain why your suitcase suddenly gave out. The pain in your arm would be a consequence of continuous muscle straining.”

Her eyebrows shot up. She looked at the awkward man up and down, feeling her jaw clench with an ill-concealed grimace as her brain worked furiously. Deep shadows that suggested some kind of chronic insomnia. Beaten sneakers. Worn jeans. A wrinkled white cotton shirt. The same outfit from not two days ago. 

“Are you quite well?” she blurted out stupidly. 

“Yes,” he said, after a pause. Then with a long, pale finger, he pointed at something close to her feet: “There’s a set of quills all over the ground.”

Blinking, Anna’s eyes snapped to the half-dozen pheasant and swan quills scattered over books, the loose sheets of paper and colourful inkpots. One of the latter had broken, spilling bright purple ink across the grey stone mosaic and producing a long blotch over the cover of a notebook. The laptop was broken in different places and a few of the pieces stuck out from the crevices, like smashed cogs from a very complex watch. It was a mess. Pity she’d have to wait until getting home to repair it.

Anna turned towards the young man with a tight-lipped smile but his face was utterly blank. Gulping, still indisposed, she dropped to her knees and started gathering her belongings, quickly shoving everything back into the suitcase without a care. The side of her pinky and ring fingers became stained in slick purple, prompting her to quickly scrub off the excess ink on the ground but to little avail; biting her lip in annoyance, Anna ignored how she was leaving fading blots here and there, and continued cleaning up. A simple spell later on would take care of it.

To her surprise, the man followed suit; from the side of her eye she saw him lower his body in such a way that he was not quite kneeling but rather perched like an oversized bird of prey, following her every move with unabashed interest. She noticed the front of his battered sneakers moved under the cloth, as if he was wiggling his toes inside in expectation. There were people around, shooting them curious glances and the last thing she wanted was to add (more) kindling to this particular fire.

Anna felt a faint pain behind her eye, like a pinprick; she used two fingers to apply pressure on her right temple, accidentally leaving a small smear right above her eyebrow. Fortunately, it hadn’t yet devolved into a migraine. Yet.

“I’m sure I can manage so you’re welcome to leave now,” she said in a faux pleasant tone while picking up shards of glass off the ground, careful not to cut her fingertips. She could smell him in this short distance, a strong scent of clean fabric that seemed at odds with his overall shabby appearance. 

“Indeed,” he agreed, not moving a muscle. A minute later, he murmured: "You're carrying art supplies and a book on Python for beginners, the Japanese version."

She avoided his gaze. "Yeah, those were mandatory for class."

"They're also for different courses."

Anna tensed, biting back a scathing remark. This seemed like the beginning of a covert interrogation. Slowly, to give herself time to think, she picked up the broken laptop battery and used the flat side to sweep a few of the smaller pieces over a sheet of paper. She attempted to change the subject: “Say, weren’t you with that kind gentleman the other night in Ginza?”

For some reason he ignored her question entirely and started tapping his thumb against his lips. “You left a yellow umbrella behind.”

“Right,” she replied, feeling her heart thump in her chest. “But I do owe your friend money from the takeaway —” 

“Yes, an exact amount of 1600 yen.”

“— and as charitable as he was, I should hate to be in his debt,” she finished, a tad more forceful than she intended. The direct, unblinking stare was unnerving her.

“It would be unnecessary to return the value — whether in full or even partially,” the young man replied, as a breeze caused a few strands of dark hair to brush against his jaw. Still, he wouldn’t make any mention of moving away from her.

Anna paused her cleaning to look him warily in the eye. “I’d still like to pay him back. Here,” she said as gently as she could muster, rummaging inside the breast pocket in her coat. She took out a few coins and banknotes from inside a small yellow pouch. “This should be enough, I hope.”

“That’s three times the amount you owe,” he said, looking strangely disappointed as he glanced at the coins. On her end Anna frowned, trying to check the numbers. “But as I said, it would be quite unnecessary to insist further — not to mention pointless. Think nothing of it.”

She pursed her lips. “While I appreciate how considerate you’re being, I simply cannot accept —”

Without warning, the young man extended a hand towards the suitcase and picked up a pheasant quill between his index finger and thumb, raising it up slightly above his head. Anna followed the gesture with her eyes; the feather seemed to sparkle under the sunlight, an iridescent sheen along smooth vanes.

The utter nerve!

She’d had enough. As waves of red hot aggravation spread inside her chest, the remaining inkpots cracked loudly inside the open suitcase, spilling all over the lining. Swift as a Seeker, Anna took the chance to snatch the quill back, taking advantage of the young man’s momentary distraction as his wide-eyed gaze shifted towards the suitcase in bafflement. She dropped the item into the case and closed the top and then the clasps, which fell into place with an irritated ‘click’ that reflected her own mood. 

Huffing, she picked up her suitcase and pulled herself up. Much to her chagrin, the Feather-light charm had waned off almost entirely and she couldn’t help but to favour her left side due to the excess weight. The pinpricks in her head worsened slightly, but she stood her ground.

Her undesirable shadow followed as expected; the young man pulled himself up, all long limbs and vacant stares, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. Giving him the stink eye, Anna briefly regretted not having pushed him onto the ground and walked away so she could enjoy polite company elsewhere. She shook her head imperceptibly, chasing away the thought — and the pain. It occurred to her that she might also be amiss in matters of etiquette, anxious as she was over the incident in class, among other matters —

Just as she was contemplating some keen choice words, Anna’s phone rang in what would be the first call she had ever received. 

It was Sarah.

“You’ll want to press the key with the green icon,” he muttered after a pause, watching Anna fumble miserably with her flip-phone.

“I don’t see a bloody key, the buttons on this fellytone aren’t working as they should. Pants and damnation,” she hissed, mashing several buttons together as the blasted device kept ringing. 

“Fellytone,” the young man repeated blankly, once again nibbling on his thumbnail. “A key is a button; look for the green icon on the right side next to the wheel, then press it. Do not press any other keys while you attempt this action.”

“Don’t be silly, that can’t be it. I’m positive that — oh?” Her eyes lit up as she heard a voice from within the device calling her name. “Hello, this is Anna from Anna’s phone,” she said as if out of breath — and much louder than her usual mellow tone, while staring at the name on the screen.

Next to Anna, the young man observed her as if she were from a different species. Once again, people were sending them odd glances; some shook their heads in disapproval.

“Why are you yelling? Hello?”

“Hello?”

“Are you okay? I can see you from over here, we’re with Yasunaga near the tennis court; wave if you need me to come over —”

“Why? What’s wrong?” 

Anna held the phone at an angle where she could still see the screen from the corner of her eye but which was closer to her right ear. 

“Do you know who’s that guy you’re with?” Anna nodded vigorously, narrowing her eyes towards the individual in question. He stared back, nonplussed, but almost certainly listening to every word. “That’s Hideki Ryuga, he’s one of the two geniuses who got top scores at the exams this year. Is he bothering you? People have been saying he’s really weird and a bit of a creep, so be careful — holler if you need me, I’ll run over to you asap —”

Taking a couple of steps away from the awkward young man, — this Hideki Ryuga — Anna looked over in the direction of the tennis court, seeing Sarah wave at her. She waved back with her phone in hand, almost dropping it to the ground.

“Don’t bring me a sapling, I can’t see how it would help — but I’ll come to you in a jiffy. Right. Be there in a few.”

Sarah chuckled. “A.S.A.P., Anna. It means ‘as soon possible’. And please stop shouting into the speaker; you’ll make me go deaf 30 years too soon. See ya.”

She hung up.

“Well, goodness me,” she muttered, closing the phone with a dry ‘click’. With slightly shaking hands, she placed it inside her coat pocket again. “Awful sorry about that, but — well, anyhow. Need to dash. We’ve had an…interesting chat. That’s definitely a word.”

Ryuga seemed to look somewhere over her shoulder. Anna closed her eyes tightly for a few seconds, nose scrunched up in a painful grimace. The air felt greasier than ever.

“You’re unwell,” he said, looking at her with an odd expression. She didn’t like it one bit.

Anna managed a half smile. “Just a trick of the light. Now, off I pop. Oh! And take this; please make sure to give it to your friend, and tell him I send my best. Cheers.”

“As I explained before —”

Shoving a handful of banknotes into Ryuga’s free hand as he momentarily removed his thumb from his mouth with a pop, Anna picked up her suitcase and rushed over into Sarah’s direction. She didn’t look back, instead focusing on the group ahead of her; some people she knew, others were known to her but mere passing acquaintances that she had never spoken more than a few words to. However, she couldn’t help but to notice that a girl was glaring at her from behind large round glasses.

“Everything cool?” Sarah asked, patting the seat next to her once Anna dropped her suitcase to the ground with a sigh.

“Need your help, please and thank you,” she said, swaying on the balls of her feet. “Reckon I just committed a rather abysmal social faux pas in one of my first classes. Got kicked out and everything,” the last part she added in almost a whisper, cupping a hand next to Sarah’s ear to stress the need for secrecy.

Sarah got up immediately. “Shit. A social what? Doesn’t matter — just tell me everything. We’ll fix it. Let’s go grab a bite,” she said, picking up her backpack after wishing her goodbyes to the others. Once they were a fair distance away, she added: “Kyoko’s real jealous of you, apparently. Wouldn’t stop going on about Ryuga and how he was talking to you. I think I made things worse when I called you and said he was a weirdo and a creep.”

“Brilliant,” Anna sighed. The pain was fortunately subsiding by the time they climbed the steps to the cafeteria, the air blissfully soft in her nostrils as she took a deep breath. “Can’t say he was that awful, just a tad awkward. Didn’t make much of a first impression,” she switched her case to her right hand in order to balance the weight. The charm had faded entirely. “Sticks out like a sore thumb.” 

“Yeah, well, she’s down bad. Can’t understand why, but whatever floats her boat. Saw the guy from across a crowded room and all, just like in your regular rom-com.”

“Right,” Anna squinted at the term rom-com. “He was strangely attentive, though. Beneath all that…sticking out. Verbal and visual.”

“Let’s keep this Ryuga talk under the old Stetson for now, the poor girl might have a heart attack if she knows we’re talking about her crush,” Sarah said, looking around for a free table at the back.

“Why do I feel like I just dodged a bludger?” Anna mumbled, looking over at the window; there was a commotion near the tennis court, with a significant crowd gathering nearby.

“A what — a blugger? Do you mean a bullet?” Sarah asked, distracted, brows furrowed as she navigated around a pillar.

“Yes, exactly,” Anna agreed quickly, taking the cue. “Today’s been a lot, seems like I’m forgetting my words.”

Sarah made a face. “Bah. Anyway,” they sat down at a corner table, away from prying eyes. “I’m guessing whatever the hell happened has to do with that thing you’re carrying. Looks like a piece of luggage from Victorian London.”

“It’s a perfectly suitable carry-on,” Anna rebuked good-naturedly, though eyeing the container Sarah pulled out of her backpack with a disapproving look.

“Sweet rosé?” Sarah offered.

Anna rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. I’m not too keen on bathwater.”

“I thought you didn’t drink at all.”

“I don’t, but Millie insists I need to try at least two different types of alcoholic beverages per year to keep my palate sharp,” she said, inspecting her nails. “Of course, I only allow myself to be persuaded because I know she wants company when going on a binge. It’s good for morale, you see. ”

“Of course,” Sarah agreed, taking a chug off her container. “So, what happened?”

Anna tried to explain.

Sarah spat out her drink and then burst out laughing.

[wordsvomit101]

9. Lunchbreak and music

(1 year after the death of Mr and Mrs Lee)

The air conditioner hummed softly, sending a gentle breeze through the room, carrying with it the faint scent of springtime. Outside, the sun shone brightly, casting a warm glow on the budding trees and flowers.

Mr. Jung, his math teacher, stood at the front of his middle school classroom, his voice rising and falling in a rhythmic cadence as he explained solutions for some equation questions. The students' pencils scratched across their notebooks as they took notes creating a quiet background noise for the teacher's lecture.

As Minhyeok sat at his desk, the thought of the fresh strawberries sitting in his lunch box, became more enticing as each minute passed. Minhyeok's mind wandered back to the delectable strawberry cake and refreshing strawberry tea he had savored the previous day

His mother had brought the treats back as souvenirs from her recent trip to Seoul with her friends, where they had attended the renowned Nonsan strawberry festival. The festival was a vibrant celebration of the region's famous strawberries, known for their exceptional sweetness and ripeness.

As he reminisced, Minhyeok could still taste the velvety softness of the cake, the cream cheese frosting melting in his mouth like a cloud. The strawberries, plump and juicy, burst with flavor in each bite. The strawberry tea, fragrant and soothing, had calmed his senses after a long day after his taekwondo classes.

"Raon particularly likes the tea", Minhyeok smiled when he glanced at the girl sitting behind him. He recalled the way Raon's eyes lit up when she first tasted the strawberry tea that his mom had made for them. He remembered that it used to be one of her mother's favorites and they would always share it at night.

His thought was cut by the voice of Mr. Jung, his class math teacher, calling him, "It's about time for lunch so Minhyeok, answer the last question", yike, he was too busy being hungry to finish the last question.

"30=m-18. Add 18 to both sides of the equation. That gives 30+18=m-18+18. Simplifies to 48=m", he makes a quick mental calculation as he takes his time to stand up.

"Yes, it m=48, Seonsaeng-nim", he answers and adds a small smile at the end to appear modest. Luckily, Mr. Jung didn't notice his distraction.

"Good, ok that's it for now, go have lunch everyone", the moment Mr. Jung was out of the classroom, most of the class scattered to the cafeteria, eager to satisfy their hunger. While Minhyeok turned his chair around to sit at the table behind him and picked out his lunch box.

Raon looked like she had just woken up and was still somewhat sleepy when he looked at her, stretching her exhaustion away. She went into another deep end again, one of her new fixations was a male idol group from SM Entertainment that she raved about for the last few days.

"You really need to stop sleeping at 3 AM. I can't cover for you all the time like this, at this point, everyone else in the class will start to depend on me for academics", he has been highly active during today's lessons, more like many before this, and answers questions whenever any teachers look over to his and Raon's seats. It was an intense brain exercise, to say the least.

The appreciative looks from his classmates also get annoying at some point during the second period.

Raon only grins playfully, eyes full of mirth despite the dark circles underneath them, "Well, thank to me, you've been a wonderful student no? If it keeps like this they will ask you to be in advanced classes instead of the other way around"

She said and took a bite of the steamed shrimp and eggs in her lunch box that his mom made for them this morning. She smiled in delight from her first bite of the strawberry and usually, he would be happy just by seeing her enjoying herself. Now he could only sign and frown at her a bit.

"Raon", she looked at him and flinched slightly, her eyes nervous, he didn't like it so he directed his focus onto his food, "... if not for me, then do it for yourself, please sleep earlier"

He didn't see what she looked like as he ate the hyeonmi-chapssal but her soft and sad tone, "Sorry, I will try", was really disheartening to hear.

"Mn", they ate in silence with tension hung over them, the tteokguk also tasted a bit stale on his tongue than normal.

"... I should apologize, the lunch going to be ruined if it keep going"

When he is about to speak up, his lips touch the strawberry in Raon's hand. She seems more sheepish than usual.

"H-here eat up, I'm already full"

"..."

She is never good at lying, especially when she is feeling apologetic, and prefers to make it up through action rather than words. It's often quite clumsy but he's grateful for the thoughts behind them.

"And do you want to listen to some music? I brought my earbuds with me today", she is quite forgetful about it despite it being one of her favorite devices.

He and his mom had to take it out of her pocket many times before putting it in the washing machine when she forgot to take it out.

Her demeanor shifted from sheepish to fidgeting, her anxiety grew with each passing second of his silence. Fingers twitching, she hesitated, on the verge of pulling away, when his hand enveloped hers in a reassuring grip.

With a tender touch, he guided her hand with the plump, ripe strawberry, its crimson hue glistening in the light toward him again. As he took a bite, the sweetness of the fruit lingered in the air, a moment frozen in time between them.

The heaviness in his heart lightened, and he accepted her offering with a smug smile. He took the half-eaten strawberry and the remaining two from her lunch box, savoring the tart sweetness against his tongue. Raon seems dazed for some reason.

"Thanks for the free food, and sure there is still time till the third period anyway"

The tension on her shoulders melted away, a radiant smile blossomed on her lips, its corners curving upward in an expression of relief. Her eyes, once filled with worry, now sparkled with an infectious excitement that illuminated her entire being. It's lovely.

She quickly brought up a topic as if afraid that the awkwardness would come back, "No problem, plus the songs from the group I told you about before are really good", she quickly pulled out her phone and wired earbuds, and gave him the other side to put on his right ear while she take the left.

They sat in comfortable quiet, sipping tea and enjoying a snack as the last rays of sunlight streamed into the classroom windows. The chatter of the remaining students provided a soothing backdrop as he listened to the music Raon had chosen. As he listened, he made mental notes of the songs they were listening to.

One song had a melody that was particularly striking to him. It is a fast-paced, upbeat song with a catchy melody and energetic lyrics. The song features a strong electronic dance music sound, with a driving beat and heavy use of synthesizers and drum machines.

The lyrics of the song are about a detective who is trying to solve a mystery, and the song's music reflects this with its dark and mysterious atmosphere. The song also features a prominent rap section, which adds a further layer of energy and excitement to the song. 

"It's good right?", he glanced back at Raon while munching on his last strawberry, her eyes closed as she softly hummed to the tune of the song, already expecting a positive answer from him.

He is not a big connoisseur of music like her or Mr Lee but he can see why she is a fan of this group. The song has a unique sound to it.

"Mn, it's catchy, great taste in music as usual Raon"

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

End notes:

The Nonsan Strawberry Festival is an annual event held in Nonsan, South Korea, to celebrate the strawberry harvest. Nonsan is known for its delicious and high-quality strawberries, and the festival showcases various activities and attractions related to this beloved fruit. Visitors can enjoy picking fresh strawberries at local farms, tasting a wide variety of strawberry-based foods and desserts, participating in strawberry-themed games and contests, and exploring arts and crafts stalls. The festival typically features live music performances, cultural performances, and other entertainment options for visitors of all ages. It's a popular event that draws both locals and tourists to indulge in the sweetness of Nonsan strawberries and celebrate the agricultural heritage of the region.

"Seonsaeng-nim" is a Korean term used to respectfully address a teacher or instructor. It is commonly used by students to show respect and deference to their educators in various settings such as schools, academies, or martial arts dojangs (training halls). In English, "seonsaeng-nim" can be translated as "teacher" or "professor."

SM Entertainment is a leading South Korean entertainment company renowned for its influential role in the K-pop industry. Established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man, it manages popular K-pop groups like EXO, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, Red Velvet, SHINee, NCT, and others. Additionally, it oversees talent in various entertainment sectors.

Tteokguk is a traditional Korean soup made with sliced rice cakes called "tteok." It's a staple dish often consumed during the Korean Lunar New Year (Seollal) celebrations, where it holds symbolic significance representing the gaining of one year in age. The soup typically includes clear beef broth, thinly sliced tteok, and garnishes such as egg, sliced seaweed, and green onions.

[georgiainportugal]

Well another week has come and gone. I can’t believe it is September and I have almost been here for 2 months. Well this week I have actually received some compliments that my Portuguese is getting better and people are starting to understand what I’m saying at times. Maybe they’re being nice or they want me to buy them a beer? Or perhaps it’s actually true!

I still make the same mistake of saying ‘tu fala ingles’ which means ‘you speak English’ instead of ‘eu falo ingles’ which means ‘I speak English’. But I think people know what I mean. I use this if people start saying something that I don’t understand or, if a random person tries to sell me something and I want to pretend that I don’t understand.

Sometimes it’s obvious that I don't understand though because apparently I pull a strange face of shock/panic, according to a nice lady in the shop. I went to buy a dress during the week and she asked nicely ‘can I help you?’, in Portuguese, but then started speaking in English to translate about 2 seconds after. I laughed and asked how she could tell I spoke English and she replied, “because you pulled the biggest face of panic!”

So, I clearly need to work on my facial expressions because I would hate for a charming Portuguese man to come and speak to me, and then for me to pull a face like I've just sucked an extremely sour lemon. I don’t think they would want to continue the conversation if that happened, in fact, I think they would be extremely concerned and may even call an ambulance.

Saying that, I think my Portuguese is slowly getting better because I led a game of bingo on Friday with some children in the youth centre and managed to read out the numbers in Portuguese, with some help with pronunciation.

I have 2 Portuguese lessons per week and this week, we didn’t go on too many tangents as per usual. We usually start talking about one thing and end up going completely off topic. For example, we were talking about kings and queens one time and then had a 30 minute conversation about roman numerals instead of learning Portuguese. That’s why I really like my Portuguese teacher. She is from Mozambique and always teaches me something new about history or politics each week. I only recently found out that Portuguese is commonly spoken in parts of Africa. It is another reason why I want to continue learning because it would be amazing to travel and speak with people around the world.

One thing which has been helping me to learn Portuguese is by listening to Portuguese music. Some of the songs are proper good tunes which I bop to, as I’m walking alone with my headphones in. Anyone walking past must think I'm quite crazy as I sing to myself and walk looking like my legs are twitching strangely. Oh well, it makes the walk to Lidl easier, especially when you’re carrying bottles of diet coke or Superbock beer home. Jesus, they can be heavy! Or perhaps I'm just not very strong… I'm choosing the first reason.

I love running along a beautiful river nearby and listening to any upbeat Portuguese song makes it much easier to continue, despite a waterfall of sweat flowing down my back. The only problem with listening to music while running is that you lose track of sounds and people behind you. The other day, I went to turn down a path to the right of me without realising there was a bike overtaking me. I knocked into an old man in his 60s, thank goodness he didn’t fall off! However, he didn’t look particularly impressed. It was lucky that I was running, and I subtly smiled apologetically and sped up my running to get away as soon as possible.

Why do I always have to do something embarrassing? I guess it will make these blog posts a little more interesting perhaps… if anyone is actually reading.

Well congratulations, you got to the end of my first blog post. See you next time :)

[littletail]

Fairy tail regression scenario

Little! Meredy who regressed around 2-3 years old being caught by Caregiver! Erza Scarlet sneaking sweets from the kitchen late in the afternoon after being told specifically not to since that bag of 'yummy sweets' was actually Lucy's birthday present who Erza was due to give the sweets to and Meredy is promptly given a time out after that because all of the sweets were gone and it was expensive. Erza did end up kinda having to forgive Meredy in the end but Erza also taught her a good lesson about not eating sweets or other stuff that belonged to other people without asking.

Sneaky Thief

Erza was a woman who couldn’t be very surprised by anything anymore, but to say she expected to walk into her kitchen and find her Little digging into a bag of sweets that Erza had explicitly told her not to get into because they were being saved for somebody else would be a massive lie.

And yet there she was. Meredy was sitting with her back to Erza as she happily munched on her ill-gotten prize.

"Meredy!" she exclaimed, hands on her hips.

The girl, oblivious to just how much trouble she was in, just cooed happily and reached out to Erza. When Erza didn’t immediately respond by picking her up, the situation slowly began to sink in.

“Merey, what did you do?” Erza asked incredulously. “I was saving those for Lucy’s birthday, and now you’ve gone and eaten them all! I thought I told you not to get into the cabinets without me knowing! And I especially told you not to get into that bag! What were you thinking?”

Meredy slowly slumped under Erza’s gaze, slowly pushing the bag away. “A-are you… m-mad…?” she slowly asked, worried about the answer. Erza sighed, slowly reaching down to pick up the pink haired Little, “No, but I am disappointed in you. Would you like it if someone ate the sweets meant for your birthday?”

“N-no..”

“Then why did you do it to someone else?”

“I-I’m sorry…” Meredy murmured, burying her face into Erza’s neck with a few quiet sniffles.

Erza sighed, then carried Meredy into the living room, before promptly sitting her down in the chair in the corner, “Normally I do 20 minutes at most, but those sweets were expensive and it’s unlikely I’ll be able to get another bag before Lucy’s birthday, so you’ll be sitting here for 30 instead. Sound fair?”

Meredy whimpered, but didn’t object.

“Good. I’ll be back to check on you once it’s done,” Erza said, then set a timer and placed it nearby. 

With that, she went back into the kitchen, picking up the bag and looking inside. There were very few sweets left, not nearly enough to go for a proper gift, but maybe she could salvage this. Perhaps she could save the few left and mix them in with another, albeit cheaper, package?

She hated the thought of buying a cheaper bag, but she didn’t have the Jewel for another fancy one. She had been saving up all month for it, and now all that hard work was effectively wasted.

She knew Lucy wouldn’t mind, but Erza herself did! But now all she could do was try to salvage what was left and hope for the best.

She placed the leftovers in a container to save them, then got to work cleaning up the kitchen normally. She had neglected the chores and waiting for Meredy’s timeout was as good a time as any to get it done.

By the time she was done, she heard the timer go off, so she quickly returned. Meredy had her forehead against the wall as she cried quietly.

“Up we go,” Erza said, lifting the Little into her arms. “Shhh… No need to cry… You’re okay..”

“I-I’m s-s-so so-sorry..!” Meredy cried.

“Shh… It’s okay..” Erza soothed her, “Did you think about it during your timeout?”

“Y-yes..”

“And what did we learn?”

“D-don’t take stuff… out of the cabinet.. w-without permission…” she murmured.

“And?” Erza gently prompted.

“Don’t t-take st-stuff.. I was told.. not t-to..”

“Good girl,” Erza gently bounced her, “I’m proud of you.”

Meredy weakly giggled, placing her thumb in her mouth. Erza gently removed it and replaced it with the pacifier clipped to her shirt, “There.”

Erza gave Meredy a minute to calm down and compose herself, adjusting the Little in her arms as she nursed quietly.

“Want to watch your cartoons now?”

“Yes please!”

[redheadsinmybed]

Captured

Wanda x Natasha x Reader

This is part of the Loving a little series Reader is little, light angst, happy ending

Summary: Wanda and Natasha are training. What happens when you’re left alone???

Notes: Sorry it’s been so long guys I hope you enjoy this one :) Let me know what you think of it!

You are all alone in a lonely bed with your lonely self. You were lonely because Wanda and Natasha are training. They got up at 6 waking you up and they’ve been training for 30 minutes now. 30 minutes of sleep that you’ve lost. Sure you tried to go back to bed, but you were having trouble without them.

Wanda and Natasha were training with each other. They had woken up early so they could have the training room all for themselves. They heard something in the hallway, assuming it was just some of the other avengers they kept training.

You hear the door open to you room, your eyes are closed and you don’t open them, assuming its Nat and Wands you say

“Mmm come back to bed.”

“I don’t think that will be happening anytime soon,” Says a strange voice. Your eyes fly open, but it’s too late, you scream and the stranger injects something into your arm.

“Miss Y/N is being hurt in her room by a Hydra agent,” Friday says over head. Suddenly red lights are being flashed everywhere, a loud beeping noise is being broadcasted all over the compound, and Friday is locking down the compound. It’s too late though.

“Where is she Friday?!” Wanda and Nat say panicked.

“They are already outside.” Friday says. Wanda and Natasha run outside to see you being carried by the Hydra agent. The stuff she injected into you had made your mind fuzzy, and you watch as red blurs your vision.

“Mama!” You say as loud as you can. Wanda flies up, but she can’t shoot down the plane that you went into without the chance of hurting you. She flies as fast as she can but she can’t keep up, and suddenly it disappears blending in with the clouds and she can’t tell where it is. She falls to the ground slowly landing on her knees crying. Natasha catches up with her in a vehicle.

“Baby?”

“I-I couldn't he-lp her. I heard her sc-scream f-for me.” Wanda says crying. Natasha picks her up and puts her in the car.

“I know baby, I watched you. You did the right thing, you couldn’t shoot down the plane. It’s gonna be okay we will find her,” Natasha coos as she gets up and drives back to the compound. The lights and beeping had stopped and everyone was up and ready for a fight.

“What happened, are you hurt?” Steve says as he sees Wanda crying.

“T-they took her, they t-took Y/N '' Wanda says, breaking down again.

“Who?” Tony asks.

“Hydra,” Natasha says holding Wanda and rubbing her back.

“Last time when Y/N first got her powers Hydra found out she was little, and that she has powers,” Natasha says.

“We won’t stop until we get her back,” Bucky says, putting a hand on Wanda’s shoulder.

When you wake up you are in a cold dark cement cell and you’re still little.

“Hello little one,” You hear a male voice say coming from the other side of the bars.

“Ware my Mama?” You ask.

“You won’t be seeing your Mama for a while. I heard you have special powers is that right?”

“I fink so,” You say back. The man comes where you can see him, he’s old, has grey hair and a lot of wrinkles on his face.

“You wook old,” You say with a giggle. Clearly not knowing what kind of situation you are in. The old man unlocks your cell and grabs your arm.

“Listen here you little tot, I don’t know where you think you are, but this is not a place where laughter is to be heard. Maybe I should teach you a lesson.” He drags you out of the cell and brings you to a better lit room. He’s a very fast walker so he’s kind of dragging you across the floor by your arm. Your bottom lip starts to wobble and tears flood your eyesight. He stops dragging you and picks you up and sets you on a stool. You feel him grab your wrist and attach it to a handcuff on the top of the ceiling. He does the same to your other wrist.

After he gets your wrists hooked to the ceiling he kicks the chair out from under your feet. You scream in pain as you hang from the ceiling, the cuffs digging into your wrists. He watches as tears stream down your face while you whimper.

“Oh we are going to have some fun,” He says with a chuckle.

All the avengers are on a quint jet to the last and final Hydra base location that they know of. They’ve gone every other base that was within 300 miles of the compound. They landed in a spot of openings in the trees far enough from the Hydra base that they couldn’t be seen.

“What if she’s not here?” Wanda says with grief written all over her face.

“Hey,” Natasha says cupping Wanda’s face, making her look over at her.

“We are gonna find her, we aren’t gonna stop til we do,” Natasha says, rubbing her thumb on Wanda’s cheek. Wanda places her hand over Natasha’s.

“Promise?” She asks.

“Promise,” Natasha says back. Everyone gets out of the jet and starts towards the base. When they see the base in sight they hear something.

“Mama!!” Wanda and Nat instantly recognize your voice. Everyone takes off towards the base. There’s four guards blocking the entrance, Steve uses his shield to take out two of them. Iron Man uses his energy beam to knock out the one firing at Steve. Clint takes out the last one with his bow.

You hear ruckus outside and the old man hears it too. He runs off somewhere. When the door opens you expect it to be him again, but it’s not.

“Mama?” You say with tears in your eyes. Wanda catches sight of you and her heart breaks. You’re naked and there’s angry red cuts on your body and purple bruises everywhere.

“Yes baby girl, it’s me you’re okay now, Mama’s here,” She says as she uncuffs you and holds you to her. She holds you for a minute while the tears in her eyes drop down onto her face.

When she pulls away she wipes the tears away from your face and hers. She takes off her long red jacket and puts it over you. She picks you up, careful not to hurt you. You suck on your thumb and hold onto her tightly not wanting to ever leave her arms. You walk out to where everybody is standing waiting for you, you stop Nat and she quickly makes her way over to you.

“Mommy,” You say sadly.

“Hi baby girl, are you okay?” Natasha asks, you shake your head.

“He hurt me Mommy,” You say, you can see the anger boil up in her.

“Baby he will never hurt you again, I promise. I will never let you get hurt again.” Natasha says to you.

“Can we go?” You ask a little bigger, just wanting to get out of there.

“Not so fast,” You hear someone say. Wanda whips around to see an old man standing with more than 20 Hydra agents.

“I think you have something that belongs to me,” He says with a sneer.

“Baby go with Clint to the jet okay,” She says as she sets you down. You shake your head.

“It’s okay I wanna help you fight,” You say now big. She sighs but lets you.

The Hydra agents come at you. You set yourself aflame and shoot fireballs from your hands at them. Steve and Tony work together to take out the agents on the left and Clint and Bucky take the ones on the right. You see Natasha fighting an agent twice her size. You see Wanda helping her by using her powers to fling him to the side of the building. You watch as your family takes down the bad guys around you.

You see the old man start to walk away and you chase after him. You shoot a fireball at him and he dodges it.

“Is that the best you can do?” He mocks with his arms in the air. Wanda comes up to you.

“I wanna try something,” You say to her.

“Okay”

“I want you and I to combine our powers to make one.” You say to her. Wanda starts with a red ball of energy in her hands. You place both your hands in her energy and act like you’re about to shoot a fireball but instead just keep it in your hands.

“You ready?” You ask Wanda, she nods her head. You both aim your powers at the old man.

“Three” You say.

“Two” Wanda says.

“One” You say together. You shoot your powers at the old man. It tangles and dances with each other beautifully. It knocks the old man out and the fire burns his body.

“Yesss!” You say jumping in the air. You hold your hand up for Wanda to highfive and she does with a laugh. You walk back hand in hand together to see that everyone has taken out all the agents. You grab Tasha’s hand.

“Can we go home now?” You say.

“Of course baby,” Natasha says. You and your family walk back to the jet. When you get home you, Wanda, and Nat go straight to your room. You take off the jacket that Wanda had given you. You hear Natasha gasp.

“Oh baby,” She says as you can see the tears well up in her eyes. You walk up to her and wipe the tears that fall on her face away.

“It’s okay, I’m okay now that I’m here with you,” You say and give her a kiss. She smiles but stands back so she can examine you. Most of the cuts Wanda had seen were small and healed now, but the purple bruises that mark your body are not.

“I’m sorry,” She says to you.

“What are you sorry for?” You ask.

“For not finding you sooner, for letting them do this to you. It’s all my fault, I was the one who suggested that Wanda and I train early if we didn’t do that then none of this would’ve happened.”

“Baby, this was not your fault, or Wanda’s fault,” You say as Wanda comes out of the bathroom.

“I’m fine now, I promise, what happened was nobody's fault and I don’t blame either of you.” You say as you kiss each of them.

“Okay,” Natasha says, dropping the subject. You yawn and it cracks your jaw and your eyes water.

“Looks like someone needs some sleep,” Wanda says as she gets into bed. You crawl in beside her and Natasha gets on the other side of you. You throw the sage love blanket over Wanda and Natasha making sure that it covered them equally. You had to lean over Wanda to unfold the blankets corner.

“What are you doing baby,” Wanda asks.

“Mm want to make sure you are nice and warm.” You say after you deem that everyone is covered by the blanket you lay down. You snuggle yourself into Wanda’s arms and lay your head on her shoulder. You sigh as Natasha holds you from behind.

“Love you guys, goodnight.”

“Love you too,” Natasha says.

“Goodnight,” Wanda says. That night you swear they hold you tighter.

[fightxxmexxshiggy]

HOT DAY AND A TIRED MAN

This fic is dedicated to @lovelyladyraven for being my first ever paid commission.

Shouta Aizawa x fem reader

Tw:dangerous situation, breeding, OVERSTIMULATION

Word count: 3.5k

This was not how you had planned to spend your day. Your boss had decided that the roof needed to be cleaned on the second hottest day this summer! Of course you were the only one who had just finished up their task so he sent you to do it by yourself with a promise of sending the next available person up to switch with you soon. Instead you had spent two hours cleaning up dirt and shining the vents on a roof that no one but maintenance workers ever set foot on! Once you had seen how much time had passed you went to the door with every intention of stomping down the stairs and clocking out, not willing to do overtime just to clean a roof. But the knob wouldn't turn no matter how hard you pulled. You banged on the door a few times only to realize that one of the idiots that you work with had locked the door. Quickly you took out your phone and called the store phone no answer, then your boss's phone no answer, then you called the two other coworkers who had been working with you today. Not a single person answered you! You went over to the side of the building that looked over the parking lot seeing that all their cars were already gone from their usual spots. The bastards had left for the day and left you locked on the roof with no way to go home or even get water. You tried for another 30 minutes to reach your boss and coworkers only for them to start rejecting your calls. They did this on purpose. You went and sat in the shade of the roof door access and took a few calming breaths. You knew that they weren't going to come back until tomorrow and you also knew that they probably expected you to sit up here and cry waiting till morning for them to come and "save" you. So instead you looked up the number for the local fire department. Once someone picked up you heard a deep gravelly voice through the speaker. 

"Fire station 6 what can I help you with?" 

The man seemed tired and kind of put out but instead of apologizing for bothering him like your brain was screaming at you to do, you cleared your throat and spoke. You gave him a detailed rundown of your situation and explained that you would have called the emergency line first except your boss's wife worked the police directory and if he was locking you on the roof like this you were afraid that his wife would just not send anyone to help you. It was a small town and things like that were constantly looked over as long as you knew the right people. He hummed in agreement.

" That's sad but true. I know your boss and his wife well enough that you're probably 100 percent right about what they would do and how they would cover this up. They've done it before. Me and a few guys will be there in about 20 minutes to come get you down. Just keep calm and do your best to stay out of the sun until then we don't need you getting any more dehydrated than you already are."

He gave a quick goodbye and hung up. You breathed a sigh of relief knowing that you had chosen correctly when you called the fire station. You sat in the shade and tried to put a face to the voice of the tired firefighter who would be coming to free you from your rooftop prison. Like a fool you had never asked his name. As you thought about it you started to get a bit lightheaded. It had definitely been too long since you had any water. The heat was starting to get to you now that your adrenaline had stopped pumping so hard. With nothing else to do you layed down as much in the shade as you could and did a breathing exercise. During your exercise you must have blacked out because the next thing you knew you were being carried down the stairs in a set of strong arms. 

The person carrying you was speaking to you but you couldn't make out what they were saying over the fog that was covering your brain. You knew the sound of that voice though. It was the tired firefighter but he sounded a whole lot less tired and a whole lot more angry. You really hoped he wasn't angry at you. Maybe you were too heavy and he was annoyed at having to lug you down the stairs. With a weak hand you reached up maybe to apologize somehow, but ended up cupping his cheek. His stubble felt funny in your already funny feeling hand. He stopped walking at the feeling of your hand on his face. You still couldn't open your eyes so instead you mumbled a garbled sorry and proceeded to pass back out going limp. The last thing you heard was the tired firefighter yelling at someone, maybe you?

You woke up again this time to the feeling of something plastic on your face. Opening your eyes was still a bit too much for you so you listened and tried to figure out what was going on. You vaguely remember the tired voice you had spoken to before you felt light headed and the feeling of being carried. As you listened you could make out the sounds of machines. Slowly you took stock of your body. You were sore and kinda warm but you could move a little bit. You breathed deeply, finally realizing that the plastic was an oxygen tube. You were definitely in the hospital then. After a few more minutes your eyes were in good enough condition that you opened them to look around the room. When you did you saw someone slumped in the chair in the corner. This was incredibly strange since you had no family in this town. Doing your best you cleared your throat preparing to ask who they were. At your sound the person's head shot up, eyes wide. 

It was a man with tired eyes and long black hair that was on the scruffy side; it easily matched the stubble of a beard on his chin and cheeks. He stood up definitely tall enough to tower over you even when you were standing up yourself. The man walked to your bedside and took a deep breath before speaking. 

"It's good to see you awake little one. I was beginning to think you weren't going to wake up. I'm the firefighter you spoke to asking for help when you were on the roof. I have a lot to explain to you but I'm gonna call the doctor in and have them look you over before anything else."

He called out into the hall after that and a doctor and a nurse bustled into the room within minutes. Your throat was too dry to answer their questions so you stuck to little nods and head shakes as they began to check your vitals and adjust your iv drip. Once they were sure you were stable enough you were once again left with your savior and no voice to thank him with. He came closer and pulled the chair along with him to settle in for your conversation. 

"So you've been out of it for about 3 days. You got sunstroke while you were on the roof and your boss had double locked the door to get in and the door to the roof which slowed us down in getting to you. Your boss and his wife and your 2 coworkers have all been arrested. It was your boss's idea though apparently he kept hitting on you but you didn't give him the time of day so he wanted to teach you a lesson. His wife had your name flagged so that if you had called for help it would have given a dispatcher a notification to ignore you as a false reporter. His wife found out about his interest in you and was planning on making sure you were stuck on that roof all night. Your coworkers just went along with it because they didn't want to deal with your boss's anger."

Hearing all this pissed you off beyond belief. They could have killed you all because you would be a man's mistress and the man's wife would rather hurt someone than confront her husband. He looked at your face and patted your knee knowing there was nothing he could say that would make you feel any better about this. You looked up at him and grabbed his hand and brought it to your forehead, touching his knuckles there before placing a kiss on them. You were kind of happy that you couldn't really talk just yet because the blush on this man's cheeks was well worth the dry throat. He poured you a cup of water and handed it to you. You gave him a small smile and drank it gratefully. 

Eventually you could speak some and the two of you formally introduced yourselves. He was Shouta Aizawa, the fire station chief and local fire safety instructor for this area. He hadn't felt right leaving you alone after he had gotten you off the roof and found that you lived alone in this town. He came off very blunt and serious but you could see his deep kindness in his actions. The doctors came back in, cutting your conversation short and making Shouta go back to his spot in the corner. After a few more checks the doctors cleared you to go home the following day as long as you had someone to watch over you for the next three days till your follow up appointment was. You frowned cause you did have any close friends who could do that for you. As you pondered over it you heard Shouta's voice over the doctor's. 

"If you don't have a problem I can have you stay over in the guestroom at my house. I was already on a temp leave due to watching over you here so it wouldn't be much different with you at my house."

This man with a deep whiskey voice truly had a heart of gold. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth you readily agreed. After you had been up a few more hours and had a little bit to eat, Shouta left with the promise of a freshly cleaned room waiting for you tomorrow. You fell asleep that night feeling more cared for than you ever truly had. You woke up again slightly disoriented and thirsty but in much better condition than you had been the day prior. It was early so you took your time shaking the numbness out of your limbs and getting back your bearings. The nurse came in fussing about you standing with calling anyone to be a catcher for you. She stopped fussing though when she realized that you were indeed stable enough to walk to the bathroom alone. 

Shouta had called the nurses station around 10 to let them know he'd be there by 12. With a few puppy dog looks you had a shower chair and an orderly who helped wash your hair and walk you back to bed. They had given you some hospital pajamas that you happily wore instead of the ugly gowns you had woken up in. You were clean and relaxed by the time Shouta had arrived to sign you out of the hospital. A nurse came around with a wheelchair and wheeled you down to the exit while the car was brought around. Shouta opened the door for the backseat but instead of giving you a hand to climb in he leaned down and scooped you out of the chair. Once you had been sat comfortably on the seat he shut the door leaving you with a moment to appreciate just how strong his arms were.

The drive to Shouta's home was relatively quick as is the way of small towns. His house was nice and seemed to be a cozy ranch style. After pulling into the garage you tried to get out yourself only to be caught up against a hard chest as your legs gave out the moment they were made to take your full weight. You looked up to see an exasperated glare. Part of your brain filled with chastised thoughts as the other filled with dirty thoughts. You really had to be better behaved when It came to your savior and benefactor but with him being so sinfully attractive it was kinda hard to do. Once again you were carried by the tired man this time into his home and deposited on the lone couch in his living room. He sat on his coffee table and faced you with a sigh. 

"You're really gonna have to rely on me for a few days brat. Your body is trying to heal and you pushing it as you just did isn't doing the process any favors."

You sighed and agreed with him. After a short conversation about a few things you might need from the store and checking about any food allergies he got ready and  headed to the store. You sat alone watching tv before clicking into his YouTube app to see what he watched most. A loud laugh burst from your chest as you realized that most of his watch history was full of cat videos and a few interviews with a local late night radio host. You watched the radio hosts videos thoroughly entertained by his boisterous personality. The next thing you knew you were being shaken awake by Shouta having fallen asleep with videos still playing on the tv. He helped you up and walked you to the bathroom and waited outside before scooping you up yet again. He was making it so damn hard not to think dirty thoughts when he kept carrying you around as if you were a small animal or something. Like sir the butterflies are in the stomach now but they will quickly fly south if you keep being so quietly sexy. A few hours later you were lying in bed when your thoughts finally got the best of you and had you touching your pussy as images of Shouta glaring down at you with his arms crossed showed behind your eyelids.

You had no idea how loud you were being as you rubbed your clit harshly, trying to get to the finish line. As you came you choked out his name. While you panted and came down from your high Shouta made his way back to his room quietly. He leaned back against his door and made a call before laying in his bed to jerk his very hard, very neglected cock. His brain kept replaying the sounds you made, the way you choked out his name as you came, how a satisfied little smile curled on your lips after you reached the finish line. He came with a growl, satisfied but not. He was definitely going to end up in trouble by the end of the week and he couldn't find it in himself to care. The following two days followed the same pattern, spending the day together and spending the night getting off to thoughts of the other in separate rooms. Though you were surprised to find that Shouta regularly walked around the house in nothing but sweatpants holding a full mug of coffee. On the fourth day you had become well enough to no longer need to be carried or walked everywhere. You were a little confused by Shouta's attitude as he had been glaring at the space above your head for most of the day. Finally tired of him doing this, you confronted him about it. You were not expecting his answer in the slightest. 

"I've spent the last three nights hearing you play with your pussy while calling my name, I'm hard enough to hammer nails and I can't get out any over this energy cause I'm supposed to be watching out for you. All I wanna do is fuck you till you lose your mind. me glaring above your head has been me doing my best not to seduce you like an asshole."

He said everything in such a deadpan manner that you couldn't help but laugh. Once you caught your breath you grinned at him and pulled your shirt off over your head. Sitting on his couch with your tits hanging free and your nipples hardening in the cool air you proceeded to play with them. You were immediately picked up and taken to his room before being dropped on the bed. Never let it be said that the tired man couldn't move fast as you were stripped of your remaining clothes before he stripped himself bare. He pulled you to the edge of his bed by your ankles and dropped to his knees, a fierce smile on his lips. 

"Been wanting to taste this bratty pussy for days. Bet it's as sweet as it looks."

His first lick was long. From your hole all the way over your clit. The squeak you let out at the feeling only made him more hungry. He spent what felt like an endless amount of time licking and thrusting his tongue as deep into your pussy as he could. By the time he finally gave your clit some much needed attention his chin was covered in pussy juice and your hole was fluttering as if it was seeking to be filled. Shouta teased you with a few small licks over your clit, making you whine and beg him to give you more. His arms wrapped around your thighs as he locked eyes with you and sucked your clit into his mouth. He sucked hard making you scream and thrash wildly. Your hands were buried in his hair as you squirted into his mouth. Your hips only stayed on the bed because of his strong arms keeping you in place. When he finally released your clit pussy juice was steadily leaking from your still twitching hole. 

"Oh did I break you already? You were so bold before and now you're just a mess. Think you can take my cock or do you want me to tuck you in for a nap."

The shit eating grin on his face was enough for you to pull his hair and glare at him. He sat up and shoved your wrists above your head to hold in one of his large hands. Slowly he worked his fat dripping cock into your almost too tight pussy. You whined and moaned his name as he finally bottomed out hitting your back wall. He stretched you more than you ever had been before but it was so damn good. Shouta started slow, one hand gripping your thigh as he ignored your demands for him to speed up.

"You're gonna take what I give you like a good girl or I'll just pull out and cum all over you right now."

That shut you up except for the constant stream of moans that left your throat. Just as you were finally getting used to being split by such a thick cock he changed his rhythm. Fast pounding thrusts that knocked the breath from your lungs were nearly constant. You didn't have enough breath to scream so you sobbed. Your half words were incoherent except for "sho please." Shouta leaned down and whispered in your ear as his thrusts once again spread up. He bit your ear lobe before making you lose your mind. 

"Such a tight little hole. I can't believe I had the strength to ignore it for three days. I could have at least eaten it while you laid back and rested. God I'm gonna have you for breakfast tomorrow." 

The utter heat in his words threw you over the edge making you cum so hard you began to shake. He growled as your pussy clenched down on him. Shouta sunk his teeth into the pillow by your head before shoving his cock against your cervix and shooting his cum against it. As soon as he finished cuming he started to thrust again. No slow start this time, just hard pounding thrusts that made you wail in pleasure. It didn't take long for you to cum again but Shouta lasted longer this time entirely fucking his cum out of you before finally cuming inside again just as deep as the first time. 

He pulled out and laid down next to you before pulling you on to his chest. You both panted trying to breathe like normal human beings again. Right as your breathing evened out you heard a voice from the doorway. And looked up to see the blonde radio host trailing his eyes over the two of you.

"I told you you wouldn't make it till I got home sho."

[toastedkiwi]

Professor

Summary: newly transferred to your husband’s school, you’ve already made some friends. However, they don’t know that you’re married to the hot professor.

Pairing: Professor!Bucky Barnes x Student!Reader, Wife!Reader

You had transferred to your husband’s university that he works at a couple weeks ago. You even managed to get into one of his advanced classes. He’s pretty proud of you and he loves seeing you sitting next to this redhead whose become one of your friends. You aren’t the greatest at making friends and he’s very happy that you found someone other than his friends. His are complete maniacs and you’re the youngest in the group. You had just turned 21 and Bucky’s 30. His friends are all around the same age or older.

You met Bucky when you were just 19. Your ex best friend dragged you to a club you didn’t want to go to and weren’t legally allowed in. She made you wear a tight dress and heels. She straight up left you at the club after ten minutes of meeting a guy and insulting you. This guy grabbed your ass which made things worse. He tried taking you home but this blue eyed man swooped in while his buddy Sam just flirts so hard with the guy while Maria, his now wife, watches from a foot away.

“There’s a party tonight,” Natasha said as the two of you sit down. “Wanna come?”

“Can’t. Got a hot date tonight,” you said knowing that Bucky overheard you as he starts writing on the white board.

“With who?” She asked.

“This guy named Luka. He’s really sweet,” you said.

Bucky smirks knowing you and him are going to have a fun time picking up after the 6 month old tonight. You and him have planned to have a nice movie night in with Luka and Alpine the cat. He honestly cannot wait. It’s the highlight of his week and he always looks forward to it.

“Does he go here?” Natasha asked.

“No, he’s actually a New York firefighter,” you said since the six month old loves the plastic helmet that his Uncle Sam got him.

“Damn, what are you even doing here when you could be with the firefighter right now?!” Wanda asked from a row behind.

“I sadly cannot fail this class,” you said.

“If only Professor Barnes—,” Natasha said glaring daggers at the back of your husband’s head.

“Glaring at me won’t change the F you got your freshmen year, Ms. Romanoff,” Bucky said loud enough for everyone in the lecture room.

“You could’ve given me a C!” Natasha sassed back.

He spins around and said pointing at her, “you didn’t show up to class. Don’t be a bad influence on the transfer student.”

Natasha scoffs crossing her arms over her chest while you giggled. Bucky obviously flashed a smile at you and you grinned wider. The two redheads quickly noticed at how fast he favors you. Bucky easily starts class as the last student sits down.

~~

“You should be careful. Professor Barnes is married,” Wanda said as you, her, and Natasha walk through the campus courtyard.

“I know,” you said and you can’t help but smile.

“Don’t even try with that DEMON of a human being,” Natasha warned. “He’s absolutely terrible.”

“You’re just mad that you have to retake this class,” Wanda said. “Also, Y/n has a hot firefighter boyfriend.”

“I’m pretty sure Professor Barnes is not that bad,” you said.

“Awww, you’re so innocent,” Natasha mocked.

You rolled your eyes thinking if she only knew. You haven’t said anything about being married to the professor to anyone except the university’s dean of students. You just want a pretty normal college life besides the fact that you’re married and have a kid with a man nine years older than you.

“Ignore her,” Wanda said. “But we’ll see ya next class.”

“Bye,” you said splitting from the two.

You head straight to the parking lot where Bucky parks his precious Audi Rs7. You try opening the passenger door but you forgot to get the keys from your husband. He usually gives you them as you make sure to be the last to leave and so he can kiss you without watchful eyes but Nat and Wanda got you to leave before you got the car keys.

Twenty minutes later, your husband comes with the keys spinning on his finger and his briefcase. He gives you a cheeky smile.

“You can drive, dollface,” Bucky said tossing you the keys.

You catch them and unlock the car. You go to the trunk with Bucky. You open it up. You put in your backpack and he puts in his briefcase. He gives you a quick kiss on the lips.

“Oh, I called the jewelers before my first class,” Bucky said as you both went to your separate sides.

“What did they say?” You asked.

“Your ring will be done tomorrow and we can pick it up,” he said with a smile.

You grinned and got into the car. Bucky slides in and closes his door. You close yours and adjust your seat. You both buckle in. You start the car.

“I liked how you used our son as your excuse to not go to a frat party,” he said.

“He’s a great excuse. I would’ve said you but I don’t know how Nat would react to me being married to the professor she hates most,” you said backing out of the parking space.

Bucky chuckles pulling out his phone and said, “she’ll get over it.”

“I don’t know about that, James,” you said biting your lower lip.

“Don’t worry, babydoll. She’s a pain in my ass but she’ll stick around you,” Bucky said as you drive off. “Wanda will too. If not, you’re stuck with me and the boys.”

“Oh Jesus,” you said.

~~~next week

You carry Luka into the lecture room and you’re the first one in besides Bucky. Luka is not feeling too great and you couldn’t leave him at the daycare. Bucky left in an Uber before you due to two of his classes starting before your two of the day. Luckily, you got Bucky’s class first and know that he’ll let his little man into the class without hesitation. It’s quite a perk to be married to your professor.

“Hey..,” Bucky said and he’s immediately concerned seeing Luka in your arms.

“They wouldn’t let him into daycare,” you said softly. “He’s got a cold.”

Bucky takes his whimpering boy out of your arms holding him against his chest. He rubs his back.

“Why don’t you sit up in front today with my little man?” Bucky suggested. “You’d be closer to the door.”

“That was my plan,” you said quietly. “Are you staying longer today?”

“Nah, I don’t need to but I can take Bubba back to my office until you finish up your class with Banner,” Bucky said. “So that we can all go home together.”

“Fine by me. I brought extra clothes and tons of diapers in case as well as formula,” you said.

“Alright, I’ll let you go sit down with Lu,” Bucky said.

He tries giving you Luka back but he just cries. Bucky holds him back against his chest. He cooed at his little one.

“I brought the carrier,” you said smirking.

“You better pull it out, darling,” he said.

Soon enough, Luka is strapped to Bucky’s chest, you got your kiss from your husband, and you’ve planted yourself at the end of the first row. You’ve pulled out your notebook and pens, highlighters, and mechanical pencils. You took out your phone and get a picture of Bucky with Luka. Your backpack along with the diaper bag is under table.

Classmates start coming in. Wanda and Natasha stroll in as well.

“Who’s baby did you steal?” Natasha asked as Bucky is writing on the board.

“First of all, that’s kidnapping and I have better morals than that,” Bucky said looking at the two redheads. “Secondly, why steal a baby when I can make my own with my wife?”

“Oh my god, disgusting!” Natasha said racing up the stairs in the middle to her regular spot.

You laughed along with others in the room. Wanda goes up the set of stairs nearest the door and slides into the swivel chair next to you.

“That’s sparkly,” Wanda said pointing to the ring on your ring finger.

“I know,” you said grinning.

“When’s the big day?” She asked.

“Why are you sitting over there?!” Natasha asked.

“It’s near the nearest exit,” you said.

Natasha groans and picks her stuff back up. She heads over to the two of you and sits next to Wanda.

“So, When is the big day?” Wanda asked.

“Already? You’re so young and innocent,” Natasha said.

“Ladies,” Bucky said sarcastically. “I’d like to start my class unless you have more pressing matters.”

“Sorry, Professor,” you said and he gives you smile.

“Alright, I have a special guest with me, my son Luka. He’s just six months old if you’re curious and no, I didn’t steal him,” Bucky said to the class. “Hopefully, we’ll get through the lesson with little to no disturbances from him.”

Natasha and Wanda turned to you immediately as your husband proceeds with the lesson. You ignore their looks even though you find it quite amusing.

Once the class gets dismissed, you take your time packing up. Wanda and Natasha sit and turn to you. Bucky comes over without hesitation. There’s no point in hiding it any longer.

“Do you have the diaper bag?” Bucky asked. “Luka took a shit and I’m scared it’s the explosive one.”

“Yeah, I got it,” you said standing up putting your backpack on and grabbing the diaper bag.

“Seriously? This whole time?” Natasha asked.

Bucky takes the diaper bag and said, “yeah.”

He gives you a quick kiss before heading off.

“Wow,” Wanda said.

[austarus]

Harrison Wells (Eobard Thawne) x Reader Ballistic Confrontations (3/3)

*A/N: The picture/edit/gif belongs to me!

**If you understand what I’m referencing to in the end, well the Kudos to you. You win 85 Stardollars.

***Trigger Warning: Scars from mentioned self-harm

****Please don’t forget to comment, like, and reblog. It means a lot to content creators of all kinds!

Word Count:  6397

Part 1   Part 2

Eobard said nothing. Instead, he disregarded your look as his gaze locked back onto Kara, as the Kryptonian woman threw him a hateful look. The futuristic genius did not care. His baby blue hues jumped back to where you stood before stepping away to the side tables. Now we proceed, the speedster mused to himself, picking up a scalpel and arranging his surgical tools. The stage needed to be set tonight. All the actors were in place, and he needed to complete his role. A delicate procedure, if you will. But he needed to be bought some time. Surely, Barry and the others would be back by now from Earth-X. He was, in essence, reluctant to cut up the Earth-38 Kryptonian for he held no malice towards her. She was just an unnecessary casualty in all this. And after all, if Barry Allen were to die it would be at his hands. Not on some tainted Earth at the firing range. You’re centuries late, Mr. Allen. As always.

You glared at your genius scientist for not cluing you in on whatever it is he had planned now. What was his plan? Play along until ‘Uh oh, it’s too late to turn back’ and ‘Oh, look. We’re doomed’? A grunt caught your attention, Kara was trying to break out of her restraints again. “Kara,” you whispered, now standing beside her. “Save your energy, please.” She eyed the restraints on you before taking a slow breath in. Kara wanted to throw her guts up, but she pushed back the bile caught in her throat.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“Honey, you are looking anything other than fine.”

Kara pursed her lips, feeling fatigue wash over her once more. “Where… where are the others… that were here- at the labs? Are they…?” There it was, always concerned for others when she should be concerned about herself.

“No, no they’re fine. They’re in the pipeline. Iris and Felicity-” You stopped yourself, noticing Eobard’s head snap towards you. A pang of guilt echoed in your body. “They’re being held there too,” you lied, giving her hand two small squeezes for her to indicate the lie. If he held things back from you to entertain the Earth-Xer’s with legitimate reactions, then so would you. Supergirl nodded her head subtly in understanding. You were too focused with Kara; you didn’t notice Eobard move. “You’re going to be fine; the others should be back. They wouldn’t go out just like that.” Iris, Felicity, where’s that help? Just where are you guys? You couldn’t leave if you wanted to. Not with the others lurking around. Not when there was a chance you could tip them off about Iris and Felicity, then there was Eobard. Overgirl would instantly go after him for betrayal.

“I… I really hope not. Alex-” Kara trailed off; her eyes drooping shut as her shoulders sagged. Her hand went limp in your cuffed ones.

“Kara?” You looked up to see a tube in Eobard’s hand with a syringe in it. Empty as its contents have already worked its way into Kara’s system. “What are you doing?!”

“I’ve given her a mild anesthetic,” you pursed your lips as his statement. Eobard sighed, “Not to worry, that should have her out for 30 minutes. Strong enough for a Kryptonian, but not strong enough for too long even with the red sunlight on her.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I needed to talk to you without anyone listening.” You followed how Eobard’s eyes glanced at the door. Outside stood two more Nazi guards.

“You could have just pulled me to the other room,” you whisper-yelled at him.

“No, I couldn’t have.” He crossed his arms at you, replying in his own gravely hushed tones. “I needed to keep up the image of the bad guy in front of Kara.”

“Why? Why, when she could understand that you’re not really with them? Why let her also think of you as one of those heinous monsters?”

“Because her opinion of me doesn’t matter. Not hers, not the Earth-Xers, not anyone else.” Eobard punctuated his words before taking your hands in his, placing a gentle kiss on the back of one. The intensity in his eyes never broke as he spoke once more, “Only your opinion of me matters. You matter.”

You pursed your lips, your eyes unable to leave his heated gaze. Oh, if only we weren’t in this mess. If only we had more time… Kara crossed your mind once more, the ominous thrumming noise that came from the machine that generated the red sunlight. A frown found its way onto your face. “Wait, you said 30 minutes? Shouldn’t she need time to recover from the anesthesia to be given another one?”

Eobard sighed, letting go of your hands. He crossed his arms. You weren’t going to like his answer. “No, not in this case.” Dread welled up in the pit of your stomach.

“What…”

“The General herself requested, more like ordered, me to have our Kara awake during the… transplant.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” You responded slowly. Your eye slightly twitched as anger started to consume your thoughts. You wanted nothing more than to rip your friend’s doppelganger apart.

Eobard very well sensed your feelings, he always hated putting a frown on your face or seeing you upset to this extent. “Look, I don’t want to do it either,” the speedster retorted hastily as he unfurled his arms, his hands gently grabbed your shoulders, “but I can’t defy their word especially with you around.”

“Why? Am I suddenly a liability?”

“Never, but they’ll figure something is up with you here with me. Conspiring against them. You already saw how easily Oliver-X caved to his Kara regarding who you are to me.”

Technically, that’s my own damn fault, but a calculated risk to get to Eobard. I can live with the repercussions. “But that’s technically what we’re doing on the downlow, Eo.” You echoed one of the lessons he taught you years ago. “One weakness is better than none, it can be essential to creating the downfall of another.” He had mainly told you that regarding Eilling, who hadn’t ceased to stick his nose into Eobard’s lab experiments and projects. The general had eyed you as a means to get to him, but in reality you were a strength to Eobard. Not a weakness. And the speedster very well knows you can handle your own; after all, the both of you trained constantly. Pushing each other’s limits. Though where you hesitated to kill, he compensated on that, especially in the right moment. “We can have the Dark Archer on the ropes. If anything, he’s made it evident that his wife is a liability to his rational thinking.”

A proud grin ran along his handsome face. “Exactly, my little bird. But they will hurt you, even if you can hold out against them you can’t take them both on.” Even I cannot, not with where I’m at with my speed. Not with the slight dampener they have on my suit. The potential self-destruction if removed from the emblem by my own hands, is a heavy weight on my chest. If I can get rid of them, I can defuse the detonator.

“I’m not worried about me; I’m worried about you! I can’t- I can’t be the one to lose you again.” Eobard shifted his gaze away from you. “Look it’s not going to come to that.” He knew what you were suggesting. “Ok? Worst comes to worst I cause a distraction.”

“No, over my rotting corpse.” 

That sounds eerily familiar.

“We don’t have a choice, if it buys us time then I’ll be damned not to try!”

“That’s why we adapt to the situation and find alternate routes to keep off their radar. I know what I’m doing.”

“Precisely. Adapting. So let me do what I can if it comes down to it.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No!” You bit back a retort at the way he raised his voice. “Just trust me.” He wasn’t asking you to.

“Kinda hard with your track record,” You deadpanned, and Eobard just rubbed his face.

“Have I ever lied to you?”

“Is that a question you seriously want me to answer?” A small cheeky smile made its way to your face. You couldn’t help but tease him right now, of all times.

Eobard huffed out a chuckle, pulling out some white surgical clothes from a drawer. Have those always been there? “Just follow my lead, ok? Whatever happens stay on their side, whatever happens to me stay with Barry and the others.” Eobard gloved his hands while the guards re-entered the medical room along with Oliver-X and Kara-X. Speak of the devil. You pursed your lips and held a stoic expression even as Kara-X sauntered to her respective gurney, smirking widely before a violent coughing fit erupts from her. You didn’t miss how Oliver-X moved towards her, yet you averted your eyes to the protruding machines the other soldiers were bringing in for the ‘necessary’ operation. Two guards held you by the arms where you stood. You swallowed thickly as everything was being sterilized and prepped.

***

Harry caught the ball once more after it ricocheted back to him. He’d been letting his frustration out on it towards the cell wall. Something didn’t feel right. He cursed himself, knowing he should have been carrying some weapon or breaching device to have gotten away from the Dark Archer. Or any intruder for the matter of this invasion. Yes, he pushed the emergency labs alarm, but he still got whacked and dragged to the pipeline. He could have done more damage to these damned Nazi’s, but he was helpless. I should have carried my gun or my pulse rifle, what was I thinking? His hand gripped tightly at the ball as regret never left his side. I should have seen this as a possible attack. It’s a simple strategy. Divide and conquer. Yet they were all too fooled, too hasty to attack to even logically see this move by the Earth-Xers.

“Wait, Thawne’s here?” Cisco’s outburst broke the Earth-2 genius out of his thoughts. Harry cracked his neck and directed his attention back to Cisco’s squabbling from the cell near him. The Wells doppelganger was getting pretty tired about hearing of Thawne. A feeling of dread picked at his insides, his thoughts going to you and what Barry had discussed vehemently earlier.

“Yeah,” Caitlin responded. “I haven’t seen or heard from her. We only briefly got a visit from Iris and Felicity not too long ago. But they didn’t know where she was either.”

“Do you think maybe she… you know?” Cisco made an implication. “I mean, does she know?”

“I don’t know,” Caitlin trailed off. “But Iris had said that she left them in the Time Vault to buy them time. Whatever that could mean.”

“Well, on the one hand, they either got to her and are holding her hostage somewhere or, on the other, she rendezvoused with Thawne and now they're going all Mengele on Kara.”

Harry rubbed his face irritably at Cisco’s words, by now you would have known. There’s a high possibility. Whether it’s from seeing Thawne face-to-face or by overhearing someone. By now, Harry’s sure, you would have made a choice. Where did you go, though?

The lights flickered in the pipeline before shutting off as Caitlin finished. A dull blue tint lit up in each individual cell as the pipeline was divulged into a dim darkness. The emergency lights were the only things on. Every person was on high alert at this point.

“Ohohoho, my girl Felicity definitely pulled that one!” Cisco chirped, making a loud clap.

Dinah tried her canary call again, but to no avail. The cell would not budge. Harry narrowed his eyes; he knew she’d try again. But Cisco had crafted these cells with Thawne cautiously for metas. Practically indestructible unless you’re a Time Wraith.

“I wouldn’t try it again if I were you.” Harry finally spoke. Dinah paused, the silence daring to be her question. “These cells are reinforced to withstand any form of meta-attacks generated within. A backup generator still supplies the power dampeners with energy to preserve the cell.” Harry looked out his cell and towards the darkness. “All we can do is wait.”

***

You took a breath, smoke and blood and electricity filled the air. Your eyes didn’t miss the rush of electricity in the distance. Red and gold, the Speedforce of the only two speedsters here. Swallowing thickly, your attention was diverted to the Waverider being chased by another. Well damn, I think someone’s having a bit too much fun. Raising an eyebrow, you watched both airborne vehicles zig-zag through the air. You hooked up your earpiece and headed for the nearest skirmish to help out. A grin plastered itself on your face when you heard Cisco on the comms arguing with Harry. I guess they’re the ones taking the Waverider for a joy ride.

You pressed the button on your communication device, “Any chance I can hop on?” You sucker punched a Nazi. “Oh, I’ve been wanting to do that all day.” Cisco laughed, weaving through the air as if he’s directing a Strike Fighter.

He’s totally Luke Skywalkering his way through this.

“Girl, where you been?”

“Let’s just say,” you huffed, generating electricity in your palm and slamming it into the chest of another soldier. “I caught some unwanted attention, and they were reluctant to release me.” In actuality, Eobard had sped you away from the Labs once Ray made a dramatic entrance to save Kara. He’d sped you to where the battle would be, at least to where the Earth-X forces would arrive from. Telling you to run and appear at an opportune moment. Meaning, go hide while the battle thickens so your disappearance doesn't bring up too many questions from your friends. “Is Iris with you?”

“Yeah, she’s in the back with Felicity, we’re still trying to maneuver in the best position possible to take down their shields.”

You breathed a sigh of relief, thinking back to her stunt with Felicity to sabotage the surgery. “So, how about that help?”

“Hmm,” Harry spoke up, pushing his glasses up. “Unless you have the capability of overloading and shutting down the entire Earth-X Waverider system without passing out, be our guest.”

“… I mean I could try.”

“No.”

You pouted, punching another soldier, this time in the nose. Someone’s particularly grumpy right now. “It’s honestly not that hard, I would just be out for a couple of days and probably on life support.” The line was quiet meaning that Harry chose to ignore your comment. Rude.

You took in a breath and reduced your being to an electrical form, traveling up some buildings to gauge the situation. Kara and Kara-X were facing off at the moment. Eobard was naturally keeping Barry busy while Oliver and Oliver-X were in an intense hand-to-hand-to-bow combat. Yeah, their fight wasn’t as impressive as the other two. You took in a breath heading back down to the fight, this time getting closer to Mick and Leo Snart, who you found to be the Earth-X resistance fighter and doppelganger to your dead ex-boyfriend.

What goes around comes around.

***

“Where were you?”

Turning back from where you sat, you sent a questioning look to Barry and pointed to yourself when no one had responded. He had specifically prompted you with the question. The look in his hazel-green eyes were distant as he leaned against the front of the Cortex desks. You recognized that look from a few years ago. The silence in the Cortex was sliced amongst the team. DeVoe was still out there, scheming. Some stopped what they were doing to gauge what would happen, others (mainly Harry) kept working away but inclined an ear in case either of you were to do something rash.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, (Y/N). You’re not that dumb.”

“Excuse me.” You narrowed your eyes at the scarlet speedster.

“Barry,” Iris whispered to him, but he shook her off as he folded his arms.

“Where were you after you left Iris and Felicity?”

Ah, of course he wouldn’t miss that. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse.

“I went to go buy them some time.”

“Buy them some time or buy yourself some time? To see Eobard.”

Your heart hammered tightly in your chest, but you made no move to indicate what you had done. In a sense, you did both. You protected Iris and Felicity while keeping Eobard company.

“Why would I want to see someone who’s allied themselves to a Nazi regime on a different Earth, Barr?”

“Why wouldn’t you do anything to see the one you once loved?”

“Are you talking about me,” you tilted your head to the side, taunting him now, “or yourself?” You referenced the events that happened last year. Barry was more than aware of what you were indicating. Flashpoint. Savitar. Iris’ predicted death, HR’s sacrifice, his time remnant’s downfall. But you’ve been wanting to add kerosene to the flames. “Are you referring to your mom,” you turned your head to Iris, “or to Iris?” If looks could kill, you would have been reduced to ashes under Barry’s gaze. Cisco put down his tools and Caitlin glanced at her friends from where she sat beside Iris. Harry capped his marker but turned his eyes towards you. “Like I said, I caught some unwanted attention, and they were reluctant to release me. How is that any different from the others getting stuck in the pipeline?”

“You left Iris to defend herself.”

“Oh my god! Barry!” You rolled your eyes at his statement, deflecting your own questions. “Iris this, Iris that. Iris is a big girl with nearly perfect marksmanship as Harry. She’s more than capable of taking care of herself. I know that. She knows that. The same goes for Felicity as well. But do you know that?” Divide them, fester the idea of unreliability between those two. After all, it’s because of Barry’s decisions for Iris that everyone gets screwed over. It’s one of the reasons for the resentment and bitterness that grows within you. Only they can be happy, no one else can.

“You left Iris and Felicity while this place was crawling with Earth-Xers just to see Thawne!”

“Fucking prove it, you dickbag,” you screamed back at him, “if you’re so certain. Prove it, because contrary to your belief, I was fighting beside you and everyone else that day in the city once I managed to escape. Ask Cisco and Harry. Ask Sara. Hell, even ask Mick and Leo.”

Barry shook his head with a cruel smile, “Do you wanna know how I know?” The speedster took out his phone and started it up, showing the screen of your location. “Careful what you wish for.” Dread gripped your heart as Barry chuckled to himself. “That’s right. I chipped you, that night I pushed you against the doorframe before leaving for the warehouse fight. I chipped you. I already had Thawne chipped earlier that night. On his suit, when I landed a few hits on him. He doesn’t know or… not until recently.” Barry did a search for any pings, but there were none except for yours. “You asked me for proof, here it is.” He slid his fingers on the screen showing a timestamp and your location pinged with Eobard’s at the labs.

“This means nothing.”

“It means everything!” Barry stepped closer to you, anger in his wake. “You left us for him.”

“Yet I still fought with you guys because it was the right thing to do regardless of how I feel for him. You don’t understand nor will you want to understand. You’d rather label us as 100% on the wrong side without acknowledging that we can dwell in a gray area. The world isn’t just black and white, Barry. Or have you forgotten about your own morally gray decisions?”

Sparks crackled in the air, whether it was from you or Barry, no one could tell. Harry took a subtle step towards you from where he stood at the glass board a few feet beside you. He was the only one that can calm you down from this, maybe Iris too, but most definitely he himself. But Harry wasn’t quick enough because the Cortex monitors went haywire while the room darkened. You and Barry were nowhere in the room.

“Barry!” Iris screamed a second after he had sped you away.

***

Eobard raked a hand through his dark locks, analyzing the future article again. He fiddled with his rightful Reverse Flash emblem in his hands, his fingers tracing over the single lightning bolt. It took the genius a full day to extract the SS emblem from his suit, but with your help he was able to detonate it a safe distance away in some open fields. While the people of Central City slept and you had assured Eobard that the Labs were vacant, the speedster had rushed into his old office and compiled all the documents he needed to keep out of Barry’s hands. He’s honestly surprised Team Flash hadn’t rifled thus far into the records he kept. The only things missing were speed theories and the equation escalation to the Speed Formula. Although, he had solved that issue for Barry two years ago when he had traveled back in time for an answer on getting faster.

Still such a naïve child, not at all like the Flash from my future. Arranging some papers together on his new office desk, without meaning to Eobard had knocked over a picture frame. The breaking of glass caught his attention, craning his neck to see the fallen frame. The frame held a picture of you and him from before the Particle Accelerator exploded around Christmas. Before you had known his secret. But now the frame was adorned with a fierce crack through you. Eobard’s mouth went dry, knowing that superstitions were just superstitions, but he couldn’t exactly place the rush of fear welling in his body.

“Gideon, pull up (Y/N)’s location.” Eobard pulled his glasses off smoothly as the AI did as told. She was at the labs. “Access the live feed cameras.” Gideon pulled up holo-images 8x8 of what seemed to be a further escalating scene between you and Barry through STAR Labs. Gritting his teeth, Eobard summoned his suit and launched himself forward into it. The Negative Speedforce fueled by his anger and hate pumped dangerously in his veins.

Barry Allen will regret the day he dared to lay a hand on you.

***

“You’re a traitor!”

“Speak for yourself.” You grunted against the wall, your electric blade dissipating in your hand. It was getting harder to breathe, to keep up with his movements. With speedsters, you preferred long-range combat, but you had to make due at times. “You’re the one who betrayed everyone first for your own selfish desires. Flashpoint, the cause of so much pain and misery. In the end, there was so much collateral damage, and you were the cause of so many lives lost.”

“Flashpoint should have wiped you away. You should have been thankful. We helped you,” Barry fumed, pressing his forearm harder against your throat. “We stood by you.”

“They stood by me.” You tried channeling your electricity, even to siphon off a lick of his in order to produce a dagger, but to no avail. Only sparks flickered from the tips of your fingers, “You couldn’t stand the sight of me when you brought me in.” You had no grievances towards anyone else other than Barry. Not Iris, not Caitlin, not Joe, not Cisco. Certainly not Ralph simply because he’s new. And not towards Harry and Jesse. Iris and Caitlin were the two people who kept you the most grounded to the world for they understood the loss of a loved one and the process of moving on.

“You’re damn right I couldn’t. I was wrong to have let you stay around after Iris and Caitlin rehabilitated you.”

“That wasn’t your decision to make, now, was it?”

“You’re a monster just like Thawne. You’re not a hero.”

You simply spit blood in Barry’s face. “I’m neither thief nor hero.” You were kind of enjoying pushing his buttons, releasing all those pent-up emotions and frustration over the years. Wiping his face clean with his sleeve, the speedster sped you out of the room, throwing punches and kicks at you. He had run you through the entirety of STAR Labs. You siphoned off passing energy from computers and lightbulbs to throw at him Palpatine-style when there was distance between you two, but there was only so much you could do in your current condition. You were getting tired; you couldn’t keep up. Every burst of electricity that burned him had drained you. Blood continued to trickle from the side of your face and sweat glistened on your skin. You healed fast, but he healed much faster.

“Barry, stop! You’re going to kill her.” Iris shouted with a gun in her hand, the others piling into the room. Cisco threw a wave blast at Barry and Frost aimed a couple of icicles his way, but the speedster had dodged them. The scarlet speedster tossed you to the ground like a bag of peanuts before turning to the others. You skidded to the side, breathing in deeply then coughed up some blood into your fist. Blood continued to trickle from the side of your face and sweat glistened on your skin. You could feel your cheek swell as well as an ache form in your chest, maybe a few cracked ribs. Could potentially puncture your lungs if this didn’t end soon.

“And why shouldn’t I? For all we know, she could be spying on us for Thawne.”

“Barry killing her won’t solve anything,” Harry shot at him with his pulse rifle to create some distance between you two before training it on you. “It’ll just make things worse.” You met his eyes, and you could see the disappointment in them. A tinge of guilt hit you, but you pushed past it as you stood on unsteady feet. Your body felt like it was made of lead, but you continued on. If this is how things are to be, then so be it.. You leaned against the wall, cradling your damaged ribcage, as Harry continued. “Regardless of her actions, she did keep Iris and Felicity safe in her own way, she still stood by us.” You were finding it extremely hard to breathe, to stay conscious. Your breathing slowed, the noise in the room between Team Flash was reduced to murmuring to your ears. Did I burst an eardrum too?

“Are you kidding me, Wells? How can you say that when-”

You blinked before collapsing onto the ground, a streak of red had filled your vision. Eobard pinned Barry to the wall, his hand squeezing at his throat while red hot anger filled his vision. “Good to see you again so soon, Flash,” the yellow speedster drawled with a rough grin in his distorted voice. “It seems like you overstepped your boundaries.” Eobard kicked Barry in the ribs and landed a few speed punches, the scarlet speedster already exhausted from his fight with you. “Isn’t this position nostalgic?” Barry was clawing at Eobard’s firm grip, suspending the young hero in the air against the wall as he had done years ago.

“I- had a feeling... you’d show up, Thawne,”

Licking your bloodied lips, you groaned as you leaned up with hoarseness in your voice, “Eo, don’t.” The man in yellow stopped, slowly turning his quaking gaze towards you. You held his gaze for as long as you could get the message through to him. “Enough.” Eobard retracted a fist that was to make contact on Barry’s face, but not before squeezing the scarlet speedsters throat tightly and throwing him towards the upper part of the speed lab. Eobard took off his cowl and generated his speed to be by your side, eyeing every cut and bruise on your broken skin. Your eyes drooped shut when he brushed the back of his gloved hand against your unwounded cheek. His eyes softened, but his insides clenched. Iris and Caitlin had run to where Barry laid while Harry and Cisco monitored Eobard with caution as he gently scooped you in his strong arms.

Standing up with your limp form, the speedster disregarded Cisco, yet glared coldly at his supposed doppelganger. The future genius then turned to them and spoke, “My love for her is what stopped me this time. Next time,” his eyes landed on Barry, “you won’t be so lucky. Lay a hand on her again and I won’t hesitate to end your miserable life, Flash.” His eyes flashed red as they met Barry’s for the last time before taking his leave in a wake of red electricity.

***

Eobard stopped his vibrational intimidation once he made it to your temporary home, Gideon had already prepared the necessary diagnostic tests that would need to be conducted to assess your health. Laying you on the gurney gently, he kissed your forehead before proceeding. The speedster had cleaned you up, replacing your burnt clothes and scrubbing the dried remnants of blood on your skin. His heart shattered. His blood turned to ice. Eobard’s baby blues scanned every part of your marred skin. Lines that tallied up right after another, scars that were too stubborn to heal correctly as if trying to serve as a reminder. Eobard’s mouth had dried as his thumb made featherlight touches before injecting the needle into the correct vein. The speedster opened his mouth and closed it, but he could not register any other emotion other than anger and guilt. His thoughts funneled fluidly, emphasizing that one certain cause that led to this escalation. His death had been the cost of your mental and physical state.

Never again. The speedster peppered kisses along your arms as all the implied images ran through his mind. A tear slipped out. It fell from his face onto the scarred tissue. My love. He needed to get back to work. With classical music dancing in the background, Eobard conducted a blood transfusion in order to replace the blood you had lost as well as administering IV fluids. He had to steal the materials from a hospital nearby in Keystone. They won’t be missing it. 

“According to my current readings, copious amounts of stress have been exuded onto her heart allowing her to retain a constant distressed state.” Gideon rattled on as Eobard sat next to you with a sleeve rolled up. He glanced over at you as the AI continued. “The X-ray scans have also been completed. She’s suffering trauma in her ribcage, a few cracked ribs, however none are broken. CT results also conclude a mild concussion.”

She’s lucky her lungs hadn’t been punctured. His hate for Barry Allen grew with every second that you laid unconscious.

“How long until a full recovery?”

“Physically it could take up to 3-6 weeks regarding her ribs. The mild concussion will take approximately almost a week and a half. Her heart might take longer. Therefore, she must avoid extraneous activity.” 

“Such as using her powers and so on.”

“Yes. Shall I assist you with anything else today, Professor Thawne?”

Eobard ran his fingers over his lips before taking his glasses off and throwing them onto the side of a nearby table. “Keep tabs on Barry Allen’s movements, I want to be alerted if he comes near Keystone or has any intention of it.” The AI nodded before shuttering away into the plinth. Yes, the speedster had been smart to chip him, something Eobard had easily gotten rid of. But to chip you as well, Thawne cursed himself for not seeing it coming. Too preoccupied with the timeline and it’s malleability. “Hopefully DeVoe will keep him away long enough.”

***

Your eyelids felt like they had been cemented shut, the stinging smell of antiseptic slapped you right in the face. Am I dead or in a hospital? A groan left your lips, your throat dry as a desert and craving any drips of water. I hope I’m not in a hospital, I hate those places. The nice thing was that a light wasn’t blinding you, at the very least not piercing through the darkness supplied by your shut eyelids. It was oddly soothing. Your mind finally processed the dull ache residing in your bones, the softness beneath you and the slight chill in the air. Maybe I am dead. Taking one slow breath in, your blood vessels throbbed louder with each fluid pumped through and the humming of machines finally registered to your ears. You didn’t want to open your eyes; you were content with just laying here.

“…” You frowned, the sound of mumbling coming to you. Who was that? “Gi… ru-… I-.” Death, perhaps? You twitched your fingers, a numb sensation set in both your arms. If I’m dead, how can I still feel? It took a moment for your brain to catch you up on how you’d been reduced to such a state. Barry… killed me? No, that’s- Eo was… You shakily formed a fist only to feel something cool against your skin. Felt like another hand. Not bony. Maybe Death gave the appearance of a human for us to pass.

“Mm,” you tried clearing your throat, but it hurt each time, inducing a coughing fit. Blinking wearily, you looked around, your vision blurry until it settled on the being the hand had belonged to. “Mm, I…”

“Shh,” the deep voice cooed. You could hear much more clearly now but couldn’t make out the image of the being. “I have some water for you,” you felt a straw tap your lips. “Drink up.”

Why is Death being so kind to me? I thought Death was swift. You drank a sip at a time before pulling back and shutting your eyes once more. The somatosensory neurons on your arms brushed against some coarse material. A blanket? That same cool touch caressed your cheek. You blinked your eyes open a few times, dizziness ensnaring your mind, but your eyes met icy blue ones. “Eo?”

“I’m here,” he whispered in a gentle tone, standing up from where he sat next to you.

“I’m not dead.”

“No, you’re very much alive”

“Barry, he…”

“I’ve dealt with him. He won’t ever hurt you again.” You watched as he kissed your bandaged hands, each finger receiving a kiss. Cracking your neck, your realized he had changed you into fresh clothes. The scent of faint lavender hung onto the fabric.

“How long was I out?”

“Two weeks.”

It hurt your head when your eyes bugged out. You patted your temples lightly. “Two weeks? What- I-I need to get back. They were going to confront DeVoe. Harry and-”

“No,” Eobard pressed his palm against your shoulder when you tried to sit up abruptly, “You need to rest. Screw Team Flash. For once, just let them be so you can recover.” The speedster did not ask for what had happened to you, knowing the implications in his mind were too strong to be false. Rather, he’d make sure it would not occur a second time

“It’s not that simple, Eo.”

“It really is,” the yellow speedster sighed to himself, rubbing his face. You gestured to the water, and he handed the cup to you. “You’re in no condition to go back there, not after what happened. Your powers and your fight did a number on you. I-…. Your heart stopped a couple of times.” You almost choked on your sip. “I had to jumpstart your heart and keep it going.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For worrying you.” For being a liability that Barry can use.

“Don’t. This,” he gestured with his hands between you and him, “is not something to apologize for. Ever. If anything, it was smart of him to use you for bait as I had used Iris and Eddie.” You pressed your lips into a thin line as your mind started to wander.

“So, we wait?”

Eobard nodded as you ran a hand through you knotted hair. Need to brush that out asap. “We wait until it’s time to strike.”

“Until it’s time for you to strike. I’m remaining neutral in whatever it is between you and Barry in the future. Even if he might not see it that way.” Tipping the scales, balancing good and evil natures in the forces of the world. That’s what He told me my role in the multiverse is along with...

“I know, my love.” I don’t know how to break this to her. “But until then, rest.” If I ask her to come with me, would what I orchestrate then work?

“Eobard.”

“Hm?” Eobard knew he needed to go back to sort a few things out. Chances of getting caught were roughly 30-70, but not zero.

You shifted over to make room for him, patted the spot next to you. “Stay.”

Or would she become collateral damage?

“Always.” The speedster leaned down to kiss your lips before moving in beside you. You laid your head on his chest, minding the slight tremors of pain. Eobard kissed the top of your head and you shut your eyes. You’d go to the ends of the multiverse for him, but you’d also protect your friends. Being at odds with Barry wouldn’t stop you. He just needed to learn to live with your choices as everyone else has had to live with his.

Eobard’s mind ran through every scenario, deciding it’s best to tell you what he intends to do. He’d rather you decide for yourself what to do. The negative speedster respected the position you held onto. Neutrality wasn’t always an easy feat, but he admired your devotion towards him and the ones you love. Eobard was just selfish enough to only want and care for you. He didn’t need anyone else. He certainly didn’t need camaraderie. Tomorrow, he’d tell you. Tomorrow, he’d make sure to take the first step towards ensuring the future.

Betrayal is a fickle thing, Barry Allen. A lesson you will learn again.

[drama--universe]

Bad boy and his girl

Requested by anonymous: Hello! I was wondering if you could do a modern ah with Xue Yang? Maybe something along the lines reader rebels against parents and dates him with a fluff ending? Thank you!🥰💗

Word Count: 2223 words

Warnings: toxic parents, cliché, Xue Yang's a bit OC-ish (sorry)

A/n I also want to say that the parents could be considered toxic but I wasn't sure if I should label them as toxic or overly strict, but just to be sure I put it in

You slammed the front door behind you, hoping your parents would hear it loud and clear. You just had another fight and at this point you were sick of them seeking trouble with you. Everyday was a new argument, you could never do something right for them. Your usual points never got praise, but once you had one lesser points and you were a mistake of the family. Unlike your brother, wo's grades were lower than the bloody sea, yet he was the best thing in the world. After all, he would get the family business while you would simply marry a rich man that your parents chose (not like you were going to, but they didn't listen).

The bus arrived and you got on, sitting on the back next to the window. After 10 minutes, you got of and walked to school. You were still in a bad mood, but it just got worse when a motorcycle zipped in front of you. You stumbled before glaring at the person, which you already knew to be Xue Yang.

He was the infamous bad boy of your school. Tattoos, motorcycle, smoked and had a general bad attitude towards school, which was surprising when you realized that he was friends with Xiao Xingchen who was a pretty good student. You didn't necessarily hated him, but rather you were just jealous. He could live the life he wanted and you were jealous because of that.

You shook your head and continued to walk to your class. You entered and suddenly all eyes were on you. You frowned, looking behind you and there stood Xue Yang. He was on time... Xue Yang who never bothered to show up to class and hung around on the roof, was 10 minutes early.

"Am I that good looking, sweetheart?" "In your dreams." You sneered back and he scoffed, walking past you and sitting down in his seat at the back. You sighed and walked to your own seat. Laying your bag on top of your desk before grabbing your phone. You scrolled the news as you waited for the bell to ring. When it did, you put your phone into your bag.

Class started and before you knew it, lunch approached. The bell rang loudly and most students ran out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang. You just waited for a bit before you stood up as well, grabbing your food card and phone before you walked out. You didn't notice the eyes that followed you nor did you hear them following you until you heard the whispers. Then you noticed Xue Yang following you and you bit your lip, turning around and marching his way. You then grabbed his arm and dragged him along to an empty hall.

"Why are you following me?" "Can't I?" He said, leaning down to meet your height and to stand face to face. You sighed, looking away before looking back at him. His face was inches from yours and you noticed his face tattoo. A small moon with a constellation next to it (the cancer constellation). You also noticed a few freckles.

"What do you want?" You sneered and he gave you a smirk.

"Go on a date with me." He said and you glared at him before thinking it through. It would piss your parents off if you did... and it was not like he was that bad looking. Worth it.

"Sure, after school of course." You commented before turning around to walk back, but freezing when you heard him whine.

"Fine~" He whined and you chuckled before continuing back to the cafeteria to get some food. He followed you, like a guard dog, as the other students started to whisper once again. You ignored it and grabbed your food.

The rest of the day went the same way, mostly with Xue Yang hanging around you. When the school day ended, instead of going to your after school lesson, you waited for Xue Yang by his motorcycle. After only 3 minutes, he reached, leaning against his motorcycle as he looked at you.

"Where are we going then?" You asked and he smirked before handing you a helmet. "You carry an extra helmet?" You asked and he scoffed again before putting his own on and throwing his leg over the motorcycle. He looked your way and you got on behind him, wrapping your arms around his torso. He drover off and your grip tightened slightly. You drove for about 15 minutes before he stopped driving. You looked around before spotting a fair. You took your helmet off as you got off of the motorcycle before looking at him again.

"A fair?" "I'm good at shooting games." He shrugged and you chuckled, handing him the helmet before turning to the fair. It was small, but it looked fun. Xue Yang locked his motorcycle before grabbing your hand and leading you to the fair. He then stopped, looking at you.

"What do you want to do?" He asked and you looked up before looking around again. You didn't know anything and looked at him sheepishly.

"I've never been on a fair, so I don't really know anything." You admitted and he raised an eyebrow at you before smirking.

"Well, first time for everything." He said and you nodded. He leaded you to what looked like a shooting stand. He paid before grabbing a gun and handing it to you. You looked at him confusingly and he chuckled again as you took it in your hands. He stood behind you and showed you how to hold the gun before helping you aim. You pulled the trigger and one of the balloons popped. You smiled brightly, turning to face him only to jump back when your noses touched.

"Thank you..." You mumbled before aiming again and hitting 2 more balloons. You paused, glancing at Xue Yang to see his reaction. He was just smiling and you bit your lip to hide your own smile before aiming at the balloons again. You shot 2 more balloons before looking at the owner of the stand.

"You can choose one of these." The man said and you looked around before spotting a black panther plushie keychain. You pointed at and the vendor smiled, grabbing the plushie and giving it to you. You thanked him before turning to Xue Yang. You held it out to him and he looked at it with a raised eyebrow.

"For you." "It's usually the man who gifts something to the girl." He said and you frowned, taking his hand and placing the keychain in it.

"I don't like gender roles. Now take it." You said and he chuckled again before placing it in his pocket.

"Attraction next." He then said and you frowned as he dragged you along to what seemed to be the tallest attraction of the whole fair. As you waited in line, you couldn't help but feel nervous as you heard the screams. You debated for a few seconds before grabbing Xue Yang's shirt and clinging to him. He turned his head to look at you before grabbing your hands and removing them from his shirt. You pouted until you felt his arm on your shoulders. You looked at him again before getting a bit closer to him. The line moved quite fast and before you knew it, you were sitting in the front row with the bars already down over your shoulders. You had already grabbed his hand to hold on too and waited for the countdown.

"Ah, couple in the front he? I don't like couples!" The announcer of the ride spoke before you were suddenly launched off into the first loop. You screamed loudly for the whole ride and when you arrived back in the loading station, your hair was a mess and Xue Yang was most likely in pain.

"Oh, someone's getting dumped!" The announcer joked as the bars lifted. You quickly got out of the ride and waited for Xue Yang before leaving the attraction.

"I hate that... I need food." You said, looking around for a food stand. Once again, you were dragged to another stand. The food seemed very greasy and unhealthy, but you could care less as Xue Yang ordered the food. You waited at the table and Xue Yang made his way back with the food and you smiled, thanking him as you helped him put down the food. Just then, your phone rang and you pulled it out of your pocket.

"Ah, it's my mom..." "Take it, I don't mind." He said as he took a bite out of his own food. You nodded with a smile, sliding the icon to the green phone thingy and then put it on your ear.

"Where are you?!" She screeched and you pulled the phone away from your ear, hissing in pain. The smile you had was already gone as you tried to think for an answer. Xue Yang looked at you before grabbing your phone.

"Don't worry ma'am, I'll get your daughter home safely after our date." And then he hung up, handing you your phone like he had not just done that. You took it, turning your phone off before taking a bite of your food.

"Wah, this is good." You said, taking another bite happily. "You learn something new everyday." He said before taking his own phone, holding it out to you.

"Put your number in." He said as he continued to eat. You took another bite before putting down your cutlery and taking the phone. After putting your number in, you handed the phone back and continued to eat.

You went to a few more places, winning a few more plushies (whish Xue Yang gave to you this time) and then came the time to go home. It was already 10 pm by now and 10:30 pm when you arrived at your house. You could see your mother by the door, glaring at the two of you. You got off and gave him the helmet you wore.

"Thanks for today, it was really fun." You smiled and he smirked, sitting on his bike.

"Tomorrow as well?" "Sure." You said before acing on impulse again and kissing his cheek before going to your house, dragging the bag of plushies behind you. You entered the house, ignoring the stares from both of your parents and going to your room. You closed the door and laid on your bed.

Yeah, you were grounded for 2 weeks the next day. You had already sent the info to Xue Yang, but he had only read it. You on the other hand, were literally locked in your room by your parents (and you had no key or inside lock yourself) and you were just laying on your bed. You didn't want to study and you had nothing else in your room besides your phone, yet had no internet since your parents had blocked you from the network. How you had survived until 3 pm was a miracle.

You were pulled out of your thoughts as you heard a knock on your window. You jumped up and stared at the window. There was Xue Yang, his famous smirk already making you feel happy as you walked to the window and opened it.

"What are you doing here?" "Picking you up of course. Saving the princess from her locked room." He teased and you looked at him for a few seconds before nodding.

"I need to change, wait down there. And hide!" You whispered and he nodded, climbing down the tree again. You quickly changed into your favorite outfit (which might have matched a bit with Xue Yang) and pulled some shoes on before taking your wallet and phone. You turned off the light of your room and climb out of the window and down the tree. Xue Yang was waiting there with his motorcycle. It was then that you noticed the panther keychain that hung on the motorcycles key. You smiled before grabbing the helmet he held out. You got on before flinching when you heard your mother screech once again, hanging out of your window as she screamed at you.

"Go, go, go!" You exclaimed and you drove off again to your next destination. You arrived at an arcade.

"Let me guess, you're good at shooting games?" You asked and he shrugged as he pulled the keys from his motorcycle. You went inside and the happy music made you happy immediately. You started to game, Xue Yang showing you how to do everything as you moved from game to game. By the end (5 hours later), you had about 300 tickets and you had probably wasted tons of money. Now it was to decide what to get with the tickets. You didn't want another plushie, so the plushie section was excluded, and the other side was mostly kid stuff. The only thing that you could see was jewelry. And most wasn't your style, but you didn't get to choose as Xue Yang handed the man the tickets. You looked at him as the man handed him a box and he nodded before pulling you out of the arcade.

"What you get?" You asked and he looked at you before telling you to turn around. You did before smiling when you saw a necklace in front of you before he locked it around your neck. You looked down at the necklace, it being a small panther cub necklace.

You smiled again and turned back around. He rolled his eyes at you bright smile before handing you the helmet. You put it on and sat behind him again. He brought you back home like before and once again, your mother was once again at the door. You could care less as you dismounted the motorcycle and handed him the helmet once again.

"Keep the window open." He whispered and your eyes widened in shock.

"You're going to get me end up with bars on my window." You joked and he chuckled. You then leaned up, quickly kissing him before walking to your house and leaving behind a shocked Xue Yang. You once again ignored your mothers screeching, locking yourself in your room once again. You could hear the door lock from the outside and sighed, quickly changing into sweatpants and a hoodie before opening your window. You leaned out of your window, looking down to see Xue Yang. His motorcycle was parked behind your house and he was hiding behind the tree.

"Xue Yang!" You whisper-yelled and he looked up before smirking, starting to climb. Once he reached your window, he climbed inside your room and you closed the window again. You didn't lock it, so that if necessary he could escape quickly. You laid on your bed and after taking his choose and jacket off, he laid next to you. You turned to face him and he laid his arm underneath your head. You laid your head on his arm, still looking at him with a small smile. You staid like that until you fell asleep, not caring if your parents would find you like this as you hugged the man next to you.

[kuiperblog]

The first 1% is always the hardest

Usually, the hardest part of acquiring a new skill is starting it for the first time.

When you’re at an intermediate level of progression, you can usually just increase your skill level by incrementing up the difficulty linearly.  If you’re a novice weightlifter and your best overhead press is 125 lbs, try adding 5 lbs to the bar and see if you can overhead press 130 lbs. (If not, keep lifting 125 lbs every few days until that becomes “easy,” then challenge yourself with 130 lbs again.)  If you can do 10 push-ups, you will probably reach the point where you can do 11 push-ups, and 12 push-ups, and 15 push-ups, and 25 push-ups, and so on.  The hardest part of lifting is day 1, when you might be performing certain motions for the first time in your life, and challenging your body to work muscles that you didn’t even realize existed.

I imagine the same is true of other fitness regimens: once you’re able to run a 9 minute mile, you probably have what it takes to run a 8:30 mile, or a 8 minute mile, if you keep at it.  Eventually you’ll hit a plateau and the limits of human performance, but the first day in the gym is always the hardest.

This is sort of how the trajectory of my writing career went.  And having talked to artist friends, and musicians, it seems like all of them followed a similar trend: they found a thing, they stuck with it, and over time found themselves advancing along that path bit by bit.  It became a hobby or a routine such that over time, by  by investing a bit more time, or a bit more effort, or challenging themselves a tiny bit more, they got better at it.  And over years, the compounding returns of that meant that the girl who got a drawing tablet at age 14 found that by the time she was 22 years old, she had enough artistic skill to make enough money from her art to make a living.

I think that in a lot of cases, people were able to start down that path of gradual self-improvement in part because they were able to somehow bypass the hardest part of it -- they blazed right through the initial difficulty without even realizing it.  They couldn’t even really answer the question of “When did you start drawing,” because they’ve always been drawing since the days that they were just doodling with pencil in paper at school. Maybe they just really enjoyed playing outdoors as a kid, and played soccer because it was fun, and made the seamless transition to being a high school athlete. In my case, I spent a lot of time writing long-winded forum posts explaining the finer points of topics I was passionate about (which, at age 13, was mostly Pokemon and Final Fantasy), and somehow by my 20′s I had enough of a penchant for explaining things that I was able to parley that into a writing career (so I can get paid for my long-winded explanations of Pokemon-related topics).

The early days of learning to write kind of sucked and were difficult.  (For starters, remember how unintuitive that QWERTY keyboard was the first time that you learned to type? Remember how painful it was to hunt-and-peck your way through sentences at an effective rate of <10 words per minute?)  But my desire to talk about Pokemon on message boards overwhelmed any difficulty or “suckiness” involved with learning to express my ideas through text, and so the suckiness of those early days wasn’t really much of an obstacle.

More and more, I’ve come to believe that the most important part of learning a new skill is finding a way to get over that initial difficulty hump -- of finding a way to survive the first day, and then the first week, and then the first month, and eventually reach a point where inertia carries you forward on a gradual upward slope of self-improvement where you’re not even consciously thinking too hard about improvement; you just randomly muse to yourself one day, “Oh yeah, this barbell I’m picking up weighs about 100 lbs more than the barbell I was lifting a year ago. Fancy that.” The longer you keep at it, the easier it is to stick with it.

In many corners of the internet, there’s an oft-repeated adage that “Watching anime won’t teach you to speak or understand Japanese.”  And sure, that’s obviously true on some level. If someone is thinking they’re going to spend a thousand hours watching subtitled anime, and then one day flip off the subtitles and be able to follow everything without missing a beat, they’re probably a bit delusional. If you want to actually achieve anything approaching Japanese fluency, you’re probably going to have to take a Japanese learning course, and engaged in spaced repetition to pick up and retain vocabulary, and all of the other stuff that goes into learning any language.

But I think that watching anime does provide you with one big advantage: it goes a long way toward helping you cross that “day 1″ hump. Because the first day is always the hardest. Going from 0 to 1 is harder than increasing your vocabulary by a few new words every week.  Before you can get the compounding returns from incrementally improving at a skill, you have to have a starting principle.  And I think that watching anime is actually quite good for that, because only knowing “weeaboo Japanese” will give you 20-30% of the vocabulary that’s included in your first couple Japanese lessons.

I’m speaking from personal experience: it’s incredibly heartening to go through a lesson and encounter words that I’m already familiar with.  Even if my fluency in “weeaboo Japanese” only covers 10% of what’s introduced in a given lesson, having a head start gives me an intangible confidence boost which makes it easier for me to focus on and retain the other 90%.

I don’t want to understate the importance of that intangible confidence boost: a lot of language acquisition is getting comfortable with a language, and repeating something so much that you do it without even thinking about it. For example, in English, sometimes sometimes someone might ask you “how’s it going?” and you might answer “fine” before your brain has even consciously registered the meaning of what you were hearing, or saying. And I’m enough of a weeb that I can hear i tenki desu ne and immediately reflexively respond with sou desu ne, before my brain has even consciously registered the question being asked (sometimes taking several seconds to mentally backtrack and realize, “Oh right, the “i tenki” part means “nice weather.”).  But years and years of listening and pattern recognition have taught me that when someone ends a sentence in desu ne? with the sort of inflection that says “I’m asking you a rhetorical question,” the proper response is probably sou desu ne, and my brain produces that response just as reflexively as it spits out “I’m doing fine, how about you?” any time someone asks “How’s it going?”)

One thing I’ve come to notice is that every lesson begins with some of some amount of review, giving you that spaced repetition, and providing context for the new words and concepts that the lesson is about to introduce, and generally provide a foundation for the new material.  Day 1 is, by necessity, the exception -- how can you “review” material that you’ve never covered before?  But for me, the day 1 lessons on how to say nihongo and arigato and watashi and anata were already “review” of topics that I picked up through years of being a weeb.

Besides that, there’s the fact that the structural elements of Japanese are something that my brain was naturally able to grok in a way that is intuitive to me after spending years listening to spoken Japanese even though most of it is contextual. (Like, I’m not sure when this happened, but at a certain point I think my brain just kind of learned, when listening to Japanese sentences, to approximate which parts were the verb and where certain clauses landed in the sentence, if only because when watching anime with subtitles you become consciously aware of when a character’s name appears in the dialog.) I’m not really consciously thinking about it, which kind of feels like the “natural” way to learn a language.  (After all, it’s not as if native English speakers, as toddlers, consciously think to themselves, “Ah, it seems as though English typically follows a subject-verb-object grammar structure.” Kids just listen to adults speaking English and form sentences that way without really having to be formally taught.)

It’s highly likely that at some point in my internet career that I have at one point been the cynical message board poster telling someone that, contrary to their fantasies, watching anime isn’t going to help them learn Japanese in any real or material way, and if I’ve ever suggested that, it’s time for me to eat crow.  Because while the advantage that “weeaboo-level Japanese” gives you might be small, and only help you on the first few days of Japanese class, those are the most important days, because the first 1% is always the hardest.

My familiarity with “weeaboo-level Japanese” has only given me one disadvantage, and that is that years of memes have poisoned my brain to the point where the first I was prompted with “say ‘excuse me’ in Japanese,” my brain (and mouth) immediately spat out “sorrymasen,” and I wish I could say it only happened once, but it wasn’t until around day 3 that I managed to fully train this habit out of myself.

[biromanticbooknook]

My Most Ambitious Crossover

I got bored by posting only my second gen Amazon AU, so I’ll get back to that tomorrow, but enjoy this one-shot about Chloe and Marinette creating their own trip instead of their class trip in the meantime. Can’t have you all thinking I’m a one-trick pony, can I?

“-and that’s why we think you shouldn’t go on the trip this year.” Mlle. Bustier tried to look apologetic, but it was as much her idea as the students. Between Marinette refusing to set an example and Chloe associating with her, neither of them deserved to go.

“Oh, thank goodness. I was afraid I would have to get my daddy to donate 30% of the funds like he does every year.”

“I’m just glad I don’t have to take 60% of the trip funds out of my commission profits. That will give me a much bigger budget for fabric and accessories.” Everyone blanched at the statements of the 2 girls. They were saying that they paid for 90% of the trip every year, but that couldn’t be right. They worked so hard on fundraisers every year, they must be lying about how much they contribute.

Marinette just ignored them, turning to her seatmate. “Do you think that our other friends would want to go on a trip with us? Most classes take their trips during May, so we could leave at the beginning of June and take the entire summer.”

“Nice thinking, Maribug. With fewer people, prices go down and we can afford more bang for our buck.” They walk out of the classroom, discussing who to ask and when.

The class just made a big mistake.

-----

By the time the weekend rolled around, Marinette and Chloe had their group list finalized. The people going on their trip were themselves, Luka, Kagami, Aurore, Mireille, and Marc. They got together and started brainstorming fundraisers.

Marinette started. “There are the given examples; you know, car wash, bake sale, raffle. What else?”

“We could host a show.” Luka suggested.

“Like an exhibition?” Marinette asked. “We could have you perform, Kagami do a fencing demonstration, and I could do a small fashion show, using Chloe and Marc as models. Aurore and Mireille could be our MCs.”

“To capitalize on money-making, we could sell tickets, food and drink, and merch for Luka’s solo career as well as commission spots for our resident designer.”

“That’s good.” Marinette starts scribbling in the shared notebook.

“At Le Grande Paris, we could host parties. I know days when the grand ballroom is open. We could host an auction, sell lessons and creations and stuff. We could also host a masquerade ball that we sell tickets for. We could charge for food and drink. The pools are open for private reservation quite often, we could have parties there too.” Chloe takes the notebook and starts writing down her ideas, mapping out all the resources needed while muttering.

“We could also host a carnival or a gaming tournament in the ballroom.” Kagami looked thoughtful. “I’ve never actually been to one.”

Chloe added that to the list. “Should we do anything else?”

“We could start a go-fund-me. Artists and writers do it all the time to get their creations off the ground.” Marc murmured.

“That would be great. What’s our goal for this entire endeavor?”

“Our goal, Maribug, is €45,000. That should cover travel, boarding, tours, food, and souvenirs. Whatever we don’t spend gets redistributed to the group.” Chloe supplies.

“Then that should be it. Nice job, guys!”

“My, what a whirlwind of a planning session. I hope nothing rains on our parade. I wonder weather Mlle. Bustier’s class is doing this well.” Aurore beams at them.

“Mm-hmm.” Mireille agrees with Aurore.

“Probably not. Our classmates couldn’t pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel. They’ll just listen to Lila that the boot will empty by itself through the toe because ‘I worked on patenting this boot’, then they’ll get mad at the boot for not doing it.” Chloe chuckles dryly.

“Be nice.” Marinette reprimands half-heartedly.

-----

Chloe immediately filed the paperwork with the school board so they could go on their trip with no safety or legal concerns. She recruited Mme. Mendeleiev and M. D'Argencourt to be their chaperones, who were more than happy to go on an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles, Star City, Central City, Metropolis, Gotham, New York City, and Tokyo.

They had their first fundraiser at the end of September, a pool party at Le Grande Paris. Even Mlle. Bustier’s class attended, though they didn’t know who had set it up, only that Luka was performing. They hadn’t even started their planning  yet. The group made €3,041.

The next was a car wash in the middle of October. It was cool enough for a car wash to be pleasant while being warm enough that everyone was still out and about. They earned €2,632. Bustier's class was getting ice cream and listening to Lila brag.

They then had an All Hallow’s Eve bake sale, complete with candy decoration reminiscent of the American holiday. They earned €1,800.

During November, they held a carnival, with a full fall theme. It was wildly popular with families from all over Paris, earning them €6,483. It was around this time that Mlle. Bustier’s class held a bake sale, and earned €1,594. They celebrated.

Throughout the holiday season, they took advantage of peoples’ spirit. They held a raffle throughout the 12 Days of Christmas, while also holding a bake sale the day before winter break. Overall, they earned €10,749.

Over winter break, Chloe bought plane tickets and reserved tours and hotels, so all that was left was to get money for the tours and food. They were over halfway to their goal.

During January, they rented a theater, and held their exhibition. They had a crowd of fencing enthusiasts, rock music lovers, and fashion followers. They made €5,830.

They held a date auction and a masquerade to celebrate Valentine’s Day. It was amazing, and they earned €7,284.

They had checked their go-fund-me, and had found that €10,000 was there, putting them €2,819 over their goal. They were ecstatic!

They still held the gaming tournament at the end of April, but let it be free for everyone to enjoy as their celebration of reaching their goal.

-----

Mlle. Butsier’s class had made €7,000 over their 3 fundraisers, and they were pretty proud of themselves. No doubt they would be going somewhere much better than whatever Maribrat and Chloe have planned. Once the girls walked into the classroom, the class started to brag.

“We’ve finished fundraising!”

Marinette smiled and decided to be nice to them. “Cool. Where are you going?”

“We are going to New York City.”

Chloe was not as kind. “Oh, so are we! It was so hard to raise the €45,000 needed for our trip, but we did it. It was so euphoric to meet our goal. How much did you guys raise?”

“We made €7,000.” The smiles slowly slipped off the faces of the class. “What do you mean the €45,000 needed?”

“Well, we needed to cover food, travel, boarding, and tours, and that was just for the 7 of us. I can’t imagine what the budget would’ve been like for an entire class.” Her smile got an edge, like a lioness who knew she had cornered her prey.

Her classmates blanched. “What was our budget, Alya?” Rose looked towards their new class representative, hoping that she had an answer.

“We never had one.”

“Well, at least you filed the paperwork right?”

“What paperwork?”

Marinette responded this time. “The paperwork needed to go on a trip. You were supposed to submit it to the school board for approval of safety and legality. It was on page 17 of the packet I gave you at the beginning of the year. Didn’t you read it, Alya?”

“I-I-no. Lila said that was just extra work that you had given me to throw me off my game. She said you didn’t actually need to do all of that.”

“I didn’t know that Lila had more experience being a class representative than me and Marinette, the only 2 people who have ever been class representative here.” Chloe’s voice became as sharp and sweet as her smile. “Well, have fun with your trip. Marinette and I have to do last-minute checks on our arrangements.”

The class looked at the people that had carried them the previous years, and realized how much they relied on the girls. Lila was cursing herself for pushing away the only people who actually did anything in this class.

-----

The class ended up going to Disneyland Paris, and tried their best to look as upbeat as possible on their social medias. Meanwhile, The group was having the time of their lives.

They stayed in LA for 2 weeks, visiting movie sets and meeting actors. They spent another week just going on everything at Disneyland and California Adventure.

They then spent a week in Star City, touring Queen Industries and having a meet and greet with Oliver Queen and his ward, Roy Harper, who seemed to enjoy Aurore’s outgoing personality. They even saw the vigilantes.

They spent another 2 weeks in Central City, touring STAR Labs and watching the rogues try to fight the Flash family. It was the most meta-filled city in the world, and They toured a forensics lab with Bart Allen. Chloe seemed grimly pleased with seeing the bodies. She might’ve been projecting certain people onto them, not that she would ever admit it.

2 weeks in Metropolis was really fun. They toured the Daily Planet with Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Mireille was amazed by what you could do to report without having to be in front of a screen. They made a scavenger hunt of how many Supers they could find, and they found 2 different superboys. Lex Corp also gave them a tour, although it was more professional than the tour of the Daily Planet.

They spent 1 week in Gotham. They toured Wayne Enterprises and stayed out of the Bats’ way. Luka got the phone number of Tim Drake. Marinette enjoyed the inspiration that the gothic architecture brought her. There wasn’t much of a nightlife scene, considering only fools stay out after dark in Gotham.

Their 1 week in New York City was hectic. The Avengers were all at the tower when they were touring with Pepper Potts by Chloe’s request. Chloe might’ve been unofficially adopted by Tony Stark when she stood up to them and made them ‘cease their bullshit’. The Black Widow also took a liking to the girl. They also ran into these weird teens muttering about monsters when they were waiting for the elevator at the Empire State Building.

2 weeks in Tokyo. Their last stop. They visited the prestigious Ouran Academy, the host club getting Marc to come out of their shell by constantly helping boost his self-esteem. Chloe enjoyed talking business and finances with Kyoya Ootori. Kagami led them all in a traditional tea ceremony, before they all stormed the streets to try the unfamiliar street food.

Marinette ended up being unofficially adopted by 3 heroes, 2 rogues, and 5 billionaires. She was happy getting to spend 7 weeks on the road with only her closest friends.

The class was incredibly jealous of the trip their classmates took. They hoped next year they could go on a trip like that as well, but they had missed their shot.

[shitpissboi]

Alone Together

Summary- The holidays are always hell, and sometimes you just need to be alone together with your boyfriends and your dumbass friends. 

Word Count- 3476

Pairing- Katuski Bakugou x Reader x Hitoshi Shinsou 

Warnings- Swearing, detailed use of marijuana, stalker behavior (kinda, just given as a backstory at the very beginning), aged up characters.

 A/N- Hello everybody! This is actually the first fic that i’ve written in well over a year, so forgive me if my writing is still a little rusty! I hope you like this fic, and thank you for taking the time to read it! :) (Edit: Honeslty thank you so much to everyone that’s interacted with this post! I did not expect it too get so many notes, so thank you all!🥺🖤)

You sighed as you walked into your apartment, the stress of the past week weighing heavily on your shoulders. This entire week had been awful, not only had you been made to work over time almost every day this week at the cafe, a new regular has apparently made it his sole mission in life to make your life hell after you rejected his advances. He had asked for your number last week and you politely declined, telling him that you already had two wonderful boyfriends that made you extremely happy.  

Ever since then, he had made sure to come into the cafe every time you worked just to make your job as hard as possible. Calling you names, commenting about your appearance, making you remake every single thing he ordered several times, just to name a few things. Coupling all of that with everything else that happened this week, it would be safe to say that it was one of the worst weeks you’ve had this year. All you wanted to do now was curl up with your boyfriends, smoke, and watch trashy television. 

Said boyfriends were already on the couch as you walked into the living room, lavender locks leaning against the back of the couch, one hand using the remote to look for something to watch, the other hand running through the messy blonde hair that was sitting in his lap. Your other boyfriend was sprawled out across the couch, laying his head in sleep deprived man's lap as he was texting away on his phone, only the former noticing your quiet entrance. 

“Hey Kitten, how was work today?” The former asked, altering Katsuki to presence. He looked up from his phone the same time Hitoshi looked away from the TV, both of them noticing something was wrong right away. Katsuki immediately sat up and moved to the other end of the couch, leaving just enough room for you to sit comfortably in between the two men. You plopped onto the couch and threw your head back and just groaned, earning a small chuckle from the two.

“That bad Teddy Bear?” Katsuki asked, repositioning you so your head was laying on his lap and your legs were on Hitoshis. You just nodded your head and pushed your face into his abdomen, trying not to cry out of frustration.He ran his fingers through your hair as Hitoshi started to rub your sore feet, helping you to relax. 

“I don’t really want to talk about it.. Can we just smoke and watch shitty TV please..?” The lavender haired man smiled softly at the pout in your voice, carefully moving your legs to get up before you could even finish what you were saying. 

“Of course we can baby. We're gonna have to call Tape Face though, your shitty boyfriend smoked the rest of it last night.” The pomeranian growled out teasingly, effectively bringing a laugh out of you. 

“He’s your boyfriend too Katsuki.” You laughed, sitting up straight and stretching. You watched as Hitoshi walked back into the living room, carrying all the things you would need for the nights sesh. You smiled up at him gratefully and pulled out your phone, quickly texting Sero and asking if he was busy. Hitoshi set up the items on the table then sat down on the chaise part of the couch, pulling you to sit in between his legs. Katsuki had gotten up to get drinks and snacks for the three of you, making sure to also grab your favorite. Hitoshi started to scroll through Hulu, settling on My Strange Addiction for now, when your phone started ringing. Sero’s name flashed on your phone, answering it immediately. 

“Hey mami! What’s up beautiful?” You laughed as you felt Hitoshis grip tighten around you, Sero has been your friend since you were little kids, growing up in the same neighborhood. If he wasn’t dating Denki when he first introduced you to the Bakusquad then they would’ve thought you guys were together with how much you two flirt. 

“Hey Sero. I know it’s late notice but could you make a delivery tonight, preferably soon?” 

“Of course (Y/NN), your week not getting any better?” He asked, genuine worry seeping into his voice. 

“No, it hasn’t. And a certain SOMEONE,” You looked up at Hitoshi and nudged him with your elbow. “Smoked the rest of what we had this morning and didn’t bother to restock.” He simply rolled his eyes at you. 

“You know, if you keep being a brat, then i’m gonna have to teach you a lesson, Kitten.” Hitoshi teased. 

“Shinsou Hitoshi! You can’t say things like that on call!” You pouted, hitting him lightly in the chest. You could hear Sero, and Denki since they were always together, losing their shit over the phone. You growled and put the phone back to your ear. 

“You know I was gonna invite you guys to smoke with us but I don’t like to hang out with fucking bullies!” You growled into the phone, but started laughing as Kaminari immediately started to back track and apologize, making Sero laugh even harder.

“Just your ass over here already, and bring Kiri and Mina too if they want, we haven’t hung out as a group in forever.” You rolled your eyes as you heard Denki runoff in the background, yelling at Kiri and Mina to get their asses ready, then hearing a loud thud, making your and Hitoshi look at each other curiously. 

“We’ll be over in 20 minutes babes... God dammit Denks how many times do I have to tell you not to ru-” The phone quickly hung, making you two roll your eyes yet again, you swear that over excited dumbass is one of the only things that can make Sero lose his never ending patience. You gently threw your phone onto the coffee table and relaxed back into the purple haired man. He kissed your forehead and wrapped himself around you tightly, allowing you to fully relax into his embrace. 

-

About 25 minutes later, a knock startles you from your happy daze. Seeing as Katsuki had taken Hitoshi’s previous position, Hitoshi your position against Katsuki, and you snuggled into Katsuki’s side, you got up to answer the door. As soon as you opened the door you were trapped by a hug from Sero. You relished in the hug for a couple seconds before pulling back and letting him, followed by Denki, Mina, and Kiri. Denki and Kiri immediately made a bee line for the couch, fighting over who would get a hug from their best friend first. (Hitoshi and Katsuki respectively.) 

“Well it’s nice to see you guys too, damn.” You mumbled, laughing a little at the end as you see your boyfriends immediately get annoyed with the two loud intrusions. 

“How much you wanna bet they’ll be dead within 30 mintues?” Mina said, pulling you into a side hug.  

“I give it 20. Tops.” Sero stated as you hug Mina back, leaning into the peck she gave you on the cheek before going to wrangle Kiri in before Katsuki tried to blow him up. 

“How’re you doing babes?” Sero asked, turning toward you while he slid his backpack off. 

“I’m okay right now, a lot better than earlier. I’m so fuckin ready to get stoned though.” You chuckled, rubbing the back of your neck with your hand. 

“I’m just glad that you're feeling better. I swear the next time that bastardo shows his face i’m gonna beat his ass.” He growled, cracking his knuckles to try to be intimidating. 

“Get in line Tape Face! Now get the fuck over here so we can get this started!” Katsuki yelled, making you let out a small giggle. Sero followed you into the living room where the chaos had already started. Denki was being half heartedly being consoled by Mina as he cried at Hitoshi for cuddling Katsuki and not him. Meanwhile Hitoshi was glaring daggers and Kiri, who was sitting in your previous spot, and addimently talking to Katsuki. 

You simply rolled your eyes and sat at the end of the chaise, Sero sitting in between your legs on the floor. He pulled a ziplock bag out of his backpack and grabbed the grinder off the table, promptly starting to break up the bigger nugs and put them into the grinder. You reached around him and grabbed your bong and a water bottle, pouring some water into the bong. Hitoshi had noticed you guys sit down and grabbed the bottle out of your hand when you were done, trading it with a lighter. Not even a couple minutes later Sero was handing you the grinder and you opened it, starting to pack a bowl while he got the stuff ready to roll a blunt.

You packed the bowl as full as you could and held the lighter to the bowl, starting to inhale. About 10 seconds later, when the chamber was sufficiently filled with smoke, you pulled the bowl out and inhaled again, relishing the feeling of the smoke settling into your lungs as you passed the bong and lighter to Sero. You held it for a couple more seconds before slowly letting the smoke out, feeling yourself relax with the exhale. You took the bag sitting next to Sero and continued to grind for him as he took a hit before passing it to Hitoshi. 

You watched Hitoshi take a hit as you continued to twist the grinder back and forth, smiling when he grabbed Katsuki by the collar and exhaled the smoke into his mouth. Katsuki blushed furiously, always being caught off guard when the younger man did things like that, and angrily buried his face into his neck. Hitoshi smirked as he looked down, handing the bong off to an unsuspecting Kiri. (Kiri, Denki, and Mina seriously didn’t realize you guys started until they were dead ass handed the bong-) 

Pulling your attention away from your lovers, you handed the full grinder to the man below you, seeing that he already had a blunt wrap split and emptied out. However he just handed the grinder and the tray to Hitoshi, knowing the exhausted man can roll a much prettier blunt than he can. Your head snapped up as you heard Denki start coughing and watched as Mina ripped the bong out of his hands.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to cough into the bong Denki! I swear every time you hit a bong you cough into it!” She yelled, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe the water off the outside of the glass instrument. 

“You're still coughing into the damn bong Kaminari?!” You exasperated, staring at him bewildered. It’s been a good couple months since you had all been able to get together, and in that time he had finally decided to move in with Sero. Sero was the second biggest stoner you’ve ever met, just being beat by Hitoshi, and his favorite thing to use was a bong, you would’ve thought he had taught him by now. 

“No matter how many times I tell him he still does it, so now I make him roll a blunt or use a pipe.” Sero shrugged, moving so he could sit between his boyfriend’s legs instead. 

“It’s not my fault my lungs are so bad! Whenever I fry myself it fucks up my lungs!” He whined, leaning forward and draping himself of the latino dramatically. 

“Which is exactly why you should learn how to use the fucking bong, idiot.” Katsuki spoke up, seemingly over his flustered state for the moment. Denki just whined dramatically, causing you all to sigh in irritation. Mina rolled her eyes and took her hit before passing it off to you. You gripped it tightly and stood up on the couch, very carefully going over to Katsuki and sitting in his lap, his arms immediately wrapping around you and his chin resting on your shoulder.  

You held the bong against your lips and went to light the bowl only for Katsuki to snatch it from you, making your lean away and glare at him. He smirked at you and flicked the lighter on, bringing it to the bowl. You rolled your eyes and smirked, putting your mouth back to the bong and inhaling as he lit it for you. You inhaled for a good 15 seconds before he pulled the bowl away, allowing you to inhale the smoke into your lungs. You handed the bong off to him and watched as he leaned it, very clearly wanting you to share the hit with him. 

You smiled at the secretly needy man holding you, softly tangling your hand with the hair at the base of his neck and gently pushing him forward. You tilted your head and let the smoke flow from your parted lips into his open mouth before sealing your lips together. Your lips molded together perfectly with his, the rest of the smoke seeping through your nose before you pulled away, still smiling. 

You looked on as he opened his eyes, a soft smile settling onto his features before he exhaled fully. You closed your eyes and leaned against him, contentment washing over your body for the first time during this hell week. He chuckled and leaned back against the couch again, taking you with him. You listened to him take another hit and felt as he inhaled and exhaled, feeling the smoke blow across your head as he blew you. He handed the bong off and let his head rest on the back of the couch, slightly tightening his hold on you. 

You heard Kiri take another hit as Mina, Sero, and Denki started another fight, letting out a giggle and Katsuki and Hitoshi let out a groan at the same time. You felt Katsuki reach up but paid it no mind until Hitoshi spoke up.

“Hey! That’s no fuckin fair Katsu! You can’t just turn off your hearing aids and leave us to suffer!” Hitoshi let out, holding the frash blunt in the side of his mouth while he signed for Katsuki. Your eyes snapped open and you sat up, giving the blonde your own glare, starting to sign for him. 

“Suki! You said you were going to leave them on this time!” You huffed, crossing your arms over your chest when you were done using your hands. 

“I’m not gonna listen to these shitty extras fight the whole time, so until they shut the fuck up, i’m leaving them off.” He signed, a satisfied smirk on his face. 

“You’re such a fukin asshole suki!” You grumbled, making sure to not sign to him. He just stuck his middle finger up at you and laughed. You just turned away and looked to Hitoshi, taking the blunt out of his mouth and grabbing the lighter. He tried to grab it back but stopped when he saw the mischief in your eyes, sitting back to watch you. You lit the blunt and took a long drag, passing it to Sero on the ground before climbing on Hitoshis’s lap. You gently grabbed his face and opened his mouth slightly with your thumb. 

You let the smoke fall from your lips and past his, watching as he sucked in the hit before dipping down to kiss him, raking your right hand through his hair. He pushed up into the kiss, making sure to make a show of grabbing your ass, opening his eyes slightly to lazily glance over at Katsuki, smirking to find him growling at you two. 

“Oh come on, get a room you horny lil freaky fucks.” Denki called out, making you burst everyone but Katsuki and Hitoshi burst out into laughter, the latter just deadpanning. You fell too the side to the side of Hitoshi, bumping into Katsuki’s still crossed legs, pulling yourself up when you calmed yourself down. 

“What in the fuck did you just call us?!” You asked, noting that Katsuki was signing to Hitoshi and asking what in the hell Denki just said. Said man just shrugged, leaning back against the couch. 

“A horny little freaky fuck.” He stated as if it was the most normal thing in the world, causing Mina, Kiri, and Sero to start laughing again. Katsuki had turned his hearing aids on again at this point and had heard what he said. 

“If you call my boyfriend and girlfriend that again i’m gonna kick your fucking ass dunce face.” Katsuki rumbled, grabbing his friend by the collar. You just laughed and reached over to his arm, lacing your hand with his and pulling it back to you, kissing the back of it and wrapping it around yourself. He tightened his grip on you and used his other hand to hold Hitoshi’s, growling at Denki. 

Denki yelped and jumped off the couch, lowering himself and trying to hide behind Sero, crying Katsuki not to hurt him. Sero just mumbled a “Fucking idiot”, and pulled the yellow haired man against him, leaving his arm around his waist. By this time the blunt had gotten back around to Katsuki and he took his arm off you to take a big hit, moving to lean against the arm of the couch so he could continue holding his boyfriend's hand. 

The blond passed the blunt to you when he was done, and you quickly started to inhale, smiling at the familiar burn in the back of your throat. You inhaled for a good while before passing it over to Hitoshi, laying back so your head was now in your other lovers lap. He automatically brought a hand up to your head and raked it through your hair a couple times before simply resting it on top. 

You closed your eyes as it finally started to hit you, allowing you to fully relax into your lover. You tuned out the rest of the conversations and background noise easily, focusing on the feeling of Katsuki’s hand on your head and Hitoshi moving so he was laying on your lap while still holding Katsuki’s hand. The blunt got passed around a couple more times before it was finally done, the bong getting thrown in here and there. You had ended up in a position where sitting up against the back of the couch and his legs apart as you sat between them and leaned against him and the arm of the couch. Hitoshi had crawled between the older man's legs and laid his head in your lap, practically purring as you pet his hair.

You were brought back down to reality when Hitoshi got up to grab a drink and change the TV, putting on something funny and didn’t need to be thought about too much. You sat up to, much to your blonde lovers grievance, and reached toward Hitoshi with a pout. He just let out a chuckle and grabbed your favorite drink and snack off the table, handing them to you as he got comfortable in your lap again. You happily took a sip of your drink and set it next to you, making sure to screw the cap tight, before opening your snack.

You munched it absentmindedly and leaned back against the arm of the couch, smiling up at the blonde and offering one to him. He looked around before begrudgingly opening his mouth, allowing you to place the tasty treat inside. You giggled as he grumbled and looked away, still not used to his friends seeing him act “soft”. You heard your other boyfriend let out a laugh at the explosive hero, genuinely happy that he still continues to try and open up to those close to him, especially after the last couple being rough on everyone.

The holidays brought stress to everyone, the spike in crime making the heros (Kirishima, Denki, Katsuki, and Hitoshi.) over work themselves more than usual and become even more exhausted. While you, Mina, and Sero all had to deal with the wonders of working retail and food service during this time, always seeming to get stuck with the absolute worst customers that would threaten your job and life. 

The last month has clearly taken a chunk out of everyone, and the almost always rowdy group was just thankful to finally get a restful and relaxing night. Even if the group was full of impulsive ideas and even more impulsive decisions, they never felt more safe than when in each other's company, mastering the art of being alone together when it was truly needed. You smiled as you came to this realisation, knowing that no matter what happened or what obstacles would be thrown your way, as long as you had your boyfriends and your friends, everything was going to be alright. You are going to be alright.

Masterlist

Posted 12/19/2020

[deithe]

the bones (2,847 words) (1/1)

(an introspective on jason grace. kind of?)

read here on ao3 or read below the cut!

jason falls in love with the human equivalent of a forest fire

(his mother fell in love with the sky itself)

jason grace grew up being told that his destiny was very, very simple.

his first and most important mission, handed down to him from lady juno and mother lupa, was that jason was destined to save rome. that his destiny lay with new rome and camp jupiter, a new romulus to lead the pack to greatness. he would spill so much blood in new rome’s name that the little tiber would overflow and the gods would crown him with a golden laurel made from monster ichor.

he would be everything everyone else needed.

a spear for the senate, a shield for new rome, a standard to replace the one that had been lost, a sword for the gods to wield, and another pack member for lupa. he would be the perfect soldier, a demigod fashioned by two god-mothers for the simple act of being a weapon.

his second duty was that jason was to be nothing like his father.

his father, evil, unpredictable, selfish and cruel, was to be jason’s antithesis. lady juno stressed this, as did the senate, as did his praetors (though praetor saville jason eventually killed in battle, so jason doesn’t take her words to heart anymore). jason was never, ever to be like his father. all sons of jupiter before him were either driven insane or were killed, and jason’s great destiny could not afford for him to do either of those things.

‘hubris’ lady juno once told him, while going through his latin lessons in the damp cold of the den (or wolf house, as she called it), ‘is the thing that kills sons of jupiter’.

so jason was to never be prideful, but at the same time, never to believe he was inferior. he was to be subservient but never meek, he was to be a capable fighter but never violent. he was to be kind but not a pushover. open but not flirtatious.

he was to be perfect. he could not afford anything else.

then he, in the span of a few months, murdered his prateor after finding out she was a traitor, watched his friend be assaulted by a family legacy of prophetic visions which turned him into a paranoid asshole, watched his other friend assume a leadership role, one which he tried to refuse, and fought an army, killed a titan and toppled kronos’ black throne.

he also became praetor and then was promptly kidnapped by lady juno, leaving said other friend with all the responsibility.

then any and all plans the gods had for him were ruined by a daughter of aphrodite with eyes like the earth and a son of hephaestus with a smile like war.

how could jason be the perfect soldier when his loyalties no longer lay with new rome? he loved his home, he loved his siblings-in-arms, he loved the legion-

he loved leo and piper more than the breath in his lungs, than the sky and earth and more than his destiny. he loved them enough to try and find whatever scraps of himself he had. to create something they could love too.

(heracles killed himself after accidentally killing his family. love killed him in the end)

and so, jason failed in his first mission. he could no longer put new rome above them, above camp half-blood.

jason doesn’t think becoming his father is an option for him, however. his father is prideful and arrogant and his father's likeness, he will eventually learn, belongs only to his prodigal sister.

and so, jason grace finds his last name, a family he never knew, friends he could die for and an empty cabin that seemed less lonely with leo or piper in it.

then they went on a quest, leo built a ship and they all set sail to stop gaia from rising.

then jason lost leo, then jason lost everything, then jason lost himself and then lost piper-

and, in the middle of winter, leo valdez came crashing down on a metal dragon with eyes like a nuclear explosion and teeth made for tearing meat from bone, or tearing jason’s heart from his chest.

and then jason found himself again in the space between the junction between leo valdez's fourth and fifth ribs.

leo valdez is a lot of things. he’s a son of hephaestus and a complete asshole. he’s the first child of hephaestus to be born with the ability to create and control fire in over 400 years. he’s a 5’4ft guy who wears platformed boots to make himself seem taller. he’s so powerful that he obliterated gaia. he’s a genius. he thinks spraying axe bodyspray on himself is the same as a shower. he overworks himself even when he doesn’t have to. he can fight gods and go toe-to-toe with any big three kid and hold his own. he likes to survive on a diet of mango monster energy and takis. he's obnoxious. he's thoughtful. he makes mean-spirited jokes at other people's expense. he's the best person jason's ever met

he’s-

currently late for their date.

It’s not that jason minds, per se, but leo has a nasty habit of getting so completely lost in his work that he can plan a date for the next day, and jason won’t see him for at least three days. it’s one of the downsides of being the trophy boyfriend of a genius.

jason sighs and rocks back on his heels, eyes darting up to the grey, overcast sky. he can almost hear leo in his head, asking if he could pretty please make it less goddamn cold? and his pout when jason refuses to change the weather for him.

it's not that jason won't. it's just that he can't. it makes aeolus snappy.

sometimes he still does it. manipulates the air currents just enough to warm the air around them and leo smiles, a real one, small and soft. like it wasn't meant to be seen. a secret thing, just for jason.

jason doesn't see leo smile like that often.

it's mid-february in new york and jason is kicking around central park in the grey mid-day light. it's quiet, this part of the park, with barely anyone passing jason as he leans against a tree, wet dew dripping into his unstyled hair. it's cold, but not cold enough for a freeze or snow. just the right amount of cold to turn your hands numb and purple from cold

which. if you've never seen leo 'was raised in texas and has fire powers' valdez in new york snow, jason fully believes you've never lived.

he spends another 30 minutes splitting his time from staring into space and wandering around the meeting spot they've arranged. it's peaceful here. jason can even hear some birds twittering and chirping in the trees above. the cold even stops bothering him. jason likes being alone sometimes.

it reminds him of the lupercal and lupa. long days and nights in the loneliness of the redwood forest. just him and the wolves and the stars.

though now jason has sturdy boots and a wool jacket, so not exactly the same.

he's in the middle of trying to coax a timid sparrow onto the hand, crouched on the balls of his feet when he feels a presence beside him. he goes stiff when he realises and then, like all the tension has been zapped out of him, goes relaxed again.

"that," leo whispers, also crouched beside jason, "is one fat fucking bird"

jason represses a grin, "don't say that. he's probably barely eaten all winter," and leo snorts, moving closer to jason so their shoulders brush. the bird regards leo with some caution but his black, beady eyes seem to acknowledge that jason would keep him safe.

"he looks better fed than me, jace. do you care more about this bird than your own poor boyfriend?" leo says, faux-sadness in his voice, "how cruel, jason grace. how cruel".

jason turns in time to see leo shake his head, black curls wild around his face as they shudder like leaves in the wind. his eyes are dark brown, watching the bird watch leo. a staring contest.

leo says his name like no one else does. like it's a name. like it's good. like it's something familiar and warm. he does not say 'jason' and imagine a great hero or a wolf-boy with no past. he does not say 'grace' like a joke, like grasp for power, like it carries too much weight for his tongue to bare.

he says it like it belongs to jason. he says it like it's important. not too fast, but not too slow.

leo turns his head to find jason staring at him.

"jason" he calls, lips quirking up at the edge, pulling out the 'o' like toffee, "i know i'm pretty irresistible but please, keep your longing stares for the bedroom"

jason shoves up against leo's shoulder, blush bursting across his already red-cold face.

he pushes just slightly too hard and leo goes spilling across the wet grass, yelping in surprise.

"jason!" he yells, looking up at jason half shocked and half in amusement. "what the fuck, dude!"

jason can't help himself.

leo is wearing jason's hoodie, the black one mrs.blofis picked out for jason which leo claimed as his own even before they started dating. his new denim, fur-lined jacket (from the hide of the nemean lion they killed last year) is just slightly too big and he's wearing black jeans. he looks like the college freshman he is. he looks mortal.

he looks human. he has leaves in his hair and his cheeks are flushed from the cold, teeth showing through the toothy smile he's giving and-

it's uncanny, sometimes, how well they can pass for normal. you almost can't tell leo's died and come back to life. you almost can't tell he's more powerful than any living mortal.

almost.

jason falls on top of leo in the wet grass, which causes leo to yelp, again, and knee jason in the stomach.

jason groans "dude, what the hades was that for?" and he rolls of leo, onto the wet grass beside him, arms protectively covering his bruised stomach.

"you fell directly on top of me, you big lug," and leo sits up, picking a leaf out of his curls absentmindedly, "if you haven't noticed, you're like a bean-pole with muscle mass. that shit hurts!"

jason pouts up at leo, who manages to look both unimpressed and fond. he rolls his eyes and offers his hand to jason, who accepts and leo hauls him into a sitting position in front of him

"hi, leo" jason says finally, "you're late"

"i'm not late, loser, you're just a nerd and get places earlier than normal people. its super weird," leo tells him, matter-of-factly, scooting closer to him as they sit on the ground. "you should really get it checked. might be terminal nerdiness. the glasses are just the first sign"

jason raises an eyebrow, curviving over said glasses. "i didn't know it could be terminal. oh well, guess i'll just wither away and die from being punctual. what an injust life i lead. how the sorrows never end"

leo pouts, eyes sparking with enough warmth to keep out the cold for decades to come, "don't be so down about it, I hear being a nerd has perks,"

jason moves closer, so his knees are half-pulled up to his chest and he's balancing his weight on his hand. leo fits perfectly in the bracket of his arms.

"oh? do tell?" he asks, and leo is close enough that jason can see the faint freckles on his cheeks. they're fading from how far away leo has been from the sun, but jason loves them anyways.

"yup," leo says, popping the p and smiling like the cat who got the cream. "do you know that all nerds get super hot and funny and sexy boyfriends? as compensation for being such nerds, of course"

jason pulls back his head a bit, just as leo laces his arms around his shoulders, "really?" and his voice is soft, but the smile won't disappear from his lips, "wow, didn't know that. guess I'm lucky that you're such a huge nerd or-"

leo kisses him like coming home. and in a way it is.

jason has known many homes. he's known the small apartment with his mother that smelt like spilt wine and smoke and mold. he's known the lupercal and the redwood forests around it. he's known the barracks at camp jupiter and the feeling of purpose in his chest. he's known cabin 1 and cabin 9 and bunker 9 and on the back of festus and on the argo. he's known the feeling of reyna laughing as he tells her wild stories and of the fifth cohort raising him on their shields. he's known lying in leo's private room with piper and leo, listening to low music and feeling safe with just them.

but the one person who jason has felt like home since they met was leo. his high ground through the tsunami. his parachute during a plane crash. the one point of home. like the north-star.

jason smiles into the kiss, his free hand tangling itself in the rough fabric of leo's dark blue denim jacket. it's soft and chaste, more a press of warm lips than anything. it's comforting. it's familiar. it's everything he wants.

leo pulls back a bit, just far enough to speak but still close enough that his breath brushes up against jason's cold face. "hi," he says, brushing his nose against his, "missed you, bro".

jason snorts, "i missed you too, leo, how's MIT treating you?"

"like i'm it's bitch is how it's treating me," leo tells him, slumping slightly into jason, forehead against jason's. "can we not talk about college? i think if we talk about college I might start crying and then our date will be ruined"

jason pulls back a bit to look at leo. he does look more tired than usual, eye-bags darker and lips bitten from nervousness. he frowns, using his free hand to cup his face. "are you okay? we can just go back to your dorm if you're too tired-"

"ugh, no way" leo groans, "fuck that. i just wanna spend time with you, okay? i wanna be mushy and all that gay shit. i want bad food and to kiss you again and again and do more than kissing-"

jason rolls his eyes.

"-and then go back to mrs.blofis apartment and watch really bad movies you like for some reason and then i'll go to sleep beside you and it'll be gay and shit"

"gay and shit?"

"gay and shit, you better believe it grace. but first-"

and leo untangles himself from jason and stands up, brushing the dirt from his knees leaving jason frowning on the floor.

he offers out his hand, brown skin calloused from work, long, thin fingers curled slightly as the palm faced upwards.

"c'mon, super, treat your louis lane to some greasy new york food before he decides batman has better pay"

jason is so, so lucky he got leo valdez. that the fates decides to make sure that his destiny crosses leo's. that he convinced leo valdez to let down his walls, to stay, that jason wouldn't leave him like the others, or hurt him or betray him.

that jason was in it for as long as leo wanted him to be. that jason only wanted leo to say his name, wanted to give it to leo because leo's the only one who's mouth jason trusts with it. that jason wanted to give leo his past. wanted to show him and tell him where he got each scar.

he trusts leo with this. he trusts leo's hands to not burn it all to ash. because he knows that if leo wanted to, he could. he could burn jason alive with a thought. turn him to ash and glass with a flick of his hand.

jason has fallen in love with a nuclear bomb, with a supernova of a boy and jason doesn't care if it kills him, because he has spent so long pretending to be what everyone else needed, that now he was going to be who he wanted to be. even if it got him killed. even if it burned him alive.

jason grace has fallen in love with the human version of a forest fire. he should be afraid of it, of leo. he is not. he never will be.

beryl grace fell in love with the sky itself. wanted all the stars in heaven and didn't care what happened to her. as long as she knew she had the stars attention. as long as she knew the sky loved her back.

as long as he knew the fire loved him back.

he takes his hand.

[kirillsochnev]

September 1st

First day of school! Nothing too interesting. They play those soviet hymns in the morning, which is good, I guess. Makes me feel like I didn't miss out on 16 years and USSR breaking up. Very loud and persistent, though. But i like it. Reminds of my pioneer days, and the summer camps.. Went to work out in the morning with Seva and Edik. Seva almost died from strain XD

Carrie got sick and stayed in her room all day. There were no lessions anyway, just games for the whole school.

When we sat in class for organization, that kazakh girl, Altyn, told me some rumors about Goar. Apparently, she's having issues with her fiancé. Useful information, I guess it's good to know someone *that* involved in gossip.

Teamed up with Sonya and his brother (?) for that. Technically, you're supposed to team up with your parents, but there was no way they'd show up. Guess I'm lucky Sonya's parents were also busy. Does he even have them? I bet he has like, 20 sibilings.

Made Azovka bring some candy from the games to Carrie. She better appreciate that.

September 2nd

First lessons today. Just math and russian, nothing much. Altyn got even more info today: apparently, Goar and her fiance from out of town had a falling out, and he asked for the proposal ring back, but she doesn't have it?

Seva got threatened by that asshole in our class. He's a friend of Seva's 'worst enemy', which is just some gopnik kid, Gleb. Seva used magic on him and they've been trying to avenge him since. That kid is crazy. Apparently he learned magic. Idk how, I just kinda do it, and he has some specific ass rituals to do it.

Mila caught a dust spirit and brought it to lunch. Kind of gross, this ball of dust in the middle of the cafeteria.

Carrie's still sick. Went to bring her some food after class, ran into Altyn again. She's pretty, but totally has nothing on her mind besides gossip.

When i went back to our dorm, Seva was screaming about some crazy shit. Turns out me, him and Edik had the same dream about a chained-up old lady for the last two days. One chain link breaking every night. Definitely weird, but Seva went paranoid with analyzing it. World ending and shit. Maybe we should look into that. 10 more chain links- something's going down on the 12th.

After Seva managed to chill he told us it's his birthday. Edik and I practically dragged him to a bakery to get a cake, brought Mila and Sonya with us. The bakery's run by Mila's aunt. Bought a whole carrot cake. Then we headed back to school, but that's a 30-minute walk across the whole city. So we run into Gleb's gang on our way back. What a coincidence! Gleb tried to threaten us, and Seva told him to fuck off. Nice. Before they tried to fight, I used my magic charms. Didn't work on Gleb, but worked on his girl. Then something weird happened. Gleb's friend punched him, and they got really crazy, so we just kinda ran away to not deal with them. Grabbed Gleb's girl while we were running. Her name's Taya. Stopped by the train station and ate cake there. Even Taya got a piece- we talked a little bit. Sonya traded some cake for beer from a homeless guy. We hung out until sundown. Beer's gross, but Taya was drinking it, so I did too...

I left the others to walk her home, cause it was getting late. I mean, I doubt she'd get into any trouble, she seems strong and like she doesn't take any shit. Very much a gopnik, but there's something about her... It's strange how a trashy girl that drinks beer and wears adidas tracksuits acts so shy when I compliment her. That's what it is. I kissed her on the cheek before she left. Don't know why. Seemed like a right thing to do.

[redheadsinmybed]

Captured

Wanda x Natasha x Reader

This is part of the Loving a little series Reader is little, light angst, happy ending

Summary: Wanda and Natasha are training. What happens when you’re left alone???

Notes: Sorry it’s been so long guys I hope you enjoy this one :) Let me know what you think of it!

You are all alone in a lonely bed with your lonely self. You were lonely because Wanda and Natasha are training. They got up at 6 waking you up and they’ve been training for 30 minutes now. 30 minutes of sleep that you’ve lost. Sure you tried to go back to bed, but you were having trouble without them.

Wanda and Natasha were training with each other. They had woken up early so they could have the training room all for themselves. They heard something in the hallway, assuming it was just some of the other avengers they kept training.

You hear the door open to you room, your eyes are closed and you don’t open them, assuming its Nat and Wands you say

“Mmm come back to bed.”

“I don’t think that will be happening anytime soon,” Says a strange voice. Your eyes fly open, but it’s too late, you scream and the stranger injects something into your arm.

“Miss Y/N is being hurt in her room by a Hydra agent,” Friday says over head. Suddenly red lights are being flashed everywhere, a loud beeping noise is being broadcasted all over the compound, and Friday is locking down the compound. It’s too late though.

“Where is she Friday?!” Wanda and Nat say panicked.

“They are already outside.” Friday says. Wanda and Natasha run outside to see you being carried by the Hydra agent. The stuff she injected into you had made your mind fuzzy, and you watch as red blurs your vision.

“Mama!” You say as loud as you can. Wanda flies up, but she can’t shoot down the plane that you went into without the chance of hurting you. She flies as fast as she can but she can’t keep up, and suddenly it disappears blending in with the clouds and she can’t tell where it is. She falls to the ground slowly landing on her knees crying. Natasha catches up with her in a vehicle.

“Baby?”

“I-I couldn't he-lp her. I heard her sc-scream f-for me.” Wanda says crying. Natasha picks her up and puts her in the car.

“I know baby, I watched you. You did the right thing, you couldn’t shoot down the plane. It’s gonna be okay we will find her,” Natasha coos as she gets up and drives back to the compound. The lights and beeping had stopped and everyone was up and ready for a fight.

“What happened, are you hurt?” Steve says as he sees Wanda crying.

“T-they took her, they t-took Y/N '' Wanda says, breaking down again.

“Who?” Tony asks.

“Hydra,” Natasha says holding Wanda and rubbing her back.

“Last time when Y/N first got her powers Hydra found out she was little, and that she has powers,” Natasha says.

“We won’t stop until we get her back,” Bucky says, putting a hand on Wanda’s shoulder.

When you wake up you are in a cold dark cement cell and you’re still little.

“Hello little one,” You hear a male voice say coming from the other side of the bars.

“Ware my Mama?” You ask.

“You won’t be seeing your Mama for a while. I heard you have special powers is that right?”

“I fink so,” You say back. The man comes where you can see him, he’s old, has grey hair and a lot of wrinkles on his face.

“You wook old,” You say with a giggle. Clearly not knowing what kind of situation you are in. The old man unlocks your cell and grabs your arm.

“Listen here you little tot, I don’t know where you think you are, but this is not a place where laughter is to be heard. Maybe I should teach you a lesson.” He drags you out of the cell and brings you to a better lit room. He’s a very fast walker so he’s kind of dragging you across the floor by your arm. Your bottom lip starts to wobble and tears flood your eyesight. He stops dragging you and picks you up and sets you on a stool. You feel him grab your wrist and attach it to a handcuff on the top of the ceiling. He does the same to your other wrist.

After he gets your wrists hooked to the ceiling he kicks the chair out from under your feet. You scream in pain as you hang from the ceiling, the cuffs digging into your wrists. He watches as tears stream down your face while you whimper.

“Oh we are going to have some fun,” He says with a chuckle.

All the avengers are on a quint jet to the last and final Hydra base location that they know of. They’ve gone every other base that was within 300 miles of the compound. They landed in a spot of openings in the trees far enough from the Hydra base that they couldn’t be seen.

“What if she’s not here?” Wanda says with grief written all over her face.

“Hey,” Natasha says cupping Wanda’s face, making her look over at her.

“We are gonna find her, we aren’t gonna stop til we do,” Natasha says, rubbing her thumb on Wanda’s cheek. Wanda places her hand over Natasha’s.

“Promise?” She asks.

“Promise,” Natasha says back. Everyone gets out of the jet and starts towards the base. When they see the base in sight they hear something.

“Mama!!” Wanda and Nat instantly recognize your voice. Everyone takes off towards the base. There’s four guards blocking the entrance, Steve uses his shield to take out two of them. Iron Man uses his energy beam to knock out the one firing at Steve. Clint takes out the last one with his bow.

You hear ruckus outside and the old man hears it too. He runs off somewhere. When the door opens you expect it to be him again, but it’s not.

“Mama?” You say with tears in your eyes. Wanda catches sight of you and her heart breaks. You’re naked and there’s angry red cuts on your body and purple bruises everywhere.

“Yes baby girl, it’s me you’re okay now, Mama’s here,” She says as she uncuffs you and holds you to her. She holds you for a minute while the tears in her eyes drop down onto her face.

When she pulls away she wipes the tears away from your face and hers. She takes off her long red jacket and puts it over you. She picks you up, careful not to hurt you. You suck on your thumb and hold onto her tightly not wanting to ever leave her arms. You walk out to where everybody is standing waiting for you, you stop Nat and she quickly makes her way over to you.

“Mommy,” You say sadly.

“Hi baby girl, are you okay?” Natasha asks, you shake your head.

“He hurt me Mommy,” You say, you can see the anger boil up in her.

“Baby he will never hurt you again, I promise. I will never let you get hurt again.” Natasha says to you.

“Can we go?” You ask a little bigger, just wanting to get out of there.

“Not so fast,” You hear someone say. Wanda whips around to see an old man standing with more than 20 Hydra agents.

“I think you have something that belongs to me,” He says with a sneer.

“Baby go with Clint to the jet okay,” She says as she sets you down. You shake your head.

“It’s okay I wanna help you fight,” You say now big. She sighs but lets you.

The Hydra agents come at you. You set yourself aflame and shoot fireballs from your hands at them. Steve and Tony work together to take out the agents on the left and Clint and Bucky take the ones on the right. You see Natasha fighting an agent twice her size. You see Wanda helping her by using her powers to fling him to the side of the building. You watch as your family takes down the bad guys around you.

You see the old man start to walk away and you chase after him. You shoot a fireball at him and he dodges it.

“Is that the best you can do?” He mocks with his arms in the air. Wanda comes up to you.

“I wanna try something,” You say to her.

“Okay”

“I want you and I to combine our powers to make one.” You say to her. Wanda starts with a red ball of energy in her hands. You place both your hands in her energy and act like you’re about to shoot a fireball but instead just keep it in your hands.

“You ready?” You ask Wanda, she nods her head. You both aim your powers at the old man.

“Three” You say.

“Two” Wanda says.

“One” You say together. You shoot your powers at the old man. It tangles and dances with each other beautifully. It knocks the old man out and the fire burns his body.

“Yesss!” You say jumping in the air. You hold your hand up for Wanda to highfive and she does with a laugh. You walk back hand in hand together to see that everyone has taken out all the agents. You grab Tasha’s hand.

“Can we go home now?” You say.

“Of course baby,” Natasha says. You and your family walk back to the jet. When you get home you, Wanda, and Nat go straight to your room. You take off the jacket that Wanda had given you. You hear Natasha gasp.

“Oh baby,” She says as you can see the tears well up in her eyes. You walk up to her and wipe the tears that fall on her face away.

“It’s okay, I’m okay now that I’m here with you,” You say and give her a kiss. She smiles but stands back so she can examine you. Most of the cuts Wanda had seen were small and healed now, but the purple bruises that mark your body are not.

“I’m sorry,” She says to you.

“What are you sorry for?” You ask.

“For not finding you sooner, for letting them do this to you. It’s all my fault, I was the one who suggested that Wanda and I train early if we didn’t do that then none of this would’ve happened.”

“Baby, this was not your fault, or Wanda’s fault,” You say as Wanda comes out of the bathroom.

“I’m fine now, I promise, what happened was nobody's fault and I don’t blame either of you.” You say as you kiss each of them.

“Okay,” Natasha says, dropping the subject. You yawn and it cracks your jaw and your eyes water.

“Looks like someone needs some sleep,” Wanda says as she gets into bed. You crawl in beside her and Natasha gets on the other side of you. You throw the sage love blanket over Wanda and Natasha making sure that it covered them equally. You had to lean over Wanda to unfold the blankets corner.

“What are you doing baby,” Wanda asks.

“Mm want to make sure you are nice and warm.” You say after you deem that everyone is covered by the blanket you lay down. You snuggle yourself into Wanda’s arms and lay your head on her shoulder. You sigh as Natasha holds you from behind.

“Love you guys, goodnight.”

“Love you too,” Natasha says.

“Goodnight,” Wanda says. That night you swear they hold you tighter.