#she said santa shops at target too

[moominofthevalley]

Well Timed Levity

Santa keeps taking candy from children, and Emily and Trystan are all about justice.

Characters: Trystan Thorne x Emily Rose

WC: 1.3k

Rating: Teen

“Who steals candy from literal children?” 

Emily scoffed, a grin on her lips. 

“Santa, apparently. And not just children. Elderly, too.” 

“Perhaps Kaspar got tired of stealing royal jewels and started taking food?”

“That’s…a possibility,” Emily rubbed her eyes. 

“You think so?” 

“If there’s two kleptomaniac Santas, maybe. Read the dossier Luke made.” 

Caucasian Male. Late thirties to early forties. Often dressed up in Santa attire to avoid suspicion. Petty thefts began in early December, mostly in shopping plazas and otherwise crowded areas. Targets are typically young children or the elderly.

“Mm, I guess not then. You know Detective, I could’ve sworn you said you were done with these common cases.”

“I’m just tired of dealing with scumbag husbands cheating on their wives. Besides, I think it’ll be fun to take this shithead down.” 

“I can think of other kinds of fun,” Trystan whispered in her ear, eyebrows waggling. Emily rolled her eyes, lightly shoving him away. 

“Watch the flirting, partner. We’re on the clock. Go look around.” 

Two boards replaced a shattered window of a French café, the lights off and the doors shut. Across Emily and Trystan were an elderly couple, wrinkled and blanketed with thick coats. The two shared a cup of steaming apple cider, beaming with yellowed teeth. 

“Reminds me of my childhood,” Trystan pointed to two children holding caramel apples. The eldest sister swung her legs back and forth as the younger one adorably ate the fruit. 

“Aw. Would you and Marguerite eat dessert together after…I don’t know, voting on Drakovian laws?” 

“Yes – not after voting, though. Mags would get apples from our garden, and then I’d make homemade caramel sauce!” 

“How cute. Maybe you can get me a caramel apple after we catch the guy?” 

“Consider it done.” 

A crowd surrounded them, stomping through the food court. Flurries of strangers in beanies and homely holiday sweaters scurried about, arms wide with shopping bags. A shriek rang in the detective’s ears, a flash of red dashing through her vision. A trail of caramel sauce marked the ground, two weeping children standing by. 

“What happened?” Emily kneeled to the kids, her heart cracking at their cherub cheeks and doe eyes. 

“Sa–Santa took our food!” The younger sister squealed. Trystan and Emily exchanged a glance, brows furrowed. 

“Listen to me,” Trystan smiled, “We’ll do everything we can to catch Santa, but can you tell us which way he went?” 

The sisters wiped away their feeble tears. The older sister turned around and pointed to the escalators; the mugger cursing as the caramel apples fell to the floor. 

Time to catch Santa. 

* * * * 

“Fuck you!” 

“Watch it, bitch!” 

“Are ya fucking dumb?!” 

Ignoring the chorus of insults, Emily and Trystan shoved past the crowd; their shoulders stinging like hell. Not that it mattered, there were bigger fish to fry. 

They continued, chests heaving and legs cramping. Their mouths ran dry, ribs exasperated and tight. Beads of sweat trickled down their foreheads, cheeks flushed and breaths short. Emily’s skin cringed as she sprinted up the claustrophobic escalator, the gluttonous assailant at the very top. 

“Fuck!” Trystan hissed, “He’s – ngh – heading towards the elevator!” 

“You fucker!” Emily reached for her taser, “Don’t you fucking dar–” 

The door shut, a smirking Santa on the other side. The detective’s fingers frantically pressed the buttons, praying to some fictitious God that it’d make the doors open faster. It was futile; she was betting on losing dogs. 

Emily had been in this position many times. Chasing some fucker through crevices and empty alleys. Tackling them and rehashing the same shitty one-liner as if that’d undo the aching bruises and black eyes. Drinking until her face was numb. Rinse and repeat. 

There were a few general rules to follow. Watch for any exits, entrances, or holes to jump over. Listen very fucking intently. Were those footsteps from the criminal, or your partner? Did your taser click, or was that their gun? And of course; breathe in and out, but don’t dare stop for a second, or else they’re as good as gone. 

“We’regonnafuckingcatchhim, we’re gonna – agh – fucking catch him!” She heaved, eyes glued on the floor indicator; taking its sweet fucking time. Trystan bent over, hands stuck on his knees as he caught his breath with long-awaited gasps. 

The elevator opened with a pleasant ding! and they burst into the empty lift, Emily’s sore fingers pressing harder on the ‘close’ button. Meeting the steel door once more, poorly-timed Christmas music playing. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” 

“It is the holidays after all.”

Reaching the bottom floor, Emily and Trystan sprang out, feet burning. The fucker was only a fingertip away, though Emily groaned as she attempted to strangle the man in his chickenshit costume. The blood in their veins was cold; sweat continuously drizzled down their heads like mist on a mundane morning. 

“You bastards…don’t…quit!” 

“Trystan! We can cut him off…Chase him right into each other!” 

“A flanking maneuver. I like your style.” 

“I’ll cut him off!” 

“I’ll stay on him,” Trystan winked, masking his exhaustion, “See you on the other side, beautiful.” 

Emily clung to her taser, growing frantic and lightheaded as she charged through the side alley. Every inch of her body was engulfed in flames, and for a faint second, Eleanor’s limp body fizzled into her mind. Ignoring the heavy weight on her shoulders, Emily carried on. 

“Where are you?” She sneered, cheeks glowing red. 

“Emily!” Trystan yelled, the man in red running just a few feet away from him. 

“Ha! I fucking did it! I’m fuckin–”

It only took a second for Santa to flail to the ground, though not before slamming a punch right at Emily’s cheek. Her reaction was visceral; shrieking like a shot deer before forcing herself to get back into motion. Blood streamed down her nose down to her jaw, the copper scent bringing her back to Vasili’s weeping corpse. The ghostly moments stuck with her as she rubbed her bruised cheek. 

The thief squirmed as Emily straddled him, tightening cuffs around his wrists. Standing up, she threw him a taunting laugh. A red-faced Trystan ran up to them, grinning madly despite the burn in his thighs. 

“Now that is what I call teamwork.” 

“Alright, don’t get too excited…Though I guess it’s time to find out who this ‘Santa’ really is.” 

“Roger Dupont?!” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah – I escaped prison! And I would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling-” 

“Shut the fuck up, will you?” Emily crossed her arms, “Stealing candy from children? Dressed up as Santa? Was prison food not enough for you?” 

“I hear prison hollandaise isn’t the same,” Trystan teased. 

“You–you mock my misery! You don’t understand!” 

Kneeling to him, Emily tilted her head, a mocking grin on her bloodied lips. Sweat and bruises lined Richoet’s face; skin damp and eyes fluttering like a dying butterfly. His breaths were labored and unwell, his nose bleeding and staining his costume. 

“You lost, Dupont. Twice now, in fact. Maybe this time you can just sit in your fucking cell and think about what you did.” 

“You prurient c–” 

“Hey,” Trystan snarled, snatching his collar, “Listen to me! If you ever escape prison, steal food, and then dare insult Emily ever again, I’ll-” 

“Trystan,” Emily caught his arm, his fist only a breath away from Ricochet. She grumbled, “Leave the scared little weasel alone.” 

“I can’t go back,” Ricochet whimpered, casting a comical pout, “I can’t–I can’t go back!”

“Maybe you should’ve thought about that before breaking out of prison and robbing people.” 

Succumbing to his fatigue, Ricochet slumped over, unconscious. Turning to Emily, Trystan frowned. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Pretty damn exhausted,” Emily huffed, “Those movies never fuckin’ get chase scenes right. My feet are on fire.” 

Trystan stepped closer, his hand cradling her chin. Grazing her lip, his thumb lingered as he wiped away splotches of blood. 

“Do you need anything? I can carry you to the car.” 

“God no,” Emily laughed, “But I do believe you owe me a caramel apple.” 

* * * * A/N: Happy Holidays, everyone! This is my last holiday fic for the year :) I hope you all enjoyed it. Chase scenes are SO not my forte but I did try my best haha. Thank you so much for reading, and have a happy New Year!

Also, fun fact, this WAS going to be more comedic but I ended up realizing I am not funny at all. The only comedic thing I can do is write banter lol.

Click here for a list of all my works so far!

Tags: @choicesholidays @choicesficwriterscreations @jerzwriter @logolepzy @mooserii @stars-are-within-me @shadyinternetblizzard @urcowboyboyfriend @lexicook74-blog @leahtine @jahrobin @calisomnia @kyra75 @icarusfallsforever @inlocusmads (let me know if anyone else would like to be added to my perma tag!)

[lol0x0x]

I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a cashier hand this little boy some money back. The boy couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6 years old. The cashier said, “I’m sorry, but you don’t have enough money to buy this doll.” Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ”Granny, are you sure I don’t have enough money?” The old lady replied: ”You know that you don’t have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.” Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look a round. She left quickly. The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. “It’s the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.” I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her afterall, and not to worry. But he replied to me sadly. “No, Santa Claus can’t bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.” His eyes were so sad while saying this. “My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.” My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: “I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.” Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me “I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won’t forget me. I love my mommy and I wish she doesn’t have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.” Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly. I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. “Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?” “OK,” he said, “I hope I do have enough.” I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money. The little boy said: “Thank you God for giving me enough money!” Then he looked at me and added, “I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me!” “I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn’t dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose.” “My mommy loves white roses.” A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket. I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn’t get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local newspaper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy? Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the young woman had passed away. I couldn’t stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed forever.. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him. Now you have 2 choices: 1) Reblog this message. 2) Ignore it as if it never touched your heart

[obsessivedilettante]

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! And happy Sunday-hopefully-a-three-day-weekend to those who don’t.

Please forgive the janky photo but it is nearly 3am here and I am Secret Santa Sneaky putting up the stockings, hung by the gas fireplace with some faint suggestion of care.

The amusing thing is that these stockings are mostly filled with things that Mum and I bought together, in person, almost a month ago, while getting the traditional holiday panetón at Cost Plus World Market. (They have the best flavor options!)

We also picked up a few fun trinkets while we were there. Mum has a solar powered waving Queen Elizabeth that she got years ago when living in England. It sits on the windowsill of the kitchen, and because we live in such a sunny place, I’ve grown accustomed to the click-click as her hand swivels back and forth.

Anyway, Mum’s version is basic blue. But we found this one at World Market that is gold! So fancy! So now we can have dueling waving queens.

We also saw a candy dispenser that is shaped like a sloth and poops out the candies. How can anyone resist that, especially since a major highlight of the family trip to Peru last summer was holding a baby sloth. We had a coupon for a free ornament so we also got an alpaca in honor of that trip, too, which is peeking out of Mum’s stocking.

The bulk of the stocking is candy and fuzzy socks (that will genuinely be a surprise, since this was something I bought on my own and Mum has no idea about them!). Oh, and dog butt magnets because we can always use more magnets, right? Plus, dog butts, heh.

Anyway, we’ve been joking around for the last month that we’re not really going to do much for Christmas. Splurge on a fancy-ish meal that will provide plenty of leftovers, and relax with lots of holiday movies. No family. No travel. No gift exchange.

We have a couple of big trips planned next year which is our main gift to each other (and they are Disney-adjacent, hence my crass capitalist choice in sock ware). Although, tbh, the biggest gift we can give to each other is finally feeling like we’re in a place of stability, something we haven’t had for over three years.

ANYWAY. Mum surprised me 3 years ago with a few things when we said “no gifts.” Then 2 years ago I surprised her with some inexpensive but thoughtful items (that had been purchased before we said, “no gifts,” which we eventually did say once I was laid off the Monday after Thanksgiving). Then last year, we agreed that yep, this time we really meant it, “no gifts” — and there was a small stocking with some treats in it on my chair come Christmas morning.

Then this year we said “no gifts” yet bought some fun little dumb things while out on our one true “Christmas outing” we had all year — we’re frugal enough, doggone it, and can enjoy the occasional pointless, frivolous trinket.

So it’s silly, putting things we already know about in a stocking. But I still got some glee at making sure I squirreled away the shopping bag we promised not to touch until Christmas, then stopping at Target on my way home from a work thing and giggling over the ridiculous stocking choices, and buying fuzzy Christmas socks on sale that I know Mum will enjoy, even if she only wears them once.

Oh, yeah, and we never got around to decorating because we just didn’t want to deal with sorting out the holiday boxes (that we’ve been meaning to organize and pare down, once our households merged, yet we still… haven’t…). So this is the only touch of “Christmas” you’ll see at the house.

But I have the whole week off, and we shall indulge our whims with food we don’t normally eat, attempt to assemble an Eiffel Tower gingerbread house (also purchased at World Market, because seriously we don’t get out much at all any more), and watch a random sampling of excellent and terrible holiday movies from various streaming services.

This is the first Christmas in years I haven’t felt vaguely (or majorly) depressed and anxious, focusing all my energy on simply surviving — and I choose to relish it, silly stockings and all.

[avengersalways]

A sad story

I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a cashier hand this little boy some money back.

The boy couldn't have been more than five or six years old. The cashier said, "I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll."

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ''Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?''

The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.''

Then she asked him to stay there for just five minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly. The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to.

"It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her."

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly, "No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there."

His eyes were so sad while saying this. "My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.''

My heart nearly stopped.

The little boy looked up at me and said, "I told Daddy to tell Mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from Target."

Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me, "I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me."

"I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister."

Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy, "Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?''

"OK," he said, "I hope I do have enough." I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said, "Thank you God for giving me enough money!"

Then he looked at me and added, "I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that Mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me!''

"I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses."

A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket. I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl.

The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma.

Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.

I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial.

She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.

I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine.

And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

Now you have 2 choices:

1) Repost this message, or

2) Ignore it as if it never touched your heart

[spookydrreid]

The Santa Mug

Spencer Reid x fem!reader

Summary: who would’ve thought a Santa mug could dig up such memories

Category: tooth rotting fluff

Content warnings: Spencer thinking about his past, happiness, fluff, they drink hot chocolate with milk, one swear

Word count: 1.1k

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[Main Masterlist]

…

Christmas season was one of merriment and nostalgia. Traditions were passed on and children made list for things they wanted. And for me and Spencer? It was about making our own traditions. He didn’t have many happy memories of the holidays, claiming after his dad left, his mother simply forgot. So, its been a process for him. One I was more than happy to help with.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, pulling me out of my little daze. It’s Spencer. He’s been away on a case for the past week, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss him. “Hi baby!” I smile as I speak.

“Hi sweetheart! What are you doing?” I know he can hear the hustle and bustle around me.

“Christmas shopping! I found some cute things for us!” I am overly excited for all the things that I got him. You could say I try to make up for all those years he didn’t have a good Christmas.

“I’m sure! I just wanted to tell you that we’ll be home by tomorrow. And then we can go do more Christmas shopping if you want. Maybe get lunch?”

My heart soars with excitement at the idea of him finally coming home. I missed waking up next to him, him finding me in his sleep and cuddling me in the middle of the night. I missed eating breakfast with him before sending him off to work. He was my home, and I felt lost when he wasn’t here.

“I would love that, Spence! Be careful flying home, yeah?”

I can almost hear the nod through the phone, “I promise. I’ll see you soon. I love you, pretty girl.”

My heart races at his sentiment, knowing he means it more than anything. “I love you most, pretty boy.” I giggle through the phone and he does too before we mutter our final goodbyes.

I putter around target for a little longer, looking for things to get his friends and some yankee swap gifts for the office Christmas party the BAU hosts. It was then that I stumbled upon a little Santa mug. Its just his face, beard and all. His cheeks rosy and his nose red. It’s cute and I instantly pick up two, one for me and one for him. I’m giddy inside at the idea of drinking hot chocolate out of them with the love of my life. And with that I head to the check out area.

…

I’m standing right inside the door way when he comes in, hands behind my back and a smile on my face. “Hi baby!” I grin as he looks at me.

He looks at my hands, still behind my back, quizzically “what cha got there, pretty girl.” He drops his bags and walks closer.

My smiles grows closer as he towers over me, “I bought us a present.” And its then that I bring my hands out from behind my back, presenting him with his mug. “I got one for me too! So we match.”

He turns the cup over in his hands, his eyes filling with tears that he tries to blink away before I see them. But he’s too late.

“D-do you not like it? I can return it! I’m sorry!” I start rambling off an apology but he stops me with a kiss.

He answers as soon as he pulls back “no I love it. So much. I just…” he takes a deep breath, wiping his tears, “I had this cup as a kid. Well, one similar. And my mom was having a bad day and thought that it was listening to us. So, she broke it.” He has a sad smile as he turns it over in his hands again.

I cant help the squeezing of my heart as the pain flashes in his face while he tells me. This happens here and there, him retelling the things he went through as a child. I want, more than anything to erase those, and turn the pain to happiness.

“That wont happen again, Spencer.” I coo as I pat his chest. “How about we make hot chocolate bombs? I bought a few in my travels!” I have a smile on my face as I ask.

“What is that?” I can see the pain fade, his curiosity getting the best of him.

I pull back, nearly bouncing as I pull him to the kitchen, using a pot to start heating up some milk. “So, they are made from melted chocolate and inside is cocoa mix and marshmallows! You just pour the hot milk over it and it melts the shell and boom! Hot cocoa!”

He grins, “I love hot cocoa! I have to try these.” The pain is gone from his eyes, excitement replacing it. Its child-like and my heart pounds with happiness. The milk gets hot enough and I pull it off the stove.

“Okay. Okay ready?” I place the ball in his Santa mug before doing the same with mine. “So you just… carefully pour this over the chocolate and…” I do it slowly, making sure to not spill. Spencer watches with wide eyes as the ball melts open, the powdered mix and marshmallows popping to the top.

“I’ll get a spoon!” While he does that, I start on mine. He hands me a spoon when I’m done and we mix up our drinks. Then I grab the whipped cream, spraying some into each mug.

I grin “okay! Try it!”

Spencer takes a sip, being careful not to burn himself. As soon as it hits his tongue he groans in delight, “fuck that’s good!”

My eyes widen at his vulgar statement before a laugh bubbles out of me. “Did you just swear?”

He giggles and shrugs as he takes a sip, “its really good what can I say!” When the laughter dies down, he smiles over at me, eyes filled with love.

“What?” I ask, stepping closer.

He kisses me, tasting of our drinks, “I just… you always know how to turn a sad memory into a happy one. And I just couldn’t be more grateful for you.”

Its all I can do not to cry, “anything for you, Spence. You deserve all the good in this world. Always.”

He kisses my forehead, “I have all the good… because of you.”

I kiss his nose, “you’ll always have me. Always.”

…

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[hoodharlow]

Callin’ Out My Name

AN: Thank you to @nowherebound and @wastelandcth for giving me and hyping me up for this. Ily both.

Reminder this is NOT part of the quarantine AU, this is before Cal and Claudia dated :)

Requested: Kinda by Gemma and Candy 💕💕💕

Warnings: smut 😏😏😏 brief awkward Cal and Claudia over cuties that are dumb and don't become official

Word Count: 3.5k words

Their Target outing wasn’t planned. Calum had seen on Claudia’s snapchat that she was still in town and that she didn’t go to Rosarito with her friends for spring break. So he worked up the courage to ask her what fabric softener she used. A phone call later, consisting mostly of her laughing at how he pronounced ‘Suavitel’, they jokingly agreed to meet in an hour at the Target that’s half way between his house and her place in Long Beach. 

Calum smiled to himself seeing her emerge out of her car in his grey Santa Cruz hoodie. He had let her borrow it when they went to Roscoe’s and she got cold. She joked about how it was now hers and that he's never going to get it back. He didn't mind that. For all he cared she could take all his clothes. He also didn't mind that she sent him a few pictures in just his clothes. 

Claudia grabbed a shopping cart and followed Calum around. They stopped by the grocery aisle first and filled up on some snacks the guys needed for tomorrow. They were going to reshoot the music video for their song ‘Who Do You Love.’since the editor lost the original video. 

The song received mixed reviews. Some people praised The Chainsmokers for working with 5SOS because they’re pretty much an unproblematic group. But people wondered why 5SOS would work with The Chainsmokers since they don’t have the best track record. Even Claudia was surprised the guys worked with them, but she did like the song, especially Calum’s solo. 

After getting Michael’s vegan cheese crackers, they went to the cleaning aisle. Calum grabbed some puppy trash bags for Duke. They went a little further down and reached the detergent and fabric softener. Claudia posed like Will Smith showing off Jada in front of the Suavitel.

“Tada!” She said happily. 

“You’re such a dork.” Calum teased. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of her. 

Claudia smiled at him and flipped her hair over her shoulder. She got down to the bottom shelf and dove inside the shelf. The vanilla scented fabric softener was all the way inside the shelf. She used to use the blue one, but recently in the past year it got super waterdown so she just switched to the vanilla one. Her mom uses the yellow one, but she never got the vibe for it. 

Calum was answering a message and when he looked down to Claudia, all he saw was her ass. Her leggings were thin around her ass, making her cheeky panties visible through them. He cleared his throat and tried looking away, but he couldn’t. Him and his left hand were going to have fun when he goes to bed tonight.

She set the gallon-sized bottle in the cart. “Where to next?” She asked him.

“Office supplies?” 

“Oh my god, yes. I need pens.” She nodded enthusiastically. 

She stood on the railing of the bottom basket as Calum pulled the cart. She squealed when he would do a sharp turn, almost knocking her out of the cart.

Calum went to where the journals were while Claudia was getting her pens. When she went back to find him, she saw the good paper she used in stock. She grabbed three packs and followed Calum to the line. 

While she waited in line, she realized that she only had a ten dollar bill. She had left her card and other cash in her purse at him. 

“I’ll be right back. I’m gonna put these back.” Claudia told Calum.

“Why?” He asked, confused. He saw how her face lit up when she was holding her school supplies.

“I only have ten bucks. The pens themselves cost fifteen.” She explained.

“I can buy them for you.”

“Oh my god, no. I can get them later.” 

“It’s fine,” he said, taking her pants and paper. He placed them on the conveyor belt with his groceries. 

“Okay let me just venmo you then.” She said, pulling out her phone from her hoodie. 

“Claudia, they’re just pens and paper.” 

“No, they're the uni-ball 207 Retractable Gel Pen 8-pack and 5-Star college ruled binder paper, Cal.” She explained to him as if that was going to make a difference to him.

“Don’t worry about it.” He said, taking her phone and putting it back in her pocket.

He paid and they were on their way back to their cars. He noticed how she smiled to herself. He placed the things in the back of his car and went back to his side. They both stood awkwardly not wanting their outing to end. 

Claudia stood on her tippy toes and kissed Calum. It took him a second to realize what she was doing, but when he did. He deepened the kiss. He pushed her back against her car and held on to her waist. She moaned into his mouth wanting more of him. 

A siren blared behind them, making them jump. 

“Take it home kids.” the security guard said before rolling away in their gold cart. 

Calum and Claudia giggled. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Calum asked. 

“Yeah, I may or may not have made a chocoflan.” Claudia said, wrapping her arms around him. 

“You’re the best, you know that right?”

“I’ve been told.” 

She got on her tippy toes once more to kiss him, but this time it was a quick peck. After agreeing that he was going to pick her up at seven, she got in her car and drove home.

It felt weird that she was the only one home. Her housemates had gone back home to see their families. Claudia was going to go to Rosarito with her brother and their friend group, but at the last minute she cancelled. Paco was going to go, and she wanted to avoid drama. She knew that after a few cantaritos she was going to say something that she wouldn’t say if she were sober. 

She knew she wasn’t going to miss much. Since they were high school seniors they would go down to Rosarito to party and hang out. One of her friend’s parents owned a beach house so they didn’t worry about going to bars or clubs. They would all just drink there or hang out at the beach. 

She was kinda happy to be home. It gave her a chance to hang out with Calum before he left for New York. 

She still couldn’t believe he bought her pens and paper. And the good brands at that. She didn’t even use them when she was on campus because she knew if she let someone borrow her pens, she’s not going to get them back. So she always carries the BIC ones in her backpack. 

When she got to her room she took off his hoodie and her bralette. She opened up the pen back and sat on her desk chair. She fixed the lighting around her desk, making sure it got her good side. She pulled out her phone and angled herself so Calum got a good shot of her breasts. She used one of the pens to hide her nipple, since the other was covered by her hair. She took a few with other pens and sent them to him, thanking him for the pens and paper. 

She threw her phone and herself into her bed and squealed into her pillow. She knew she was being bold, but she didn’t care. She was just giving him a taste of what he'd be getting if they were an official couple. 

Claudia propped herself against her pillows and let her mind wonder. She played with her breasts a little, squeezing them, gently pulling her nipples. After she teased herself a bit, her hands wandered down her body until they reached her panties. She slipped them off and rubbed herself. 

She imagined Calum was the one touching her. Her mind went back to Valentine’s Day when Calum spent the night. Her fingers imitated the way Calum took her. It felt good, but her fingers couldn’t compare to his. 

She immediately moaned out for him as she got closer to climax. She pulled her fingers out and reached for her vibrator. She set it to the lowest setting and slid her fingers inside once more. She whimpered and cried his name when she came. She increased the speed and rubbed it all over her. her moans and whimpers got louder. 

Once her high faded, she turned off her vibrator and went to sleep.

***

Calum's leg bounced and the tea he drank was not calming him down. He was in the middle of getting himself off when he got Claudia's messages and accidental phone call. The only thing on his mind were her moans and whimpers. That was a lie, he ended up writing a few lines for a song that has been in his mind. So along with her moans and whimpers, the words 'I hear you callin' out my name, I love the sound, I love the taste,' were stuck in his head.

Nonetheless, he couldn't look her in the eye when he picked her up. Nor engage in the small talk. It also didn't help that she wore a sundress with a slit, giving him a good view of her new tattoo. Well he couldn't really decipher it, but he knew she got a new tattoo. The few times he was lucky enough to be in between her thighs, he never saw a tattoo in that area. 

"Is this for me?" She asked, breaking the silence. She pointed at the matcha latte he had also bought. 

"Yeah,"  he nodded. 

"Thanks." she smiled at him. 

Claudia took the drink and sipped it. She sighed and pulled out her phone. She played Tetris, annoyed with Calum. She didn't get it. Yesterday was great and now he was avoiding her. He didn't even mention her pictures. It made her feel slightly embarrassed. Did she cross the line? Did she seem desperate to him? Was she doing too much? Those were questions she needed to be answered, or she was going to go into a downward spiral where she would end up embarrassing herself. 

Calum parked next to Michael's car and got out. He opened the back and grabbed the bags from yesterday. Claudia followed him with a box of White Claws. Everyone shared a look seeing the couple that's not a couple but is a couple showing up together. More because they didn't know Calum was bringing Claudia. 

KayKay pulled Claudia into a hug and guided her to the couch. They made small talk while the guys got ready. 

Claudia watched as the makeup artist flirted with Calum. She felt slightly uncomfortable so she walked out to the bathroom. 

Calum followed her through the mirror and frowned. 

"I'm gonna need you to take off your shirt so I can get your neck and chest." the make-up artist told him. 

He knew that tone and it took everything in him not to roll his eyes. One thing he hated was when people acted unprofessional. It's like they all thought that all bands hooked up with everyone with legs. 

He huffed and took off his t-shirt. 

"Fuck, Claudia got you good." KayKay teased. 

Calum flipped her off, making her laugh. He knew she wasn't wrong. Their little makeout session last night got hot and heavy. He did even notice until he woke up. Luckily with seeing all of his hickies, the makeup artist stopped their flirting and did their job. 

Calum got out to use the bathroom. Outside the bathroom he heard Alex and Drew talking.

"If she showed up with him then maybe they are a thing." Alex reasoned.

"I asked Luke and he said they're not dating." Drew argued back. 

"But they can still be a thing."

"Whatever."

Calum heard their steps fade away. He got out of the stall and washed his hands. He went back to the dressing room and frowned when he found Drew talking to Claudia. He walked over to them and pushed himself in between them. 

"Hi," Claudia smiled at him. She pushed herself onto him and intertwined their fingers together. "Can we go to your car? I think I left my portable charger there."

"Yeah." He nodded. 

He patted Drew's shoulder as they walked past him. He whispered into Ashton's ear that they'll be back in time for him to record. It earned them a chuckle and condom from Ashton. 

Calum watched Claudia climb in the backseat, making him confused. She didn't put anything in the backseat. So he followed suit. 

"Thanks for butting in back there." Claudia said quietly. 

"You're welcome. I overheard him and Alex talk while I was taking a piss. I had to."

"You'd think he'd remember his ex's little cousin." 

"What?" 

"Yeah. He briefly dated my cousin Vanessa back in 2016. She was going to be in the Closer music video and everything. But she dumped him." 

"Shit."

"I know. It's also one of the reasons why I don't like them." She giggled. 

Claudia felt Calum's eyes on her so she not so subtly stretched her legs, showing off her tattoo and the lack of panties. 

"When did you get your tattoo?" He asked. 

"Oh, this?" She answered, feigning innocence. She opened the slit more and jutted her hips to him, so she basically straddled his leg. "A few days after Valentine's Day."

"May I?"

"Go for it."

Calum traced her tattoo with his index finger. It was a simple tattoo of the sun and moon with arrows and stars vertically aligned. But on her it was breathtaking. 

Claudia sat on his thigh and wrapped her arms around him. She pulled him into a kiss. They kissed slowly as if Calum wasn't supposed to be out on set in twenty minutes. She pushed him back into the door and motioned him to take off his shirt. 

Calum hesitated. This not where he wanted them to have sex for the first time. It was going to be her first time and he didn't want her to think back to this time and cringe. 

"We're not having sex." He said, gently pushing her away. 

"Okay." Claudia scoffed.

She laughed nervously. She adjusted the strap of her dress. She climbed off his lap, frustrated. She felt rejected. She wasn't planning on having sex with him and the fact that he thought of it and pushed her away, made her feel embarrassed. 

"I'm going back to the dressing room." she said. She got out of the car and slammed the door shut. 

"Wait, Claudia." Calum called after her, but the director called him and the rest. 

He just hoped that he didn't fuck up his chance with her. 

***

"We're going." Ashton yelled to Calum. 

After filming the music video, the guys, KayKay and Claudia all went back to Calum's house for a barbecue. Calum knew he fucked up when Claudia asked Ashton to ride with him while she went with KayKay. The whole time they avoided each other until now where it was just the two of them and Duke. 

When Calum came back he found Claudia in the kitchen washing dishes. 

"I can wash them." He said getting her attention. 

"It's fine, I just have a few left." She said, not turning back to him. 

Calum grabbed a towel and dried the dishes. Five minutes later they finished. 

"I'm going to order an Uber." She said softly. 

"I can give you a ride home."

"Why did you say that we weren't going to have sex?" She asked him, ignoring his offer. "I felt so humiliated."

"I didn't want your first time in the back seat of my car." 

"Well it's not your place to decide. It's mine. For the record I was just gonna give you a blowjob." Claudia stomped away to the living room to get her portable charger. 

Calum followed her, frowning. "I kinda have a say where I have sex too. You're not fucking yourself. Well last night you were, but in the car—"

"How did you know what I was doing last night?"

"You buttdailed me."

"Oh god," 

Claudia squatted down, embarrassed, and covered her face. She cried. She couldn't do anything right with Calum. For once she wants her almost sex encounters with him not end with her crying. He sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her. She buried her face into his chest as she cried. 

"If it makes you feel better, it was pretty hot. Especially after seeing those pictures." he said, not sure how to stop her from crying. 

Claudia stopped crying. She pulled away and looked at him. "Really?"

"Honest. That's why I was so nervous when I picked you up."

"That's nice to hear." She said quietly, earning a chuckle from him.

Calum laid down and pulled Claudia next to him. They laid together in silence, enjoying each other's presence. She wedged her leg between his and draped her arm over his tummy. He gently rubbed her thigh, slowly inching his hand to where she wanted him. He slid his hand back to her knee. He did it once more, but this time she pushed his hand higher up. 

"Please," Claudia begged. She opened up legs, giving him enough room to do what he wanted. 

Calum picked her up and carried her to the couch. He sat down and pulled her to his lap. He spread their legs so his hand could have better access to her. He groaned, feeling how ready she was for him. 

"Forgot you weren't wearing panties." he said. 

"I was going to wear a lace teddy, but this dress was backless." she explained. 

"I'm not complaining."

Calum kissed her shoulder, pushing down the thin straps down her shoulders. He did the same to the other and toyed with her breasts through her dress. His pants tightened, hearing her moan. He continued touching her, making her whine whenever he briefly touched her core. 

"All day, I thought about slipping my fingers in you whilst you sat on my lap." Calum whispered. His hand once more made its way up to her core. "No one would notice my fingers—"

Claudia gasped feeling his ring and middle finger inside of her. 

"Inside of you."

She clung to the blue and gold sleeve of his jacket. After they filmed the music video, they left in their clothes. Claudia didn't mind. To her he looked like a prince. 

Calum pressed his thumb to her clit and sped up his fingers. Claudia whined and placed her head on his shoulder. But he gently held her up by her neck. 

"Eyes on me, pretty girl." He said. 

“Shit—Calum!” She whimpered. 

She gripped his hand as she came. Once her high faded, Calum let go and let her lean into him. He slipped his fingers out of her and licked them clean, moaning at how delicious she tasted. 

After a few minutes, Claudia got off his lap and got down on the floor to her knees. She took advantage that Calum was spread out and situated herself in between his legs. She tied her hair into a bun and leaned forward. She tugged his shirt, so he could take a hint. 

He shedded off his jacket and shirt. "You don't have to do this, you know."

"I know."

Claudia pushed down the top part of her dress, exposing her breasts to him. She leaned forward and tugged his belt open. She popped the buttons of his pants, pulling them down along with his boxers. She licked her hand before slowly jerking him off. She kissed his tip and slipped him as far she could take him. 

Her eyes never left Calum’s as she took him deeper in her mouth. He cursed loudly, encouraging her to keep going. His stomach began to contract, letting Claudia know that he was close. Slowly, she pulled him out of her mouth until only his tip rested on her tongue. She widened her eyes, making her look more innocent as she stroked him. She took him back in her mouth, bobbing her head, just as he began to come. When finished, she sat back on her knees and closed her eyes. She felt Calum’s hand on her cheek. His thumb slowly ran over her bottom lip. 

"You know, you're the only one who makes me cum. Especially when you use that ungodly mouth of yours." He panted. 

His eyes widened, he had come to a realization. He pulled up his pants and quickly went to his piano. He opened his journal and jotted down 'you're the only one who makes me, every time we' on the page where he wrote a few lines yesterday. At the top of the page he wrote 'WILDFLOWER' in capital letters and underlined the word three times as a way for him to remember that's the title. 

He looked back at Claudia and found her sleeping covered in his jacket. He smiled to himself. People find their muses, but he found his wildflower.

Taglist: @suchalonelysunflower @f-mu @another-lonely-heart ​ @sunshinebabycal-deactivated2021​   @calumscalm ​ @karajaynetoday ​ @cherryxwildflower ​ @myloverboyash ​  @idontneedanyone ​ @findingliam-o ​ @5-secondsofcolor ​ @mulletcal @sexgodashton ​ @fckingpernico ​ @2fangirl4u ​ @calpops

Special Guest: @nowherebound @wastelandcth

[ms-kelphead-1899]

run run rudolph

written by resident beta reader

Jack was, in fact, not an excellent driver.

Race was screaming his head off in the backseat, and Albert was too focused on not breaking his eardrums to elbow him to stop. Davey swore he was getting motion-sick in the front, and Spot sat next to Albert with a stoic expression on his face. Nothing phased him.

merry christmas (if you celebrate)! if not, have a lovely rest of the year! [~🅱️]

00000

“I’ll drive!”

The moment those words left Jack’s lips was the moment everybody regretted being friends with him.

Jack was a terrible driver. He, every time without fail, had gotten distracted whenever he drove the gang somewhere, and drove way too fast for anyone’s liking, even Race’s.

The entire group collectively groaned. No one else owned a car except for Katherine, and she was already gone, picking up Sarah.

“I can drive-” Davey tried to cut in, but Jack interrupted.

“You need a break, Dave. Don’t worry, I am an excellent driver.”

00000

Jack was, in fact, not an excellent driver.

Race was screaming his head off in the backseat, and Albert was too focused on not breaking his eardrums to elbow him to stop. Davey swore he was getting motion-sick in the front, and Spot sat next to Albert with a stoic expression on his face. Nothing phased him.

Blink and Mush, the lucky ducks, were sitting in the very last row of Jack’s Santa Fe rover, too focused on each other to notice the fact that Jack Kelly was about to murder them via disregard for speed limits.

So obviously, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Jack managed to park in the parking lot of Target.

“So, Kelly managed not to kill you guys?” Katherine said to Davey when they met up by the automatic doors.

“Barely.”

“Who are we shopping for first?” Mush asked.

“Well, we gotta get something for Medda,” Jack said, counting on his fingers. “And obviously something for Davey’s parents. Something for Les as well. And I guess at the end we can all go our separate ways to find stuff for Medda’s Secret Santa.” He looked up at Davey. “Did I miss anything?”

“Don’t forget to not trash the Target.”

Race grins. “No promises.”

00000

A few hours and a lot of getting lost later, everyone stepped out of the Target and immediately rushed over to Katherine’s Subaru. Unfortunately for them, it only held five people.

Katherine and Sarah were already there, a few Target bags in their hands. Albert and Spot madly scrambled to Katherine’s car, because neither of them felt like dealing with Jack’s terrible driving. The last seat was promptly filled by Race, leaving poor unfortunate Davey to ride with his boyfriend Jack.

“Jack, I swear, I can dri-“

“Dave, you need a break. I can drive perfectly fine.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

00000

“Jack, this is definitely not legal!”

Davey was gripping the handle above him, his face paler than ever before.

“We’re almost home!” Jack announced.

“Oh, thank God.”

00000

~ fin ~

completed: 12 . 28 . 2021

word count: 436

[perseabethj]

wrapping paper and fights

25 days of Christmas prompts by @annabethy.

Day 21: Wrapping Gifts. Annabeth will do anything to make sure she can wrap her gift—even if that includes flirting with the cute guy that's trying to use the last of the wrapping paper.

“I should get a planner,” Annabeth kept thinking as she said ‘goodbye’ to the cashier.

An hour ago, she had received a text from Hazel on her group of friends’ group chat saying that she was on her way to help Piper set up for the ‘party’. She had been lost for a few minutes, thinking Hazel had got the days mixed up, but then everybody started saying they’d be leaving in half an hour and she realised that she was the one that got it all wrong, believing the party to be in two days. Piper had suggested doing a Secret Santa this year and Annabeth had fully believed in her abilities to find the perfect present the day before—however, she hadn’t counted on having to find the perfect present in less than an hour. She had run to the nearest Target and walked down several aisles until she found a matcha whisk that Piper had been asking for forever and quickly paid for it. The cashier had told her that they weren’t wrapping anything because it was too busy, but that she could go to the wrapping paper station, and Annabeth was praying nobody would be there and she wouldn’t have to wait, since she was already twenty minutes late.

As she was approaching the table, she saw that there was only a very small piece of wrapping paper left, but it was all that she needed. She quickened her steps but, when she was less than two metres away from the piece of paper, a guy on her left that she hadn’t noticed grabbed it for himself. She quickly turned to look at him, Extending her hand and grabbing the paper as well.

“Hey! I was gonna use that!” Annabeth exclaimed. She was being the kind of person she had always hated when shopping, but she really needed that paper.

“So was I?” The guy asked. “That’s why I grabbed it.”

“You don’t get it,” she told him. “I’m desperate. I need that piece of wrapping paper.”

The guy stood there and stared at her, and she used that time to stare back at him. He was beautiful—black, wavy hair that looked (and probably was) unbrushed, high cheekbones and tanned skin, bright green eyes, thick eyebrows and thick lips. If they hadn’t been fighting over something so important, she probably would’ve been tongue-tied. However, this was a serious matter, so flirting was off the table. Both of them were still holding onto the piece of paper and, just as she was sure he was going to say she could have it, he pulled it towards him.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I am also desperate.”

Annabeth groaned and threw her head back before looking back at him and pulling the piece of paper towards her.

“My life as I know it will be over if I don’t wrap this gift.”

“Well, then I hope you are excited for your new life,” he told her, obviously fighting off a smile.

Annabeth decided that flirting was off the table unless it helped her achieve her goal.

“What’s your name?” she asked him more softly.

The guy looked at her doubtfully before answering.

“Percy,” he told her, and Annabeth just wanted to scream because of how fitting it was for somebody so beautiful to have such a unique and attractive name (she was tired of dating Marks and Jakes).

“Okay, Percy,” she told him, smiling shily. “If you let me have this piece of wrapping paper, I will let you take me out to coffee.” Sure, it wasn’t her best day and she didn’t look her best, but she knew she was attractive, and she’d gotten more difficult and more expensive things for less.

“What if I told you I’m gay?” Annabeth stared at him, mouth slightly agape, and he started laughing as embarrassment started to settle in. “I’m joking! But you should see your face.”

Annabeth frowned and said nothing, only holding onto the piece of wrapping paper more strongly.

“I need this wrapping paper now ,” she told him, all her fake shyness disappearing. “I was supposed to be at my friend’s house twenty minutes ago. You can wrap your gift at home.”

“Do I look like the kind of guy to have wrapping paper at my house?”

Annabeth bit back a sour remark about how he actually looked like the kind of guy to ruin her friends’ Secret Santa and decided to change her strategy.

“I will suck you off in the bathroom.”

“Jesus Christ!” Percy yelled, finally letting go of the piece of wrapping paper.

“Yes!” Annabeth exclaimed, holding it away from him and putting it in her bag.

“That’s completely unfair!” Percy whined, trying to grab her bag’s strap unsuccessfully.

Annabeth turned around to stop him from grabbing it, and it was only when his hand grazed his boob that they realised the position they were in and the fact that they were in a Target. They froze for a few seconds until Percy took a step back and put up his hands, looking at her like a deer caught in headlights.

“I am so sorry,” he told her, looking truly sorry.

“The blowjob offer was a joke ,” Annabeth said, trying to look serious. As soon as he opened his mouth to reply, Annabeth started laughing, and he visibly relaxed and lowered his hands slowly, smiling a bit. “I’m sorry!” Annabeth exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to get you flustered!”

Percy grinned and shook his head and, now that she had the wrapping paper in her power, she could finally appreciate him fully.

“I cannot accept defeat without knowing your name,” he told her.

“Annabeth,” she said, a wide grin on her face.

They looked at each other for a few seconds before he put his hands in his pockets and, if Annabeth hadn’t been staring at his face for the past five minutes, she might have missed the subtle blush on his cheeks.

“So, Annabeth,” he started, and she almost shivered at the way her name sounded coming out of his mouth. “Since I’m letting you have this piece of wrapping paper,” Annabeth opened her mouth to reply, but he continued before she could do it, “does that mean I get to take you out to coffee?”

Annabeth smiled and didn’t say anything, putting her hand in her bag and taking out her phone. She unlocked it and opened the contacts app, creating a new contact before giving it to him.

“I don’t have time today, but we can set a date over text.”

Percy grinned and took her phone, writing down his number before giving it to her. Annabeth could see that he had sent himself a text so he could save her number, and that made her feel warm inside—he was truly interested, and she felt that this could go somewhere very nice.

“I look forward to it.”

(Years later, they still fought over wrapping paper, and Annabeth always managed to get the good one, Percy using the one they bought at the dollar store. He didn’t really mind, not when one year, inside that wrapping paper, Annabeth found a velvet ring box. That dollar store wrapping paper became a staple in their house after that.)

[hankwritten]

And She Dresses Like a Scoundrel

Engineer/Spy, 2k

Part of the DontNeedADiscord Pride Week, Day 4: Fashion

“Thank you, Engineer,” I said gratefully, accepting back the once again functional disguise kit.

“No problem, partner,” he replied, gracious as ever. “Must have been a hard three days without it.”

“Indeed.” I sighed, recalling how many sentries had gotten the better of me with a grimace. “To think, less than a year ago I was relying entirely on my own skills of camouflage to create my disguise. I would even do it for fun! But here I am, ten months working for BLU and I’ve become completely dependent on their technology.” Another sigh, this time more beleaguered. “Truly, I have let myself slip.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, Spy,” he said, consoling.

I raised my hand. “No need to be patronizing, my friend. I know the writing on the wall.” I waved, preparing to exit his workshop. “Thank you again for the repair, Engineer.”

But as I was halfway to the door, Engie blurted, “why don’t you?”

“Come again?” I asked, turning around.

“Why don’t you make your own disguises anymore?” he repeated, seemingly genuinely confused.

“As I said, I haven’t needed to,” I shrugged. “And thus, my skills have lapsed.”

“But if it was for fun, why’d you stop?”

At that I paused. It had been fun, one of my greatest prides was coming up with a new face and a new identity to fit any particular occasion. There was no greater joy than reintroducing yourself to someone under a new guise and seeing them have no idea.

“…I’m not sure,” I said honestly. “Probably because, despite my enjoyment, I associated the activity exclusively with work.”

That satisfied his curiosity, though it did make him rather dour. “Makes sense.” He thought for a moment. “But you could always pick it back up again?”

“I’d be horridly out of practice,” I waved off.

“So? We all gotta start somewhere.”

I tilted my head. “Why does this interest you so?”

He pushed up his goggles, chewing on some thought until it left a peculiar look about his face. “Just seems a shame,” he said eventually, “All that talent going to waste. You seem mighty busy all the time, never see you do anything just because you enjoy it.”

I pressed my lips together. There was a certain truth to that, and I wondered internally if I was being resistant for no reason. “...Hm. I... suppose you are right. Even if I do have access to a near flawless disguise kit, there’s no reason to set it aside entirely.”

“There you go! You sound gung-ho already.”

I didn’t, but he was familiar with my habit of faint praise to cover up genuine enthusiasm. “I appreciate the suggestion,” I told him honestly. “…Maybe when you see me next, you won’t even know it is I.”

Engie grinned, and it was charming how vicious he looked when he was trying to be encouraging. “Looking forward to it.”

Of my old wigs, only the black one with its loose curls had managed to survive its year in storage. Even still, there was frizz on a good portion of it, and after a half hour of teasing I gave up and began tearing apart the rest of my wardrobe for something to lesson its imperfections. What I found was a scarf, red and silken, and decided it would have to do.

A full-length buttoned coat, and pair of striped legs. Yes, these would be serviceable.

But first, makeup . I remembered that much at least, though I failed to recall the first rule of application: always begin with the eyes. The result was that I was left with a perfect pair of heart lips and a disgusting smudge across my sockets, the latter of which I had no interest in starting over on. Instead, I retrieved a pair of sunglasses from my trunk. I deserved to cut a few corners after so long, and anyone who said differently could try their makeup after a year without practice and see if they could do better.

When I was done, a perfectly lovely woman stared back at me. The stare turned into a frown. A perfectly lovely woman a year out of fashion. What was I wearing? Leggings? Good god, those were on the way out last fall.

I began to examine myself in the mirror, cursing myself for ever becoming so woefully outdated. I’d had my finger in the crease of Dapper Cadaver without pause for the past hundred issues, but I hadn’t even bothered to pick up a single magazine on women’s fashion? Disgraceful. Something would have to be done about this.

By the time I made it down to breakfast, someone had already made the first pot of the morning. I filled a mug and sat down.

Medic didn’t so much as blink. He lifted his eyes, greeting, “Guten Morgen, Herr Spy,” and returned to his medical notes. By the spots of blood, they were likely fresh.

Soldier was another story. “By God! You finally did it, Nurse,” he said, gripping the back of Medic’s chair and shaking him slightly. “You turned Spy into a woman!”

“I did not,” Medic said, peeling one of Soldier’s hands off his shoulder. He then considered for a moment, and addressed me, “unless this is your way of making a statement?”

“Non,” I shook my head. “Not entirely, at least. Soldier is right, but this is not permanent: I simply wished to get back into a more…flexible mode of presentation.” I paused for a second. “What did he mean by ‘finally’?”

“Are you implying I have been working secretly in my lab for the past two years on some sort of sex-change ray that would be sure to result in wacky hijinxs should it ever be completed?” Medic sipped his coffee. “Because I’m not and that is ridiculous.”

“…I see.”

If Soldier’s reaction was passionate, Engineer’s was somehow even more so. Before he even fully entered the kitchen, he stopped dead, his eyes locked on me. A few times he tried to speak, failed, and settled for scratching the back of his neck.

“Seems like you took my advice on the whole disguise work,” he said eventually. Now he had trouble looking at me altogether, a deep blush forming along his cheeks.

“I did,” I smirked, amused at his state. “Though unfortunately I’ve found my current wardrobe is not what I’d like it to be. I was hoping to use today’s ceasefire to do some shopping.”

“You want some company?” he asked, then immediately got flustered again. “Just uh…cause I know you don’t like taking your car though all the dust ‘less you absolutely have to, and nearest city with a shopping mall is pretty far…”

“Ah, so you are offering to drive,” I mused. “And here I thought you believed I suddenly needed assistance carrying my bags.”

Medic snorted, though when Engie shot him a glare he showed no indication he’d even been listening.

“…I can give you a lift, sure,” the Engineer affirmed slowly, still frowning offendedly in Medic’s direction.

“That is unacceptable!” Soldier chimed, brining his fist down on the table and making the silverware tinkle. “You two are not yet married! You think you can just go on a trip into town while unchaperoned? It is indecent!”

Engie sputtered, losing the bit of coffee he’d had the misfortune of drinking. “Soldier! What hell are you talking about?” he sputtered. “That ain’t- it’s still just Spy.”

“Exactly,” Soldier agreed. “That is why the two of you cannot be left alone together. Do not worry! I volunteer to accompany you on this shopping trip.”

Medic was laughing, having a much more difficult time hiding it now.

I grinned placidly. “You heard the man, Engineer,” I said. “It would go against decency to be about without a chaperone.”

“Fine,” he said, pulling his helmet further over his eyes. “Guess I’ll make the truck up for three.”

As much as I wanted to see if he would pop like a balloon if any more blood went to his face, I decided he’d had enough for the morning. I kept our conversation within acceptable subjects on the way up, and refrained from commenting on his new collection of odd mannerisms. It was quite adorable actually, especially when Soldier would lean out of the back seat every now and then to remind him ‘no funny business’.

When arriving at the glorious superplex that was the Santa Fe outdoor mall, the first thing on my agenda was a new jacket. The one extracted from the bowels of my old wardrobe was such a drab mauve, and with some help from the assistant at Loveman’s, I was able to find a few acceptable pantsuits. One could only expect “acceptable” when shopping chic in a department store—and a department store in America no less—but hopefully the rivers of fashion had trickled down enough that I wouldn’t embarrass myself too badly. The white plaid one was even quite fetching.

Next were hats.

“Engineer! Spy!” Soldier arrested our attention with. “I have located something I would like to purchase.”

He was wearing a newsboy hat over the top of his helmet.

“You needn’t ask us for permission,” I told him. “You have your own funds.”

He straightened like he honestly hadn’t thought of that. “Okay!” Then he was off again, sorting through the seemingly never-ending headwear.

“Some chaperone,” Engie remarked as he disappeared.

“I’m sure we can be trusted alone for but a few minutes,” I said, turning with a blue cloche hat in place. “What do you think of this one?”

“As pretty as the last. I mean-” He coughed. “Looks just fine.”

I smiled. “Here I thought you’d had enough teasing, but it seems you’re doing all the work for me.”

“Dang it Spy, I just meant-” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You know what, let’s just head to the jewelry.”

I shook my head. “Unfortunately jewelry is too much of a hazard. Rings and bracelets make removing gloves difficult, and necklaces are extremely useful for strangling your target from behind.”

“Terrifying that you put it like that, but remember you ain’t doing this for the job,” he prompted. “This is you getting a chance to try something different. D’ya want to wear a necklace?”

As he said it, he moved closer to the jewelry counter. I followed him, peering through the glass at all the trinkets I usually dismissed when assembling a woman’s portfolio. They were lovely…

“Mademoiselle,” I called to the woman behind the counter. “Might I be able to try this on?”

Engie whistled. “Nice choice.”

“I happen to have exquisite taste in jewelry,” I told him, gazing at my reflection in the glass as it wore the blue teardrop pendant I had picked out. “Both when selecting for a lover, or for myself.”

The attendant gave me an odd look, but it was worth it to see Engineer chuckle in a way that no longer uncomfortable.

“I have located another!” Soldier informed us as we took our bag. This time he was wearing a Viking helmet. From where he had obtained it, I had no idea.

“Then finish up paying,” Engie said. “We’re heading out soon.”

“Not so fast, Engineer,” I stopped him as he’d taken a step toward the door. “We still have not gotten anything for you.”

“Me?” he balked, craning his neck around like he was suddenly intimidated by the voluptuous mannequins surrounding us. “I don’t need nothin’…”

“And why not?” I asked. “We have dedicated the whole morning to me, and Soldier is finding ways to entertain himself, why shouldn’t you acquire something nice?”

“I…”

“Please, my friend,” I said. “My treat.”

“…Alright,” he sighed. “Sorry Sol, looks like-”

Soldier had acquired a bowler hat, which he wore on top of his Viking helm.

“-Well okay then.”

The Engineer provided an interesting challenge. The first thing I noticed was that everything in his size was far too long for him, and it made me question how he’d even found fitting clothes in the first place when everything in the store simply wanted to fall off him in tubes. He explained that he usually had to hem up his pants after buying them. I thought that was adorable, to which he muttered a string of ‘aw shucks’.

In a montage where Engie grew more flustered by the minute, I managed to get him into a delightful pair of corduroy pants with a mustard button down, an orange sweater with matching slacks, and a simple floral print button down that might go under his overalls. However, my absolute favorite was-

“Well now you’re just being rude,” he said, holding up the jacket.

“Howdy partner,” I mimicked. “Why don’t we just give up?”

“I don’t sound like that,” he complained. “And I definitely don’t wear things like this.”

The cowboy leathers were the sort of pink you saw from a mile away, genuine cow hide wasted on the monstrosity in his hands. There were more tassels than a man could ever want, and they went wonderfully with the white chaps and matching white Stetson.

“This is an eyesore,” he said.

“So are your regular clothes,” I reflected. “Please, I only ask that you try them on.”

He grumbled, and stepped into the changing room. That was good. I’d hate to have to bring out the, ‘for me?’.

“It’s certainly…something,” I said six minutes later.

“A trainwreck,” Engie said.

“You’re smiling,” I pointed out.

He grinned a little wider. He turned in a circle, the hundreds of tassels swishing around him, and then for good measure did a little two-step. I couldn’t help but chuckle with a hand over my mouth.

A shopper with a mustache passed by and gave us a strange look, and for some reason I started laughing harder.

“What’s got you so tickled?” Engie inquired.

“Nothing,” I waved off with a smile. “I was just thinking: after the thirty-five times the two of use have appeared in public together, this the first that you’re the queer one.”

He paused for a moment, looking down at himself. “Heh, I guess so.” Then he started to laugh. “…So. You been counting the number of times we’ve gone out together?”

“Is it so odd that I enjoy your company?

“No but…” he studied me for a moment. “Would you like to do this again some time? Assuming we can ditch the chaperone.”

“Mr. Conagher, how scandalous!” I said with mock horror. “I thought you’d never ask.”

He gave me one of those charming smiles again, and my heart fluttered ever so slightly.

Soldier greeted us on the way out, hat boxes stacked so high we couldn’t see his face anymore. “Operation successful! Move out troops!”

“Soldier,” Engie asked as he began securing boxes in the back of his pickup so there wouldn’t be a colossal hat pileup on the highway, “how long until you stop following my ‘n Spy around?”

“I do not know. Spy! How long are you going to be a women?”

I adjusted my new hat in the side mirror. “Until I feel otherwise.”

“Well then there you go!” Soldier declared. “It is perfectly acceptable for two unmarried men to be alone together, so you may resume making moon eyes at each other then.”

That, for once, got us both to flush.

[combat-wombatus]

Hot Cocoa

Pairing: Iida Tenya x gn!reader

Warnings: brief cursing (mostly just bakugou being bakugou), some suggestive humor (m*neta is involved too)

Genre: fluff (a lil bit of crack bc why not)

WC: a bit over 8k? went slightly overboard with this idea and not entirely happy with the ending but i already rewrote it like 5 times so it is what it is-

(A/N): heya! so this is my first fic and i was kinda nervous about posting it...

it started out as an idea on @todorkihoe’s discord server but then it evolved into this monstrous nightmare so...it took me like a whole week to hash everything out and the logistics of the secret santa thing was an absolute nightmare. but it was worth it!!

It was the holiday season. Most people were taking time off of work to hang out with their friends and family. You had wanted nothing more than to relax in your hot tub with a glass of sparkling cranberry juice and scrumptious holiday cookies, but being a pro-hero meant sacrifices.

You were signed on as a sidekick in the UA Hero Agency’s Tokyo branch. The UA Hero Agency was exactly that: a hero agency formed by the most illustrious graduating class at UA. Not everyone from their class eventually went into the agency, but they were a large agency, with around 36 pro-heroes working full-time. This meant that they had several branches. You, a recent graduate from UA, knew these heroes who were a year above you at UA. They were special. When you started at UA, there were already whispers about “the Class of Legends”. Every single person who graduated the year after had been through enormous trauma during their years at UA. You thought that they were true heroes: strong, unbending even in the face of overwhelming adversity. They were only in their first year when they had been attacked by villains: twice. One of them had even been kidnapped. You couldn’t even begin to fathom how hard they must have worked to get to where they were today. They were resilient, and it showed. The UA Hero Agency is now one of the top Hero Agencies in not only Japan, but also the world. In fact, with their combined power, you wouldn’t be surprised if they happened to make an international branch. You knew that some of the heroes at your agency, Can’t Stop Sparkling and Pony, wanted to start something overseas but didn’t yet have the manpower to make it happen. You were sure that within a few years, their ranks bolstered by new graduates, they would take UA to the international stage.

So it was Christmas Eve. Even though you wanted the chance to chill out at home with some relaxing instrumental jazz and freshly baked sweets, you were out patrolling Tokyo’s vibrant shopping sector instead, on the lookout for villains who wished to ruin everyone else’s holiday fun. The mall was abuzz with shoppers, some hanging out in the verandas with cup of hot cocoa in their hands, others hurrying through, their arms loaded with shopping bags, searching for last-minute gifts they had previously forgotten to purchase. It was definitely not the worst patrol ever. The cozy atmosphere almost had you sighing in contentment, before you heard a voice shout, “thief!”

Of course a villain had to ruin the fun. They had a tendency to do that. You weren’t very comfortable using your quirk in such a loud, crowded area, but you bet that you could catch a small-time shoplifter without it anyways. You raced through the crowd, tracing the voice that had called out moments earlier. You saw a tuft of orange hair weaving unnaturally through the crowd of shoppers, and sprinted forwards, your eyes locked on the target. You followed the path they had created unknowingly for you, trying not to draw attention to yourself. It would only slow you down and light a fire under the criminal, which was exactly what you didn’t need.

Within moments, you caught up to them. Sneaking up behind them, you snatched their wrist and smacked your quirk-suppressing cuffs on it.

“Fuck!” He swore. How did he get caught so quickly? He could have sworn that there was no one chasing him. Pesky heroes. Relying on the comparative lack of heroes patrolling during the holidays, as well as the customary holiday shopping rush, was a sound strategy. He had done the same in previous years without getting caught. If only that damned, nosy civilian hadn’t shouted…

“Please do not resist arrest. It will be easier for all parties involved. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. There are eyewitnesses to your crime. Please drop your bags and hold out your other wrist.” You said calmly. You had a beautiful voice. It was calming and had a lilt to it that was a byproduct of your quirk. The villain did as you said, knowing that there would be no escape.

You sighed. Pressing a button on the comms situated in your ear, you reported the situation back to your office. You then called the nearest detective station and waited until their patrol car got here so you could hand the man over. Glancing at your watch, you realized your patrol was almost over. You did one last sweep of the premises, then headed back to the agency.

Today, the agency was the emptiest you had ever seen it. It was a large building, with 20 above-ground floors. In fact, it was essentially a mini-city. There was a heated indoor pool, a sauna, an elite gym that would make fitness junkies drool, a massage and spa, three verandas, and a rooftop greenhouse. It had a café reminiscent of the UA cafeteria, and all types of cuisines were available. In fact, Lunch Rush’s niece was working in the café, and the food was always heavenly. Sometimes, heroes from other agencies would drop off at the UA Hero Agency just for a bite of food after a long patrol. It was the unofficial headquarters of all the hero agencies in Japan, and it certainly lived up to its reputation.

Thinking about the café, you were suddenly hungry for some pad thai. Arriving at the door, you dropped off your comms and cloak at the door to your office and headed down to the café for some food.

“(Y/N)!!! You’re back!” Your friend squealed.

“Yeah Mina, just got off of patrol. Arrested this shoplifter trying to take advantage of the holiday chaos.” Spying her coat in her hands, you realized she was on her way out.

“Cool! You’re always so efficient with your arrests. Anyhow, I’m going to head home. My parents and I are getting some dinner together. I’ll be back for the party, yeah? Don’t open any presents without me!” Mina waved, a grin on her face. You assured her that you would make sure everyone waited for her to celebrate. You wanted to see your parents too, but they were currently on an international tour. They were famous singers, pioneers of a new genre of music. It was a sort of lullaby, but it wasn’t meant to put people to sleep. It was more of an enchanting, calming kind of music present only in fantasy books before your mother brought it to life. She was wildly popular, and your father was only too happy to support her. Speaking of which, your phone rang in your pocket. You took it out and accepted the video call.

“(Y/N)! It’s so nice to see you baby! How’s it going? I know you had patrols today but I forgot about the time difference and your father had to stop me before I called you and distracted you during patrols! He’s always so paranoid you’ll hurt yourself, sweetie. Stay safe, okay?” Your mother was always cheerful.

“Yeah mom, I know. I’m doing pretty well, actually. I arrested a shoplifter today,” you replied, recounting the same story you just told Mina. “Everything’s pretty calm here. How’s your tour going? I missed you,” you asked her.

“That’s good to hear sweetie!” You mom smiled. “The tour is amazing. I’ve never had such an international turnout before! Maybe I need to start considering singing in other languages! Everyone’s always so supportive.” You smiled at her, happy that she was enjoying herself.

“You deserve it Mom. I’m glad that your music is appealing to an international audience. You always work so hard. It’s nice to see that people appreciate all that you’ve done.”

“Thanks sweetie. Here, I’ll let your dad talk to you for a bit.” There was a bit of shuffling on her end as she handed the phone over to your father.

“Hey sweetheart,” your father’s voice boomed through the phone. You held your phone away from your ear, wincing a bit. Quickly dialing the volume down, you responded.

“Hey Papa. Mom said the tour was going well.”

“Yeah, it is. How’s the holidays going for you?” You heard the slight sadness in his voice. You knew that he wanted Mom to take a break in the middle of the tour and spend Christmas with you, but Mom was adamant about it. It was a holiday tour, after all, and tickets had already been booked. Some people were going to see her concerts as a way of celebrating, and she wouldn’t let them down.

“I’m doing good. It’s pretty peaceful here. No big missions or anything,” you say, in an attempt to comfort him.

“Ok, that’s good to hear sweetheart. We miss you.”

“I miss you too, Papa. Don’t worry though, I’ll be here when you guys get back. Have fun in Paris!” You replied, suddenly feeling sad. “Bye Papa! Bye Mom! I’ll see you guys soon!” You blew a kiss to the camera and hung up. Sighing a little, you trotted towards Emiko, the revered chef.

“Can I have a pad thai please?” You asked, putting your phone back in your pocket.

“One pad thai, coming right up!” Emiko beamed. “So, I hear there’s a party tonight. Should I make anything special?”

You thought about it for a bit, then shook your head. “No, you don’t have to. It’s mostly just for the presents. We already have the booze covered. I think Momo is ordering some special hors d’œuvres already and Sato is taking care of the cookies. Are you coming?”

Emiko shook her head. “I’m spending the night with my family and my boyfriend. I think I might make you guys some tiramisu though. I have all the ingredients and I don’t want them to spoil since I’ll be gone for a few days. Desserts are my specialty anyways,” she added. Then, with a knowing smirk, she prodded your arm. “Do you have anyone on your mind? You know, Mina and Ochaco hung some mistletoe up before they left…”

You blushed. Of course they did. Your friends knew all about your one-sided crush. You also knew that he would still be working here. He was always working. You were pretty sure that he had the mind of a robot, focused only on his work and his legacy. With those hand motions he made, you weren’t surprised if he actually was one. You shook your head to get rid of these thoughts. Emiko didn’t know. At least, you didn’t think she knew. You really regretted telling Mina about your little crush. With her tendency to run her mouth, you wouldn’t be surprised if the entire agency knew already. With the exception of your actual crush, of course. He was simply too socially dense to see the signs and too uninterested to pry.

Taking your pad thai, you scurried away from a smug Emiko and plopped yourself down at a table. You dug into your noodles and sighed in contentment. Maybe working during the holidays wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t like you had friends who weren’t as busy as you were anyways.

You finished the last of your noodles, then got up and took your tray to the recycling area. Heading up to your office, you paused by Ingenium’s office. His door was cracked open, and you peeked inside. You had to muffle your giggles at the sight.

He was wrapping presents with such a focused look on his face that you found absolutely adorable. His brows were furrowed, the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth. He had a spool of ribbons laying on the floor next to him, as well as elegant white-and-gold wrapping paper and a roll of tape. What really amused you was the pile of paper, ribbons, and tape that was bunched together and tossed aside, obviously a result of trial and error. Iida looked frustrated. He had already put his presents in boxes so that they were almost uniform in size and easier to wrap, but he was clearly struggling. You estimated that he had forty boxes littering the floor, but he only had five wrapped. You watched as he ripped off the wrapping on the newest box he had started on, muttering about how hard it was to get straight edges with the wrapping paper. Knocking lightly on his door, you stuck your head around the doorway.

“Need some help?” You asked.

Iida looked up from unspooling more wrapping paper. His face brightened at your offer.

“Yes please, (Y/L/N)-san! I would greatly appreciate your aid. I seem to be having trouble folding the paper and trying to tape it together without it sliding from its position. If you could hold the paper in place while I tape, that would be wonderful!” He looked so excited, almost like a puppy.

You smiled at his eagerness. “Of course, I’d be happy to help.”

You sat down across from him and held the wrapping paper in place while he tore off a piece of tape. The two of you worked in tandem for around an hour, until you finished wrapping all the presents. You sat back, face flushed, and surveyed your work. All forty presents, wrapped with elegant paper and tied up prettily with a gold organza ribbon, were laid out neatly on the floor. It was a satisfying sight. Rolling out your back and cracking your knuckles, you got up from the floor.

“Those were a lot of presents, Iida-san,” you yawned, stretching your arms back like a cat. “Do you want to go down and get some hot cocoa? Emiko already left, but I can make us some.”

Iida got up too. His glasses were slightly askew on his face, and he had a dazed look about him. “That would be greatly appreciated, (Y/L/N)-san. Thank you very much for helping me wrap my presents. It was irresponsible of me to leave them until the last minute.”

“Of course, Iida-san,” you replied. “We were all so busy before the holidays I’m surprised you wanted to wrap everything as fancy as you did. I know that I just stuck my presents in bags, covered them with tissue paper, and called it a day! You didn’t even buy those sticky bows, you tied them with real ribbons. That’s dedication!”

Iida blushed furiously at your compliments. It’s the perfect time to confess to her, he thought. We’re alone, and there’s no one here to see if she rejects me. He took in a deep breath, trying to muster the courage to say something to you, but before he could, you grabbed his hand and dragged him down the hallway for some much-desired peppermint hot cocoa.

Humming lightly to yourself as you lead Iida down the halls, you entered the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. Releasing his hand, you clasped your hands behind your back, hoping he wouldn’t notice how they were shaking slightly. Wow, you thought. I really did that. I really just snatched his hand like that. Ugh, he probably hated it every second of the way, he’s just too polite to say anything. God, my palms are so sweaty. Why did I do this to myself?

Unbeknownst to you, Iida was having a mental freak-out of his own. Ahh! She grabbed my hand! And she didn’t seem to hate it! Does this mean she really doesn’t mind my company? Maybe I actually do have a chance with her! No, stop, he told himself. She was probably just tired of how I was staring at her and decided to do something about it. Ugh, I was staring at her, wasn’t I? God, I’m such a creep. Iida wiped his palms on his slacks, then reached up and adjusted his glasses, trying to hide the obvious blush on his face.

“Ding!”

The elevator stopped at the ground floor, and the two of you stepped out into the lobby. The decorations had been up for two weeks already, but it still took your breath away every time you saw it. There were garlands of lights strung high all over the ceiling, and dainty little ornaments hung from the chandeliers. There was a huge Christmas tree next to the fireplace, the floor around it coated in snowy fuzz. You had to resist the temptation to jump in on multiple occasions. You couldn’t help yourself! It just looked so fuzzy and comfortable, like clouds of cotton candy…

The Christmas tree was decorated tastefully. There was a surprising lack of hero-themed ornaments, mostly due to Momo’s elegant decorating. You had all been in agreement when you refused to let Kaminari or Mineta even touch the tree.

Making your way to the kitchen, you relaxed a little when you breathed in the apple-scented candles. It was a surprising choice for a holiday scent. Usually, pine or cinnamon were much more popular scents. You had gotten the privilege to choose the candles though, and although you almost fainted sniffing at every single scent in the candle store, you decided on apple. It was nice and refreshing, with just a subtle touch towards the holiday season. You liked the change of pace from the usual holiday scents, and it seemed it was growing on everyone else too. You stopped at the cabinets that contained the hot cocoa bombs. Emiko had seen these as an online trend with the food community, and she had made dozens of them “as an experiment”. Everyone fell in love with them (because heroes are allowed to be childish!) and they stuck. Now, the agency had an entire cabinet in the kitchen dedicated to the delightful goodies.

“Oat or regular?” You asked Iida.

Iida had, unfortunately, spaced out again. He was thinking about how cute you looked, standing on your tiptoes to reach the cabinet.

“Hello? Earth to Iida-san,” you turned around and waved a hand in front of his face. “You okay there?”

Iida blinked and had to recompose himself again. He kept getting distracted. This was not good. Not good at all.

“Regular is fine,” he replied, his face flushing once again. He really needed to stop daydreaming.

You poured out some milk into a jug and heated it. Then, you placed a hot cocoa bomb in each mug, licking some sprinkles off your fingers as you did so. Once the milk was ready, you filled each mug to the brim, careful not to spill any. It smelled absolutely delectable. Taking a spoon from the cabinets, you stirred both cups slowly, letting the chocolate melt at an even pace.

Iida was watching all of this, and he was still having an internal debate over when to confess. Would it be better to wait until you both finished the hot cocoa? Should he even confess to you on Christmas? What if his confession ruined your holidays? He began to sweat a little, his anxiety rising with each thought. Before he could come up with an excuse to escape, you stuffed a mug into his large hands.

“All done!” You exclaimed, taking a sip of your own cocoa, careful not to burn yourself.

Iida was not so lucky. Distracted by his thoughts, he raised the mug to his lips and gulped.

“Shit!” Iida swore. You blinked at him, a little shocked since he never swore, then immediately put your mug down and raced to the refrigerator to collect some ice cubes. Iida promptly put his offensive mug of cocoa on the counter, glaring at it like it just murdered his dog. Dumping some ice cubes in a glass, you hurried back towards Iida and popped one in his mouth.

“You really should be more careful next time, Iida-san,” you chided. “I just made it! You shouldn’t take such large swigs of a piping hot drink!”

“Sorry, I got distracted.” Iida replied absentmindedly.

“Distracted? By what?” Your curiosity was now piqued.

Iida’s face turned ever redder than before. He averted his eyes and mumbled out some quiet words that you couldn’t quite catch.

“Sorry, what was that?” You gazed up at him. “I couldn’t hear what you said.”

Iida’s hands were stuck to his thighs to prevent himself from freaking you out with aggressive hand gestures, and he didn’t think he’d ever been more nervous in his entire life. He cleared his throat. “I said that I got distracted by you.”

Now it was your turn to blush. “Really?” Your voice was quiet, almost a whisper. You weren’t sure if you heard that right, and your heart was beating so fast you were afraid that he’d hear it.

Iida finally looked at you. “Really,” he confirmed.

You wrung your hands and stepped towards him. Raising your eyes to meet his, your voice a half-whisper, you gulped before your next words.

“I like you.”

Blinking twice, Iida unclasped his hands and pinched his forearm. He winced in pain, then blinked again. You laughed at his antics, then clapped a hand playfully on his bicep.

“I’m real, Iida-san. I’m right here!”

Slowly, a grin crept up Iida’s face. “Really?” He mumbled, obviously still not entirely convinced he wasn’t dreaming.

You chuckled at how you had just asked the same thing moments earlier, but then you grabbed his large hand with your smaller one and squeezed.

“Really.” You smiled bashfully.

The two of you stood in silence for a while, then Iida spoke up.

“I like you too, (Y/L/N)-san.” Feeling bold now that he knew his feelings were reciprocated, he drew his other arm across your shoulders and drew you into a tight hug. You sighed, feeling comfortable and safe in his arms. A part of you wanted to stay like this forever and never wanted him to let go.

“Would you like to go on a date with me on Saturday afternoon at 3?” Iida’s voice rumbled in your ear.

You were bursting with excitement. A date! A real, formal, date! “I’d love to, but why so specific?” You giggled.

“Ahh, well, my patrol ends at 2:30, so I thought-”

Of course Iida volunteered for patrols the weekend after Christmas. Did this man ever take a break?

“No problem at all, Iida-san. That sounds lovely.”

Iida released you from the hug and rubbed lightly at the back of his neck. “You can… you can call me Tenya, if you’d like.”

You were smiling so big that you feared your face would split. “I’d love that, Tenya.” His eyes crinkled when you called him by his first name. “And you can call me (Y/N).”

Iida nodded his head. “(Y/N). I like that,” he said to himself. He muttered your name a few times, getting used to the way it rolled off his tongue. You blushed and hugged him again, pressing your nose into his chest. He was just too adorable.

You wanted to stay like that, but your phone dinging incessantly in your pocket made it uncomfortable.

Mina

(Y/N)!!! my parents ordered this WHOLE-ASS TURKEY for dinner with JUST THE 3 OF US!!! how we gon finish it all?!?

Mina

*burps* we did it. we finished all of it. the whole turkey. (Y/N). we. finished. a. whole. fucking. turkey. pls send help i can’t walk (Y/NNNNNNNN)!!!

(Y/N)

want me to call u an uber … mina mina MINA MINA DID U PASS OUT im calling an uber mina istg

Quickly sending an Uber to the restaurant Mina was at, you put your phone back in your pocket and looked up at Tenya.

“Hey. Do you wanna get your presents and put them under the tree?” You asked.

Tenya quickly straightened up. “Thank you for reminding me, (Y/N). I had almost forgotten about them!”

“No problem!” You chirped. “Let’s go!” You took his hand in yours again and lead the way to the elevator. As the elevator chimed, the two of you waltzed in, hands still clasped together.

Humming a little tune to yourself, you stepped out of the elevator. You and Tenya entered his office, and each returned with an armful of presents, carefully stacked as to avoid damaging the delicate ribbons the two of you had spent so much time tying.

It was a tradition in the agency to get everyone something small. However, you participated in gift exchanges every year. This year, it was a Secret Santa-type exchange, but the UA Hero Agency did Secret Santa’s a bit differently. Instead of giving your partner the gift on Christmas Eve, the gifts were labeled with typed name tags in generic Times New Roman font. Then, there was the guessing portion. Everyone got 3 guesses at the party when they first open it, and after that, they get one guess per week. Whoever held out the longest (avoided being guessed) would win a batch of Sato’s homemade cookies, a week of free food from Emiko, and two patrol coupons (basically the adult version of homework passes). This year, you had drawn Bakugo as your partner. You’d decided to get him a ¥4,000 gift card to his favorite ramen restaurant, as well as a high-quality leather jacket. The gifts were pretty generic, and you thought that you had a chance at the prize. You chuckled to yourself when you remembered that last year, Momo had been so frustrated when she hadn’t figured out who had given her a pretty earring and necklace set after two months that she’d used Creation to make fingerprint dust and swiped it all over the box. It had turned out to be Todoroki. Needless to say, he’d won the prize that year.

The two of you made a few more trips, carrying gifts from his office to the tree. Checking the time, you saw that it had been an hour since Ochaco’s patrol ended. Right as you were about to call her, the front door to the lobby burst open.

“(Y/N)!!!” Your friend screeched, holding up a kitten with fur the color of cinnamon. “Look what I found on my patrol! I had to take her to the vet really quickly to make sure she wasn’t hurt, and she didn’t seem to have an owner. Just look at her!”

You beamed. The kitten was absolutely ADORABLE. And not only was Ochaco safe, she brought a kitten back with her!

“Can I hold her?” You asked.

“Duh!” Ochaco passed the kitten from her arms to yours. Behind her, you saw Bakugou walking sullenly, arms drawn tight across his chest. You stifled a giggle at the sight. He obviously wanted a turn with the kitten too, but his pride wouldn’t let him as for it.

“We were coming back from patrols and I saw this little one stuck in a tree! And when I floated up to take her down, she just looked so sad. There wasn’t a collar on her or anything, so we took her to the vet. It seems like she was abandoned,” Ochaco pouted. “And so we asked the vet to vaccinate her and everything, and we brought her back here! Can we keep her? Mr. Grumpy over there already said yes.”

Tenya looked like he was about to object, seeing as this building had a no-pets policy, but then he saw how your face lit up and the idea and changed his mind. Maybe having a pet on the premises wouldn’t be too bad, he conceded. It’s not like there were other people sharing the building with them anyways.

“Of course we can keep her!” You squealed. Bakugou huffed a sigh. He’d have to deal with all these idiots fawning over the kitten for weeks, and he wasn’t happy about that, but there was no denying that the thing was cute. He’d mellowed out since his high school days and seeing a therapist for anger management classes certainly helped.

The kitten felt warm and fuzzy in your arms, and when you stroked it down its back with the palm of your hand, it let out a satisfied purr.

“What should we name her?” Ochaco asked.

You thought about it for a moment. “Well, since you found her, and her fur is brownish, why not Coco?”

“Coco! I love it!” She beamed. Coco purred again. “It looks like she likes it too!”

You smiled and looked down on the kitty. “Coco,” You murmured. “Welcome to the family.”

Just then, Mina burst through the doors, brimming with energy and not looking at all as if she’d fainted from turkey overconsumption.

“Mina!” You ran towards her. “I thought you fainted or something!” You accused, poking her in the chest. “You didn’t even leave me on read!! You just LEFT!”

“Chill, chill, girly, I’m alive and kicking! Just had to take a quick nap because of my digestive woes,” She flashed you a big thumbs-up. “And what’s this I see? Do we have an agency pet now? Did Shinso sneak it in his pocket from the cat cafe?”

“Shinso what?”

“Cat cafe?”

“I KNEW there was something fishy about his jacket the other day!”

You, Tenya, and Ochaco said at the same time.

Mina stared at all of you, then shook her head. “Never mind.”

Turning around, you looked at Ochaco. “I wanna hear about this later, you hear?”

“Alright, alright!” Mina shouted. “Change into your holiday gear! Let’s get this rolling!”

You had made a sweater especially for tonight. Knitting was a great way to relax, and huddling up in a cozy armchair with the soft yarn, some hot cocoa, and your favorite book, you had finished your holiday-themed sweater in two weeks. Now, you would finally get the chance to wear it. The sweater you made was white, a soft gold-and-silver threading woven through in the pattern of snowflakes. It was a basic winter pattern, but you were proud of your work.

Setting Coco down on the couch, you headed into the locker rooms to change into your sweater and some flannel pajama bottoms. Walking out, you noticed Tenya was still in his business attire, which looked pretty uncomfortable by your standards, although it did fit him nicely.

“Tenya,” you called out. “Are you wearing that to the party?”

He turned around at your voice, looking slightly taken aback. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Why?”

“Nothing, just wondering,” you replied. Good thing that your present to him was a nice, cozy, hand-knit sweater. You may or may not have thought about making him a matching one, but then you’d decided that it was too forward.

“You look…” Tenya stared at you. “You look…cute,” he said, with a small blush on his face.

Blushing at his compliment, you smiled and ducked your head. “Thanks.”

“Your sweater…it looks nice,” he added.  

Playing with the hems of your sleeves, you smiled up at him bashfully. “Thanks. I made it myself. I really like knitting. It’s kind of therapeutic.”

“Oh, wow. You are truly very talented, (Y/N)!” Tenya praised.

“Thanks.” You rubbed the back of your neck. It seemed like you had lost the ability to say anything else. Why did you suck so much at making small talk?

Just then, Mina stepped out from the locker room and saved you from any further embarrassment.

“Hey, has Yaomomo come down yet?” Mina asked.

“No, she hasn’t. Do you want me to go get her?” You answered.

“Nah, it’s alright, I’ll just text her real quick.” Mina pulled out her phone, fingers dancing rapidly across the screen, then put it back in her pocket. Minutes later, Momo stepped out of the elevator, already dressed in a red sweater and white jeans. She always looked so put-together. You were sure that she had a second quirk.

“Yaomomo!” Mina screeched, running up to her friend. “You’ll never guess what I ate for dinner!”

You groaned as Mina recounted her dining disaster. You loved Mina, but her tendency to tell her experiences to everyone multiple times could sometimes get a little annoying. Trying your best to tune her out, you tapped Tenya’s shoulder and moved to settle on the couch with Coco.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” Mina shouted. “Come here!”

Begrudgingly, you stood up again, having just sat down moments earlier. “What is it, Mina?”

“We forgot to introduce Coco! Yaomomo hasn’t seen her yet!”

Oh right. You did forget. You lifted Coco with both hands, then scurried over to where Ochaco, Mina, and Momo huddled. Momo let out a quiet “aww” when she saw the kitty and lifted her manicured hands in a silent invitation to hold her.

You gently placed Coco in her outstretched arms and was about to turn and leave when Mina grabbed your elbow. “Not so fast, (Y/N),” she scolded you sternly. “Picture time!”

Mina took out her phone and swiped open the camera app. You girls all huddled together as she snapped a picture for the fans.

Settling back down with Coco on the couch, surrounded by your friends, you didn’t think that you had ever felt happier. One by one, more of your friends and coworkers began to trickle in, until finally, when a disgruntled Jirou arrived with a protesting Kaminari in tow, Mina stood up.

“Alright! Everyone’s here now, so let’s get this party rolling!”

She bounced off to the kitchen to grab plates for everyone. You could smell Sato’s freshly-baked cookies from here, and your stomach growled in response. Remembering the tiramisu that Emiko had made, you followed Mina into the kitchen.

Mina held a stack of plates that covered half her face. It was wobbling slightly, the entire thing almost toppling over multiple times. You had gotten out the fancier cake platter and was currently in hyper-focus mode, carefully moving the tiramisu from its cake mold onto the crystal platter. You breathed out a sigh of relief as the process was finally completed and the cake hadn’t been ruined.

Holding the crystal tray with both hands, you stepped out into the lobby, marched over to the coffee table in the center, and slowly set the tray down.

“Hey guys, Emiko made us some tiramisu,” You called out. “Come here if you want some.” You held a cake knife in your hand and began serving everyone.

Tenya watched all of this with barely-hidden admiration. You were just so competent. So hard-working, so kind, and so wonderfully skilled at everything you do. Even the things that you weren’t good at, you tried your hardest to learn and to improve. He was definitely in deep, and to be honest, he didn’t mind a single bit. You were worthy of being admired, and he vowed that he would let you know in all the ways he could.

As you served the last slice of tiramisu to Ojiro, you carried the cake platter back to the kitchen and sat down next to Shinsou, who was, not surprisingly, hogging all of Coco’s attention. Seeing you, Coco scrambled over Shinsou’s lap and faceplanted into yours. You laughed at her enthusiasm and snorted when you heard Shinsou mutter “traitor” underneath his breath.

“So Shinsou,” you started casually. “What’s this I hear about you stealing cats from the cat café?”

Shinsou’s face immediately turned a tomato red. He put his hands up defensively. “No, wait, you have it all wrong- I swear- who told you about it anyways? Never mind,” he stopped his waving motions. You snickered. You were definitely getting the full story out of him later. For now, you had things to do.

Strolling over casually to Tenya with Coco still in your arms, you very sneakily dropped her, front paws landing gracefully, onto Bakugou’s head.

“Hey! What’s this damn cat doing here!” Bakugou yelped. Coco also yelped, and it came to you that dropping her on Bakugou’s spikey hair was probably not the best idea ever. However, as Coco quickly scampered down and curled up on Bakugou’s shoulder, and Kirishima was sitting next to him to make sure he didn’t kill the cat, you felt a sense of triumph. Bakugo was smiling. Not smirking, not grinning maniacally as he beat someone up, but genuinely smiling. You gave yourself an internal high five as you moved onto your next goal.

You walked hesitantly towards Tenya, and when he turned his head towards you, about to ask what you were doing, you quickly linked your hand with his and started leading him towards the rest of the group.

“(Y-Y/N) ?” Tenya sputtered. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” You replied cheekily. “I want to hold hands with you!”

“B-but, do they know?” Tenya gestured nervously with his free hand.

“Nope, but they’re about to,” you grimaced, thinking about all the teasing you’d have to endure from your friends later. Better to just get this over with during the party, when everyone had the attention span of a goldfish and any embarrassing moments would hopefully be forgotten moments later when more exciting things came along, such as Mineta’s annual lingerie gift. Whatever the powers that be were doing, they were definitely not doing the world any favors when they let Mineta draw a girl for the Secret Santa every single year. But, for all the bad things you could say about Mineta, he definitely consumes enough material to have at least semi-decent taste in lingerie. Surprising, and sometimes gross, but not entirely unwelcomed if you could manage to forget who gifted it. The most disturbing thing was he knew all the girls’ sizes. You tried your hardest to not think about that. It’s not like you could erase his memory anyways.

You settled down with Tenya on a vacant couch, inwardly counting the minutes until someone noticed your position. Tenya looked vaguely uncomfortable, his posture ramrod straight, and you squeezed his hand in reassurance.

“No one’s going to judge or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about,” you whispered into his ear. “And besides, at least half the girls already knew I had a crush on you, so this won’t entirely come as news to them.”

Tenya relaxed slightly at that, then stiffened again when he noticed a pair of eyes glancing his way.

Midoriya had been excited at seeing Ochaco for the first part of the evening, but then had wondered where his other friend had gone. He knew Tsu was in southern Japan, as she couldn’t stand the cold and was operating in the warm coastal areas instead, but Iida being absent was strange. He had searched around the lobby, and when his eyes descended upon you and Iida cuddling on the couch, he was intrigued, to say the least.

He stared at the two of you for a solid minute, not wanting to disturb your peace. Slowly, he turned back to Ochaco, thinking that it wasn’t his place to draw attention to the two of you.

Ochaco, however, had no such qualms. Noticing how Deku began to space out during their conversation, she followed his line of vision to the two of you, blinked twice to check if she was seeing it right, then immediately let out a squeal.

Heads turned at the sound, and in moments, everyone was staring at you and Tenya curiously. You hadn’t noticed the attention yet, but Tenya had, and he grew stiffer and stiffer until you finally looked up at his face with furrowed brows.

“Tenya, what’s wrong?” You whispered. “Do you not enjoy cuddling? I can stop if you’d like,” your lips were pressed together in concern.

“I-it’s not that,” Tenya whispered back. “Look.”

You finally raised your head from his chest and saw thirty pairs of eyes staring back. After a few moments of silence, the room erupted.

“Iida-kun! Why didn’t you tell us?” Midoriya was the first to raise a question.

“(Y/NNNNNN)!!!!!!!!!!!” Mina practically screamed as she ran towards you. She clasped her hands dramatically over her heart. “YOU DID IT YOU DID IT YOU DID IT OMG YOU GUYS ARE SO ADORABLE EEEEE!!!!!!”

Half the room winced at her loud tone, and you quickly moved Coco from your lap to save her from the incoming bear hug.

Mina launched herself in your arms, then stepped back and shook your shoulders until you felt your brain rattling around in your skull like soupy mush.

“(Y/N)! What did I say, huh? Bitch I TOLD you that he liked you too, and you wait three goddamn months to finally make a move!?! Honey-”

Your face flushed red. Gently, you pushed her away. “Mina, stop,” you whispered, horrified that she was making a scene. It was too late. Ochaco and Hagakure rushed towards you, Momo trailing more slowly behind them. The boys were stunned for a bit, since you had always seemed so quiet and shy, much less Iida’s feelings towards you. As their initial shock wore off, Midoriya trailed after Momo to approach Iida.

“Congratulations, Iida-kun!” He held up his arms in front of his chest. “You and (Y/N) are really cute together!”

“Yeah bro! That’s so manly that you finally confessed!” Kirishima added, with a quirk of his lips and a thumbs-up.

“Tch. Fucking coward. Took you idiots three fucking months to confess, huh.” Bakugou smirked, but you could tell he wasn’t really annoyed. You actually somewhat got along with him, due to all the times Mina would drag you to hang out with her friends.

You struggled vainly against the arms of your friends encasing you. “Guys,” you pleaded. “Let me out, please.”

Reluctantly, the girls let go, and you immediately tried to redirect their attention. “Shouldn’t we start opening presents?” You asked hopefully.

“Oh, you sneaky little thing,” Mina wagged her finger in your face. “Don’t think we’ll forget about this, (Y/N), but you’re right, we should start opening presents or we’ll be here all night.”

“We’ll be here all night anyways,” Todoroki pointed out.

“You knew what I meant,” Mina sighed.

Mina enlisted the help of Ojiro and Shoji to pass out the Secret Santa presents; you’d all open the rest of your personal presents later.

The best way to go about this, after years of trial and error, was for everyone to open their presents at the same time. It would simply take too long for everyone to open theirs one by one, and you’d all realized that the people who opened theirs first had a significant disadvantage when it came to guessing who their partner was, as the ones who opened theirs later had the benefit of some options already being eliminated. When you opened your present, you tried your hardest to hold back a squeal. It was a limited-edition album from your favorite artist! You hugged it close to your chest, and immediately knew who gave it to you. Jirou. Her parents were musicians too, and you had bonded over your love of this artist. It was a thoughtful gift, and you were glad that she had given it to you, even though it immediately gave her away.

The rest of your friends opened their presents. Poor Momo. No wonder Mineta had looked so gleeful earlier. He had been her Secret Santa and had gotten her a lacy black lingerie set. Her face was so red you were beginning to get scared that she would hyperventilate, but you had to admit that it was a pretty nice set. Mineta was basically drooling at this point, and Jirou was trying to comfort her while sending a death glare towards Mineta. Mineta, meanwhile, had received a new video game. Sero had received a large pack of farmer’s market coupons, as well as some homemade mochi from Ochaco, who had blushed and apologized profusely for not being able to afford something better for him. Sero just grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, saying that it was completely okay and that he appreciated her effort into gift-giving. She had brightened up a bit at that.

Koda had received a new hamster wheel along with some toys for his various pets. Shoji had been gifted a comfortable-looking poncho, as well as three pairs of matching gloves. Ochaco had received a generous sum of money, Midoriya had gotten a new set of comic books, and Iida had received a beanie and a multiflavored pack of tea. Aoyama had received a makeup set, and had gifted a makeup set as well, evidenced by his inability to contain himself and pounced on Hagakure, asking if she liked it. Hagakure was ecstatic, babbling about how she could finally show her face and how she’d never really been able to afford a full set before and how Aoyama was so considerate.

Sato had received a new baking pan, as well as cute mittens and a trending recipe book. He had given Setsuna a batch of cookies, as well as a gallon of frozen cookie dough with instructions on how to make it. There wasn’t really a point in him trying to win the contest, since he would be one of the people providing the prize. Mina had gotten fuzzy socks and a blanket, Kirishima had received a new pair of tennis shoes, and Jirou had been gifted a new pair of headphones. Ojiro had received some sort of custom tail armor with spikes along with an Amazon gift card, and Todoroki had gotten a hand-made red-and-white sweater with a red reindeer nose smack in the middle, along with a gift card to a hair salon, tucked into a bouquet of red-and-white candy canes. The only person you could think of that would go so far into the color scheme was Hagakure, who seemed like just the type to make an ugly sweater for fun. Shinsou had received earmuffs, a silk eye mask with a note (“to help you sleep”), and some gourmet coffee beans (“in case you still can’t”). Mina had seen the little notes that came with his gifts and started teasing him relentlessly about how sweet his Secret Santa was and how it was so cute that he had a secret admirer. Shinsou looked very nonchalant about it all and grumbled about how he just wanted to pet Coco and then go to bed.

Finally, Kaminari received some Pokémon cards to add to his collection (yes, he collected Pokémon cards, what was wrong with that?) along with another Pikachu plush, as per usual. It was an unspoken tradition that whoever drew Kaminari for their Secret Santa would get him a Pikachu plush along with whatever else they decided to give him. He had about twenty, collected over various years from birthdays and holidays. If this kept up, he’d be able to fill an entire closet with them once he retired.

As the chatter slowly died down, you snuggled into Tenya again. At some point during the present exchange, Shinsou had stolen Coco from the couch you occupied. Stifling a yawn, you pulled out a bag and handed it to Tenya.

“What’s this?” He asked, a slight smile on his face.

“It’s your gift, silly,” you booped him on the nose with your index finger.

“Ah, I see,” he replied, still smiling. “Do you want me to open it?”

“Duh,” you giggled into his chest. “What else would you do with it?”

Chuckling lightly, Tenya removed the tissue paper from the top of the bag. He stuck his hand inside, then pulled out a sweater. The sweater that you’d knitted for him. It was navy, the color of the yarn matching his hair, with gold and white snowflake detailing. His heart skipped a beat when he realized that you had made this especially for him, with your own hands. Putting the sweater down beside him, he wrapped his arms around you and pressed his face to your hair.

“Thank you, (Y/N),” he whispered. “I love it.”

You flushed, but you hugged him back. “You’d better,” you teased. “I spent two weeks on that.”

“Well, I appreciate it.” Tenya ruffled your hair.

The two of you stayed like that for a while, just soaking in the pleasant atmosphere. Yawning, you stretched out your arms, careful not to hit Tenya in the face. You gently pushed his arm off of your torso and got up to go to the bathroom.

When you came back, Tenya was nowhere to be seen. You searched around the common area and stepped briefly into the kitchen, but he wasn’t there. Sighing, you grabbed your parka and padded outside.

“Tenya?” You called out as you stuck your head around the doorframe. He was with Kirishima and Todoroki, clearing the entryway of the building of snow. You leaned back along the handrails of the stairs and watched. Your friends were all just so nice. So caring, so wonderful, so kind. As Todoroki evaporated the last bit of snow, you stepped aside to let them all head back in. As Tenya reached you, he paused briefly, looking up.

“What?” You tilted your head up also, curious to see what he was staring at. Oh. So this was where Mina and Ochaco had decided to hang the mistletoe. If Tenya hadn’t looked up, you would’ve missed its existence entirely. You looked back down at Tenya to gauge his reaction.

He gulped, and softly taking your chin into his hand, he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss on your lips. You leaned up to meet him, rising slightly on your toes and wrapping your arms around his neck. The kiss was long and sweet, and you were both a bit breathless when you let go.

You smiled sweetly up at him and took his strong hand in yours. Standing on your tiptoes again, you pressed another soft kiss to his cheek.

“Merry Christmas.”

Masterlist

[annabethy]

under the mistletoe, watching the fire glow day 23: toy stores

Character A owns a struggling toy store, and Character B is looking for a toy,, percabeth

Annabeth’s stares up at the toy store’s sign that appears to be falling apart before her eyes. It gives her an eerie feeling, looking up at a sign with glowing letters that are crooked and dull.

“Mommy?”

She glances down at her daughter beside her, who is tugging on the sleeve of her sweater. “Yes, baby?”

The three-year-old slides her hand into her mother’s, and Annabeth holds onto the tiny fingers tightly. “Can we get toys now?”

Annabeth smiles gently, tugging her daughter along lightly. The doors to the store creak open, a small bell chiming overhead. The store seems to be empty save for an old couple wandering the aisles with a cart that is peeling grey paint.

She stands in place as she looks around, entirely unsure of where to start. Annabeth hadn’t wanted to come here to begin with, much preferring to stick to more known stores like Target, but Sophia has gained much more insight to the world and began pointing out the store each time they passed by. When she’d begged to stop at a real toy store so she could pick out a new toy, Annabeth hadn’t known how to say no.

“Go on,” Annabeth encourages softly, letting go of her hand. Sophia wastes no time, immediately beginning to run as fast as her tiny legs will let her, which isn’t very fast at all. It helps Annabeth a lot, actually, because it’s already becoming much harder to chase after her, even only at three months pregnant.

Annabeth watches fondly as her daughter is fascinated by the wall of Barbies they have. They’re all basic enough in her opinion, and cheap enough for her to afford at least two of them, so Annabeth lets her daughter run her fingers over the boxes, cooing at each and every one.

“Pick two, baby,” Annabeth tells her, looking around the rest of the shop. Even the inside doesn’t appear to be in great shape. The lighting is rather dim, and it’s incredibly echoey – she can hear each footstep resonate, and her daughter’s excited chatters are loud in the empty vicinity.

Annabeth leans against the aisle as she watches, her hand moving up unconsciously to rest against her stomach. She tries not to think too much of it, but it’s gotten worse now, knowing that she’s alone, and going to be raising two kids on her own. She doesn’t know how she got into this position, but it’s too late to do anything except keep moving.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

She glances to her right, startled, where there is a man looking at her kindly. He has a plain black t-shirt on that shows his arms that her eyes linger on just a bit longer than intended. She looks back to his face where he has a gentle smile on. His nametag reads, Percy.

“We’re just looking,” she replies, a soft grin back to him.

“Anything in particular?”

Annabeth’s eyes dart down to the four boxes of Barbies her daughter has pulled off the shelves.

“I’ll take a wild guess and say Barbies?” Percy asks. “It seems so,” Annabeth says, laughing.

“Well, I’m afraid this is all we have on that then,” he says, moving towards Annabeth’s side. “We aren’t the most advanced toy store there is,” he says more quietly, for Annabeth to hear. “But from the look on your face, you already know that.”

She blinks, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. Had she been that transparent? “It’s… fine.”

He laughs sweetly. “I know it’s practically falling apart. Sometimes I have to close by myself, and I get scared one of these dolls are actually cursed and going to kill me in my sleep.”

“Like Annabelle?”

“Exactly,” he says, giving her daughter a humored look when she holds up a fifth doll to Annabeth’s sight. “This is your daughter?”

She’s a bit surprised at how chatty the store worker is. He seems too polite to be working in such a rundown place, and it almost makes her feel bad.

“She is,” Annabeth answers after a short pause. “She’s only three, but she’s expensive.”

“I know what you mean. I have a daughter at home too, and I never knew how expensive kids were before I had her. It feels like they’re demanding a new toy every two seconds.”

A sixth toy is shoved into Annabeth’s hands by her daughter, and she waves it in front of him. “You mean like this?”

“Seems about right,” he replies, laughing. “Are you shopping for any special occasions?”

She shakes her head, biting her lower lip. “She just wanted to come look around, and I ran out of ways to tell her no.”

“It’s always hard to say no,” he agrees. Annabeth looks at him again and catches his bright green eyes. It’s the first true look she gets of him, and she has to admit she’s not disappointed with what she sees.

“So when are you due?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re pregnant,” he comments. When she looks at him questioningly, and a bit daringly, he smiles. “You keep touching your stomach.”

She drops her hand and chuckles. “I didn’t even realize.”

“My wife used to do that all the time,” he says. The word wife makes something in her drop, but she doesn’t quite know why. She hadn’t even realized how much she liked talking to him until then. “I’m sure your husband has picked up on little quirks like that.”

“Oh, there’s no husband,” she starts, laughing lightly. “Divorced was finalized a few weeks before I found out I was pregnant.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be. I think it’s cute that you notice stuff like that about your wife.”

“It would be cuter if we were still together,” he says.

Annabeth nods, lips tugging upwards. “So we both know the pains of divorce and fighting for custody.”

“And the pains of sleeping alone,” he adds. “It’s a different feeling, I’ll admit.”

“Try having a baby on the way and no husband,” she says. “It’s that icy type of fear – the one that freezes you over because you have no idea what you’re doing.”

“Yeah, but you seem like you’ll be okay.”

He’s looking at her with such warmth and kindness, and it feels weird to say, but this might be the most comfortable she’s felt in months. They fall into a silence, and she lets herself just take in his presence – it’s familiar in an unfamiliar way. She doesn’t know if it’s just having someone else close to her, or feeling protected, but she doesn’t care because she feels safe with him by her side.

“I want these,” her daughter says, placing a last box by her feet. It makes Annabeth feel a bit lightheaded because she knows there’s no way she’ll be able to afford all of those, and this trip is going to end with a tantrum.

“I said two,” Annabeth reminds her. “Pick two and put the rest back.”

“But I want them!”

Annabeth sighs, scrunching her nose at the feeling of an oncoming headache. “Mommy can’t buy all of them.”

“Why not?” she asks accusingly.

“These are expensive, baby.”

“But you go to work all the time for money!”

It makes Annabeth’s heart sore, because there’s no way for her to explain that the money she makes from work goes towards everything else. She’s barely making the weekly payments on her apartment, or the water and electricity bills, and she just can’t afford everything her daughter wants. But she can see the tears brimming in Sophie’s eyes, and suddenly she wants to cry too because she’s doing everything she can, and it’s still not enough, and it won’t be in six months either when she suddenly has another child to take care of.

“Put them back, Sophie.”

She whines.

“Please put some of them back, and maybe Santa Claus can bring you more in a few weeks.”

Sophia doesn’t budge, and Annabeth knows it’s going to take herself putting them back on the shelves. Percy respectfully wanders off back into the store somewhere out of sight as Annabeth begins to shove them back on the shelf. She lets Sophia hold on tightly onto two of them as she begins crying and is forced to pick her up and carry her over to pay.

Annabeth waits by the counter for a good few minutes before Percy reappears. He’s pushing a cart suspiciously in front of him that he sets by the counter.

“These are the best toys we have!” he tells Sophia, coaxing them from her hands so he can scan them. “You did a good job choosing.”

“I wanted more,” she whimpers as Annabeth’s hand slides up and down her back soothingly.

“I know, but you have to leave some for Santa Claus to get you,” he whispers, handing the toys back to her after it’s scanned. “You’re a good girl, so I bet you’re going to get a ton of presents from him this year!”

Annabeth shoots him a dirty look, and it makes his eyes mirthful.

“That’ll be twenty-five dollars and forty-nine cents.”

She hands him a card from her back pocket, setting Sophia down. Her daughter seems to be in a slightly better mood by now, but she still wraps herself around her mother’s leg. She takes the card back, about to turn around and leave, but his hand wraps gently around her wrist.

“Is it alright if I walk you to your car?”

“May I ask what for?”

He glances to the shopping cart he placed by the counter, and she has a vague feeling of what’s in there.

“I’m compelled to say no,” she tells him, eyeing the cart.

“This place is closing in two months anyways, and it’ll all go to waste,” he tells her quietly. “Let me do this.”

“If there are five dolls in that cart, I swear to god.”

“There’s six, actually.”

She glares at him.

“You can save them as Christmas presents for her,” he says. “You have another baby on the way, and I can tell you’re struggling. I’m not trying to judge because believe me when I say I’ve been there, so let me help.”

She feels bad taking stuff from him that could easily add up to more than one-hundred dollars, but she also knows that even if Christmas is weeks away, she’s not going to be able to do much on her own. She has to figure out how to afford things for a newborn that are more necessary than a few Barbie’s that’ll be forgotten quickly enough anyways, but it breaks her heart thinking of Sophia waking up to a nearly bare Christmas tree, so she says, “Okay.”

He shoots her a grin, coming around the counter to grab the cart. He helps stuff them into the trunk of her car as Annabeth straps Sophia into her car seat. She turns the car on before stepping outside to speak to him alone.

“Are you sure you’re okay giving these to me?”

“Of course I am,” he says. “It would be sitting there for months otherwise.”

“Then thank you,” she says earnestly. “It means a lot.”

“Don’t worry about it. I wanted to do it.”

“Yeah, why is that?” she asks, smirking now. “I didn’t see you doing this for the old couple walking around.”

“You’re a lot cuter than the old couple,” he admits, fingers toying with the handle of the cart.

“So now I’m cute?”

“I’ve always had a thing for pregnant women,” he says.

Annabeth slaps his arm playfully. “So you actually do this for all the pregnant women?”

He winks. “Only the cute ones.”

“You don’t even know my name.”

“I was hoping you’d let me know that.”

She gives him a sly look. “Annabeth.”

“Now that I know your name, Annabeth, I was wondering if you’d like to go out to dinner.”

“Dinner?”

“Or we could take our girls to a toy store and let them run wild,” he suggests, “but I think both of our bank accounts would be wiped in that case.”

“Dinner sounds nice,” she agrees. He gives her his phone number, and for a moment, she imagines that life is perfect. She doesn’t know if it’s because she really does like him or because she’s been alone for what feels like forever, but she can see a future. They are together in a home, three girls around a fireplace, unwrapping toys, and Percy is sitting by her side, her wrapped in his arms. He places a kiss to her forehead, and she feels at home. It’s a fleeting image, but it makes her long.

She learns four years later on the anniversary of when they first met that maybe she really did see a glimpse of her future. There are three girls curled up on the couch, and they all love each other so much. Instead of unwrapping presents though, they are watching a Disney movie. Annabeth watches the kids with a smile on her face from the doorframe, turning her head up when she feels him slide his hands over her swollen stomach (courtesy of Percy). He gives her a sweet kiss.

She’s in love in a way she never thought possible, her heart is full, and everything is perfect.

[imaginesupply]

Homecoming - Chapter Six

(I know it's Henry and not Sy in the photo, but it just fit too well with this chapter.)

Summary: The day has arrived, Captain Syverson is going home. For good, this time. He is going home to a civilian life he can hardly remember and a wife he barely knows, with memories of the war still fresh on his mind. Love might not be able to heal everything on its own, but it’s a good start.

Genres: Romance, drama.

Story warnings: Smut (always fully consensual), mentions of PTSD and nightmares and mental health, angst, hurt and comfort, fluff, mentions of war (minor), mentions of cheating (minor), mentions of pregnancy (very minor), police appearance (very minor), violence (very minor).

Notes:

It’s my first time writing for one of Henry’s characters and I’m unsure I did Sy’s character any justice.

This is a Capt. Syverson x OFC (Ada) story, written in 3rd person POV but OFC’s physical description is very limited so it could also be read as Capt. Syverson x Reader, I think.

English is not my first language, so there might be some mistakes. Proofread, but not beta’ed. We die like men and all that.

Timeline is a little wacky: The movie takes place in 2003 and the U.S. forces were withdrawn from Iraq in 2011, but I never set a precise date because I don’t think it’s essential for this story. However, some elements might not be realistic because if we set this story in 2003: Phone cameras quality was not as good as it’s now, but for the purpose of the chapters, I will need you to imagine you could film great videos with your flip phone haha. Plus, it says Sy is coming back after being deployed for more than three years which makes no sense unless we set this in 2006 or later. I am asking you disregard any time inconsistencies.

Also: I am not American. I only lived in the US for six months and it was in the Midwest, not Texas so please bear with me if I write something stupid.

Finally: This will be a Christmas fic and I intend to post the last chapter (there will be seven in total) on or before Christmas. However, religion is never mentioned in this story and the Christmas-sy elements of this story are limited to family gathering, gift giving and tree decorating.

Chapter Six starts after the cut. (Chapter Five can be found here.) Let me know if you wish to be tagged in the last chapter or if you wish to be removed from the tag list.

I will post a master list soon and put the link in the comments to make it easier to navigate.

Chapter 6

Chapter warnings: Smut, Christmas themes, mentions of therapy, embarrassing moments.

Ada didn't mind being woken up with soft fluttering kisses on her neck. She definitely didn't mind starting the day with the tantalizing rub of his beard on her sensitive skin and the hard press of his torso against her back, their legs entwined and his morning erection nuzzled against her butt.

What she did mind, however, was when any of this happened at the butt crack of dawn. Ada opened her eyes just enough to read 6:50am on the alarm clock.

"Sy," she groaned, stopping his wandering hands with hers, trying to trap them beneath her breasts. "Hold that thought for later, okay?"

She heard him chuckle behind her, his chest vibrating against her body as he freed his hands from her weak grip. "Later is for putting up the Christmas tree and the decorations," he teased, his right hand now drawing circles low on her stomach.

Ada groaned again, wanting to fight his tempting touch but unwilling to move away from his body heat. "I'll get up at 7:30." Those were the last words out of her mouth before she had drifted off again.

When she woke up once more, forty minutes later with the blast of her alarm clock, her back was cold and the smell of breakfast wafted through the air, filling her nostrils. Damn Syverson and his military sleep schedule! She had taken all her days off to spend them with him only to wake up even earlier than when she was working.

With barely open eyes, Ada threw on his shirt that hung on the chair and slowly made her way downstairs, following the scent of pancakes. She found Sy in front of the stove, just finishing up the last one before setting it on the huge pile of pancakes that looked fluffier than clouds. Ada had quickly learnt that while Sy was a disaster when it came to the art of cooking, he was the master of pancakes and barbecue.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he greeted her and then smirked when he noticed her attire.

"Morning captain," she mumbled, walking up to him before patiently waiting until he leant down so that they could share a kiss. It always made him laugh when she did that: the adorable pout on her face when he didn't bend down for a kiss fast enough was worth waiting the extra second every time.

They ate in relative silence, mostly because Ada definitely wasn't a morning person, but the fact that Sy had a habit of stuffing his mouth full of food also played a role. When she was done eating, Ada pushed her plate and glass away, and brought her knees up to her chest, hugging her legs on the chair. She eyed her husband intently, waiting for him to finish eating with a grin on her lips.

"Why are you looking at me like that, darlin'?" Sy asked, eyebrow raised suspiciously before taking the last sip of his morning coffee.

Ada blushed, suddenly looking bashful. "Well… I was hoping we could go back upstairs and continue what you started earlier," she admitted in a tiny voice.

Sy laughed, a booming sound that filled the entire room before a shit-eating grin spread on his lips. "Tough luck, darlin'." He got up from his chair, standing in front of her across the narrow table. "Should have thought about that before falling asleep on me earlier."

Ada's mouth fell open. The cheek on this man! And what made it worse, was his huge smile that made him look like a very amused bear, with his hairy, tempting chest. He was toying with her. "Are you really saying no to sex?" She asked, cocking her brow. Sy wasn't really the type to turn down-

"Yes, no sex." He stated, suddenly looking very serious. "We have to head to the store to buy decorations, then put up the tree and hang the lights outside." Ada tried her best not to laugh. He sounded as if he were explaining a major, life or death, mission to her – not Christmas preparations. "You’re dismissed but I expect you back here in fifteen minutes, dressed and ready to go." With that, he turned around and started gathering the plates and silverware to put them in the dishwasher.

"Yes, sir."

Ada knew better than to talk back. First, when he had something in mind, it was nearly impossible to talk him out of it. Second, she hoped that the sooner they were done with this, the sooner she could get laid. Third, he had used his Captain voice that somehow always managed to make an obedient little soldier out of her.

Though, rationally, she also didn't want to make it any more difficult for him. He had confessed to her a few nights ago why he'd felt so uneasy when they had gone grocery shopping: the gondolas were too tall which led to lots of blind spots and the amount of people meant he couldn't rely on his hearing sense to detect potential danger. 'It just screams ambush,' he told her.

Ada couldn't quite imagine what he must have experienced that a supermarket or a store would translate into danger, but it was not her place to question him. Instead, she had kissed his forehead in bed and offered to start doing their shopping on her own. Sy had promptly refused, suggesting they simply go early in the mornings, when there were less people and less distracting noises.

Now at Target, she was immensely glad she had gotten out of bed, the sight alone was worth it. It wasn't everyday you'd see Sy pick up a bunch of Christmas tree baubles and inspect each one of them carefully before determining which ones were worthy enough to make it to their living room. Ada sneaked a picture for safekeeping and then decided to send it to his mom as well. Family dinner was fast-approaching, and she'd seize all the cookie points she could get.

"Darlin'," Sy called, catching her attention. He was holding up an inflatable Santa who, instead of carrying gifts, dragged a bag full of liquor bottles and sported a drunk grin on his face. It was tacky beyond words. "Do 'you think we should get this, or will it just upset the neighborhood kids?"

Ada grimaced but tried to disguise it with a smile. She’d die before letting that thing on their lawn. “I think a neighborhood dog would tear it to bits within a second," she lied, trying to appear apologetic.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

°°°

The lights were up. It was a much quicker process with Sy's help. It was also the occasion for Ada to just sit back and relax because he was adamant, she shouldn’t step on a ladder to help. Instead, she had a glass of bourbon waiting for him for when he finished. It was 5pm somewhere after all.

"You said we had a tree!" Sy's deep voice reached her from the basement.

Ada threw her head back, sighing, before hurrying downstairs after him. "Yes, it's in that box over there," she pointed at a white cardboard box behind a couple of spare tires.

"Woman, it's tiny!" Sy complained, picking up the box and setting it down between them. It was about as tall as her. It was not that small.

"It's the one I've used every year since I moved in. It's pretty enough and doesn't take up too much space,” she defended.

In front of her, Sy exhaled loudly through his nostrils before rubbing his beard. She knew that move. It's what he did to remind himself she was not a soldier under his command, but his wife, and that he better measure his words unless he wanted to sleep on the sofa.

"Look, darlin'," he said calmly, enclosing her small hands in his much bigger ones. "This is my first Christmas home with my wife. I refuse to put up a minuscule, fake sapling in my home and call it a Christmas tree."

Ada was slightly taken aback. She didn’t know Christmas was this important to him. Though it was true he had been overseas on Christmas the past two years, so she could understand where he was coming from with wanting this Christmas to matter. Besides, it was endearing when he put it like that.

With a nibble on her lip, Ada gave in. "Okay. They're selling trees in that parking lot by the pharmacy."

Sy slowly shook his head, a mischievous look on his face. "No. We're going to get our own pine tree from the woods."

You gotta be kidding me, she groaned internally.  

°°°

Ada had no idea where they were. It hadn’t been that long of a ride, but there were no more houses or streets to be seen around them, just endless fields and a forest. It was only when Sy took a right turn, that she started spotting cars and what looked to be a very colorful barn which had been converted into a cozy boutique.

“Where are we?” She asked, staring out of the window as Sy looked for a place to park his truck.

“The Dallagher’s ranch,” he replied. “They do a corn maze and a pumpkin patch in the Fall, and in the Winter, you can pick up your own Christmas tree. My dad used to take Claire and I here every year.”

Oh… This was a family tradition. No wonder Sy made such a big deal about having a real tree for Christmas.

Once out of the car, they walked hand in hand through the dirt road until they reached the makeshift counter made of hay where you could get a handcart before heading out into the man-made pine forest and select a Christmas tree. Most people she saw, however, were already returning the handcarts and happily carrying their trees to their parked cars.

The old man by the cash register seemed to recognize Sy instantly, smiling warmly as he greeted him with a one-armed hug. Ada realized it was the ranch’s owner. “I haven’t seen you in years, Jack!” The old man exclaimed with a laugh before turning to Ada. “And who’s this pretty lady?”

“This is Ada, my wife,” Sy said, introducing them. He watched with amusement as Ada stumbled as the old man hugged her without a warning, taking her by surprise.

“Well, it’s great to meet you, Ada,” the man nodded once he had retreated, and then turned back to Sy. “Should I be offended I wasn’t invited to the wedding?” He teased.

Sy was already wrapping his arm around her shoulders, chuckling. “To be honest, Dallagher, there were no guests at the wedding,” he replied, amused at the way the old man frowned in a confused manner at that piece of information. “Actually, we came here to get a tree.”

“Of course!” Dallagher immediately turned and ordered the young boy in overalls to fetch them a handcart. “What size did you have in mind?”

“Something around seven feet,” Sy said, looking pensive as Ada looked up at him suspiciously, trying to figure out how much seven feet converted to in the metric system. Once she’d done the math, she pulled at Sy’s flannel sleeve to protest – that was way too big, it’d take up the whole living room – but the Dallagher’s grandson was already handing them the cart and leading them to the entrance.

“Trees that big are at the very back of the forest, you’ll have to walk a little.”

This turned out to be quite an understatement. Ada felt like they had been walking for literal years. While they had still come across other people at the beginning, mostly families, they were on their own now – that is if you didn’t count the many squirrels that kept appearing out of nowhere.

She stopped, grabbing the back of Sy’s red tartan shirt so he would be forced to pause as well. “Can’t we just take one of these?” Ads suggested, gesturing at the countless trees all around them. They were all pretty enough and considerably taller than her.

Sy huffed, biting his lip in amusement as he looked at her dispirited face. He’d told her she should probably get changed and wear more comfortable shoes before they left home, but she had insisted she wasn’t going to change clothes just to get a goddamn tree. “These are only around six feet, darlin’. And,” he paused, eyeing the trees more closely, “they’re not Nordmann firs. I want a Nordmann.”

Ada sighed defeatedly, but nodded all the same, starting to walk again when Sy took pity on her. “Do you want to sit on the handcart?”

The change on his wife’s face was instant, the frown lifting into a smile as she climbed on the cart and sat down in the middle, evening out her weight for him. “Is that better, darlin?” He asked teasingly.

She turned her head back just to make sure he saw her rolling her eyes.

By the time they reached an area with Nordmann trees that Sy considered nice and big enough, her butt was sore from the conjunction of the hard, wooden surface and the uneven ground. She wasn’t even sure she had made the better call or whether it would have been better to suffer in her new ankle boots instead.

“Which one is better?” Sy asked, pointing at two pine trees that looked virtually identical to her.

Ada shrugged, almost saying that he should choose before realizing how much time that would take. The man wasn’t picky about food, bedlinen or even the pillow he slept with, but apparently, he had to make sure he brought home the most perfect tree. She still couldn’t wrap her head around that. “The left one,” she said finally.

“Which one? Your left or my left?”

Breathing in deeply, she decided to just point at the tree she was talking about. Sy nodded thoughtfully and grabbed the saw he had brought with him and started to work on the tree. While she had been most eager to get this whole thing over with, it became an entirely different story now as she dreamily stared at her husband getting to work.

With most of his back facing her and one knee on the forest’s soft ground as he started sawing off the Nordmann fin, Sy looked absolutely delicious. The red flannel shirt unbuttoned over his white t-shirt and the jeans made him perfect sight with anyone with a lumberjack fantasy. Ada had never considered herself as having such a kink. A uniformed soldier, or even better, a captain? Hell yes. A strong, rugged husband capable of her breaking her in half? Also a big yes. A lumberjack? The thought had never crossed her mind in the past but there was no point in denying it now as she sat back on the wooden cart, watching Sy carefully saw down the giant tree.

She was wet. Horny. Aroused. You name it. It also didn’t help that they hadn’t had sex that day. Yet.

"Sy," she whined, just loud enough to get his attention, while swinging her legs in the air like a child.

"I'm almost done, darlin'," Sy responded, not bothering to turn around to look at her. "I want a nice, clean cut."

Yeah, and she want a nice, dirty fuck. Pouting, she watched him for a couple more seconds as he knelt in front of the base of the tree, deciding from which side he should bring the saw to the trunk next in order to make it even.

That was when Ada decided she was tired of waiting. Shuffling quietly, she slipped off her wet panties from under her dress and rolled them into a small ball before throwing it at her husband. It hit his left shoulder and rolled down his chest. Grinning wickedly, she leaned back on her shoulders and enjoyed the view, the muscles on his back shifting as he picked up the garment off the ground. If this didn't get her laid, nothing else would.

"Ada Metz Syverson," Sy groaned out her full name slowly, his voice even deeper than usual. He got back up on his feet and turned to face her, looking stern.

Suddenly she didn't feel so brave anymore, not when he had crossed the distance to her in two determined strides and went to tower over her small, sitting frame. His jaw was set, and his eyes were a darker shade of blue than usual. Ada moved her eyes down his body, her eyes pausing at the defined pectorals on his chest before sliding lower. He was definitely hard, the bulge on his jeans prominent.

"Just remember you asked for this."

She wanted to ask what this was supposed to be, but he didn’t give her the chance. “Legs,” he ordered, patting his shoulder as he came to stand just inches away from her. Almost unconsciously, she obeyed his order, her ankles coming to rest on the front of his shoulders, her feet framing his neck. “That’s a good girl,” he praised her with a quick kiss to her right calf before his large hands moved to the front of his jeans, just over the protruding tent and began undoing the belt and snap.

From this angle, Sy’s cock looked even bigger, the shiny glans flushed a deep pink. Ada swallowed tightly, her legs already shaking with anticipation and he hadn’t even touched her yet. Pumping his shaft with his right hand, Sy brought his left one to her core, rubbing the rough pad of his thumb over clit once or twice before sliding it between her folds. She was a dripping mess. Sy smirked when she keened eagerly at his touch, enjoying his ministrations until he pulled his hand away and brought it to his mouth, licking off her slick. “It’s good you’re so wet already because I just can’t wait to take you, darlin’.”

He wasn’t lying when he said he couldn’t wait. The next thing he did, was grabbing hold of his throbbing, hard cock and guiding himself into her. Ada moaned loudly at the intrusion, drowning out Sy’s own growl as her walls clenched around his cock, trying to get used to the abruptness and depth of the penetration.

“Fuck, Sy!” She cried out, not even sure what it was she wanted. “Don’t stop,” was all she could muster as he ploughed into her like there was no tomorrow, hitting her pleasure all at once.

He knew they were being too loud. They might be alone, but they were still out in the open air, and yet he just couldn’t find it in himself to care – not when she felt this good around his cock and her noises only heightened his fervor. If someone happened to stumble upon them, then they’d simply be in for a premium show,

It wasn’t long until her legs started shaking almost uncontrollably up in the air, prompting him to remove one hand from his steely grip on her hip and wrap his arms around her legs to keep them steady as he continued with jackhammer thrusts. “Are you going to cum for me, darlin’?” Sy panted, groaning out the question between clenched teeth even though he already knew the answer.

Ada didn’t manage to reply, the first waves of her orgasm already coursing through her when she moaned his name. Her hips canted up, her body tensed up like a bolt, and Sy knew he was done for right then. Her warm walls squeezed him impossibly tight inside of her, milking the cum right out of his cock while he fought to keep his balance as pleasure overtook him.

They came down from their heights slowly, chests heaving. Sy lazily removed her legs from his shoulders, massaging the strained muscles on her inner thighs before he set her legs down. This woman would be the end of him. “That was…” he panted, bending forward over her body to kiss her forehead, unable to find a proper adjective to describe what had just happened.

“Yeah,” Ada breathed out, nodding slowly.

Sy ended up having to carry her and the tree on the cart back to his truck because there was no way she was able to walk straight after that.

°°°

They finished decorating the giant tree. Ada had to admit it looked pretty although the red and gold decorations clashed with the color theme of their living room. She handed Sy the newly purchased baubles one by one – he was the only one capable of reaching the top.

On their way back home, she had somehow managed to convince Sy to stop at the therapist’s office – the one she had found had the highest ratings on Google. They had booked the first available appointment, which was just after the New Year and Sy had made it very clear to their secretary it was just a ‘testing appointment’ and that there was no need to set aside time slots for follow-up sessions yet because there was no guarantee he’d be back. His reluctance was palpable, but Ada was glad he was giving it a try at least. And if he didn’t like, then they’d figure out something else.

In the background, their wedding video kept playing and she wondered for how much longer she'd have to hear the sound of camera flashes as the chapel assistant took way too many photos of them in the most cliché poses you could imagine. Sy has insisted they put on their wedding video since they’d never gotten around to watch it and it fit the season, according to him. Slowly, the annoying sounds began fading away and Ada sighed with relief. Watching herself on TV sparked too much embarrassment in her.

"Hand me the big one with Rudolph, will you, darlin'," Sy asked from behind her, still meticulously decorating the tree.

Ada nodded, searching for the bauble he had in mind. It was still in the shopping bag, she remembered, lifting it off the floor to dig inside it.

Ada froze as a female chuckle was heard, unconsciously gripping the glass ornament too tightly in her hand. "Not that fast, Captain."

Behind her, Sy frowned. "What did you say?"

"Tonight, I'm in charge," she heard her own voice say - no, it was more like a purr.

"Shit!" Ada cursed loudly, letting the bauble fall back inside the bag and she hurried to the TV, her worst fear confirmed.

Sy followed her quickly, stopping just behind her, his hands on her shoulders. "Is that from our wedding night?" He asked slowly, his eyes locked on the screen as he watched his younger self being tied up to the bedposts by his wife.

"Yes," Ada cringed, her face a painful grimace. "I didn't even remember the sex tape."

"Me neither," Sy swallowed loudly, admittedly rapidly becoming aroused at the sight of his Ada doing a striptease on camera. She wore that red ensemble with the garter belt.

"I think the assistant never really ended the video after our wedding, only paused it and we later continued filming in the hotel instead of starting a new video," Ada commented, now understanding what had happened. How they’d even came up with the idea of filming a sex tape on their wedding night, she didn't know. Alcohol had probably played a part in it.

Sy was still staring in awe at the TV, enthralled by the sight of his wife deviously edging him, her hips swaying slowly, when her words slowly registered in his head. "Didn't we send copies of the video to our families?" He stammered, his voice uncharacteristically quiet and hesitant.

Silence fell between them as they both realized they had been dumb enough to send copies before watching it themselves. "Fuck!" Ada barked, seizing the remote to pause the video. "We sent that to my parents, your parents, your sister...," she listed, her face losing all color.

Suddenly, the sound of Sy's deep laughter filled her ears. She turned to him, aghast. How could he find this funny? This was peak cringe! She’d be one needing therapy after this!

"You know, darlin', watching this video was the first time my parents ever saw their daughter-in-law, before even meeting you in person." Sy explained, shaking his head with amusement.

Ada was mortified. No wonder Mr. Syverson had seemed on the verge of laughter the first time they'd met and Helen had given her the side eye. The woman had a USB stick in her home with an hour-long video of Ada fucking her son. "You know, Sy, this wedding video is also the first thing my parents saw of you." He stopped laughing abruptly, his face red, all amusement gone.

They both sat down on the couch next to each other, slowly coming to terms with the fact that pretty much their whole families had seen this, and never said anything, probably keeping it as an inside joke.

Sy broke the silence, his large hand reaching to rub her naked thigh. "You know, I don't think we should be embarrassed," he said, prompting her to stare back up at him, eyebrow raised dubiously. "The way you tied up my arms really enhanced my biceps and you looked adorably hot like a vicious kitten from hell."

°°°

@colourmeinblue​ @hail-horror-queen​ @youthought-iwasa-nicegirl​ @kmuir1​ @madbaddic7ed​ @coffeebreathy​ @purplelove75​ @summersong69​ @helenaellie​ @rn7rocks​ 

[mightymorphingayagenda]

All fics are nessian and definitely not child-friendly but any that feature explicit smut are marked with a ** and those that flirt with a lil’ lemony content are marked with with just one. My inbox is always open.

Lethal Combination 

Growing up not knowing where her next meal was coming from didn’t exactly satiate Nesta Archeron’s appetite for the finer things in life. But at twenty-four such things are a collateral comfort; from her gorgeous apartment in New York, to the trigger finger that paid for it, Nesta Archeron has a lot of things. One thing she doesn’t have though, is a boyfriend, something her youngest sister Feyre seems intent on remedying when she sets Nesta up with her brother in law, Cassian. Now she has something else to add to her list of things: a big fucking problem. 

chapter one *

“Hey Feyre, just calling to say that I know you want me to go on this blind date, but I actually can’t because you see, I’m a gun for hire, which as you can imagine makes dating rather tricky. Also I’m absolutely gone for my latest target’s bodyguard, who I’ve never actually spoken to but in the month and a half I’ve been stalking him has somehow managed to make me fall head over heels for him. Anyway, we still on for brunch on Thursday?”

chapter two *

She knew it was irrational to be angry at him. But something uncomfortable and tight wriggled in her chest at the way he was looking at her. Because it wasn’t her he was looking at like that. Instead, it was the random girl he thought she was, all pristine ringlets and baby blue gaze like a god-damn angel.

chapter three **

God this man could kiss. He kissed her like her full lips were some overripe peach spilling a too soft sweetness he’d die before wasting a drop of, hungry and slow and indulgent he devoured her with an abusive and perverse affection.

chapter four **

Nesta’s hands might have been trembling slightly as she knelt to the floor and lifted one of the bathroom tiles, revealing what for all intents and purposes, should have been a bible. It wasn’t of course. It’s was an industrial safe.

chapter five **

“And I thought we’d grown out of sharing toys, but it seems both our expectations were thwarted.” 

“Humans aren’t toys!” Feyre reminded her. Not that Nesta didn’t already know that. No vibrator had never made her cum as hard as Cassian had.  

chapter six **

“Feyre only thinks she wants me there, Cassian. She’ll change her mind as soon as Rhys implies I think I’m better than him for not touching the carrots his private chef put too much butter on and I call him a hedonistic asshole who loitered round playgrounds looking for a wife before meeting Feyre.”

“Maybe don’t do that then?”

festive fluff

This was one of those little moments Cassian would bundle up like a cherished Christmas ornament and tuck inside his heart forever. If his heart remained in one piece. It was so full he was worried it might break. (Modern AU)

seasonal smut **

 “I figured we could both be naughty tonight and save Santa the trip,” she said, licking her upper lip in an arcing motion with the tip of her tongue. Eliciting a number of lovely memories that made his already half-hard cock stir. (Modern AU)

hogwarts au 

He’d have know that bracelet if it had hit him in the back of the head, which it had done before, twice. He’d watched Nesta tucking her hair behind her ear in a potions class or giving him the middle finger enough times to recognise the interlinking charms that normally graced her pale wrist.

“cassian begs nesta to wear a couples costume with him for halloween.” **

Cassian Siphon was her equal in ambition and lust for a challenge, but he didn’t seek to sooth his raw passion and volatility with a carefully curated air of intimidating class like Nesta did. He also had the impulse control of a teenager. (Modern AU)

“bikini shopping with your best friend is a lot harder when you’re in love with them” **

Thrusting her plethora of perspective bikinis into his arms she turned on her heels. “Come on, I need to try these on” she sauntered off and Cassian couldn’t keep his eyes off her ass as she lead him toward the dressing rooms. (Modern AU)

[chillyminmin]

han jisung – don’t forget

» han jisung x reader

» words: 4.6k

» You had a little project, but things got messy. Jisung wasn’t who he seemed, but things went a little better than he first planned.

Hot coffee, loud street, busy passersby, your typical morning.

You sighed as you set your coffee down, watching the street behind your sunglasses, hoping that the boy you were assigned to was someone decent for once. The boys assigned under your care were either too weak, too arrogant, too scared, or too laid back.

If Father gives me another boy who came from an orphaned family, I’m giving him back, you thought. Those never make the cut.

You were the daughter of a man of many influences, legally and illegally. He owned many buildings in Seoul, as well as various properties in the different areas of South Korea. He also dealt with gun dealerships, smuggling and drugs; your father was a businessman and the boss of a very powerful mafia group. You were going to inherit his position in two years, but you’ve been doing jobs like this since you turned fifteen. You were turning nineteen in two weeks, so you’ve been on this job for almost four years.

Finally, a black Hyundai Santa Fe SUV pulled up by the coffee shop, and two men wearing suits got off. In the middle was another guy, you guessed he wasn’t that far off from your age, and from how he was dressed, you guessed your wishes were answered. The SUV drove off and the three men approached your table. The two in suits told the guy to sit with you while they sat at the table close to yours, not ordering anything.

As he sat down, you noticed that he was playing with the hem of his shirt then he seemed to pull his bomber jacket closer to him. He’s nervous, you thought. At least he has manners.

“Want anything?” You asked casually. “Coffee, frappe, tea?”

“N-no.” He stammered and he seemed to curse at himself before clearing his throat. “That’s okay. Thank you.”

You smiled a bit before nodding. “Let’s get straight to the point then. What did my Father tell you?”

“Mr. L/N said that I was supposed to be your little… project?” He answered.

This amused you, he seemed confused as to why he’d be called a ‘project’.

“Did he say anything else?” You pressed.

“Yes. He said that what I learn from you and how I deal with you and everyone else will determine whether I make the cut or not.”

You nodded again and took a sip of your coffee, which was now almost finished.

“Where are my manners,” you shook your head, “I’m sure you know my name.” He nodded. “What’s yours?”

His eyes widened before he abruptly stood up, alerting the two guards. “I’m sorry, I should’ve introduced myself. I’m Jisung, Han Jisung.” He bowed and the two guards settled.

You suppressed a laugh. It was obvious he had heard about you, your behavior, your attitude. It was radiating off him as it did when they all first meet you: fear.

“Jisung.” You repeated. “Please, sit down.” He did so. “Now, do you know what it means to make the cut or not?”

Jisung shook his head. “I wasn’t allowed to ask your Father questions.”

Of course, no one is.

“Well, Jisung.” You raised your sunglasses and rest them on the top of your head. He seemed stunned to see your eyes. “It basically means; at the end of the two weeks you spend with me, whatever you learn will either help you live or kill you.”

Two days in, you had learned that Jisung may be older than you, but he was still a child.

He had broken five glasses, tripped himself over the stairs thrice, was chased around by your dog, locked himself out in the balcony, and he had no expertise on anything whatsoever.

He was fumbling with his thumbs as you stared at him. You were at your apartment, where all the accidents had happened, in the living room, the both of you sitting down on chairs. Your dog, a Border Collie, laid down by your feet, his eyes trained on Jisung.

“Jisung,” you deadpanned, “are you telling me that you don’t know how to do anything? Anything at all?” He nodded. “How could you not know how to do anything, yet capture the attention of my Father? Every guy he’s sent to me was able to do something. One could hack, another had contacts for drugs, another was an expert in gun dealership- the list goes on, but I’m sure you understand what I’m saying. Or do I have to explain that for you as well?”

Jisung kept his head down, but he shook it, saying no, he understood completely what you were trying to say.

“I’m sorry, Miss y/n.”

“Sorry isn’t going to save your life. I’m telling you. I’ve been there.”

You thought back to the time where your mom had threatened to take you away from your Father, and he didn’t like it. She threatened to turn him in, to expose the family’s dirty business, even if it meant bringing me and her down with him. She’d do anything to remove me from my Father’s influence. When she realized her mistake, she was framed by a former colleague, begging my Father for help, apologizing for what she had said and done. My Father ignored her, and when she tried to run, she was shot down by the police.

That night, my Father told me, “That’s the price for turning your back on your family. Remember that.”

“I can learn.” For the first time today, Jisung looked at you. “I’m a fast learner. I may not be an expert on things, but I learn quickly.”

“Two weeks, Jisung. Weeks. What could you possibly learn in two weeks?”

“What position is open? Who do you need me to be?”

You tilted your head in amusement. This was new. “Who do I need you to be? What do you mean by that?”

“I- I know that there are times where you need to corner someone. But I overheard that whoever you had he was compromised. You’re trying to get him back, but you’re not sure if you can.” Your eyes narrowed. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I didn’t!”

“Well, that’s one thing you’re good at,” you grumbled. “You can eavesdrop quite well.”

“I can take his place. Try to, anyway.” You raised your eyebrows and laughed a bit. Jisung looked at you anxiously, like he’d pulled a trap. “Miss y/n?”

“Do you even know what his job was? Do you know how he cornered people?” He shook his head. “Jisung. You have the age for the job, but I’m not sure if you have the guts. If Father’s target has a daughter, that’s how he corners them.” He still seemed confused.

“What do you mean…?”

“Jisung, if you take on that job, you’d have to learn how to fuck someone and not fall in love.”

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

You and Jisung were at the mall, a week into his training. Not only did he have to ‘learn how to fuck someone and not fall in love’, but he also had to learn his way with guns and knives. He had to learn how to be a little sneaky, fuckboy assassin.

You were shopping for his suits and clothes you wanted, some accessories too.

“Miss-“ Jisung caught himself, “y/n. Why do we need this much? Aren’t the suits enough?”

“The suits are for when you meet Father. Casual clothing for pretty much everything else that’s not so formal.” You answered, still looking at the watches.

You shook your head and spun to tell Jisung that you’d now go to Pandora, but you stopped yourself as you noticed that he was looking at a watch. You followed your gaze and saw what he was looking at.

It was a gold watch, the inside was black with three smaller clocks, one on each side and the third at the bottom. You hummed to yourself before looking at Jisung again then pretending like you didn’t notice.

“Follow me, let’s go.”

When you finished shopping, you went to the parking lot and placed everything in the trunk, making sure not to crumple anything, both your bags and his. Every time Jisung was about to go in your car, you noticed that he treated it as the most vulnerable thing you owned. Maybe it wasn’t the most vulnerable thing you owned, but it was your most cherished.

It was a black Maserati Quattroporte GTS. Your Father gave it to you for your eighteenth birthday, and he rarely gave anyone gifts, business partners and family members alike. He gave you this specifically because he was sure that he wasn’t the only one with the mindset of using daughters to get to his target clients or enemies. The car was beautiful, sleek and fast. It could go on 530 horsepower and 310 kilometers per hour. You loved it.

As you were pulling out of the parking lot, you noticed Jisung was nervous. Now you knew he was nervous whenever you were the one driving, but he seemed more nervous.

“Jisung, what is it?” He shook his head vigorously. “Jisung.”

“I might be paranoid or- I don’t know, I might be wrong, Miss.” He said quickly, not looking at me, but focusing on the side mirror.

“What, Jisung? Just tell me.”

“They’re after me.” He said, looking at me. I briefly glanced at him and saw that his eyes were full of fear. “They’ve found me.”

“Who’s found you?”

“The Nakamuras. They’ve finally pinpointed me.”

“Naka-“ you pulled over to the side and parked your car, signaling the hazard lights. “Jisung, the Nakamuras?”

You looked at him and he looked at you with fear. “I’m sorry. I tried my best to avoid them, I tried to lead them away, but they—”

“Lead them away? Away from what?” You noticed that a white car had parked behind your car, its hazard lights blinking as well.

“Not what, Miss. Away from you.” He looked down. “They want you.”

“Jisung.” You were becoming angry, your voice was trembling as it rose. “Did you betray us before we’ve even decided if you made the cut or not?”

He didn’t answer.

“Jisung!”

“I’m sorry!” He looked at you again, and suddenly he seemed different. His eyes were darker, his jawline seemed sharper, he wasn’t fumbling with his hands, and his posture was straighter. Like someone had injected him with confidence. “I’ll explain later, but if you want to save yourself, drive.”

You shook your head. “You asshole.” But you drove and called security, telling them you were heading to your apartment. That’s when you noticed that the white car was following you. You told security to hurry up or else they wouldn’t see the light of day.

“Jisung, what the fuck were you- who are you?”

“I was surprised you didn’t realize immediately.” He answered with a chuckle. “Han Jisung, y/n. How could you have been so blind?”

“Han.” You muttered it to yourself like a chant. It sounded familiar, but you weren’t sure.

“Both you and your Father must have forgotten. But then again, it was easy to kill my parents, wasn’t it? Not even knowing they had a son. Your Father probably thought I was a different Han, not the child of the ones he killed to be where he stands now.”

Suddenly, you remembered. “You. It was you.”

You remembered being with your Father that night, three nights before he finally claimed what he called his rightful place. You were having dinner with the Hans, and you couldn’t be left behind because at that time, your mom was still alive, and your Father knew she’d do anything to get you. It was a good dinner, but when it came down to talking about handing positions, it got heated.

Mr. Han didn’t want to give over his position as the CEO, saying that your Father was corrupted and that it wouldn’t do good to anybody. Mr. Han threatened your family, saying that he knew about our ‘side business’ and that soon, the most wanted mafia boss would be caught by the police. If there was anything that threw your Father off, it was threatening the business. Not his family, his business.

Your Father didn’t hesitate to stand, draw his gun, and pull his trigger twice. The nozzle had a muffler on it, so no one outside the house would’ve heard the gunshots, but you covered your ears and dropped down to the floor. Even at that age, the age of ten, you knew where that dinner was going, how that conversation was going to end.

Before you left, your Father to told you to look at the scene so that you knew what to do if anyone ever turned their backs on you, and if anyone ever threatened the business. You stood there, numb and confused, was killing the answer to everything? You probably wouldn’t have moved if it wasn’t for a boy’s voice.

“Mom! Dad!” A figure brushed against you and went straight to the two dead bodies by the dinner table. He shook them hopelessly, crying and screaming their names.

He looked at you. “You did this? You killed my parents?” You were dazed, even as he approached you, you didn’t move back. “How could you? There’s no way you could be older than nine!” He gripped your shoulders. “Who did this? Tell me!”

You shook your head.

“Tell me!” He demanded. You refused. He pushed you away. “Don’t forget this day. Don’t think I don’t know who you are. I know my parents were going to have dinner with Mr. L/N tonight, that’s why they didn’t want me at home.” He glared at you. “I’ll get back at you one day, y/n. Don’t forget.”

“What are you waiting for?” You slurred. “Why don’t you just kill me now?”

“y/n.”

“No, Jisung. Tell me,” you laughed, “why won’t you get back at me already?”

“You’re not in the right mind, y/n. You’re drunk and high.”

“Your point?” You looked at him and squinted, trying to focus on him, but you decided not to anymore and laughed before averting your gaze to another joint.

As you reached for it, Jisung took it away from you. You pouted as you looked at him taking a hit.

“That’s mine.”

“y/n-“

“Stop taking what’s mine!”

He sighed as he put the joint aside and knelt in front of you. For a moment, you realized how handsome he really was. You remembered how he smiled, how he laughed a bit, how he helped you in your apartment, how nervous he seemed around guns and knives, but he had one on him now, he always had one, it was a rule.

Your eyes widened. He has a knife. You tried to scramble away from him but he held your waist.

“N-no, let me go!” You squirmed. “You have a knife, let me go!”

“y/n,” he said sadly, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Why not, huh? My Father killed your parents! Why not kill me for revenge? Why not just sell me out to the Nakamuras? Why tell me? Why save me? Why, why, why?” You were screaming at his face now, frightened but angry, disappointed but not surprised.

You knew it wasn’t going to take long until one of your dad’s enemies used your little ‘project’ thing as a way to slip a spy in. Everyone who applied to you knew how your business worked, inside and out, that’s why if they didn’t make the cut, they died.

“Because your Father killed them, not you.” Jisung replied calmly. “It took me some time to accept that. I knew the fastest way to take revenge on him was to kill his only child, that’s why I feigned stupidity. To get closer to you. But as I got to know you, I realized, you had nothing to do with their deaths.” Jisung’s eyes were tearing up. “You were just there when he killed them, he made you stay there. He made you look at their deaths.” He started crying.

You lowered your hands, his hands still on your waist. “Jisung…”

“I wanted to kill you, I did. But I can’t bring myself to.” He sniffled and rested his head on your legs, you could feel his tears wetting your thighs. “You have no fault. And I can see this isn’t the life you want.”

You stiffened. Maybe it was because his warm breath was hitting your skin and you were drunk and high, or maybe because he was right: this isn’t the life you wanted.

You used your hands to lift up his head and wiped his cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Jisung. I know how it feels like to lose one parent, I can’t imagine how it feels like to lose both in one night.”

He smiled sadly and held one of your hands.

“You know, you’re not as bad as they say. You have a heart.” He said softly and you felt yourself tearing up. “They don’t see you like I do, why is that?”

“Maybe because,” you hesitated. Were you really ready to admit these to both yourself and him? Were you ready to admit how something about him made you feel close to him, how you felt safe to seem somehow vulnerable to him?

“y/n, tell me.” He said softly as he wiped your cheek. You didn’t even notice that you had started crying.

“Maybe because I let you in my heart without even knowing it.” You admitted. “You saw me smile, you made me laugh, I wanted you to be close to me wherever I was. I never took anyone else shopping with me, you know.” He chuckled. “There’s something about you, Jisung. Something I’m afraid of, and it’s not the knife.”

“Don’t be,” he said as he moved his face closer to you, “let me in, y/n. Don’t be afraid of me, don’t be afraid of my heart.”

“Jisung…”

“I won’t turn you over to the Nakamutas. I won’t kill you. I’ll come up with a way to get revenge on your Father, that is if you don’t rat out on me and get me killed.”

You laughed softly. You knew you couldn’t turn him in. Without knowing, you had fallen in love with him.

“I won’t.” You promised. “I won’t turn you in.”

“So, you’ll let me in?”

“I’ll let you in.” You said softly and that was all he needed to hear before kissing you.

The two weeks were over, you and Jisung may have fucked every now and then, and you kept your promise as he kept his. The revenge he decided to take was taking the risk of falling in love with you and seeing if he made the cut. If he did, then he’ll work his way up from there.

You knew his plan. He knew you were inheriting your Father’s place, both as Boss and CEO, in two years. But that was something you’d worry about some other time, now it was time to see Jisung’s abilities. And your Father couldn’t have been crueler.

He made Jisung’s deliberation day your birthday.

And if there’s another thing you knew about your Father, he never missed a thing that was happening.

You were seated at the far end of the table with all the other important people of the mafia. Your dad was in the center and at each side, there was the head of Security, Kim, then there was the head of weapon dealerships, Khon, followed by the head of drug dealings, Im, and lastly, the head of smuggling, Lee.

At first, the deliberation was going smoothly, and it seemed as if Jisung was safe. His performance in the past week was incredible. He was an expert in shooting, he could throw knives from a couple of feet away and hit the target right in the chest, he knew how to smuggle items from Father’s corporation to another, and he knew who to target to deal drugs.

But your Father had to pull one last question.

“Jisung,” he started, “it has also come to my attention that aside from all the training you receive and lessons my daughter has given you, it seems that you’ve given her your heart as well.”

Your eyes widened, but you tried to stay calm. There was one rule between you and your clients: no strings attached.

“Is this true?”

“No, sir.” Jisung answered, not missing a single beat. He looked at you. “I don’t love your daughter. I only used her body.”

“And why is that?”

“She was vulnerable, sir. Let her guard down.” He was stabbing you in the heart. “She means nothing to me.”

Your Father stood up and went towards you. You didn’t look at him, you were too busy trying to read what Jisung was trying to do, see if he meant anything he said, you hoped he didn’t.

“Then, you won’t mind if I do this.”

Before you knew it, your Father, your own Father, had a gun pointed at your head.

“F-Father!” You spun your head and met his gaze. No fear, no warmth, no regret- your Father didn’t seem human at all. “What are you-“

“What did I say about vulnerability? It gets you killed.” He cocked the gun and looked behind you, at Jisung. “You haven’t said anything. This is your final test. Do you mind if I killed my own daughter?”

Your heart broke as Jisung answered, “No, sir.”

“Then you have failed.” Your Father aimed at Jisung, and without thinking, you reached for your knife and stabbed your Father in the chest. His eyes widened. “y/n-“

“It was something I should’ve done long ago, Father. You killed mom, you killed his parents, you kill anyone and everyone. You care for no one.”

“I care about you!”

“You only care for me because I’m your only child. If I had a brother, you would’ve had him inherit this company and this group. Do you not know what people say behind your backs? How they plan to kill you? The very men you made as your heads-“

“Miss y/n!”

“Sir, she’s lying!”

“I’m only doing them a favor.” You finished. “I’m doing myself a favor.”

You were at the ground now, your Father slowly dying. “I can still pull the trigger.” He threatened.

“Jisung’s smarter than to stay where he was.”

That night, your Father’s death was mourned by the country, as if a King had died. You rolled your eyes as you shut the television off.

“They don’t even know him. If they did, they would’ve celebrated his death, not mourned it.”

Jisung sat beside you and hugged you. “You say that, but I know it hurts.”

It was true. “Stop reading me.”

Jisung chuckled and pulled away to kiss your forehead. “You were brave. I didn’t think the meeting was going to go that way.”

“Neither did I.”

“But you’re okay now. Tomorrow, you’ll face the press claiming your spot as CEO.” You nodded. “But tonight, you’re mine.”

Jisung kissed you and you let out a surprised sound before kissing him back. You both smiled in the kiss before it got heated. His hand went from your cheek to the back of your neck, deepening the kiss. You parted your lips and he slipped his tongue in. You straddled him and wrapped your hands around his neck, pulling him closer. His other hand went under your shirt and drew small circles at your waist as his lips went down to your neck.

You sighed softly as he nipped and licked your neck, sure to leave marks. He then slowly took you off his lap as he made his way down, taking your shirt off in the process. He kissed your chest as he worked on your bra buckle and took them off. He licked your nipples and you tugged at his hair as he laid you down on the bed and made his way down to your stomach, peppering it with soft kisses.

He made it to your shorts, and he took them off before going back to your lips and kissing you harder, deeper, more passionate than he ever did. One hand supported him as he hovered over you, while the other made its way down to your panties. He stroked your clit from the outside, making you wet little by little. You squirmed under his touch and he chuckled, going back to your neck and focusing on the areas he hadn’t marked yet.

“Jisung,” you breathed out.

He hummed against your skin as he made his way down once more, this time reaching your panties. He slid them off and kissed your thighs.

“You’re wet, baby.” He said proudly. “Who made you wet?”

“You did, Ji, you did.”

He licked your clit and you gasped at the sudden sensation. He then started to eat you out, hands holding onto your thighs. He moaned and pulled away briefly to say, “You taste good, baby. So good.” He then continued to eat you out. You moaned and gripped the sheets as his tongue darted in and out of you at a pace you didn’t think was possible. Just when you thought you were going to cum, he pulled away and you whined.

Jisung chuckled. “I want you to cum from my cock, baby, not my tongue.” He took his clothes off and you watched him the whole time, your heart hammering against your chest.

Sure, you two have fucked, but this time, it felt different.

“I love you.” You blurted out. Jisung stared at you and you blushed. “F-forget I said that-“

“I love you, too.” Jisung cut you off as he went back down and kissed your forehead. “I love you.”

He looked into your eyes for permission, and you nodded. Not long after, he entered you and groaned as you moaned.

“How are you still so tight? I fuck you every day.”

“Maybe- ah- maybe you just get bigger every time you fuck me.”

That seemed to turn him on. “Fuck, y/n.”

He started slowly, looking at you as you squirmed and moaned under him. He loved it, he loved the way you looked. He loved how he was the only boy who could see you like this. How he was the only one who could make you moan and scream his name.

“Faster, Ji. I want more.” You breathed out.

“Okay, baby.” He followed, quickening his thrusts, hitting the spot every time. “Fuck, you feel so good.”

You couldn’t make words out as his cock filled you up, going in and out of you at a fast pace. You moaned as he made it even faster, praising you and telling you how good you were, how good you felt. He was as close as he could possibly be, skin on skin, your moans filling up the room, heat rising.

The heat at the bottom of your stomach pooled up and you scratched Jisung’s back, sure to leave marks on him the way your neck had marks from his kisses.

“Jisung, I-I’m close.” You managed to breathe out between moans.

“Me too, baby.” He pulled away from your body as to not hurt you as he went as fast he could, chasing both yours and his climax.

His groans grew louder as your moans did. He moaned your name as he came, his cock twitching inside you as you came as well, almost screaming his name.

You were both a panting mess as he pulled out and laid down beside you. After some time, he peppered your face with soft kisses, and you giggled a bit. He smiled and brushed his thumb against your cheek.

“I love you,” he said, “don’t forget.”

---

chan woojin minho changbin hyunjin felix seungmin

[somedayonbroadway]

Santa’s Little Helpers

Fandom: Newsies

Word Count: 2k+

Characters: Racetrack Higgins, Albert DaSilva, Jack Kelly, Katherine Plumber, Smalls (Newsies)

Summary: When Albert had told Race that he’d had a surprise for him at the mall, this is not what Race had had in mind.

A/N: So this little fic was a request from Katrina Miller. This reviewer did ask for a Christmas fic with Race and Albert and while that's definitely here, this did turn into a bit of a Sprace fic. I hope that's okay!

Please enjoy!

When Albert had told Race he'd had a surprise for him down at the mall, this is not exactly what Race had had in mind.

Race was now making minimum wage at, what he had been told by Saint Nick himself, was the perfect job for him. He was an elf. If the pointy ears and ridiculous jingle bell hat weren't enough, the shoes certainly completed the outfit. He was clad up in ridiculous green and white socks and even worse tiny red overalls. What didn't make sense to Race was that he had never been particularly short. Neither had Albert. And yet, here they were, pretending they were tiny, had squeaky little voices and painting red little red circles on their noses and cheeks.

Currently, Santa's was on a ten and that meant that Santa's helpers had to deal with the oh-so understanding parents and their screaming kids who had been waiting in line for about two hours now only for Santa to decide he needed a break.

"Oh my gosh, look at him," Race groaned a bit at the voice, turning around to be met with the sight of his all too adorning big brother who was not even alone. No, he had his girlfriend on his arm. "Honey, look at our little elf! They grow up so fast."

The pair had bags and bags of things in their arms. And Race couldn't even be bothered to be the nosy kid he was and try to prematurely snoop. All he could do was glare as Katherine cooed at him, "Aww, we raised a good little elf, Jackie."

With a roll of his eyes, Race just prayed no one else he knew from school stumbled through Santa's Village. As much of a loser as he already was, he didn't think he'd survive the torment. Albert, however, didn't seem to care as he slung an arm around Race's shoulders and hung on him a bit. Albert was eccentric. People expected this kind of thing from him. Race, as he often was, was just along for the ride. Right now, that ride required red, white and green everything and a fake smile for the bratty kids that tugged on his hair and ears.

"Heya, Jack!" Albert grinned. Race pouted his lips over his brother, as though he was asking for some kind of help but Jack only reached into his back pocket and took out his phone, snapping a picture of the pair. Albert was grinning.

Not quite as ecstatic to be here, Race's pout turned into a small glare towards the man who raised him. "Have I ever told you that I hate you?" he asked, only getting a small laugh out of Jack. "I'm burning all of your presents."

Jack only smiled and shrugged. "Well, I guess that means I can go return all of this—"

With his eyes widened in fake terror Race shook his head. "No! Jackie!" he whined. "I want presents…"

"Then I guess you gotta be a good little elf and take all the kiddies to meet Santa," Jack shrugged. Then he smirked. He had such a knowing smirk and Race hated him and yet somehow still loved him for it.

Before he could further insult his big brother in front of the giant line of crabby customers, Katherine was quick to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "We'll be by later to give you guys a ride, okay?" he promised, moving to give a waiting Albert a kiss on the head. "Tinker away my little elves."

"Bye, Red!" Albert called.

"Bye, Red!" Katherine called back, walking away confidently without her boyfriend.

Jack paused to give Race a kiss on the head too. "Be good, okay? Give these kids a good meeting with Santa. You don't know how many of them might actually need it." That was just like Jack. Thinking about others first. Sometimes Race feared that it might be Jack's downfall. He cared too much about others. He was self sacrificing. He couldn't could the number of times Jack had literally given him the shirt off of his back and the food that never reached his mouth. They'd grown up poor. They'd grown up orphans.

But that was a long time ago.

Race was sixteen now. And he had a job like any normal sixteen year old does at Christmas time.

Turning back to Albert, he sighed. "Why did you make me do this?" It was true. If anyone from school saw him here, he'd be torn apart. He and Albert weren't exactly super popular and they had accepted that a long time ago. That didn't mean no one knew who they were. In fact, people knew them as geeks and/or nerds who were constantly the target of some popular kids' pranks.

With a cheeky grin, all Albert could do was shrug. It was impossible to make the redhead embarrassed at this point. Race figured they'd been through enough humiliation to get him immune. See, Albert had not only one, but two older brothers. They were a product of his father's first marriage and were much older than Albert by the fault. They had been tormenting him his whole life. Race loved Albert's older brothers but they had always had sneaky, effective ways of embarrassing their baby brother. "Um, I'm sorry, we spread Christmas cheer to every child in the world. We're basically like the most important people in the world right now. Our job is literally to make Christmas happen. God knows Santa just sits on his ass all year long while we do all the heavy lifting," Albert scoffed, almost looking offended. "And also… money…" he finished, like that part was some great bonus.

To be honest, Albert wasn't wrong. The money was a great thing and Race was glad to have a little cash in his pocket for the holidays. He still had plenty of Christmas shopping to do. "Whatever…" he scoffed, rolling his eyes as they saw Santa coming back. The guy wasn't the best, but he got the job done.

"You're the one who said you wanted a job, man," Albert said.

"I meant a normal job, Al," Race groaned dramatically as he forced himself to make his way over to that big red rope that blocked off their little area. "One where I don't gotta wear a costume." Albert just tugged on Race's hair. Race let out a small yelp but he got back to work, shooting a glare in his best friend's direction as he let the first child in line go through. He only got shoved a little bit by the mother who had only yelled at him the second Santa walked away.

Today was the seventh day Race had been working and that meant, coincidentally, that he was also getting his first paycheck today and that was something to be happy about. It was all he could think about at the moment, as he lifted screaming, kicking, smelly children on and off of Santa's lap while a bored photographer snapped their picture. Well that and, of course, lunch.

Well, sort of.

As hungry as Race was, and Race was really hungry, the idea of having to stand out in the cafeteria like this was enough to make him want to put a bag over his head. According to his manager, he was not allowed to take off the costume at any time. It would ruin the magic, apparently and that just meant they wanted to see what happened when they sent two teenage boys dressed as elves out into the most popular hang out in the city just to see what would happen.

There were literally twenty minutes left before Race and Albert could take an hour long lunch and that's when Race saw him. "Hi, are you guys ready ta meet Santa—" He froze when he looked up to see a very hot, very muscular boy standing above him. "Holy sh—" A hand clamped tightly down over his mouth before the word slipped out and he nearly bit it to get it off.

Spot Conlon was one of the most popular kids at their school. He was the athlete. The quarterback, captain of the soccer team, pitcher of the baseball team and the literal homecoming king was standing right there in front of him and Race was staring at him with wide eyes. "Hi, Spot Conlon," Albert greeted much too cheerfully. Race was sure it had nothing to do with the fact that he was the only person in the world that knew that Race had a huge crush on the older boy and had ever since the sixth grade.

Spot gave the both of them an odd look. "Uh… hi? Do I know you guys?" he asked. It was only then that Race noticed he was holding onto a little girl's hand. He didn't know that Spot had any siblings.

Easily, Albert pulled Race up and put his arm around him again. "Uh… we go ta the same school… I've been in your bio class for the past semester, you live in the same building as Race—"

"Oh you guys are the ones that had to run through the school in your underwear because the Delanceys stole your clothes!" Spot said, like it should've been obvious.

It was immediate, the way Race's face fell into his hands dramatically. Albert hardly reacted. "Yep." Race wished the earth would open up and swallow him whole. That had been one of the single worst days of his life and he loved to have that reminder right now by this boy with this random kid there too. "Anyway, is your sister ready ta meet Santa?"

Snapping back to the moment, Spot looked down at the little girl who seemed very interested in her little toes right then. "Oh, this is actually my niece. Her name's Saraya but we all call her Smalls," he explained. There was still another kid up on Santa's lap giving him a list about the size of himself. "She really wanted to meet Santa, but she's deaf so… h-he doesn't have to talk to her or anything, she just wanted to say hi."

So maybe Race was desperate to impress this boy somehow, but he actually got very excited at hearing that. He immediately looked up before he kneeled back down to that little girl's level. He lifted up his hands slowly. "Hi," he signed with a small smile. "My name's Tyler. Are you excited to see Santa?"

The little girl's face lighting up tuned out the voice of his best friend looking up at Spot and spilling his life story. "His brother is hard of hearing. They were in a really bad car accident when they were little so now he has to wear hearing aids but they couldn't afford them when they were little so…" Albert never knew when to stop talking.

It was true. Jack had lost his hearing almost completely when he was ten years old. It hadn't been an easy adjustment for either of them, especially since they were orphaned in the very same crash. Jack hadn't handled it well. So Race had helped him learn a language that he didn't have to hear and now here he was.

They'd both lived.

Saraya nodded to him and signed back, "I know that's not the real Santa, but my uncle says he's gonna tell the real Santa my wish!"

With a big smile, Race nodded right back. "It's true! Santa just so happens to be a personal friend of mine," he explained a bit smugly, his heart only warming when that grin on Smalls's face grew. "What are you gonna ask for?"

That's when Spot stopped her, picking her up to mask that fact. He placed her on his hip before looking down at Race who slowly stood to his feet. "She… uh… she wants to see her mom… I'm trying to get her to ask for something else, but… her ma ain't home because… well she just ain't, but… we're hopin' ta get her home by Christmas. We just need enough to get a plane ticket," Spot shrugged, clearly not up for explaining at the moment.

Something sunk in Race's chest. He nodded, glancing back and realizing that it was Saraya's turn. "Uh, it's her turn…" Race stated awkwardly. So Spot nodded and walked over to Santa, setting Saraya down on his lap and translating for her as she sighed and signing back what Santa said.

"You are so in love with him," Albert sighed.

Race elbowed his friend in the gut and turned to him. "I'm not even… I'm thinkin' about Saraya! She just… I don't know… reminds me of Jack, okay?" he shrugged. "Except she's not quite as sad as he was when…" Race shook his head.

"Okay, don't go gettin' all emotional. Just get her a gift 'r somethin'."

Race smiled at that.

So that's exactly what they did.

This is how Race ended up on Albert's back, still clad up in annoying green and red colors as they quickly went from store to store trying to find the right thing during their lunch break.

"And then Kat said, 'well, if you admit that you don't believe in Santa, then maybe he'll stop comin' around, so like… I'm sixteen and I still get presents from Santa and I call that a win," Race shrugged, resting his chin on Albert's shoulder.

Albert scoffed. "Jeanne is the reason Santa still comes around ta our house— she misses you, by the way," he stated. "She's honestly, the cutest little kid I've ever met."

With a small laugh, Race jumped off of his friend's back and bounced over to the little stuffed animals. They were, of course, in the Disney store. He didn't know where else one would go to get a gift for a child. "Of course she misses me, I'm her favorite," he said, like it should've been obvious.

He came face to face with a little Stitch plushie. His heart swelled. It was one similar to something a nurse had gotten Jack all those years ago when Jack was in the hospital. Race shook himself out of it as he pulled the thing off the shelf. "This is the one," he decided.

"Ohana means family or whatever," Albert shrugged. "It's cute. Get it."

When they got back to Santa's Village, they stole some wrapping paper off of one of the decorations to wrap the gift. Race mostly swatted away Albert's hand when he tried to put a piece down all of the place. Race prided himself in his gift wrapping skills. "Dude, if you're using more than three pieces of tape, you've done something wrong!" he laughed as Albert hung a piece of tape from his nose.

But eventually, they managed to have a gift to give to the little girl who missed her mother.

Race got so wrapped up in the thought as he and Albert continued on that he didn't even notice the Delanceys walk by and mock them. He was too busy trying to give the kids a nice visit with Santa Claus. Some of them might actually need it.

—

When someone knocked on Spot Conlon's door later that night, he didn't know what to expect. The little elf boy definitely wasn't it. So, maybe he knew what the kid's name was. Racer. That didn't mean he was supposed to care.

Race wasn't wearing his costume anymore. He only wore the makeup. "Uh… hi…" he said. Spot almost greeted him back before the kid kept talking. "Look, I know it ain't like we're friends and you can make fun of me forever but… I… I got Saraya this and… this is for you guys…" He handed Spot a neatly wrapped box for Saraya and an envelope. It was his paycheck.

With a curious look, Spot smiled a little bit. "Um… thank you," he shrugged, not really knowing what to say. "You really didn't have to—"

"Saraya should be able to see her mom on Christmas…" Race shrugged.

Spot squinted at him a bit. "What—"

"Also, just to put this out there, I don't always look like this," he said.

A sly smirk made its way onto Spot's face as he shrugged. "Too bad. You make a cute elf."

Doing his best not to go weak in the knees, Race smiled breathily and let out a small, delighted laugh. "Uh, anyways—"

"Hey, what the Delanceys did," Spot interrupted, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck. "That was messed up. I'm sorry I didn't say anything."

For some reason, that might've been the best thing Spot had ever said to him. Okay so maybe this was the first conversation they were really having all alone, but still. "Well, since it's the season of forgiving an' all…" Race shrugged. Then he sighed. "Merry Christmas, Spot."

Spot smiled at him. "Merry Christmas, Racer… and hey… thank you…"

And with that, Race walked away, feeling the Christmas spirit flowing through him more than he had in years.

Merry Christmas everybody! Happy holidays! Much love!

As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya, fansies!

[icarusbuck]

10. all I ever wanted

FOX! 911 | fluff, gift shopping, buddie

∞

Buck sat at the firehouse, chewing on his bottom lip and staring off into the distance. How the fuck was he supposed to know what Eddie wanted for Christmas?

Sure, they worked together. And sure, they'd gone on a couple dates - not that Christopher knew that part yet, anyway. Things were going smoothly as far as he was concerned, and Chris had just gone and thrown a wrench into it.

Was he supposed to get Eddie a gift?

Christmas was only a few weeks way, and the holiday spirit was in full force around the 118.

Eddie came skipping up the steps to the balcony where Buck had taken a position on the couch, a santa hat sitting crookedly on his perfect head.

"Hey, cariño," he said, crossing to sit on the arm of the chair beside him. He plucked the hat from his head and deposited it on Buck's.

"Hey yourself," Buck smiled, adjusting the hat so it didn't cover his ears. He shook his head, making the little ball at the tip flop back and forth.

"Are you busy? I'm hungry."

"I could eat," Buck said, looking down at his phone. He quickly backed out of his notes app and hid the list of ideas he'd been brainstorming. They stood simultaneously, and Buck started to follow Eddie down the stairs. "Hey, what's your favorite restaurant?"

Eddie looked over his shoulder, making a face as they walked. "What? Why?"

"You know," Buck said vaguely.

"I don't know, I don't really have one. Wherever I'm eating with you or Chris."

So helpful.

∞

They'd been called to a department store after some kind of fight broke out among the scent isle, and the blend of apples, cinnamons, and florals that surrounded them were making Buck's head spin.

One of the women involved had gone into anaphylactic shock due to one of the ingredients in the perfume. The store manager was able to deliver her EpiPen. She was breathing when they arrived, but the standard protocol was to send them off to the hospital just in case.

They loaded her into the ambulance shortly, and Buck patted the back of the bus with Eddie before the question occurred to him.

"Hey, what kind of cologne do you wear?"

Eddie snorted, peeling off his gloves so they turned in on themselves. He tossed them into a nearby trashcan. "I don't know, whatever smells good when I'm shopping. Cheap stuff, usually. I don't really wear it."

"Yeah," Buck frowned, following him over to where Bobby was leaned against the fire truck, waiting for them.

"What about you, Bobby? You wear cologne?"

Bobby glanced up from his clipboard and shrugged one shoulder. "Athena doesn't really like cologne. She says she just likes the way I smell."

Buck climbed into the truck after Eddie, and carefully erased cologne from his list.

∞

Buck pushed the shopping cart slowly behind Eddie as they trailed through the grocery store. Eddie was picking items off shelves, consulting a hand written list every few feet.

"You know, if you just told me what was on your stupid list, I could help you find the right isle," Buck sang it, trying to hide his boredom.

"If I do, you'll just convince me to add a bunch of junk food." Eddie moved along, and Buck sighed, purposefully running the cart into his hip.

He grinned when Eddie turned a scowl on him.

"I should've just left you with Chris and Carla," Eddie groused, stuffing the paper into his pocket. He turned toward Buck and leaned his hands on the walls of the cart, studying him.

"It would definitely be more fun than errands," Buck agreed.

"So you'd rather hang out with my kid than me?"

Buck bit his lip on a smile. "Your kid's cuter."

"True." Eddie straightened and pulled the list from his pocket. Beside him sat a forty piece kitchen set, complete with deep dish ceramic bakeware.

"Hey, you need any of this?" Buck gestured toward the box, where a generic woman smiled eerily as she held up one of the teal pieces.

Eddie glanced at it and rolled his eyes. "You've been to my house. You've cooked in my house. What am I missing?"

"Uh," Buck faltered, taking a closer look at the box. "It isn't color coordinated?"

Eddie laughed and kept walking.

∞

Buck let himself into the Diaz house, announcing his presence by noisily tossing his keys into the dish by the door.

"Buck?" Came a small voice from down the hall.

"Hey, buddy," Buck called back, easing out of his shoes. He moved toward the sound and found Christopher in his bedroom, Carla seated on his bed as she watched him play on the floor.

"Did you find out?" Chris looked up at him, the oversized Legos temporarily abandoned.

"Not yet." Buck crouched down in front of him, examining the mass of blocks he'd stuck together. "You got any ideas?"

Christopher grinned sheepishly. "No, silly, that's why I asked you."

Buck dropped down onto the floor, content to play with Chris while they all waited for Eddie to get home. They didn't have to wait for long; he heard the front door open less than twenty minutes later, and Eddie appeared in Chris' doorway looking run down. Soot rested high on one cheekbone; he'd either been too exhausted to shower at the end of shift, or too eager to get home. He smiled tiredly at them.

"Ain't that a welcome sight."

"What'd you do, roll around in the ashes?" Buck teased as he rose up off the floor. He moved closer and Eddie automatically opened his arms, pulling him into a warm embrace. Buck dropped a kiss on his temple and stayed close after Eddie sagged against him.

"I thought it was polite to share," Eddie said, rubbing his cheek against Buck's.

"Gross," Buck laughed. Christopher giggled behind him. "Beer?"

"Please," Eddie said, nodding grimly. Buck followed him to the kitchen, waiting for Eddie to tell him about the call. He stayed quiet, even after he'd popped the top on both their beers and taken a long sip from his own. He looked tense and tired, one too many double shifts weighing down his shoulders.

Buck sighed and set his beer down. "You look like you could use a massage."

"Is that an offer?" Eddie asked wryly.

"Yeah," Buck said. His sleuthing would hold for another day or two.

∞

The days flew by, and Buck started feeling the pressure of Christmas closing in. It wasn't just the music that followed them everywhere, it was the ads, the commercials, the endless stream of Santas parading around town.

He'd taken to asking Eddie about every billboard they passed.

"Have you ever played with a drone? Do you gamble? Ever thought about getting a puppy?"

Two weeks had gone by in a flash, and he still didn't have a clue what Eddie might want or need. He'd even taken to leaning over on the rare occasion Eddie looked at his phone, hoping to see one of the creepy targeted ads on his social media, but it was never anything useful.

Eddie was one of the most difficult people he'd ever shopped for, and Buck was running out of time. Eddie seemed to have caught on and was losing patience for the whole charade.

Just a few days before Christmas, he stopped short in the middle of making dinner and turned to Buck with a troubled expression. They'd been cooking quietly, the conversation died down as they each focused at the stove.

"Buck," he began, and hesitated. He tried again. "Look, I'm not an idiot; I know why you’ve been asking me all these questions."

"Wait," Buck broke in, turning to face him with his spatula still in hand.

"No, listen. Buck, I love you. You don't need to get me anything for Christmas, okay? It means a lot that you just want to be here."

Buck winced, setting the spatula down so it wouldn't drip red sauce all over the floor. "You don't understand. It's… Christopher."

"What about Christopher?" Eddie frowned.

Buck leaned to the side, glancing into the living room to make sure Chris was sufficiently distracted. "He wanted me to find out what you wanted for Christmas. I'm sorry, he really wanted it to be a surprise."

Eddie blinked slowly at him, and turned without saying a word. Buck followed him towards the living room, lingering at the threshold as Eddie moved to sit beside his son.

"Hey, kiddo," he said, ruffling Christopher's hair. "You know you don't need to get me presents, right?"

Christopher looked away from the television, his eyes enlarged behind his glasses. He blinked at Buck in the doorway and finally turned his attention on Eddie. "But Santa never gets you any."

Eddie's smile was soft, and he pulled Christopher into a sideways hug. "He didn't need to get me anything, buddy. All I ever wanted was you."