#sighs </3 whats really horrible is that LITERALLY NO ONE affirms me or says like wow ur mother may be a bit. bad

[lalaangeldust]

𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮

𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 & 𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬

[ 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 ] : none :)

[ 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 ] : kaminari denki // bakugo katsuki // sero hanta

𝐤𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐢

ah yes, the bakusquad's resident pretty boy

he would definitely be the most obvious about his crush

two words: shitty flirting

horrible pick-up lines and just overall bad flirting

he pulls through sometimes though ( with sero's advice ) and his ego inflates through the roof if he can get you flustered and blushing

but if you give him the same energy, he will immediately combust

all function out the window

congratulations, you broke denki

none of your possessions are safe when denki is within the vicinity

shirts, hoodies, skirts, hats, jewelry, hair accessories

if he can grab it, he will have it

he has worn / stolen everything in your closet at least once, if not it is most definitely his goal

it does not matter if he fits it or not, he will make it work

he has no shame

but one time he stretched out one of your favorite skirts and it tore a bit and he felt soooo bad

"it not my fault i have a fat ass, y/n"

but he brought you to the mall on a date with him to get a new one, so it's all works out ;)

denki honestly just lives to make you laugh

every time he's the reason you're laughing, it makes his chest puff up so big

DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON MF TICKLING

if you two are close, he will without a doubt start a mock wrestling match and it always turns into a tickling fit with you pinned underneath him and wailing

but do NOT under any circumstances tickle him

he with shriek like a girl and accidentally activate his quirk

you nearly died

HE FELT BAD FOR THAT TOO

he's also just so infatuated with like- everything you do????

it doesn't matter how mundane you think it might be, as long as you're doing it, denki is so enthralled watching whatever it is you're doing

it's rather endearing

in all honesty, he'd probably blurt out he likes you outta no where while in the middle of a convo

he lights up every time your name is so much as mentioned

or- or

he'd be day dreaming, completely lost in his own world and someone would come up to him and ask him what he's thinking ab cus he looks basically dead to the world

still in a daze from being abruptly brought back to reality he'd just dreamily sigh, "y/n~" without even realizing

mans was SO embarrassed afterwards

face was beet red

*frantically looks around to see if you heard him or not*

----------------------------------------

bonus: love languages!!

physical touch // giving

words of affirmation // receiving

----------------------------------------

𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨 𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢

he's so emotionally constipated

that's not to say we wouldn't know he'd have feelings for you

he's actually pretty emotionally intelligent, and would be very perceptive of your emotions contrary to popular belief, he's just oblivious to his own feelings and emotions

he'd just ignore them

try his best to ignore you

key word try

but he always gives in and he'd make up dumb reasons to come bother you like-

he'd barge into your dorm while you're studying and he'd be like

"y/n i need a pen,"

"oh? uh ok, here you can have this one," you hand him a pen that you happened to have tucked behind your ear

"no not that one,"

...????

"can't you go to momo and ask her to make the pen you want..?"

bakugo starts to get grumpy at this point lmao

"no, she doesn't know how to make it,"

"well, what pen do you want..??"

bakugo hesitates cus he doesn't wanna admit that he doesn't actually want a pen, he wants to be with you

"that one," he lamely points at a beat up tinkerbell pen that you've had since you were like twelve

"really?? out of all the pens you choose that one?"

"shut up and just get it"

"... you can grab it,"

he goes and grabs it and goes to walk out the door without a word and right before he leaves he leans back and looks at you

"i need a pencil"

"OH MY GOD BAKUGO"

he kept the tinkerbell pen btw

like denki, bakugo would steal things from your dorm and not just anything, things that are actually inconvenient to misplace

he'd take your bobby pin container or your favorite brush so you'd come to him to ask where it went, he'd give it back ofc but not without a fight

he'd act totally clueless and he'd wait till you actually start to get pissed to tell you where he actually put your thing

so back to how he'd actually be very aware of your emotions

he'd notice the smallest changes and can always tell when you're upset but he wouldn't exactly know how to help you

so instead of using words, he'd use actions

you had a really bad day and he walked you to your dorm and when he came in he's like

"shit, your dorm is a fucking disaster, how do you live like this," you scowl at bakugo cus like- wtf i'm rlly emotional here you're not helping

he scoffs and bends down to start picking up your shit

"seriously, i have no idea how you find anything in here, nothing is organized" and he'd just keeps grumbling like an old man while completely cleaning and reorganizing your room

dont you dare try and help him though, he will yell at you

-----------------------------------------

bonus: love languages!!

acts of service // giving

quality time // receiving

-----------------------------------------

𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE

sero SCREAMS besfriends to lovers troupe

like- you two are already practically dating without even realizing it

the romantic tension

you guys banter and flirt with eachother so often, you both have no idea whether you're serious when you jokingly call the other sexy or not

the oblivious idiots troupe

sero makes everything a competition

not nearly to extent as bakugo would, but still goes a bit over the top

he'd use anything as an excuse to show off for you

one time, like the spiderman fanboy he is, he challenged you to see who can hang upside down the longest without passing out ( literally the stupidest idea, sero, you're going to loose braincells )

sero won, obviously and he takes full advantage of bragging rights

everyone says how denki's the flirt and whatever but NO

sero is the biggest mf flirt and denki got his game from him

so with that being said, you are not safe

HE IS A BULLY

he respects boundaries of course but that doesn't mean he's not gonna try and test his limits a bit and mess with you

he's always trying to get you flustered

god forbid you're shorter than him because he will tease the shit outta you for it

when you two train together, mf goes on overdrive ESPECIALLY if you two happen to be sparring together

he'd hover over you and lean his face in ever so slightly while your talking to him just to get a rise outta you

TILT YOUR HEAD UP WITH ONE FINGER

"could you repeat that? i'm having a hard time hearing,"

SHEEEEEEEE

but you also make fun of him for being tall, so it checks out

whenever he says some slick shit you're just like-

"I'm sorry, what? That's funny coming from someone who's above the national average height. you're disgusting, tall man; shrink perhaps" ( if anyone knows what tiktok audio i'm referencing, i'm in love with you )

hope you have your casket ready because sero's gonna slaughter your ass for that shit

ok but one time while you two were partnered up for hero training, you got on his nerves and he tied you up and left you hanging and the mf just left

maaaan were you livid

15 minutes

15 minutes you were left up there while sero was doing god knows what

you gave him the silent treatment for the rest of the day and sero was genuinely distressed cus he didn't mean to make you so mad

but lucky for him, he always knows how to get you to smile no matter how sad or are or how angry you are with him

he shoots you a piece of tape with his handwriting on it

he made up some stupid, horribly written poem asking for your forgiveness and he's just looking at you the entire time you're reading it with an exaggerated pout

how can you say mad at him?

on the topic of him sending you notes on his tape

he'd totally leave pieces of his tape in really obscure places in your dorm or even under your desk

they'd be really stupid messages too like-

"you stink"

or a really random inside joke you two have that makes literally no sense but even just the thought of it makes you laugh to tears

he'd also leave little origami figures he made with his tape in random places for you to find too

or he'd just give them to you

you have a shelf specifically dedicated for the things sero has made for you ( and he's really touched you actually keep all his shitty arts and crafts projects )

in conclusion, sero is the best and he is my favorite and i'd die for him

-----------------------------------------

bonus: love languages!!

gift giving // giving

physical touch // giving and recieving

-----------------------------------------

If you guys want, i can elaborate on their love languages in another post! <3

𝒇𝒊𝒏 . ✩

[midnightsunnyday]

Holiday dinner with the family (Black MC)

Summary: MC invites the brothers to meet their family for holiday dinner. As the day progresses, shenanigans ensue.

A/N: wrote this back during the holidays and is heavily influenced off my own familial experiences, yet exaggerated for fictional purposes. Either way, I hope you enjoy. 

Warnings: some curse language, mentions to sexual situations.

----------

1:00 PM

Lucifer: alright, we're here. For the record, I think this is a horrible idea.

Belphegor: you've already stated the record 30 times before getting here.

Lucifer: and just like the 90 times before getting here, let's go over the rules again, shall we? 

*everyone groans*

Lucifer: say them.

Everyone except MC: no using our powers, no mentioning we're demons, no mentioning we attend RAD, no mentioning we're the literal envoys of the seven biblical sins, no mentioning our actual ages, no mentioning our real names, no mentioning the Devildom, no stealing, no maiming, no sodomy, no hypnotism, no blasphemy, no betting souls, and no eating MCs family.

Lucifer: good.

Asmodeus: I'm so excited! I can't wait to show your family how wonderful I am.

MC: just make sure that's the only thing you show them.

Asmodeus: I promise I'll be a good demon. Well, as good as a demon can be.

Satan: again, I get why we had to change our names, but do they have to be so ridiculous?

Beelzebub: I like my fake human name. It’s cool.

Satan: well, I don’t. Mine makes me sound like an old man.

Mammon: um, guys? Levi's having a panic attack.

Leviathan: *hyperventilates into a sandwich bag*

Beelzebub: Levi, I know you're nervous, but you're breathing on my sandwich.

Leviathan: I can't do this, OK? Just let me sit in the car.

MC: Levi, you'll be fine.

Leviathan: Levi will not be fine. I can see them from the window. Why does your family have so many people? No way they'll want to meet--

MC: --what did I tell you about the self-deprecation?

Leviathan: but I--

MC: --listen, remember that anime we watched together: I'm a Demon Who Fell in Love With a Human and Now I Have to Meet Their Family but Little Do They Know I Have Horrible Social Anxiety?

Satan: these titles...are oddly specific.

Leviathan: oh yeah. In the end the whole family went to Hell for the wedding and was super accepting.

MC: the point is they were nervous too, but they worked through it together just like we all are. And do you know why?

Leviathan: why?

MC: because I love you, Levi, to hell and back.

Leviathan: *blushes* Alright, I'll do it. If it's for you, I'll fight all the forces of Heaven themselves!

MC: it's dinner Levi, not Armageddon, but I love the confidence.

Lucifer: good then. Now, let's get this over with. Diavolo help us all.

----------

1:15 PM

MC: which one of you gave my parents a $2000 bottle of wine? 

Mammon: $2000? I thought we agreed to give them gifts under $50?

Belphegor: that's right. Who’s the show off?

Lucifer: isn't it obvious? And please, they need to know that I'm the provider in this relationship.

Mammon: and what does that make the rest of us?

Lucifer: a pain in my ass.

----------

1:35 PM

MC: great. Now my mom won't stop bragging about "my baby's boyfriend."

Asmodeus: which one?

MC: very funny. And I'm talking about “Mr. Tall, Dark, and Bougie” himself. Though I don't recall mentioning you were my partner, Lucifer.

Lucifer: why mention the obvious, love?

Mammon: don't make me gag.

----------

2:25 PM

Satan: I don’t think your uncle cares for me much.

MC: why is that?

Satan: well, for one, he keeps referring to me as “white boy.”

MC: oh, no.

Satan: I know, right? Tell me, do I really look that pale? Granted the *whispers* Devildom doesn’t have much sun, but still. Do you think a tan would be beneficial?

MC: Satan?

Satan: yes?

MC: I love you.

----------

3:40 PM

Lucifer: one of the smaller humans asked me if they could "hold a 20."

MC: yes, I saw. In which you gave them twenty $100 bills.

Lucifer: yes, to hold. Is that not correct?

----------

3:53 PM

Mammon: MC why won't you let me near the spades table? I could be making a killing right now!

MC: because lives are at stake.

Mammon: wow that hurts, MC. Do you really think I'd hurt your family?

MC: no, I think my family would hurt you.

----------

4:13 PM

Leviathan: MC. MC. EMERGENCY. All your cousins kept asking if I had games on my phone, and I was like, "Duh, of course I do." Now they've taken my phone and won't give it back!

MC: *rises from their chair and walks off*

*the sound of screaming children is heard in the distance*

MC: there you go.

Leviathan: thanks, M…ew, why is it so sticky?

----------

5:05 PM

Asmodeus: now I know I said I’d be a “good demon,” but your aunt --

MC: --is married.

Asmodeus: oooh, so she’s a two for one deal, then?

MC: go sit in the car.

Asmodeus: but--

MC: IN THE CAR.

----------

5:48 PM

Satan: MC, I don't appreciate your family insulting my intelligence.

MC: what are you talking about?

Satan: every time a song comes on, they keep asking, "what I know about it?" It's infuriating.

MC: we really need to have a talk about colloquialisms.

----------

6:07 PM

Leviathan: I think Beel just killed MC’s dad.

Lucifer: WHAT?

MC: my dad isn’t dead, Levi, just winded.

Beelzebub: we were playing football.

Lucifer: out of all the games to play and you choose football?

Beelzebub: I said no, but they really wanted me on their team and well…I was having so much fun, that I forgot my own strength and threw the ball a bit too hard. I’m so sorry, MC.

MC: *pats his head* it’s OK Beel. Though it was hard explaining why you were capable of sending a man flying several feet through the air. On the plus side, no one wants to challenge you to anymore games.  

Beelzebub: that’s...probably for the best.

----------

7:00 PM

MC: Belphie where did you go? I haven’t seen you for several hours. *sniffs his clothes* and why do you smell like that?  

Belphegor: your house was way too noisy, so me and your cousins...went for a walk.

MC: for a walk, huh?

Belphegor: *shoves a handful of Doritos into his mouth* yep.

MC: …

Belphegor: …

MC: you’re high aren’t you?

Belphegor: I will neither confirm nor deny it.

----------

7:35 PM

Lucifer: are…are we praying?

MC: oh yeah, sorry. We always pray over the food before we eat. Don’t worry, it won’t take long

*three minutes pass*

Mammon: is it over yet?

Lucifer: *whispers* Beel, calm yourself.

Beelzebub: *shirt wet with drool* I’m trying!

*five minutes pass*

“And father god, we humbly ask that you protect everyone at this table from Satan and all his machinations, both physical and spiritual. May no evils prosper against them.”

Lucifer: yes, Lord.

Satan: *glares *

Lucifer: what? I was simply agreeing with said affirmation.

----------

7:42 PM

“In Jesus name we pray, Amen.”

Everyone: Amen.

Beelzebub: finally. We can eat.

Belphegor: an eight minute long prayer? Even Jesus would tune out.

Satan: they rebuked me so much during that I think I felt my skin burn a little.

MC: Beel, save some for everyone else, please.

----------

7:55 PM

“I see you have a lot of men around you these days, MC.”

MC: they’re my friends.  

“Funny that you have all these friends, yet not one of them is your husband.”

MC: *sips drink* I’m sure you would know a lot about having no husbands, considering you’re going through your third divorce.

Mammon: *chokes on his food *

Asmodeus: I love this family.

----------

8:05 PM

“So what did you all say you do again?”

Lucifer: Student affairs

Mammon: Entrepreneur

Leviathan: Digital media

Satan: English Literature Professor

Asmodeus: Image consultant

Beelzebub: Personal trainer

Belphegor: Mortician

MC: …

Belphegor: *smiles*

----------

8:55 PM

Belphegor: wait, we’re praying again? But we’re leaving.

Lucifer: at this point we’re so blessed we could qualify for sainthood.

Mammon: hang in there, bro.

Satan: I think I feel a few blisters forming.

----------

11:35 PM

Lucifer: well, that could have gone worse.

MC: see? Everything worked out.

Lucifer: other than a few mishaps, this evening turned out to be quite pleasant.

Asmodeus: right? I had so much fun with your family, MC.

Beelzebub: I think soul food is my favorite kind of food.

Satan: do you think we made a good impression?

MC: I’ve gotten nothing but notifications since we left. Everyone wants to know when I plan to bring back… *sighs* “my rich boyfriend and his brothers.”

Mammon: I resent that first part.

Lucifer: the part where I’m rich or the part where I’m their boyfriend?

Mammon: BOTH.

MC: you guys know you’re all my family, right? So just know you’re in this for the long haul. No backing out.

Lucifer: *smiles* as if we ever planned to.

[carminite-wyrm]

A Kingsglaive Time Loop AU, Part 1

Nyx Ulric wakes up, the memories of a burning city, of betrayal and loss, fresh in his mind. It is not the first time that he wakes this way, and it won't be the last.

Or: Nyx has a very, very bad time.

Now with a Part 2!

Nyx gasped awake, the scent of ash and burning flesh, and the sound of war and ruin still fresh in his mind, a burning ember of phantom pain deep in his chest. He lay there, eyes quickly taking stock of the room he was in, a room that was so familiar to his senses, a room that he could have sworn should have been reduced to so much broken rubble, like the rest of Insomnia. He could see the fading curtains, the walls that were slightly cracked, the photos of his family and friends. By all appearances, this was the same damn apartment he’d lived in for nearly the past decade, down to even that one corner where it would always leak when it rained. Off to the side, he could see his phone, the date and day clearly marked upon it. The day that the ceasefire, and the peace treaty, had been declared.

He slowly ran his fingers over the worn fabric beneath him, the soft texture slowly easing the rapid pace of his heartbeat. He finally managed to drag himself into a sitting position, and lifted his left arm into the thin strip of sunlight that managed to peek through the curtains. There was no sign of the magical scarring that had crawled up his arm like wildfire, when he had put on that damn ring. His arm moved freely, none of the pain he still remembered slowing him down.

With a groan, he stumbled to his feet, shaking his head as he tried to dispel the…dream, it had to have been a dream, one born from that crippling loss that had nearly seen him lose Libertus, alongside the other fellow brothers and sisters in the Kingsglaive. There was no way everything had been real, even if there were elements of reality to it, such as that damnable giant daemon that had nearly been the cause of Libertus’ death. Now that he thought about it, really thought about it, away from the panic and adrenaline of oh shit everything is going to hell and the King is dead and so was-

Yeah, there was no fucking way any of that was real. It had felt real, sure, but Nyx was pretty damn sure that rationally, there was no way the King would have deigned to give him of all people the all-powerful ancestral ring that held together the shield over the city, and much more to boot. After all, didn’t the King still have people like Marshal Leonis, who definitely had the proper skills and strengths to guard something as important as that? Not some random Glaive who was in the process of serving out yet another punishment for insubordination.

Feeling almost like he was a ghost in his own body, Nyx decided the logical thing to do was to find Libertus and Crowe, his two best friends. Not just because he wanted to make sure they were fine, of course, but also-

Oh, who was he kidding, the dream – and yes, it was absolutely a dream, Nyx affirmed to himself – had in fact rattled him enough that he wanted to hug those two for at least an hour.

As he stumbled out of his apartment, blinking at the sunlight above him, he tried to remember where he was meant to be going, where he would be able to find Libertus and Crowe at…around midday, now that he checked his phone. His phone buzzed then, from where he had haphazardly crammed it into his uniform pocket. Taking it out, he smiled slightly at the message, which turned out to be from Libertus, and handily reminded him that they were meeting up in one of the training grounds.

Nyx tucked the phone away, and decidedly pushed aside the little part of himself that quietly reminded him that this was exactly how things had played out, in the dream. He still had to hold himself back from desperately clinging to Crowe and Libertus like his life depended on it, when he finally met up with them, though he did still give them both a slightly calmer hug, to their surprise.

That dream was just a combination of recent trauma, his own over-active imagination, and also probably more trauma.

Right?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thirty minutes later, he was watching the news report about the coming Peace Treaty with Niflheim, the other Kingsglaive around him murmuring in discontent. As Commander Drautos -and how could he be a traitor, how could any of them be traitors- debriefed them, Nyx found himself having to hide his hands in the pockets of his uniform, the phantom urge to reach out and just end the man keeping him on edge the whole time, to the point that he almost missed Crowe being called away for a separate assignment.

Two days after he had woken up from that terrible dream, he watched as Libertus stormed away, the death-glazed eyes of Crowe staring up at him from inside the bodybag.

And on the 16th of May, four days after that dream, everything fell apart.

Nyx screamed wordlessly as he watched King Regis die at Glauca’s hands, the scene identical to the one he had dreamt, as Lunafreya spoke words that almost fell on horror-deaf ears, that only registered because he could almost speak them word for word himself.

He stumbled as the King’s magic disappeared, only kept upright by the fact that he already knew, somehow, what it felt like to lose that connection, the steel-spark buzz of power fleeing from where it had lain within him.

He received Drautos’ call almost in a fugue, his words echoing those from his dream. And it was only the memory of that dream that meant that the bullet from that traitorous bastard Lazarus only went through his arm, instead of through his shoulder, though the shock of it still had him on the ground. He mouthed the words Lazarus spoke, as he gloated, as he was goaded by Lunafreya into putting on that ring.

Libertus ramming into Drautos- no, Glauca, with the car, nearly made Nyx laugh out loud, it was so ridiculously accurate it felt like it was scripted. And when he faced the old Kings of Lucis, in that otherworldly time, it was only the faintest sense that he needed to save Libertus and Lunafreya, no matter what, that stopped him from cackling hysterically in the face of those reticent ghosts.

Nyx died with burning scars tracing up his left arm, with the rising sun in his eyes and the ruins of a dead city behind him.

And then he gasped awake, the scent of ash and burning flesh, and the sound of war and ruin still fresh in his mind, a burning ember of phantom pain deep in his chest.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All in all, Nyx thought it was perfectly justified that he missed the treaty announcement, and the subsequent debriefing, curled up in bed for the past hour as he realised, truly, that this wasn’t all just a horrible dream. That he was indeed reliving the same five days, the five days that would culminate in the fall of Insomnia, the deaths of almost everyone he’d cared for, and his own death at the very end of it all.

The ringing of his phone had eventually stopped, if only because he’d thrown it haphazardly off to another end of the room, and probably broken it in the process. With that in mind, he absently gave himself another twenty or so minutes before Libertus or Crowe, or both of them, broke into his room demanding if he was alright.

Oh shit, Crowe.

He dragged himself off his bed, and stumbled over to his sink, as the image of Crowe’s corpse rose unbidden at the thought. He stood there, hunched over the sink, as he desperately tried to bring some semblance of rational thought back.

He just. Needed to make sure Crowe wouldn’t go on that damned set-up of a mission, the one that would have Luche -that fucking traitorous bastard- killing her for- For what, exactly? Luche had only talked about what Niflheim had promised him and the other traitors, after he had revealed what he had done.

Alright, then. Nyx nodded to himself, taking a moment to wash away the acrid taste of bile. Crowe first, everything else can wait.

He had four days, or three, if he discounted this one, before Niflheim would attack during that farce of a treaty ceremony. Four days to figure out how to avert disaster.

Nyx briefly entertained the thought of just, grabbing Crowe and Libertus, and heading for literally anywhere other than Insomnia, before roughly brushing it aside. No, he had a second, well, third chance, somehow. A chance to make things better, to make it so that no one (except those who really, really deserved it) had to die, so that the Empire wouldn’t be able to run rampant with their magitek armies and tamed daemons. And what sort of hero would he be, if he just ran away from that chance?

A sharp knock on his door, and the sound of it being flung open, had him spinning around in surprise, stumbling back into the counter in barely-concealed panic, before he registered that 1) it wasn’t a magitek trooper or some other sort of attacker 2) it was Libertus and 3) Crowe wasn’t with him.

Somehow, he had forgotten that Libertus had his apartment’s spare key.

“Oh shit, Nyx!” Libertus crossed the room with surprising speed for someone on crutches, eyeing how Nyx was practically trying to meld with the countertop. “When you didn’t pick up the phone-“

Libertus broke off with a yelp as Nyx grabbed him, half in a hug, half so that he could drag him in closer.

“Lib. Where is Crowe?”

“She’s off at some confidential briefing with the Commander, Nyx, are you alright?” Libertus managed to extract himself from Nyx’s grasp, giving him a once-over with a critical gaze. “You look- you look like shit, Nyx. And you weren’t at training. Do I need to get you to a doctor?”

“N-no. I’m…fine.” Nyx slowly inhaled, then exhaled, before trying to make himself look a little less like he’d just had a breakdown for the past hour and then some. “I am definitely fine. But I need to see Crowe.”

“Nyx, I’m sure it can wait.” Libertus sighed, filling a glass with water and passing it to Nyx, gesturing for him to drink it. “Me and Crowe covered for you during the briefing you missed saying you came down with something, though Commander does want a confirm on that. Though, man, you actually look terrible.”

“Just…had a bad dream, that’s all.” Nyx admitted.

Libertus raised an eyebrow, before shaking his head.

“You know that you can tell us anything, right? Anything that’s troubling you.”

“I…”

Nyx considered telling Libertus everything. Telling him about Crowe’s death, about the Glaives turning traitor, of Commander Drautos being that hated General Glauca, of the city burning under an Imperial onslaught, of the Old Wall and the old Kings. Of how Nyx had died.

But would Libertus even believe him? Nyx barely could believe it himself, and he’d lived it. Twice.

Libertus was one of his best friends, his brother in all but blood. But even so, he was fairly certain that Lib was probably going to check him into a hospital, at least initially, and he couldn’t afford to spend time trying to assure him of his sanity when he only had four and a half days.

“I’m fine, Lib. Really. Just had a bad dream, about Galahd.” Nyx paused, before he added. “And that giant daemon.”

“Oh.”

“Now, please, I need to meet up with Crowe.”

“She should be out of that meeting by now, I told her to meet up with us here, after I checked on you.”

Almost as if on cue, Crowe burst into the unlocked room.

“Oh good, you’re alive.” Crowe said, looking at Nyx and Libertus. “Wow, you really do look out of it.”

“Crowe!” Nyx swept her up in a hug, trying not to tear up.

“Hey, hey, Nyx. You good?” Crowe asked.

“You’re alive.” Nyx breathed, clutching her harder. “You’re alive.”

“I…am?” Crowe looked over at Libertus in confusion. Libertus shrugged, mouthing ‘Bad dream’ at her. Nyx instinctively lifted his middle finger at him, having caught the action even as he swallowed back his tears. “Look, Nyx, I’m fine, alright? Now, sit down, and let us catch you up to speed. Some shit’s gone down.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you are.” Nyx nodded, slowly moving to sit down. Libertus and Crowe both perched themselves nearby, Libertus taking the other seat, whilst Crowe leaned against the counter, wrinkling her nose at the mess in his sink.

“So…what’s happened?” Nyx asked, though he knew what it was they were going to tell him. But…well, he couldn’t just tell them how he knew that anyways, might as well give himself plausible deniability for some of his foreknowledge.

“Niflheim wants a peace treaty, at the cost of all other regions of Lucis besides Insomnia. And the King accepted it.” Libertus spat.

“There’s…not many in the Kingsglaive are happy about things at all. The general sentiment is that the King’s throwing away our homes.” Crowe continued. “On that note, the Commander’s given me a mission to recover the Princess Lunafreya from Tenebrae, I’m leaving first thing tomorrow.”

“No.”

Libertus and Crowe both turned to stare at Nyx, who was clutching the glass of water in his hands like a lifeline as he spoke.

“What-“

“You can’t. Crowe, please,” Nyx looked up at her, trying to convey the importance of his words, the desperation behind them. “Don’t go on that mission.”

“Nyx, I have to-“

“I don’t want to lose you, Crowe.” I don’t want to lose you again.

“Look, Nyx, you know I can handle myself.” Crowe patted his shoulder comfortingly. “Don’t let some bad dream get you all worked up, what did you dream of, me dying?”

Nyx dropped the glass, sending shards scattering across his floor. Distantly, he heard Libertus cursing, and Crowe…saying something, something that he probably imagined was supposed to be soothing, but couldn’t hear over the rising static as he remembered Crowe’s death, Libertus’ fury, Luche’s smug shitty face, Drautos half covered in that cursed armour-

Eventually, things slowly came back into focus, and he blinked as he looked up at Crowe and Libertus’ slightly relieved expressions. His neck ached, and it was only then that he realised that somehow, he’d gone from sitting in one of the terrible bargain chairs he had in his flat, to being on the floor, back pressed to one of the walls.

“You back with us, hero?” Libertus asked softly.

“Y-yeah.” Nyx croaked out, tilting his neck back and forth for a bit in an attempt to ease the soreness. “Sorry.”

“No, no, don’t be. Guess I must’ve accidentally hit the nail right on its head, then.” Crowe said, crouching down and slowly extending her hand. “Now, let me help you up.”

Nyx nodded, getting his breathing under some semblance of control, and he briefly closed his eyes, waiting until he felt calm enough to actually move.

He let Crowe hoist him to his feet, and went in for another hug, this time getting both her and Libertus in it. They gradually relocated to sit on his bed, Nyx practically wrapped around his two siblings-in-all-but-blood.

“You died, Crowe. You died and there was nothing I could do to stop it.” Nyx sobbed; the words slightly garbled considering his face was mashed into Libertus’ shoulder. “A-and Libertus left, and then everything just, went to hell and then some, the city was attacked-“

He broke off, unable to put the rest of what he’d seen and lived into words.

“Look, hero, you know what I’m capable of, right?” Crowe said reassuringly, after a silent minute, slowly carding her fingers through his hair. “Whatever it was that your subconsciousness cooked up, it won’t happen, alright?”

“It-“ Nyx choked up, the words he desperately wanted to say lodged in his throat.

“I’ve called you in as sick, so the Commander won’t be all up our collective asses when you don’t show up for duty for the rest of the day.” Libertus said, patting Nyx on the shoulder. Nyx felt like he should be flinching from that, even though he knew that there wasn’t any kingly power burning its way through his body. Yet. “Come on, you should get some rest. Proper rest, after I get you something to eat. I’ll be here, though Crowe needs to go prepare for that mission of hers. We can see her off in the morning.”

The meal that Libertus cooked up an hour later tasted like ash in his mouth, and as Nyx was herded to bed, he couldn’t help but think that he had failed, once again. But he couldn’t go after Crowe, not now, not when Libertus was already keeping a cautious eye on him, not when all they knew was that he just had a panic attack, and a dream terrible enough to spark it.

And on top of all that, he had no idea what to do now, not when he knew that Libertus and Crowe probably wouldn’t believe him at this point, not when he’d made everything out to be just a bad dream. He’d had some sort of grand plan, to convince Crowe to not go on that mission, in the hope that it’d derail at least part of the Empire’s plan, derail it enough to give him time to figure out how the hell else he’d be putting a spanner into the rest of their planned invasion.

That plan, at least for now, was in utter shambles.

Now that he thought about it, actually thought about it, there were so many things that would eventually lead to the fall of Insomnia.

Crowe’s death, which would fracture the Kingsglaive even further than what the initial ceasefire announcement had done.

Lunafreya’s arrival, and subsequent kidnapping, which would be the bait that would draw the loyal Kingsglaive to their doom at the hands of the traitors, and signal the initial attack on Insomnia.

The theft of the Crystal and the fall of the Wall, which, he still didn’t know exactly how that had even happened.

The whole mess with the – rebels? Faction? – that Libertus had joined the other two times, the ones who had bombed the signing ceremony.

The death of King Regis, which would inevitably ruin much of their chances to stop the invasion, because it would mean that no one would have their borrowed magic anymore to help them against the forces of Niflheim.

How to deal with those giant daemon weapons withoutbringing forth the Old Wall, an act that would cause a decent amount of destruction in itself.

And General Glauca, that traitorous Commander of the Kingsglaive who was, Nyx admitted, quite possibly the greatest threat to everything he held dear at this point.

He could deal with rescuing the Princess, having done it twice already. Could probably even deal with the traitorous Glaives, hell, he knew at least Luche and Tredd were in on it, and if he took those two out then the others would lose a good part of their leadership.

But how in hell was he going deal with everything else? Nyx wondered, not a little desperate, as exhaustion finally set in, and he fell unwillingly into a fitful sleep.

He woke again, sometime in the evening, eyes tracing the cracks along his ceiling as he tried to parse his racing thoughts. There was just so much to do, so much he had to stop or fix before the Empire burned the city to the ground.

Well, he eventually thought, a little sardonically, I could always just knock Luche out now, and maybe he won’t kill Crowe tomorrow.

He sat bolt upright at that thought, and tried not to fall out of the damn bed in his haste. He fumbled blindly for his boots, and looked around for something heavy enough to give someone a bad concussion. The frying pan hanging on the rack above the shitty little stove, still a bit damp after Libertus had washed it, looked like it would do nicely.

He couldn’t kill Luche yet, even if every bit of him really wanted to do so. It’d probably de-rail things to the point that his foreknowledge would be rendered completely useless, and he hadn’t yet come up with ideas on how to deal with the next few days to make that murder as feasible as he wanted.

But he could just. Make sure that Luche wouldn’t be able to kill Crowe, or at least he’d be able to give Crowe a better chance at surviving the ambush, if he couldn’t convince her not to go in the morning.

Nodding to himself, he opened his door, preparing to march down the hallway and bait Luche into sticking his head out so he could bash it in with roughly three kilograms of steel. Fortunately, no one appeared to be outside of their own flats, though considering it was late in the evening by now, that was unsurprising.

He knew Luche had a habit of sleeping early if he had the opportunity to do so, so Nyx was fairly certain that if he knocked on the man’s door now, Luche shouldn’t be aware enough to register it was Nyx holding the frying pan before it hit him.

Sure enough, Luche opened his door with bleary eyes, and Nyx had a moment of vicious satisfaction watching the man crumple to the ground with a single hit of the pan. Now that Luche was unconscious, and not dead (there was a pulse, Nyx had checked), all that was left to do was shove him somewhere in his own apartment and hopefully have him out of commission for the next day at least.

“Uh, Nyx?”

Nyx looked up from where he was dragging the surprisingly heavy Luche the rest of the way into the apartment. Libertus was standing there, one crutch held limply in his hand.

“This…isn’t what it looks like, Lib.” Nyx winced, as Libertus looked incredulously at where Nyx was holding onto Luche’s limp arm.

“Is it?!” Libertus’ voice somehow reached another octave, as he cautiously approached Nyx.

“Look, this is going to sound incredibly crazy, but would you believe me if I told you that Luche is a traitor and he’s going to try to kill us all, except for the fact that I just knocked him unconscious.”

Libertus’ expression told him that no, Libertus didn’t believe him, and also that Nyx was…probably in some deep shit now.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nyx awoke, for the fourth time, in his bed, in his flat, a burning ember of phantom pain deep in his chest, clutching at where the piece of the collapsing hospital ceiling had stabbed right through him.

Well, he thought, somewhat hysterically, that could’ve gone better. Much better.

[queenofthefullmoon]

An exhaustive list of Dark Souls 3 bosses I would or would not date

Iudex/Champion Gundyr

We’re starting off this list with a strong yes. Our boy Gundyr has had a hard, difficult life, and he deserves some good company. He’s tall, strong, and I trust him to protect us as we set a lovely camp site outside of the fire link shrine.

Vordt of the Boreal Valley

Vordt is big and he is feral which are truly the only two qualities I look for in a man. Together we’d be unstoppable. I mean, think about how easy it would be to go around with him: just climb on his back and let the rodeo begin, baby. This argument alone should be enough to convince you that Vordt is a suitable boyfriend, but here’s another one: if you get too hot in the summer, worry fucking not for your gigantic man can hold his equally gigantic hammer over you and cover you with snow like an italian man covering his pasta with parmesan.

Cursed Rotted Greatwood

Now while I’m certain it would be a perfect partner for some people, the Cursed Rotted Greatwood isn’t for me. For one, I am not fan of curses, or rot, or weird sticky balls, or strange orange acid, or pale white and slightly viscous hands bursting through a living tree. Secondly, I feel like the crowd of Hollows who group up around the tree would be a big impediment to our intimacy, and I’m not ready to be the mother of 20 Hollows.

Crystal Sage

No offense but you’d be an idiot for not wanting to date the Crystal Sage. All wrapped up in one package, you get a super competent sorcerer bf, who wears the coolest hat in the galaxy and an equally cool cape, and who overall looks like the upgraded version of a plague doctor. In addition to that he also has a pretty rapier so you can both engage in some sparring (which we all know is the most romantic couple activity).

Deacons of the Deep

Probably one of the worst options on the list, they’re all crusty, rotting men moaning around a biggass coffin. There are many technical questions. If I dated a deacon, would I have to date all of them? Can we go out on dates or are they obligated to stay next to the coffin at all times? Can I even date them at all?? Not that I would, because I have standards. The only pro to entering this relationship(s?) would be that I’d probably get one of their robes for free, but the cons are so numerous that I’d rather buy it myself.

Abyss Watchers

Let’s be real and honest even if it hurts. Would I date an Abyss Watcher? Yes. Maybe I’d even date two. However, would an Abyss Watcher date me? No, because they’re all in love with Artorias, and I can’t blame them for that.

Old Demon King

At first I considered dating the Old Demon King like a Russian Instagram model dates an old, rich American man: with a great deal of fake love but above all great patience in order to be the only person on the will. But then I thought about it more, and what does the Old Demon King have to offer, really? A big firework show that will leave him exhausted like the old creature he is, and maybe some pyromancies. Truly, it is not worth it, especially since I’d have to take residence where he lives, in a big old room filled with the corpses of his kin.

High Lord Wolnir

I’ve got nothing against Wolnir personally, but I have no interest in skeletons, nor in his army of skeleton children. As stated above I’m not ready to be a mother. I feel like if we got in an argument and he sighed, he would poison me with his awful breath and I would die a horrible death. Also, living on the brink of the Abyss doesn’t appeal to me that much. However I would like Wolnir to be a good friend I can talk jewelry with because let’s be honest, the man (skeleton?) is blinged the fuck out even in death and I respect that.

Yhorm the Giant

Yes, I would date Yhorm. He was nothing but a sweet, misunderstood giant who always tried to get people to trust him and he convinced me. I would put my life in his big hands. Think of the possibilities. Just like with Vordt he could carry you everywhere but in a less reckless way if you prefer proper manners. You’d never have to worry about not seeing anything at a concert. Also, may I add that waiting for you to show up while sitting on his biggass throne is an absolute power move? Yhorm is a Lord of Cinder, but above all, a Lord of this heart.

Pontiff Sulyvahn

Would I date him because of his appealing aesthetic? Yes. Would I date him for anything else? No. Sulyvahn is absolutely terrifying, completely unhinged in the most frightening way, which is that he doesn’t look bat shit crazy. I could be thinking that everything is going well in our relationship then suddenly he’d lock me in a dungeon then would feed me to his weird friend because I put a fork in the knife drawer. He could pretend to propose and give me a weird fucked up ring with his eye in it and the next thing I know I’d be running in a field on all fours. I don’t trust like that.

Aldritch, Devourer of Gods

I’m so sad about Aldritch because literally everything about him is completely unappealing, unacceptable, unnatural, unholy, abhorrent, but he has the delicate and beautiful face of Gwyndolin. While our lovely Gwyndolin looks gorgeous as ever it doesn’t make up for the fact that Aldritch devoured people and probably wouldn’t find love to be a good reason to not eat his partner. The only reason I can find to have a friendship (not even a romantic relationship) with him is if you really like experimenting with cooking and you really, really need someone to taste your inventions.

Dancer of the Boreal Valley

I feel attraction, which means that just like any other being who feels attraction, I would date the Dancer. She is beautiful, graceful, a bit feral, and would not hesitate to put a flaming knife to my throat, which is the description of my dream woman. Imagine walking the streets with her, trying to hold her hand while it dangles 3 feet above you and she insists on holding her sword, actually, so she might slay anyone who tries to approach you, which she communicates through icy breaths and murmurs. The date of a lifetime.

Oceiros, the Consumed King

Another awful choice on this list, Oceiros is RABID and also, as far as we know, still a married man. You really want to date a man that hasn’t even gone through his divorce but already looks like this? Me neither. I’m already not big on dragon fucking but the fact that he’s all viscous and has weird growths all over him is not helping. Also, he has children, and we know how I feel about that — although, given how he treats them, he probably won’t have kids very soon (too far?).

Ancient Wyvern

So I’ve stated that I’m not very big on dragon fucking. With that said, do I think the wyvern is sexy and beautiful? Absolutely so. You’re probably like « Blue you’re sending mixed signals, are you gonna date the lizard or not? » and to that I say, date? Perhaps not. I would however like to form a lifelong bond with this wonderful force of nature and fight by its side, live a long and fulfilling life travelling along with it, only to die at the same time atop the tallest mountain in the world, where our skeletons will be discovers hundreds of years in the future by brave explorers, who will confirm that the legendary songs that were written about us were in fact not just a myth.

Nameless King

You’ve just read what I said about the wyvern. I feel like the Nameless King really understands me and would respect me for that. We could bond over our love of dragons and other flying scaly beasts and perhaps share some chaste kisses while soaring the sky on our companions. It’s nice to date someone who loves pets as much as you. I feel like he would be a fun guy to hang around in general, maybe he’d let you braid his hair or try on his crown. He can arrange personalized fireworks shows for you with his lightning powers. I don’t think you’d ever be bored around him.  

Dragonslayer Armor

Dating an empty suit of armor has never bothered me (see: ds2 Ruin Sentinels), however I have beef with the dragonslayer armor. Is it a beautiful armor? Perhaps a bit worn off, but the reply remains affirmative. However, it is controlled by Pilgrim Butterflies, which basically means I’m dating one to multiple of these things in the shape of an armor, and I’ve gotta confess that I’m not down for that.

Lorian Older Prince and Lothric Younger Prince

Here comes the delicate moment where we have to make a choice without offending anyone. I personally, speaking for myself, in my own opinion, would rather date Lorian. Reason: he is big, strong, and a bit rabid, which I’ve made very clear is my type. I don’t dislike Lothric, but I feel like we’d be better off as best friends who have a really snarky group chat where we shit talk the entire kingdom. That’s pretty good because if I even just slightly disliked Lothric I’m pretty sure Lorian would sense it and would not hesitate to murder me on sight.

Champion’s Gravetender and Champion Greatwolf

Well the full name is just a formality here, I’m not completely insane so I don’t want to date this rabid wolf. I feel like the Champion’s Gravetender is just a normal dude who’s a bit in over his head and it’s not his fault but he just seems a bit boring compared to all my other options. Instead of a date I think he’d be more of an awkward flirt I had when I was bored and then I came to my senses but didn’t know how to disengage, but in the end it worked out because he was more interested in his work anyway.

Sister Friede and Father Ariandel

Again a choice has to be made and I will have to be predictable and say I’d date Elfriede. Just like Dancer she’s what the woman of my dreams is made of. She’s graceful and could easily take my life and I think it’s awfully sexy of her to be like that. I think I’d be accepted into the family pretty easily, which is important since Father Ariandel cares about Friede so much. I’d go visit him sometimes, play chess with him, bring him his flail, normal interactions with your girlfriend’s dad.

Soul of Cinder

I’m gonna be a tiny bit freaky here and say I’d date the Soul of Cinder. Dating it is just like opening a Kinder Surprise egg, you never know what you’re gonna get (sorry Americans for excluding you here). That makes life exciting and doesn’t let routine stall your relationship. Every day you can wake up with the question « What weapon will my darling walk around with today? The flaming sword, or the sorcery staff? » and be surprised by the answer. Truly ideal, but I understand it’s not for the faint of heart.

Demon Prince

I’m gonna go with a maaaaaaybeeeee? leaning towards no. I mean yes, the Demon Prince is a weird fleshy flaming demon, and that may be a bit gross, but I’ve gotta admit I admire his style, the drama of it all. The care he puts into his entrance, the attitude in his moves. If we don’t date I’d at least want to be friends so he can teach me his ways.

Darkeater Midir

I have very intense and contradictory feelings towards Midir. In one hand, holy shit, absolutely epic dragon, the spirit of companionship is growing in me. On the other hand, this beast is RABID and pretending I could tame him is foolish, and pretentious. I guess in the end the answer remains that I don’t date dragons, I just want to adopt them as my extremely exotic pets.

Halflight, Spear of the Church

Yeah I’d date Halflight, I know it’s the easy answer but look at him. I mean shit he’s walking around like a little thotty with his shirt open and you mean to tell me I’m not supposed to wanna date him because he looks pretty much like a regular dude? My boy Halflight WANTS me to date him or else he would not show up with his tiddies out to a sword fight, which as an activity already has enough erotic implications on its own.

Slave Knight Gael

I’m gonna say it unashamedly and I’ll say it again: I would date Gael. He’s been nothing but helpful and when he tries to attack you it’s to help his little lady that he’s adopted as his niece. We love a chaotic parental figure. Maybe he’s a tad bit old and dirty but there’s nothing a good bath can’t fix and I’m sure he’d appreciate having someone taking care of him for once. Again, he’s got that slightly unhinged quality to him that makes him delightful. When I walk around with my partner I want us to instill both fear and fascination in people which we would be able to accomplish perfectly well.

Dark Souls 1: Remastered date list // Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin date list

[ashesonthefloor]

oh, captain, let's make a deal (where we both say the things that we both really feel)

summary: Ashton strikes a bet with Michael to get him to ask Calum out. It doesn't go according to plan. ao3 found here

prompt: "Person A bets that they can get Person B to go out on a date with them via Person C or a group of people etc, but what the 3rd party doesn't know is that persons A and B are already dating" from @thenervousduckwrites except, as expected, I didn't stick to that

content rating: PG-13 (cursing, probably, one allusion to sex, alcohol)

word count: 1422 words (short baby <3)

A/N: look at me! this is the first time I've posted something I've written since November! look at me go! but anyway, yes. if anyone has any other cute short prompts, I will happily take them. I make no promises about whether I'll get to them or how quickly, though. and as always, I happily take validation <3

--

“Alright, Christ, that’s the fourth time you’ve brought Calum up in the last thirty minutes,” Ashton interrupted Michael mid-rant. Michael frowned and sipped his soda, leaning back (harder than necessary, to prove a point) into Ashton’s stupidly comfortable couch.

“And?” Michael asked, raising an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with me talking about Calum so much? Who else am I supposed to be talking about him to?”

Ashton shrugged one shoulder. “My point is maybe you should be talking about him less and talking to him more. Why don’t you just ask him out already?”

Michael hummed, nice and noncommittal, and just sipped his drink. “Dunno.” He slumped down a little against the couch, messing up the back of his hair. “I just haven’t.”

Ashton sighed and Michael had to hold in his pleased smile at frustrating him so easily. And all it had taken was several weeks of talking nonstop about Calum almost every time they hung out to wear him down. Ha. Take that, Ashton. “I’m sure he likes you. Didn’t he compliment your eyes last week?” Michael nodded his affirmative. “And didn’t he literally spend the night with you the week before that?” Michael nodded again. “So he obviously likes you, Mike. What’s it gonna take you to actually ask him out?”

Now it was Michael’s turn to sigh, and he made it as loud and dramatic as possible. Just to make sure Ashton was fully and properly annoyed. That was mostly how their friendship worked. Michael loved him, so he annoyed him as much as humanly possible. And Ashton put up with it because he loved him back. It was absolutely perfect.

“Look, I bet you your next pizza he’ll say yes.” Ashton wasn’t the smartest person if he thought that would get Michael to stop talking about Calum. If they went out, Michael would only start talking about him more. The bet really only benefited Michael. But, being the opportunistic person he was, he decided against pointing it out. Ashton wasn’t an idiot - not usually, at least - so it was better to avoid patronizing him by letting him know, anyway. Or that was what Michael told himself, trying to pretend his reasons for accepting the bet were because he didn’t want to insult Ashton by turning it down and thus sullying his integrity. Or something like that.

Michael tilted his head, pretending to consider it. “What if he says no?”

Ashton huffed slightly. He didn’t need to say anything; Michael spoke Ashton (a side effect of being friends with him for so long), and that was as good as him saying it wasn’t going to happen. “Then you apologize to me for talking so much about a guy that doesn’t care about you.”

“And you apologize for being wrong. And I get bragging rights about it,” Michael added, quick to sweeten the bargain. Would Calum say no? Probably not, but he was going to make sure he was covered just in case. He didn’t want to have to deal with a broken heart and not get to blame Ashton at least slightly.

“Yeah, sure.” Ashton shook his head and sipped his soda again. That meant that he didn’t believe he’d say no, but he’d given up on arguing with Michael. Michael almost missed not having Ashton in his head.

“You’re on, then. It’s a bet.” Michael held a hand out expectantly, waiting for Ashton to shake it.

Ashton held his gaze for a moment, not reaching for his hand. “Ah ah ah. You’ve got two weeks to ask him out.”

“Fine,” Michael agreed. Only then did Ashton reach out and shake his hand. God, he drove a hard bargain. “Now you’re on.”

-----------------------------------

Michael’s phone vibrated on the table exactly two weeks later, while he was busy getting his hair played with, head on Calum’s thigh. He let out a dramatic huff and gave Calum his best puppy dog eyes. Like with Ashton, he and Calum had made their own silent language, communicating with nothing but subtle head tilts and eye contact. It was just better with Calum because, well, it was Calum. So he didn’t have to ask for anything before Calum let out a soft laugh and wordlessly passed him his phone, scratching at Michael’s scalp a little, before turning his attention back to whatever shitty movie was playing on the TV.

Ashton: It’s been two weeks. You ask him yet?

Michael: yea, got a date 4 tmr

Ashton: Nice! I knew he’d say yes

Ashton: I’m out with Luke tomorrow

Fucker probably knew Michael would want to gossip about the date after it happened and was preemptively saying no.

Ashton: You and Calum could grab drinks or something with us afterward? If you don’t think it’s too soon

Michael: nah tht sounds pretty good. c u then?

Ashton: 👍

Michael tipped his head back slightly to look at Calum properly. He was gorgeous from this angle, too. Which was honestly just more proof that he was some sort of otherworldly deity or something, because no one at all should look so good from below like this. “Hey, do you wanna grab drinks with my friends tomorrow?”

Calum pulled his attention away from the movie to look down at Michael with that stupidly fond smile Michael was starting to get used to. “Yeah, sure, that sounds fun.” He scratched at his scalp again. “Like a double date thing or like a me meeting your friends thing?”

Michael paused. “Uh, both? It’s Ashton and Luke, so...maybe a bit of both.”

Calum hummed, gaze shifting back to the TV. It didn’t stop Michael from feeling exposed, still, suddenly vulnerable under the weight of his feelings. “That sounds fun.”

-----------------------------------

The evening had gone splendidly. Michael hadn’t really expected any less; Calum was such a sweet, caring person, and spending time with him was so easy and effortless. Dating him was just the same, only better, because now he got to hold his hand, and Calum didn’t hold back his fond or adoring looks anymore. Suffice to say, it was pretty perfect.

Calum got along just as well with Ashton and Luke, Michael was pleased to learn. He bantered back and forth with Ashton just as well as Michael did - maybe better, but Michael wasn’t about to admit that - and he was sweet with Luke.

Everything went well until Calum was coming back from the bathroom and heard Ashton make some stupid joke about Michael asking him out properly.

“What’ll it take you to ask him to be your boyfriend?” Ashton teased. “Will I have to bet you a week’s worth of pizza for you to get your courage?”

“What do you mean ask me?” Calum asked, confused. “I asked Michael to be my boyfriend earlier this week.”

Ashton’s eyebrows raised immediately. Uh oh. “You’re boyfriends?”

Michael flushed and gave Ashton a sheepish smile. “Uh...yeah?”

“Since when?”

“Since Tuesday…?”

“It’s Saturday. How did you not tell me-”

“I’ve been distracted,” Michael said helplessly, looking at Calum and doing his best pleading look to get some backup. Luke had gone to get their next round of drinks, and Calum liked him, so surely he wouldn’t mind.

Calum nodded. “It’s true, he’s been distracted. He’s spent every night since then at my place.” Michael nodded along with him before flushing darker at the implications and tipping his head back against the sticky back of the booth immediately, prepared to die right then and there of embarrassment.

Ashton shook his head slightly. “He’s been talking about you for weeks, I’m surprised he didn’t mention that you asked him out when it happened.”

Calum grinned. “For weeks, huh?”

Ashton gave him a returning grin. The same grin that meant nothing but trouble, that he was about to stir up shit in Michael’s life. “Yep. For weeks. I’ve heard about how pretty your eyes are at least thirty-seven times now.”

Ashton continued, and Michael resigned himself to being mortified for the rest of the evening, if not the rest of his life. Maybe introducing the two of them had been a horrible idea. Deep down, though, he was sort of giddy at the fact that they were getting along so well, even if they were teaming up to make Michael’s life a living hell. Finding Calum had been like the last puzzle piece slotting into place, rounding out his life into something whole and balanced and perfect. And he wouldn’t change it for the world, even if he had to endure a little mortification.

[monomonomagines]

DR2 Boys as Monsters with a Human S/o Part 3

Wooh! I’m finally back writing and I had a ton of fun with this request if I’m entirely honest, especially since I had an idea on how to include Izuru as a fun bonus! I hope that you’ll all enjoy it as much as I did and expect for me to flesh out the lore with how Izuru and Hajime are tied together more in AO3 once we start uploding our more intricate Monster Au there! 

Part 3 (Part 1 here) (Part 2 here)

Fuyuhiko (Dragon)

Just as another day starts, it just as suddenly ends in the same manner with a few customers streaming into the bakery just before the day came to an end.

In the same manner, as you had grown accustomed to, entered the usual straggler that bought up all of your sweets that didn't sell, standing tall despite his small frame.

Approaching the glass and peering in like a child at the zoo, he still kept that same tough look on his face as he spoke up, his boyish voice giving an order more than a request.

"Give me everything you haven't sold today."

His eyes the hue of new spring growth with a goldish tint, don't bother to meet yours other than for that fleeting moment when they flick up to meet your gaze.

If you weren't used to him already, you would've assumed that he's quite a rude or shady guy but despite the fact that he always came bundled up in trenchcoat and other accessories to hide the shape of his figure he never caused even a stir in the bakery.

He always took your remaining sweets off of your hands at the very end of the night only to show up the next day and repeat the process.

Nodding you simply begin to carefully package the treats and begin to calculate the total while those same eyes from before followed your every move.

It was a bit funny to see such a tough-sounding guy always buying all of your sweets but you knew better than to voice that as you proceeded to relay the price of his goodies to him in the usual manner.

Like usual he pulled out some money from the pocket of his trenchcoat and places in your hands with his own gloved ones before telling you to, "Keep the change," and disappearing.

Normally you would leave around this time, that was what was typical but with your usual latecomer leaving you with nothing for the Holidays coming up you had no choice but to stay late to work on some fresh treats for the coming weekend.

It was going to be a long night, you thought as you got down to work.

After hours of baking and mixing and pouring you were going to call for a break when a strange golden light seeped in from the back window in the kitchen, piquing your curiosity.

The light seemed to be coming from the nearby forest, not too far but far enough behind all the greenery and trees that you had to draw closer to make out what it was.

There stood your usual latecomer, the straggler in the trenchcoat now shedding his disguise as he revealed his body to be covered in beautiful golden scales with a pair of wings and a tail to match.

You hadn't meant to stare, you knew it was none of your business what species your customers were but before you could attempt to turn back it seemed that he had caught onto your whereabouts.

Growling out in a way that made his sharp teeth visible even in the dead of night, he turns to you, his small form morphing into a much larger one as he reveals his true form to you.

"Don't scream!" He says, picking you up in his mouth with his discarded clothes as he lifts off into the sky.

As much as you wanted to scream, you could feel the fight leave your body as you were lifted off the ground and high into the sky.

This couldn't be happening! Your usual was a dragon, a literal gold dragon! There was no mistaking that this wasn't a dream with his gentle hold on you as you two flew but you didn't know if you wanted it to be real.

By the time this inner turmoil began to swirl about like a raging riptide it was already far too late. As suddenly as you had been lifted off the ground you were soon gently placed on it again, feelings your legs shake as they relished the feeling of solid ground to stand upon.

Now it was time for your captor to return to his previous humanesque form throwing on the trenchcoat once again, this time leaving it open enough for you to see his body underneath still.

Once you took it all in, he had placed you before a traditional-style Japanese house, the type you had only seen on rare occasions with its size when he spoke up, those same golden-green eyes gazing upon you.

"All right, I'll get down to business, how much do you want to keep your mouth shut?"

Huh? That's what he wanted to talk about, he wasn't going to kill you? To your obvious confusion, all he could do was smirk. It wasn't a playful kind of smirk though, let alone even a snarky one. The kind of expression he gave off felt dangerous as though he was trying to convey that refusing to comply would make it useless for him to have brought you this far.

"I'm not bribing you to be nice, Human. I know you've realized what I am and who I am, anyone would know by the scales that I'm the head of the Kuzuryuu Clan after all and as easy as it could be to kill you, I don't want to lose my source for my horde. Either, you accept my money or you disappear. Those are the only options you get!"

Despite his overly malicious sounding tone, his eyes bore into yours and for a moment you felt as you saw more than a dragon and Yakuza head threatening you.

In his eyes you saw a piece of who he really was, he was like a child begging you to have another cookie. He was vulnerable because of the simple knowledge that he liked sweets and even if you technically had no choice other than to allow him that, you wanted to.

In that moment your answer was clear, you'd allow him, the head of the Kuzuryuu clan to bribe you for your silence so that he could continue to indulge himself with your sweets.

That was what began your new-found "comradery" with Fuyuhiko. Now he was not only your usual latecomer in a trenchcoat, now he was the Golden Dragon that bought all your sweets and ate a portion of his spoils in the safety of your bakery after hours.

At least he was for months on end that is. However, after eating and talking with you over his sweets in the bakery so many times he seemed to be not as fond of the setting as he asked you to come with him to the same house he had taken you to before.

He had respected your wishes not to fly, saying something along the lines of that It's "not like he gives a damn" as he waited for your arrival.

As impatiently as ever, he wouldn't waste a moment once you did, dragging you off to a room to show you an impressive horde of all kinds of gems and gold and other treasures.

"So, you think this is my horde right?"

He asks with bated breathe as his eyes scan yours searching for something as though he knew there was something for him to find, but at your affirmation those same eyes seemed to soften as he let out a deep sigh.

"Well, you're fucking wrong! None of this is my horde, it's just for appearances for the clan. My real horde, my treasures...I actually wanted to share them with you but you have to swear not to tell anyone about this! You have to or else I really will kill you!"

He grumbles out, seeming more embarrassed than actually hostile as he waits for you to agree once more before pulling you into a hidden side room.

Upon first glance, it didn't seem to be anything special but as soon as your eyes focused in on the giant stash of sweets you knew. These were all the sweets that you had been baking lately, most of his leftovers from the nights he visited.

But why did he want to give a piece to you of all people? You knew you had gotten close and you did have feelings for him after getting to see the more intimate parts of him that you got glimpses of but if this was some kind of custom it surely was lost on you.

All you could manage to do was to thank him as he handed you a fried doughnut with some kind of childlike anticipation.

"What the fuck do you mean thank-" he stops to pinch the bridge of his nose, as though to cut himself off purposely before continuing-"You really don't know what this means do you?"

Reluctantly biting into the doughnut you nod again, waiting for him to explain, a light dusting of red coating his cheeks as much as the powdered sugar on your doughnut.

"It means, I...I want to be mates, you idiot."

Hajime (Alien)

Although you were planning on having a quiet evening in away from excitement, it seemed that the world had decided to ruin your plans by bringing the excitement directly to your doorstep.

It was well into the night, at least midnight if you were to approximate when you heard a deafening sound come from your backyard.

It sounded like a huge collision, possibly a horrible car crash or some other type of terrible event, an event the likes of which you didn't wish to get up to witness.

However, even though you had decided to attempt to remain under your covers where the world seemed so deceivingly warm, you were wrenched from your peaceful thoughts as a firm but polite knock at your back door assaulted your eardrums.

Ok, so maybe you were exaggerating but with this being your day off you really wanted to stay inside without anything concerning you, and someone needing your help after a crash was not in your plans in the slightest.

This was the right thing to do though, you told yourself as you approached the door and noticed the brunette on the other side with a worried expression etched across his features.

"Hello, I'm sorry for bothering you so late. I was hoping if I could stay the night here, I'm afraid I have no way to get home and I'm not really feeling too well after crash landing."

Maybe it was the sleep deprivation from staying up most of the night the day prior to your relaxation day or maybe it was that the words "crash landing" didn't register in that moment but before you could internally scream at yourself you were already allowing him into your home witnessing his odd appearance.

Well, he wasn't all that strange. He seemed to look just like an average guy other than the weird clothes and fuzzy antennae on the top of his head bouncing with every step he took.

"Thank you so much for allowing me to stay here. I was beginning to feel a bit sick after having to destroy what was last of my ship with the emergency protocol. It's probably just from the motions of crashing and all so if you don't mind I'll just need to lay down for a moment."

Despite his polite tone, he did seem a bit off-centered as he wobbled his way to your couch, laying down like it was some newfound sanctuary that he couldn't wait to reach.

Even if you wanted to say that this was normal, you knew at this point that something was up. Why was he dressed so weird, what was he going on about, and really what's with the antennae? Despite the number of questions beginning to multiply within your mind all you could manage to do in your tired stupor was to wobble over to him yourself, outstretching your hands to feel the fuzzy dancing receptors atop his spiky hair.

"W-what are you!?" seeming to contort his own face in confusion or even skepticism akin to your own he remarks, "So that's how you're feeling. You're apprehensive of me, right?"

Perhaps this would be the moment to respond or to even acknowledge the fact that he seems to have the power to understand what you feel once you're within a certain proximity of him. Perhaps you should have some deep revelation in this moment but with your lovely evening ruined by this interloper you decided instead to ignore any revelation, giving the fuzzy sensory appendages a hard tug to see if they'd come off.

"Ouch! S-stop that hurts!" He yells out into your head, his teeth gritted.

Huh? Did he just speak to you telepathically? Immediately understanding your mistake you unhand him, the realization that there's a real live alien laying on your couch finally sinking in.

"I didn't realize that you didn't understand the situation. Are you sure you don't need to lay down now? You seem more shaken up than I am." He replies sitting up to make eye contact with you.

As much as you wanted to agree, you now had even more questions overwhelming your very senses. You needed to know why and how he was here, immediately. Why did he show up tonight of all nights and here when it's supposed to be your day off!?

"I hadn't realized that I'd cause such a disturbance, although I guess I can't say I didn't consider it. I really don't have anywhere to go though so please allow me to stay here, even if it's just for a few! I'll learn to do whatever I have to earn my keep!"

He gives you a determined look as you gaze back shocked by the sudden proposal. He couldn't work but it's not like you wanted to turn him away. Guess this means that you got yourself an alien housewife or so the joke goes.

Allowing yourself a moment to breathe you accept his proposal, on the condition that he takes care of the house, dinner, and anything else around the place that was necessary to bettering it.

You knew it was probably a small feat for an alien compared to a human and with his quick approval you knew that you two would have a new exciting relationship blooming, even if it was just a symbiotic one.

Months have passed now since that day and despite your and Hajime's growing relationship, one thing never seemed to change.

Hajime rarely seemed to show much emotion unless he could get a reading off of you.

It was something that had started endearing but with him asking for your assistance in acting more human you had begun to wonder how to make it so that he would act more emotional without basing his feelings at the moment on others.

That's when an idea struck you! You would take him to a "Haunted House" you knew of. It wasn't exactly haunted as far as you knew but it's not like he'd know that and with a good scare you'd be sure to see his expression change even if just a bit.

What you anticipated didn't happen though as Hajime seemed spaced out the entire time you were there. Try as you might, it seemed that nothing changed that blank expression of his as you weaved intricate scary stories, claimed to see things not there, and even asked him if he "heard that sound" repeatedly.

Just what was he so focused on anyway!? You cursed to yourself when a warmth on your hand snapped you out of those thoughts.

"S/o?" he asks, his hands on your own as his forest colored orbs peer back at you, "Is this like what the human couples do? At home, I've witnessed enough TV to presume that you did this in order to court me in accordance with your established feelings for me. Am I right about that?"

Oh, right he can read your emotions and all. How didn't you think of him knowing all this time?

Taking your silence as an affirmation, he gently smiles at you catching you off guard with this rare expression and the words that had joined it. "I...I know it may be a bit sudden, but I do feel the same. I know I'm simply supposed to be earning my keep but would you allow me to be your boyfriend as you put it?"

Izuru (???)

After your strange rendezvous with Hajime in the "Haunted House," you took him to, you imagined that all would be normal or at least the state of normalcy you were used to with your new alien boyfriend.

However, something seemed off since you two had returned. Hajime had begun to space out often, seeming to move around without any recollection of what had just happened.

It was of course worrying but it wasn't like you could do take him to a doctor when he was an alien. You were left with little to no options other than to wait for it to pass if it would and to try to support him no matter what.

As this process continued with Hajime's face going blank and his body moving without his knowledge you only grew more fearful.

Now even when you tried to sleep beside him you'd end up tossing and turning or waking up every few hours out of fear that you'd lose him.

One night in particular though, he wasn't in bed with you when you had woken up. Perhaps it had been because of the raging storm that your ears picked up as soon as you had awoken or that he had to use the bathroom but at the same time you just knew that couldn't be it.

Something had to be amiss with how he's been acting, you couldn't think of anything else even if you had nothing to back up your thoughts.

Feeling the adrenaline shoot through your body you tore your way downstairs to see his silhouette in the kitchen looking out of the window at the pouring rain, only snapping around to look at you when you called out his name.

"So, you've awoken." He remarks, sounding more deadpan than ever before as his eyes gaze upon you, those same forest green orbs seeming cold and analytical as though there wasn't an ounce of life left behind them.

This wasn't Hajime, this was something else, you thought as whatever was before you tilted its head.

"You are right," you heard within your own head. "I'm able to access his powers though meaning that we can speak like this."

Taking in his form, illuminated by a flash of lightening you noticed how he floated a mere inch or two off the ground as he continued to stare through you with that expressionless face.

"I can tell you're scared of me but I don't mean any harm. Do you remember that "Haunted" house you took Hajime to?"

How did he know about that? As much as your thoughts swam about in your head, he seemed to be calm as ever simply floating closer to you.

"I'm surprised you're not getting this already," he sighs still inside your mind causing you to shiver from the strange sensation as he continues, "I'm a ghost, I died out long ago but I stopped being human long before that. I was the product of an experiment, an alien experiment so I thought that possessing the very same thing that stole my humanity would be interesting."

Drawing closer, his gaze bores into you, feeling an icy breath as his lips rest just an inch or so away from yours unmoving as he finishes his previous speech.

"But, like with everything else in this world I'm still so bored."

As soon as it seemed like he would possibly kiss you the body of your boyfriend fell into you still deep asleep as though he had never stirred in the first place.

You were lucky you could catch him but you knew you'd need to tell him about what happened.

As you dragged the two of you back to bed, trying to muffle the memory of that horrifying event and the onslaught of rain you felt a single name roll off your lips before you fell into a deep slumber.

"Izuru Kamakura."

[pink-peony-princess]

Months on the making

"Please?" My best friend Ashley, begged, chasing me around the dorm room.

"I don't know," I sighed flopping down on the sofa and switching the TV on. It was 3 in the afternoon so there wasn't much on, but the aimless chatter was enough to block out the whining coming from my roommate.

"Please, please, please, I'll clean the toilet for a month, and you can use my Netflix and steal my lecture notes," she added. I looked at her laughing slightly as she got down on her knees and literally begged me. "Who knows," she added when I didn't respond. "It is a cross facility party, so you might even see some cute guys there, cute doctors," she added.

"Shawn won't be there, there's no way, he's a week out from starting his residency," I stated as if this ended it.

"Who said anything about Shawn?" She smirked, getting up. "You're coming!" She called, walking into the kitchen and returning with snacks. "I mean come on! It's not like you two haven't been sussing each other out all semester ever since you worked in that group project for communications, I mean it's clear you like each other, he's even told his buddies, make your move girl, he's perfect for you!" She encouraged.

"He sure is that," I agreed, dazed just thinking about him. He was tall and built, with broad shoulders, and soft brown curly hair, an award-winning smile and charm to boot. On top of all that he was a really nice guy. No one seemed to have a bad word to say about him.

Two hours later we walked into the party, and I was immediately taken aback by how many people were here. "I'm going to get a drink," Ashley yelled over the music. I nodded turning around, coming across the one face I didn't want to see.

"Oh shit, Hayden is here," I hissed, running to catch up to Ashley.

"Just try to ignore him, he's a douche!"

The night was going well and despite myself, I'd even started to relax and enjoy myself, Ashley had even managed to get Shawn and I talking, not that we didn't flirt with each other whenever we saw one another, but we never really got to have a real conversation- about the more meaningful stuff. We talked about everything from the way Ashley and Brian his best friend were flirting shamelessly, why he chose to live on campus even though he could have chosen to take his last few pre-residency classes online having successfully completed his residency year and what he was looking forward to most.

I was on a real high- he was so easy to talk to (and flirt with)- he'd even suggested we go out for breakfast which immediately got my heart racing. The thought of going out with Shawn-alone, was thrilling.

This changed however, when Shawn declared that he was going to get a drink and Ashley announced she was going to the bathroom, leaving me on the patio where we'd been chatting all alone. I heard the door go, expecting it to be one of them back already, but when I turned, I found Hayden, sauntering over to me, a disturbing smirk on his face. A third-year sports major, med school drop out Hayden was a class A arsehole that would try to get with any girl he could-everyone knew that. He'd had more security warnings than anyone else in our year and he'd decided that his latest challenge was me. It had started in communications class which all journalism, med and sports science majors took- along with a few others so it wasn't uncommon to run into people from other courses. Basically, if you had to talk to people as part of your career, you took the class.

But when I'd told him I wasn't interested, like so many others in the class before me had, he took that as a challenge and had made my life a living hell for the past three months.

"So Kenzie, you finally come to your senses?" He slurred, coming to stand mere inches from my face, his breath stunk of stale beer.

"Go shove it," I spat instinctively taking a step back in an effort to put some distance between us.

"Careful Kenz, you don't have your little pozzie with you now." He grabbed my wrist, slamming me into the side of the building, knocking the wind out of me. I could already feel where the rough stone was cutting into my exposed skin of my back, wrist aching.

"Get off me!" I yelled again, moving to push him away. This only seemed to anger him further though.

"Man she said to leave her alone, " another voice spoke, "so leave her alone." The figure was tall and it was only when they stepped into the light that I realised it was Shawn. Relief flooded me.

"What are you doing here Mendes? Come to protect your girl?" He taunted.

"Stopping a dickhead from doing something stupid," He spoke cooly, a new drink in his hand.

"Wait, what's your degree again, oh yeah...medicine, well let's see how good you really are!" He spoke, pulling me into him by my already pained limb and then thrusting me backward again, smashing me into the wall and ripping my dress in the process leaving me exposed and vulnerable. The relief I had felt moments earlier was replaced with terror.

My head was spinning, a dull ache starting at the base of my scalp, my legs gave out and I found myself on the ground, a shivering, shaking mess.

"Someone call security to come get this piece of shit out of here," Shawn called to the group of people that had assembled at the commotion before crouching down beside me.

"Are you okay, Kenz?" He asked, looking me up and down. I was in too much pain to care that he or anyone else was seeing me practically naked.

"Kenzie, Kenzie oh my God!" Ashley yelled, coming to a skidding halt beside me.

"Give me your coat," Shawn spoke urgently gesturing to the woollen material Ashely had wrapped around her. She handed it over quickly, allowing him to wrap it around me carefully.

"Brian, come help me get her up and inside," he called when he realised his friend had returned.

"We're just going to help you stand up okay?" Shawn spoke gently. Taking my hand.

"Owwww, owww, stop!" I begged, feeling another wave of dizziness and nausea wash over me.

"Right come here," He spoke, picking me up in one gentle but fluid movement. I closed my eyes then, but I could feel people pointing and starting as we made our way through the house and out into the night air. The breeze was cool and dry, bringing me to my senses a little more.

"Out of the way people. I'm half a mind just to take her to the hospital, " He muttered to Ashley and Brian who I could hear trailing behind.

"She won't like that, can't you check her out yourself?" Ashley pleaded and I silently thanked the heavens that I had a friend like her.

"I mean, I could, but if I think she needs to go to the hospital once I look her over, we go, " he bargained.

As we walked for what seemed like ages the pain only intensified my side now throbbing horribly. I was almost certain I was going to be sick when we came to a sudden stop, the lock on a door clicking open.

"Brian get the first aid kit and my bag?" Shawn asked, moving rapidly through space and placing me down onto what felt like a bed.

"Kenz, Kenzie, open your eyes for me, honey." He urged, tapping my arm. With great effort to fight the increasing lethargy, I opened my eyes, blinking furiously at the bright lights that stung my eyes overhead.

"Where are we?" I whispered, trying to ignore the pain- I felt like a life-sized ache.

"We're in my dorm room. I wanted to go to the hospital, but Ash said you may not like that so I brought you here. I have the stuff to treat you here, providing you don't need any further testing, " He explained, kneeling beside my bed as I looked around. I made the mistake of trying to get up, and immediately regretted it when my ribs protested angrily.

"Easy, easy, he warned his expression one of sympathy and concern. "Stay there Kenz, I'll move you if need be. Do you remember what happened?" He asked, glancing down at me with a soft smile. I nodded, somewhat reassured by Shawn's warmth and competency.

"Hayden, " My voice was hoarse from the shouting earlier. He nodded.

"Good, that's a good sign."

He stood up, reaching for several items by the door- the first aid kit and a bag- no doubt the one's he had asked Brian to retrieve.

"Where are you hurting?" He asked, looking me up and down, appraising my injuries. Just this small action made the tears I had been holding back, spillover, a mixture of pain, fear, relief and embarrassment. "Hey, hey, you're okay. Shhh, you don't need to cry, " He murmured, taking my hand gently in his, immediately enveloping me with warmth. I had known I liked him for months now, and every time we interacted this was affirmed more by small things he would do or say- getting me my favourite coffee before early morning tutes, offering to walk me to class. Yet somehow this felt so much more intimate and I almost forgot where we were until Ashley cleared her throat.

"Do- do you wanna help her change and we'll come back in a minute. You can have one of my shirts." Shawn spoke shaking his head as if clearing a fog as he got up and threw a soft sweater at the bed.

I nodded mutely, not trusting my voice.

"A little help?" I asked Ashley, when the door closed.

"Girl he is smit-ten, She sang, coming over to help undo the ripped material of my dress."

"Shut up! He's probably just outside the door,"

I hissed, wanting very much to hit her over the head, but not wanting to move again for fear of pain.

The shirt smelled like him- a mix of Sandalwood and some sort of earthy, almost woodsy tone.

"You can come back in, " She called when I was decent again and laying back on the bed.

Thankfully Shawn was extremely professional, acutely aware of the strange situation and my escalated anxiety. Asking permission before so much as taking my pulse.

When he got to my ribs, he stopped, barely touching the bottom of the sweater.

"May I?" I nodded, sucking in a huge breath as the anticipation of pain (and Shawn's touch) over whelmed me. I could help, but hold my breath, as he gently palpated the area, feeling in and around my ribs. "Nothing feels broken, " He commented, after a little bit.

"So no hospital?" I asked praying he agreed. His brow furrowed. I would still feel better if you saw a fully licensed doctor. I'll call my mate okay. Connor, he's really chilled," He spoke, pushing some baby hairs off my face. "In the meantime let's get these cuts and bruises sorted, " He smiled.

Not much was said for the next half an hour, Shawn working quietly and efficiently. The only time I felt any pain was when he and Ashley had to sit me up so he could clean and disinfect my back. My wrists he said, although badly bruised and about eight differ ent shades of purple would heal on their own.

I was just starting to get sleepy, Shawn tapping me every so often to keep me awake when there was a soft knock at the door, before a man around Shawn's age, maybe a few years older walked in.

"Kenzie is it? I'm Connor, he introduced himself with a smile. "Shawn told me what happened, is it okay if I have a look at your head."

I nodded, trusting him, because Shawn trusted him. And honestly I just wanted, no needed, sleep.

Like Shawn his assessment was thourough, but quick. "You can lay back again, " he murmured as he finished checking me over, putting his penlight back in his pocket and pulling his gloves off.

"So?" Shawn asked, looking between me and his friend.

Connor sighed, "Yeah, you're right, she does have a small concussion, you know the drill, rest, lots of fluids, wake her every hour. He got you good, I'm sorry to say, " he grimaced. "Is someone staying with her?" He asked looking between me, Shawn and Ashley.

"I could stay, I mean, if you're okay with that?"Shawn spoke looking to me.

I shrugged, hissing as the action, pulled at my ribs.

"Okay, it's settled then, " Ashley clapped, a sly smile on her face, which I could just see past Shawn's torso blocking most of my view as he sat beside me.

Brian and Ashley stayed for a little longer, chatting quietly between themselves as I lay there half awake, and exhausted, but unable to sleep. When Shawn declared that it was time for them to go, because the 'patient' needed rest (this got a glare), Ash tried to kick up a stink, no doubt hoping to witness more content with which she could hold over my head. Shawn however wasn't having it, and insisted they come back tomorrow.

"Finally, some peace, jeez, my head hurts," I laughed, again regretting it.

"Here, take these." He handed me some tablets and a bottle of water. Sitting beside the bed on a chair, which he had pulled from the desk across the room. "It's been one hell of a night! I'll have to take you out to make up for it, " He spoke casually.

I turned, surprised, not quite sure I believe what I was hearing.

"Like a date?" I sqeeked out, feeling my face flush.

"I mean, I just thought..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"I'd like that," I smiled.

Get some rest and when you're better we'll organise something, it's been months in the making. Don't think I haven't noticed the way Ashley's been 'accidently' having to talk to the professor in comms class leaving us alone." He smiled.

I blushed, just thinking about it, damn, he was more perceptive than I thought. "Don't tease me, I'm sore, and tired, " I grumbled.

"I'm here if you need me, Honey, " He spoke, my heart swelling the nickname.

"Thank you, Shawn, "I spoke reaching for his hand as I finally fell to sleep.

[diyunho]

The Joker x Reader - “A.N.N.I.E.”

A.N.N.I.E. (Artificial Non-Neurological Intelligent Entity) is an outdated android model that emerged on the market two years ago. The Joker purchased her as a toy for his son not knowing she will become the recipient of desperate attempts to keep Y/N with him. After the woman’s unexpected death, experiments meant to transfer her conscience inside Annie failed yet The King of Gotham couldn’t part with the only thing that reminded him of someone he actually cared about.

“Can you fix her?” The Joker asks the two programmers that have been assessing the android for the past 15 minutes.

“Hard to tell sir, but we are trying to determine what triggered the malfunction,” Zariah points at the 4 laptop screens simultaneously running diagnostics. “Recently there’s been a spike in flaws regarding A.N.N.I.E. models; after all they were released 2 years ago. I would recommend acquiring the most current technology…”

“No need to!” J bitterly cuts him off. “Just fix her!”

“We will do our best, sir!” Mickel reassures The King of Gotham: his wretched temper might interfere with today’s agenda and the two hackers simply can’t afford it.  

“Your best is not enough,” The Joker growls. “She cornered my son last night and almost crushed him against the wall. I had to use manual override to shut her down. That’s not typical machine behavior, is it?!”

“No sir, although I’ve heard of similar incidents in the past months. If it continues, Annie prototype will be pulled off the market soon,” Zariah informs.

“Her name‘s not Annie,” The Clown Prince of Crime interrupts the unwanted advice. “Her name’s Y/N!”

Awkward silence and Kase’s voice resonates from upstairs.

“Daddy?... Daddy?...”

“My son’s awake; I’ll be back,” J abandons the two men in a hurry and stumbles on the numerous cables connecting the laptops to the cyborg on his way out.

“Goddammit!”, he huffs through his clenched teeth before vanishing around the corner.

“That was fucking weird,” Mickel whispers. “What does he means her name is not A.N.N.I.E.?! Am I crazy? Is this not Artificial Non-Neurological Intelligent Entity sitting in that chair?!”

“Of course it is,” Zariah confesses in low tone. “He gives me the creeps too how he thinks she’s in there.”

“What do you mean “she”?” the obvious question follows.

“Check those cords,” Zariah urges and continues: “You noticed he corrected me with the name for the pile of rubbish.”

“Yeah,” the other guy begins typing a bunch of configurations while listening to the scoop.

“Y/N used to take care of his kid. Nobody can say who she really was: some believe she might have even been the mother, that her and Mister Joker were together. Others swear the little boy called her auntie; maybe she actually was Mister J’s sibling. Who the hell knows? She was a strange woman and she looked… different also,” Zariah’s gaze circles the premises to make sure their employer is not eavesdropping.

“No shit!” Mickel frowns at the statistics popping up on the monitors.

“Yeah, I saw her a few times, gave me the creeps. Something was off with her, you just could tell. Mister J always had jerks working for him and I guess they clashed with Y/N quite often: it got so bad they dared planning a prank that ended horribly. Do you know the warehouse on 14th street? The 6 stories one?”

“No.”

“Well, supposedly it happened there: Mister J was out of town and had no clue about the scheme plotted without his consent. The crew took his son on the roof and threatened they will toss him off the building if she doesn’t jump instead.”

“And?!” Mickel halts his typing, intrigued.

“She jumped… … they didn’t think she would.”

“Holy crap! I had no idea!”

“Dude, it was a disaster!” Zariah shrugs depicting the facts. “Y/N splattered all over the concrete, broken to pieces… Despite the severe injuries, she didn’t die immediately: she was in a coma for almost a month before passing away. Mister J had Annie already, he probably bought her as a toy for Kase when it first emerged on the market. The rumor is that while Y/N was in a coma he kidnapped scientists and forced them to work on a senseless project: transferring her conscience inside Annie.”

“You’re shitting me!” Mickel exclaims at the insane disclosure.

“Nope.”

“Can’t be done; it’s impossible!”

“And who’d dare explain the obvious to him, huh? Not the researchers he killed the moment she stopped breathing if you get my drift.”

“That’s messed up!” Mickel forcefully exhales, infinitely more nervous about being at The Penthouse for the moment.

“Do you remember the serial murders that shook Gotham 3 months ago?” Zariah has more gossip for his partner. “It was Mister J hunting down every single person that was on the roof the day Y/N jumped.”

“We shouldn’t be here,” the anxious Mickel shrugs. “Maybe we should abandon our mission.”

“Bulshit! They’ll pay us double over anything he offers so don’t be a pussy! Speaking of, you should assemble the guns prior to his return!”

Mickel is reluctant to the whole scenario, yet he compiles the two guns out of items resembling computer parts scattered in their suitcases: that’s how they were able to deceive security.

“Done,” he stashes one finished weapon under his jacket, offering the other to Zariah.

“Remain calm and we’ll be ok,” the latest mumbles. “Let’s pretend we’re here to repair this junk.”

A couple more minutes pass by and The Joker’s presence alongside his offspring makes the two guys cringe.

The little boy hides behind his father’s legs, shyly glancing the android’s way.

“Don’t be scared,” J grumbles. “She’s in power saving mode, it’s fine.”

“Yes, it’s perfectly safe,” Zariah winks. “We are almost done extracting all the data,” he gestures at the laptop’s screens.

Kase giggles and rushes to climb on Annie’s knees, excited to see her after she wasn’t allowed to sleep in his room last night which is understandable since the robot went bonkers.

“Hi Y/N,” the child softly pulls on her long hair. “I want waffles pwease.”

The hackers exchange meaningful glares and The Joker replies:

“She can’t for now,” he mutters. “She’s defective. Frost will take you out for breakfast, alright?”

“Does it hurt?” the 5 year old pouts at his parent’s affirmation: he doesn’t comprehend all the words and it’s difficult for a kid to process the concept of transference.

After Y/N died, The Joker told Kase she moved inside Annie: he wasn’t delusional about his failed experiment but it was easier to make his son cope with the loss of the woman that raised him. J doesn’t literally believe there’s any trace of Y/N in the machine: how could it be? Several months passed and nothing proved what he tried to accomplish succeeded: a twisted concept originating from a distorted mind was doomed from the start.

“It doesn’t hurt,” The Clown Prince of Crime sighs. “She’s resting.”

“Sir, I think you should see this,” Mickel gets his attention.

“What am I looking at?”

“You used voice command to lock down the android?” Zariah pinpoints at the monitor to his left.

“I did.”

“That’s not what turned off the system: see the numbers flowing borderline with the  central matrix, the tiny squares? She wasn’t locked down by external command, she was terminated from within.”

“What do you mean?!” Mickel scoots over in his rolling chair, baffled.

“Somebody trespassed the firewall,” his accomplice utters the obvious.

J is less than happy with the random discovery still he requires confirmation of his suspicion.

“Meaning?”

“Annie, I mean Y/N is the recipient of a cyber-attack: she’s been hacked.”

“Hacked?” J scoffs. “What for? She’s just a companion android, it doesn’t make any sense.”

“Not sure, sir…” Zariah lifts his shoulders up, baffled.

“Can you find the source?” the green haired individual suggests.

“Analyzing the algorithm shows puzzling results: these numbers should be repeating themselves every so often, yet they don’t; never seen anything like it and I’ve been dealing with computers for a long time,” Mickel adds. “The most interesting detail is certainly challenging our expertise: tracking the root of the signal is pretty much unachievable. We should see input bouncing around from different servers because this is how hackers disguise their trail; but… this particular livestream happened simultaneously from various servers around the country.”

“There’s practically 0% chance for such abnormal hacking with today’s technology!” Zariah scrunches up his face at the baffling discovery. “How in the world was it done?!”

“You’re the experts!” The Joker barks. “I hired you based on strong recommendations from others that used your skills. Can you fix her or not?!”

“Of course, sir.”

“Yes!” the two associates ease The Clown’s doubt. “We’ll unplug the cables, we already removed all necessary info.”

Kase watches them detach the cords from Annie’s access ports, the child sulking at their action.

“Y/N, does it hurt?” he asks and hops off her lap. The empty shell doesn’t respond since the robot is in power saving mode.

“It doesn’t hurt,” The King of Gotham duplicates his earlier statement. “Frost!” he addresses the henchman entering the living room. “Take him to our restaurant on Madison Avenue for breakfast then he can play at the property on Foster Creek until we are done here. I want a 3 cars escort.”

“Yes, boss. I’ll call in advance and tell them not to open the place until we’re done.”

“Good,” J agrees with his henchman’s proposal. “Kase, go and eat!” he urges the offspring having a few more secrets to share with Annie. “Come on, let’s go!” the impatient father encourages.

The 5 year old obeys and kisses Annie’s cheek, whispering:

“I’ll bwing you beck’fast auntie, ok?” and he rushes at Frost’s side screaming up a storm. “Byeeeee daaaaaddy!!!”

The programmers are so absorbed by the mystifying enigma they stumbled upon by accident they don’t pay attention to the little nugget’s promise: even if they would, Zariah and Mickel wouldn’t be able to untangle the convoluted riddle of Y/N’s true identity.

She wasn’t The Joker’s girlfriend nor Kase’s mother: Y/N was nothing less than The Clown’s younger sister.

The woman protected the only family she had like a hawk, thus she didn’t hesitate to give her life in exchange for her nephew’s.

Too bad she had no idea those jerks were mocking her when she ended up on that accursed roof.  

Too bad her brother didn’t guess their intentions and extremely regrettable he was left alone without the only person he ever trusted.

Too bad she died granted J’s desperate efforts to keep her with him.

And so sad he didn’t know how much Y/N meant to him until she was gone.

“Isn’t it weird someone breached my android in the same time it was malfunctioning and closed her down?…” J stares outdoors on the terrace. “Why would anyone go through the trouble?... What’s the purpose?”

The familiar click of safety being taken off a gun awakens The Joker from apathy and he turns around: it’s not easy to surprise J but he’s stunned to notice the two experts he recruited pointing guns at him.

“What the fuck are you doing?!”

“Cashing in a huge payday, sir,” Zariah sneers. “It’s not often you become a legend for murdering…”

The Joker is not listening, his attention diverted by the strange phenomenon occurring behind the two hackers threatening his life: Annie is standing up from her chair and that’s clearly not possible; she is in power saving mode!

The android grabs Mickel’s arm and twists it to 90 degrees, using his own pistol to blow his brains out. Before Zariah can react he’s knocked to the ground with such violence J starts backing out, unsure on what to do when Annie steps on the man’s neck.

The sound of fractured bone plus the cyborg’s attention clearly directed towards him now makes him shout:

“Code 71345, emergency override!”

“Access denied!” the robot approaches still calibrating its joints and electronic synapses.

What the hell is wrong with this thing?!

“Code 71345, emergency override!”

”Access denied!”

J wants to make a run for it but he’s aware Annie is faster; why is she glitching like this?! 

“Code 71…”

“Why are you trying to shut me down when I tried so hard to come back to you?” the cold voice halts the rest of his sentence.

The Joker takes a strenuous breath, dumbfounded at the shocking revelation:

“Y/N?... … Is… is… that you?!... …”

The android tilts its head to the left while an eerie smile flourishes on the plastic lips:

“Missed me?”

 Also read: MASTERLIST 

You can also follow me on Ao3 and Wattpad under the same blog name: DiYunho.

[boymeetsweevil]

MBD - 04

Grouping: Reader x Yoongi

Word Count: <8k

Summary: Three lessons to be learned: 1) don’t read the comments. Ever. 2) Baking will never let you down. 3) Don’t tease Yoongi.

Warnings/Themes: Angst?? Heavy doses of body image and related unhealthy behaviors, low self-esteem, cyberbullying? May be triggering for some. Some suggestive content. A jealous Yoongi.

part 0, part 1, part 2, part 3

A few more days pass through your break from work. Yoongi stayed with you the morning after coming back from the club to help you nurse your hangover, but he’d been in the dorms and studio since then. This left you with extra time on your hands.

In that time, you visited your best friend and your cousin who both lived deeper in the city, a mere hour’s ride from your apartment in the outskirts. You also got ahead on some work despite the fact that your boss gave you strict warnings about fully enjoying the break after seeing how hard you worked on the project for the quarter. But eventually you ran out work you could do and had nothing left but Netflix and the internet.

As it turns out, being alone with the internet ends up being a horrible set of circumstances. Curiosity and boredom get the best of you, and you find yourself breaking a cardinal rule.

You google Yoongi to see what pops up and get recent news about him being spotted with a lady friend. You know better, but optimism pulls you in and you’re opening up one of the articles. Apparently a fan that snuck into the VIP booth snapped a picture of you dancing with him at the club you went to a few days prior. Yoongi looks handsome with his bare face half obscured by his mask and a soft expression as he looks at you. But you let out a raspy gasp at your picture.

The only good thing about the photo is that your face is turned away from the camera, leaving your identity barely undiscovered. But your neck is coated with sweat, gleaming under the club lights. In the picture, the dance-move you’re doing is frozen, awkward and contorted, your body looks all wrong. With the powerful camera flash, you can see all the spots on your clothes where sweat had accumulated, all the spots where your amateur makeup skills failed. There’s no grace, no elegance, no dignity afforded to you in the photo.  It’s not the first time you’ve seen of yourself in a random pap site or careless photos. But it’s by far the worst one you’ve seen.

Like a magnet is drawing you there, even though your stomach already feels like shards of ice are forming inside it, you break a second cardinal rule. You read the comments.

It’s amazing that she feels comfortable looking like that when there’s a literal GOD standing next to her. I could never do that. I wouldn’t even leave the house

Why is something like this allowed when there are much prettier girls to pick from?

I don’t think Yoongi would be stupid enough to date this girl, the picture probably just makes it look like they’re together when they’re obvi not

actually I think this is the same girl in that ##0524 photo. Look (image01) same hairstyle and earrings. I think she just turned into a blimp...

Guys plz be nice u don’t know this person. Maybe she has a really great personality

so? This is what she gets for trying too hard to cling to Yoongi

Yo it’s prolly cuz she’s rich. You see those leggings? I didn’t even think they made them in that size but they’re from that brand IU wears. And they’re like $250 :0

She wasn’t even that pretty before this but now I REALLY don’t get it. Yoongi~~ there are skinnier girls who would suit u better

Load 675 more...

You slam your laptop shut before fumbling for your phone. Breathing levelly, you’re the picture of eerie calm with the exception of the way your hands tremble. You pull up your text messages to text your best friend when you stop yourself. While the company knows that you’re dating, you’re not allowed to disclose any information about Yoongi or the relationship to any third parties. To the public he’s still single despite his dating clause having expired long before you even met. And there’s no way to explain what you’re going through to your friend without bringing up your secret boyfriend’s stardom.

So who can you turn to, you wonder. You can’t tell your friends. You can’t tell your mother either. As much as you love her, she’d spill the secret in minutes out of well-meaning pride. And there’s no way you can tell Yoongi.

Taking a deep breath in through your nose, you hold it for as long as you can before shoving a pillow over your face and screaming.  All that’s left to show for the few minutes you spend screaming is the fact that you feel about 1% better and your now-hoarse voice. But the relief doesn’t last. The relief leaves room for heat to rise on your skin. Annoyance fills all your empty spaces. You catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and feel more anger.

Maybe you just aren’t working hard enough and people can just see that. Maybe you just aren’t being productive, you haven’t earned your spot yet. You hop off the bed and look around the room, almost frantic in your search for something to work on and actually improve.

Start with a deep clean, you tell yourself.

Two days later when Yoongi comes over, you’re still in the process of purging your tiny apartment.

“What’s all this,” he kicks gently at the garbage bags full of clothes littering the walkway to your bedroom. You jump at the sound of his voice, having forgotten that he mentioned coming over.

“I’m just doing some tidying up. I started with towel folding videos on YouTube and ended up realizing I have a hoarding problem.”

“I don’t think having dust bunnies under your bed counts as hoarding, but okay.” He searches for some space on your bed to sit in. The duvet’s surface is also covered in a mixture of old clothes and little knick knacks you’ve had since before you graduated college. “I didn’t realize you had so many clothes.”

You watch him pick up a spaghetti string top that you hadn’t gotten around to sorting yet. He gestures towards the two trash bags full of clothes on the floor.

“Put it in that one,” you point to the one furthest from the bed.

“Is this the donate pile?” He folds the shirt almost neatly and places it on the top of the other items with a sympathetic pat.

“Uh, no.”

“Then what is it? Looks like you already have everything you’re keeping,” he peers into your stocked closet.

“That’s actually the...inspiration pile,” you explain quietly.

“What?”

“It’s the stuff I'm gonna keep as motivation for me to lose weight.”

“Oh,” you’re surprised to see what looks like faint disappointment in Yoongi’s eyes as your words register. “I mean...makes sense.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I mean that’s one route you could take.”

“Is there another route?”  You turn to face him fully from your spot on the ground with a confused smile. The shoes you were organizing lay unattended.

“Well, you could not lose the weight,” he shrugs.

You avert your gaze to the ceiling, as if the true meaning of his words will be scribed there. It sounds as though he’s suggesting you don’t try to get back down to where you were before the huge project your boss assigned you, but you figure that can’t be it.

“I just mean that you could donate these,” he points at the clothes in the inspiration pile. “Some of them look like they’re brand new—I’ve never even seen you in them. And you could just get some new clothes.”

“You mean like ones that fit me now?”

“Or like before.” He shrugs. “Your style was nice, I don’t know why you changed it.”

“It changed because nothing I had before fits now. So I have to wear this other stuff.” You’re talking about the shapeless sweaters and the monotonous greyscale pants.

“You don’t have to.”

He makes a valid point, but it’s a small one. Besides, there’s something else you’re digging for. “So you really think I should buy bigger clothes?”

“Yes,” he says, like it’s so simple.

“Okay...but these clothes are supposed to be there to motivate me to lose the weight. If I just get a new wardrobe, that’ll mean the motivation is gone.”

“Okay,” he draws out the syllables while waiting to hear what your point is.

“That means I’ll stay like this.”

“What do you mean ‘like this’? What’s wrong with that?”

Your fists clench at your side as you think back to the photos of you in the club. And the comments from the netizens all saying roughly the same thing. With the puzzled way he stands there and looks at you, you feel another wave of frustration rise up. Did he really not see what was happening? Was he really going to make you say it?

“Hey,” he peers down at the veins rearing against the skin of your hands. “I mean it. What’s wrong?”

He gets up like the discussion is about to go somewhere but his phone ringing loudly with the little jingle reserved for one of his producer buddies stops the conversation in its tracks. You take this as a moment to shoo him out your place before your head explodes. Yoongi looks conflicted, he truly does. Still, he answers the call dutifully and gives a few affirmative words to assure that he is going to be at the studio soon and is ready to work. The call is short, but the mood is still tense like an angry, trapped breath.

“I have, like, 5 more minutes before I have to go—”

“You know what? Never mind. You’re clearly busy with studio stuff and I’m...busy too.”

With steely eyes, you take the clothes he was trying to help you with and add them to your own pile. He picks up the few things he brought with him in his brief visit and eyes you like he wants to say more. His gaze lingers over the sides of your face like a regretful touch and you turn to the side to shrug it off.

Another beep from his phone shatters the gossamer thin atmosphere further. He sighs and pulls his phone back out before hunching his shoulders.

“Can I use your laptop to check my email really quickly before I go? They just sent me a file and I can’t open it on my—”

“Yeah, yeah, just take it with you. I don’t need it,” you cut him off and wave a hand in the direction of your computer.

He looks almost upset when he gathers your laptop in his arms with the rest of his things, but doesn’t push the issue any further. The air is too tight for anything, even a genuine goodbye. Your throat is sore with oncoming angry tears and you just want him out.

The door shuts behind him softly, in place of the usual goodbye kiss. You wait until you know he’s gone let it all out.

*** Yoongi opens your laptop when he’s in the back of the car taking him to the studio. It takes him a minute to remember your password, but he logs on with minimal difficulty and the last thing you were looking at pops up obediently.

The rest of your break from work passes without a visit from Yoongi again. It’s not a coincidence. It’s because you turned your phone off for 48 hours and even after you turn it back on, you mute all other notifications and only look at it to check your work email and tell your friends that you’re ‘unplugging for a bit’.

In that time, you get all your clothes sorted. You burn through an entire fitness-based podcast series.  You declutter your whole apartment. But there’s still an unpleasant buzzing under your skin that doesn’t go away. Even with the reintroduction of at-home cardio and the shady water fast you did that promised a lifted mood and a loss of 2 pounds.

Then you’re home from work one day, and you find yourself pacing all around the rooms of your place. You’re fed up with bottling things up, but you don’t know what to do with this knowledge. Yes, it’s nice to realize that everything you’d been chasing wasn’t worth the torture you put yourself through, but you can’t seem to get any further. So you try baking. And when that doesn’t put you at ease immediately, you break down and call Yoongi.

Yoongi picks up immediately. Part of you is surprised because he’s been working on new mixtape stuff and when that happens he’s usually unreachable. But another part of you isn’t surprised because, to him, you dropped off the face of the earth after a near-argument and he’s still technically on break from promotions for a little while longer. There’s no reason not to be answering the phone. In spite of all this, his tone is a tentative mix of concern and relief that has you blinking in confusion before curtly telling him you wanted to talk at your place.

He arrives in a defensive cocoon of layers and squared off features. Only one of the two he sheds at the coat rack by your front door before going to find you in the kitchen, just finishing shoving dozens of muffins into the oven.

“Hey,” he says after clearing his throat to make his presence known.

“Hey.” You turn around and remove the oven mitts you’re wearing. “We need to talk about some things.”

“I know,” he chuckles humorlessly. “I saw that shit on your computer.”

Your brow furrows in thought as you recall the last thing you used your laptop for. Recollection comes eventually. Briefly you wonder if Yoongi read past the top comments. If he gave into the urge to comb through every single one to satisfy morbid curiosity. You nod.

“It definitely has to do with that.”

“Fuck what those people are saying. You don’t need to change or to—to keep an inspiration pile.”

At that, you groan. Your fingers tap on the countertop impatiently. “Can you please stop saying stuff like that?”

“What? That you’re perfect the way you are?” He spits.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s not true.”

“Why wouldn’t it be true?”

Frustrated tears well up in the corners of your eyes because while you get that this isn’t an issue he’d ever have to worry about, part of you still don’t understand how he doesn’t get it. He’s trying so hard to be a good, romantic boyfriend that he doesn’t even see how much he misses. It’s supposed to be comforting, you’re sure, but it only infuriates you.

“Because I don’t fucking match you like this!”

He jumps at the sound of your raised voice, eyes wide. “Match me? What the hell?”

“You heard me,” you mumble.

“Yeah, I fucking heard you, but it still doesn’t make any sense. You’re not signed to some stupid contract, you’re not mandated to do anything with your body.”

“Haven’t I, though? I signed that fucking non-disclosure agreement after all. And I get a fucking angry call from your PR agents every time I show up in your pap photos, even though my face is never in them.” At this point you’re pacing again. This time it’s in tight circles in front of your fridge. “You said it yourself, you saw those awful comments. You saw how mad people get when I don’t show myself in just the right way. Those fans ripped me apart, Yoongi.” Your voice cracks and you curse yourself for being an angry crier. Crossing your arms around yourself, you try your best to beat back the tears.

“So you’re going to let a few fans tell you how to feel?”

“A few fans?” You’re close to laughter. “Try six hundred comments on one photo. Six hundred comments about the person who isn’t even the celebrity. And then multiply that by the number of times someone’s caught me at an unflattering angle or when I was bloating or when I started gaining weight back for real. Do the fucking math, Yoongi.”

That shuts him down instantly. Immediately worry replaces the incredulity. “I—how many times has this happened? Is this not the first time?”

You sigh at his ignorance. “No, but this is first time I was dumb enough to read the comments.”

“Why didn’t you say anything the first time something like this happened?” Yoongi’s face is full of distraught guilt. It’s hard for you to look at.

“What do you want me to say? Did you really want to hear me say all this stuff about some of your fans? These are people that love you. And you love them.”

“I love you, too. You know that,” he whispers, voice raw with emotion.

You can only sigh again because you do know. He does love you. He loves you perhaps too much. At this point, it seems like he’s so infatuated with you that he can’t fathom that people would have issues with you. But he’s also so in love with his career that you don’t have the heart to show him the things you’re facing. The dissonance would be too much to add to his already-full plate. And knowing Yoongi, he might do something stupid and get himself in trouble with his own fans. You’d hate to be the cause of something like that in his career.

The oven beeps and you use that as an excuse to escape the way his eyes shine as he contemplates just how much he wasn’t aware of until now.

He leans on the doorframe to watch you pull out the muffins from the oven and drop them unceremoniously onto the stovetop. The muffins are perfectly golden-brown and give off a warm, sweet scent that fills the kitchen quickly. You stand silent with your back to him, shoulders rising with the careful breaths you’re forcing yourself to take.

“Do you still love me,” his voice is small when it floats over to you.

“Ughh,” you claw at your face with your oven mitts. “Of course I do. I wouldn’t have asked you over if I didn’t. But...you have to understand that this is hard for me.”

“And what is ‘this’?

You turn and lean back against the counter, gesturing vaguely with a gloved hand. “This idol thing.” He tilts his head, not understanding. “I just mean that you have this amazing image because you’re out in the spotlight and I don’t want to sully that for you by...not looking like I should.”

“Why do you care about what other people think so much?”

“That’s so easy for you to say when people love you and you look like that. It’s different for regular people.” Your voice cracks once more as the shine lighting up your eyes breaks and runs down your cheeks. “It’s different because I’m already not deserving of you in their eyes. I can’t be regular and not look perfect.”

His hard demeanor softens at the sound of your sniffles and he comes to pull you into his chest, smoothing over your back. “Baby, there’s nothing wrong with the way you look.”

“I know that,” you sob. “I know that there’s nothing wrong with me, but you’ve seen what people say on those stupid forums. No amount of self-confidence could protect anyone from that shit.”

“Can I ask you something,” he says softly after a few aching moments of listening to you try to rein in your breathing.

“Y-yeah.”

“Who are the most important people in your life?”

“Huh?” You look up at him with watery lashes and he wonders how you could ever find fault with what you see in the mirror.

“Whose opinion matters to you most?”

“I don’t know,” you rub wet cheeks against the fabric of his top and think. “My boss since he pays me, obviously. And coworkers, I guess. My friends, definitely. My family, although they’re pretty easy to ignore.” He snorts. “A-and you,” you add on at the end hastily.

He gives you a sad smile when you look up at him. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“I mean...doesn’t how you feel matter? You just listed a bunch of other people.”

“Of course what I feel matters,” you say suddenly. You push back from him to clear your head. The tears have stopped flowing, though your cheeks are still wet. “I just can’t go through the world only ever hearing or caring about what I think. But I like myself, Yoongi.”

He nods seriously.

“Even if it doesn’t seem like it because I’m shy sometimes, or quiet. I like myself. But it still hurts to have people tell me they think I shouldn’t. I’m not the type of person who doesn’t react when people attempt to hurt me. That’s the part that hurts the most, I think. Knowing that it was their goal all along.”

“I get that. Or,” He purses his lips, “I think I do. I want to get it, anyway.”

You give him a weak smile because he’s cute, even in moments like this.

He squeezes your hand before bringing it to his lips. It’s not quite a kiss, just him brushing his lips against your skin while he talks. “But I still want to be there for you. And I hate that I could only guess when you were hurting.”

“I should have told you, but I was embarrassed.”

“Why would you be embarrassed?” He moves back to pull up a chair at your dining room table. His gaze is genuine and engaged as he looks to you for an answer.

“I’ve been dieting since the company approved us dating privately. This is the first time I’ve been...normal around you. I was worried you’d have this epiphany. That I’m not who you thought I was.”

“Do you remember the first night we met,” he asks all of the sudden.

“Yeah? You came to visit me at work and freaked my supervisor out. She still has that napkin you autographed.”

“That’s not the first night we met,” he shakes his head and chuckles. “We first met at my party. The one your cousin brought you to.”

“Oh, god. I hardly remember that, I was so drunk. I think I blocked it out.”

“You looked like this back then,” he smiles softly at you, memories of that night settling over the surroundings as they play out in front of him.

“Yeah, I know,” you nod softly, eyes averted.

“And you were so pretty that night too.” His gaze turns slightly salacious. “In that little shiny dress you wore—what ever happened to that?”

“You’re dumb,” you shove him with a simpering smile. He merely grins before pulling you slightly closer towards where he’s seated at the kitchen table.

“You still have it?”

“Oh my god, leave me alone.”

He leans into your space, making you duck your head to hide the way your cheeks flare up at his personal attention. Seeing you like this makes something coil in his belly. In due time, he thinks as he backs off. In due time, he’ll really give it to you. But in the meantime he behaves and doesn’t do anything more than intertwine your fingers together.

“I’m donating the clothes from the inspiration bag,” you mumble into his hair.

He pulls back and is careful to keep his face neutral. “Yeah?”

“I did a lot of thinking. And I realized that I don’t think I can say I really like myself if I keep forcing myself into this...mold.”

His brows furrow, lips pouting prettily as he focuses on following your train of thought. “So, what does that mean now?”

“So, this is me. For a long time probably, unless something major happens. I’m telling you so it can sink in. This is your out.”

“Okay,” he stands up from his chair slowly. Large, warm hands come to cup your face tenderly. “And this is me telling you I don’t want an out.”

“Okay,” you breathe out a sigh of relief so deep you don’t know where it came from.

“Glad that much is worked out,” he says before planting a sweet kiss on your cheek. “Hey.”

“What?”

“Can I have a muffin?”

You roll your eyes but go and get a plate from the cabinet. He watches you carefully as you hesitate at the oven before gingerly putting two muffins on the plate. When you return to the table, you mumble something about just wanting to see if they came out good and he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he takes a bite of one of your rare instances of culinary genius. He lets out a moan that makes your eyes widen and you take a bite before nodding to yourself.

“Just open a bakery already,” he says with a semi-full mouth and reaches out with grabby hands until you get the message to leave your chair. He pulls you into his lap and you try not to feel too self-conscious as you settle your thighs on top of his own. His hand lands on top of your lap casually, large hands splaying out on top to squeeze affectionately at the softness he finds there.

You worry you’re cutting off the blood supply to his legs but he sits happily with you in his lap and even kicks a little rhythm out while finishing his muffin. You get up and he snags the untouched part of your muffin before pulling his phone out of his pocket.

There’s a stream of messages in the group chat asking about his whereabouts and what he wants to do tonight. He answers that he’s with you and the other members all complain about how long it’s been since you visited them. Jungkook even tells Yoongi to bring you over to his place since they’re having a small kickback with just themselves and your post-break workload is still light. He purses his lips and asks for a raincheck, not wanting to push you into being on just yet.

***

A few days pass and the messages get more and more annoying as the other members whine about not having seen neither Yoongi nor you in far too long. So during one of the last days of their break, while he’s trying to dictate a cookie recipe to you, he breaks down at the 13th ping from his phone in a short period.

“Do you want to come hang out with me and the guys tonight?”

Normally if you’re invited over, you jump at the chance because you love getting out of your apartment and you like seeing Yoongi in his element with the people he’s closest to. But you don’t jump on the invitation now because it’s been so long since you last saw the guys and you know that you looked different then.

“I don’t know,” you fold toasted almonds into the cookie dough.

“Why not?”

“You know why,” you sigh. “And as nice as they are, I don’t really want to deal with the ‘did you do something with your hair’ or ‘wow you look so different’ comments.”

“They’re not gonna say that, they’re not total assholes. Look, if anyone says or does anything stupid, I’ll rip them a new one and take you back here.”

You purse your lips while you think it over. “And then will you stay the night?”

“If something stupid happens, I’ll cancel my studio appointment and stay over,” he smiles at you, eyes crinkling. “I’ll tell them we’re on our way now.”

“I can’t leave now,” your hands flutter up as you go from 0 to 60. “I’m a mess, I need to—”

“It’s just the guys. There’s literally no one there worth impressing. I would know.”

“Fine,” you groan. “Just let me change. I’m covered in flour.”

In your room, you find yourself unsure of what to put on. You no longer have any of the clothes you used to wear when you needed to feel like you objectively looked good. But you do have the gorgeous leggings Yoongi gifted you. You switch out your current shirt for a cleaner one and slip on a pair you’ve become obsessed with.

Yoongi punches in the code to the front door of Jungkook’s apartment while you hold the tin of cookies you made. Your fingers slip against the container due to having grown a bit clammy on the ride over. It took a heinous amount of time to wrap them in a way that would keep them warm all during the ride across the city. And now you’re nervous despite the fact that Yoongi sensed it in the car and hurled reassurance after reassurance at you.

But when Namjoon pulls the door open and greets both of you with a smile and a hug and no weird looks, you let out a tiny sigh of relief.

The guys crowd around you after Yoongi announces that you baked. Hoseok mumbles to himself about Yoongi hiding you purposefully so he could hoard your baking and takes two cookies for good measure. Jungkook says thank you politely before splitting one with Jimin. Taehyung takes two for himself and Namjoon and tells you ‘welcome back’. While the rest of the members snack, you count off the remaining sweets in the container and realize you didn’t give any to Jin.

The oldest member is standing in the hallway, drinking from a glass of water and scrolling through his phone when you find him. He must not have gotten the memo that you arrived, so you make your presence known by softly clearing your throat.

“Long time no see,” you smile at Jin.

He peers at you over the rim of his glass for a few long beats and you work to keep your smile natural. You can’t help but worry that he’s looking at the way you’ve has changed since he last saw you, chiseling away at the outside to see the familiar you he knows underneath.

“I guess it has been,” he finally says when he drains his glass. He leans back to rest his back on the wall. “Whatcha got there?”

“Oh, um, they’re just some cookies I made today. Yoongi had been bugging me about making them and I gave some to the others. I just thought I’d see if you wanted any.”

“I’ve always liked your baking.” He reaches out and plucks a cookie from the tin. A second later half of the cookie is gone. He chews thoughtfully.

“This is a new recipe, so I don’t know if it’s as good as it could be. I haven’t had much time for experimenting in the kitchen with work up until now so they might be—”

“I can only imagine how good they were when they first came out of the oven,” he finishes the rest and cuts your rambling off.

You stand there, oddly nervous, while he chews. When he finishes, he watches you fiddle with the lid so the cookies don’t get stale.

“Something’s changed about you,” Jin says finally, his eyes moving from your hair to your toes. You nearly drop the tin in your fumbling, and cringe from both the comment and your clumsiness.

“Yeah, I... gained some weight recently,” you blurt out in the hopes that it’ll be less uncomfortable if you’re the one to say it. But it’s not.

“Hmm,” Jin’s eyes rove over you more thoroughly, making you stand ramrod straight. “I don’t think that’s it. It’s something else, I think.”

“Oh. Well I don’t know, then.”

“What’s going on,” Yoongi’s voice creeps into the mix.

When you turn your head, you’re greeted with the sight of Yoongi in the doorway. He looks comfortably settled against the doorframe, like he’s been there for a while. His gaze isn’t directed at you, but at Jin, you realize. A quick glance back shows that they’re both looking at one another.

“Nothing. We were just talking.” Jin shrugs before walking over to you. A hand on the small of your back brings you with him and up to Yoongi.

Yoongi fixes Jin with a narrowed stare. “The guys were wondering where you both were. They want to play a game together.”

“We were here. No need to worry about us.”

“Well, why don’t you go in and tell them that? I’m gonna speak with my girlfriend.”

Jin gives him an amused smile before giving you a two-fingered captain’s salute and heading to the living room. It might have seemed dorky if anyone had done it, but you marvel over how cool he makes the gesture look. Yoongi turns to you then and takes in your distant expression.

“He didn’t say or do anything to make you uncomfortable, did he? Jin sometimes is a total asshole.”

“No, he—well, he said I looked different.”

“Do you want me to beat him up,” he steps forward to rest his hands on your shoulders. “Because I can, just say the word.”

“It’s really okay. He said it wasn’t just the weight. That it was something else.”

Yoongi’s lips thin as he tries to look for some other message in your words. “I don’t know what the hell that means.”

“It probably didn’t mean anything bad. Just let it go.”

Yoongi nods but takes both your hands in his to kiss them. You lead the way to the living room, feeling a little more like you can handle the night. There’s not much space with all seven members and you. You end up seated away from Yoongi, on the couch between Jungkook and Jin.

Somehow you get roped into playing some Mario game with two teams. You don’t know anything about video games, but you listen to Jungkook’s instructions carefully when you get one of the controllers because he’s one of your teammates. You’re not very good, though. Jin, your team captain, eventually has to maneuver his hands over yours so your character does the right thing.

“You sure you didn’t change your makeup style or something,” Jin asks during one of the rounds where you’re supposed to be playing against Hoseok.

The question takes you by surprise and you turn toward the sound of his voice only to realize just how close he is when he’s acting as a gaming coach of sorts.

“Uh, no. Why?”

“Dunno,” he doesn’t look at you while he converses with you. He’s watching the screen with a hawk-like focus. “You just look prettier than I remember.”

You stutter around nothing, not sure what to say. In the end you settle for saying nothing, though you do spare Yoongi a glance. His gaze must have already been directed at you because you make eye contact immediately. Knowing that he’s probably just making sure you’re having an okay time, you give him a thumbs up and attempt to make Kirby spin on the large screen in front of you.

The night stays that same level of odd. No one else does anything out of the ordinary, barring Jin. He’s strangely attentive even after you get the hang of playing enough to take full control of the controller. After that point, he still slings an arm across the back of the couch, which makes full contact with your shoulders because of how tightly packed you all are on the couch. And when he wants your attention, he makes a habit of brushing his hand down your arm and sometimes leaving it there.

You figure you just don’t spend enough time with Jin to get used to him. But you’ve seen enough interactions between him and the younger members to know how touchy-feely they are with each other. Maybe you’re just enough of an extension of Yoongi to be included in that touching. So you try your hardest not to question it. It’s just nice to know you've been accepted that much and you start to lean into the touch like you would with your own friends.

Soon enough you’re taking part in the high fives that melt into hand holding when you score a goal.

‘Quite a feat for a beginner’, Jin tells you.

Yoongi watches from across the room as your face lights up once again from Jin’s praise. You look like you’re having wholesome fun and the urge to interrupt that is what kills him. But what kills him more is the way Jin’s thumb strokes gently against the curve of your flank as he gestures to something on the screen while Jungkook takes a turn with the controller.

He didn’t think he was the jealous type, but when Taehyung orders pizza one painful hour later, Yoongi’s come to the realization that he’s much more selfish than he knew. Jin whines until you let him feed you a bite of the pepperoni pizza on his plate, knowing you’re too nice to say no. You think this is run of the mill behavior, but even Jimin raises his eyebrows at the display before peering at Yoongi’s furious profile.

The last straw, though, is when Jin wipes a trickle of grease from the corner of your mouth and waits until you’ve turned your head to say something to Jungkook before sucking the residue off. At that, Yoongi stands up abruptly, nearly toppling over the empty box that was near his knees.

“It’s getting late,” he answers the curious stares watching him trudge over to you. “We should head out now if we still want to get back to your place at a decent hour.”

“Oh,” your eyes are wide, “You don’t have to. I know you wanted to do your thing in the studio tomorrow. I should be fine on my own,” you hint back to the promise he made to stay over if the night was a bust.

“I changed my plans already, so I’ll go later in the week. Come on, let’s call a car and go.”

“I can drive you guys. I brought my car,” Jin offers suddenly. His arm is back to resting behind your shoulders. And because his fingers are close enough to graze your shoulder, they do.

“You really don’t have to,” Yoongi bites out. His stare is potent with silent accusation.

“Yoongi, why not? Jin’s place is across the bridge from mine. It actually makes some sense, and I was getting kinda tired. If we wait for a car, I might not be able to get up early enough to go to that brunch spot you mentioned.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jin claps his hands with finality and gets up from the couch before extending his hand out to you. Much to Yoongi’s chagrin, you take his hand like it’s a genuine gesture of chivalry.

Jin somehow manages to get you to sit up in the passenger’s seat with him, leaving Yoongi to fume in the backseat. Occasionally Jin’s eyes will meet his in the rear view mirror and they’ll crinkle with impish amusement before returning to caressing your silhouette.

“So,” Jin says once he gets on the freeway. “Is our Yoongi treating you good?”

You laugh because you don’t see the game at play. “Of course he is. He’s the best boyfriend I could have asked for.” Yoongi’s resolve softens momentarily at your sincere tone. “I love him, even when he gets weird like tonight.” That comment has Jin cackling.

“You know,” he says once his laughter dwindles down, “I actually had the flu the day of Yoongi’s party. The day you guys met.”

“That explains why I didn’t actually see you there. I remember everyone else being there, though.” You gaze wistfully out the window. “I was too shy to talk to any of you guys then.”

“That’s okay. If I had been there, I would have talked to you.”

“That would have been a fun night, I bet.”

“Yeah,” he makes sure Yoongi’s looking in the rearview mirror. “Who knows how close we’d be today if I hadn’t gotten sick.”

Yoongi’s cheek nearly bleeds with force of his teeth gnawing on the inside. If he could, he’d reach forward and throttle Jin. But he’s driving so that’s not an option.

The torture doesn’t last much longer because about 10 minutes later you’re directing Jin to the parking garage of your apartment complex. The goodbyes are annoyingly drawn out and Jin manages to invite himself to brunch the next morning. All the while, Yoongi stands behind you, dying to get inside and away from the eldest member.

Finally, the door gets slammed shut before Jin can say something stupid about seeing you both tomorrow. Yoongi gives the door a smug look and then turns to catch a flash of your eyebrows raised in amusement. His eyes narrow and he approaches you slowly as you shrug off your layers in an almost too mundane way.

“What’s so funny,” he drawls. He attempts to peer at your face only for you to keep whipping it away every time he gets too close.

“Nothing,” you turn and give him your back while you smooth over your already made bed. “It’s just interesting watching you with Jin. I never really get to see you guys together.”

“What’s interesting about it?”

Yoongi starts unbuttoning his own outer layers with painstaking care, giving you ample time to twitch under the weight of his gaze. You fight to keep a smile from sneaking onto your face, but it’s too hard and you let your lips turn up in a little grin. He can’t see it, but he can hear it in your voice.

“You’re just cute when you’re mad.”

A muscle in Yoongi’s jaw jumps.

“You noticed that I was mad, huh?” He shirks off his jacket roughly, sulking in his subtle way. Luckily—or perhaps not luckily—you’ve come to recognize it well.

“I did.” Your voice is high and steady as you remove your sweater, leaving you in a soft and worn t-shirt. “I’ll admit it was entertaining. A little bit.”

“Is that so?” He hums.

“I mean, I don't know what you were mad about. But I could tell it wasn’t about something serious.”

He merely nods and watches you fidget. You peer at him through the side of your eye and see him meticulously undoing the clasp of his watch. From the way he moves slowly through the process of undressing for bed, you can tell something’s coming.

“Let me ask you something, then.”

“O-okay.”

“Is Jin still your favorite?”

“Are you kidding?”

You have to stop hunting for pajamas at your dresser and turn to him to see if he’s in fact kidding. But he looks dangerously serious, and you have to fight to keep your eyes from rolling.

“That’s what this is about? All this sulky Yoongi is because of that?”

“Just answer the question,” he shrugs his shoulders lightly.

Supposedly he’s calm and collected and not jealous, but his eyes are sharp as they zero in on you. Easily, he pushes himself off the wall he was leaning on. The steps he takes toward you are measured and slow. You still find yourself holding your breath as he comes to sit benignly on the bed across from you. It’s something he does sometimes when you’re getting dressed or undressed. Because ‘he likes the view’, he usually says. But tonight it makes you grab the first thing that you find out of your pajama drawer so you’re not leaving your back vulnerable.

“Of course he’s not my favorite anymore. I haven’t felt that way since before we got together.”

“I was just wondering.”

“Yoongi,” you sigh and pull the old t-shirt off to replace it with a sleep shirt. “When you asked me who my favorite was half a year ago I didn’t realize you were flirting with me. And I didn’t really know much about the group either.”

He nods like he thinks what you’ve said is completely reasonable and you stuff your legs through some of your yoga pants roughly. When you finish, you’re still standing defensively on the other side of the room. He looks up at you and beckons you over without a word. You feel compelled to move forward. Unsure of what would happen if you didn’t humor him.

When you’re finally approaching the V of his parted legs, he motions for you to sit next to him on the bed. You do.

“You know,” he begins slowly, “You looked like you were having a great time tonight.”

“Oh,” you blink. “Yeah, I was having fun. Even though it took a while for me to win a round. And even then I think Hoseok might have let me win.”

“Was Jin a good teacher?”

“Yeah, he was a good teacher.”

“I bet he was. He had a good student. He looked like he was enjoying himself.”

“Maybe,” you tap your finger on your chin pensively. “It didn’t seem like he hated having to show me how to play.”

“No, trust me, he was enjoying it.” Yoongi’s tone dips audibly, and you stop yourself when you realize what he’s implying.

“God, Yoongi, stop it. It wasn’t like that. He was just being nice.”

“I’ve known Jin a long time. I know what he looks like when he’s flirting. It started as soon as you walked through the door.”

“That’s crazy,” you mumble. But then you think of all the lingering touches and glances again and it clicks. “He...he was probably just trying to rile you up. Jin likes to mess with people sometimes. You’re always saying that.”

Yoongi pins you with an odd look. It’s partly amused, partly pitying. Then it turns cold. “You know, Jin’s been sweet on you since I first introduced you. The first night you met, he told me he used to date someone who looked a bit like you when he was younger, before debuting.”

“Oh my god,” you whisper again.

“You really didn’t know?” Yoongi leans in so the words practically brush against the skin of your cheek. “He was shoving himself all over you the whole night and you didn’t notice?”

You shake your head, at a loss for words. His hand finds its way to your opposite arm, pulling you closer to him.

“Hmm,” he hums in acknowledgment.

Then Yoongi’s lips are pressing gently to the skin of your neck. There’s a hint of something in the kisses that makes them feel a bit too heated to be chaste. At first you think it’s gratitude, but when you turn your head to meet his lips with your own, it’s clear that it’s not just that. His tongue snakes in between your lips, and you let it happen as you turn the evening’s events over in your memory.

“Yoongi,” you whisper between kisses.

“Hmm?” His large hands are splayed low over the swell of your back, a pinky finger just barely dipping under the waistband of your pants.

“I think I did know.”

“Huh?”

“I think as soon as he said that thing in the car—about being in your place—I knew he wasn’t just being friendly anymore.”

“Yeah?” he mumbles against your lips.

Taking you by surprise, he pushes deeper into your mouth until he’s stealing your breath. His lips are plush but insistent. And you’re conflicted. But suddenly he’s pulling away with a damp mouth and a firm grasp on your hip.

“You knew and made me sit through all that and then invited him to brunch in front of me?” He nips at your lax mouth. “That’s not very nice.”

“I know,” you sigh.

“Don’t you think you should be punished, then?” When you pull away looking like he’s grown a second head, he shrugs mildly and like he didn’t just threaten to take you over his knee. “Or not. Your choice.”

[finallyaniguana]

Watch The Eyes: Paris. 12:15pm CET [4]

[3]     masterpost    ao3     [5]

"Just go along with it."

It was almost like a whisper in his mind. He blinked a few times in the sunlight that hadn't been there before. This... wasn't the Batcave. Yes, he was certain of that.

Damien didnt have a soulmate bond as far as he knew. And it suited him. His mother and grandfather always taught him that soulmates were a distraction. A waste of time. He was glad he had no marks. No colors missing. He was free to move about his life unhindered by another person. His brothers, however, were unsatisfied with his lack of desire to have a soulmate.

Tim had done so much research, looking for examples of all the soulmate bonds he could possibly have. Damian resisted all pushes in "her" direction. He chose to believe there was no one out there. It was easier that way. Easier for her.

When Tim presented his research Damain wanted so bad to throw it back in his face.

"I don't want this, Drake."

Tim squinted down at his younger brother.

"Why?"

"Soul mates are a distraction," he stated, trying to turn and walk out.

"Damian."

He turned again to glare at Tim.

"At least look at my research. I spent alot of time on it," more than annoyance at a waste of time implied in his tone.

He was imploring him to be open to connection. They fight alot but Tim really wanted his brother to be happy.

Damian snatched the offered papers out of his hand, fully intending to leave them to sit on his bedroom desk. Before he could fully make it up the stairs, he felt a twinge of curiosity, followed by a profound emptiness.

That night he glanced over at the papers. The boy sighed and forced himself up begrudgingly.

He spent the whole night reading through them. Thousands of different kinds of soul bonds. Tim had barely even touched on the early outwardly presenting ones, knowing they were irrelevant to the situation. But the possibilities left over were still overwhelming to say the least.

One in particular Tim spent a good amount of time on. The mind switching bond.

In the year that the two would meet, on the younger persons birthday, they would switch minds for 15 minutes. No warning. The only way for others to notice was the eyes. The eyes follow the mind, as common windows to the soul. Connected souls channel each other. One person may start to act like the other as the souls grow closer.

'This one would prove dangerous,' he thought. 'Most likely why Drake researched this one extensively.'

It was one of the more interesting and rare bonds. Only one or two couples in a generation ended up with these ones.

That's why Damian had an advantage over his soulmate in this situation. He knew exactly what was going on.

A quick moment of mental deliberation and he followed the beckoning girl out the door. He didn't say anything. If he could blend in, he could learn.

She walked out of the classroom and down the stairs to two waiting boys, one with glasses and dark hair, one blond.

The blond one smiled at Damian. "Bon anniversaire!" He said.

Damian's eyes widened as he realized he must be talking to him. Good thing he knew French.

"Oh! Thank you?" Damian resisted the urge to react to the voice spilling from his vocal chords.

High and sweet.

The other boy, who's arm was now linked with the girl he had been following also offered birthday greetings, extending a fist.

"Happy birthday, dudette."

When Damian didn't return the fist bump, he tried to reemphasize it like he hadnt seen it. Realizing he should be playing along, he bumped his fist back.

"Alright! Since it's your birthday, you will NOT be paying for your icecream, okay? Don't fight me on this, girl."

"Um, okay." Damian let out a nervous laugh. Why was he acting like this?

"I'm so glad my father let me come celebrate with you guys," the one boy said, adjusting his white outer shirt.

"Me too, dude."

'So it's her birthday,' Damian affirmed in his mind. 'Most definitely the mind switching bond, then.'

"Alright, Alya, lead the way," her apparent boyfriend said.

'Alya. Noted.'

She tugged on his arm, giving a smiling glance back at her friend.

"No time to lose! Let's go!"

She grabbed onto the blond boy who reflexively grabbed onto Damian. It took everything in him not to throw off his soulmates friend. They were moving fast. Barreling out of the school, Damian tried to glance back to see what its was called.

They were moving too fast for him to find the name on the outside of the building. 

He screwed up his face in annoyance. That was going to make it harder to find her. His mind came to a screeching halt. When had he decided he wanted to find her?

Before he could fully figure out his sudden change of heart, they had arrived at the park, ice cream truck in the distance.

Damian reached to the purse by his soulmates hip. He had to check the time. He wasn't positive of the time he had switched but it felt close to fifteen minutes ago. So focused on finding the phone, he missed the little red creature lying doll-like in the purse.

12:28

He mentally cursed. Less than two minutes left and he barely had any intel.

"Nino and I will get the ice creams. You two find us a place to sit. We'll meet you there!" Alya wiggled her eyebrows before pulling Nino in the direction of the cart.

A few beats of silence passed, watching the two run off to get the treats.

"Okay, Bug, where do you want to sit?" the blond said, turning to Damian.

"Bug?" He said aloud.

The world went dark for the second time that day.

Gotham 6:30 am EST

When he came to he was suddenly stricken with a horrible realization. He was still in the Batcave.

His soulmate has been in the Batcave.

His soulmate knows.

Damian, now securely back in his own body, whipped around to where he remembered Grayson to have been standing. He was still there, watching him with an odd expression.

"Baby Bird?" He called out. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Blinking at his older brother he could feel his heartrate increase. Grayson is still wearing the mask. Theres no way she wouldn't recognize that.

Why was he reacting this way? He had been telling himself for literal years that he didn't want or need a soulmate. This was just another reason not to find her. The only way he would ever be able to find her would be to reveal his father's close kept secret. He couldn't do that for a girl. His soulmate. Wouldn't do that. Would he?

Grayson was still waiting for an answer. He chose his next words carefully.

"I-i need to go get ready for... school," he forced out and turned back to the exit, wondering for a millisecond how his soulmate made it this far without Grayson figuring out something was wrong.

He dashed out of sight and back into the manor.

Where can he go? One look at him and anyone in his family would be able to tell something was very wrong. He needed time to figure something else. Reconvince himself to not think about soulmates. 'Soulmates are a distraction, soulmates are a distraction, soulmates are-'

He almost made it to his room without running into anyone. Damn Tim and his bad timing. (Lol)

The elder of the two had a large cup of coffee in hand and dark bags under his eyes. In his other hand he had a tie, clearly getting ready to go to work at WE. One look at Damian's face and his neutral expression crumpled into concern.

"Are you-" he didn't get to finish.

Damian pushed past him and finished his the walk to his room at a sprint. Tim managed not to spill his coffee. He slammed the door behind him. Leaning against the door he tried to catch his breath. Unbeknownst to him, Tim was currently walking down the stairs to find anyone and everyone better equipped to deal with whatever Damian was freaking out about.

'Focus on something else,' he told himself.

He shook himself out and meticulously packed away all his school belongings into his backpack. He changed out of his pajamas he had (and his soulmate???) had sparred in in exchange for his school's uniform.

'She wasn't wearing a uniform. No! Think about something else!'

He gathered his belongings and prepared to face his concerned brothers. They probably would have spoken to Alfred by this point. Another person to assuage concerns for.

Before he could even open the door there was a knock. Taking a deep breath, he called upon all his skills to mask his internal turmoil. Having created a blank face he intended to wear the rest of the day, he opened the door to find Alfred on the other side.

"Alfred."

"Master Damian."

[crashclatterbang]

Six - Jane Seymour Edition (Part 3)

Jane is used to being the person everyone goes to for help. She has a way about her that immediately puts people at ease without her meaning to. Sometimes Jane thinks that her gift might be more of a curse - especially at 3am with an English paper due tomorrow that she hadn’t even started yet. 3am and Jane is hyped up on far too much sugar in an attempt to pull her first all-nighter (“Baby’s first steps,” Anne had teased on the group chat, a message to which Jane had awkwardly responded with a laughing emoji) and Kitty Howard is phoning her. Jane sighs under her breath and picks up the phone.

“Bunny!” Kitty howls down the phone and Jane nearly drops it, frantically burrowing herself and the phone below her duvet to prevent Kitty’s voice from waking up her roommate.

“Kitty, what’s wrong?” Jane hisses, trying hard not to sound as annoyed as she feels. She hears movement from the other room and her roommate’s irritated huffing and ducks down further under the duvet like a little kid trying to hide from the monsters. Not that her roommate is a monster, of course, but... Well. She’s got a temper.

Kitty’s crying brings Jane back to the phone call she’s trying to conceal, her words lost beneath her sobbing, and despite herself Jane feels her heart melt.

“Do you want me to come over?” Jane asks quietly and Kitty sobs out an affirmative.

Jane sighs, promises Kitty she’ll be there in ten, and disconnects. She crawls out from under the covers and sighs again, this time in relief, as the cool air in her room hits her face. Usually the cold isn’t a good thing but right now she’s too hot from her duvet diving to care as she burrows into her wardrobe to find something to wear, only coming up with one of Aragon’s hoodies that she borrowed and never gave back and a too-big pair of jeans that she doesn’t remember owning. Simultaneously trying to get out of her pyjamas and into her mismatched clothes proves difficult but Jane manages it and heads out of the door, nimbly avoiding the creaking floorboards and picking up her designated Heartbroken Friend bag from it’s hook. However, it turns out all her sneaking was in vain as she literally runs into her roommate Chloe outside.

“Next time you try to sneak out, be more subtle about it.” Chloe practically snaps, arms folded over her chest. She looks so much better in designer pyjamas than Jane could ever look and Jane feels herself wilting.

“Don’t be horrible, Chlo,” another voice pipes up and both Jane and Chloe whip around to the door of Chloe’s room which is now filled with the figure of Chloe’s girlfriend Brooke. “You’re meant to be working on that, remember?”

Chloe’s face softens in the way it only ever does for Brooke and she turns back to Jane, forced smile pasted on her face. Jane gives her an awkward smile in return and ducks around her before this can turn into a Thing. She’s not about to be late to Kitty’s now.

Jane finally makes it to Kitty’s dorm building after dodging rowdy groups of drunks and at least five girls crying on the edge of the pavement. On the stairs up - the lift’s broken again - Jane mentally prepares for what she’s going to say and decides to do more cardio so she’ll actually be able to make it up the stairs without dying next time. When she reaches Kitty’s dorm she knocks on the door loudly to be heard over the sounds of death metal blaring from the room next door, mentally reassessing her decision to do cardio. By the time Kitty opens to door, eyes red rimmed with mascara trailing down her cheeks, Jane’s decided cardio’s not for her after all. All of her carefully planned speeches evaporate as Kitty howls at the sight of Jane and practically throws herself on her.

“He broke up with me!” Kitty gasps out through her renewed tears.

In the privacy of her own head Jane grouchily tries to remember the name of Kitty’s latest fling, grumbling over being woken up at 3am for another one of the dramatic breakups that Kitty seems to go through every other week. As Kitty still clings onto her like a monkey Jane steers her through the doorway and into her room which always seems to be ridiculously messy no matter how much Kitty claims she cleans it.

“I thought this one was different!” Kitty sobs out, plucking a clean tissue somewhere from the mess on her bed. Jane shakes her head sympathetically and makes all the appropriate cooing noises as Kitty seems to cry herself out again.

“You’re such a good friend, Bunny,” Kitty says as she disappears into the bathroom to wash off the mascara still streaking her cheeks and Jane smiles at her.

She’s always the good friend, to all of her friends, and even to the people who she privately thinks doesn’t deserve kindness. Like Henry. Jane’s mood, already tested from the late (or is it early?) hour, sours further and she feels her nearly infinite patience slipping away from her. She leans back over Kitty’s bed, careful to avoid the mountains of tissues and feels the blood rush to her head as she tips herself upside down off the side of the bed. From this angle she can only really see the wall but somehow it’s calming. Right up until, of course, Kitty comes prancing back into the room, face now clear of mascara trails. Jane nearly flings herself right side up, swaying slightly as she reorients herself.

“Jared matched with me!” Kitty practically coos, waving her phone in the air delightedly.

Jane can’t even find in within herself to be irritated, instead giving Kitty a smile as she goes on about another boy who will, inevitably, break her heart. And inevitably, Jane will be around to pick up the pieces. Again and again, for as long as Kitty needs. As long as any of her friends need really. Because Jane is always the good friend, even to people who don’t deserve it.

[cam-cat-writer]

Fic

So I wrote a thing! @disaster--squid this one’s for you :D thanks for helping me back in like literally Feb 2019 figure out a proper plot for this even though I forgot about it for legit forever but it’s here now! The length... got away from me <3

Hang In There

Hunk and Lance have paired up for a ground mission and are on their way back to the castleship when, of course, everything goes wrong. Hunk might be terrified, but Lance needs him and letting Lance down is never an option.

In other words, Hunk's Mom Friend Override kicks in.

Here on AO3 or under the cut!

Though I will warn you this is over 3k so it might be easier to read this one on AO3 :) Enjoy!

"Hunk, Lance, are you guys on your way up yet?" Shiro's voice crackled through the comms. "We can't hold this position much longer, and the Galra are going to call for backup soon, if they haven't already."

Hunk and Lance were running through the tunnels on their way back to the surface. Lance spoke before Hunk could even collect his scattered thoughts enough to give a coherent report. "Affirmative, Shiro. We'll surface in about two minutes and we'll need covering fire to get back to Yellow and off the planet."

He looked at Hunk for confirmation, to which Hunk nodded.

Shiro sounded somewhat relieved. "I think we can stall for two minutes. Hurry."

Lance switched off his comm and looked sideways at Hunk. "You okay, buddy? The hardest part is behind us, we're gonna be fine," he assured him, checking around a corner before they continued upward.

Hunk tried to swallow but his throat was too dry. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I just... can't shake the feeling something's about to go horribly wrong, you know? I guess I'm just..." he had to pause to breathe before finishing his sentence. "I'm scared."

Lance nodded, understanding. "I know, it's okay, man. We just gotta get out of these tunnels and we'll be in Yellow and back on the Castle in no time, just hang in there a little longer, yeah?" He gave a quick glance at the ceiling. "Not gonna lie, I'll feel a lot better after we're not in these tunnels any more."

Hunk shot Lance a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

Lance shrugged. "After the, uh, cryopod situation, you know, when the Castle went all haywire? After that I, uh, I'm not the biggest fan of tight spaces, I guess?"

Hunk's eyebrows shot up. "Lance, you-"

Lance interrupted him quickly. "I'm fine, Hunk, I'd just really like to get out of here. Besides, the tunnels aren't that small, I'm not panicking or anything-" He cut himself off as a sentry passed through a connecting tunnel. Once the coast was clear, he cleared his throat. "I'm fine, Hunk. Promise." He grinned and threw Hunk a pair of finger guns. "Besides, I've got you, how could I not be?"

Hunk opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, a low rumble echoed through the tunnel they were running through.

Lance stopped abruptly. "What was that?" Another rumble answered him, louder this time. Lance put one hand on his bayard and his other hand on Hunk's arm. "Hunk..."

Hunk put his hand over Lance's. "I don't... I don't know..." The rumbling came again, but this time it didn't stop, it just started growing louder and louder.

Their comms crackled loudly in their ears. "Guys!" Pidge's voice came through, panicked. "You have to get out of there, now! The Galra set off a series of explosions up here and now the tunnels are collapsing, you need to-" Rocks started coming loose from the ceiling, clattering to the tunnel floor.

Hunk grabbed Lance's hand and dragged him up the tunnel. "We're on our way, Pidge, I'm sending you my location-" Hunk's fingers flew over the holopad on his armor, "we're nearly to the top-"

The tunnel in front of them gave a great shudder and the ceiling caved in, filling the archway nearly to the top with rocks of various shapes and sizes.

Lance was suddenly very, very pale. "Hunk, please, please tell me there's another way out of here."

Hunk tapped his comms repeatedly. "Pidge? Pidge, we need another route."

Nothing.

Hunk felt his blood run cold. He tried again. "Pidge?" Slightly more panicked, "Shiro?"

Lance had started to pace back and forth, trying his own comms. "Keith? Coran? Anyone?"

Nothing.

They were on their own, then. Hunk looked around, trying to see an alternate route. There had to be another way out, or maybe they could make their way through the tunnel ahead? It was smooth stone above them, probably meant to be a main tunnel, so they'd be alright for the time being...

A soft noise came from behind him. Hunk whirled around to see Lance sitting on the ground, breathing shallowly and shaking, pale, eyes screwed tightly shut. Hunk sunk to the ground and put his hand gently on Lance's knee. "Hey, hey it's gonna be okay, buddy. All I need you to do is breathe with me, can you do that for me? Just in and out, nice and slow, just like this." Lance nodded shakily, trying to follow Hunk's breathing, his breath hitching unevenly as he did so. "That's it, that's it. We're going to be just fine, we'll get out of here in no time, yeah? Just keep breathing for me, there you go." Hunk kept up the soothing tone, checking over his holopad map of the tunnels they'd used to get down here in the first place. Several branching routes were shaded red, including the one they'd intended on taking back up, which appeared to have collapsed for a significant distance ahead. Lance's breathing was slowly starting to even out as Hunk traced routes over and over until he found one from where they were now that led up to the planet's surface that wasn't impossible to get through. There were a handful of intersecting tunnels that appeared to have collapsed, but the main tunnel was still intact. They'd just have to make their way through as best they could.

Hunk looked back up to see Lance's eyes on him. He smiled tentatively. "I think I've got us a way out, do you think you're ready to go?"

Lance took a few more slow breaths, significantly more even that his breathing had been earlier. "Yeah. Yeah, let's go."

Hunk stood up and helped Lance to his feet, linking their hands and squeezing gently. "I'll be here the whole way. We've got this."

Lance nodded, his grip on Hunk's hand tight. He was still a bit paler than Hunk would have liked, but he could worry about that later.

The first time they came to a caved-in intersection, Hunk turned to warn Lance. "The intersection up ahead has a bit of damage, but it doesn't look very intensive on the map so it should be just fine."

Lance paled rapidly and gripped Hunk's hand tightly again. "Okay." He swallowed hard. "Okay, just... let's get it over with."

When they turned the corner to see the intersection, Hunk sighed in relief. The cave-in was indeed minor, and it didn't look to have damaged the main tunnel they had come through. Picking their way over the rocks that had slid in from the tunnels branching off, they moved through and continued upward, with Lance looking more than a bit relieved. Hunk smiled at him reassuringly.

Unfortunately, the second caved-in intersection was not so minor. The opening was over half-full of rock and debris, which meant a climb up and through a 3-foot gap. Still not bad, and on the map it looked like it opened up again on the other side. Lance bit his lip anxiously and tightened his hold on Hunk's hand, squeezing his eyes shut as they made their way through the gap, Hunk rambling the whole way. "There we go, that's it, just a bit further... There, we're through the worst of it, you did it, now it's just down this and into the tunnel again, see it's getting wider already." He checked the map again, and thankfully there were only two more collapses to get through. His chest relaxed a bit.

As they walked quickly through the mostly undamaged tunnel, Lance seemed to breathe a little easier, and his hands shook a little less. The next crossroad was minorly damaged, hardly even a proper collapse, which they crossed easily. However, Hunk knew that the last one would not be so easy.

He was right, of course. When they reached the collapsed section, the main tunnel had partially collapsed as well, leaving them facing what was practically a wall of rock. Lance curled into himself and gripped Hunk's hand tightly.

"What now?" He asked quietly. Hunk squeezed his hand.

"We'll have to do a little bit of digging, I think. It seems to have settled, and if you look there, up on the right? The ceiling is still intact. If we climb up and dig a bit of the debris out there we should be able to get through to the other side. And after that, it's a straight shot right up to the surface through the main tunnel."

Lance nodded slowly. "Are you sure? What if-"

Hunk shook his head quickly. "Don't go down that road. It's going to be fine, okay? I've got my helmet scanner running so if there's any disturbance we'll be the first to know about it, yeah? Five minutes from now we'll be out of this tunnel and back outside."

Lance looked at Hunk, then down at their hands, and squeezed again. "Okay."

And so they climbed carefully up the mountain of rock, Lance making a concentrated effort to maintain regular breathing, and Hunk keeping up a steady stream of assurances and encouragement. When they reached the top, the gap they had to work with was about a foot both ways. The work of moving debris out of the way went fairly quickly, even as they stopped frequently to listen for rumbling and to check Hunk's scanner.

Nothing happened for awhile. They kept digging out rocks until they'd almost made an opening big enough to get through without risking accidentally dislodging more debris. Then, a low rumble echoed through the tunnel.

All of the blood drained out of Lance's face, and his hands curled into fists. "Hunk..." His breaths were coming out a bit shorter now.

Hunk grabbed Lance's hand again. "Hey, hey, look at me. We are so close, we're going to get out of here. You have to trust me on that. Follow my breathing, yeah? We're going to move this big rock here in the corner and get through here. Come on, you can do this, Lance, I know you can."

Lance nodded, breathing carefully as Hunk counted them out loud. Finally, the two managed to shift one of the larger rocks out of the way of the gap they were digging out.

The gap was barely big enough, but it would do. Hunk pushed Lance through first and then Lance pulled Hunk through from the other side.

Another low rumble echoed through the tunnel. They moved quickly down the slope on the other side and into the main tunnel.

A third rumble, louder this time. Lance grabbed Hunk's hand tightly. "Hunk..." Another rumble interrupted whatever he had been about to say, and it didn't stop. "Hunk, what-" The floor under their feet began to shake.

Hunk looked up and saw small chips start breaking off the smooth stone above and his eyes widened. "Oh. Oh, no." He pulled Lance forward and sped up until the two were sprinting through the practically vibrating tunnel. Hunk glanced down at the map as they ran, the falling debris from the ceiling getting larger as the shaking grew more violent.

A rock about the size of Hunk's fist crashed into Lance's shoulder, knocking him to one side.

"Lance!" Hunk pulled him closer and activated his shield to put over their heads as they ran. "Are you okay?"

Lance nodded, his expression tight.

As they turned around the next corner, Hunk could see daylight at the end of the tunnel. "That's it, that's our exit!" He almost laughed in relief as they drew closer to the circle of light.

The shaking had reached what appeared to be a crescendo, as the falling rock was now worryingly large. Hunk didn't say anything about the concerning size and frequency, but he did manage to coax Lance into a bit faster of a run. They were so close, it couldn't all go wrong now.

They were maybe 100 yards from the opening when the opening filled with six Galra sentries. Hunk dropped his shield and activated his bayard, slowing only a bit, Lance activating his shield and propping it over their heads as the tunnel itself continued raining down around them. Shots hit around them, shooting chunks out of the already-unstable tunnel walls.

Hunk shot the two on the right in quick succession, and then another one as they continued approaching. Lance dropped his shield and activated his bayard, shooting down the two on the left, leaving only one in the middle. As Lance lined up his shot, a chunk of stone, larger than the others, came loose and fell.

Hunk looked up and saw it fall, almost in slow motion, leaping to shove Lance out of the way. As he did, the final remaining sentry shot towards where Lance had been only a moment ago, hitting Hunk in the shoulder. As Hunk hit the ground, the ceiling slab came crashing down on his lower leg. Lance sat up from where Hunk and thrown him, coughing as he shot the sentry in the chest before turning to drop to his knees next to Hunk.

"Hunk! Oh, quiznack, Hunk, come on, buddy, look at me-" Lance shoved the rock off of Hunk's leg and rolled Hunk to the side. "Come on, buddy, we have to go, we have to get out of here."

Hunk groaned and propped himself up. "Yeah. Let's go, come on." Lance helped him up and pulled Hunk's uninjured arm over his shoulders and they moved as quickly as they could, both stumbling as the tunnel shook and crumbled around them.

After far too long, they clambered out of the tunnel and into the daylight, coughing dust out of their lungs. Hunk tapped at his comms again. "Anybody there?"

Pidge's voice came through almost immediately. "Hunk! Are you guys okay? We lost contact with you! Where are you, is Lance with you?"

Lance tapped into the comm link. "Yeah, I'm here Pidgeon. Think we can get a pickup?"

Hunk typed into the holopad quickly. "I sent you our location. We're pretty far from Yellow now though, we had to take an alternate route after the tunnel collapsed."

Pidge made a concerned noise. "What- never mind, we'll hear the whole story later. Since I've got cloaking, I'm still planetside, so I'll be there in just a tick. Just hang in there a little longer, okay?" And the comm link cut off, leaving Hunk and Lance to wait.

Hunk wrapped his uninjured arm around Lance in a side hug. "I can't wait to get off this stupid planet."

Lance gave a sort of half laugh, burying his face into Hunk's neck. "Seconded."

Later that night, after the two had been fussed over by the team and everyone had been filled in on the details, Coran insisted that Hunk and Lance join him in the infirmary.

Lance looked visibly uncomfortable as they entered, Hunk still limping slightly. Coran checked them over with several weird scanners that Hunk was far too tired to wonder about. Finally, after a lot of "hmm"ing and "hah"ing, Coran straightened up.

"Number Two, if your leg is going to heal correctly, we had better get you into a pod tonight, and it wouldn't hurt that shoulder either. You'll probably only be a couple of hours, these things are relatively minor fixes."

Hunk shrugged. "Whatever you say, Coran."

Coran looked at Lance. "Number Three, I'm sorry, but your shoulder-"

Lance swallowed hard. "Um, yeah, I kind of figured."

Coran put a hand on Lance's knee. "If you would like me to, we do have a mild sedative? You would only wake up as you came out of the pod, if you think-"

Lance was already nodding gratefully. "I'd appreciate that, Coran. Thanks."

The pod hissed as it opened and Hunk tipped forward into a pair of familiar arms. He looked up to see Lance smiling at him, dressed in his paladin pajamas.

"You good, buddy?"

Hunk nodded, throwing one of the infirmary blankets around his shoulders. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. What about you?"

Lance nodded, looking to be in better spirits than he had before. "I'm good, yeah." He handed Hunk a change of clothes.

Hunk glanced around as he changed, noticing the empty room. "I guess everyone else has gone to bed, huh?"

Lance nodded, gesturing towards the door. "Coran waited for me to get out to make sure I was okay, but I told him I'd hang around to check on you when you got out so he could go to bed."

Hunk smiled. "Thanks for waiting for me. Do you want to go get something to eat? The pods always leave me starving."

Lance snorted. "Do you even need to ask?"

As the two headed to the kitchen, Lance cleared his throat. "I wanted to thank you for today. I couldn't have gotten out of there without you, man."

Hunk waved a hand. "You'd do the same for me, Lance. No big deal."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Yes, big deal, Hunk. That was the bravest thing I've ever seen."

Hunk shook his head. "Brave? No way, I was terrified the whole time. I just... You needed me and it was easier to focus on that then how scared I was." He couldn't quite look Lance in the eye as he said it. "I think if I'd been there by myself... it might have been a really different story."

Lance nudged his shoulder. "Hunk, you are the most selfless person I know, and what you did? That was brave. Really brave. You saved my life, you got me out of those tunnels." Lance wrapped his arms around Hunk in a loose hug. "If I'd been there by myself it also would have been a very different story." His voice wavered and he swallowed thickly. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Hunk. Today or any day. I love you, buddy."

Hunk sank into the hug gratefully, already starting to tear up. "Thanks."

Lance hugged him more tightly, sounding like he was on the verge of tears himself. "Anytime."

Hunk held Lance tightly, grounding himself in the contact. "I love you too, Lance. You... you're my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without you, either. I'm really glad we ended up out here together, you know? I'd... I'd really miss you if you'd left and I'd still been on Earth." He laughed wetly, wiping the steady stream of tears off his cheeks. "It's a good thing I didn't go back to the dorms without you and Pidge, huh?"

Lance laughed, squeezing Hunk one more time before releasing him to hold him by his shoulders at arm's length. "Yeah, I guess it is, huh?" He let go of Hunk to pull down the box in the kitchen that held the paladin's snacks. "Want to try some of those cracker things from Olkarion?"

Hunk smiled and shrugged. "Why not?"

Lance pulled out the pouch in question and then paused, biting his lip. "Hunk, can I... I mean, do you think..." He took a deep breath and looked up at Hunk. "Do you remember at the Garrison when one of us would get really homesick and we'd just cuddle all night?"

Hunk nodded. "Yeah, do you want to do it again?"

Lance nodded. "If you don't mind? I just... I don't want to be alone right now."

Hunk pulled Lance into another hug. "I don't mind at all. Besides, it's been a bit of a rough day all around, don't you think? I could do with a good cuddle."

Lance shot Hunk a pair of finger guns. "I have been told I give pretty great cuddles."

Hunk snorted. "Oh, have you now?"

Lance puffed up in mock offense. "I have! I'll have you know I am a renowned cuddle master, the reigning cuddle champion-"

Hunk smiled, heading to his room with Lance in tow. They were going to be just fine.

[keeroo92]

Hi! I love your writings so much! I saw your post of wanting some writing prompts. If you still would like some, I have one! Prompt: V and reader are set up on a blind date. Maybe Nero set them up because the 2 are so different from each other (opposites attract type thing). The entire date goes horribly wrong, but despite that, Nero ended up being right and they start falling for each other.

Ahhhh, my first prompt!!! Thank you so much, I had such a blast writing this! I’ll be working on your second one later today :3

Word count: 2,269

__________

Being single and living with Nero and Kyrie was such a pain. You caught them in all manner of compromising situations, from the way they stared at each other to walking in on them in the shower together. It was downright nauseating to see how lovesick they were. You’d been single for a long time, and as you complained about the living situation to Nero one day, he offered an alternative.

“I know a guy, you should meet him.”

He glanced knowingly at Kyrie but she just held up her hands in a classic gesture of “leave me out of it” and left the room. You were instantly on high alert.

“Uh… a guy? Care to be more specific?”

Nero smirked at your hesitance and you pressed a fingernail into the flesh of your palm to keep yourself from smacking the smugness right off his face.

“I’ll set it up. You free Friday?”

And thus on Friday night, you found yourself at a café downtown. You had a casual but flirty skirt on, perfect for the delayed summer heat. Kyrie had even done your hair. It was a weakness of yours, but she turned out to be a lifesaver and arranged a stylish French twist across the backside of your head.

All that work to dress up, and Nero’s “guy” was late.

By twenty minutes.

You stood in the lobby amongst a horde of patrons with the horrible orange bracelet Nero had given you so his friend would know who you were. He had blatantly refused to drop a single clue who you were meeting no matter how hard you prodded him.

You had to give Nero credit; he’d maintained his silence through an entire week. Impressive, considering how you even recruited Nico to needle him. He rarely kept any secrets from her, as her brash attitude tended to get under his skin and break his composure.

You snickered quietly, remembering how the two had bantered over dinner last night, when you heard a shy voice call your name. Your eyes glided up the figure of the man who had spoken with intense curiosity – was this “the guy”?

Oh, please let this be “the guy”…

His elegant appearance dashed every image you had pictured, none of them coming close to his poise. His converse shoes led to a pair of black jeans that fit just right under a dark button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up for the heat.

And he has tattoos…

The stranger leaned closer as he offered a single hand to shake yours, giving you a better view of his face. Raven locks framed his ethereal features and you spotted the edges of the same pattern of lines extended partially up his neck. His eyes were beyond description and you reached out to take his hand with a gracious smile.

And just like that the illusion shattered as his clammy palm grasped yours.

Well, nobody’s perfect.

“Apologies for my lateness. The hours of folly are measured by the clock, as they say.”

He released you quickly, much to your relief. He gestured toward the podium where a hostess stood, clearly struggling to keep up with the sheer volume of people in the lobby.

“It’s alright. Nice to meet you, um… Nero didn’t tell me your name.”

The man looked down and you assumed he chuckled, but with the noise of the crowd you couldn’t be sure. His eyes met yours once more in a piercing stare.

“You can call me V.”

“As in… V for Vendetta?” you asked with a dubious glance.

He stared at you blankly, clearly not comprehending your reference. You brushed it aside; it was a bit of a cult classic, anyway. The hostess waved you forward and you waited patiently as V spoke with her. He returned a moment later with an annoyed grimace, grabbing a thin jacket from the coatrack and gestured you outside before speaking.

“They lost the reservation, and the wait is over an hour.”

You sighed but maintained your cheerful mood despite the mishap. A glance around the area showed several alternate options, though they all appeared equally busy.

“Well, want to try the next block? I think there’s at least a sandwich shop.”

V nodded and waved a hand for you to lead the way. His mannerisms so far reminded you of a Victorian gentleman, and you couldn’t decide if that was a plus or not.

The night is young. Plenty of time to figure that out.

You stepped out from beneath the covered entrance to the café and paused at the lack of change in lighting. You looked at the sky and frowned at the clouds gathering overhead.

Within thirty seconds, it began to rain.

You hid under a small tree, its branches doing a piss-poor job of keeping you dry as you considered your options. A blur of motion made your eyes glace back at V to find him holding out his coat to you bashfully, his hair already damp.

Victorian gentleman is a plus. Definite plus.

You accepted his jacket with a grateful smile, threading your arms through the sleeves and pulling up the hood to discover it draped around you like a circus tent. Still, it was dry. And it smelled amazing. You took a deep breath, enjoying the hint of spiciness and masculinity in the fabric.

“Thank you,” you said, peeking out from behind the collar.

“Of course.”

The pair of you continued walking, silent as you tried to think of something to say. This was the part of first dates that you sucked at – small talk. You hated the tedious mundanity of surface conversation. Still, it was expected of you and you knew how to play the game, if nothing else.

“So how do you know Nero? He told me literally nothing about you.”

V smirked, his lips twisting in an adorable shape.

“We worked on a big job together a few months ago. I would not be exaggerating to say he helped save my life,” he responded slowly, “And you? You live with him, correct? How did you meet?”

The memory made you chuckle..

“A few summers back I was working at an ice cream store near his work and their AC kept going out. He came in at least twice a week and got a huge tub of strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Kinda evolved from there.”

V barked out a laugh, turning the corner beside you as he replied, “That sounds like Nero.”

You could see the sign for the sandwich shop ahead and took another deep whiff of V’s coat in preparation to return it.

This isn’t so bad.

Then you started sneezing.

“Bless you,” V said swiftly. He held the door to the shop open for you as you let out another sneeze.

You hurriedly removed his coat and handed it back to him as your eyes began watering. You knew what this meant.

Ugh. Definitely a potential problem.

“Do you have a cat?”

He looked at you quizzically, taking his coat as he answered in the affirmative.

“I’m allergic…”

He raised his eyebrows and took a step back as you sneezed yet again.

“I’m sorry, I hadn’t thought of that. Would it help if I kept my distance?”

You shook your head. The damage was done; you’d be sneezing like this for a while even if you went straight home.

“I’ll be right back.” You smiled at V again and headed to the bathroom of the sub shop. You blew your nose until nothing came out anymore, then stuffed a few more tissues in your purse for later. While washing your hands you noticed the dampness of your mussed hair and the makeup running from your eyes.

Shit.

You did the best you could to remove the smeared mascara and eyeliner, leaving behind a messy smudge of black on each eyelid. You released your locks and combed through them with your fingers, carefully saving the bobby pins.

Good enough, I guess.

You returned to V near the counter as he pondered his options. He glanced back to you and smiled gently.

“What?”

A light tint colored his cheeks as he replied, “Your hair looks nice that way.”

You sneezed.

Right over the glass covering the meat.

You saw V’s lips twitch with what you assumed was distaste as he took in the fine mist you’d deposited on the transparent glass. You looked at your feet in embarrassment, wishing the floor would swallow you whole.

“What can I make you two? Aw, man… I just cleaned that…”

Oh god, could this get any worse?

You turned away and rummaged in your purse for a heartbeat, handing V a ten dollar bill.

“Order me something with turkey.”

With that, you walked outside, barely able to keep from running.

It was still raining; if anything the pattering drops quickened. You sighed, taking shelter under the miniscule marquee. You wrapped your arms around yourself as the air cooled, fighting off the goosebumps cropping up on your forearms.

The door to the shop swung open beside you and V came out with a small bag. He spotted your posture and shuffled his feet for a moment before speaking.

“Would you like to borrow my coat?”

The appeal of the heat was too strong, and you nodded with a grateful smile. He handed you your sandwich and draped his jacket across your shoulders with a smirk. The two of you seated yourselves at one of the plastic tables sheltered from the rain and you unwrapped your meal to dig in, pausing as you saw the meat.

“They were out of turkey, I hope roast beef is alright,�� V murmured apologetically.

“It’s fine, thank you.”

You took the first bite and noticed he didn’t have a sandwich of his own. Pointedly, you stared at the empty spot on the table until he awkwardly spoke again.

“I left my wallet at home.”

You sneezed.

Twice.

V cracked a small smile and suddenly the whole situation was utterly ridiculous. Not a single thing tonight had gone as planned. You smiled back, snickering. He chuckled along with you and all the tension shattered as you shared a moment of mirth.

“This really has not been our night,” you commented dryly between laughter. He shook his head with a smirk, agreeing.

As the last few chortles faded away, you carefully split your sandwich in half and handed it to V on a napkin. His eyes widened before he accepted it with a rueful smile.

“Thank you. And I’ve enjoyed it, regardless.”

You flushed as you caught the gleam in his gaze, like you were the only other person in existence. You took another bite and held your breath, swallowing as fast as possible to subdue the next sneeze.

“So have I.”

The two of you spent the following few minutes eating and chatting, getting to know one another better. You found his wit charming, his attention to your every word like a small flame in your chest. He made you laugh, between sneezes. Made you roll your eyes with a line of poetry. Made you cringe as he described his family.

All too soon, the night wound to a close. V walked you back to your car, carefully making sure he walked on the portion of the sidewalk closer to traffic. You enjoyed the deep hum of his voice and indulged in one last sniff of his coat as you reached your vehicle.

“This is me.”

V frowned, glancing at the ground as you removed his jacket and held it out to him. He took it hesitantly, almost hiding behind the gesture as he replied.

“I had a wonderful time. Thank you for your company.”

You sneezed, holding up a hand to cover your mouth and nose as you blushed.

“I did too,” you said once it was safe.

He gave you a nervous look, his anxiety obvious as he leaned forward to close the gap between you and place a light kiss on your cheek. You pulled him closer, wrapping your arms around him in a quick hug before stepping away and unlocking your car. You paused as a thought struck you.

“Hey V… let me give you my number.”

He smiled, brushing his black hair out of his face as he waited patiently for you to find a pen. You didn’t have any paper and ended up writing the digits on his forearm, right along one of the dark lines of his tattoos. He blew on the ink to help it dry before donning his jacket once more.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” he assured you as you started the car. You gave him one last smile as you backed out of the parking spot, waving as you drove away. You couldn’t help but glance at him in the rearview mirror, watching his slim figure shrink with distance. He watched you go, not moving until after you turned the corner.

You sneezed.

Despite the rain, the allergies and all the small hiccups of the evening, you found yourself excited to see V again. You weren’t the type to sit and wait by the phone, but even so it didn’t take long for his first message to appear a mere twenty minutes later. You grinned like an idiot when you heard the soft ding, making Nero smirk knowingly from where he sat on the couch with Kyrie.  

[levi-inthesun]

Better

Chapter 3- The Plan

Summary: you had been in this relationship for far too long. Brock was cruel, manipulative, controlling, and possessive. It had gotten to the point where he was the only person in your life. He had forced you to quit the job you loved and worked so hard for. Made you choose him over life long friends. And one day, you finally had enough.

A/N: Uh... this is a long chapter. I literally have no plan for this story so... please enjoy the mess that is this story. I also wanted to note that bits of this are based on an abusive relationship I was in. AND I know PTSD is a bitch, and often you don’t really open up to people this fast. I’m just impatient.... :)

Potential Clem x Avenger

Wanda x Clementine (platonic)

Wanda x Steve (barely there)

Warnings: swearing, PTSD, abusive relationship (past), Stress-induced weight loss (and talk of it).... I think thats it?

(gif does not belong to me)

There is a plan in place, you thought as you breathed. Bucky had suggested you try meditating to deal with the stress since you weren’t allowed in the gym still. So you were trying. Allow thoughts to come, and let them go, you told yourself, struggling to not overthink what was to come.  I am not a pawn, I am a teammate. I am in control- if I say no, I do not have to participate.  They will not allow any harm to come to me. I am going to be okay. I can heal. 

You repeated the mantras in your mind and was surprised when the gentle timer went off, telling you 30 minutes had gone by. You took one more deep breath and began to get ready for the day. 

Tony had given you money (way too much of it) to buy a new wardrobe and you got to go shopping today with Wanda and Steve (they were practically inseparable now), Natasha, and to your surprise, Sam. You threw on a pair of leggings and a sweater you had borrowed, from who, you had no idea. You braided your long hair back and Wanda put a touch of makeup on you. 

You hadn’t left the Avenger’s compound in over a week- add in the fact that you were naturally a bit anxious, going out was nerve-wracking. What if Brock followed you? (Sam brought his little falcon flyer, so it wasn’t likely). What if Brock had someone working with him and they were following you? (Well, again falcon and the entire Shield database along with the entire world). What if-

“Clem! You HAVE to try this on!” Wanda yelled from a few racks of clothing away, “Right now!” She flung the dress at you which landed on your face.

“Like I have a choice,” you murmured. 

“What was that?” Natasha asked, smirking.

“I said I love this color,” you stated nonchalantly.

You closed the door to the changing room and took off your clothing and put the dress on. You hadn’t realized it was open back and was suddenly even more self-conscious than you would have been otherwise. 

“Let’s see it then,” Wanda called.

You took a deep breath and opened the door. 

Sam and Steve’s jaws dropped. The plunging neckline on the navy dress made your boobs look awesome, however, you weren’t used to showing this much skin- Brock never let you. 

Natasha and Wanda began hooting and hollering and commanded you to do a spin. 

You took another deep breath, and span slowly, allowing the tulle of the dress to flare out around you. 

“Don’t you love it?” Wanda asked.

“Y-yeah I do... I just, the scars on my back, I hate them.” You answered honestly. 

To everyone’s surprise, it was Sam that approached you. 

“May I?” he asked quietly. 

You nodded and when his fingers danced along your back, your breath hitched. You weren’t used to kind, gentle touches. You sighed lightly as he traced the scars running all over.

“Look,” he said, pulling you so that you could see your back in the mirror. “You may hate them, and you have every right to. But they tell a story. Right now that story seems bleak, and you may have little hope, but it will get better. There are quite a few vets in my support group that have struggled with scars from their time serving-”

“But those are literal war heroes, Sam,” you interrupted, a little louder than you had meant.

“And so are you,” He stepped so that he was facing you, hands gently on your shoulders, “You’ve faced a kind of horror that I cannot even imagine. But, there is no good in comparing trauma. Trauma is trauma even if it looks different for someone else. Okay?” He asked, searching your eyes for confirmation. 

You nodded, “Okay, Sam.” 

“Okay. Now, some of these guys have gotten tattoos over their scars. If you are interested, I could get the number for the artist? At least it will give you something to think about- why not create something beautiful out of something that was horrible to experience?”

Sam swiped his thumb over your cheeks, wiping away the tears that managed to escape.

“Thank you, Sam,” you whispered. “I would love that.” 

The rest of the shopping experience went wonderfully. Sam and Steve were joking around together, otherwise, Steve was oggling Wanda as she tried on clothes and Sam was reassuring you when he noticed you got anxious. 

When you all got back home, Wanda and Nat helped you put everything away. You were staring at the navy gown Wanda made you try on and forced you to buy when Tony came in.

“How are my girls doing today?” He asked cheerfully. 

“Good,” the three of you said in unison.

“Ah, I see you finally got a decent wardrobe,” Tony observed as he walked through your closet. He stopped in front of you and took the dress from your hands. “Good! You got something for the party next week!” he exclaimed, “However, this needs... something. I’m going to take this and you are going to be in awe when I bring it back!” 

As soon as Tony finished talking he was gone, and you were confused. 

Nat noticed (of course she did, you thought), “Don’t worry, Tony is dramatic and wants everything to always be spectacular.” 

The next day you had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Cho, who said you were good to do light work-outs.

As you were leaving, she called out to you, “Have you thought about seeing the therapist?”

“I have,” you stated simply, smiling.

“Good.”

After that, you finally got the guts to call the therapist and set up an appointment. 

You put on the workout gear you had bought for yourself, which you were much more comfortable in- leggings, sports bra, high neck tank top, training shoes. When you got to the gym, you began by doing some light stretches, music playing lightly in your ears. After stretching, you used some light hand weights to ease your arms into the idea of strength training. That was a goal you set for yourself in your first therapy appointment. 

Your therapist was a kind, rather young looking woman. She seemed very put together and at first, you were self-conscious. Why would someone like her believe you? But then, you both began some idle chit-chat and after a while, Maria suggested starting slow and asked you to tell her one random fact about yourself. It didn’t matter how personal it was, it didn’t matter how random, or casual it was, as long as it was something. 

“I hate the way I look. Because of everything I've been through, I’ve lost a lot of weight, and it scares me,” You said, shocked with yourself. 

“Thank you for sharing that with me, Clementine. Stress-induced weight loss is something that happens to a lot of people, and the way you feel about it is completely normal. Please don’t feel pressured, but why don’t you take a minute, a day, a week or two- I don’t care how long you need, and think of a goal that would allow you to reclaim your body.”

You nodded and thought for a few minutes when you realized you knew what you wanted to do. “I want to learn how to protect myself and I want to do strength training.” 

“Wonderful,” Maria said with a soft smile. “Just remember to take it slow. You have all the time in the world to work on this, and rushing will just cause more frustration and stress than need be, okay?”

When you promised you’d go slow, she said that, unless there was anything you wanted to talk about, she felt like you had made a great first step and ended the session.

So here you were, using 5 lb hand weights, feeling like a loser around all the superheroes and agents. 

“It’s okay,” you whispered to yourself, “my timetable is different than the person next to me.” Then you felt eyes on you- familiar, unkind eyes. You didn’t even wait to look around to confirm what you felt in your bones. Instead, you walked straight to Bucky and Steve sparring. They noticed you right away and ended their session.

“What's wrong?”  Steve asked.

“I think he’s here,” you whispered, “Please don’t make a scene. I need one of you to walk me out of here, and I need the other to stay.”

They sprung into very casual action right away. Bucky put his arm around you, and you joked about him smelling bad. Steve stretched a bit, looking around and pulled out his phone, probably texting Tony. 

You and Bucky came across Sam heading to the gym and Bucky quickly whispered something to him, who then nodded in affirmative before giving you a soft smile. 

Once you were in the elevator, Bucky filled you in.

“Sam has Falcon keeping an eye on things and will be making sure no one is following us. FRIDAY is keeping watch all over the facility and the others are putting their spy skill to good use. Everything's gonna be ok, doll.”

“Okay. It’s going to be fine,” you said to yourself, “it's going to be ok...”

“Hey, Clem?” Bucky interrupted you, noticing the beginnings of a potential panic attack. You looked up into his icy blue eyes and actually felt like you might be okay. “I was real impressed with you back in the gym. You realized you might be in danger, stuck to protocol, and fucking gave two Avengers commands,” he said chuckling. 

You noticed a light dancing in his eyes, distracting you a little bit, “uh, thanks Bucky..”

“I’m serious. Steve and I were both formulating plans, both of us ready to rip someone's head off, and you just knew exactly what to do. Ya did good.” 

This time you just smiled and the elevator doors opened to the Avengers private wing where Wanda was waiting for the both of you.

“Clem!” She sighed, “Thank god your safe!” She said taking your hand. 

“Was he there?” You asked, surprised at how strong your voice was.

Wanda nodded slightly, “Yeah, he was. Nat is tailing him and FRIDAY is currently checking everyone in that gym for connections to Rumlow and keeping an eye on them.”

You nodded, and then rested your forehead on Bucky’s arm, letting out a breath and then breathing in the pine-like scent that helped you feel okay.

Later, Tony announced the opening of a new, Avenger only gym. Apparently, it had been in the works for a while now and he was waiting to surprise everyone- but felt it was better to unveil now. 

“I even added some lighter weights for you, Clem,” Tony added with a wink before leaving. 

“Speaking of working out, Bucky, I was wondering if I could as a favor of you?” You began slowly, not sure if you could ask.

“Anything,” Bucky replied, taking your hand in his.

“Will you teach me self-defence?” You asked, brows curved up, eyes wide.

Bucky thought he might die right then and there, “Hell yes,” he agreed.

That night, Sam was in charge of making dinner, so you sat on a stool and kept him company. You always enjoyed yourself around him- he was witty, quick on his feet, extremely kind, and had a way of reassuring you even you didn’t understand. 

Sam was now cackling as he explained how, during the fight at the Germany airport, small Peter Parker just, grabs Bucky’s fist, mid punch and just oggles his arm before going back to fighting. 

“T-the look o-on B-bucky’s face was PRICELESS,” Sam finally chokes out. 

After that, the laughter died down and you helped stir the pasta sauce while Sam mad his momma’s homemade meatballs. 

“Clem?” Sam, said, breaking the silence.

“Hm?” you hummed, allowing the aroma of a home-cooked meal to fill you. 

“Which do you prefer, mountains or the beach?” he asked, his eyes crinkling slightly.

“Mountains. They’ve always been the only place I feel safe.” you paused, only for a moment. “What about you?”

“Beach, can’t do all the bugs in the mountains,” he said, chuckling.

“What?!” you said, incredulous. “A big, tough Avenger can’t handle a few bugs?” You shook your head, a joking expression on your face. “Beaches are pretty great, too, I guess.” 

You both filled the rest of the time preparing dinner by asking what the other preferred, and by the end, you were shocked just how much Sam had opened up to you. 

Sam called everyone to dinner when Tony gently grabbed you and started pulling you away from Sam. “Clem, dear, you have to go- just for a little bit. Bucky is going to take you, I  am so sorry but I can’t tell you why, but yes it has to do with the current operation.” 

You blinked, trying to take it all in, and nodded as Tony shoved some stuff into your hands and got you into the elevator where Bucky was already waiting for you.

You put on the jacket, hat, and sweatpants on in the elevator, tucking your hair into the beanie as Bucky instructed you to. Right before the doors dinged open, he gently put his arm over your shoulders.  “Keep your head down and lean into me, we just have to get to my motorcycle, got it?”

You nodded quickly and buried your face in his jacket- which you were not complaining about, at all. Except when the elevator doors opened, you saw a very familiar pair of shoes- thankfully not Brocks, but this was still bad. 

Bucky looked at each man in the eye before moving on. He tossed you a helmet, which you put on, and you both hopped on the bike. 

“That man!” you yelled to Bucky who turned his head slightly acknowledging you. “His name is Pierce! He and Brock were really close.” 

You felt like you were just yelling into the void, but you saw Bucky’s jaw clench and remembered he had super hearing. 

Bucky expertly weaved through New York City traffic for what seemed like an eternity. You had no idea where he was taking you until he pulled up to your old university. 

Bucky stabilized the bike, allowing you to throw your legs over it and hop off. 

“Why don’t you give me a tour,” Bucky suggested. You nodded and Bucky threw his arm over your shoulders again.

You both walked around like that for a while. You would point out different buildings, tell a story, and Bucky listened intently, sometimes laughing. When you got to the library you pulled him inside and showed him your favorite study spot. It was off in an isolated corner with two comfy chairs. Bucky plopped down in one and you slid into the other. 

In a hushed voice, Bucky began asking questions leaning forward, “What can you tell me about Pierce?”

You leaned forward similarly, “He was like a mentor to Brock. He would even come over for dinner sometimes. Brock would make me cook and then put down my cooking all night. Pierce would play along, even though my lamb chops are incredible.” you sighed. “I had no idea they worked for SHIELD though, of course, I didn’t know. Now though, their conversations make a lot more sense. Except…” you paused, thinking about a few details. “They would always talk about water.”

“Tell me more about that,” Bucky asked.

“Every time they had dinner or Brock talked to him on the phone- I would know it was Pierce because he had a specific ringtone for him- anyway, they would either talk about lakes or rivers or oceans. When Peirce came he always brought hydrangeas. One time they talked about this Greek island named Hydra,” you stopped short when you saw the look in Bucky’s eyes like he was putting some pieces together. “Bucky, wha- oh shit,” you whispered, pointing.

Bucky followed your finger to see a woman wandering the library and in the next minute, she would see you both.

“She’s with Brock,” you hurriedly whispered. 

Before you knew what was happening, Bucky had pulled your chair incredibly close and whispered in your ear, “Kiss me, PDA makes people uncomfortable.”

So you kissed Bucky Barnes. Feeling him kissing you back gently but thoroughly made a shiver run down your spine and your hand found its way into his hair, the other keeping you steady on his shoulder. Bucky’s hands snaked over your hips, pulling you closer. 

You heard the woman breathe out in annoyance and the click of her heels becoming farther away. You knew Bucky’s hearing was better than yours, so when you knew she was gone, you expected Bucky to pull away. But he didn’t, so neither did you. Instead, Bucky kept pulling you closer so you awkwardly shuffled onto his lap, wrapping your legs around his torso. 

You felt Buckys teeth scrape against your bottom lip before his lips made their way to your jaw and your neck. 

You sighed deeply at the feeling before his lips were back to yours. Bucky began to slow his movements and placed a few lazy kisses before pulling back so that his forehead was resting on yours. Your heart was pounding and breath erratic. As it calmed, you finally opened your eyes, almost surprised to see Bucky’s blue eyes searching yours. You smiled softly, and Bucky opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by his phone ringing. 

He answered it quickly, “Yes?” 

You began to move to get off Bucky’s lap, but he held you there gently.

After a few more exchanges he hung up the phone. “We can go back now.” 

You nodded, “Okay.”

“I, uh, I just wanted to make sure you were okay before we-” 

You cut Bucky off by placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, Bucky,” you said softly, your eyes swimming with emotion. “This is the first time I felt safe doing anything intimate with someone, even if it was to make sure that woman didn’t see us. I… I know I’m not going to get hit if I don’t do something right. So, thank you.” 

Bucky gave you a gentle smile and you reveled in the softness of his eyes.

Back at the Avenger’s compound was another family meeting. You told them about the woman who had almost found you at the university library, giving as much detail about what she looked like as possible. 

Then Bucky spoke.“Brock Rumlow and Alexander Pierce are Hydra,” his tone serious. “Clem gave me some information about them. They used to have dinner regularly. Pierce would bring hydrangeas, they would talk about bodies of water, and would bring up visiting the Greek island Hydra.”

Everyone’s eyes were wide as they took in the information and silence settled until Tony finally spoke up.“This means SHIELD is compromised. We don’t know who we can or cannot trust outside this room, plus Fury. Expect a meeting with Fury tomorrow.”

At that, everyone went their separate ways to prepare for what might be ahead.

[waveypedia]

31. “I haven’t slept in ages.”

Fenton groaned, his eyes still closed, as he felt around for his loudly buzzing phone on his nightstand. Why... why was his phone buzzing? Who was calling so early in the morning? He didn’t have many friends, and the ones that did all knew he had work early in the morning. And M’ma wouldn’t call him - she would storm into his room, or wherever he was staying currently, and wake him up herself.

He rubbed his face and slowly forced his drooping eyelids to open. Everything was fuzzy for a moment, but the first thing he focused on was the brightly glowing numbers on his clock.

Fenton blinked. It took a moment for the numbers to come into focus and another for his brain to process them.

Wait. 3:27 am?

Who would be calling or texting him at this hour?

Now mildly annoyed, he hunted blindly for his phone. If this was all for some sort of sales call, he was going to be /so/ mad.

The phone had stopped buzzing, but Fenton still pressed the home button and screwed up his eyes against the brightness against the stark darkness of his nighttime room.

He frowned, struggling to read the three notifications glowing on his phone’s absurdly bright screen.

2 missed calls, and 1 text, all from the same person.

GYRO (3:22 am): brnig coffee to lab. black.

Fenton groaned and let his head crash down on the pillow, still swimming from the unfortunate wake up call (literally) and the bright lights still beaming behind his eyelids, a searing pain in his forehead. He was half tempted to stay in bed and ignore Gyro, but the fact that he would probably continue to bug him and that he was requesting black coffee at 3:30 in the morning forced Fenton out of bed.

Once he was clumsily dressed, he tiptoed downstairs as to not wake M’ma (but suspected she already knew everything, as usual) and hurried out to his car. His head still ached from the bright lights, and he was still half asleep, but he managed to make it to his M’ma’s favorite local coffee shop, grab a cup of black coffee and a scone (he really needed something for all his troubles), and then to the Money Bin.

Only once he was there did it occur to him that Gyro might be at home, and he didn’t know where his coworker lived. More annoyance set in, but he forced himself to stomp up to the bin and all the way down to the lab.

The doors opened with a *ding*, and Fenton was both annoyed and relieved to spot Gyro at his desk, three projects spread out around him. He was tinkering intently with something and didn’t look up until Fenton had nearly reached his desk.

“Ah, /there/ you are! You took forever!” the scientist announced, snatching the coffee out of Fenton’s hands.

Fenton leaned on the table, struggling to stay upright. “Gyro... you know it’s 3 am right...?” Exhaustion made him slur his words. He scowled and tried to right himself, but suddenly everything was swimming and the edges of the room were fading and Gyro was looking at him with a very out of character concerned expression so something was clearly wrong and-

—

SLUMP.

Gyro scowled at the unconscious Fenton curled on the floor. “Well. Duck. Why do all of my interns fail somehow at bringing me coffee? First they don’t even SEE Lil’ Bulb, and then Manny causes a paranormal activity conspiracy theory, and now Fenton faints. Come on!

He propped Fenton up on his chair and reached for the desk phone.

“Hello, Mr. McDuck? I have a coffee problem again...”

—

“Ye really need ta stop sending yer employees tae get coffee for ye at three am,” Scrooge lectured. “Actually, ye-“

“Shouldn’t be in the lab drinking coffee at three am, I know,” Gyro sighed. “But I don’t sleep. You know that.”

“Ye need sleep, Gyro. Ye need ta be able tae function. Ae am nae payin’ ye tae stumble around half asleep all day,” Scrooge shot back.

“I haven’t slept in ages, and I function fine,” Gyro snapped. “I just need my coffee.”

Scrooge raised his eyebrows. “Get it yerself.”

Gyro rolled his eyes. “You /know/ I can’t. You know what they call me!”

Scrooge rolled his eyes. “Aye, Sandwich Guy. What a horrible insult,” he replied sarcastically. “Ye sound like me deadbeat nephew.”

Gyro huffed and crossed his arms, staring straight ahead annoyedly. “Donald drinks too much coffee to forgo a coffee run for an insult.”

“Nae, Ae was talkin’ aboot Gladstone,” Scrooge affirmed. Gyro gave a small huff of understanding. “Besides, Ae have been called much, much worse,” he added more gently.

Gyro rolled his eyes. “How would that red nephew of yours, Fenton’s little mini-me, do on a coffee run?” he asked instead.

Scrooge chuckled. “He would tell ye tae go back to sleep.”

Gyro shrugged, annoyed. “He would.”

They rode in silence for a few moments before Launchpad turned around in the driver’s seat. “Hey, Dr. G, if you like coffee, there’s this great restaurant a couple blocks down called the Hamburger Hippo-“

“NO!!!” Scrooge and Gyro yelled in unison.

—

Fenton groaned and rubbed at his lights. Why were there so many bright lights?

Was Gyro testing something again? Wait why would he be at the lab.

Oh. The coffee.

Wait. He fell asleep?!

Fenton jerked awake with a gasp, kicking an unfamiliar blanket off of his legs. He frowned and glanced around the room, blinking.

He recognized the older style of decorating as McDuck Manor’s, and the chicken in the bed across from him as Gyro, but what really struck a still sleep-muddled Fenton as strange was the sun streaming in through the windows and pale curtains, and the time flashing on the alarm clock as 7:51.

Work started at 8. He was going to be late!

But here was Gyro, sleeping soundly for once, and he was in McDuck Manor.

Fenton’s brain whirred for another moment, weighing the options, before he sighed contently and relaxed back into the mattress and pillows. The last thing his brain registered before slipping into the soft respite of sleep was the softness and comfort of the mattress, the softest one he’d ever touched.

—

Scrooge shut the door to the guest room with a small, fond smile on his face. He turned around to face his housekeeper, watching him with an amused, knowing smile on her face. “I trust he went back to sleep?”

Scrooge nodded. “He’ll be out for a while. Be sure tae check on them while Ae am at work. Make sure they donnae leave their beds for another six hours.”

Beakley nodded. “I can manage that.” She started to step away, but then paused. “You know, sir, keep this up and you’ll have enough family to fill half of your mansion.”

Scrooge snorted. “Now that would be an achievement.”

He leaned against the wall and watched as Beakley walked away, humming quietly to herself. He could hear Gyro’s quiet snores and Fenton’s restless sleeping through the wall.

His smile grew wider.

/Maybe one day I’ll have enough family to fill all the guest rooms in my mansion. Now that would be a real achievement./

~

I didn’t expect to get this out today, but I finished all my work in math 45 minutes early and the sub let us use our phones when we were done. Also math is right before lunch, so I just cranked this out and then finished up the last section in band which is kinda chaos rn tbh.

Okay, so this turned more into Dad Scrooge than Fenton & Gyro, sorry. I hope you like Dad Scrooge!

Fenton is NOT a happy boy when he’s woken up early. It’s probably good he fainted before he could lecture Gyro, bc Fenton isn’t his boss and Gyro would blow up at him in a way that he can’t with Scrooge. They’d both say things they’d regret.

Ooh, you know what? THAT would be fun to write. *cackles evilly*

The Sandwich Guy bit is a reference to @fangirl530’s fanfic and our headcanon about Gyro avoiding Starbucks bc when they wrote his name down for coffee they were like “oh gyro like the sandwich!” and he was known as the Sandwich Guy, which he doesn’t like :P

Hope you like it @advisortotheadvisor! @cartoonlover233 yours should be out next, but I can only work on it at home since it’s on the computer :(

[clarespace]

oh god, i just saw the official mv and my heart is screaming. it’s also 2am and im gonna gush about pete and ae with quick and dirty gifs, so watch out: 

ugh, i love these scenes so much. wait, i love every scene, but these first ones are so important. ae is presented as the typical confused guy but get this, he’s so soft and expressive with his feelings, and he’s. not. ashamed. of. it. quite a contrast with pete, whose been internalising his shame. the wonderful thing with ae is that he’s so honest and direct. he says what he feels and thinks. more importantly, his actions coincide with what he says. often, that just doesnt happen in bl stories. the guy feels something for another guy? he goes out with girls and avoids the guy, etc. not ae. the boy just dives right in after a few moments of self-reflection. what an awesome dude. 

and pete. our sweet, shy pete is saying, while looking into ae’s eyes, that he’s liked ae from the beginning. how cute is that? but more than cute, there’s the impression that he’s reached the point where he feels really safe and secure with ae that he can openly say this. wasnt it only a few episodes ago where he was still worried about bothering ae, and ae has done so many things to affirm pete’s trust in him that they’ve reached this point. which episode this will be, who knows, but they get here, hopefully with as little fuss as possible. 

look. at. THAT. that’s one of the cutest things i’ve ever seen and it just screams ‘couple in love’. i gotta say, the body direction in this drama has been SPOT ON by the director and the actors. they’re horribly in love and it should SHOW. they should have their own couple language, their sweet gestures. see how tender ae is, and how content pete looks, especially with the way he closes his eyes when he finally rests his head on ae’s shoulder. just...the way their bodies are positioned is so so so good. boys sit like that! and the way they are subtly turned towards each other shows openness and interest...hear me heave my biggest, happiest sigh. 

idk what happens in this moment except i want more of it. study date? sleep over? moving in together?? okay, the last one is too soon but i have a weakness when my otp spend time sleeping with each other and doing their nightly routines and just living life in love. also, ae, dont be extra. pete is really cute when he’s asleep but that’s no reason to look at him as if he’s literally doing cartwheels and you’re so proud of him...ugh, fine, i take it back. look at him with love ALL THE TIME.

ok it’s so hilarious to me that pete was smiling his dumb ‘ai ae’ smile and then the next frame he’s all serious as ae pushes him down slowly on the bed. also. fooling around in broad daylight? i approve because it’s so ridiculous when dramas only seem to portray that sex happens at night, in the dark. definitely not. also, they could just be cuddling here and i wont object to that either. ae just really dives into this whole thing, huh? 

once again, no context except that ae is so happy and pleased to see pete. get you a man who looks at pete the way ae does. look at the fondness in those eyes. he’s so expressive, i love it. kudos to the actor for his portrayal! also, pete looks...hesitant? surprised? that ae is waving at him? and like he’s leaving in a hurry? hmmmm also i love a guy in a football kit so much

wow guys, just show off your love, huh? like i said, one of my favourite things is watching a couple actually be a couple. what they do, how they act, their own gestures, their rituals and it looks like ae and pete are the kind of ridiculously soft, touchy feely, sweet af couple who love to spend as much time as possible...and that happens to be my all time weakness, my ultimate goal. it’s like, pete is either making a joke or telling him something funny and ae gives that little huff and everything is smothering me with joy. 

i am surprised, though, by the implication that they spend a lot of nights sleeping together. it’s something i dont come across often in asian dramas. western, yes, when they’re dating and spend days and nights in their own world, and this is what i see happening with ae and pete. it’s modern and new and accurate. or am i just surprised because in kdramas they dont even hold hands and they flinch whenever they look each other in the eye? maybe. 

they’re so freaking DOMESTIC and i am so here for that shit. who sleeps on what side of the bed? who wakes up first? do they sleep all cuddled up?(remembering ae sleeping on top of pete, that’s a big YES) who makes breakfast? who fixes the bed? I NEED TO KNOW

hands down my favourite moment. not only is it a great shot, it’s just so...normal. they’re just ordinary boys with an extraordinary love that they’re not afraid to show. look at that body language. the familiarity, the softness, the smoothness of the action. is this the end where they’ve fully accepted each other? told each other all of their stories? cleared away the misunderstandings and are now just basking in the joy of being together?

also, it’s quite telling that ae is being presented as the top. now, i do have my own preferences for top and bottom but i dont really care who does it, tbh, and it doesnt matter. you could have your own headcanons about it and that’s fine as long as you’re not being toxic. i’ve seen so many people refuse to read/watch something if this or that person is placed in a specific role. on that note, i like how they’re showing that the one who’s physically larger isn’t the top, as is the case most of the time. they’re going there. 

there are a few more moments but now it’s 3:30am as i type this, my eyelids are getting heavy (even though my heart is still going kyaa kyaa) and im gonna end this with the two biggest things that the drama is going right with pete and ae: 

1. you dont have to be a jerk and use tricks to make someone fall in love/pay attention to you. 

2. being soft and in love is nothing to be ashamed of. 

i hope that there wont be the usual misunderstandings with the girl, or unnecessary, or break ups. i’ve noticed some people say that pete and ae dont have a complex story and therefore their love isnt complex or strong, and i’d just like to correct that assumption. just because a love story isnt full of angst and bloodshed doesnt make it a lesser love, just like a love story full of hardship and pain makes it somehow more worthy. there is nothing romantic about pain or break ups or messy love triangles. yes, these things happen because the characters are idiots and make such choices that lead to these things, but ae and pete seem to make choices that are good and healthy for them and there is nothing wrong with that. there is nothing wrong with falling in love, getting that person, and living a happy life. it’s so rare to get this sweet, soft gem of a love story between two sweet, soft boys. let’s enjoy it and not wish them to break up or go through silly misunderstandings. if that happens, then it happens logically and not just to throw unnecessary angst in there. 

happiness is not boring. we’ve (or at least, i have) been waiting for so long for a main couple who gets that smooth-sailing love while the secondary ones go through all the mess and have that role model of good, healthy relationships as the focus. again, not saying they should be in a perfect, conflict free relationship but the meddling third parties? the miscommunication? nothing in their personalities makes those things possible long-term, tbh. ae would just be blunt about it and tell the truth. pete would probably agonise a little bit and then ask. if you find dark, angsty love stories as your thing, good for you, but dont wish for that to happen just for the sake of it. 

please let them be happy. look at these adorable children! they should only know happiness and cuddles and sweet kisses.

come talk to me about ae and pete! i am so down with talking about them!

(seeing as there are several volumes of the novel, it would seem that pete and ae do go through some stuff but they remain steadfast and true, as much as i can gather. just no avoidable bullshit, please.)

(also 4am. if you read all of this word regurgitation, thank you and im sorry lmao)