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boop-le-snoot · 3 years

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hot wheels | natasha romanoff x reader

explicit, 5,2k words, f/f. meet-ugly but still very much wholesome. we love a girlboss. natasha catches some random woman keying her brand new car but decides to be the better person for once and hear the woman out. turns out, being the better person can even get one laid! warnings: singular use of the d-slur, references to an abusive ex, lesbian sex.

[no y/n, no "you", nickname only, no reader description - race/age/body type neutral, she/her pronouns]

Natasha gave the tall, lanky boy an unimpressed look as she side-stepped the arguing couple to avoid colliding with the annoyed, teary-eyed woman the boy was groveling to. It was nearing rush hour and there was shopping to be done before the heavy NYC traffic could steer her already busy schedule down into an unmanageable chaos.

"But, Foxy, you know I didn't mean it! I love you, more than anything!"

The items on the spy's list were checked off methodically, item after item landing in the cart with a quiet thud as the redhead maneuvered through the isles with tactical precision. The usual afternoon crowd began to fill the store, taking up the so-needed breathing space; Natasha's shopping trip wasn't a moment of leisure and with her neverending to-do list full, she hurried to the self-check-out register, flying through the motions mindlessly.

Scan, place, beep, boop, pay, load up the bags, make way to the car, load up and pedal to the metal.

Scratch that. No, scratch - Natasha's eyes bulged as she neared her shiny, brand new Charger, seeing the obvious defects even from a mile away: the paint, previously cherry red and gleaming in the sun, ruined by a series of thin, gray lines, standing out unpleasantly on the otherwise pristine vehicle.

And the culprit, who's tuft of hair peeked over the hood of the car on the other side of the Charger, almost fully hidden between her car and the large Chevrolet in the next parking spot over.

Natasha's fingers clenched around the handle of the cart as she fought the urge to reach for her knife safely holstered under her leather jacket. "Excuse me?" Tone quiet and deadly, the spy prepared herself to fight or at least slightly shake up the hooligan.

The figure froze, vaguely familiar clothing and a puffy, tear-stained face slowly rising from behind Natasha's car. "In my defense, he deserves it," the girl - Foxy - the one that was arguing in front of the store earlier, declared through a stream of angry tears. "Call the cops if you want, I don't care." It was unclear if the girl recognised her, the Black Widow, as she made no move to run for the hills, just pathetically sniffled, pocketing the keys she used to scratch Natasha's car.

"That's my car," The spy responded flatly, a great deal of amusement crawling into her face as Foxy's eyes bulged, jaw fell slack, horror plain and evident overshadowing the waterworks. Natasha quickly pieced two and two together but patiently waited for the initial shock to subside before popping a question. "A word of advice, if I may?"

Foxy nodded, dumbfounded, frantically scrambling for the contents of her pockets, searching for something with the agility of a panicking cat, more than half of the contents spilling out onto the ground.

Natasha unlocked the car, popping the trunk and loading in her bags as she raised her voice to be heard over the noise of a busy parking lot. "Don't mess with the paint, the insurance will cover it. Slash three tires - not four - or take a swing at the front bumper and the headlights," the trunk slid shut with a quiet click as the spy inspected the damages close-up. Her Charger looked like it was attacked by a pack of aggressive, feral cats with nails of steel. "And always check the number plates before committing acts of vandalism to make sure you're enacting revenge on the right person." The last part was said with a smirk.

As the spy stepped closer to Foxy, she noted the excessive puffiness of her cheeks and the shaking fingers that held a checkbook and a pen. The woman looked torn between terrified and apologetic, worrying her lip between her teeth. "I'm so, so sorry. Todd just got his new car, it's identical to yours and I didn't get the chance to memorize the number plate yet," the offending man's name was said with a pitiful growl. "How much?" She weakly motioned to the ruined bodywork.

"What'd he do?" Natasha didn't resist her curiousity, leaning against the driver's side door and sizing up the other woman. She was pretty, well-dressed and reasonably wealthy on the first sight. "Yeah, he looked like a Todd," The quip slipped from the redhead's lips as she remembered the man from earlier. Foxy looked way too good to be wasting her time on someone who looked like an adolescent that hadn't outgrown his skater boy phase.

Foxy chuckled shyly at Natasha's remark, smoothing a hand over her face. "Lord, where do I even begin..." The sigh was loud and long. "He lived in my apartment rent-free, made me give up my cat by lying about his allergies, went through nine low-wage jobs in two years, did nothing but play video games in his free time and developed a pot addiction, thus spending all his money on it," she began steadily but her tone grew in pitch with every added offence as Natasha's eyebrows climbed higher and higher. "My last straw was when he took out a loan he couldn't pay off to buy his brand new cool car," the words were spat out with venom. "I threw him out last Saturday. He's been following me around all the time," Foxy continued, growing dark in the face. "And then I found out he had been cheating on me for I don't know how long. I just... I just lost it," she finished pathetically, all but crumbling into a pile of human misery.

Natasha's face had frozen into mute disbelief somewhere around the first half of the story, repulsion and astonishment mixing into a flurry of quiet rage on the random woman's behalf. Menfolk were bizarre animals, and as much as the spy felt herself annoyed by her roommates at the tower, she couldn't help but feel relieved that the men surrounding her were far from douchebags of the casual variety. This Todd, however, was no amateur, and had done Foxy really, really dirty.

The redhead made up her mind rather quickly. "That's a lot to unpack," she carefully studied the micro-expressions on the other woman's face. "I have a couple of nice bottles of wine at my place and nobody to share them with. Care for a glass?"

Foxy's eyes widened once more. "I don't- I don't want to take up your time, I mean, I'm sure you've got more important shit to do, like save the world and y'know..." The stammering was followed by a shy look to the side.

So, Foxy had recognised her. And she didn't go running the other way like most people that encountered her in disadvantageous situations did. "I actually don't, I was just getting my shopping done for a lack of better things to do," Natasha lied seamlessly, motioning to the other side of the car. "Hop in." Mission reports and Barton's pizza date could wait.

The woman made quick way around, buckling into the seat in seconds, right before Natasha peeled off from the parking lot towards the Avengers tower at breathtaking speeds. The car was a gift from Tony - one of the rare things he managed to get right - and an absolute pleasure to drive.

"What's your name?" The redhead asked, juggling the steering and her smartphone effortlessly.

The woman rattled of her first and last name on between attempts to fix her runny make-up and wipe the dried snot and tears off her face. "Foxy is a nickname my gramps gave me, said I used to excessively play with fox pelts in the attic when I was a kid," the woman added with a snort, totally oblivious to Natasha's eyebrow raise as the spy read the information on her in-between overtaking slower cars.

Good student, good family life, stable income and good career growth in a prospective sector. What did Foxy even find in a guy like Todd? The most important information, however, was also most pleasing. No ties to any kind of intelligence gathering organizations.

As Natasha parked and popped the trunk once more, the other woman offered a hand with her shopping bags. Friday acknowledged the newcomer, startling her, causing Natasha to roll her eyes and mention, loudly, that if Tony decided to pay them a surprise visit, he may end up castrated or shot on sight, much to Foxy's bashful snickering.

Once the shopping was put away and the wine opened, the spy let herself curl up on the couch opposite the woman who studied her Spartan style apartment with curios eyes. The lack of knick knacks must've been a surprise for her: Natasha's apartment looked bare compared to what she'd seen in other's people's homes but the desire to make the environment more cozy had never been strong enough to actually act upon it. She wasn't used to staying in a place for very long.

"Do you still want to get back at the bastard?" The redhead asked once the first bottle was coming to an end. The alcohol was sitting low, pleasantly warm in their bellies and the food that they'd ordered in the middle of a casual chit-chat lulled them into a state of comfortable stupor.

"I want to gouge his eyes out and wear them as a battle trophy," Foxy was slightly slurring her words, much more affected by the wine than the stoic, experienced agent. "But I guess I can settle for petty crime or arson."

"I'm sensing you didn't tell me the whole list of grievances," true to her words, the spy felt as it there was a possibility quite a few things were being left unsaid.

Foxy sighed once again, placing the empty glass on the table and using her palm to prop her flushed face against it, blankly staring off into the far end of the room. "I came out as bisexual last year and he was giving me so much shit for it. Todd kept pushing for a threesome and when I refused, started accusing me of cheating during our fights, called me a whore a couple of times," the more she spoke, the higher Natasha's anger levels rose.

Not only was a Todd a dick, he was an abusive one. Truly, the grand prize of Asshat Lottery. "I have an idea or three," the spy twirled the remaining red liquid in her glass before downing it. "But it'll have to stay between us two."

"I'm listening," Foxy turned to meet Natasha's face, eyes considerably more alert than seconds before.

A few days past their amicable wine-and-revenge get-together, Natasha's doorbell rang as if she wasn't already had been made aware by Friday that a visitor was coming up to see her. Boxes of hair bleach and dye laid stacked on the living room table, surrounded by jewelry and assorted accessories. A pitcher of fresh sangria topped the ensemble, two clean glasses placed neatly on the tray next to it.

"Hi, Nat," Foxy's smile was a mile wide - a far cry from the sniffling sad sack of a woman the spy had first met. The nickname flowed freely from the woman's lips, as calm as Natasha's own answering grin and greeting. "I gots the stuff," waving her purse about, the woman kicked off her shoes by the door, approaching Natasha with the same smile that seemed to be more effective at lightening up the room than Tony's expensive designer lamps.

As Natasha's plan achieved a solid state, the two women had quickly come to a realization that Natasha was far too recognizable with her signature red hair and over a flurry of text messages, the decision to switch to a warm caramel blonde was made unanimously. Foxy had rebuked any and all Natasha's attempts to affirm she'd be able to do it herself and the spy gave into the other's chiding, relenting to have her hair dyed by a person who at least had a possibility of seeing the back of her head without having to perform acrobatic tricks.

Foxy was an easygoing, non-problematic person. She was fun to have around, quiet but witty, with intelligent eyes and a realistic view on the world. It was something Natasha valued, alongside the lack of probing questions regarding her past or her job - her insides clenched uncomfortably at the thought of having to lie about those things, or even worse, having to admit to the wrongdoings in her past, however Foxy carefully steered away from topics that were sensitive and never gave Natasha as much as a side-eye if the spy appeared to lack some minor detail that normal women her age all seemed to be aware of.

The curiosity had her ready to burst. Nat's natural defense mechanisms were quite confused, not sure what to make of the woman who almost too friendly to be true, but the kindness in her eyes and the sometimes shy, awestruck looks she gave Natasha when she thought the redhead wasn't looking made up for it in spades.

"What do you think?" The noise of the hair dryer finally ceased, Foxy's voice echoing in Natasha's luxuriously large bathroom.

The newly-blonde spy studied her reflection with a tilt to her head. The ombre was a nice touch - her own hair was naturally darker than the caramel and honey blonde she had chosen, so the almost-brown shading at her roots took much away from the contrast between her lighter hair and darker brows. It was just another disguise for the spy, but somehow, this one felt more like home than any of the previous faces she had worn.

"I like it, you were right about the ombre," Natasha voiced her thoughts, eyes sliding over to the smiling woman behind her, feeling the corners of her mouth begin to creep upwards in involuntary response.

"You looked good with red hair, don't misunderstand me," Foxy briefly raised her hands. "But you have a light complexion and lighter colors do wonders for bringing out the youthfulness. Even if we don't have much joy these days, a good hair color is an opportunity to showcase the bit," she briefly touched her own hair in an exaggerated attempt at driving her point home.

The fun part was done, the time came to execute the revenge. It wasn't exactly anything special; rather, the plan was quite simple - let Todd make a fool out of himself in front of his friends and perhaps (a slightly, teensy possibility) get himself arrested. The two women took their time to get dolled up, not too much - but rather, adding just that little bit to themselves to easily attract moderate amounts of attention from men.

The bar was busy, noisy and full of people when the two women stepped through the door. Natasha's eyes scanned the room out of habit, easily spotting the tall, lanky Todd in the far end of the bar, laughing and boozing with equally pathetic-looking man-children. The urge to gag was almost irresistible.

The spy let herself to be led to the bar by Foxy who looked mildly uncomfortable. Natasha was sure that if she was to touch the other woman's face, it would be flaming under the circumstances. "Try to relax a little, I won't bite," with a quip to her companion, Nat ordered them a vodka cranberry each, sitting down with her back to the men. "Tell me when he notices us and starts moving this way."

Foxy nodded minutely, clutching her drink for dear life and taking generous sips to calm herself down and relax like the spy had requested. They talked about everything and nothing in between, Natasha's hand on Foxy's knee crawling closer to her hip as minutes passed by without interruption. Loud noises of men playing darts and drunkenly cheering reached the womens earshot every now and then, causing Foxy to throw increasingly infuriated glances towards her ex-boyfriend and the Black Widow's current victim of choice.

Sitting opposite the perfectly composed, smiling woman, it was clear as day she was, indeed, best of the best. Despite knowing Foxy for only a few days, Natasha managed to pull off a very convincing girlfriend: her body language was nothing short of absolutely besotted and the googly eyes the spy was making had Foxy constantly remind herself that it was only for show. There was no way this gorgeous, incredible human would be interested in someone as plain and ordinary as herself.

"Heads up," Foxy's smile suddenly grew a mile wide as she stared directly at Natasha, eyes alight with fury at the scene about to unfold. Natasha's reply was to briefly tighten the grasp on the other's leg in silent support.

"Hey, baby," Todd was drunk enough for the stench of his breath to reach both women. "Oh, I see you're with a friend," his attempt at flirting only made Natasha scrunch up her face like a cat that accidentally smelled a lemon.

"Leave me alone," Foxy stated firmly, knowing the phrase wouldn't do anything to deter her overzealous ex, but this time - she counted on it.

"It's okay, I can share," the slurred words had a couple of people nearby raise their eyebrows at the audacity.

"I'm not interested," Foxy snapped. "In fact, there is absolutely nothing your freeloading, cheating ass can bring to my table."

The woman radiated satisfaction as gasps sounded out around them; Todd was a regular at this bar and most people there knew him in one way or another. The moment of joy, however, was brief.

"Listen, bitch, you have no business talking to me like that," full of drunken bravado, the man spat angrily, taking unsteady steps closer to Foxy. "What you need is a decent man that can handle your outbursts, not some dyke..." before he could even utter another offensive syllable, Natasha had his wildly gesturing arm twisted painfully behind his back, easily forcing the inebriated man to his knees.

"Wanna try that again, champ?" Sarcasm flowed freely from the spy's lips as the patrons in the bar gasped. The civilian clothing and the new hair color might have been an effective short-term disguise but once the crowd had seen her neat little party trick and had taken a good look at her face, nobody was doubting her identity. "Call the cops, will you?" She addressed the shocked bartender who immediately scrambled to obey.

"I didn't do anything!" Todd cried out, eyes drunkenly darting between the Black Widow's quiet rage and Foxy's grim stone face.

"Huh, that's weird. Because I clearly heard and saw an attempted hate crime," Natasha's voice attained a sardonic tint. "And I have a bar full of witnesses," the spy shrugged, letting go of his arm but keeping a boot firmly planted on his back to prevent him from escaping. "I hope you have a lawyer."

Foxy snorted, reaching for her unfinished second drink. "Tough luck."

Out of the corner of her eye, she spied Todd's friends inching closer to the exit door second by second, as if they could stand a chance against a professionally trained secret agent. Luckily for them, Natasha wasn't interested in the remainder of Todd's gang of losers and merely raised an eyebrow when the other men reached the door, a tiny smirk appearing when his pleading eyes didn't cause any reaction in his friends, the spineless worms, hopping out of the door without as much as a goodbye to the man laying face-down on the dirty floor.

As soon as the police arrived, awestruck by one of the NYC's most famous superheroes just casually standing in a bar, they eagerly collected the inebriated offender, briskly escorting Todd to the squad car. The bartender and several other patrons confirmed Natasha's words that an attempted hate crime had taken place. Cops were in and out in less than fifteen minutes and the otherwise-pleasant hole-in-the-wall bar returned to its usual evening bustle.

"Celebratory shots?" Natasha laughed as Foxy exhaled, deep and slow, once her racing heart calmed down.

"My treat," the other woman motioned for the bartender and soon, a line of colorful glasses appeared in front of the women. Each downed a glass easily, slamming it back on the table. "Man, this is everything I never knew I needed," Foxy confessed with a shy smile. "Thanks, Nat. You're the best."

The spy responded with a satisfied smile, picking up another glass and holding it out for a toast. "To revenge well-deserved," the glass clicked, alcohol slid easily down their throats. "So, what now?"

Foxy's eyes shone in the bright lights of the bar, relieved and tipsy. The small empty glass twirled easily between her fingers. "Dunno," the shrug came and went. "Maybe go on vacation. To Florida."

Natasha let out a belly laugh, downing her last shot without as much as a stutter in her movements, Foxy's eyes lingering on the stray drops of alcohol running from the spy's plump lips. "A vacation with the crackheads? Romantic," the quip was received with an eyeroll from the other woman.

"Spoilsport," Foxy, too, finished her booze and placed the money and a hefty tip on the bar, tapping twice to get the bartender's attention. "I meant more like - lay on the beach, sip mimosas, look at sexy people in swimsuits..."

"Florida is for old people," Natasha objected, pulling her leather jacket back on and leading them both outside. The evening air was crisp, bringing a clearer head and re-arranging the thoughts back into a more sensible state.

Foxy easily picked up her pace to match Natasha's precise strides leading them in the direction of the former's building. The warm buzz of vodka coupled with the fresh air and her desire for retribution well-fed, Foxy settled into a comfortable silence next to the spy. They reached the building quickly, their pace brisk and distractions lacking.

"Care for a nightcap?" She didn't know what prompted her to blurt out the words; as soon as the words registered in her brain, they were already out and Foxy's face heated, fingers fumbling for the keys in her pocket, Natasha's touch still warm and lingering on the side of her leg.

The spy seemed amused, studying Foxy's nervous habits with a crooked smirk. "Sure," she agreed amicably, following the woman into the apartment building, not missing both the rigidity of her back and the added spring to her step.

A moderately sized, well-decorated apartment revealed itself behind the open door, scarcely illuminated by the NYC lights coming in from a glass wall in the living room, reflecting the vast living space furnished with a large couch.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Natasha turned around, stepping into the other woman's personal space with the grace of a predator. Two shining eyes stared back at her in the darkness, framed by fluttering lashes. Foxy's bottom lip disappeared behind her teeth, skin gleaming with perspiration.

The recently-turned blonde spy wasted no time caging the other woman between her body and the door, chests almost touching. The air around them was charged, Foxy's heart thudding loudly in her chest as she gulped. Natasha studied her expression, "You want this?" she whispered against her lips, sharing the oxygen between them.

"Ye-yeah," a short nod and a gasp later, the women were devouring each other, grasping at their hands and shoulders like they were drowning. Hot and wet and sharp from the booze, the kisses were as graceless as their fingers haste in removing each other's top layers of clothing.

The sharp corner of the living room archway dug painfully into Foxy's back, bringing an additional sense of awareness: this was real. This was happening. Natasha's blonde locks flowed through Foxy's fingers, soft and silky, a contrast to the teeth pulling on her lip in impatient hunger. Foxy grunted in response, parting from the other woman to send her t-shirt flying somewhere in the direction of the kitchen.

"Bedroom," mere minutes in and she already sounded utterly and throughly ruined.

"Couch," Natasha was equally feverish to get to the good parts. Her belt was unbuckled and the nice button-up she'd worn hung open, a plain white bra iriscendent on her alabaster skin.

Letting herself be led to the couch, Foxy could barely take her eyes off the woman in front of her, making sure she wasn't ogling Natasha outright yet secretly hoping to be caught anyway. The blonde was like a porcelain doll, unreal, firm and soft at the same time.

The moment Foxy gracelessly landed on the couch, Natasha was all up in her space, straddling the other woman with the grace of a savage cat; lips once more attached to her flesh, Natasha left a trail of hot, wet marks starting at the jawline and ending at the cups of Foxy's bra.

Not knowing what to do with her hands, Foxy grasped Natasha's hips, unable to hold back a moan heavy with lust as the spy ground down with her hips. It was exhilarating to see the other woman affected by their heavy make-out session; nothing short of absolutely smitten to see Natasha pull back, panting and disheveled, to shed her shirt and her bra.

Unable to resist the urge, Foxy's hands reached out to cup the spy's round breasts, tugging her closer to pop a rosy nipple into her mouth. Natasha shivered, arching into the caress, holding onto the other woman's hair and tugging it in the direction only she knew.

Natasha wasn't loud, she wasn't wild; her moans were more like muted gasps but her body spoke for her louder than any words: the grinding was getting more impatient, Natasha's hold grew stronger. As Foxy fumbled for the button of Nat's pants, she felt the soft, delicate lace underneath. Natasha had come prepared.

"Hold on," the spy mumbled, hopping off Foxy's lap to quickly push her pants and panties down her legs with practiced ease. The other woman followed suit, leaving herself to be bare besides her underwear, the attempt to remove them intercepted by Natasha. "Let me," quiet words tickled the skin of her throat where Nat had immediately attached her mouth.

Foxy scrambled to intake the oxygen she needed, letting herself feel the hot glide fully, having lost herself in pleasure, missing the exact moment Nat's fingertips breached the waistband of her panties. Soft and nimble, so different to a man's roughened skin, the sensation was as strange as it was sweet. The urge to arch and rock her hips against the nearest surface intensified and Foxy could only keen, quiet and high, causing Natasha to chuckle to herself.

"Enjoying yourself, sweet girl?" The miniscule trace of coyness seeped into the blonde's voice. The engorged, puffy, moist flesh of Foxy's lower lips parted eagerly to Natasha's experimental dip.

"Yeah, yes," the woman slid down, spreading her legs in invitation. "Please, touch me," begging to be filled in all the empty spaces, Foxy threw her head to rest against the back of the couch, watching Nat through unfocused eyes.

"Oh, I will," the spy purred, sliding lower to put her face next to Foxy's dripping cunt. The spy's fingers glistened with arousal and she popped them into her mouth, licking them clean before doing the same to her lover's swollen folds. The response was instantaneous and loud, Foxy shook under Natasha's expert teasing. "Stay still," she ordered quietly, patting Foxy's belly.

Molten, honeyed waves of bliss overtook common sense and awareness, tiny sparks shooting up Foxy's cunt every time Natasha suckled at her clit. The spy read her body like an open book, following the movements of her hips with her mouth, always a step ahead and slightly south. Foxy's peak was imminent, approaching rapidly, as Natasha's sweet merciless assault wrung every single drop of the thick, precious liquid out of her cunt.

It only seemed to gush more, the woman pushing her cunt into Natasha's face as the latter doubled down on her efforts to bring her to ecstasy.

The waves began deep in the pit of Foxy's stomach, making her legs tremble, her toes curl and the flutters of her cunt increase in speed and intensity. Silky soft and typhoon wet, her orgasm crashed her mind into million pieces and Nat dutifully extracted everything until the last drop with the skillful touch of her tongue and fingers.

"Tash," Foxy moaned. Her legs quivered at the slightest touch to her oversensitive cunt.

"Mhm," was the blonde's reply, contented humming getting closer and closer until the womens lips met once more in a fierce, passionate kiss.

Foxy's hands immediately sought purchase on Natasha's hips, searching for the spots that would make the spy's body song in the same way she'd done to Foxy; seemingly much more reserved, quiet but happy sighs broke past Nat's lips in response to gentle hands stroking where she was most sensitive.

"I've got a vibe in my bedroom," clarity finally broke through the orgasm haze, Foxy's brain slowly coming back to reality.

"No, I want your fingers," Natasha's reply was assertive as she moved her hips in tandem with Foxy's hand, dripping the sweetness of her around all over.

The urge to pop the fingers into her mouth was strong, so Foxy did just that, moaning at the tangy taste, Natasha's breath quietly stuttering at the sight in front of her.

"I want to eat you out," the words barely had left Foxy's mouth as Natasha flipped them so she was the one laying on the couch, spread-eagled and open for the other woman's eager mouth to explore. Wet, sloppy and so, so tender, Foxy let herself taste the arousal of her lover.

"Yeah," so soft, one could easily miss it, the approval didn't get lost in the headrush nonetheless. With grace, Foxy sought the spots that would force Natasha to break her silence with slow, broad motions until the blonde had no choice but to arch her hips into the sensations, chasing her pleasure, losing the aura of restraint she'd so carefully cultivated.

No time for self-control. The temperatures were climbing steadily with every single movement, both lost in their imperfect shared rhythm, the soft of Foxy's tongue and fingers like finest silks on Natasha's eager cunt. Two fingers slipped in without resistance, immediately seeking out the soft, spongy spot that made the blonde's toes curl and mouth open in a silent scream.

Foxy's free hand groped around for Natasha's ass hastily, bringing her hips closer to her mouth, tongue never ceasing its assault on the blonde's clit as her body grew more rigid, fingertips going white with the force she was gripping the comforter.

"Gospodi bozhe," came the mumble, the only warning before Natasha's powerful thighs locked Foxy in place as the blonde rode out her orgasm, violently shivering, dousing the other woman's face in her sweet release. Dutifully, Foxy stroked the silk of Natasha's skin everywhere she could reach, her hot breath on the blonde's pussy easing her back to Earth through the aftershocks.

Natasha's eyes opened, feeling her lover's look of adoration, and she cracked a reluctant but genuine smile. There was something about Foxy that was just so-

Natasha taglist (open, see fic hat for info; crossed out nicknames are the ones I couldn't tag, please update your info):

@mikariell95 @letsby @sleep-i-ness @toomanyrobins @persephonehemingway @bluecrazedandbeautiful @slothspaghettiwrites @xoxabs88xox @marvelsbanner @sapphicnoodle69

#bun writes #bun writes: drabbles #natasha romanoff fluff #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff smut #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff x y/n #black widow x female reader #black widow smut #black widow x reader

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quickspinner · 3 years

Text

Oops - Part 2

Part 1 | Part 2 | AO3

(See part 1 for summary and warnings)

Marinette was having a hard time keeping her mind on girls’ night. Rose and Juleka had just signed a new lease to move in together in the coming month, and it should have been exciting, but somehow she just couldn’t get into the discussions about decor and whose couch they should keep and how many dishes they really needed.

Marinette had other things on her mind.

Her phone buzzed in her hand and she glanced at the others quickly before turning it over.

Sorry, babe, I’ve got a gig that day. Wish I could.

Marinette bit her lip, trying not to be upset. She started to type a reply, when another set of messages came in.

You could come if you want We could go home together after Just go easy on the drinks this time ;)

Marinette giggled, but sent back You sure? I won’t be in the way?

I’d want you there even if you were. You’re small, we can stick you in an instrument case if we need to

Marinette laughed aloud at that.

Should I dress up? she typed.

Anything you wear looks good on my floor. Do what makes you happy

Marinette pressed her legs together, bouncing her knees, and then sent, before she could rethink it, Doing you makes me happy.

There was a long pause before his next message, and then it was just an address and a time, followed by Can’t wait to see you Friday . And Saturday morning. Don’t make lunch plans.

Marinette gave a little squeal, hiding her face in her hands.

All of the girls were looking at her with varying expressions. Juleka and Alix looked amused, Rose excited, and Mylène just looked happy for her.

Alya was looking at her with a slow spreading grin. “Well weeeeell,” she drawled, leaning on the counter between them. “Let me guess. Setting up your next booty call with your new boytoy?”

There was enough truth in that to make Marinette blush deeply. Alya cackled.

“Details, girl,” she said, slapping the counter. “You’ve been doing this guy for weeks now, what’s the story? He must be good to still put that dopey look on your face after all this time.”

“What—n-no!” Marinette spluttered, looking at the rest of the girls. Juleka was rolling her eyes while Rose and Mylène covered giggles. Alix had that same amused expression as she shook her head slightly. “I’m not gonna talk about that,” Marinette insisted. “It’s none of your business!”

“Come on, Mari, spill,” Alya said, leaning forward again. “It can’t be that embarrassing. Does he fuck you up against a wall with all your clothes on and call you a naughty girl?”

Marinette choked, and Alya laughed.

“Oh, Marinette, you’re such an innocent,” she chortled, sitting back with a smirk like she had gained some kind of victory.

Marinette’s face burned with both shame and...anger. How dare Alya dismiss her just like that? Like they were still silly teenagers and Marinette couldn’t even talk to a guy, let alone take him home and—suddenly she realized she was tired of Alya’s patronizing, and on top of that, she felt insulted on Luka’s behalf. Taking a breath, Marinette straightened her shoulders and put on the best air of nonchalance she could manage despite her red face. “He probably would, if I asked him to,” she said airily. “But he really likes to take his time for that part.” Summoning up every ounce of the boldness Luka inspired in her, she blurted, “If he wants to make me come fast and hard, he uses his hands.”

The entire room went silent as they all stared at her. Pretending like she didn’t feel like she was going to throw up from nerves and embarrassment any second, Marinette added dreamily, “He has amazing hands.”

Alya raised her eyebrows, clearly amused and at least half disbelieving. “Not his tongue?”

“He’s a great kisser,” Marinette smiled, deliberately misunderstanding. Alya grinned wolfishly.

“No, girl, I mean when he e—“

“Oh, he’s great with his mouth on me too,” Marinette interrupted, eyes widening innocently. “It’s just, when he uses his hands, he can still use his voice. Mm, he has such a sexy voice.” The shudder that went through her was entirely real. “It makes me so…” she couldn’t quite bring herself to say it, and took a sip of her wine instead.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I can’t believe that you like this guy dirty-talking you,” Alya accused, narrowing her eyes as she set her cup down with a slam. “Little miss sweetness and light. You can’t even handle it when we talk about fucking.”

Marinette shrugged as if she was completely indifferent to what Alya believed. “You don’t say it like he does,” she commented, and took another sip of her drink, staring off into the distance as if she’d completely forgotten Alya was there. She was stretching the truth a bit, she knew. It wasn’t dirty talk, not really, not the way Alya was thinking. Luka didn’t have to be filthy to work her up; he could recite phone listings in that hot, growling voice, and it would be enough to put her over the edge, so when he told her she was beautiful, that he loved the way she smelled or tasted or felt or sounded, or asked what she wanted, or suggested something he wanted her to do for him, or panted out how close he was…

She shivered again.

Alya didn’t need to know that though. Marinette flicked her eyes around the others, a little nervous about their reactions. Mylène was smiling, Juleka was smirking, and Rose had her hands clasped together and was practically vibrating with excitement. Alix was snickering behind her hand.

“Aw, did Marinette just shatter all your illusions, Alya?” Alix laughed. “You just can’t handle that your oh-so-innocent bestie has a hot side piece.”

Marinette frowned. “Can you have a side piece if you don’t have a...a main piece?”

Alix patted her shoulder. “You can be your own main piece.”

“Marinette,” Alya said, putting her drink down, suddenly serious. “This isn’t like you. Just who is this guy, anyway? Does he even have a day job?”

“Yes,” Marinette frowned. “He’s a teacher.” It wasn’t a lie; Luka did teach private music lessons in addition to his performance work, but with Alya giving her that judgemental look, Marinette didn’t intend to give her any details.

“Ooh, hot for teacher, nice.” Alix reached over and, though feeling a little foolish, Marinette met her high five, but Alya looked unconvinced.

“Well, just be careful,” Alya cautioned her. “You’re still on the rebound—” Am I? Marinette found herself wondering. It didn’t feel like it, actually, when she thought about it. “—and I know you’re feeling pretty vulnerable right now and I don’t want this guy taking advantage of you. If you wanna have fun with him, whatever, but be careful what you tell him and don’t loan him any money.” She sighed. “And especially, don’t fall in love with him. He’s a good time, and that’s it, and he’ll only break your heart if you start wanting more.”

Marinette just stared at her, mouth hanging open slightly, as Alya turned away. There was a tense moment and then Rose piped up, “All right, are we ready for the movie? Let’s get started!” The girls all murmured agreement and began moving toward the living room.

Marinette put her drink down,

“Hey,” Alix said, leaning over her shoulder. “Alya’s just trying to look out for you. She didn’t mean it how it sounded, you know that. If you say this guy is cool, I believe you, but it never hurts to watch out for yourself, right?”

“Y-yeah,” Marinette managed a weak smile. “I get it. Sure.”

***

Marinette was having a shit day. One of her underlings had screwed up at work, which meant, to the bosses, that Marinette screwed up, and then she had to smile and take in the teeth from her bosses while soothing her horrified intern and trying to deal with the problems he’d caused. She’d complained about it to Alya when she got home, and stupidly, she’d mentioned that knowing she had a date with Luka tonight was the only thing that got her through the day. That earned her another well-intentioned condescending talking-to about being careful and not getting invested in something that was clearly only temporary. “I know you, Marinette,” Alya insisted. “He’ll say something sweet just trying to get you naked and you’ll get infatuated and start planning your whole future while the whole time he’s got one foot out the door.” Nino, who’d showed up to pick up Alya in the middle of it, had grudgingly sided with Alya over the whole thing.

“It’s not really like you, Nette,” Nino said with an uncomfortable shrug. “I mean, I don’t want to be all judgy and weird. I just…well, you’ve...” He’d trailed off and hustled Alya out the door when he saw tears in Marinette’s eyes, leaving her at least with the dignity of breaking down in private.

She flopped over the arm of the couch and sobbed until her phone beeped a reminder at her. Luka , she thought, touching her swollen face. She couldn’t go out like this. Honestly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to anymore. She just wanted to crawl into bed and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist.

But she had this date, and…

Alya’s words flooded back and fresh tears fell down her face. Maybe Luka wouldn’t care if she canceled. Maybe…maybe she shouldn’t be feeling so sick about that thought. Maybe Alya was right and she was on the road to another heartbreak. Luka had never said anything, after that first day, about wanting anything more. They weren’t always having sex when they were together, they did other things, but they did always end up in bed eventually. But that didn’t mean anything! Right? Maybe—Marinette sighed. Maybe she didn’t need anything else to spiral about tonight, thanks so much, Alya. Why wasn’t she allowed to just have fun without Alya telling her what was best for her? She enjoyed spending time with Luka, and yeah, he made it clear he enjoyed all the... intimate things they did, but that didn’t mean—

Focus , she reminded herself, wiping her eyes again. She still had a date tonight that she was in no condition to go to, and if she didn’t call soon Luka would already be on his way to meet her.

She took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself and called him.

“Hey, beautiful, what’s up?” Luka asked, his smooth voice light and cheerful.

“Hi,” Marinette squeaked, and then gulped down a sob. Shit, she should have texted, she sounded awful.

Luka’s tone shifted immediately. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“N-nothing major, I just...I had a really bad day and...I don’t think I’m up for our date tonight. I’m so sorry, I know it’s really last minute, I hope you haven’t left yet, I just—” She caught a tear on her hand and wiped it away, trying not to sniffle into the phone.

“Of course it’s okay,” Luka said, his voice low and soft. “Don’t force yourself, it’s fine. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” Marinette choked, her throat tightening again.

“Okay. Well, how about if I grab some takeout and bring you dinner? I can pick up something for your roommate too if you like.”

“Oh, you don’t—you don’t have to do that. Alya’s out with her boyfriend, I’m not sure she’s even coming back tonight. I mean, you don’t have to pick up anything at all, I can just scrounge something, I'll be fine, I think we have some...some ramen or something I can make…I’m not very hungry right now anyway.” Ugh, she was a babbling idiot, why hadn’t she just texted him.

“Late lunch?”

“No…” Marinette frowned, trying to think. “I don’t think I ate lunch.”

“Thought so,” Luka chuckled.

“B-but—I—“

“I don’t have to stay if you’d rather be alone,” Luka told her, his voice so full of sympathy that she wanted to cry all over again. “But at least let me bring you something to eat. It’s not like I had other plans. What’s your favorite food to cry into?” His tone turned teasing. “I can at least bring you some real ramen instead of the instant stuff, if that’s really what you want.”

Marinette bit her lip, picturing for a moment the congee she used to get at the shop by her old office. She loved it, because it reminded her of her mother’s, but she hadn’t had in in ages because they didn’t deliver to this part of town, and—

“Anything you want,” Luka told her softly. “Come on, what are you thinking about?”

“It’s out of your way,” Marinette said, shifting on her couch. “I...give me just a second, I’ll think of something, um…”

“Marinette,” Luka said, a touch of amusement in his voice. “Just tell me what you want. I’m all over this town for gigs all the time, a few extra subway stops won’t kill me.”

She told him, and gave him directions.

“Okay. I’ll go pick it up and be there as soon as I can. You take a nice long bath or a shower, or at least wash your face, okay? Get comfortable for a night in.”

Marinette smiled a little at his prescription, and whispered, “Okay.” She sat there a few minutes longer after they hung up, trying to gather enough caring to get up and do as he suggested. Finally she made it up off the couch, and drifted into the bathroom.

She cried more in the shower, but she did feel better after standing in the hot water, which at least relieved some of the stiffness and stinging of her face and eyes, and helped her breathe easier. She sat on her bed wrapped in her towel for a long moment, feeling limp and languid, but if she was sitting here naked when Luka showed up, he’d probably think she wanted some other kind of comforting, and she just wasn’t sure she felt like it tonight. She dug out one of her more modest nightgowns, made of thin, soft fabric that fell to her calves, with wide straps and a shallow scoop neck that covered most of her chest. It was still pretty, because Marinette liked pretty things, but it wasn’t seductive or anything like that.

Not that she was in any condition to seduce anybody, she thought, as she pressed her fingers below her aching eyes. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to let Luka come over. Would it hurt his feelings if she made him leave the food at the door?

Marinette had almost decided to do just that when she heard him knock. She paused with her hand on the doorknob, and then sighed. Well, if her puffy, blotchy face and stuffed up nose grossed him out and he didn’t want to see her anymore, then at least that would be one less thing for Alya to bitch at her about, she thought as she opened the door.

Luka’s expression shifted from concern to sympathy as soon as she came into view. “Aw, come here,” he said, reaching for her as he stepped inside. Marinette let him wrap his arm around her and leaned into him as he squeezed her. He kept her under his arm as he walked to the table, where he put the bag of food down and then turned to embrace her fully, folding her in a tight hug, as he swayed slightly and rubbed her back. It felt amazing, actually, and Marinette pressed her face into his chest, inhaling his scent and enjoying the firm feel of him, warm and solid.

“You want to eat at the table or somewhere else?” he asked.

“Couch?” she mumbled into his chest, and he steered her over to it.

“Sit down then, and I’ll get it all ready.”

He brought her the bowl a few minutes later, sitting down next to her as he made sure she had a grip on it before he let go. “Do you want me to go?” he asked, tucking a damp lock of hair back from her face. “Or would you rather have some company? I won’t be offended, if you’d rather be alone.”

Marinette looked up at him and opened her mouth, and then changed her mind, looking down with a blush. “Actually some company sounds nice,” she mumbled.

Luka smiled, and leaned forward to kiss her temple gently. “Let me grab my food then.”

When he returned with his plate, he sat next to Marinette and put his arm around her shoulders. Marinette cuddled against his side, tucking her feet under herself. She admired the ease with which Luka balanced his plate on his knee as he ate, but then from some of the stories he’d told her she supposed he was probably used to eating in weird places

The congee felt good on her raw throat, and she ate almost the whole bowl before she sighed and set it on the coffee table to snuggle more firmly against Luka’s side. He’d already finished, and he put both arms around her. She told him a little bit about her day, leaving out the details of the argument with Alya, and Luka made sympathetic noises and kissed her forehead.

Alya’s wrong about him , Marinette thought, tucking her face against his neck. He’d never treat anyone the way she thinks, even if it was only physical. He’s too sweet. And I don’t...I don’t think that’s what this is. I think...maybe he really meant what he said at the cafe. Maybe he still does. She took a shaky breath, and Luka’s face turned a little closer to hers, so she knew he was listening.

Marinette chickened out. “Could we...maybe get in bed and watch a movie?”

“Sure, I’d love that.” Luka smiled. “What’s your favorite thing to watch when you feel crappy?”

Marinette blushed. “You’ll laugh.”

Luka grinned. “So what if I do? If you like it, that’s all that matters. Be selfish tonight, Marinette.”

Luka followed her to her bedroom, and his eyebrows shot up when she produced a dusty old DVD with a picture of a bus on it. “Speed?” he said, sitting on the bed, and then bit his lip. He held up a finger, turned away from Marinette, and buried his face in her pillow as he laughed. Marinette grabbed her other pillow and whacked him with it.

“I told you you’d laugh,” she pouted as Luka pushed himself up and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “I love Keanu Reeves.”

“Give it here, and get comfy,” he told her, getting up. Marinette gave him the movie, and he put it in as she tossed the blanket back to the bottom of the bed and got under the sheet. Then she had an internal panic attack as Luka kicked off his shoes and socks and shimmied off his jeans. Oh, maybe she should have—but he’d never have been comfortable if she made him stay dressed, and it didn’t mean they were going to…Stupid, they could have stayed on the couch, why did she invite him to bed?

Barely thinking, Marinette caught the hem of his shirt just before he went to pull it off. “Can you...leave it on?” she asked, and blushed when he looked at her quizzically. “I really like cuddling with you but I...I just—”

“Just?” Luka asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Never mind, it’s stupid,” Marinette sighed, letting go, and feeling like an idiot. “You should be comfortable.

“So should you,” Luka said, sitting back down on the bed. “I can wear a shirt if you want, it’s no big deal.” He reached over and smoothed back her hair—now mostly dry, thankfully. “Is something wrong? You know you can tell me if I ever make you uncomfortable.”

Oh, she was the worst. He was so kind to her and she was the worst , and how could she admit anything like this to him? Marinette hung her head, and told a truth that wasn’t the truth. “I just...don’t like it when our skin sticks together,” she confessed, and then put her hands over her face. “I’m so sorry. Forget I said anything. I’m being stupid.”

“I’m not forgetting anything,” Luka laughed, sliding under the sheet beside her. “Why are you acting like you did something wrong?”

“It’s...not very romantic,” Marinette sighed, wrinkling her nose.

Luka rolled his eyes. “I’d rather you be comfortable than preserve some imaginary aesthetic that no one but us would even be aware of. I don’t mind wearing my shirt or keeping the sheet pulled up if it makes you more comfortable.” He slid down a bit, and stretched his arm out towards her. Marinette snuggled up next to him again, and sighed contentedly as she rested her cheek against his chest, glad that he wore a soft, slightly worn t-shirt instead of a crisp dress shirt.

“Comfy now?” he asked, his hand sliding up to massage the back of her neck.

“Mm,” she agreed, and leaned into his touch with a hum. Eventually they slithered down to lay flat in the bed, Luka curling against her back with his head on her pillow, murmuring sly comments about the movie every now and then that made Marinette giggle, and occasionally reach back to elbow him when she thought he was getting too far out of line. No one, she told him, dissed Keanu in her bed.

“Yes ma’am,” he agreed, laughing into her hair before he kissed the top of her head. Marinette smiled.

It was nice, having him snuggled up against her, his teasing voice in her ear, and Marinette’s mood was lifting with each passing moment. She found herself focusing on his broad hand resting on his stomach, his breath tickling the back of her neck, and the warmth of him behind her, the brush of his chest against her back when he breathed. Heat began to pool low in her belly, and her breathing quickened. She pressed back a little, just enough that her back was resting against her chest now, and Luka nuzzled her neck, placing a little kiss below her ear before settling again. Marinette sighed, annoyed with herself. Here she had been worried about giving him the wrong idea, but now that she was comfortable and relaxed, she was starting to change her mind.

Marinette sniffed experimentally, and found she was breathing much better. She shifted slightly, biting her lip, and then rolled over to face Luka. He blinked at her a little sleepily, and then he smiled. “I’m glad you didn’t revoke my bed privileges. I’m really comfortable right now,” he murmured. “You look like you’re feeling better.” .

“I am,” she said, and wiggled a little closer, her body already warming at the thought of his touch. She leaned up and kissed him, and any hesitation she’d still been feeling vanished at the soft feel of his mouth against hers. It seemed to wake Luka up too, because his hand went to her face and he returned her kiss with equal enthusiasm. Marinette caught hold of his shirt, and tugged him closer when he would have leaned back. “Can I be selfish, Luka?” she breathed, and felt him shudder as she kissed him again. “Even after all you’ve done for me? Can I ask for more?”

“Always,” he rumbled, rolling up onto his elbow to follow her as she kept tugging on his collar, wiggling to get beneath him. She gasped as he pressed against her, and arched her body up into his, suddenly feeling desperate. Had he been turned on this whole time and said nothing? Alya is so wrong about him.

“Comfortable , huh?” she teased, and Luka grinned sheepishly.

“I was,” he defended, “Mostly. I can ignore it when I have to, and you didn’t seem like you were up for much.” He kissed her softly.

“I wasn’t,” she admitted, and then rolled her hips up into him. Luka groaned, his forehead dropping to her shoulder as he grabbed at her hip, and her own eyes closed in pleasure. “I am now,” she sighed. “Please, Luka.” She shivered as she felt the fabric of her nightgown bunch under his big hands, the hem sliding up her calves and over her knees.

Alya was wrong about him, Marinette was sure, looking up into his eyes as he bent down to kiss her gently, but thoroughly. He only broke the kiss when he finally found the hem of the nightgown. “Can I take my shirt off now?” he asked teasingly as he dragged the nightgown up over her head. Marinette made a muffled sound. “What?” he laughed, but his laugh cut off when she pressed her hips up into him again.

“I said, yes please,” she told him smugly as he reached back for his collar.

Marinette settled her arms around his neck and pulled him down into her, eager now for the press of his skin against hers. Luka’s hands carded into her hair, tipping her face to the perfect angle as his mouth descended on hers again. She spared one fleeting thought fr Alya’s warnings before she gave herself up to the moment.

Alya is wrong about Luka...but she might be right about me. Maybe I am falling in love with him.

***

The movie menu screen had been playing for a while when Luka finally picked up the remote and turned the tv off. “I’m going to grab a drink,” Luka said, kissing Marinette’s jaw. “You want something?”

“Yes, please,” Marinette sighed. “I don’t think I can move yet.”

Luka chuckled and kissed her again. “Be right back.”

Grinning to himself, Luka stopped to pull his boxers and jeans on and made his way to the refrigerator, leaning down to find the water bottles he knew were tucked into the back for him. He’d gotten picky about water on the road, so Marinette, thoughtful as always, kept a few bottles of his favorite brand for him. He grabbed one and cracked it open, taking a long gulp, and then bent to reach in and grab the filter pitcher to make a glass for Marinette.

“Excuse me?”

Luka jumped and straightened, and turned around to find a woman standing in the apartment doorway, lit from the hall behind. She had one hand on her hip and the other on the doorknob, where a set of keys was still hanging.

“Hey,” he said, shutting the refrigerator door. “You must be Alya. I’m Luka. I’m Marinette’s—ah—” He’d almost said boyfriend, but he wasn’t, technically, and he suddenly realized he had no idea what word to use. “Friend,” he finally finished lamely, acutely aware of how the word hung between them as he stood there half-naked and disheveled. He lifted the water bottle to his lips again, still parched. “Sorry, we didn’t realize you were coming home tonight.”

He turned to get a glass from the cabinet, and felt Alya’s eyes on him as he poured the water for Marinette and put the pitcher back. He glanced up and, as he suspected, the look she was giving him was not one of appreciation. Luka had seen that look before and knew that she was seeing the dye and the piercings and the tattoos and not much else. He waited for her to say something, but when she didn’t seem inclined to, he shrugged. “Well, it’s nice to meet you,” he said quickly, and then made his way past her and back to Marinette’s room. “I’ll let Marinette know you’re home.”

He shut Marinette’s bedroom door behind him, blowing out a breath, and then looked at the bed.

He forgot about Alya for a moment when his eyes fell on Marinette, looking relaxed and blissfully happy, one lovely shoulder and her feet peeking out of the sheet she had tucked around herself. He could still see the marks of her earlier breakdown on her face, but she looked at peace now.

If he hadn’t already been sure he loved her, he didn’t think anything on earth would have saved him from falling in that moment.

Luka brought the water over and set it on her nightstand, then leaned over her to set his on the other one. Marinette smiled dreamily up at him, and he bent down and kissed her gently. She smiled against his lips.

“Your mouth is cold,” she told him, and giggled.

“Yours is hot,” he teased, kissing her again, a little deeper. Then he sighed. “Your, um...your roommate is home,” he told her, half-regretting it as Marinette stiffened instantly. “I kind of ran into her in the kitchen.”

Marinette bit her lip, looking up at him as a blush lit her face. “Oops,” she murmured, and then giggled in a way that said maybe she wasn’t all that sorry. Laughing, Luka all but tackled her, pressing her back into the pillows as he kissed her messily, moving his lips to her neck and collarbone when she tried to squirm away from him.

“What was that for?” Marinette giggled, pushing lightly at his chest until he propped himself up on his arms.

“You are criminally hot,” he told her, smirking when the red tinting her cheeks darkened. “Especially when you blush.” Always when she blushed, but especially now, looking so ravished and yet so sweetly pretty, shy and shameless at the same time.

He leaned down and kissed her again, more gently, and she hummed against him, kissing him twice more when he would have pulled away.

When she finally let him sit back, he asked, “Do you want me to leave?”

“No,” she said with determination, slipping her hand around the back of his neck and pulling him back down into another kiss. “Come get back in bed with me.”

Not at all unwilling, Luka shimmied out of his pants and crawled over her, slipping under the sheet and tucking it around his front before laying an arm down in invitation. Marinette shifted over to him, and Luka shivered when she moved the sheet away from between them. Instead of settling her head down on his shoulder, she kissed his chest, and his neck, and pressed herself up against him. “I don’t think you’re as done as you led me to believe,” she whispered with a teasing smile.

“Well not anymore.” Luka grinned up at her, shifting onto his back in answer to the press of his hands on her shoulders. “Feel like scandalizing your roommate?”

“Believe me, it’s her turn,” Marinette huffed, climbing on top of him, and looking up at her pretty face with smiling lips bruised from his kisses, haloed by mussed black hair he couldn’t wait to tangle his hands in again, Luka promptly forgot anyone else even existed.

Later, he was nearly asleep, curled around Marinette with the sheet tucked between them, when she whispered, “Luka?”

“Hmm?” he blinked his eyes open, though he couldn’t see much. He felt her tense, though, and moved a hand to her arm, rubbing his thumb along her skin.

“I think I’m falling for you,” she finally said, the sentence half a sigh as the air rushed out of her.

Luka froze for an instant, completely awake now, and he felt Marinette flinch and tense. Quickly he pressed his lips to the back of her neck, and slid his arm around her waist. “Let me know when you’re sure,” he murmured against her skin. “I’m waiting at the bottom to catch you.”

He felt her sigh and relax, and then she rolled, scooting up close against him and pillowing her head on his shoulder. Luka held her, rubbing her back softly, and turned his head to bury his face in the pillow to keep himself from screaming.

On his way out in the morning, Luka gave Alya a broad grin and a two-fingered salute.

***

“Girls, we have a problem,” Alya announced, plopping into a chair and slamming her to-go cup down on the table.

“Good morning to you too, Alya,” Alix muttered, face propped on her fist. “What the hell is it that you needed to talk to us about this early?”

“I met Marinette’s boytoy last night.”

Blank stares from around the table. Alya sighed. “The one night stand? The guy she’s been fucking every night she had free for the last month and more?”

Alix raised her eyebrows. “Still not seeing the point. So Marinette’s getting laid. A lot. Good for her. Wasn’t it your idea for her to get back out there in the first place?”

Alya slapped the table. “That’s just it! She’s not out there! She’s hung up on this dude and my point is that this isn’t like Marinette. You know she can’t just do random hookups. This has been going on for a month straight and you know she’s going to catch feelings, if she hasn’t already. And that guy, he—he’s not Marinette’s type . He’s got tattoos and piercings and dyed hair and his clothes are practically rags!”

“Sounds hot,” Alix observed, and Alya rolled her eyes.

“It’s not Marinette , and he’s definitely not the type who’s looking to settle down with one girl. He’s going to fuck her until she starts wanting more and then he’s going to break her heart. If we’re lucky. If we’re not, he’ll string her along with a bunch of promises, probably cheating on her the whole time, and then really break her heart. This isn’t the kind of relationship Marinette wants!” She waved her hands around for emphasis. “Marinette wants a house and a picket fence and a—a hamster. She needs husband material .”

“It does seem like Marinette wouldn’t be satisfied with a purely physical relationship,” Mylène said hesitantly. “But are you sure this man is no good? What if he does like Marinette?”

“They could totally fall in love! Opposites attract, you know!” Rose added, hooking her arm through Juleka’s with a giggle. “Maybe all Marinette needs is somebody a little bit different to take her mind off...you know. Him .”

“Rose, there’s different and then there’s different, ” Alya sighed. “Some different is okay, but picking up punk guys in nightclubs is a little extreme, don’t you think?”

“Mkay,” Alix sighed. “Even supposing we agreed with you, and I’m not saying we do, what would we even do about it?”

“What we need is a distraction,” Alya said, tapping a finger on the table as her brow furrowed in thought. “Someone who can get her mind off of her fuckbuddy and back to thinking about kids and hamsters.”

For a moment the girls sat in silence.

“Well,” Juleka said slowly, as heads turned toward her. “There’s my brother, I suppose. He just got back into town a couple months ago.”

“Oh, that’s true!” Rose exclaimed, laying a finger alongside her cheek as she thought. “Ooh, that could work, Juleka. I mean, if Marinette and this guy are in love, then she’ll just be making a new friend, right? And if Alya’s right, then there’s no harm in just introducing Marinette to someone else.”

Juleka shrugged. “Hard to say with him though, whether he’ll be into Marinette. He’ll either get bored or fall hard. He likes creative types—“

“That’s definitely Marinette,” Alix said dully.

“People who are honest—transparent, even.”

Alix snorted. “Also Marinette.”

Juleka was looking even more thoughtful. “People who don’t back down, who think outside the box...yeah, we could try it.” She shrugged. “Don’t know what Marinette’ll think of him, though.”

“He is very handsome,” Rose pointed out. “Not much like— you know , but that might work in our favor after everything. He looks a little bit like Keanu Reeves, and you know Marinette loves him.”

Juleka snorted. “He wishes he looked like Keanu Reeves.”

“They have the same vibe,” Rose defended.

Juleka just shook her head. “Well, if Marinette’s into ink and piercings and the whole bad boy look right now, it shouldn’t be a problem, anyway. Dumbass looks like the rough type but he’s a total teddy bear. Best of both worlds, I guess.”

“Okay, I’ve heard enough,” Alya declared, clapping her hands. “Plan A. Juleka and Rose are throwing a housewarming party.”

“We are?” chorused Rose and Juleka.

“We’ll invite Marinette, Juleka’s brother will be there, we get them together, and they hit it off, and she kicks her loser booty call to the curb. Problem solved.” Alya nodded firmly.

Alix dropped her head onto her arms. “What’s plan B?” she mumbled. “Seems like this whole plan could fall apart if they end up not liking each other.”

Alya waved a hand dismissively. “We’ll figure that out after we see how this one goes. I’ll have thought of something before the party.”

***

“This is a pleasant surprise,” Marinette said, tucking the phone between her shoulder and ear as she folded her laundry. “I didn’t expect to hear from you today. I thought you had plans tonight.”

“I do,” Luka replied. “I just have a few minutes and I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Oh?” Marinette frowned. “What?”

“Well, I had a very interesting conversation with my sister today,” Luka told her, and she could hear amusement in his voice. “She invited me to a party later this week. Said there’s a friend of hers she’d like me to meet. Thought we might hit it off .”

“O-oh,” Marinette managed, dropping the shirt she held. “Really?” Insecurity flooded up and threatened to drown her. Aside from that one late night conversation, they hadn’t really revisited their relationship status. She hadn’t had the courage to bring it up again. If Luka wanted to meet someone else, he was still technically free to do so, but...but she’d thought...

“Yeah, maybe you know her,” Luka laughed. “She’s in your field, after all. Some hot-shot, up and coming designer named Marinette Dupain-Cheng .”

“Oh. Oh. ” Marinette’s eyes widened, and then she frowned. “Wait, do I know your sister?”

“Well, that’s what I called to find out.” Luka snorted softly. “Know a Juleka Couffaine by any chance?”

“Juleka?” Marinette shrieked. “You’re related to—how did I not know that? Why didn’t she ever say anything? Why didn’t you?” She racked her brains, thinking back.

“Mm, generally we’ve been busy not saying other things. Gotta say Jules hasn’t exactly been on my mind when we’re together.” His low chuckle made Marinette blush.

“Right.” Marinette blushed. “And I suppose I never mentioned your name to her, and Alya just calls you—” She stopped, embarrassed.

“What?” Luka asked, humor in his voice.

“My, um...boytoy.” Luka laughed uproariously, and Marinette began to giggle again. “Or sometimes things that aren’t quite so nice. She thinks you’re not good for me. Because...because of how we met, and all. Um.” She took a breath, hesitating, but then remembered that awful feeling just moments ago when it seemed like the floor had dropped out from under her, and decided it was time to put everything on the table. “She thinks you’re just in it for the sex, and I’m going to get invested and end up getting hurt.”

“Oh, I see.” Luka drawled. “As if I haven’t been head over heels for you since the moment I saw you.” Marinette blushed, and bit her lip, but Luka went on before she could say anything. “I get it. Sounds to me like your roommate’s trying to set you up with someone who’ll take care of you. Get you away from that sex-crazed loser that’s seduced her poor little innocent bestie.”

Marinette buried her face, phone and all, into the throw pillow next to her and giggled until her sides hurt and she was gasping.

“Are you done?” Luka asked, still sounding amused, when the giggling finally subsided. “Or do I need to send someone over there to administer oxygen?”

“I’m fine,” Marinette snickered. “Listen, Luka, my friends are having a party next week and I’ve got this weird feeling they’re trying to set me up. Will you come be my date to Juleka’s party? Maybe—“ She steeled herself and took the plunge. “Maybe if I introduce them to my boyfriend , they’ll back off.

There was a moment of silence. Marinette forgot to breathe.

“I’m going to need you to say that again when we’re in the same room,” Luka said, voice deliciously deep and husky, “So I can kiss you properly. Can you come over?”

Air rushed out of her. “Aren’t you busy tonight?” she asked, and smiled at the sound of his laugh.

“Not anymore.”

“Are you sure?” she teased. “I thought you had plans.”

“Consider them cancelled,” Luka told her, “Get your gorgeous ass over here.”

She did, and after she had said it again, after the kissing and the other soft words, after the more-than-kissing, they cuddled close, happy, sated, and basking in their newly upgraded relationship. Marinette felt Luka stir and prop himself on his elbow.

“You know,” he said, his breath washing across her cheek. “I’m thinking about this party the girls are planning.”

“Do you still want to go?” Marinette asked, reaching up

“Absolutely,” he said, and then his voice dropped, making her shiver slightly as he nuzzled her ear. “But why don’t we make things a little interesting.” He whispered his plan in Marinette’s ear, and she began to giggle.

***

Juleka sighed as she looked at their new apartment, cleaned and decorated without a scrap of cardboard left in the place, and gazed with exasperated fondness on all the little finger sandwiches and appetizers Rose had spent all day making. Luka had better appreciate this, she thought, as she pasted on a smile and started letting in the guests that began to arrive in ones and twos. Well, at least Rose was happy. Any excuse to bust out the glitter and craft paper and try out all these super cute recipes she found on Pinterest.

Juleka was genuinely happy to see Luka, though, when he finally knocked on the door. Her schedule had been packed lately, which was great from a career standpoint, but she hadn’t seen as much of him as she wanted to since he’d come back from his travels. She felt a little guilty that it had taken Alya’s plotting to get her to make room on her schedule to see him.

Well, hopefully she was about to make up for it.

“Hey, Jules,” he said, kissing her cheek and then Rose’s. “Congratulations on the new place.”

“Thanks,” Juleka half-smiled, all the admission she was willing to make that she was glad to see him. She was pleased to note that he’d listened to her admonishments and dressed up. He looked nice, in a black dress shirt open at the collar and jeans that were mostly intact. His sleeves were rolled up, exposing the tattoos on his arms, and the dye in his hair was bright and fresh. Good. Maybe he had half a shot with Marinette, if he didn’t open up his big mouth and screw it up.

“We’re so glad you could make it, Luka!” Rose squealed, throwing her arms around his neck. Then she drew back with a dismayed expression. “Oh, but she’s not here yet.”

Luka shrugged. “That’s okay, I’m in no hurry. I meant to tell you, I’ve...actually been seeing someone, to be honest.” He had the grace to look sheepish, and winced at the way Juleka’s eyes widened.

“What?” she asked sharply, and then smacked his arm. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Luka shrugged, and Juleka’s heart sank at the stupid grin that spread over his face. “We weren’t really official until just a few days ago. After we talked about this. I don’t think I’ve put my guitar down since then except to pee, so…I kinda forgot.”

“Gross,” Juleka muttered out of habit.

“Oh,” cooed Rose, clasping her hands together, before grabbing Juleka’s arm and shaking her lightly. “Ohhh, he looks so happy!”

“I am happy,” Luka grinned. “Really, really happy. She’s amazing, I’ve never met anyone like her. It’s maybe too soon to say it, but...this could be it, you know?”

Juleka felt a little sick. She hadn’t realized she was so invested in setting up Luka and Marinette, but the crushing disappointment she now felt said she was. She liked Marinette a lot, and she loved Luka more than almost anyone else in the world, and the more she considered the idea of them together, the more she thought it could work. Even though she had told herself (and Rose) not to get her hopes up, she absolutely had.

But Luka was practically glowing, so Juleka swallowed the sick feeling and told him she was happy for him. And she was, really. She had to be happy about anything that made him smile like that. As much as she would have liked to have Marinette for a sister, she wanted Luka’s happiness over all.

She wasn’t looking forward to dealing with Alya, though. Focus. Luka was looking at her with a little hopeful half-smile on his face and Rose would kill her if she crushed his enthusiasm.

“Well, when you’re sure we won’t scare her off, bring her to dinner.” Juleka punched his arm lightly. “I have to meet the lunatic who would date you.”

“Sure, sounds good. So, is there a tour?” Luka asked with a grin, and Rose bounced on her toes before grabbing onto his arm and tugging him further into the apartment. She gave Juleka one commiserating glance behind his back before she began introducing him to the small gathering of friends in their modest living room.

Juleka sighed and stationed herself back by the door to head off Alya when she came in and warn her.

The next person to show up, though, was Marinette, which was a bit surprising. She was supposed to be coming with Alya, and she wasn’t nearly as late as she usually was. Juleka felt like pouting as she looked over Marinette. She was dressed up too, in a chocolate brown dress that hugged her figure nicely to the waist, covered with a sheer lace overlay that ran up over her neck and shoulders. The skirt hung to her knees in sheer layers edged in scallops of pink lace that were piled thick enough to cover everything important, but thin enough to tease. Her hair was loose and flowing around her shoulders, and she was smiling so cheerfully, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. She’d have been the perfect bait if the trap hadn’t already been sprung. Dammit, Luka , Juleka thought grumpily. You’re missing out, dumbass .

“I brought cookies!” Marinette said breathlessly, holding up a cellophane-wrapped platter. “You can keep the plate, I got it for you.”

Juleka mumbled her thanks, smiling at the combination of cookies shaped like roses and black bats on a platter that matched their new dishes. “Thanks, Marinette. That’s really thoughtful.”

“Of course,” Marinette grinned, bobbing on her toes a little. “I’m so excited for you guys!”

She looked so genuinely excited that Juleka had to smile. “Most everybody is here already,” Juleka told her, waving her on into the apartment. “Rose is in the back showing some people around, but she’ll be back up in a minute. Wine?”

“Please,” Marinette said gratefully, and Juleka poured her a glass. “You did a great job of blending your styles, it looks so pretty in here, but, you know. Juleka pretty and not just Rose pretty. I really like what you did with the curtains—”

Juleka let her ramble on, glancing at the clock now and again. Alya and Alix were due any minute and she had to head Alya off before she did anything...pushy. Luka didn’t like pushy. Marinette drifted into the living room to chat with some other friends—and damn, the front of that dress might be all sweetness and light but the back was really sexy. “Damn it, Luka,” Juleka muttered with a frustrated sigh. “This girl better be fucking incredible.”

Luka was just following Rose back from the spare bedroom the girls were turning into a combination craft/music room, when he caught sight of Marinette chatting with a few other people in the living room.

Rose saw her almost at the same time, and gave a little squeal. “Marinette, you made it!”

Marinette came to hug her, and Luka waited while they exchanged pleasantries, trying to keep his cool so he didn’t give anything away. Finally Rose remembered he was there and turned to him, tugging Marinette forward a little.

“Oh, Marinette, this is Juleka’s brother Luka!” Rose chirped. “Luka, this is Marinette, the friend we were telling you about.”

For a moment, they just looked at each other. Just long enough to give Rose pause. Then...

“Hi,” Luka said, grinning down at her.

“Hi,” Marinette murmured, smiling up at him.

“You look good enough to eat,” he told her, settling a hand on her hip and tugging her closer. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rose’s eyes widen and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

“Is that a promise?” Marinette winked, and the tremble in her voice said she was about to laugh too.

He bent down and she pushed up and they met in a passionate kiss. Her arms went around his neck (she remembered just in time not to dump her wine down his back) and his hands found her back—which was mostly bare, he realized as he felt warm skin under his hands. The noise he made wasn’t very dignified but it would only add to the show; he slid his hands down her back and onto her ass. Just to really sell it, naturally. No doubt she was kneading his chest and shoulders for the same reason.

Damn, she even tasted like chocolate, the little minx. He’d be willing to bet she did that on purpose.

Beside them, Rose practically had to stuff both fists in her mouth to keep herself from screaming. She looked around and grabbed Mylène’s arm, shaking her as Rose hopped up and down.

“Rose, what is—oooohhh,” Mylène’s eyes went round as Rose spun her around to face the kissing couple. Rose leaned down and began to hiss excitedly into her ear. “Wait, slow down— what? ” Mylène slapped her own hands over her mouth and looked at Rose.

“ I know!!” Rose whisper-squealed, reaching up to tug at her short hair with both hands. Both of them looked towards the door, where they could see Juleka letting in Alya and Alix.

“Marinette gave us the slip,” Alya said, rolling her eyes. “Something about needing to pick up a card or some nonsense. She’s looking good, though, which is a good thing for us, right? She’s got this cute little brown dress with pink and she looks like a chocolate strawberry macaroon.”

“Wait till you see the back,” Alix grinned. “Just these two lace panels that meet between her shoulderblades and the rest is bare. Seriously hot. I’m totally begging her to make...” She trailed off as she looked at Juleka’s face. Juleka sighed.

“Listen, Alya, I need to tell you—” Juleka began, but Alya interrupted her, her face scrunching up as she looked at something over Juleka’s shoulder.

“Oh you’re kidding me, I can’t believe she brought him. What is she thinking?” Alya demanded, grabbing Juleka’s arm. “How could you let him in?” Juleka raised her eyebrows, but before she could say anything, Alix had leaned around them to see what Alya was looking at.

“What now?” Alix grumbled.

“Marinette brought her boytoy,” Alya spat, frustrated. “I can’t believe her.” Juleka nearly laughed at the irony until connections started snapping together in her head. With a feeling of dawning horror, she paused and turned slowly to look behind her, just in time to see her brother sticking his tongue down her friend’s throat. I’ll kill him , she thought. “No wonder she didn’t give me any pushback when I suggested she dress up a little,” Alya muttered, but Juleka barely heard her.

“Nice,” Alix said, still leaning around Juleka to see, eyebrows raising in appreciation. Then she frowned. “Hold on, isn’t that—”

At the same time, Juleka blurted “Wait,” and Alix broke off as both she and Alya turned to look at Juleka, who had gone pale. “ That ’ s the guy Marinette went home with? The guy she’s been banging every chance she got since—” A look of horror crossed her face. “That’s who she’s been telling us—oh, gross. ” She put a hand over her mouth, sure she was about to vomit. “Oh my God, I don’t know what I did to deserve this but I deeply regret whatever it was.”

“Never mind all that, we have to find a way to get him out of here before your brother shows up,” Alya hissed.

Juleka groaned and put her face in her hands.

Alix began to laugh. “I do feel sorry for you,” she told Juleka. “I really do. I definitely wouldn’t want to know any of that about my brother.” She paused, and made a face, turning slightly green. “Oh God, did not need that mental image, and mine’s not even real.”

“I’m gonna hurl,” Juleka mumbled. “I can’t believe I have to live with this knowledge.”

Across the room, Marinette broke their kiss long enough to ask, breathlessly, “Think they got the point?” Luka glanced up and began to laugh into her hair as she nibbled his collarbone.

“Juleka’s face is priceless right now.” He dropped his head and licked her neck, before moving his face up to whisper in her ear. “If we don’t get out of here right now I’m going to bust a gut and ruin everything.”

“Then by all means, let’s go,” she giggled. “Tell me the next time they look over.”

Luka glanced up. “Now.”

Marinette slipped her hand between his legs and squeezed, making him jump with a “whoa.”

“Sorry. Too much?” Marinette whispered.

“Not if we’re leaving right now,” he grinned back, and let Marinette take his hand, giving him her best bedroom eyes as she backed towards the door, tugging him along. He didn’t even have to feign the dopey look on his face as he stared back at her. As they passed the knot of her friends, all staring saucer-eyed at them, she waved at them.

“Thanks for inviting me, Juleka! Sorry I have to bow out early, but um...I have something to take care of,” Marinette giggled, handing her wine glass to Alix as she kept towing Luka towards the door. He smirked at Juleka and winked.

“I’ll text you about dinner,” he called over his shoulder, laughing, and then grabbed Marinette’s ass just before they stepped out of the door.

“Holy fuck,” Alix muttered, still gaping at the door. “Was that really Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” She began to laugh. “I am so fucking proud.”

“This isn’t funny!” Alya hissed. “This is a disaster!”

“Oh, it’s hilarious,” Alix gasped, barely able to breathe, and Rose and Mylène nodded, both giggling. Rose squealed, bouncing on her toes.

“This is amazing, I can’t believe it, it’s like fate or something—”

“I’m not sure that’s how fate works.” Mylène was trying to hold in her laughter for Alya’s sake. “But they certainly seem happy together.”

Juleka, still looking a little green, put her hand on Alya’s shoulder before Alya could retort. “Look, it’s fine. You don’t have to worry about her. Luka’s the only person on the planet who’s a bigger sap than Marinette. If he’s into her, he’s all in.” Remembering the way Luka had been glowing when he’d talked about his new girl—when he talked about Marinette —she managed a tiny smile despite her nausea. If Luka got his way maybe she’d have Marinette for a sister-in-law after all.

It was wiped away a second later as Alix guffawed, “Oh, she loves him being all in,” and Juleka groaned.

“I need alcohol now ,” she grumbled. “I am going to give him so much shit in the wedding speech to make up for this.”

***

Outside, Luka and Marinette got to the elevators, and then collapsed against the wall in a brief fit of giggles.

“That was brilliant,” Marinette laughed, squeezing Luka’s arm. “I’m so embarrassed but it was so worth it, did you see Alya’s face?”

“Juleka’s gonna kill me,” Luka chortled. “I can’t wait. Come here.” He pulled her close and kissed her, softer and more carefully than he had inside, and Marinette hummed with pleasure. Not that she hadn’t been enjoying their sloppy makeout, but this was more Luka’s style, and since she loved Luka, she—Marinette paused, and pulled back to look at him, biting her lip as he blinked and smiled softly at whatever he saw in her face. Marinette took a breath.

“I love you,” she said, keeping her eyes on his, though her pulse hammered in her veins. She hadn’t thought his eyes could get any softer, but he looked at her as if she was the greatest treasure in the world as he cupped her cheek and laid a soft kiss on her lips.

“I love you too,” he said roughly, and gathered her up in his arms, squeezing her tight, lifting her off her feet as he squeezed her hard.

Marinette giggled into his shoulder. “Poor Alya,” she muttered. “So wrong and so right at the same time.” She pulled back and kissed him again. “Take me home, before someone catches us making out in the hallway.”

“Too late, dudes.”

They both looked up, and Marinette’s mouth fell open as she saw Nino stepping out of the elevator with a pained expression. “Does the phrase get a room mean anything to you guys?”

“Oh,” Marinette ducked her head sheepishly. “Sorry, Nino. By the way, this is Luka. He’s...Juleka’s brother?”

Nino blinked, and then groaned. “Oh, shit.”

Marinette giggled. “We’re um...we’re leaving now. Uh...Alya might be a teensie bit—” She held up her pinched fingers. “...stressed?”

Nino rolled his eyes, but reached back to catch the elevator door for them before it closed. “Guess I’m on damage control,” he sighed, but with a grin. “Come on, get out of here.” Needing no further encouragement, Marinette pulled Luka into the elevator. “Bring him to dinner or something next time,” Nino called as he let the door close. “We can’t keep meeting like this.”

In the elevator, Luka and Marinette looked at each other. “Oops,” she whispered, and they both broke down laughing. Luka hugged her close, and Marinette sighed. “You know,” she mused. “As far as mistakes go…” She smiled up at him. “You’re the best one I ever made.”

#quickspins #oops #lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #miraculousladybug #miraculous ladybug #alya salt #depending on your sensitivity level #nsfwish fic #one night stand to lovers #pro lukamari #i'll never not know you

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exovapor · 3 years

Text

The Adventure - TMNT Bitches: chapter 10

CHAPTER 10: Through the Looking Glass

· The four brothers exit the parking deck and are immediately overwhelmed by the steady stream of people walking to and fro. Donnie has his eyes glued to his virtual display while Leo and Mikey each take up flanking positions on either side of him to guard his shoulders so he doesn’t trip over the crowds walking past.

· “Oh no-no-no, this is not good!”, Donnie exclaims while panning left and right with his display, trying to find the trail that is quickly disappearing right before his eyes.

· “What is it, Donnie?”, Leo asks, the concern thick in his voice.

· Donnie frantically pans in a wider arch, but the trail is fading too quickly. The flow of the foot traffic is causing too much interference and the particle stream is all but faded away, “Leo, I think we have a problem here. The portal residue isn’t as clear down here on the street as I had hoped. I’ve lost the trail”.

· “Great! Now what?”, Raph’s towering figure grumbles from behind them all, where he has taken of the posterior position to keep people from walking dead-straight into Donnie as he stands stationary in the middle of a river of people.

· “Give me a minute to think, Raph”, Leo chides but he’s feeling his own sense of panic rising. He’s never been claustrophobic, after all he lives under ground, but here with all these bodies pressing in around them, jostling past them, the serum keeping them in human form already on its count-down clock, and their one clue to follow Shredder is literally disappearing before their eyes, he’s never felt so out of his element…so not ready to lead. However, he doesn’t have the option to quit, to flake out, his brothers are looking to him for guidance.

· Leo studies their surroundings, the people, the activity….and then he sees it, the thing that gives him a new idea, a new possible solution to their dilemma. He’s watching people all over pulling out their cell phones to take pictures of each other’s costumes, to stream and vlog about their adventures as they walk down the street, “Donnie, can you search through the media flowing around this event? Maybe we’ll get lucky can catch a glimpse of Shredder in the background of someone’s post.”.

· “Can I? Psssshhh. Does Mikey like pizza?”, Donnie throws Leo a sassy glance before flipping through his virtual screens again. Almost as soon as he starts flipping and searching the data streams, a ping comes from his computer, then another, and another, “Oh boy, BINGO!”, Donnie exclaims.

· Mikey leans in close from Donnie’s right shoulder, omitting the concept of personal space, and nearly blocking Donnie’s field of vision of the display, “Dude…that’s Shredder!”.

· “I KNOW, Mikey”, Donnie says and grabs Mikey’s cute little human face with his large left hand and pushes him back a few inches in order to have some breathing room, “it’s a video that’s quickly going viral of an altercation between Shedder some human kid”.

· “What’s he saying?”, Leo asks, leaning in from the left.

· “Hm…not good…he’s looking for fighters but at least we know where he’s going, according to my search this ‘Marriott’ that the guy mentions is a hotel just down the street…the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.”

· “Then let’s get movin’, Don, lead da way.”, Raph shoves Donnie from behind, where he’s still acting as a barricade between his lithe brother and the crushing public. He’s eager to get moving, standing still when Shredder is out there hunting for a new army is grating on his nerves.

· The quartet of disguised mutants walk along in the crowd, still in more shock and awe of being able to walk so freely among the general masses. The laughter, the smiles, the excitement, and comradery are palpable in the air. Everyone is high spirts and the four brothers are right in the middle of it. This is truly a new and welcomed experience for them.

· For too long they have watched from the shadows as people had fun. They would watch club goers and weekend warriors living it up on Friday and Saturday nights in New York while they stood on roof tops patrolling and keeping watch…from a distance. They often wondered, and in some of their cases daydreamed, about being part of the crowd below. And, now, here they were, walking in soft human skins with the rest of the world. Would they ever be able to go back to the shadows and not feel empty inside?

· As they each ponder the experience quietly and the implications of these experiences on their future selves, they follow the flow of the crowd as it passes under the carport awning of the Marriott Marquis. The voices and sounds of laughter echoing and bouncing back under the marquee, adding to the energy of the atmosphere.

· They enter the establishment through the double sliding doors and are immediately stuck speechless by the activity and the setting. The hotel was architecturally beautiful, it’s 47 stories visible in the main atrium with a cluster of stylish elevators quickly running crowds of people up and down the inside column of the atrium. Hundreds, no, thousands of people, most of which that were in some form of costume milled about talking, taking pictures, and celebrating as one.

· Donnie was sure that he had died and gone to nerd heaven…nerd nirvana…nerd-vana. A small tear rests at the edge of one of his eyes. Mikey’s hyperactive mind starts to short circuit as his eyes jump around the celebratory scene in front of him…’now THIS is a PARTY’, he thinks to himself. Raph bringing up the rear, is stunned into silence himself. There are women…EVERYWHERE…WITH VERY LITTLE ON…AND WITHIN TOUCHING DISTANCE!

· Leo quickly assesses the scene and the effect that it is having on his brothers’ attention span, he’s got to set down the rules quickly and keep them focused on the task of finding Shredder. “Ok, guys, let’s split up and find Shredder quickly as possible. There are a lot of people here, so he’ll have plenty to blend in with, or use as victims against us, we NEED to find him quickly. Raph, you’re with me, we’ll down those escalators and search there. Don you and Mike take that upper level. If you see Shredder call for backup, don’t engage until we can be sure that we can keep the area clear and ensure that people won’t get hurt.”.

· Leo and Raph descend to the lower level via the escalator. The level is one large arching circle with various wings and ballrooms off its center. There is a back entrance where other vehicles are making pit stops, picking up and dropping off of party-goers. Leo doesn’t like this scenario, it’s going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. “We need to move through these wings to make sure he hasn’t made it to some of the maintenance areas.

· Raph doesn’t hear Leo’s directions as he is fully distracted by a group of women cosplaying as a Sailor Moon group standing around the lower level posing for pictures. He grins devilishly at them as they wave teasingly at him. Leo lets out an alpha snort, which doesn’t have much impact coming from his smaller human lungs, and he punches the oversexed behemoth in the arm, “Raph, focus!”.

· “I am focusing, Fearless, I’m focusing on dat real hard”, he replies slyly while his eyes haven’t left the group of short-skirted women.

· Leo shakes his head, “I knew I should have brought Donnie with me, but I couldn’t trust you and Mikey together.”.

· Raph’s eyes finally leave the group of cosplayers to stare pointedly at Leo, “I don’t need ya ta babysit me, LEO. I’ll find Shredda and kick his ass all da way back ta New York”, he snarls aggressively.

· “Fine, prove it, let’s move”, Leo challenges and starts leading the way down through the bowels of the hotel.

· As Donnie and Mikey crested the escalator, their eyes saw even more of the festivities taking place on the main level. People crowded around the bar and the dance platform, one story up overlooking the main level lobby, was packed to the brim with people grinding and gyrating to the beats from the house DJ.

· “Don, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven”, Mikey whispers out reverently.

· “We need to find Shredder, Mikey, we don’t have time to play around”, Donnie says, even though his own eyes are wandering the crowds appreciating the costume designs, period replicas people are carrying, and the….uhm….nice outfits of the ladies. Donnie subtly adjusts the crotch of his cargo pants. He may be slightly smaller in human form, but proportionally still quite sizable and too many ‘happy thoughts’ still cause an uncomfortable tightness down below.

· “Ok, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think we need to split up to cover more ground. There is just too many going on and Shredder will be able to hide among it. Mikey, PLEASE, don’t get lost and stay focused.”, Donnie negotiates with his younger brother.

· “Don, you can count on me, bro! Detective Mikey is on the case!”, he clasps Donnie on the shoulder before starting to walk off to circle the atrium from the left.

· “We’ll meet back up by the bar”, Donnie yells at him over the crowd before he moves off to the right, searching the crowds for a villain but appreciating the other visual interests as well.

@turtle-babe83 @tmntspidergirl @kokokatsworld @nittleboo @the-second-circle-of-shell

#tmnt #tmnt bayverse #tmnt smut #tmnt x reader #tmnt fanfiction #tmnt donatello #donnie #tmnt leonardo #leonardo #tmnt leo #raphael #tmnt raph #tmnt mikey #michelangelo

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thebrochtuarachs · 3 years

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Something in the Rain - “Interruptions”

A/N: I hope you like it. As always, your comments and suggestions are very much welcome.

A modern day meet cute instance between Jamie and Claire.

AO3 / C1: A Day In June : C2: Definitely, Maybe : C3: So We Meet Again : C4: Friday Lunch : C5: Finding Solid Ground : C6: Situations

XXXXX

“What should I wear tomorrow?” Claire texted Jamie on the eve of their first official date. She wanted to have an extra time to shop should the need there be.

“What do ye mean?” he replied.

“I want to dress appropriately to wherever you’re taking me, James Fraser.”

“I see. Smart casual would do. :) Sorry, I dinna thought of informing ye earlier but wouldn’t it be hilarious if you dressed to the nines and we’re going to some sort of cattle farm”

“Exactly.” Claire replied with the eye roll and laughing emoji. “Can I know where we’re going?”

“Don’t ye want to be surprised?” Jamie messaged back and saw three dots typing afterwards.

“Hmm, thinking about it, yes. I’m excited to see the Jamie Fraser Date Experience.”

“Hope it doesna disappoint. I, too, am excited to see the Claire Beauchamp Date Experience. ;)” he replied, knowing the use of emoji will make her smile as he rarely uses one.

“I hope it doesn’t disappoint, too.” she replied with a winky face too. “Are you back in Edinburgh?”

“Just about to arrive home. I might just wash and then hit the sack.”

“Rest then, Jamie. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Sassenach. I’ll message ye tomorrow when I’m on my way”

----

It has been four weeks since their accidental meeting at the sidewalk. After countless run-ins, lunches, and an absurd amount of consumed soy chicken, the day of their date has arrived.

When Claire accepted his invitation three days earlier, Jamie went into a slight overdrive trying to plan what to do. He meant to ask her out when he got back - but when he found out that she met Laoghaire, something pushed him to go for it before Claire had any wrong idea about his connection with Mrs. Fitz's granddaughter.

His first idea was to go all out - book the fanciest rooftop restaurant in the city, get the best chef he knew, and plan a private dinner for them. Fancy and exclusive seemed like a safe choice and a sure hit.

Then he thought about Claire and all their interactions so far - hole in the wall kitchens, asian street food, very light and casual. Jamie pondered on the idea and realized that jumping from that to an uber private dinner might not be the best, so he kept that card to play for later.

It was then he decided to just take their casual lunch to a casual dinner. He’ll just exchange one-hour savory chicken meetings for a comfortable, popular city restaurant and longer conversations. He also decided on wearing more casual clothes, opting out of his office suits that she’d seen him often in for a navy turtleneck, khaki pants and white sneakers.

Arriving at her front door, Jamie took one last stock of himself, suddenly feeling a wave of nervousness, and knocked on her door.

What he saw next knocked him out.

Claire opened the door wearing a burgundy sleeveless jumpsuit that was both modest and sexy, yet casual enough. Pairing the ensemble with black heels, the garment hugged Claire’s curves in just the right places that left Jamie staring for a hot minute.

“Hi” Claire broke through his thoughts and he remembered his manners.

“Hi, Claire. Wow, ye look beautiful”

“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself. Going to stop traffic pairing blue on blue like that”

“Ye ready to go?”

“Yeah. Are we going to walk?” She asked as she locked the door to her place.

“Yes, I hope ye dinna mind. Ye live close by all the nice places to eat.”

“No, I don’t mind and also, very true.”

It was a short 10-minute walk before they arrived at Howie’s Restaurant.

“Howie’s. Interesting choice.” Claire commented as they walked to the hostess.

“We can go somewhere if ye dinna like it here.” Jamie offered.

“No, I actually quite like it here” she had to stifle a laugh at how adorable she found his tenseness was.

The hostess pointed them to the bar to wait for their table. Claire excused herself to the bathroom and Jamie ordered a light whisky for some liquid courage.

When the bartender served his drink, a familiar bloke sat beside him and greeted him.

“Jamie Fraser, hello!”

Jamie gulped the drink and turned to the man beside him. “Joe! It’s good to see ye, man!”

The two shook hands and exchanged more pleasantries.

“I’m actually meeting my wife.” He looked at his watch and then to the front door. “Oh, good, she just arrived!” Joe quickly waved her in and introduced her.

“Jamie Fraser, meet Gail Abernathy. Gail, Jamie.” he paused when Jamie extended a hand to her. “He was the guy who volunteered at our center two weeks ago. All the kids were just drawn to him.”

“No wonder.” Gail observed, her comment earning a jokey sigh from her husband. “So, Jamie, what brings you to this side of town on a Saturday evening?”

Jamie was about to share that he was on a date, but then right on cue, Claire arrives to greet the trio.

“Hello, everyone!”

“Claire!” Gail squealed as she gave her friend a tight hug.

“Lady Jane, you clean up good!” Joe remarked.

As they finished their greetings, Jamie quietly whispered to Claire to order any drink she’d like. The husband-and-wife duo caught on and couldn’t resist to pry.

“You guys on a date?” Joe asked frankly.

“First one, actually.” Jamie replied as Gail raised an eyebrow while Claire returned to his side, drink in tow.

Joe leaned closer to Jamie and pretended to whisper in his ear, “My date advice is don’t challenge her or don’t allow her to challenge you to a drinking game. You will lose”

Claire groaned while the rest laughed at her expense.

Just then, the hostess approached the pairs and told them their tables were ready. They exchanged their goodbyes and were led to their areas.

---

Jamie had been a perfect gentleman.

He opened her seat, allowed her to order and choose whatever she wanted from the menu (They both went to the steak and fries!), and is making just the right amount of banter.

Claire actually liked this dining choice - Howie’s comfort food really brought out the easy ambiance and conversation to their date. She didn’t mind going to a fancier place but she knew that if they were there, things would be too formal, delicate and shy. This was much better and she’d Jamie props for this.

Moreover, what made this official first date a little bit more fun is much of the first date awkwardness is gone. They’ve covered much of the basics about their life during their lunches - their families (both their parents are alive and have retired away from the city, Claire’s an only child while Jamie had an older sister), how they chose their careers and where they went to school (Jamie is Oxford Law while Claire is Cambridge Med, the school rivalry something they joke about), their current or main interests (horses for Jamie, herbs for Claire) and many other things.

So the evening was more or less less a continuation on what they’ve normally done - catching up on their days, sharing an interesting story at work or a photo they found on the web, asking more random questions - the only difference now is, there’s a more clear and intentional purpose for knowing these things and whole lot of shameless flirting in between.

Forty-five minutes in and halfway through their steak, a man approached their table. “Dr. Beauchamp, it’s nice to see you here!”

Jamie and Claire looked up and saw a slender man, not much older than they are with grey eyes.

“Tom, hi!” Claire swallowed a fry and grabbed a cloth to clean her mouth.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your evening but I saw you from the bar and just had to pass by and greet you. I mean at least, this time, not at the hospital or during check ups”

Claire smiled and made the introductions. “Oh, I’m sorry. Tom Christie, this is Jamie Fraser. Jamie, Tom. He is a teacher at the public elementary school. We met when I did the annual medical checkup for the kids. Also, I’m the peds of his kids, Allan and Malva.”

The mention of the word kids made Jamie release the tight fist he didn’t know he held beneath the table. He didna like the way the man eyed Claire but it was not his place - not yet at least.

Jamie gave the man a nod but ultimately wished he’d go. When neither said or did anything, Tom said his farewells and confirmed his kids check-up schedule in two weeks.

---

They decided to share a slice of chocolate cake and one last glass of wine each to cap off their dinner.

As they waited for their order to arrive, they got startled with a loud noise.

“Jamie, is that ye?!” one man said.

“Oh, heavens, tis!” another man replied.

Jamie could not hide the embarrassment he felt as the two blokes approached their table. Once they noticed Claire, they did not waste time introducing themselves.

“Hello, I havena seen ye before. My name is Angus” the thin, beardly man extended his hand. “And ye are?”

“Hi, I’m Claire.” she reached out but eyeing Jamie for confirmation that he knew these people.

“I’m Rupert.” the other man said. “We’re Jamie’s cousins”

“Distant cousins” Jamie retorted back. “What brings ye here?” he asked while glaring at them to leave.

“We have a double date” Angus shared, pointing to the table where two ladies were indeed waiting for them.

“Then I suggest you return to your dates then.” Jamie replied then proceeded to converse with the two men in Gaelic.

When the conversation was apparently over, Rupert sighed and turned to Claire. “It was nice meeting ye, lass. Please ask Jamie here to bring around one of our office events and meet the rest of the clan. I’m sure they’d love to get to know ye as well.”

Jamie stood up quickly and had to push the two back to their table before they said anything else that may ruin the evening.

“I’m sorry about them, Claire. They are quite the more, erm, rowdy members of my family.” he said as he sat down again.

“It’s alright. They seem really nice” Claire said, smiling. “So, clan huh? Just how big is that family of yours really?” She brought the conversation back up again hoping it would ease his discomfort.

Jamie visibly relaxed and then, they were back in their bubble, “How many generations back?”

---

Desert went by swimmingly with the chocolate cake and red wine proving to be a winning combo. After an almost three-hour dinner, Jamie asked for the check and insisted on paying for the meal.

They were one their way out of the restaurant then Claire was greeted by incoming guests.

“Dr. Beauchamp!”

Claire turned to look who called her. “Oh, please call me Claire. It’s nice seeing you here”

“Likewise. Please call me Meredith.” she quickly signaled to the man beside her. “This is my husband, Derek.”

“Of course, Dr. Shepherd.” Claire politely acknowledged him with the man insisting to be called casually as well.

“Anyway, I’d just like to say that I just read your latest paper in the Journal of Pediatrics. I look forward to hearing all about it in your visit to Seattle.”

Claire graciously accepted the complement with a smile and bow. “Thank you. We’ll catch up in Seattle in a few weeks, then.” Remembering her companion, she turned to her back where Jamie was patiently waiting for her. “Oh my, where are my manners. Meredith, Derek, this is Jamie Fraser. Jamie, this is Meredith and Derek Shepherd. They’re visiting doctors from Grey Sloan Memorial in Seattle.”

Jamie returned the pleasantries and shook hands with the doctors.

“Alright, I’ll let you guys go on with your evening. Sorry for the sudden call out” Meredith said.

“It’s no problem at all. A good night to you both as well.” Claire replied as she looked at Jamie and motioned for them to head out.

Once they we're out of the restaurant, Jamie lets out a light laugh.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“I was just thinking that I’d never unexpectedly run into that many acquaintances in one evening, let alone in a date!” he shared, chuckling more as the thought further sank in his mind and Claire joined him in his mood. “It isna exactly part of the Jamie Fraser Date Experience”

“I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t be, there’s nothing to apologize for. I mean, who would’ve thought, right?” Jamie retorted, his humor infectious.

She was touched by his honesty, not just with the situation but the entire night. He was caring, makes great conversation, and is always authentic with who and how he carries himself. She cannot make a full judgement of his character yet, as that is something she is still getting to know, but she likes what she is seeing so far.

Taking a bold step, she wrapped her arm around his as they started walking side by side back to her place.

Jamie looked at her hand, smiled and hoped it conveyed to Claire the joy he felt at the moment. “Is this part of the Claire Beauchamp Date Experience?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Only to a rare few” she said as she slightly tugged him closer.

The walk back seemed shorter than the one they did earlier. Before they knew it, they were already standing in front of Claire’s building.

“Oh, before I forget!” Jamie exclaimed as he fished out his car keys and a grey miata lit up open beside them. He pulled out an exquisite posey bouquet of red roses and handed it to her. “These are for you.”

Claire took them and smelt it, “The flowers are beautiful”

“I hope ye had a good time, Sassenach”

“I had a great time, Jamie. Thank you”

After a beat, Jamie took a deep breath, gathering strength to what he was about to say next. “Claire, we’ve known each other for about a month now, became unexpected friends in a short amount of time, had our lunches and now, our first date. I hope ye dinna think this is too forward of me but...I like you and I would like to see you again or keep seeing you, I guess.“ They we’re holding each other’s gazes as he laid out his intentions and waited for her reply.

Claire sighed and was just amazed by him. Her previous encounters are usually with male friends who constantly hang out with her then a few months down, asks her “what they are” as if she had to know or feel that something was happening from the get go. So, Jamie's forthrightness and old-fashionedness was truly refreshing and she was more than willing to give it a go.

As a final check to their chemistry, she stepped closer, tilted her head and leaned in to him. Quickly responding to her actions, he held her face on one hand and placed the other on her hips to pull her closer. He followed her lead until their lips crashed into each other in a single deep kiss.

In that moment, both Jamie and Claire knew something big shifted in the dynamic of their relationship.

This was not usual.

This is different.

And oh so good.

They felt each other smile against their lips just as they pulled apart for air.

“I like you too, Jamie and yes”

A/N: Maybe not the first date you might've thought of but hope you liked it! As always, thank you for reading! Your comments, suggestions, and questions are always welcome. If there's a story or scene you'd like to know, feel free to drop it! :)This was my original idea for the date but as I was writing it, I was going back and forth about scraping the entire thing and think about something else. But the original thought kept developing in my mind so I went back and stuck with it and cross-fingers, hoped it worked and made sense. I knew she had doctor friends but adding the Greys Anatomy characters just came about since I've been binging the show and thought it'd be fun to crossover. Hope you're keeping safe and in line to get vaccinated for the COVID-19 shot! See you all in the next one!

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clouditae · 4 years

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First Love | 04

Word: 2.4k

You first saw him in the multi-purpose room. Later learn his name, and on your third year, as he becomes your neighbor, you discover his lifestyle. Knowing your crush on him was nothing but that, you wanted to find the courage to look for love. Asking your friend for help, you’re pointed in the direction of the expert. Your neighbor, Min Yoongi

Chapter Index

It’s Friday afternoon. Everyone's out doing something while you lie in bed. You’ve been in bed since you woke up and watched Ari pack a bag of clothes. She and Hoseok are going somewhere for the weekend and you couldn’t help but question how she and him were a couple after only knowing one another for a month.

“I wondered the same thing,” she told you, folding a dress and placing it into her bag. “But after we met that first day, I guess we just sort of clicked. We couldn’t help but get closer, and ta-da,” she laughed, “We’re dating. It’s still early to start a relationship, but we couldn’t help it.”

“Lucky,” you mumble, finally forcing yourself out of bed. “It’s so easy for you to find someone, but it’s a struggle for me.”

You walk towards your mirrored closet, opening it and grabbing your caddie. You grab a towel from the shelf in your closet, and close the closet door before making your way towards the bathroom door to take a quick shower. When you finished showering, got dressed, and walked back into your room, your stomach rumbles.

You sigh, “Ten more minutes.” You glance at the little blue clock on your desk to confirm that the dining hall would have lunch out in ten. Thankfully you’re correct.

You take your time putting on your lotion, brushing your hair when it is dry enough, and putting on your socks and shoes as you hang your towel on the rack in your closet. Checking the clock on your desk one last time, you grab your keys, ID, and phone before leaving your room to grab lunch. You walk down the hallway, but turn back around and make your way back to your dorm when you realize you didn’t grab your earphones.

Placing your key in the keyhole, you turn the key and push the door open. You quickly grab your earphones from your desk and leave your room once again, pulling the key out and making your way down the hallway. What you’re not expecting is a girl knocking on Yoongi’s door, and you definitely aren’t expecting an ache in your chest as you slowly walk past her. The sound of the door opening catches your attention. Your eyes meet Yoongi’s as he looks past the brunette and at you. Looking away, you walked faster until you were at the bottom of the staircase.

Your chest aches even more. You’re still not over him, even though he’s rude and clearly doesn’t care for anyone but himself. Your feelings for him remain. You want to believe that he is a good person, but you know he isn’t.

Maybe other people see different. But from what you see… you want nothing to do with him.

Entering the dining hall, you do your usual routine, grabbing what looks best before taking a seat in the back corner of the room. Pulling out your earphones and phone, you plug in your earphones before clicking on your usual app and clicking on the show you are currently invested in. You put your phone down, angling it just right and begin to chow down.

Today’s episode is about the main character getting the guy of their dreams. Some bad flirting happens, jokes are made, feelings are hurt, and all you want to do is throw your phone out the window. It’s like the world is giving you the bird in the biggest way for falling for someone like Yoongi. With so much anger building up inside you, you shove the rest of your food in your mouth, placing your empty plates in the huge sink for the dishwasher to wash, and practically stomping out of the dining hall.

Min Yoongi is a jerk and nothing can change your mind.

Saturday morning is something you don’t want to be awake to. It’s Saturday and all you want to do is sleep in until noon, but you have homework to do and a project to begin. If you stay in your dorm, you know for a fact that you won’t do it. All you will do is sit at your desk and stare at your computer screen, so you force yourself out of bed, into the shower, and pack your textbooks and other items into your backpack before grabbing your earphones and heading out of your dorm. You walk down the hall, past the staircase that leads to the first floor, and into the north hall. The hall is a lot longer than the center hall as you walk down it towards the exit door that leads to the outdoor staircase. You can’t help but wonder if everyone in the hall knows one another like your hall did. Center halls have fewer people, so it’s easy to remember everyone. Or at least know their faces.

Reaching the door, you exit the hallway and make your way down the staircase. You follow the group of friends making their way towards the shuttle that is across the parking lot and on the side of the street when you reach the first floor. The music plays in your earphones loud enough to block out the world. The cars that drive by, honking because the car in front of them is too slow, the chatter from the other students who are waiting for the shuttle, and the dogs barking. You don’t hear it.

You check your phone for the time. The shuttle will leave in ten minutes, but the bus will drive by in four. Glancing to your left, down the street you could see the bus parked on the curb next to the bus stop. Rather than wait for the shuttle, you walk up the sidewalk to the bus stop in front of the apartment complex next door. You stand next to the bus stop for two minutes before the bus pulls up in front of you. You steal a quick glance to see if any of the other students are making their way over towards you, but no one is looking at you. Either they aren’t paying attention, or they still didn’t bother getting the bus pass from the cashier window on campus—which is free. You hop on the bus, pressing your bus pass against the scanner, hearing a beep before making your way towards the middle of the bus.

Taking a seat next to the window, you watch as the apartments and the auto shop blur by, the coffee shop appearing as the bus comes to a stop. With the doors opening, two people enter the bus. They take a seat closer in the front as the doors close and the bus drives off towards its next stop. For the next five stops, three people enter the bus. Usually there would be a lot of students, but because it’s Saturday, no one wants to go to school. It’s the weekend, who would want to go to school to study? You can’t help but sigh. Sadly you have to go to school to study.

The bus turns left, entering the campus property. With no one at the first stop, the bus continues on until reaching the second stop where the stop light is red. The doors open and two students enter the bus. As the driver of the bus waits for the light to turn green, you stare out the window as a few students wait at the bus stop for their bus to appear. One student, however, catches your eye. He stands next to the bench, hands in his jean pockets. You can’t see his eyes with his sunglasses covering them, but his blond hair looks familiar. Before you can even think hard enough, the bus takes off, leaving the familiar person behind.

At the final stop, you get up from your seat and walk to the front of the bus, thanking the driver, and getting off. You walk to the edge of the sidewalk, looking both ways before crossing the small street. You make your way up the sidewalk towards the library, watching as a bus pulls up to the bus stop next to you. You continue forward before turning left and walk alongside the library towards the entrance. No one is at the tables outside the entrance, so that means the floors aren’t completely filled with people.

Entering the library, you’re met with the smell of coffee from the coffee shop in front of you. The five story building has each floor assigned to the level of noise. The basement is a floor for studying and no noise. First floor, the floor you’re on, has the computers, the front desk, and the coffee shop. Clearly talking loudly is allowed. The second, third and fourth floor contains books for the students to search for, along with tables to do some studying. The second and fourth floor allow talking, while the third floor doesn't. The fifth floor is a lot like the basement. All tables but this floor has cubicles for students to group study. The fifth floor allows talking, and during midterms and finals, a lot of the students spend the night in the cubicles.

You pass through the detectors, making a right towards the lobby. Pressing the up button to the elevator, you glance at the computers that occupy the rest of the floor to your right. A few students type away furiously on the keys as they most likely write their paper. After a few seconds, the middle elevator doors open. You enter the elevator, pressing the fifth floor, and watch the doors close just as a group of guys’ heads appear to be coming up the stairs from the basement.

The number at the top goes from one to two, then from two to three. The number goes up to five before the elevator comes to a stop and the doors open. You exit the elevator, making a left and enter through the glass doors into the study of the fifth floor. Much to your expectation, there are very few people in the room. You make your way towards the back of the room towards the desks that run along the window. Taking a seat in the empty one at the corner, you place your bag on the desk. You love this spot because from this floor, you get a view of the ocean.

And so, for the rest of the day until closing at five in the afternoon, you do all your homework and plan out everything you have in mind for your project. You’ll need to start the project on Monday when the shelter is open. When you leave the library, you contemplate whether you should have dinner on campus, or head back to the dorms and have dinner in the dining hall. You debate for a few minutes before deciding to have dinner on campus. You’re craving sushi and some fish and chips from the Greek stand.

Rather than turn left from the entrance of the library to head towards the bus stop, you move forward, passing numerous buildings where you had and have classes in. You pass the building of the Asian department, pass the psychology building and the bookstore. Walking down the small set of stairs, you pass the outdoor seating to the grill and pub, and finally enter the food court next door. The numerous smells of different types of foods hit you like a wave. Walking further in, you ignore the Boba shop that isn’t good, and the vegan stand as well, eyes strained on the Japanese stand and the Greek stand next to it.

You’re going to order your fish and chips first, and thankfully there isn’t much of a line. You follow the maze of the line leading towards the cashier, and walk up to the smiling woman.

“What can I get you?” she asks, her tone bright and welcoming. You give her your order, requesting only two fish rather than four along with a large drink. She repeats your order, asking for your school ID for the student discount, takes your card, and makes the transaction. You tell the woman your name before making your way to the stand next to it. Grabbing the container of spicy crab sushi rolls, walking up to the cashier to pay for it.

Once you’ve paid, you make your way towards an empty table, setting the rolls and your backpack down. Before you can sit, your name is called. You walk towards the counter of the Greek stand and grab your tray of fish and chips and your drink. When everything is laid out in front of you, you have your earphones in, show ready, and take your sweet time eating dinner.

Everything tastes so delicious. You’ve been craving sushi and the fish and chips for a while, but because you never have a reason to eat on campus, you never bother eating here. Now, however, you gave yourself a reason, and it’s the best decision you’ve made in a while.

Eventually you finish eating, pack your belongings, ride the bus towards your dorms, and close the door to your room behind you. Immediately you strip your clothes, feeling free as you slip on your gray pajama pants and a light pink short sleeved shirt. You’re about to binge something on Netflix, eat your tub of ice cream in your freezer, and pass out around midnight. Maybe later.

Before you can begin your steps to getting comfortable and eating, a knock is heard on your door, both startling you and confusing you. No one should be bothering you unless it’s your RA, but he wouldn’t bother anyone this late. You peek through the peephole, seeing blond hair on the other side of the door. You frown. Why did the blond hair look familiar?

Grabbing the handle, you twist it and slowly pull the door open, but the person on the other side pushes themselves in, causing you to stumble back. “Where is she?” the man says, as he walks into your room. You barely have time to open your mouth before the stranger turns around to look at you, eyes fuming. That’s when it hits you. You know who this man was. Ari’s stories scare you, but seeing him in person, showing his anger scares you more. “Where the hell is she?” he asks again, voice a bit louder than before.

“I-I don’t know,” you tell him, voice shaking.

Leo. Ari’s ex. She broke up with him your first year at the dorms when his verbal abuse became too much. Ari said he never hit her, but the way he talked to her made her feel worthless, and the way he yelled and got close to her scared her. He doesn’t break you physically, but he does mentally.

“Then you’re going to take me to her,” he tells you, grabbing you by your wrist and dragging you out your room.

“I’m telling you—I don’t know where she is. Please let me go,” you beg, trying hard to stop him from dragging you down the hall, but you’re not strong compared to him. With your free hand, you try to have him let you go. “Please Leo. Please let me go—I’m telling you the truth, I don’t know where she is!” You feel warm tears stream down your cheeks.

He isn’t listening to you. He’s going to drag you to his car and force you to find Ari. Maybe he’ll abandon you somewhere where you’ve never been. Maybe this is where you die.

A hand appears out of nowhere, grabbing Leo’s wrist, forcing him to stop. “What do you think you’re doing?” Leo turns back to face the person holding his wrist while you look up to see Yoongi standing next to you. “You should let go of her.”

Leo scoffs, “Not until she tells me where Ari is.”

Yoongi has a blank expression as he replies, “She’s out with my roommate for the weekend.”

“What?” Leo growls, grip on your wrist tightening causing you to whimper as he grabs Yoongi by his shirt with his free hand and pushes him against the wall.

“I’d suggest you leave. You have an audience, and you won’t be running far before the cops catch you for entering a room uninvited, kidnapping, and I’m guessing you already have a record, so this’ll be bad for you,” Yoongi says, tone so calm as if he isn’t being threatened by someone who looks stronger than him. Leo’s grip around your wrist loosens just a bit, and the voices behind you can finally be heard over the rapid beating of your heart.

Leo is silent. No words are said between the two as they stare one another down. Can Yoongi be stronger to challenge Leo? You’d never know as Leo finally lets go of your wrist, jabbing a finger at Yoongi’s chest. “This isn’t over,” he whispers before storming out the hall and down the staircase.

You remain still, staring at the spot Leo was just at. You’re afraid he’ll come back if you move from your spot. You thought that maybe if you stay here, he won’t come back.

“Hey.” You blinked, sucking in a breath as you turn your head to look at Yoongi who is leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets. He looked you up and down. “Where are your keys?”

It takes you a bit to comprehend what he’s asking, but when you’re finally able to push the thoughts of what happened back, it dawns on you. “In my room,” you whisper.

“The office is closed so you can’t use their key to get in,” he began, pushing himself off the wall, “so it looks like you’re with me.” You stare at him with wide eyes. You’re going to sleep in his room? Just the two of you? What will everyone in this hall think if they watch you walk into his room? “Everyone has gone back to their rooms, so no one will see,” he tells you. Everyone is gone? Slowly, you turn around to see an empty hall. When did everyone go to their room? Yoongi takes a few steps before he reaches his room and opens his door, staring at you as he holds it open. “Well?”

This is the one time where you wish you weren’t so paranoid and left the latch to your bathroom door open so you can just go to your neighbors and get to your room through the bathroom, but you know for a fact that you closed it. You couldn’t hate yourself any more than you do right now as you walk into his room.

Yoongi’s room is pretty much set up the same way your room is. Except, the only thing is that everything is on the opposite side of yours. While Hoseok has some rather bright colored bed sheets, Yoongi is more on the darker side. Having just a simple black pillow case and gray blanket.

“You can take my bed,” he tells you, and before you can respond, he adds, “I washed the sheets if that’s what you’re thinking.”

That isn’t what you’re thinking. In fact, you actually forgot what happened earlier. You feel rather uncomfortable sleeping in his bed, but the more you think about it, the better his suggestion makes sense. If you sleep in Hoseok’s bed, Ari may find a strand of hair or something and that can lead to something you do not want to happen for them. So, you nod and climb into his bed.

The blanket and pillow smell like fabric softener and shampoo. He must have been lying in bed before he found you and Leo in the hall. Your thoughts go back to Leo, your heart racing and body slightly shaking. You’re fighting the urge to cry. You don’t want to cry in front of him. However, the sound of music begins to play, getting loud enough to block out a conversation.

You’re not sure if he did it for you or not, but you’re grateful as your vision begins to blur, and the view from the closet mirror of your hero working at his desk goes blurry as you cry yourself to sleep.

#bangtanarmynet #thebtswritersclub #bangtanuniversity #btsgoldnet #bts #bts x reader #bts x you #bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts angst #bts au #min yoongi #yoongi x reader #yoongi x you #yoongi fanfic #yoongi fluff #yoongi angst #yoongi au

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heyiwrotesomethings · 3 years

Text

Soulmate

ShinoMitsu Week 2021 Day Three: (Fake/Secret Dating, Soulmate, Hobbies)

A/N: Here we are, the last time I’ll need to give this warning! This is the last part of the main storyline, everything else after this will be snippets from this AU safe for anyone to read. Enjoy! Word Count: 4,104

Mitsuri waited outside the gates of Sekirei Girls’ Academy, humming and rocking on her feet. It was obscenely early, but it was a price she was willing to pay if it meant being the first person to greet Shinobu on school grounds each morning.

Mitsuri was very happy. Ever since the surprise thunderstorm, she and Shinobu had grown much closer. Whenever Shinobu would spot her, she’d shoot Mitsuri the cutest little smile that made the older girl’s heart feel like it was going to explode! They talked more and even hung out outside of school on occasion, it was all Mitsuri had ever hoped for in pursuing a relationship with the cool, smart and beautiful Kochou Shinobu.

There was one thing that bothered her though, and that would be Shinobu’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge the strange bond between them. It hadn’t just been a product of the storm, they had experienced the visions a few more times since then. Usually, a specific touch or smell, even a sound could trigger an event and they’ve only gotten clearer since that rainy day.

From what Mitsuri gathered, she and Shinobu had been part of some kind of war if the uniforms and katanas were anything to go by. She didn’t really have many specific details beyond that. Many of the visions that came to her seemed to reflect whatever triggered them in the first place. Mitsuri had been researching the phenomenon in her spare time, but wasn’t making much progress on her own. She was sure if she could get Shinobu’s help on the matter they could actually find something, but as previously said, Shinobu wanted nothing to do with it. That didn’t mean Mitsuri was going to give up though.

“Good morning, Shinobu-chan!” Mitsuri grinned and waved excitedly as Shinobu appeared in the distance.

“Good morning,” Shinobu answered once she was close enough to do so without yelling. Her lips were curled into that small smile that Mitsuri loved to see.

“What are you going to be practicing today, Shinobu?” Mitsuri asked, following her Kouhai to the track. Now that she had her foot in the door of Shinobu’s life, she was working on wiggling herself further in by spending all the time she could with her.

“My events next week are going to be the triple jump, high jump, one hundred meter dash, one hundred meter hurdles and the four hundred meter relay.” Shinobu recalled. “After I warm up I think I’ll start practicing my jumps and finish off with the sprints. I wanted to try pole vaulting, but Tomioka says I have to focus on my strengths now that the season is almost over. He’s such a killjoy.”

Mitsuri giggled. That was another part of Shinobu’s practices that she loved to watch. The shorter girl often sassed the coach or countered his teachings. It had worried Mitsuri at first, but quickly learned that it was simply their dynamic.

“There’s always next year, Shinobu! It’s sad I’m graduating this year, watching you practice is so fun. It’s too bad we didn’t become friends sooner, then you could have watched me during dance and volleyball season.” Mitsuri said wistfully.

“I’ve seen you do both many times.” Shinobu mumbled, a faint flush coloring her cheeks. “My sister was in both of those clubs as you may recall.”

“Yes! That’s true!” Mitsuri clapped before she thought about it a moment more and her face dropped. “But that means you’ve only seen me at my worst! I was only a first year back then and I wasn’t really good.”

“I remember, you fell a lot.” Shinobu snorted. Mitsuri covered her face and whined pitifully.

“But I didn’t stop going to meets and events even after Kanae graduated. You really improved over time.” Shinobu added shyly, keeping her eyes staring firmly ahead at the track where some other girls were already warming up.

“Aw, Shinobu!” Mitsuri cooed. She couldn’t stop herself from latching on to the shorter girl, pressing tightly into her side while Shinobu tried halfheartedly to shove her off.

The pair slowed their stride significantly as another vision past behind their eyes. A similar hug, but again with the strange uniforms and taking place in a grand garden that was growing steadily more familiar.

"Come on, I know you saw that." Mitsuri said once the feeling past and they began walking again.

"Saw what?" Shinobu feigned ignorance.

“Shinobu, when are you going to admit there is something supernatural going on here?”

“Never. It’s just absurd. I don’t believe in that kind of stuff.” Shinobu said, setting her bag on the bleachers.

“What do you mean? You love ghost stories and supernatural phenomena.” Mitsuri countered, sitting beside Shinobu’s belongings.

“I love telling scary stories precisely because I don’t believe in any of that junk. It’s funny to see how others react.”

“If you would help me with my research for just one night, I just know we could find something.”

“I’m sorry, Mitsuri. That just sounds like a waste of time,” Shinobu said, stretching her arms over her head before placing her hands back over her hips, “I’ve got to go warm up now.”

“No!” Mitsuri pouted.

“What?”

Mitsuri snatched Shinobu, catching her off guard and making her fall into Mitsuri’s lap.

“Mitsuri,” Shinobu scolded quietly, “let go!”

“Not until you promise to help me research what’s going on between us! Just one day, please!” Mitsuri exclaimed, pressing her cheek snuggly between Shinobu’s shoulder blades as her strong arms held her firmly in place.

“Fine, fine! Just cut it out!” Shinobu snapped.

“Yes!” Mitsuri cheered. She gave Shinobu one last tight squeeze before letting her go. The Kouhai stood and shot a glare at the giddy girl before darting of onto the track. Her skin already flushed before her workout even began.

Mitsuri used the rest of her time organizing the research she already had so she could really optimize her time with Shinobu. It was a little difficult to stay on task however, when she could be watching Shinobu twist over the high jump pole or sprint and leap over hurdles like they weren’t even an obstacle. Needless to say, Mitsuri didn’t get as much work done as she could have.

***

They had set the research session for Saturday. Shinobu thought she could have gotten away with a couple of hours Friday night, but Mitsuri had shot down that idea quickly. She had finally coerced Shinobu into helping her and she wasn’t going to settle for a couple of hours, she wanted a whole day.

They decided to do their research at Shinobu’s since it was a more quiet and controlled space than Mitsuri’s house with all her rambunctious siblings running about.

Mitsuri arrived bright and early Saturday morning, beaming brighter than the sun. Shinobu answered the door with messy hair and squinty eyes. Clearly she hadn’t been expecting Mitsuri to already be here. It was only seven in the morning after all.

“What time did you wake up this morning? You live on the other side of town.” Shinobu asked. She sounded grumpy, but it was mostly because she herself had only woken up fifteen minutes ago.

“I couldn’t sleep at all Shinobu. I couldn’t stop thinking about how excited I was to spend the day with you!” Mitsuri said, giving off a glow that should not have been humanly possible for someone who hadn’t slept at all the night before.

“You’re insane.” Shinobu deadpanned whilst making room for Mitsuri to enter her home.

While Shinobu finished getting ready for the day, Mitsuri made herself at home in Shinobu’s room and set up her own workspace. With Kanae at her job and Kanao heading out later to stay over at a friend’s house, it would just be the two of them for a majority of the day. Mitsuri wasn’t sure why, but the thought made her heart beat faster.

“Alright,” Shinobu sighed, dropping onto her futon beside Mitsuri, “what do you have so far?”

Mitsuri turned to face Shinobu and smiled. Gone was the cute, tousled bed hair, now tucked neatly into place, but the giant hoodie and athletic shorts she had been wearing when she had answered the door remained unchanged.

“You really like wearing giant sweatshirts, don’t you Shinobu?” Mitsuri had said instead with a light giggle.

“I get cold.” She stated simply.

“But you’re wearing shorts. Wouldn’t it help if you wore something longer?” The older girl pointed out.

“Watch this,” Shinobu sat up further back on the futon, “I’m about to blow your mind.”

Shinobu lifted the hem of her hoodie and before Mitsuri could register and appreciate the newly exposed skin it was quickly gone again as Shinobu’s knees pressed against her chest and the large hoodie was thrown back into place, encompassing all of Shinobu’s legs, making her look like a lumpy egg with a human head.

Mitsuri blanked for a moment, taking in Shinobu’s form for a few moments before laughing heartily. Shinobu laughed too, although more subdued. She had gotten just the reaction she was hoping for.

“What a problem solver, Shinobu-chan,” Mitsuri wiped a tear from her eye, “when you get a boyfriend you’re going to steal all of his hoodies, aren’t you?”

Shinobu winced a bit at the insinuation, instead of giving Mitsuri a real answer she hummed noncommittally, making Mitsuri tilt her head curiously.

Then a thought crossed Mitsuri’s mind that chilled her to the core, did Shinobu already have a boyfriend? She was so beautiful and amazing, had someone already claimed her heart? She lurched forward, startling Shinobu by balancing her weight over Shinobu’s knees, still hidden beneath the blanket like sweatshirt.

“Do you have a boyfriend, Shinobu?” She squeaked, her face mere centimeters away from the other’s.

“What? No!” Shinobu denied, blush crawling its way up her neck from their proximity.

“You promise? You don’t have to hide from me Shinobu, I’ll be your number one supporter!”

“I don’t have a boyfriend, Mitsuri. I never will so just drop it, okay?” Shinobu said, attempting to push Mitsuri out of her personal space.

“What do you mean, never?” Mitsuri was flabbergasted. Did Shinobu think that as pretty and charming as she was, she couldn’t get any boy she wanted? Now instead of relieved that Shinobu didn’t have a boyfriend, she was upset that Shinobu thought she would never have one. “You are beautiful Shinobu, and so smart and dedicated! Don’t give up, you’ll find the right boy for you and if they don’t treat you right they don’t deserve you! Just like you told me, right?”

“Mitsuri, stop.” Shinobu warned, running a hand through her hair.

“But it’s true! You could have any boy you want Shinobu.”

“I don’t want a boy!” Shinobu finally yelled, exasperated. “I don’t want a boy.” She said again this time in a more even tone, jerking her head away from Mitsuri.

“Don’t want a... oh!” Mitsuri clapped her hands together, “Do you want a girlfriend to share your hoodies with then?”

Though her head was turned, Mitsuri watched in amazement as Shinobu’s ears turned red before her very eyes. After a moment of silence, it was clear Shinobu was tongue tied.

“You do!” Mitsuri yelled, wiggling excitedly, “This is great, we can talk about what girls we think are cute together sometime. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“...What?” Shinobu peaked over her shoulder at Mitsuri.

“Well you know me, Shinobu. I like a lot of different people. It’ll be fun to see where we might overlap.” Mitsuri said as if it was obvious, no big deal. Unfortunately for her, her own idea didn’t make her feel much better. For some reason the idea of Shinobu sharing what other girls she found attractive made her feel anxious.

“No, I didn’t know that. I’ve only ever heard you talk about boys.” Shinobu said, distracting Mitsuri.

“Oh, well, now you know I guess.” Mitsuri shrugged with a smile, her face still hovering painfully close to Shinobu.

Shinobu could just about die.

A knock on the door saves her, and she calls Kanao in. The younger girl has her backpack on and a sleeping bag roll hugged against her chest.

“Nezuko and her mom are here to pick me up.” She said, staring between the two older girls and wondering why her sister appeared so flustered.

“Okay, do you have everything?” Shinobu got up from her futon, happy for an excuse to step away from Mitsuri and her honey sweet scent.

“Yes.” Kanao answered with a nod.

“And how are you getting home tomorrow?” Shinobu asked.

“Aoi said her dad would drop me off.”

“Alright, call or text if you need anything. If you want to come home early Kanae will pick you up at anytime, okay?” Shinobu reminded. Since their parents were often away, Shinobu and Kanae had basically been Kanao’s primary caretakers ever since she was adopted. It was a little hard at times for Shinobu to remember that Kanao wasn’t so little anymore.

“I remember, see you tomorrow, Nee-san.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Kanao turned, rounded the corner and with a quiet closing and locking of a door, she was gone.

Shinobu cleared her throat and turned back to Mitsuri, who had watched the interaction with hearts in her eyes.

“So, are we ever going to get into your, ‘research’ or are we just going to sit here and do nothing all day?” Shinobu crossed her arms, her eyes not quite meeting Mitsuri’s as she was still embarrassed from earlier.

That seemed to jolt Mitsuri out of her musings and the older girl quickly finished setting up and filled Shinobu in on what she had so far.

“So basically,” Shinobu leaned her back against the wall, “you have nothing.”

“That’s not true!” Mitsuri pouted, leaning closer to Shinobu to shove her laptop in the younger girl’s face, “Did you read this article about telepathic dream links and dimensional rifts?”

“Just hearing you say that aloud makes my brain want to melt.” Shinobu snorted.

“Take this seriously Shinobu. You promised you’d try today.” Mitsuri pleaded.

“You’re right,” Shinobu sighed, taking the laptop from Mitsuri’s hands to place it on her own lap, “sorry.”

“You’re forgiven. Now, how can we find out what’s going on with us?”

“Well, let’s type... connected vision experiences, and see if we find something similar and go from there.” Shinobu tapped the enter key and the relevant links popped up on the search engine.

Articles, websites and message boards yielded very little the first hour or so. Then they got really serious. Shinobu got out her own laptop so they could broaden their search. Occasionally they would share an interesting or just down right insane tidbit of information but largely nothing came up that sounded like what they were experiencing.

After awhile, Mitsuri noticed that Shinobu had gone quiet and seemed to be reading something rather intently. Excited, Mitsuri knocked shoulders with her.

“Did you find something good, Shinobu?” She asked.

“Ah, no. Sorry.” Shinobu quickly rebuffed. “I was reading an article about a new species of butterfly.”

“Aw, Shinobu! Stay on task here, come on!” Mitsuri scolded as best she could, but she was just too sweet for her words to have much bite.

“A break wouldn’t hurt, would it? Aren’t you hungry? I’ll order a delivery for whatever you want.” Shinobu enticed.

Now how could Mitsuri say no to that? Especially since her stomach had just then decided to speak for her with a low rumble.

“Food sounds great!” Mitsuri said, easily giving in.

“What do you want?” Shinobu asked, getting up.

“Mochi!” Mitsuri cheered.

“And?” Shinobu laughed.

“Tempura and miso! No wait, oden! No wait, ramen? Yakitori?” Mitsuri rubbed her temples, a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek. This was an important decision!

“Pick a couple of things we can get at the same restaurant and anything you wanted that we didn’t get, we can make for dinner, okay?” Shinobu suggested after watching Mitsuri struggle for a minute.

“Really Shinobu? You’re the best!” Mitsuri praised.

They came up with a list and Shinobu ordered from the restaurant before going to the kitchen to make sure they had the ingredients they needed for dinner, leaving Mitsuri to continue their research.

Mitsuri was thinking of a new phrase to put in her search bar when Shinobu’s laptop caught her eye, still open and waiting for its owner to return. With a light hum, she set her own laptop aside, replacing it with Shinobu’s. Shinobu was right, a little break would be fine and she really wanted to see what this new butterfly looked like.

Mitsuri scrolled back to the top of the page, letting out a disappointed huff as there were no pictures. She scoured for the name of the butterfly to look it up herself, but the words she scanned gave her more questions than answers.

Words and phrases of past lives and tragedy, rebirth and second chances. An uncommon phenomenon. Mitsuri decided to reread from the beginning with complete focus.

A few minutes later, Shinobu reentered the room, looking down at her phone as she finished typing out a grocery list.

“Hey, we’re short on a few things. I’m just going to pop by the convenience store down the street. Do you want to come?”

“Why did you lie?” Mitsuri frowned at Shinobu instead, causing the other to whip her head up from her phone.

“Wha—“ Shinobu cut herself off as soon as she saw her laptop in Mitsuri’s grasp. “Oh Mitsuri, I just— it’s one article. It doesn’t mean anything...“

“Doesn’t mean anything... Shinobu, this is us to a T!” Mitsuri shot her arms up above her head, “We’re soulmates!”

“Mitsuri,” Shinobu tried to de-escalate, “you can’t believe everything you read, I didn’t find anything else about the subject. It’s just one story and—“

“It’s so detailed. The visions Koyuki and Hakuji shared, they aren’t so different from how our own come to us,” Mitsuri laid back against the futon with a light groan, covering her eyes. “To think we experienced some tragic end in our past lives, and the visions were so we could find each other and try falling in love again. It’s a lot to take in.”

Mitsuri let out a big breath of air and then remembered that she was still hurt that Shinobu had lied to her and sat back up.

“So why did you lie, Shinobu? Do you,” her voice got quieter, “do you not like me?”

“I do like you, don’t be ridiculous. I was just, I don’t know...” Shinobu huffed, walking over to her fish tank to watch the little colorful fish swim about. An excuse to not have to look at Mitsuri’s sad face.

“Is it because of my hair or maybe, because I eat a lot? Because I’m too clingy?” Mitsuri thought aloud, making Shinobu immediately turn back and stalk over to her.

Mitsuri yelped as Shinobu pushed her back against the futon and hovered over her, eyes dark with great sincerity as she poked Mitsuri squarely in the chest.

“You stop that right now.” Shinobu warned quietly. “There is not one part of you that I don’t like,” She changed her position to sit beside Mitsuri and looked down at the floor,

“...I was just, nervous I guess. I didn’t know how you would react. If you would think I was trying to take advantage of you or you would want to be with me just because of what one story had to say. If we did become a, a couple, I would hope it would because we are genuinely happy with each other and not because we may have known each other in another life.”

Mitsuri sat back up again and nodded vigorously, wrapping up Shinobu in a side hug with her head resting on her shoulder.

“I’ve liked you for a long time. Ever since I saw you running at the sports festival last year, I thought you were really cool and pretty. You made my heart leap back then before I even knew your name. Even without our shared visions or the possibility of the existence of soulmates, I would still want to be with you.” Mitsuri spoke, her words heartfelt, and Shinobu knew it.

“Until now, I didn’t let myself really think about asking you to be my girlfriend because, well, you know what I’ve told you of my track record with dating. They would always end up leaving. I didn’t want you to leave too.”

“I wouldn’t.” Shinobu said sternly, crossing her arms beneath Mitsuri’s side hug, making the older girl giggle and bury her head further into Shinobu’s neck. “Those guys were all assholes.”

“This is why I was so worried you might have already been dating someone, you’re just so expressive and— ahh! I just like you a lot!” Mitsuri nuzzled.

“I like you too.” Shinobu mumbled but she was full of sincerity. She freed one of her arms so she could pat Mitsuri affectionately on her back before clearing her throat.

“So do you, would you, like to go on a date sometime? Not because we might be soulmates or whatever, but because you would genuinely like to regardless?” She asked.

Mitsuri squealed and shook Shinobu in her arms, “Yes! Yes, I’d really like to do that. Do you mean it? Do you want to?”

“Yeah, I do. —Hey!”

Mitsuri pulled Shinobu back down on the futon with her, still hugging her close. Wisteria clung to her nose the longer she stayed close and she didn’t want to leave. Mitsuri grinned into Shinobu’s shoulder as she felt arms finally wrap around her.

“What a weird, amazing day, hm?” Mitsuri breathed through a relaxed sigh.

“Tell me about it.” Shinobu sighed in return though she sounded more spent than relaxed. She wasn’t accustomed to sharing such gooey emotions like this. Honestly, she felt lucky Mitsuri had the patience to bear with her.

“Aren’t you glad I made you do this research with me now?”

“Mm, probably would have just been a lot less work for you to just as me out instead while you had me trapped.” Shinobu responded cheekily, earning a light slap on the arm.

“Now, as much as I’d love to lay here, the food should be here in less than twenty minutes and I’d really like to grab those groceries before the delivery person gets here. Are you coming?”

“Are you kidding? I’ll never leave your side again!” Mitsuri said, shifting her body upwards a bit so she could show Shinobu her very serious, yet extremely cute and hardly intimidating, expression.

“Oh dear, what have I done.” Shinobu couldn’t help but smile. Hesitantly she caressed Mitsuri’s cheek and she melted instantly under her touch.

Before they could leave, Shinobu said she had to change her sweatshirt first and Mitsuri lightly poked fun at her, but in all honesty it would have been like Shinobu was wearing a Snuggie out in public with how big that hoodie was.

Shoes on, they walked down the street to their destination. Surprisingly, their conversation on the way felt normal as if nothing had really changed and that felt good. Mitsuri nervously brushed knuckles with Shinobu a few times and the younger girl easily took her hand in her own. They both quieted for a moment and smiled to themselves, enjoying the small, but not insignificant, act of intimacy.

They got the ingredients they needed with added snacks and managed to just barely beat the delivery person home with a couple minutes to spare. They put away the groceries and set up lunch in the living room because Mitsuri insisted on eating under the kotatsu even though the chills of winter had long since past. Shinobu was happy to indulge her anyway and offered to put a movie on to watch while they ate. They picked one and sat together, steadily migrating closer until they were leaning on each other.

Before long, Shinobu heard Mitsuri’s breathing change and realized that the other girl had gone quiet.

“Missed sleep finally caught up to you, did it?” Shinobu whispered fondly.

She pulled Mitsuri further into herself and she snuggled in. Shinobu paused the movie, having a feeling that Mitsuri would want to finish it later, and turned on a show she would usually watch herself while playing idly with Mitsuri’s hair.

She’d never admit it, but maybe, just maybe, there was something to all that soulmate business because it felt like she had waited a lifetime to hold her like this without another care in the world.

#shinomitsuweek2021 #shinomitsu #shinobu kochou #shinobu kocho #mitsuri kanroji #demon slayer #kny #au

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sharperthewriter · 3 years

Text

Chapter 34 of Possible-y Utah

Chapter 34 - Day 1: Checking In

(5:58pm, June 10, 2006)

"And here we are, Possible folks!" James exclaimed as he pulled the Platypus onto the I-25/I-80 cloverleaf. "The Cheyenne Motor Inn!"

The Cheyenne Motor Inn had 480 rooms which were divided into 12 two-story interior-corridor buildings with 40 rooms each that were connected by a series of breezeways that usually get heated during winter weather. The entire building was shaped like a weird-looking W. Each of the rooms had either a queen, king, or two double beds, a 35" TV, free wireless internet, an alarm clock/radio, a coffeemaker, a safe, air conditioning, a bath/shower combo, a sink and toilet and a closet. All of the buildings were names for counties of the state. Buildings 1 thru 6, named Albany, Sheridan, Natrona, Sweetwater, Teton, and Park respectively, were on the eastern side of the property. Buildings 7 thru 12, named Laramie, Campbell, Fremont, Uinta, Carbon, and Goshen respectively, were on the western side of the property. There was the main house inbetween the Park and Laramie buildings which contained the front registration area, the Cowboy Gift Shop that is filled with Wyoming-related souveniers along with quick food and beverages, a business center with five computers and three printers, a total of 17 meeting rooms, plus a ballroom, that can cover up to 80,000 square feet. In terms of eateries on the premises, the Buffalo Bill Restaurant was a steakhouse/buffet restaurant that was open from 6am to 10pm, Mondays thru Thursdays, 6am to 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 7am to 9pm on Sundays. There was also the Yellowstone Coffee Shop and a 200-seat Grand Teton Food Court containing a Pizza Planet Express, Mr. Slushy Dawg, Cow N' Chow, and a Bueno Nacho Express. For alcoholic beverages, there were three bars in the hotel: the Boilermaker Lounge, the Poolside Bar, and the Old Faithful Bar and Nightclub that was next to the Buffalo Bill Restaurant. The latter not only has live entertainment but also a karaoke bar as well. Three swimming pools (two indoor and one outdoor) and two saunas, a fitness center, a full-service spa, a beauty salon, a playground, two tennis courts, a volleyball court and a basketball court rounded out the amenities.

And most importantly, the hotel was pet-friendly, given that the pet weighed 45 pounds or less.

The Platypus parked under the awning of the Main House.

"Do you have the reservations, dear?" Ann asked.

"Don't worry, cinnamon roll..." James smiled, holding a folded-up piece of paper, "I got them right here!"

"Okay, can you be back with the keycards? We would probably need a total of five rooms." Ann suggested.

"Honey, I'll be back before you can say vertical launch vectors!" James chuckled, inserting a bit of his rocket-science-based humor. He got out of the van with the paper containing the reservations for the rooms.

James entered into the lobby and came up to the front desk.

"May I help you, sir?" the front desk lady asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I am James Possible and I am here for the five-room reservation for tonight before we head back on the road on the 11th." James replied upon presenting the paper. "Do you have anything available?"

"We do, Mr. Possible!" the front desk lady replied while typing on the computer. "We have a series of five rooms available on the second floor of the Albany building for your family."

She gave James five keycards.

"They are for rooms 1-214 through 1-218." the lady added, "Just follow the signs to where the rooms are."

"Thank you!" James grinned as he headed out the lobby.

He returned to the Platypus.

"I have the keys!" the patriarch exclaimed. "Now, I'm going to park the car and we'll get out our luggage!"

"Sounds like a good plan to me!" Ann agreed.

James then began to search for an empty parking space in the lot. To his dismay, the spaces were all full.

"Rats! I'll have to try building 2's lot!"

And so, James drove the Platypus through the parking lots of buildings two, three, four, five. But all of those lots were filled as well.

"Blasted rocket engines! We can't be late for dinner!" the patriarch exclaimed. "I ordered dinner reservations for the restaurant at 7:30pm!"

"Dad, don't fret! It's only going to be an hour!" Kim insisted, "All we gotta do is clean up a little!"

"Easier said than done, Kimmie-cub. The lot is full!" James exclaimed.

"Wait! I see a spot!" Ann shouted, pointing to an empty spot in the lot of building six.

"Yes! Now let's park the Platypus in nice and gently!" James insisted. He slowly parked the van into the spot, carefully avoiding to hit any cars.

Once he finally parked the van, he put it in park and turned off the engine.

"Alright, everyone. We got good news and bad news." James said to the other occupants of the Platypus, "The good news is that we finally found our spot."

"Woo-hoo!" Ron exclaimed, "I know that you are in da zone, MrDrP!"

James then intervened, "But the bad news is that we parked in the very rear lot of the hotel and our rooms are way back in building one."

"Aww...man!" Ron complained.

"Ugh...so the drama!" Kim sighed.

"I hope everyone brought comfortable shoes!" James said, "It's gonna be a long hike between here and the van."

_ (6 Minues Later)

The entire family was out of breath after having to go through five hotel buildings just to get back to the one they intended to stay, the Albany building, complete with their luggage.

Ron completely collapsed on the floor.

"Just...wait...a...moment...to...collect...myself..."

"It feels like I've walked up Mt. Everest..." Kim whined.

"Was that with or without sherpas, KP?" Ron wondered.

"Now, let's get everything upstairs via the magic of the elevator!" James said before noticing a sign on the elevator in building one.

It said:

NOTICE: ELEVATOR IS TEMPORARILY OUT OF SERVICE

PLEASE USE THE STAIRS

WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE

This resulted in a loud collective groan from the Possible party.

So, the Possible family, plus Larry, Ron and Rufus, were all forced to roll up their luggage up the stairs to the second floor of the Albany building.

The party finallly made it to the group of rooms that they intended to stay.

Kim then spoke up.

"Heya, Dad?"

"Yes, Kimmie-cub?"

"Do you know the room arrangements for all of us?" Kim asked.

"Ah, right. I almost forgot about that on our long...walk...through the hallways." James said while taking out the keycards. "Room 1-214 is going to go to Jim and Tim. Room 1-215 is going to Kimberly. Room 1-216 will be for me and Ann. Room 1-217 is for Ronald, and Room 1-218 is for Larry."

"Um, Dad? Why are you putting me and Ron in different rooms?" Kim asked.

"About that, Kimmie-cub. It's to prevent any...you know...'inappropriate activities'."

"Dad, we're 17 now! We'll totally be on our best behavior!" Kim grinned, "So not the drama!"

"That's my girl!" James grinned. "Now everyone, we meet back here in the hallway in

Everyone took their respective room key cards and the group all got into their rooms.

Kim looked at her room and it was a single queen bed alongside with the other aforementioned amenities.

"Ehh, it's not the worst hotel I've stayed at on vacation before." she said as the Kimmunicator beeped. Something else also crept into her mind.

"Hey, Wade, what's the sitch back in Middleton?" Kim asked her famous phrase.

"Not much has happened." Wade replied, "Everything seems to be quiet over at your house."

"That's good at least. But what about that top-secret classified military black box thing I have in my suitcase that I need to transfer to that military base on the 18th?" Kim wondered, looking at her backpack.

"I guess we can contact Genreal Hux for more info on the transfer when the day approaches." Kim suggested.

"Yeah, but whatever it is, I think it would be a liklely target for Drakken if it is top-secret." Wade said.

"Knowing how Drakken is about these things, I wouldn't be surprised." Kim muttered.

#kim possible #fanfiction #ron stoppable #james possible #ann possible #tweebs #cousin larry #possible-y utah

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thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Text

Pleasant Surprise (Indruck Superhero AU)

A little fic I’ve had bouncing around my head for awhile, set in the universe of “The Thrilling Adventures of the Green Knight.” It takes place after that story, and after the events of the small fics “Aww, Rats” and “Back in Time”. You can read it as a standalone, but it does contain some spoilers for main fic.

“You know how you always say communication is important in a relationship?” Indrid drums his fingers on the arm of the couch.

Dr. Mwangi nods, the chain on her glasses glinting in the soothing lights of her office.

“I...there is something I am not sure how to communicate to Duck. I, it’s something I’ve been dishonest about. I” Indrid takes a deep breath, “I lied about the date of my birthday.”

Dr. Mwangi doesn’t so much as cock an eyebrow, much like she managed not to gasp in horror when he told her what his training regime involved when he was learning to be a villain. Indrid’s going theory is that this self-control is his therapist's super power.

“Do you want to spend part of our session today figuring out how you’d like to talk with him about this?”

Indrid fidgets with his glasses, “Yes, please.”

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

Duck comes home to one of his favorite scenes; Indrid sitting with his easel in front of the rat run. His boyfriend decided he needed to cultivate his artistic streak, so that one part of his life would not involve superheroing or villainy in any capacity. From the look of it, he’s still on the theme of inserting the rats into still-lifes of different styles.

Duck loves watching him paint, in a way at once connected to and completely different from the attraction he feels observing the other man train in the hideout or dig himself into engineering a new invention. There’s the same cleverness in his hands, the same concentration lining his face. But there’s an innocence that’s absent other places, a kind of happiness that only exists in activities untouched by his past.

“Hello, chivalrous one.” Indrid murmurs as Duck comes to drape his arms over his sweater clad shoulders.

“Hey sugar. I like the new paintin’--is that Dr. Harris Bonkers?”

“Indeed.” Indrid turns his head, his grin as bright as the streetlights flickering to life outside, “The fuzzy medical practitioner in the style of Seurat. I foresee Aubrey liking it as a Christmas gift, and I wanted to do it while the inspiration was still fresh.”

“Bet she’ll get a kick outta it.” Duck kisses the top of his head, then starts removing his work clothes, “you had dinner? Thought I might reheat some pizza.”

“I ordered us dinner, it should arrive within ten to fifteen minutes, depending on whether this is the broken stoplight timeline.” Indrid sets his brushes aside, stands so he can follow Duck down the hall to the bedroom.

“Thanks for doin’ that.”

“There is, ah, something I wish to discuss before it arrives.”

Duck turns and his heart twinges. Back when Indrid was his nemesis, Duck learned to read his emotions, a skill that eluded everyone else. He can tell when Indrid is nervous and, most often, when Indrid is nervous and doing everything he can to hide it.

“What’s on your mind?” He takes a soft step towards the other man, who goes very still as he summons his next words.

“Do you remember what I told you about my birthday?”

“That it was in the spring and you’d let me know when we were gettin close to it. Wait, fuck, you never did, not this year or last year. Then again, last year was when the White Star boys kept tryin to fuck everythin up, think a lot of stuff got missed. Do you, uh, wanna do a birthday observed or somethin? Could even get a little goofy and do a half-birthday.”

Indrid shakes his head vehemently, “No. That is not it. I, I ah, I lied. My birthday is not in spring. And before you ask ‘when is it,’ the answer is I have no idea. We never celebrated birthdays. I only know my age because my father unleashed my brother and myself upon the world some time after I, or rather we, turned eighteen.” Indrid tucks his hands into the pockets of his sweater, “that is all I wish to say.”

It would be easy to giggle at his serious tone.

Duck pulls Indrid into a hug, “Thanks for tellin me. Do you want help tryin to work out when it really is?”

“I...I do not know. I was simply tired of such a small lie weighing me down.”

“Okay. You wanna cuddle until dinner?”

“Of cour--oh damn it all.” Indrid steps back, pulling off his sweater, “Baron Thorne is going to try and hold an entire dormitory of students hostage in forty-five minutes.”

“More than a two hero job?”

Indrid tips his head back, then replies, “it’ll go best with for. I shall alert Barclay and Aubrey.”

“Roger. I’ll get the car.”

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

Duck’s researching potential plants for Dani to modify into non-lethal weapons when the secure elevator dings open and Agent Stern hurries out, looking a kind of excited he hasn’t seen since Barclay’s parents landed their ship to meet their son’s new boyfriend.

“Gettin the feelin you got good news for me.”

“I do.” Joe pulls out his datapad, “I went through the files we confiscated from Abbadon to find the one on Indrid. It did indeed have his birth date, and you are not going to believe what it is.”

Duck looks at the little boxes of letters and numbers beneath the photo of a much younger Indrid with a much crueler smile.

“No fuckin way.”

“I know right?” Joe grins, “ I think he’ll get a kick out of that.”

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

“My birthday is on Halloween?”

“Yeah!” Duck looks so happy that for a moment the emotion carries Indrid as well.

“That is rather fitting. It’s always been my favorite holiday.” He can see it now; little orange lights, a black tablecloth, some cake.

“And it’s three weeks away, so we still got time to plan somethin to mark the day. I was thinkin we could have it Friday, since Halloween is a Saturday and I know at least Barclay and Dani got things they do every Halloween. How’s that sound?”

He isn’t sure. Something circles up from the deep, animal part of his mind, but he can’t name it and so does his best to ignore it.

“It sounds wonderful.”

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

Indrid cannot escape. Everywhere he turns there are birthdays; on the T.V, in the restaurants he and Duck go to, on cards and balloons when he’s getting groceries

It’s your big day!

“You don’t turn thirteen everyday”

To my son, on his eighteenth birthday

“To my brother, my favorite partner in crime”

“This week on ‘My Neighbor’s a Werewolf,’ Jamie throws Max a surprise party, and gets a big surprise of his own.”

When that one flickers across the screen, Indrid clicks the T.V off with a little hiss. He’s tense, feels like the embodiment of the moment a knife-tip meets skin; resistance and resignation in the instant before it all comes pouring out.

“You got a cake preference?” Duck rests his hand on the couch near Indrid’s shoulder, tone light as he continues, “know you like really sweet stuff, I could get mom’s hummingbird cake recipe from Jane-”

“Whatever you think best.” Indrid flexes and coils his fingers.

“‘Drid, it’s your party, you get to mark the occasion however you want.

“And what if I do not wish to mark it at all?”

“Uh…” Duck clears his throat, “uh, that’s fine too.”

Indrid turns his head to see the expression he knew would be there.

“That upsets you.”

“N-uh, fuck, I uh, it don’t uh-”

“Duck, please do me the courtesy of not drawing out the lie.”

Ducks shoulders sag, “Guess I’m a little disappointed. I, uh, I was havin fun plannin it with you. Thought I could make up for all the times you didn’t have one.”

“Well, you can’t.” Indrid snaps, stands more dramatically than he means to. He just wants this to be over, wants to stop seeing the memories he thought he’d properly laid to rest, “you cannot make up for what I saw, what was done to me, what I did.”

“I-”

Indrid holds up his hand, “I know you see it as your job to remove all traces of my tragic past that you can.”

“Hold the fuck on.” Duck shakes his head, “Is that what you think I’m doin? ‘Drid, it’s just a party. If you don’t want it you don’t want it, but don’t fuckin pretend this is some indicator of us as a pair.”

“Oh but it is.” Indrid feels his lips curl into an old smile, “you get to play the nice, normal hero making everything better, while all I am is someone to pity, broken long before you ever met me!”

Duck goes still, and in his visions he sees the rats finishing skittering to the far side of Ratopia. It’s at this moment he realizes he’s been yelling.

“I…I am going to bed. Goodnight.” He hurries down the hall, only bothering to change his pants before crawling under the covers. In most futures, Duck follows him and demands they finish their argument, leading to a far larger fight. But the hero doesn’t come. This gives Indrid time to get his breathing and heart rate back to normal, to try and work out why the thought of his loved ones gathering to celebrate his birth makes him want to disappear into the night.

He’s not quite asleep when Duck comes in. He’s not quite ready to apologize. As he’s contemplating his options, his boyfriend slips under the sheet and lays in such a way that his right hand is inches from Indrid’s own.

Without opening his eyes, Indrid slides his fingers across Duck’s palm. Duck shifts to interlink their fingers, and closes his hand.

Indrid wakes up five hours later in two discrete stages. The first is coming out of the nightmare, of his body registering the need to move, to hide, before his brain is fully back to the present. The second is waking up enough to wonder why he always hides in the closet after these dreams; he didn’t have a closet growing up.

He creeps into the living room, hoping he hasn’t woken Duck. He has woken Chicken, who decides it’s close enough to her breakfast time to yowl at him until he feeds her. While she crunches her cat food, he opens one of the doors to Ratopia. The mischief is mostly asleep, but at the sound Void rouses from his spot atop Mallard and scurries over to Indrid’s hands.

“You forgive so easily.” Indrid murmurs, cupping him in one hand and closing the cage with the other, “or perhaps you just forget with much greater skill than I.”

He knows when Duck is behind him. Without turning, he sets Void on his shoulder and says, “I think I know why I have been so unpleasant tonight. I...I have only ever marked two changes in age; being old enough to face the trials of my order and being sent out to cut down those who dared oppose us. My ‘birthday’ is a harbinger of suffering and death. And I, I know that is not the real truth, but it is the one my body believes, the one my mind has been bracing for without me fully understanding that’s what it is doing. I did not mean to take that fear out on you.”

“‘Drid” Duck’s voice is scratchy with sleep, but when Indrid turns his eyes are alert, “I’m so fuckin sorry. It, uh, it didn’t occur to me that your birthday would be wrapped up so tightly with the shit you went through as a kid. I never meant to push you into somethin you didn’t want.”

“But I do want it!” Indrid shoves his hands into his hair, “I want to have dinner with our friends, to get gifts, to enjoy a thing that millions of people partake in every day. And I am so, so very angry that I cannot, that instead I am dealing with all of this.” He gestures vaguely to himself, then looks at Duck, his body registering safe as the hero joins him by the rat run. When Duck opens his arms, Indrid nestles into them without hesitation.

“Whatever you decide on, that’s what we’ll do.”

Indrid hums, snickers when Void clambers onto Duck to tickle his cheek with his whiskers. After the shadows of the past recede in the warmth of Duck’s embrace, Indrid whispers, “I would like to have the party. I would like to help you plan it. But I...I would like a few of the details to still be surprises for me. It might be nice for my birthday to bring me a pleasant one for once.”

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

“Oooh, this looks so cool!” Aubrey sets a gift on the table as she admires the mothman string lights, banners, and balloons, “dang, Duck, didn’t know you had a decorator streak.”

“Don’t get a chance to flex it much. And it’s kinda easy when the theme is so specific.”

“I’m trying to compliment you, doofus.” Aubrey playfully whacks his arm, then squeals, “honey, look, rats in hats!”

“Awww” Dani joins her to regard the mischief in their tiny party hats (only Mallard is still wearing his, the others in various states of tossing them about), “Indrid, did you make these?”

“Indeed, though Barclay made these.” He slides the enclosure open and sets five rat-sized cupcakes on the floor, “which is wonderful, because I did not want them to feel left out. They’re getting them earlier than the rest of us because Barclay is looking for ways to keep me out of the kitchen.”

“It’s your birthday, that means letting someone else cook!” Barclay calls from the kitchen.

“But I modified the blender and the mixer to be self-operating!”

“Wait, what?” Is all they hear before Barclay is drowned out by whirring.

“Should we help him?” Dani says through their laughter.

“He’s a professional, he’ll be fine.” Joseph steps from the kitchen, his casual wear of jeans and a Loch Ness Monster dress shirt still somewhat jarring to the former villain who only ever saw him in suits, “Aubrey, Dani, can I get you anything to drink?”

“Yes please. Okay doctor, time to play.” Aubrey opens the special hatch in Ratopia and deposits the rabbit, who settles in to be groomed by his smaller friends.

Dinner is fancy macaroni and cheese and fruit salad, Indrid’s favorites. As Ned regales the table with his latest misadventures in fixing up his new van (“I was unaware an owl could nest in a seat cushion”) Indrid glances at the entryway.

“Everythin okay?” Duck whispers.

“Yes. I, ah, I simply did not expect so many gifts. I know it’s customary to receive them but I thought you got one or two. Not that everyone brought them.”

“You wanna open them?”

Indrid nods, grinning, “very much so.”

He takes care not to peek at the futures when unwrapping them, wanting to preserve the excitement as long as possible. Aubrey gives him a six pound bag of Lucky Charm marshmallows, Dani sneaks out to the car and returns with a potted plant (“I modified it so that the blossoms will be extra attractive to moths”). Ned gifts him a signed, limited run poster from Red Dust on His Soul, Joseph and Barclay a stack of new romance novels (“I think you’ll like Agent X, it’s a mystery series but he romances quite a few characters in them”). Mama sent a package from West Virginia that contains a small, wooden duck she carved herself and made especially smooth so it would be soothing to rub). And Lydia Little, AKA Sylvia Cold, presents him with a mug declaring him “Favorite Brother.”

Duck’s present is the last one he opens. Waiting for him in the rectangular box is a white shirt with “World’s Greatest Rat Dad” on the front. The back is covered in squiggle-scratches of five different colors, which Duck explains are signatures from the mischief made in rat-safe fabric paint.

“It’s perfect.” Indrid sighs, kisses his boyfriend and then beams at his friends, “it is time for cake.”

They dim the lights, sing to him as Barclay emerges from the kitchen with a massive, mothman shaped cake with lots of candles. To his delight and surprise, the inside is layers of pink and yellow, flavored with strawberry and vanilla. He eats far more than is perhaps wise, but it is his birthday and it is his understanding that such things are allowed.

His guests linger for a few hours more, Aubrey and Dani the last to leave with a reminder to put the plant on the balcony. Indrid waves goodbye, closes the door and arms the security to full. He turns back into the house, sees the cards and gifts his friends put so much thought into locating for him, the stray dishes and half-empty glasses that signify they were here. For him. Because they wanted to be, because they care about him.

“‘Drid? You want any more cake before I put it aw--oh fuck, sugar, what’s wrong.”

“Nothing” he sniffles, grins, “these are tears of happiness. I, ah, I hurried us into cake because I felt them upon me when I opened the gifts. It will take some time yet for me to be willing to show such feelings around our friends.” He wipes his eyes, “thank you, my love, for arranging this.”

“Any time, darlin.”

He smiles, “Have I mentioned lately that you are my hero?”

“Pretty sure you called me that this mornin. But I sure as hell don’t mind hearin it again.”

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

“What is this?” His brother scowls up from the paper plate Indrid passed to him through the complex delivery system keeping his cell from the world around it.

“Cake. Today is our birthday. Did you know that?”

“Who cares for such frivolous things, little brother?”

“Those of us who do not spend our lives steeped in the misery of others, twin brother. If you do not want it, give it back and I shall share it with one of the guards.”

Apollo looks at the cake. Then he kneels on the floor, tearing into it with his hands. He doesn’t eat it what he destroys, and after a moment Indrid grasps why.

“Did you really think I hid some device to help you escape in there?”

“Yes.” His brother is now trying to light stab the cake with his gaze.

Indrid rubs his forehead, “Perhaps some day you will learn to see things for how they are, not how you believe them to be.” He starts for the door, looks over his shoulder and says softly, “happy birthday, Apollo.”

A slam as his brother strikes the see-through front of his cell, “Get back here this instant you worthless, traitorous, coward!”

The door slides open and Indrid steps into the hall. Joseph is waiting for him, drops his eyes from the security feed to the man in front of him, “what a waste of Barclay’s cooking.”

“Agreed.”

A gentle pat on his shoulder, “You tried, that counts for a lot. Now go enjoy your night.”

“And my knight?”

“Him too.” Joseph waves goodbye, then adds, “and happy birthday!”

Indrid gets home before the city trick or treating hours begin; he’s feeling rather good, all things considered, and Halloween is so beloved by villains that the odds of his evening being interrupted by work are almost none.

Duck is on the porch lighting their Jack ‘O Lanterns, grinning brighter than all the candles and lights on the block combined when Indrid walks up the steps to join him. He sees in the futures that he’s made him a special, Halloween themed birthday dinner.

He pulls Duck into a hug, kissing the top of his head with happy sighs, thanking whatever twist of fate pushed him into the arms of the man who was, in many ways, his first-ever pleasant surprise.

#Indruck #indrid cold/duck newton #taz amnesty #superhero au

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wiypt-writes · 4 years

Text

Riding On

Ch 14- Compromise

Summary: Frank is besides himself due to their argument, and Fliss isn’t faring much better…

Warnings: Bad Language words. SMUT (NSFW, no under 18s…)

Pairing: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 13

Me and you, what's going on? All we seem to know is how to show the feelings that are wrong. So don't go away, say what you say, but say that you'll stay, forever and a day in the time of my life 'Cause I need more time, yes, I need more time, just to make things right.

As soon as he had left the room, Frank was overcome with guilt at what he had said. He had never spoken to Fliss like that before but his temper had just snapped. He hesitated at the first step of the staircase, debating going back to apologise but as he did so he heard Alex's cries die down to a sniffle so he left well alone. She'd calmed him and the last thing he wanted to do was go back in there and upset everyone again.

Instead, he made his way upstairs and climbed back into bed, waiting for her to come back up, only she never did. He lay awake for another hour or so before his eyes could no longer stay open, but a mere 2 hours after finally succumbing to sleep, Frank was woken by his alarm and Fliss’ side of the bed was still empty.

He found her stretched out on the sofa, the throw blanket pulled over her body. Another pang of guilt washed over him as he walked over, brushing the hair off her face to see her eyes rimmed with red. Shaking his head at himself he swallowed and dropped a kiss to her forehead before he checked on Alex who was fast asleep in his pack and play. Then, as quietly as he could, he put on a pot of coffee and went to wake Mary for school, that horrible sick, anxious feeling gnawing at his insides.

By the time they both made their way back downstairs, dressed and ready for the day, Fliss had woken and was feeding Alex. She looked up and her eyes locked onto Frank's before she turned to Mary and gave a tired smile, wishing her good morning.

"Liss, do you want any breakfast?" Frank knew his first words to her since the argument should have been an apology but with Mary in the room he was trying to keep everything calm.

“No thanks." She replied, perfectly politely "I'll get something later. Once he's fed I'm going to go upstairs and try and get some sleep."

"Okay." He nodded, turning to Mary. “What about you short stack? Cereal, toast..."

"Do we have any waffles?"

"Errrr..." Frank turned to the cupboard, not sure whether they did or not but then Fliss spoke.

"Yeah they're in the bread tin." She informed "I got you some more the other day."

"You're the best Lissy." Mary grinned, settling on the chair round the breakfast bar.

Fliss gave a soft chuckle and looked down at Alex who seemed to have stopped feeding. Frank watched as she rearranged her sleep top to wind him her eyes still not meeting his.

"Can Rosie come stay this Saturday?" Mary asked and Frank's eyes turned to her.

"As in sleep over?"

Mary nodded. Frank turned to Fliss who looked at him and shrugged.

"It's fine by me." She said.

Mary grinned and then she paused. “Oh, we said we would check Monty this morning to make sure he wasn't stiff after yesterday."

"Already done." Fliss assured her. "Jo fed this morning and sent me a message. She turned him out to pasture for the day and his legs are fine. I suggest you let him have today and tomorrow off so he can rest then maybe me and you can take him and Heidi down to the trail ride on Wednesday after school."

Mary beamed. “That sounds great."

They finished breakfast. It remained quiet between Frank and Fliss but civil. However, when he left for work be bent down as normal to peck her goodbye and she turned her head so he caught her cheek. All things considered he couldn't blame her, so he didn't make a fuss about it. Instead he picked up his keys, walked Mary down to the bus for school and then headed to work.

**** Fliss didn't go back to bed. She couldn't. Instead she dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, and went over to the yard for an hour or so to chat to Joanne and look at the lessons scheduled for that week.

"Has the Friday afternoon class been cancelled?" Fliss frowned.

"Just for this week." Jo, who was enjoying cuddles with Alex, looked at her nodding. "I’m off this weekend for my sister's wedding and Olivia can't cover the teaching. The Yard is covered though, we got the yard hands and..."

"Hey, Jo, it’s okay. I trust you." Fliss smiled. "And I'd completely forgotten about the wedding. Are you excited?"

Joanne smiled. "Yeah. It’s going to be awesome. She has a fantastic live band playing and it’s been months since I went back to Atlanta."

Fliss smiled "Why don't you take a few more days? You deserve it. You've worked so hard the last 6 months and you should take the time to spend with your family."

"Oh no, I can't..."

"Yes you can." Fliss cut off her protests and looked at her "Between me, Olivia and the stable hands we can cope. You're already off until Wednesday. Just take a week."

"That...that would be amazing." Jo smiled "thank you so much."

Fliss shrugged, "its fine..."

At that Alex gave a little murmur which Fliss knew all too well was a threat he was going to cry so she gestured for Joanne to hand him back. He pressed his face into her neck, his tiny nose brushing against her skin and she gave a soft smile, kissing his head.

"He's adorable." Joanne smiled and Fliss beamed at her.

"Yeah..." she tipped her head to look at him. “Yeah he is."

She studied her baby’s profile for a moment, noticing not for the first time, just how like his father he was, before she shook herself back to the here and now. "I'll take Friday's afternoon lessons. Call everyone who was booked on and offer them back a place."

"Are you sure?' Joanne frowned "I mean..."

"It’s an hour." Fliss shrugged. “My mum will watch him or he can nap in the office. It’s cool enough with the AC unit on, and the baby monitor is wired to my phone.”

"Ok, you're the boss" Joanne nodded.

"At least you recognise that." Fliss mumbled.

"Huh?" Joanne frowned and Fliss shook her head

"Nothing, ignore me." She sighed "Okay, I'm gonna take Thor for a quick walk down the pasture path and head home. I'll be over later to ride Cap. I'll feed so you can take an early finish"

Jo smiled "That would be great, I'll make sure it’s all ready."

Fliss smiled before she placed Alex in the stroller and she pushed him over the yard towards the path that led down to the various fields the horses were in. She walked, Thor running ahead slightly, sniffing at any interesting smells he found, the wheels of the stroller gently bounced on the bumpy dirt track. Fliss smiled as her old faithful mare gave a loud whinny and came trotting to her field gate to say hello.

"Hey Hides." Fliss reached out to stroke her nose "How you doing?"

She watched as Heidi bent her neck to take a look at the tiny person in the stroller before Alex gave a wiggle and the horse jumped back slightly, giving a snort. Fliss chuckled. “You daft sod." She reached out and gave her neck a scratch before the sound of her phone ringing made her reach for it. "Hi Bonnie."

"Oh my God Fliss, I nearly called you last night but it was late when we got back and..." her best friend instantly rambled on and Fliss grinned as she had a feeling she knew what she was going to say "...but Simon asked me to marry him this weekend and I said yes!"

"Bonnie that’s amazing!" Fliss beamed as she held the phone to her ear "I’m so happy for you and I need all the details!"

"It’s such a long story but we went for a meal in this gorgeous restaurant on Times Square and afterwards as we were walking back through central park he got down on one knee and…” Bonnie gave a sigh “He made me cry.” Fliss gave a little chuckle “Oh babes, that’s fantastic!”

“We’ve not told the rest of the gang yet, Simon thought we could all go out on Friday and do it properly if you’re up for it?”

Fliss hesitated. She had been about to accept, but with the way things were between her and Frank, she wasn’t sure what was going to be happening that evening, let alone the weekend.

"Fliss?" Bonnie's voice hit her ear "you still there?"

"Yeah sorry...was just...it doesn't matter. Friday sounds great."

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked.

"Nothing to worry about. Just had an argument with Frank but we'll sort it out, we always do."

"What about?"

"Me going back to work." Fliss shook her head. “But honestly, don't worry. I certainly don't wanna drag your good mood down or eat up your break."

“You're not." Bonnie assured her "I got 10 minutes. Lord knows you put up with my complaints often enough."

Fliss took a deep breath and explained to Bonnie inlarge handfuls so as not to swamp her with details and when she reached the bit about Frank calling her a bitch Bonnie took a sharp inhale of breath.

"Oh Fliss..." she sighed "Sounds like you both said a few things you didn't mean."

"I know." Fliss said quietly, feeling the tears sting her eyes "I just don't see why he can't see it from my point of view."

"Can you see it from his?" Bonnie challenged.

“You mean understand why he wants me to be a stay at home mom?"

"That's not what I got from that." Bonnie placated her softly "Not at all. He just wants you to take some time. Having a baby is a huge thing, Liss. It takes time to adjust. I think Frank is worried if you rush you'll burn out."

Fliss stayed silent, Bonnie's words slowly sinking in.

"I get your point of view, you want to get back to normal but...well, I kinda see his too." Bonnie said gently, and then a bell sounded on the other end of the phone. "I gotta go Fliss but...just talk to him, and listen. I mean really listen. If you need me later give me a call."

“Thanks Bon...oh and congratulations again. I'm so happy for you." Fliss changed to subject, focusing on the reason her best friend had called in the first place. “Oh, and send me a photo of your diamond! I wanna see it!"

***** Frank tapped at the keyboard, scanning the list of jobs, his mind whirring. He needed something physical to do today, to keep his mind off thinking about what an asshole he’d been last night and early this morning. As he realised all the repair jobs had been allocated, he gave a low growl of frustration.

“You alright, Frank?”

His head jerked up from the screen and he looked at Alan who was leaning on the door frame.

“Yeah, I just fancied doing a repair or something today but they’re all booked out.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“You bored of management already?” Alan teased and Frank gave a shake of his head.

“No, just…well to be honest I could do with the distraction.” He said, dragging his hand over his face.

“From the look of you, you could do with a good sleep too.” Alan mused, stepping into the office.

“You’re not wrong.” Frank mumbled. “That little pup of yours keeping you awake?”

“Something like that.” Frank looked at the screen before he looked up at Alan “What are you doing here anyway? Thought you and the Mrs were off to Toronto?”

“We fly tomorrow.” Alan looked at Frank, cocking his head to one side. “Frank, are you sure you’re okay buddy?”

Frank leaned back in his chair letting out a heavy breath. “Had an argument with Fliss last night, I didn’t sleep well. Breakfast this morning wasn’t particularly friendly.”

“Ah.” Alan said, closing the door behind him as he sat down in the chair on the opposite side of Frank’s desk. “A bad argument or…”

“Bad enough for me to end up calling her a bitch.” Frank shook his head, looking down at the desk. “Which I’m not proud of, believe me.”

“We all say shit we don’t mean in the heat of the moment.” Alan said wisely “Christ, if I had a dollar for every time me and Annette had hurled abuse at one another, well I’d have six of these damned shops instead of just one.”

Frank gave a small smile, before his face slipped again and he glanced at his boss. “Her ex used to call her names like that, and…”

“Hey, woah.” Alan looked at him, cutting him off. “I’ve heard all about that shit bag from Bill and I can tell you right now Frank, you are not that guy.”

Frank took a deep breath, licking his lips.

“It’s really bothering you isn’t it?” Alan cocked his head to one side and Frank raised his eyebrows.

“It’s not like we’ve argued before, I mean hell, we’ve had some pretty big disagreements in the past, but…” He let out a deep breath. “This just, I dunno. It’s the first time she ever frustrated me enough to make me say such a shitty thing.”

“Well, ” Alan leaned back, “that’s what being in love does to you pal. We lash out at the people we care about most, because they frustrate the fuck out of us and we don’t know how else to deal with it.”

Frank pondered his words for a moment. He loved Fliss beyond what he felt anyone could comprehend and sometimes, like yesterday, when they argued it became a frustration because he didn’t want to argue with her. He wasn’t naïve enough to think that everything would always be hearts and roses, but at the same time he was sappy enough to want it to be. And when it wasn’t, it bugged the fuck out of him because he was so consumed by this utter love for the woman he wanted to share the rest of his life with, he sometimes didn’t know how to react when they fought. He appeased her most of the time, because it was easier, but damned it last night she spiked something inside him with her inability to listen to the point he was trying to make.

Fuck, he had to make this right. He couldn’t spend the rest of the day in some kind of stupid, angry limbo. He looked at Alan and took a deep breath.

“Any chance I can have the afternoon off?” He hopefully asked. “See if I can go and sort this mess out.”

Alan smiled “Hey, you’re the boss now. Do what you want. Book it as leave or make the hours up, whatever.”

“Thanks.” Frank smiled at him. “I appreciate it.”

Alan nodded and stood up. “Oh, before I go, the reason I actually came to see you was that we had an enquiry the other day about a sale. From someone you might know.”

“Oh?” Frank asked, looking at Alan. “Who was it?”

“Jon Gruden.” Alan smiled and Frank felt his mouth drop open.

“No shit!” He grinned before he paused “What the fuck does he want with a boat? I thought he lived in Nevada.”

“Well, apparently when he isn’t coaching the Raiders he’s residing in his second home in Tampa.” Alan shrugged “And he wants a boat. I figured given your love for football you might fancy handling that one yourself.”

“Absolutely.” Frank grinned “Thanks Alan.”

“No problems, he’s gonna call to arrange an appointment. Now get yourself off and sort things with your Mrs.”

Frank nodded “I’ll do my best.”

Alan gave him another smile and left the office, leaving the door open. Frank leaned back once more, before he reached for his phone which was laying on the desk, smiling at the photo he had taken just yesterday afternoon at Mary’s show. Mary was grinning ear to ear as she sat atop of Monty, Fliss stood by her side, Alex in her arms arranged so he too was facing the camera. He’d changed the screensaver over immediately after taking it, he’d loved the damned shot that much.

He scrolled through to his key contacts and flicked the green call button by the side of Fliss’ name. The phone rang out a few times, and for a horrible moment he thought she was going to ignore him, but then the dial tone stopped.

"Hi." Her tone was flat.

"Hey, where are you?" He paused and grimaced. Fuck, it sounded like he was checking up on her and he hastily started to try to explain. "Not that it matters, I was asking because-.."

"I’m just out walking with Thor and Alex down the fields." She cut him off, her tone maintaining neutral. He supposed he should be thankful she wasn’t ranting at him.

"Okay. Well I'm coming home." He informed her.

"Why?" her voice was puzzled.

"Because I can't concentrate, Lissy" He sighed. "I hate being at odds with you. I just... " He swallowed thickly and rubbed his eye, tiredly. "I wanna make it right so, I'm taking the afternoon off and I'm hoping we can talk?"

There was silence on the other end, other than a bark from Thor and then he heard her sniffle a little, her reply quiet. "Yeah. Okay."

"Oh, honey. Don't cry." Frank sighed softly, the lump in his throat growing bigger. “Please, this whole thing is a huge shit misunderstanding.”

"I know, I just..." She took a deep breath. "I'll see you in half an hour or so" And with that she hung up.

Frank tossed the phone back onto his desk, tapping his fingers against the arm of his chair before he stood up, turned off his laptop and retrieved the keys to his truck from the drawer of his desk. He strode out into the shop floor, instructed his Team Leader to call him if there was an emergency, otherwise he was unavailable for the rest of the afternoon. **** Fliss stood looking at the screen on her phone, the photo of Frank, Mary and Alex looking back up at her. She swallowed a little, but before she could think about what Frank had said any more a WhatsApp message came through from Bonnie. It was a picture of her ring. It was a fairly large, brilliant cut diamond solitaire, set into an elaborately twisted white gold band. It was stunning, and exactly Bonnie’s style.

She tapped a message out telling Bonnie it was gorgeous before she shoved the phone in the back pocket of her cut- off jeans and then glanced at her own engagement ring on her left hand, watching as it caught the sunlight, looking even more shiny and sparkly than usual. She adored the design of it. It was delicate, nothing like the hideously large one John had given her. Frank had put a lot of thought into the type of thing she would like, as opposed to simply picking something to show off how much he could afford. It was all about her. As Alex made a small noise from the pram she instinctively reached down with her right hand to softly rub at his chest, an action the baby found soothing. As she did, her new ring, her 'Push Present' as Bonnie and Roberta called it caught her eye. It was an emerald cut sapphire, very similar in size and shape to the stone in her engagement ring, and it was set into a simple plain white gold band. Frank had given it to her at the hospital just before they brought Alex home. "Blue for a boy.” He'd smiled as she'd beamed up at him before kissing him softly and thanking him for being such a thoughtful, soft sap.

But that was her sailor all over. A thoughtful, soft sap that was so distraught at having called her a bitch he was taking the afternoon off work because he couldn't concentrate until he'd made things right.

Fuck, Bonnie was right. She'd gotten Frank's intentions here all wrong. So very wrong.

Yes, he had shocked her. To be honest, she wasn’t sure Frank even had it in him to call her a name like he did, but now she realised that she hadn't made things easy for him. She'd never, ever dared answer John back the way she did Frank as it would result in her getting a beating, and as such, if she was perfectly honest with herself, she struggled with the whole debating side of things. When challenged and unable to articulate her answer in the way she wanted she reverted to silence, in a lot of ways it felt easier and safer. And when pushed she lashed out simply for the reason that sometimes she didn't know what else to do. But the stupid thing was, the fact she felt able to go on the defensive showed just how safe she was with Frank.

Because the worst thing he had ever done, and would ever do was call her a name out of pure frustration.

He shouldn't have called her what he did. That was a given, but in the grand scheme of things, as she knew only too well, there were far worse things he could do. But he never would. Because he loved her and he wasn't that type of man. He'd die before he hurt a single hair on her head, on any of their heads for that matter.

She glanced at Alex, where he lay, his bright blue eyes looking up at her and she wiped her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Shall we head back and make your daddy some lunch, baby boy?"

She gave a sharp whistle and Thor bounded back to her and the three of them made their way home. Alex was fast asleep when they got back, so Fliss kicked off her sneakers at the door and parked the stroller in the cool of the family room, heading towards the kitchen area. She set about making a quick penne arabiata and a salad and had just finished setting two places at the breakfast bar when Frank walked in the door. Immediately his eyes flicked her hers and she gave him a small smile.

“Hi.” He greeted her, softly, before his attention turned to his sleeping son. He gently brushed a finger down his cheek before he looked back at Fliss. There was a moment where the two of them simply stared at each other, before Fliss was the first one to move, walking out of the kitchen area. He met her half way, wrapping his arms around her as she pressed her face into his black polo-collared T-shirt.

“I’m sorry.” Frank stuttered, screwing his face up as he lay his cheek on her hair, breathing in her shampoo “Baby, I’m so fuckin’ sorry;”

“Me too.” She sniffed. “I hate it when we fight Frankie.”

“I know, I don’t like it either.” He pulled back a little to cup her face, wiping her tears with his thumbs. “I was out of order calling you what I did. I’m so disgusted in myself honey, I can’t…”

“Hey.” She reached up to touch his face, her fingers brushing his stubble “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me.” Frank swallowed thickly “I just…” he trailed off as he shook his head and she smiled up at him.

“Frank, we both said shit we didn’t mean.” She sighed “I called you an asshole, you know, it’s not okay for me to say those things either.”

“I know, but…”

“No buts.” She insisted, standing on her toes to lightly brush her lips against his. “Come on, I made lunch.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” He said softly as she laced her fingers with his and led him to the place at the bar.

“I wanted to.” She shrugged “Call it a peace offering. That and I was fucking starving.”

Frank snorted “Should have known there was an ulterior motive.”

“You wanna eat your food or wear it?” Fliss asked, shooting him a look as he settled down on the stool. Frank chuckled and watched her as she placed the salad dish down on the side before resting the pasta dish on the heat mat that was on the counter. She turned back to the fridge, Frank simply drinking her in as she bent over slightly, the pure domesticity of the scene washing over him as she padded bare foot back towards him, two beers in her hands.

She placed one down and sat next to him, Frank dishing out their food and they silently tucked in, but the silence was a comfortable one in contrast to the dinner they’d shared the night before, and the tense breakfast that morning. Franks left hand gently gave her right knee a soft squeeze and she smiled at him, before she reached for her drink and took a large pull.

“So, we gonna talk about stuff?” She asked, taking the final bite of her lunch before she placed her cutlery down on her empty plate. “I promise I won’t fly off the handle this time.”

Frank took a deep breath and swallowed his last mouthful of food before he licked his lips “Okay.” He nodded. “Lissy, I never said I didn’t want you to work. Yeah, maybe there was a small part of me that loves this.” He said, waving his hand between them. “The idea of just coming home and you being here but I know that’s not what you want, and I’d never, ever dream of making you give up everything you’ve worked for just because of some weird domestic fantasy I have, which for the record, really freaks me the fuck out.”

“What do you mean?” Fliss asked.

“I never in a million years ever dreamed I’d have something like this, someone like you.” He looked at her. “You saw past that utter fuck up I was back then and took me for who I was, Mary too…we made a life together, you gave me the most beautiful gift anyone ever could that’s currently snoring over there in his stroller.”

Fliss looked at him, the tears filling her eyes as he continued.

“I never thought I’d ever get here. A family, a home, and a job that means I can provide for you all.” he swallowed a little, as he shook his head “I’m not explaining this very well.”

“I get it.” Fliss looked at him, “I do Frank, because I never thought I’d ever have this either.” She reached out and took his hand which was resting on the counter top, squeezing his fingers in hers “It’s so mundane, its normal and it’s such a stupid thing to be grateful for, but every time that door goes and you come home, I feel happiness instead of fear about what mood you’re going to be in and whether or not it means I’m gonna get a kicking.”

Frank bowed his head, shaking it softly as his hand tightened around hers. “Lissy, don’t…”

“It’s true.” She said gently “And last night, earlier this morning when you accused me of likening you to John, I want you to know there’s not a single time, ever, that I’ve done that. Because you’re nothing like him. And me accusing you of trying to control me was a low blow. I know that’s not what you were doing.”

“I just want you to take time, not to rush things.” Frank looked at her. “But if going back to work and expanding is what you really wanna do then…” “No, it’s not.” She shook her head “Well, it is but you’re right. I was over there before with Joanne looking at the diary and it would be too much. I don’t want to miss out on Alex growing up. I mean, God, every morning I wake up and I swear he’s changed in the hours we’ve been asleep.”

Frank chuckled “I know. Before we know it he’ll be walking, talking and answering us back…”

“Don’t.” Fliss groaned as she shook her head smiling “But you were right, so many women would kill to be in my position. So, I thought maybe I could go back first of all, just do maybe one day a week teaching and a couple of evenings where I finish off for Joanne. I can do the rest of the stuff like the publicity and organising, emails that type of stuff from home. And, when he’s a little older then I can work my way back up to more.”

“A compromise.” Frank smiled and Fliss shrugged.

“Yeah, I can be reasonable at times.”

“Sounds good to me.” Frank nodded

“Good, because I’m covering a lesson on Friday.” She smirked and Frank gave a snort, shaking his head. “Just one, for an hour or so. Joanne’s away this week and I don’t want to let the clients down.”

“You don’t need to explain.” Frank shook his head.

“And I want to buy the land.” Fliss finished, looking at him. “Just so it belongs to Sandybrook. We can use it for grazing, maybe even a grass jumping paddock, just until we’re ready to start thinking about expanding.”

“Okay.” Frank nodded “Make the call, put an offer in.”

She leaned over and gave him a quick peck. “Thank you.” She whispered against his mouth before she stood up to clear the breakfast bar down.

“I’ll do that.” He stood up, “You cooked so…”

“It won’t take me long” she shrugged “Honestly I don’t mind.” “Are we gonna have an argument now about who does the dishes?” He teased and she let out a soft laugh.

“No, because they’re going in Dusty.”

“You know, I never met anyone who named a dishwasher before.” Frank shook his head as he moved to grab a tupperware container to place the left over pasta in.

“Well he’s an important part of our life.” Fliss said seriously “I couldn’t cope without him.”

Frank chuckled as he ladled the pasta into the container, snapping the lid shut before he haphazardly slung it in the fridge. He moved behind Fliss, his arms circling her waist as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Why don’t we go out Friday night? Mary’s going to Roberta’s, I’m sure your mom and dad would watch Alex for us.”

“We can’t…” Fliss said suddenly and Frank gave a groan.

“Why not? Come on we haven’t been out together since before he was born. We can grab dinner, a few drinks. It’ll be fun.”

“There might be something planned.” Fliss tossed the cloth she’d been wiping the place they’d just eaten down with into the sink.

“Oh?” he frowned, and she turned in his arms, looking up at him.

“I got a call from Bonnie before, Simon finally got down on one knee.” “Huh, no kidding!” Frank grinned, before he pouted slightly “The little shit never told me.”

“Yeah well, she said that they were thinking of going out on Friday, all of us and telling everyone then so…”

Frank pondered for a moment before he suddenly had an idea “So, how about we grab an earlier dinner and meet them after.” He reasoned before he raised his eyebrows. “There’s another compromise.”

Fliss chuckled, her hands sliding up his chest, fingers lacing together behind his neck “Yeah, we’re getting kinda good at this.”

“I know something else we’re kinda good at too.” He gave her a cheeky wink and she scoffed, arching an eyebrow.

“You’re a dirt bag.” She mumbled as his head dropped towards hers.

“Oh Dahlin, you love it.” He muttered, his lips pressing to hers. As the kiss deepened, Frank’s hands moved gently round to her back, one splaying at the base of her spine, the other sliding in her hair as their tongues tangled in the familiar yet oh so damned good dance. With a grin he reached down, hooked his hands under her thighs and lifted her easily, setting her on the counter in front of him. She smirked a little against his lips and Frank gave a chuckle, the kiss resuming, her legs hooking round his waist and she pulled him closer, causing him to grunt a little.

“You want something, pretty girl?” He teased, pulling back a little.

Fliss bit her lip, her hands sliding up his arms. “Yeah, can you go to the garage and maybe smear a bit of oil or motor grease onto your arms. Maybe a bit on your cheek?”

“You have an unhealthy obsession with dirt, you know that?” He looked at her and she shook her head.

“No, I have an unhealthy obsession with dirt on you.” She corrected, her arms once more round his neck. “I totally loathe Alex’s nappy changes, for the record.”

Frank snorted “Yeah, they’re not great. Just wait till he starts solids.”

“Yeah, okay stop talking shit Frank and fuck me.”

“Talking shit.” He mused, completely ignoring her request despite the fucking hotwire it had sent to his already half erect cock “I see what you did there.” “Whatever, get on with the other part.”

“Which was?” he teased.

She looked at him, realising instantly he was playing around so she smirked a little and leaned forward, her lips brushing his ear. “Fuck me, Adler.”

“But I’m not covered in dirt.” He titled his head, his lips ghosting hers.

Fliss paused, her eyes flicking around before she grinned a she spotted the dirty pasta dish to the side of her. In flash she wiped her finger round the edge of the dish and smeared the tomato sauce straight across his cheek and down his beard.

“Now you are.” She looked at him, as he stared at her in shock, open mouthed before he gave a scoff.

“You want me to fuck you Cowgirl, you’re gonna have to lick that off my face.”

Her eyes locked onto his, she stuck her finger in her mouth sucking it clean and his eyes darkened a little as she released it with a loud pop and gave a shrug. Her hand tangled in his hair as she pulled his head towards her and gently placed her mouth against his face, sucking and licking at the offending food, making her way down his cheek to his jaw line, where she continued her affections. Frank gave a sigh, tipping his head slightly to give her more access as she skated across his short whiskers to the other side, her kisses trailing back upwards before her mouth caught his again.

“God I fahking love you.” He mumbled, his arms pulling her closer.

“Yeah?” She asked as his hands gripped at her hips.

“Yeah.” He nodded standing in between her legs, his mouth dropping to her neck. She rolled her head back, as he nipped at her pulse-point, before his lips moved to that hollow at the bottom of her throat, his beard scratching her skin as mouth traced a path up her neck, back up to hers and he kissed her hard. His hands moved to pop the button on her jeans before he gently grasped at the waistband and she shifted to allow him to pull them down over her legs, tossing them to one side. His hands slipped up underneath the blue top she was wearing, pulling down the cups of her bra, thumbs gently teased at her nipples, all the time listening to the soft noises and groans she was making as he continued, his nose brushing against hers, smiling softly.

“You like that?” He whispered, knowing full well that she did, but he knew she also liked his soft dirty talk and she gave a sigh and a nod, followed by a little squeak as he shifted her underwear to one side and pushed two fingers insider her.

Her head fell forward onto his shoulder as her hands grasped at his back through his T-shirt, and as he continued to stroke and coax her she bit down on his neck causing him to hiss slightly at the bite of pain.

“Need you.” She purred into his ear. “Please.”

And when she asked like that, he was always powerless to refuse. This woman was his absolute weakness.

He moved his head to kiss her again, and removing his hand from her panties he reached up and pulled them down before he stood up, and she reached for the button and zip on his jeans. Once she’d gotten them open, she pushed them down, over his slim hips as Frank’s hands moved to her back and he gently pulled her forwards, sliding her towards him, letting her feel how ready he was. She reached down and gently gave his hard cock a pump up and down and he let out a groan as he pulled her off the counter slightly, her legs wrapping around his waist, arms round his neck, her lower back resting against the side of the worktop both of them letting out a load moan of satisfaction as he pushed forward, all the way home.

Frank’s head dropped to Fliss’ shoulder, his mouth once more on the pulse point in her neck as he thrust into her, again and again, his hands on her back, keeping her supported slightly

“God you feel so good.” He mumbled, his lips moving back to hers as he set a pace that was torturously slow, and deep, and loving. Thrust after thrust he kept his lips either on hers or centimetres away, watching her intently as her pupils blew as he worked her up, driving into her, as deep as he could go, one hand resting at the back of her spine to keep her back from slamming into the harsh edge of the counter, the other guiding her head so he could kiss her, hard.

Her hands moved, the nails scraping lightly at the nape of his neck, and Frank felt himself falter for a split second at her touch.

“Fuck, Baby.” He groaned into her mouth as she grinned cheekily, her hands sliding down to his bare ass.

“Harder.” She urged him on, her voice sultry, desperate for him to pick up the pace. So he obliged, giving her what she wanted.

Because he always did.

Fliss held on to his ass for dear life, moaning with her body arching in his hands, his hips hitting hers hard with every thrust and before long she let out a loud groan, her hands tightening on his skin as she cried out as he quickened his pace even more, causing her to gasp his name, a broken mumble of the word before she let out a breathless gasp, her voice catching in her throat as the world began to tip on its axis.

“Come on, come for me Lissy…” He whispered, his breath hot on her ear. And that was it, she dropped over the edge, her head falling back as her hands slid up and grasped tightly on the hem of his shirt as she clenched around him, again and again, groaning and trembling, powerless to stop her body’s reactions. It took him another couple of thrusts before he gave a soft “oh” of pleasure, her name tumbled from his mouth before he bit down on her shoulder softly, reacting his own end. He gave a few erratic thrusts, pumping with short, deep strokes which sent her over another peak, but this was feeble as she collapsed forward, her head laying on his shoulder, utterly spent. They stayed still for a moment, chests heaving as Frank holding Fliss close to him, as they both evened out from their high.

“Love you.” She whispered softly, kissing the tip of his nose causing him to smile, that cheeky smile he saved just for her before his lips met hers again “Good, because I love you too sweetheart, more than you could ever know.”

*****

Once they had tidied themselves up and finished sorting the kitchen out, Alex decided it was time for a feed. They settled on the couch, Fliss nursing their son, Frank's arm round her shoulder, fingers tracing shapes on the top of her arm simply watching Alex feed. When he was done, Frank took him, having missed his morning cuddles with his boy and the three of them sat on the couch, Frank resting his feet on the coffee table, knees pointing to the ceiling so Alex could lay flat against his thighs looking up at his parents. His tiny hands fisted around Frank’s index fingers and he flashed his momma and daddy several huge baby smiles as they talked to him, Fliss capturing the moments on her phone. It wasn't long before his eyes grew heavy and Fliss felt hers doing the same so they set their son down to nap before settling down for one themselves. Fliss shifted so her head was lay in Frank's lap, his hand gently carding through her hair as they both succumbed to the fact neither had slept much the night before. The two of them woke with a jolt an hour and a half later when Mary walked in the door. In the afternoons she was allowed to walk from the school bus stop on the main road because three other kids came the same way and she could peel off from them up the long drive. She looked at the pair of them as they blinked themselves out of sleep and shook her head, telling them both that only old people and babies napped during the day and she wasn’t sure which category they fell into.

Once she had fully come round, Fliss changed into her riding gear ready to head back to the yard and gave a small yell of victory when she managed to fasten the button on her breeches. She walked into the family room and grinned at Frank, pointing out the fact she was back into her pants, even if they were elasticated slightly, and he smirked, giving her ass a stinging slap.

"I prefer you out of them." He quipped, his hands locking at the base of her spine.

Fliss chuckled, her hands curling round his biceps. "And I prefer you dirty but we can’t always have what we want, Sailor."

Frank wrinkled his nose "I already have what I want, Cowgirl" Fliss let out a groan and shook her head as Frank laughed. "I was being serious."

"Course you were, smooth bastard." Fliss rolled her eyes as he shrugged, leaning down to give her a soft kiss.

"You two are gross." Mary mumbled as she walked past them on her way to the fridge to grab a juice box.

“Feel free to leave.” Frank shot at her, “I have the number of a good Children’s Home.”

“Whatever.” She said, her voice airy as she skipped over to the large window seat, hopping up and opening her laptop.

By the end of the evening Fliss, however, had to concede Mary had a point. Frank had been particularly handsy all night, kissing her or touching her wherever he could. He was affectionate with her anyway, but he seemed to have stepped it up a notch for some reason.

"What's gotten into you?" Fliss asked him gently when they were getting ready for bed. Frank had just gotten out of the shower and the first thing he'd done upon walking back into their bedroom was pull her in for a searing kiss.

"I just...” He et out a soft sigh, and looked at her a little sheepishly. "If I’m honest, I’m a little concerned you let me off far too easily before so I'm, I dunno, a little thankful I guess."

Fliss cocked her head to one side, her hands sliding up his arms and coming to rest on his shoulders which were speckled with drops of water. "Sailor, it wasn't a case of letting you off easily. I just get that I was wrong too. I was more hurt with what you called me because I know you and I know you meant well so for you to snap like that, I must have pushed you…”

Frank dropped his head giving a heavy sigh. "Sweetheart, that’s not an excuse…”

"Shh." She abruptly cut him off with a finger over his lips. "It’s done, you called me a bitch, I called you an asshole. No one died, no one got struck down by lightning. We move on, okay?"

Frank looked at her, a soft smile on his face. "I love you so faking much" "Well now I know that's true since you gone all Boston on me again." She grinned as his arms circled round her back, pulling her close. His nose gently brushed hers before their lips locked together and with a smirk, Fliss reached down between them and untucked the edge of the towel which was wrapped around his hips, causing it to fall to the floor.

"Whoops." She grinned into the kiss as she gently pivoted shoving Frank gently on the chest. The movement was enough that, coupled with the backs of his knees hitting the bed he fell backwards and sat down as Fliss scrambled over to straddle him.

"Yeah, see, there's only one problem with this scenario." Frank grinned, his hands grasping at the hem of her top as his mouth nipped at her jaw. "You're wearing too many clothes."

"Why don’t you do something about it?" She challenged, her voice a breathy whisper. So he did.

**** Chapter 15

#riding on #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x original female character #gifted #gifted fan fic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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imaginationintowords · 4 years

Text

Folklore [song series]

mad woman

Modern Day AU! Bucky Barnes x OC!Reader; Bucky Barnes x Natasha Romanoff

Plot: Inspired by Taylor Swift’s new album Folklore. The story follows the timeline of Bucky and Elizabeth’s relationship throughout the years.

Word count: 1803

Warnings: swearing, angst

Previous part

Series Masterlist

Age: 17

Year: 2011

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Elizabeth had the whole weekend to prepare for what was to come when she went to school on Monday.

Word had quickly spread about what happened at her place with Bucky.

She decided that Saturday morning to block Inez's number, along with a few other students. Everyone had shifted over the villain role from Bucky to Betty, Elizabeth. She even set all her social media accounts to private, blocking those who were being nasty towards her.

To be honest she wasn't even sure if Bucky had even gotten as much crap over the last month that she was getting in just the last 48 hours.

How is she the woman he cheated on suddenly the villain?

Was she harsh to him? Maybe.

Did he deserve it? In her eyes, yes. Her reaction was a normal reaction for any person that would be in that position.

She had given him everything the last three years.

She was gone for one summer and he betrayed it all within those ten weeks. He couldn't even tell her why when she first found out a month ago. Now here he was showing up uninvited, crashing a student council meeting, not caring how it all made her look.

She could no longer hold it in. She just snapped.

Now here she was the bad guy, because Bucky decided to make his infidelity public. Because he didn't give her the respect of having this discussion in private.

She had never felt more disrespected. She had never felt more betrayed in her life.

She had never felt more alone.

Sure she had other friends besides Bucky and Steve, but once word got around about her outburst, no one really cared about her feelings but more about the gossip.

Forget student council, the secretary, Kelsea Cash texted her Sunday night saying:

"Student council doesn't need any bad press. So it's best if you just sit out until student elections. Also, if you think about running for student body president this year, it's probably best if you don't."

That text crushed Elizabeth. She had given student council that last three years of her life. The meeting that they had on Friday was partly discussing about her running for student body President, with Steve running as her Vice President. She had done an amazing job all throughout high school her classmates had praised her and wanted to help her run again. Looks like all those years were a waste. Just like her relationship with Bucky.

She'd be lying if she said she didn't cry herself to sleep that night. The anxiety and sadness seeping in. She knew she couldn't fake sick because her parents would ask what was wrong. She had already lied about why she and Bucky broke up, she couldn't lie to them about this.

She took her time getting ready that Monday morning. She didn't want to get to school until the last possible moment.

When she pulled into her assigned parking spot in the student parking lot, she waited until she heard the school bell ring.

Elizabeth made the dreaded walk up the steps that led into the hallways of her awaiting doom.

As soon as she stepped foot through the doors all eyes were on her. As if everyone was awaiting her arrival.

She slowly made her way to her homeroom, looking down at her feet to avoid eye contact. She could hear the whispers, she's pretty sure everyone wanted her to hear them.

"What a bitch."

"Bucky really dodged a bullet."

"Never knew she could be so mean."

"It's always the quiet ones."

"Bucky deserves better."

Elizabeth fought back the tears, her main focus was just to get to her homeroom. She was going to have to take today one class at a time.

As soon as she got into class she found her seat and let out a sigh of relief once she was seated. That was until a shadow loomed over her desk.

She looked up to find Alex Taylor standing over her desk, with a sly smile on his face.

"Hey Elizabeth," he gently greeted her.

His soft tone took her by surprise, but Elizabeth knew better than to let her guard down.

"Hi Alex," she said trying to ignore by pulling out her notebook.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what happened. Barnes shouldn't have done that. It wasn't cool," he sat down in the desk next her, which was not his assigned seat.

"Uh thanks."

"Barnes never did deserve you," Alex's voice got quieter, he leaned over his breath now on her face.

"Bet I can make you forget all about that jerk," he whispered in her ear, placing his hand on her upper thigh.

Elizabeth abruptly shot out of her seat.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she shrieked, alarming the whole class along with the teacher, who started making her way towards them.

"Come on Liz, let me take you out."

"How many times do I have to tell you no?"

"Do you not know what that means? I don't want to go out with you Alex. Not now, not ever," Elizabeth continued, she caught a glimpse of the class recording her outburst.

"What is going on here? Mr. Taylor. Ms. Sanchez," Ms. Marquez asked looking between the two.

"I was just trying to be a friend to Betty here," Elizabeth snapped her head towards Alex at the mention of her nickname, "When she totally freaked out on me."

Elizabeth was speechless.

"Everyone back to your original assigned seats. And put your phones away," Ms. Marquez instructed, walking back to her desk.

"No wonder Barnes cheated on you," Alex whispered to Elizabeth's face.

What happened next not only took the whole class by surprise, but Elizabeth herself as well.

The sound of the slap was heard throughout the classroom.

"Bitch," Alex sneered, clutching his face.

The sudden realization sunk in.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I-I don't know what came over me."

"Elizabeth, principal's office, now."

Elizabeth gathered her things and made her way to the principal's office. She was completely stunned. She couldn't believe she just did that.

When she arrived the secretary informed her that Principal Alvarez was waiting for her inside.

"Ms. Sanchez, please have a seat," Principal Alvarez pointed to the seat on the other side of her desk.

Elizabeth closed the door behind her and took the seat opposite the female adult.

"When Ms. Marquez called to tell me why you would be making your way up here, I was completely stunned. Never would I have thought you would be in here for a physical altercation."

Elizabeth glanced down at her hands on her lap. She was completely embarrassed by her actions and behavior.

"Now normally I would call a student's parents or suspend them."

"What?" Elizabeth's head snapped up.

"But this is a very difference circumstance. You have never gotten into any trouble. You've been a star student, and unfortunately even though the staff and I are adults, we aren't privy to school gossip," Principal Alvarez informed her.

"Oh," Elizabeth's eyes widen.

She knew. Everyone knew.

"Being a teenager isn't easy. Especially in today's modern technology world. I can't even imagine half of the things you kids have to go through. The mean, hurtful comments they follow you all home, it's not fair."

Elizabeth glanced back down at her hands, to try and hide the tears threatening to fall.

"I'm sorry you're going through all of this, and having to deal with classmates' inputs. You're first heartbreak is never easy. It's hard enough having to deal with it privately, but having to deal with it publicly while in high school. It's tough."

Elizabeth could no longer hold in her sobs. She covered her face with her hands to try and contain the sound. She could hear Principal Alvarez get up from her chair. She sat on the chair next to Elizabeth, and gently rubbed her back.

"It's not fair," Elizabeth sobs, "I didn't do anything wrong, yet everyone hates me."

"How is all of this my fault? How am I the bad guy? All I ever did was love James. I gave him everything. Everything. And now I have nothing."

"I'm sure you have some friends you can talk to through this," Principal Alvarez says.

"No. Not really. People just want the gossip. No one. Not one single person has asked how I've been," she looks up to meet Principal Alvarez's eyes, "My best friends were Steve, Bucky, and Peggy. Peggy is no longer here. And of course Steve is siding with Bucky. They've known each other their entire lives. And the way Steve looked at me on Friday night after what I told Bucky, forget it. He's never going to talk to me ever again."

"I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

"No, he won't. He's very loyal to Bucky. He isn't going to turn his back on someone who's practically his brother."

"Have you thought about telling your parents?"

"No. I don't want them to know. It's embarrassing enough that you know," Elizabeth sniffles, wiping away the last of her tears, "Thank-you though. You didn't have to let me of so easily."

"Like I've said before, you're a star student. Plus you're going through enough, I'm not about to put more on your plate," she patted Elizabeth's knee before getting up and going back to her side of the desk.

"Now do you think you'll be able to handle the rest of the day? I will let you head home early," Principal Alvarez asked, standing behind her desk.

"No," Elizabeth shakes her head, "I have to stay. I have to at least get through today. I can't let them know they're getting to me."

"Smart girl," Alvarez winked at her, smiling, "My door is always open if you need to come by again today."

"Thank-you, I'll keep that in mind," Elizabeth nodded, grabbing her backpack and heading for the door, "Bye."

"Bye."

As Elizabeth walked out of the office, she glanced at the clock over the secretary's desk, everyone would already be in first period. She grabbed a slip from the secretary excusing her tardiness.

She walked through the silent halls, taking her time, the only sounds coming from her boots clacking. Elizabeth knew that to get through today she is going to have to show everyone that they're not getting to her.

In order to get through today she's going to have to give them what they've been calling her.

She's going to have to be a cold bitch.

This is the new Elizabeth.

Naïve, sweet, innocent Elizabeth is gone.

This Elizabeth will no longer show people what they've done to her. She will no longer be open with herself.

This Elizabeth is going to be just like all of them.

Selfish.

The only person that truly cares about her is herself.

This is the Elizabeth they've created.

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queenieloveswriting · 4 years

Text

The Fool and Her Temperance

Before your parents split, you lived in the outerbanks,with your mum and dad, close to your cousin ,john b. Not long after Big John, your dad's brother, died your mum and dad split, your dad stayed in outer banks to watch over his brothers son and keep his steady job, your mum however took you back to her home country Italy, and you lived in a small but cosy house near your grandparents. Not having a choice as a 7 year old you had to leave outer banks behind. When you got older your mum let you have your dad's number and then eventually you got your cousins, and began to get extremely close.

John and your dad simultaneously kept you up to date on the news and gossip of the outer banks, you'd call each other and it became your Sunday night ritual. Being a call or facetime you'd talk about school, you talked him through a grieving process and eventually settled for his reason to not believe until there is physical evidence. You barely know his friends other than jj whose number you also had, but they knew the name ‘Luna D’Angelo.

It was a Sunday night and you'd just, finally, convinced your mother to let you visit your dad for the summer and soak in the sun while she moved for a promotion during the month in Portland, of all places. You are just about to call john and tell him the news. School was literally out as of Friday and you were sure he was partying like he told you he'd be on Saturday, which is why he called you earlier. After updating your dad, who you also talked to every Friday night after school, You got to john

After repetitive buzzing he finally picked up, you heard some staticky music and slightly tipsy John b

“Heyyy Luna you okay we calleddd yesterdayyy i thinkkkk”

“Heyy john yeah we did sorry i just had some really good news i wanted to tell you but i can ring you tomorrow if its better”

“Don't be silllyyy I've only had a few anyways, I'll remember what is it, please don't tell me your pregnant because uncle joe’ll be pisseddd” he chuckled

“No oh my god I just wanted to say that my mum gave me the all clear and I’m coming to live with dad for the summer and maybe longer i don't know but yeah”

The line went silent

“WOOOHOOO she coming Back GUYS DID YOU HEAR THAT LUNA D’ANGELO IS COMING FOR THE SUMMER "he shouted

“Woah man stop shouting "you heard from the other line

“Jj bro my cousin you remember my cousin Luna she just told me yeah that she's coming back for the summer and maybe longer if her mum lets her brooo this is going to be the best summer ever lulu I've missed you”

“Wait really bro as in uncle joe’s Luna?”he asked

“Duh bro the only Luna we know dumbass you wanna say hi”

“What do you mean bro she's not here or is she waiting wha--?”

“She on the phone,ohhh actually you speak to her for a second I'm getting looks from over there”

“Oh wait John its fin--”

Next thing you heard was some shuffling and a deeper voice fill your speaker phone

“Luna you there? "he asked

“Shit yeah hey jj I was about to go anyways but well now you know I’m finally going to meet you and the guys well and girl but”

“yeah you areee” he slurred

“Anyways I'll see you in about a week j”

“Soon beautiful gunna have the best summer, finally going to a legendary obx party "he laughed, tipsy

“Sounds good jay I'll see you soon bye "you hung up

after finally hanging up on the phone you mentally facepalmed yourself for being so awkward, you went to bed

A slow week went by, and you had finally arrived in the outerbanks.Stepping of the boating docks you searched the crowd for you dad. Once you spotted him holding a sign that said “bentornato la mia bella figlia”welcoming you back in your second, most used language,italian.Running into your dad's arms,you both had a little cry eventually getting settled into a cosy shack. After catching up with your dad you told him about you and john b becoming close once he gave you his number. Deciding you should surprise him with his arrival, Your dad drove you in his pick up to a block away from the chateau you remember you uncle calling it.

Walking up to the porch you heard voices coming from the dock, followed by their matured bodies coming in from a boat, scrapping your original plan once you saw your cousin, you just screamed running to the completely oblivious family member

“Johnnnn I’m back” you giggled still running

.Catching his attention he turned around running towards you in complete shock “holy fucking shit your here I thought it was tomorrow "he shouted suffocating you with a hug ”oh my god john b i missed you “you giggled and he sent you a watery laugh in return "I wasn't expecting you back soon wow you look so different from the scrawny little 7 year old in uncle joe’s photos "he cooed

Before you could argue you were aware of the three people sending you confused glares. The only girl there, assuming it was kiara not having seen pictured to put name to face, coughed. ”someone wanna tell me what the fucks going on “she addressed earning john to roll his eyes at the over sassed girl, who had looked slightly jealous ”Kie this is Luna D’Angelo uncle joes daughter I’ve mentioned her she's my cousin, I might have forgot to tell them you were coming “her attitude dropped when she realised it was you “ohmygod ”she physically facepalmed, causing you to laugh "I had no idea you were coming the fuck john dumbass ”she elbowed him walking towards giving you a hug. ”Nice to finally meet you and put a face to name, speaking of you are fucking gorgeous the fuck ”she giggled walking back to the boys wo still hadn't said anything, causing you to break the silence "so that makes you pope "you pointed to the buff dark skinned boy who nodded ”yeah that's me Luna I had no idea you were coming he's useless” he stated walking up to you with a quick hug “that he is "you turned round to finally face the blonde who had a cheeky smirk on his face shamelessly checking you out you rolled your eyes. Facing him you looked up too him finally seeing what he looked like ,defiantly exceeding “cute", you opened you arms and he came towards you, similarly to john b engulfing you and spinning you in a quick hug “its crazy actually hearing you and seeing you in real life "he teased still hugging you. Aware of the confused gases from the rest you backed out of the hug, missing the slight disappointment on jj’s face. Rolling your eyes at his comment, you looked up into his mischievous eyes and innocently winked taking a second take on his Greek-caved body “I know good to finally see what you guys all look like definitely not what I was expecting though". Turning around to the others who’d been oddly silent "so what's now guys "you asked everyone "well we were just about to go to kiara family's restaurant and grab some free food you wanna come? "John b asked. Following your cousin who was walking down the dock you made conversation with kiara about her Restaurant and how they finally got paper straws, being an environmentalist, you enjoyed discussing this.

When you finally got to the wreck you had made and surprisingly gotten close quite quickly you had conversations with all of them except jj, who was next. After discussing what you think happened to bodies after you die with pope, what was cuter a bottlenose dolphin or a harbour seals with kiara, dolphins winning the argument, and just life with john b how he is coping with everything including his dad, you wondered what you'd talk about with jj, having brief text conversations with him on the phone you don't know him that well however being the only one you'd actually heard from and the stories about him from john b had been quite funny an intrigued you on the boys with an adrenaline addiction.

Once you sat down ,purposefully next to jj, pope and john b in front of you and kiara walking around helping her dad close up.

“So jj ”you turned facing him "I hear you are quite the adrenaline junkie, correct? "you sassed .Smirking he replied “quite the risk taker princess why’d you ask”

“Well you see now you might have a bit of competition because in Italy I am known as principessa pazza translating to crazy princess so you better be watching yourself blondie” you teased "what's got you that rep princess crazy "he joked. Laughing at his tone you pulled out your phone to a video collage you friends in Italy made of all the things you'd done from surfing to vine swinging. Passing him the phone you studied his priceless face watching yourself, internally hoping he's not judging your body in your bikinis and just watching what you were actually doing “damn Luna that's so sick where are you in this one", he asked scrolling the the clip of you surfing doing a perfect spin in the waves ”oh there, that's actually really funny story you wanna hear? "you asked to which he nodded “so basically me and a bunch of my guy friends, because no girls wanna get there hand dirty over there "you laugh intaking a breath “we had a 4 hour trek to get there and not having a car we had to walk to the mains and hitch hike and walk for about an hour and a half to actually get there with our boards to because we had no money to pay for rentals it was difficult I remember having to sit in the back of this guys car and my friend Ricco say in the front and there was only space for two in the back so i had to sit on Ryan's lap and put my feet on Angelo’s lap so we could have our boards on the floor, anyways once we finally got there and i got the feeling in my legs back we surfed for hours the beach was so busy and we found this beautiful cove which is in the video and the waves were so much better ,best waves I've ever surfed, we all slept on the sand around a makeshift fire from my lighter and so i had to sleep in my bikini them in their shorts because we didn't want to go home covered in sand and anyways after about 6 hours we found our way home, I didn't realise my mum would be back but the 3 weeks of no phone or tv and grounding was totally worth it, and that is what happened in tuscany,italy,ragazzo Biondo "you took a deep breath reliving the memory for a short period of time. "your mum was always a bit melodramatic Lu “your cousins chimed in. You were oblivious to the fact they had been listening to you relive your memories. Rolling you eyed you nodded “want to hear melodramatic she found out that when i was grounded the boys still came through my window and we all were still hanging out when she told me I couldn't and I was grounded for the end of the month and she took my door off "you rolled your eyes at one of your mums various punishment “why do you think I want to live with dad "you joked.

“Wait so you are moving back? I thought it was only the summer "pope questioned earning a glare from john

“I am staying for the summer but I was going to ask my dad eventually if I enjoy it here if he wouldn't mind it it would take my mum loads of convincing though but I think I can convince her if I kept my grades solid and got a job could probably ’be trusted” ”you and john both rolled your eyes at the comment

“So that means there is a 50/50 chance you could be staying? "john asked hopeful

“Most likely cuz I mean id say more 75 no/25 yes but whatever floats your boat ”“I hope you do it'd be so cool to have you here and plus i think your dad would love that, we talk about you a lot, he misses you "he sighed you sent him a smile

“So what do you all do round here, any adventures? "you smirked

John b rolled his eyes but continued to answer your question “its pretty chill and well the same we go out on the boat swim or fish for a bit come home and probably to a kegger on the beach get wasted fight with kooks the usually” he stated "that doesn't sound too bad could surf all day, one question though "you asked and john b hit you with ‘shoot’ "the fuck is a kook? ”you asked earning snickers from the group and an in depth conversation with the boys about the rich snobs on the other side of the island.

Checking your phone it was almost 10:00 and you figured you should probably head home. Saying your goodbyes jj offered to walk you home. Insisting you and your dad lived a block away from his anyway, which was true.

When you arrived at your front door you turned to him and thanked h for walking you home

“Honestly it's no problem I just wanted to talk to you like one on one for a bit you know, it's good to put a face to Luna and i honestly really hope you can stay longer, we could get used to having you around "he said causing your face to slightly flush at the complement “thanks jay that mean a lot rea-”you were cut off by your dad opening the door “ahh right on time Luna, jj how you doing boy "he asked causing you to look between then a few times in confusion “yeah I'm good sir just walking Luna home we had food at the wreck with the others "he answered your dad “thank you for feeding her son I do my shop tomorrow and was worried "you dad laughed “it's fine anyways I better go before john b locks up or I'll be sleeping on the porch "he said "wait I thought you were going back you yours and that's why you walked here ”jj chuckled "not going back to mine tonight me and john b are going to go out tomorrow so it's just easier if i sleep there "he answered looking up to your dad sending a playful wink to you “goodnight guys catch you tomorrow lulu "he waved off "night jj ”followed by “night son" your dad replied.

When you got in you caught up with your dad for the night and headed to bed looking forward to your full day out tomorrow on the boat with everyone

Tagged-

@sguymon21

A/N 🤷🏽got boredddd,,name and kind of themed on the two tarot cards ‘the fool’ and ‘the temperance’ putting in a summary on my masterlist for the meanings of it . Let me know if you wanna be tagged and if you liked it. Feel free to message me always wanna make some frienddddddss,,thanks for the love on my other fics if your interested here’s my masterlist

#jj x oc #jj imagine #jj outer banks #jj x reader #jj maybank #jj #obx #outerbanks #obx imagine #obx fic #obx fanfiction #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank outerbanks

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part VIII : I Don’t Wanna Be Just Friends

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

~ p a r t s : main post || prologue || part 1 || part 2 || part 3 || part 4 || part 5 || part 6 || part 7 || part 8 || part 9 || part 10 || part 11 || part 12 || part 13 || part 14 || part 15 || part 16 || part 17 ~ p a i r i n g : love triangle involving choi soobin and choi yeonjun ~ g e n r e : high school au | some social media au | some fluff & angst | childhood friends | love triangle ~ l a n g u a g e : English ~ w a r n i n g : contains swearing, alcohol, kissing (?) and may contain mature themes (angst, etc.) ~ a / n : This will be my first fanfic (go easy on me pls) and i’m just writing this as I go along, so bear with me juseyo The setting (place/country) of the story is up to the reader’s interpretation ~ s u m m a r y : What should she choose? Han Baby: the new girl with a troubled past MO Academy: her new high school Choi Soobin: student council president, member of the Ecosave club, volunteer at the Humane Treatment of Animals, member of the Honor Society, a vocalist in the Jazzed club, the school’s all around golden boy Choi Yeonjun: leader of the Dance club, star of the Jazzed club, the school’s it boy with a bad rep 5 best friends, 1 new girl, 1 childhood friendship, 1 epic love triangle? What will this school year bring?

It had been 13 days now since Kai’s birthday party. 13 days since Yeonjun had asked her out, and so far she’s done a good job at making sure that things between them wouldn’t change. All it took was to avoid being alone with him.

At first, she was convinced that both of them would move on from Kai’s party as if nothing had happened between them, that is, until he made it a point to keep his eyes on her while he was performing onstage, even giving her a wink or two. That simple gesture flustered her so much that she made sure to never find herself alone with the blue haired boy again. Ryujin’s “Looks like Choi Yeonjun’s got his eye on you” remark didn’t help either. And it definitely didn’t help that she often caught Yeonjun looking at her, though she could never bring herself to meet her gaze, afraid that she might get even more confused than she already was.

During their daily lunches at the gazebo and their trips to Kang’s Kafe after school, she made sure that she always had Kai by her side. During the one class that she shared with Yeonjun, she made sure that Soobin was seated between them. On Saturday, 7 days after Kai’s party, the boys had invited her to hang out at Soobin’s house and still she was able to avoid being alone with Yeonjun, gluing herself to Kai’s side the whole time. She wasn’t avoiding Yeonjun per se, she still talked to him when necessary. She just wanted to make sure that no line would be crossed between them, that there would be no opportunities for him to leave her any more flustered than she already was. She wanted to wait until thinking back to the moment he winked at her onstage didn’t make her heart race or her cheeks heat up anymore.

She had managed to maintain her daily routine of walking to school with Taehyun, attending classes, going to Kang’s Kafe with the gang, and walking home perfectly fine until today.

Friday.

Friday was quickly becoming her favorite school day. First of all, it was their washday, so she could get dressed up and look pretty if she wanted to instead of having to wear the same uniform everyday. Second, ever since she joined the HTA club, she’s been able to spend most of the afternoon surrounded by the cats and dogs within the campus grounds. It wasn’t all cuddles and pets, since the club was responsible for caring for the animals, they also had to clean up after them, made sure their feeding stations were never empty, and ensure that all the animals were in good shape. Luckily the workload wasn’t too bad since Soobin and the rest of the club members were all very attached to the animals under their care.

She had also gotten much closer with the rest of the boys, especially with Soobin since they spent a lot of time at the HTA together, and they were constantly taking pictures of each other so they’d have content to post for their creative writing class project. Unsurprisingly, their social media posts for the week both included cats under the care of the HTA club.

This Friday morning, 13 days after Kai’s birthday party, B woke up as usual to the sound of her phone alarming. What was unusual, however, was how heavy her body felt when she turned over in bed to shut the alarm off, and how chilly she felt even though her body was drenched in sweat. She came down with a bit of a cold the night before and she figured a night of good sleep would make it disappear, but clearly she was wrong.

She dragged herself out her bed and started getting ready for school, taking a cool shower and getting dressed. Due to how out of sync her body felt, she didn’t have the appetite to eat breakfast or the energy to care about how she looked, so she quickly swiped some tint on her lips and cheeks. She saw a couple of red spots on her chin and thought about whether or not she should cover them up with concealer, but she noticed that the spots felt itchy and she was afraid that covering them up with makeup would irritate them more so she left them alone. She threw on a sweater and jeans before willing herself to step out of her apartment and meet Taehyun downstairs.

“Wow, B.” Taehyun says as she meets him outside, staring at her with a strange look on his face. “And I don’t mean that in a good way.” he says, concerned now. Last Friday, she had made an effort to look nice. Her face was vibrant and her outfit choice was stylish. Now, she looked a little worse for wear, and she looked tired, as she stood slouched over with her arms folded across her chest. “Are you…okay?”

B nods. “I’m fine. I just skipped breakfast, I’ll get something to eat after homeroom.” she said, thankful that they didn’t have any classes for the day. She told herself that she just had to survive homeroom, get some food to energize herself, and then she’d be able to power through the rest of the day.

“Are you sure?” Taehyun asks, taking a step closer towards her so he could examine her properly. “You look kind of pale.”

B gives him a look. “It’s just cause I didn’t put on makeup.” she says dismissively. “And I didn’t eat breakfast, but I promise I’m good. Let’s go.”

Taehyun gives her one last look of concern before turning away. “Alright, let’s go.”

•°•

Homeroom was a drag. Attendance was required, but the whole thing felt like a waste of time. It was supposed to be used by the class advisers to discuss school policies or events, but their teacher didn’t seem to have anything to discuss. B spent the first 30 minutes of the period with her head buried in her arms, lying down on her desk.

“Hey Tyun,” Kai whispers. “What happened to Baba? Is she okay?”

“She seemed a bit off when we were walking to school. She was quiet, and she looked really tired. I asked her if she was okay before we left, and all she told me is that she didn’t have breakfast and that she was fine.” Taehyun confesses. “You got any food with you right now?”

Kai shakes his head. “I always have breakfast before I go, no matter how late I’m running. Do you have anything?”

Taehyun reaches into his bag and pulls out a brown paper bag. “My mom always packs me a couple of sandwiches, just in case.”

The 2 boys smile at each other and nod before each laying a hand on B’s shoulders.

“Baba, hey, wake up.” Kai says, gently squeezing her shoulder.

B turns her head in her arms to face the boys, not sitting up. “Hm?” she mumbles.

“You said you skipped breakfast, right? Are you hungry?” Kai asks.

“I have a couple of sandwiches here, you can eat them right now if you want to.” Taehyun says soothingly, gently squeezing her shoulder.

“No, it’s fine, you should eat them. But thanks, Tyun.” B says, giving him a weak smile.

“Baba, c’mon, you should at least eat something.” Kai says. “No offense, but you kinda look like a corpse.”

“Gee, thanks.” she responds dryly. “You know what, it’s cause I didn’t wear makeup. I’ll just go to the restroom and freshen up real quick.” she says, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small makeup bag. She stands up and glares at Kai before saying “I’ll be back.”

She walks up to the class adviser’s table and asks for permission to go to the bathroom before exiting the room.

“Dude. Seriously.” Taehyun says, turning to Kai and whacking his arm. “Did you really have to tell her that she looked like a corpse? All I wanted was for her to take the sandwiches.”

Kai just shrugs. “Hey I was just stating facts. I thought it would motivate her to eat, I didn’t think she’d bring out her makeup bag.”

“You’re an idiot. You better apologize to her when she gets back.” Taehyun says, shaking his head at the boy.

Except B never returned to class.

•°•

Yeonjun walked down the hall, his hands in his pockets and his head full of thoughts.

Fridays were one of the busiest days of the week for him. First, as president of the dance club, he had to finalize club activities before the end of homeroom, and since they had new members, they would be focusing more on introductions. Next, he had to consider his role in the Jazzed club. They were impressed with the rapping he did during the showcase on club recruitment day and they wanted him to assemble a small group of members and start a rap line within the club, so he had to figure out which members had potential and how to develop the skills needed to be a rapper. Lastly, there would be the weekly family dinner he’d be having with his parents for the night.

It was going to be a long day. He decided to take a break from planning out his day during homeroom and walk around the hall to stretch his legs for a bit. He was on his way back to his classroom when he saw a familiar face coming out of the women’s restrooms.

He smiled as he saw Baby step out, her arms folded across her chest cradling a small makeup bag, her eyes on the ground. She was wearing an oversized sweater and a plain pair of jeans, but he noticed her face was done up really nicely. Without even thinking about it, he found his feet begin to change direction, walking towards her now. It was the first time he’d seen her alone in the past few days, so he figured he’d grab the chance.

“Hey, Baby.” he called, as he was about 10 feet away from her now. She didn’t seem to hear him, cause she still had her eyes on the ground as she took slow steps. He decided to call her again.

“Baby?” he says a little bit louder as he comes closer. She looks up at him then, and he notices how blank her eyes looked. She looked dazed, as if she were lost and confused.

As her blank eyes meet his, she opens her mouth and says “Yeonjun?” before her vision goes blurry and she stumbles backwards.

Yeonjun manages to rush to her side and gets a grip on her shoulders before she loses her footing and her body crashes against his.

“Whoa there, are you okay?” he asks, as his hand brushes against her neck, he notices that she was burning up. “Baby? You’re burning up.” he says, looking at her with concern. She had her eyes closed and was breathing heavily. “I’m taking you to the clinic.” he says, positioning her properly, cradling her in his arms before lifting her off the ground.

“Hold on, Baby. I’ve got you.” he says, securing her on his back before making his way to the clinic.

•°•

Yeonjun puts his phone back in his pocket and runs a hand through his hair. He sat in silence, counting the number of tiles on the floor, before the school nurse called for him.

“Mr. Choi?” the nurse calls.

He stands up immediately and enters the room that the nurse had put Baby in, knocking on the door before stepping in.

“Yes, nurse Sunwoo?” he says, standing by the door. Baby was asleep on the bed, and the school nurse was standing beside her with a clipboard in his hands.

“Is Ms. Han a friend of yours? It looks like she’ll have to be sent home. She has a high fever, her temperature’s 38.9 degrees Celsius, so it’s standard protocol that we send home students with fevers.” nurse Sunwoo explains.

Yeonjun nods. “Alright, sir, will you fill up a form? I’d gladly take it to her adviser, and I can also take her things from her classroom and get her a ride home.”

“Yes, I’ve already filled up a form for Ms. Han, and I’ll fill up a form that will explain your absence from homeroom so you can get her a ride home. You’re still expected to return to school afterwards, though.” nurse Sunwoo says. “But first, I have to ask, have you ever had the chicken pox before?”

Yeonjun’s eyes widen and his mind goes blank. The chicken pox? He takes a moment to think about it before answering “Yes, I had it when I was 3 years old.”

“That’s good.” nurse Sunwoo says, sighing in relief. “I’ve noticed that Ms. Han appears to have some rashes spreading across her face and neck. The school doctor isn’t in today so I can’t be too sure, but I looks like she might have Varicella, so it’s best that she avoids contact with other students just in case there might be someone who hasn’t had the chicken pox before. It’s a highly contagious disease, so it could spread quickly. Judging by her symptoms now, she probably contracted the disease about 2 weeks ago.”

Oh no, could it be? “We had a social gathering about 2 weeks ago. Do you think she could have picked it up from someone there?” Yeonjun asks.

“Again, I’m not a doctor so I can’t officially diagnose her. But if it is Varicella, then yes, it’s highly possible that someone at that party had it or at least came in contact with someone who had it and became a carrier.” nurse Sunwoo explains. “If other students were present at that gathering, then we’re likely to see more cases of this soon.”

Yeonjun nods. “I understand, Sir, and I’ll warn my friends about it too.”

“I suggest Ms. Han contact her family doctor so that she can be properly diagnosed as well.” Nurse Sunwoo says before handing Yeonjun the forms. “Submit this to Ms. Han’s class adviser and collect her things. Come back here and I’ll help you with transporting Ms. Han to her ride home. Once you’ve secured her safely in her home, come back to school and present this form to your class adviser.”

“Will do, thank you, Sir Sunwoo.” Yeonjun says, taking the forms. “Oh, a friend of ours says he’ll be stopping by the clinic to visit her, if it’s okay.”

Nurse Sunwoo shakes his head. “She may be highly contagious, so before any of your friends plan any visits, please make sure that they’ve already contracted the chicken pox before. Otherwise, they have a high risk of getting infected as well.”

Yeonjun nods and thanks the nurse once again before leaving, whipping out his phone to text the guys while he walked to her classroom.

After texting the guys, he sends a quick text to his driver as well.

Once he reaches her classroom, he knocks twice before entering the room and walking straight to the adviser’s desk. He could already hear the whispers from the class as he informed the adviser of Baby’s condition and gave him the clinic form. The adviser simply says “I hope Ms. Han recovers soon.” and signs the form before handing it back to Yeonjun. “You’ll find her things over there, she was seated in between Mr. Kang and Mr. Huening.”

Yeonjun thanks the adviser before making his way to her seat and collecting her things.

“Pst, Yeonjun.” Kai whispers. “Is it really chicken pox? How is she?”

“Nurse Sunwoo said he suspects it’s chicken pox, but he couldn’t be too sure since the school doctor isn’t in today, so it would be best if Baby contacts her family doctor.” Yeonjun says quietly, making sure no one else but Kai and Taehyun could hear him. “She fainted when I saw her, and when I left she was asleep in the clinic.”

“I hope she’s okay. I really should’ve known she wasn’t okay before we left this morning.” Taehyun said, a frown on his face.

Kai puts a hand on Taehyun’s back. “Tyun, seriously, this isn’t your fault. Thanks to you, she made it to school safely.” he says comfortingly.

“Thanks, Hyuka. I wish we could visit her though, make sure she’s okay.” Taehyun says wistfully.

“If you want the chicken pox, feel free to visit her then.” Yeonjun says, trying to lighten the mood. “I’ll just take her things then I’ll bring her home. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her for now.” he says, clapping the 2 boys on their backs before excusing himself from the room.

Yeonjun heads back to the clinic and Nurse Sunwoo helps him bring Baby in a wheelchair to the north quadrangle, where sure enough, his driver was waiting for him. His driver opens the backseat and helps Yeonjun with loading the girl into the car. Yeonjun thanks the school nurse once again before entering the vehicle himself.

“Where to, sir Yeonjun?” the driver asks as they pull out of the campus.

“You know Kang’s Kafe, right Hwall? We’re taking her home to her apartment, it’s in the building across the café.” Yeonjun says. “This is Han Baby, by the way. She’s a friend of mine.”

“Alright, Sir Yeonjun.” Hwall simply says. “Will you be staying at her apartment for the rest of the day?”

Yeonjun shakes his head. “We’ll just be dropping her off, I have to be back at school for the afternoon.”

“Seems a bit dangerous to leave her alone in this state, sir.” Hwall comments. “Your friend doesn’t look like she’s in the best condition. Is she sick?”

Yeonjun nods. “She fainted and has a high fever. I wish I could stay and make sure she’ll be okay, but I have no choice. If I don’t go back and submit this form, then I’ll have an unexcused absence, which my father might hear about.” he says with a hint of bitterness. Yeonjun’s personal driver, Hwall, was one of the few staff members hired by his family that he trusted, so he felt safe confiding in Hwall about his problems.

“Whatever the situation, I’m sure you’ll handle it well, sir.” Hwall simply says, knowing Yeonjun.

Just then, the car takes a sharp turn, and Baby’s position shifts, somehow ending up with her head on Yeonjun’s lap. He tries to inch away from her so that her head would land on the car seat instead, but he was surprised when she reached out and grabbed the fabric of his jeans, causing him to freeze in place. He looks down at her and sees that she’s still fast asleep. He lets out a small smile and rests a hand on the top of her head, caressing her hair carefully. He snaps a quick picture before sending an update to the boys.

He ignores Taehyun’s message and locks his phone, tilting his head back, thinking carefully about what he should do for the rest of the day.

His gut told him that he shouldn’t leave her alone, at least not in her current condition, and he felt like simply making sure she got home safe wouldn’t be enough. He wanted to spend the afternoon watching over her, to contact her family doctor and have him come over to examine her, to stay by her side and make sure she wouldn’t wake up alone.

On the other hand, if he did skip school for the rest of the day, he’d fail to submit his excuse slip, and that would be another unexcused absence in his record.

He sighed, looking down at the girl sleeping on his lap, wondering if he should choose his head over his heart.

•°•

When B wakes up and opens her eyes, she’s surprised when she sees nothing, her view obstructed by something covering her face. She lifts a hand up to reach over her face, removing whatever was obstructing her view. She grabs it and realizes that it’s a face towel, and it was slightly damp. Why did she have a towel on her head?

She turns over in her bed, blindly reaching over the sheets in search of her phone, but she’s surprised when her hand comes in contact with hair. Human hair.

Was there someone else in her bed?

Her eyes immediately widen as she pulls her hand away and attempts to scramble away, but instead she ends up rolling over until she falls over the side of the bed, hitting the floor with a thud.

“Ouch.” she says out loud, rubbing her the spot on her head that met the heaviest impact with the floor. Once she realizes that no one else had made a sound, she starts to sit up, slowly peeking over the sheets to catch a glimpse of whoever might be on the other side of the bed.

She’s surprised when she sees a head of blue hair, and she immediately stands up to get a better look.

It was Yeonjun. He was sitting on the floor at the other side of the bed, but he seemed to have fallen asleep, his head resting in his arms, which were folded across the bed.

B could feel her heartbeat start to quicken as she started to panic. Why wasn’t she at school? When and how did she get home? Why was Yeonjun here? Why was she alone with Yeonjun in her apartment?

She weighed her options. She could either wake him up and get the answers to all her questions, or she could simply sneak out of her apartment and continue to avoid him like she had been the past 2 weeks.

She sighed, knowing what she had to do. She got back on the bed and started to slowly crawl towards him, carefully putting a hand on his arm and gently shaking it.

“Yeonjun?” she says. “Yeonjun, wake up.”

To her surprise, the blue-haired boy stretches his arms out on the bed, gripping the sheets tightly for a second before he relaxes and lifts his head up, and for what felt like the first time in 2 weeks, their eyes meet.

And just like that, she could feel the butterflies in her stomach start to flutter about again.

“Hey Baby, sorry I fell asleep.” Yeonjun says casually, sitting up on the floor. “Oh god, what time is it? I hope I wasn’t asleep for too long.” he says, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“It’s fine, no need to apologize. It’s 4pm right now.” she says kindly, checking her watch. “Um, Yeonjun?”

“Yes?” he asks innocently, his mouth quirked up in a smirk.

“How did we end up here exactly?” she asks. “What happened?”

Then Yeonjun filled her in. He told her about how she passed out in the hallway and he brought her to the school clinic, how the school nurse said she might have the chicken pox and she had to be sent home cause of her high fever, how Yeonjun brought her home, how Yeonjun found the number for her family doctor and had him come for a home visit, how the doctor confirmed that she did indeed have chicken pox and she would have to stay home for at least a week, and how Yeonjun watched over her the whole time.

How he carried her from his car all the way up to her apartment, how he removed her shoes before tucking her into bed, how he put a damp face towel over her forehead and replaced it every hour, how he checked her temperature every 30 minutes to see if her fever had died down yet and how relieved he was when it finally did, how he had constantly sent the other guys updates on how she was doing, how he had ordered food to be delivered to her apartment just in case she woke up hungry, and how he had fallen asleep while sitting on the floor.

How he had taken care of her the whole time, yet B pushed the thought of Yeonjun doing all that for her to the back of her mind.

“I have the chicken pox? Oh god oh god, I’m gonna have to miss school for a week?” B says, her head drowning from the sudden heavy load of information. “Why are you here, though? Did you skip school? Where are the other guys?” she asks.

“Yes, you have the chicken pox and yes, your doctor says you can’t leave your house for at least a week, depending on how fast you recover, so he’ll be checking up on you again in a couple of days. Lucky for me, I had chicken pox when I was 3 years old so now I’m immune, and unlucky for them, none of the other guys have had chicken pox before so they can’t really be here right now.” Yeonjun says, skipping over her question about him skipping school. “So it’s just you and me.”

B bites her lip, overwhelmed by the whole situation. It wasn’t even the fact that she had chicken pox that was made her nervous or the fact that she’d be missing a week of school, it was the fact that she was now alone with the boy she had been trying to avoid for the past 2 weeks, and the fact that she couldn’t have Kai or the rest of the guys come over so she could keep distancing herself from Yeonjun. It was the fact that she knew that she couldn’t keep avoiding him any longer. “So it’s just you and me.” she repeats.

Yeonjun smiles. “Lucky for me, unlucky for you, isn’t it?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks suspiciously.

“Baby, come on. You’ve been avoiding me for the past 2 weeks, right?” Yeonjun asks point blank. “And let’s face it, I’ve been waiting to get a moment alone with you for the past 2 weeks. So this situation right now is lucky for me, and unlucky for you.”

“I haven’t been avoiding you.” she says weakly, caught off guard by how direct he was being.

Yeonjun shakes his head. “It’s okay, Baby. I guess I put pressure on you. If anything, it’s my fault that you felt so uncomfortable that you had to start avoiding me.”

“It’s not that, Yeonjun.” she protests. Upon seeing the confused look on his face, she bit her lip. Time to face the truth head on. “I’ll admit that I have been avoiding you, but it wasn’t cause I was uncomfortable with you.”

“Oh? Why then?” Yeonjun asks. “You know it hurts, right? It hurt to see that you never wanted to sit beside me, that you were purposefully avoiding talking to me, that you didn’t want to be alone with me, that you wouldn’t even look at me. I thought I lost a friend. I thought I lost you.” he admits, looking at her intently. “The past 2 weeks hurt.”

B felt an ache in her chest. She was so caught up in her own feelings and so engrossed in avoiding him that she didn’t realize what it might’ve been like for him. “Yeonjun, I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” B says, climbing off the bed and sitting down beside him on the floor. “And it wasn’t your fault. It was just me, avoiding you and blocking you out like I did, it was all just me being stupid. I got so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn’t even think about how it might have affected you or our friendship.” She puts her hand on his comfortingly. “I hope you know that I really don’t want to lose you, and I didn’t want to lose our friendship.”

He takes her hand, intertwining their fingers, and gives her a small smile. “And you know I really don’t want to lose you either. So why? Why have you been avoiding me?”

B takes a deep breath, bracing herself for what might happen once she told him the truth. “It’s because I was confused. To be honest, when you performed on club recruitment day and winked at me onstage, it felt like butterflies were born in my stomach that day, and I’ve been trying to keep them from fluttering around but they just seem to keep multiplying.”

Yeonjun smiles. “So I gave you butterflies.” he states.

B nods. “Yes, but after turning you down, those butterflies were very confusing. I told myself that it was nothing, and I figured that as long as I didn’t see you or talk you or even sit beside you, the butterflies would die out and our friendship would be saved. But I guess I was so afraid of losing our friendship that I ended up slowly destroying it, pushing you away and hurting you in the process.”

“But why were you so afraid? I get that you wanted to keep our friendship above all else, that’s the main reason why you turned me down in the first place, right?” Yeonjun asks. “But why were you so afraid? Why did you feel the need to stay away from me?”

“I was afraid that if I were to have a moment alone with you, I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I was afraid that if I looked at you for too long, the butterflies in my stomach would consume me completely. I was afraid that if I talked to you, I’d turn into a blubbering mess because you get me so flustered. I was afraid that if I sat beside you, my heart would start to pound so loud that you’d be able to hear it.” B takes a deep breath before continuing, her voice starting to shake. “I guess I was afraid because deep down, I knew I wasn’t confused. I was just too chickenshit to admit it, even to myself, but I think I was really afraid because a part of me knew that I had feelings for you.”

There’s a moment of silence as B’s words come pouring out. Yeonjun stays quiet, comfortingly tracing circles on her hand with his thumb while she collects her thoughts, putting them together and letting them pour out.

“I was afraid because I had feelings for you, and I was afraid that being alone with you would drive me crazy. But I feel like I’ve been going crazy anyway, ever since that night in the shed, I can’t seem to think straight anymore.” B confesses.

“You were afraid because you had feelings for me?” Yeonjun asks. “Had?”

B shakes her head. “Have. I’m afraid because I have feelings for you.” she clarifies.

“You know since then, I had the next 2 weeks planned out, right?” Yeonjun starts. “I told myself I had 2 weeks to change your mind, and I had it all planned out, starting with dazzling you during our performance on club recruitment day. But damn it, you never gave me a chance.”

“What do you mean?” B asks, confused.

“You started avoiding me, remember?” Yeonjun laughs, the mood feeling lighter after B finally unloaded all her thoughts. “This” he says, holding up their hands, which were still intertwined, “is the closest I’ve been to you these past 2 weeks. At first, I thought I’d fucked up, and I was ready to give up. But then I told myself that I’d try it one more time, give it one more shot, before I leave it alone forever.”

“What are you talking about? Give what one more shot?” B asks again. After finally letting go of the thoughts swirling around in her for the past 2 weeks, she was a little overwhelmed.

Yeonjun turns to face her then, looking right at her. He sighs as he says, “Let me make this perfectly clear. I have not been able to stop thinking about you since that night in the shed. Those 7 minutes kept replaying in my mind, and it killed me that I never got to spend another minute alone with you again. If I had known that those 7 minutes would’ve haunted me for the next 2 weeks of my life, I would’ve...” he says, trailing off when his eyes quickly dart to her lips. “Well, let’s just say I would’ve made those 7 minutes something worth remembering.”

B lets out an “Oh.” and starts blushing profusely.

Upon seeing her reaction, he laughs and squeezes his eyes shut. She was too god damn cute. After shaking his head and telling himself to focus, he continues. “Anyway, after you turned me down, I promised myself that I would try harder. I gave myself 2 weeks to do anything to change your mind, I was ready to fully turn on my charm, to show you that I was someone worth dating, and to show you that our friendship is just as important to me as it is to you. But then you started to ignore me, and I was about to give up and accept that you’d never be interested in going out with me, but then I told myself that if I didn’t try at least one more time, if I didn’t give it one more shot, I would’ve regretted it for the rest of my life.” he says sincerely.

B stays quiet, trying to absorb everything she was hearing. Yeonjun continues, moving even closer, her hand still grasped tightly in his.

“To be completely honest here, I have not enjoyed a conversation with any girl as much as I enjoyed those 7 minutes with you, and I want so much more than those 7 minutes. I want to take you out, I want to give you all the good things I know you deserve, I want to get to know you as much as I can. Yes, I want to be your friend, but God Baby, I don’t know if I can go on like this for much longer because being friends means staying platonic and I want you so much more than that.” he says intensely, lifting her hand up to his chest, right to where he could feel his heartbeat. “I want to show you who I am, I want to know who you are, and I want to be what you deserve. If you’ll let me.”

He hadn’t taken his eyes off her the whole time, but B took a moment to close her eyes and try to clear her thoughts. She didn’t know what to expect when she woke up this morning, but this definitely wasn’t it. As hard as it was, she was glad to finally express her feelings, like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. But after hearing everything Yeonjun just said, she could feel her heartbeat speeding up once again.

“Baby?” Yeonjun whispers after a moment of silence, looking at her intently. He was so close to her that she could clearly see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, her own breathing getting heavier the more he inched closer.

“Yes?” she finally asks, her heart pounding out of her chest as she kept her eyes downward. She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye, because if she did, she felt like she would combust in front of him, like the butterflies she felt in her stomach would suddenly explode all at once.

“Baby.” he says again. Only this time, he bravely puts a finger under her chin and lifts her face up so that he could get a better look at her.

B lets out a deep breath and braces herself, knowing there was nowhere to hide now. She let her eyes slowly trail upwards from his chin, her heart skipping a beat when her eyes caught sight of his lips, up to his nose, and finally to his eyes. She was so struck by the intensity when her gaze finally met his that she felt her breath hitch once their eyes met.

He shifted his hand, sliding it further into her neck, from one finger under her chin to his whole palm against her skin, his fingers cradling the back of her neck as his thumb traced slow circles along her jaw. “Look at me.” he says softly.

“Yes?” she finally manages to say out loud, though it came out as a whisper.

The corners of Yeonjun’s mouth tip upwards in a small smile. He leans in closer again, his eyes never leaving hers, until he was so close that their noses were almost touching.

“Will you go out with me?” he whispers, his warmth breath mingling with hers, the tips of their noses gently brushing against each other with every word spoken. “Please?”

B lets out a deep breath, unable to keep her voice steady as she says “Yeonjun…” not really knowing what else to say.

Feeling her breath so close to his mouth, Yeonjun’s eyes flutter downwards, catching a glimpse of her lips, before he says “Fuck it” and pulls her face towards his, their lips finally crashing together.

B could feel a thousand butterflies in her stomach collectively combust as his lips meet hers. Her eyes close as she immediately responds and kisses him back, giving in to him. Her hands reach up to his chest, and she gently grabs his shirt in her fists.

Yeonjun takes it well, and he brings his other hand up to cup her face, holding it in place as his fingers entwined themselves in her hair, further tilting her head back for better access.

B could feel her whole body weaken, as if she were melting in his hands. Her hands relax as she lets go of his shirt and simply lays her palms against his chest, sliding them up to his shoulders and finally to his neck, her fingers tracing his sharp jaw.

Yeonjun pulls away then, separating their mouths. To his surprise, he was breathing heavily, his own heart pounding so loud he could hear it roaring in his ears. He looked at her with a mixture of confusion and wonder, his hands still cupping her face. What was this girl doing to him?

There’s a moment of silence as they simply stare at each other, the sounds of their heavy breathing filling the room. Yeonjun’s eyes earnestly search hers for any sign of how she was feeling, hoping he didn’t overstep his boundaries or make her feel uncomfortable. He didn’t mean to kiss her so suddenly, but after pouring his heart out, he couldn’t hold himself back any longer.

Meanwhile, her eyes were fixated on his, her thumbs absentmindedly tracing circles on his jaw, her fingers tickling the hair on the back of his neck. It took her a moment to realize that Yeonjun really kissed her and that she kissed him back, and she was starting to become lightheaded, as if she were intoxicated.

“Yeonjun?” she says, finally breaking the silence.

“Yes, Baby?” he asks softly, his gaze never leaving hers.

She offers him a small smile before saying, “Yes. I’ll go out with you.”

Upon finally hearing her say yes, Yeonjun lets out a big smile, unable to stop himself. “Really?” He asks as he savors the moment, staring at her eyes and her lips trying to memorize every little detail, reveling in how small and fragile she felt as he cradled her face in his hands, marveling at the heat of her skin under his palms, and once again going breathless at the memory of their kiss.

She laughs a little as he smiles, noticing how his whole face lit up as soon as she said yes. “You happy now?” she asks.

“You know I’m always happy when I’m with you, right?” he says, smiling at her cheekily.

“And you know I have chicken pox, right?” she says teasingly.

“And you know I’ve had them before, right? I’m immune for life.” he reminds her.

“Okay, quick question then, how will you take me out if I’m sick and can’t leave my house for at least a week?” B asks. “Both of us have been struggling for the past 2 weeks and now that we’re finally here, I can’t even go out.” she laughs sheepishly.

“Funny though, if you never got the chicken pox, I don’t think we’d get to where we are now. You and me, dating.” he says sweetly. “Well, dates don’t always mean going to the movies or fancy restaurants.” Yeonjun begins. “I mean, we can always just stay here, hang out, maybe get a repeat of that kiss earlier.” he says, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She smacks his arm, suddenly flustered again, her cheeks going red.

“I’m serious! How will we be dating if I can’t even leave my apartment?” B asks.

Yeonjun just smiles at her then. “Don’t worry, I’ve already got something in mind. You’ll see.” he says with a glint in his eye.

When she gives him a confused look, he laughs and pulls her in closer again, brushing the hair away from her face before planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. He keeps her close, resting his chin on the top of her head, her scent making him wish he’d never have to leave.

“Thanks for saying yes, Baby.” he whispers, his lips moving against her hair.

B reaches up and takes on of his hands in hers, letting out a sigh. “I don’t think I could ever say no to you again, Yeonjun.” she says, smiling.

Yeonjun smiles, pulling away for a second, only to put a finger under her chin and tilt her head backwards, leaning in so he could kiss her once again.

“Uh, Yeonjun?” B starts again. “Quick question. Should we tell the guys that we’re dating now?”

Yeonjun leans back, thinking it over. “Well, I guess it’s something they should know about since they’re our friends.” he says rationally. “Do you want to tell them?”

As much as she wanted to believe that their friendship wouldn’t end up crashing and burning if things between them didn’t work out, she was still very worried about it. “How about we wait until I’ve recovered and I’m medically cleared to go back to school and see the guys again?” she suggests. “Let’s see how things turn out by the end of the week.”

Yeonjun nods, smiling at her. “Deal.” he says, once again planting a kiss on her forehead.

And to him, it didn’t matter that he skipped school for the afternoon just to look after her, it didn’t matter that he’d have an unexcused absent in his school records, it didn’t matter that he had to constantly text and call different club officers from the Dance club and Jazzed that day to give them instructions while he was away, it didn’t matter that he’d have to sit through another family dinner with his parents later that night. If going through all that meant he’d get to spend this one moment with her in his arms, he knew he’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

°•°

Author’s note: Quick question, dear readers... How do you feel about kissing scenes? I hope no one here is uncomfortable with graphic/detailed kissing scenes because there may be more coming up soon, especially since the characters in the fic are highschool students. Thank you for the likes and especially the comments! Reading comments motivates me to write more because it feels nice to know that people are enjoying my work. :)

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curiousconch · 4 years

Text

No Clear Skies Ahead

Chapter 1 of Ricochet (An Open Heart AU). Read the prologue here.

Chapter Synopsis: An investigation is launched after a threat was sent to the DA's office. In an attempt to protect Heather, Rafael zooms in on the case but stumbles upon an inner struggle which leads to dire consequences.

Pairing: Rafael Aveiro x MC (Dr. Heather Song)

Words: 3k+ | Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Romance

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / sex, mental health issues

Author’s Notes: Majority of the characters are owned by Pixelberry, except the main character Heather Song. There are also small references to canon, so spoiler alert for those who haven’t played OH 2 yet. This specific chapter was inspired by Bruno Mars' It Will Rain (Live version - X Factor).

Rafael dropped his bag on the apartment floor, an exasperated sigh escaped his lips as he waded his way to the kitchen.

On a normal day, Rafael wouldn't be this ill-tempered. But today wasn't normal, normalcy went out the window since they received that threat.

Two weeks has passed since, and both of their lives are imploding. He shook his head as he recalled their conversation that night, while trying to have a peaceful dinner for once.

"I need to go, Raf. This is groundbreaking cancer research that may help some of our patients," she explained while she unwrapped her bibimbap.

"How long will you be at Johns Hopkins then?" he asked, while he himself took a bite from his beef patties.

"The initial plan would be at least a week. I'll fly out to Maryland on Monday, so I won't be back until Saturday morning. We want to be able to lend a hand to the planning of the clinical trials. Edenbrook wants to participate," her voice sounded excited.

"I don't think it's a great idea right now, Heather," he shook his head gently, a genuine look of concern in his face.

Heather wasn't entirely enthused by his response.

"What, I can't live my life now because of that stupid note?" she said in a vicious tone. "If I let this thing hang over my head for the rest of my life, there's no use of all of this fuss."

"I'm just trying to look out for you, Heath," he replied, not wanting to spend this rare quality time arguing.

She got awfully quiet, as she averted her gaze. She was stubborn, but her behavior told him she was on edge.

Resigned, he just nodded and expressed his agreement. He reminded her to come back as soon as possible, and made plans to pick her up at the airport.

He spent the rest of the night sucking up his frustration. They individually came up with an excuse and parted early, even the idea of sex was off the table.

He grabbed a beer from his fridge and padded his way to the living room, switching on the TV to watch some late night news.

A special report was playing, covering much of the recent developments in the case. It briefly mentioned Heather, making him frown.

They only knew a few things about the note, including the fact that it was emailed directly to Bryce Lahela, the same prosecutor who executed Travis Perry in court. He suspected that It was meant to hit two birds in one stone - to threaten the DA and the doctor who reported the ruse. The mastermind is informed who was involved.

The IT team were able to trace where the email was sent - it was from a terminal in a nearby public library. This was expected, and Rafael wasn't wrong to ignore his gut that told him this was just the start.

A week after, a second note came. This time, faxed to Senator Ed Farrugia's office. But unlike the first message, it was wordless.

Instead, it contained two images - two shots of the politician meeting with associates at a nearby hotel. The office of the senator confirmed it to be taken the same day the fax was sent.

The whole Boston field office was on full gear, with the Senate presurring the agency to reopen the case. The stakes were slowly becoming higher.

This wasn't a childish prank, he concluded. It's the beginning of a well-planned attack.

He waited for another move from the faceless sender. His training told him that this is going to be a slow burn. If the perpetrator waited months to put this into action, they wouldn't hesitate to wait for the perfect time. Raf's whole team were still clueless to the most important matter at hand - the when and the how.

He wished hard for it to be nothing but empty threats, but he knew better. He struggled to stop himself from taking this too personally, convincing himself that he had a job to do. But he can't help himself. So he spent the past two weeks leaving no stone unturned.

Meanwhile, Heather drowned herself with work.

Rafael knew it was an effort of her taking control. In the few months that they were dating, he learned how she had to hide anything that was wrong. She was a doctor, and she was required to smile at her patients every single day. That's also how she coped - pretending that there's nothing wrong and pushing everyone away.

His own attempts to comfort her proved futile as most of his time was also occupied by the investigation.

It's not over, Dr. Song. Every single word in that short sentence cast a long shadow over his every move, beckoning a hidden resentment he never knew existed.

The rising anxiety within him got amplified as their shifts ended in irregular hours. For two weeks, they barely saw each other. He would call her at the end of his day, but he felt that she involuntarily withdrew from him more over time. He knew it was her defense, Rafael himself a stark reminder of the threat that just overturned her life.

Her shielded independence irked him greatly. He wanted her to rely on him, now, more than ever. He wanted to share this with her, and his concerns only grew every single day.

He never thought that there would ever be a distance between them. He hated the thought of Heather wanting to tend to herself.

Did she not trust him enough? Didn't she want to rely on him? Can't she just lean on him, especially during this time? What else is this relationship for then?

He knew she grew up independently, she was forced to rely on no one but herself for most of her teenage and adult years. She was strong and not fragile. But he desired so much to protect her, to save her, just like the same way he did the year before. But he knew she wasn't that kind of girl.

And when Heather shut him down another time tonight, he felt cornered. She'll be out, indefinitely. Will she even miss me? His head hurt just thinking about it. He had a hard time sleeping that night, feeling an emptiness he didn't feel ever since he met her.

It wasn't long when the void that he felt over her abrupt absence got filled by someone else.

The week Heather flew to Johns Hopkins, a childhood friend came back to Boston. An ex, in fact. Sora, his high school sweetheart. It all began with a seemingly innocent chat, an invitation to catch up.

But it soon escalated to him being more involved with her, volunteering his spare time to help her reacquainted to their neighborhood. With Heather dismissing him in every turn, he diverted his energies to spending time with Sora. For a few days, he didn't know why he kept her company, but as time went on, he understood.

It was Sora's consistent need of him, asking small favors from him every chance she gets. It was the total opposite of what Heather was doing.

She was familiar with Rafael, so she it was easy for her to feed his uncontrollable need to be someone's savior. Superman needed his own fix.

It's partially the reason why he ended up being an FBI agent himself. It was his innate need to save someone from practically anything. He lived and breathed to be someone's hero.

With no desire to spend another night at Donahues, he asked his high school friends to come over to his place on Friday after work for some movies and beer, a mini reunion, for Sora. He persuaded himself that it was nothing else but an effort to help a friend out.

That night became full of nostalgia, as friends who showed up exchanged stories of their adventures from their childhood and teenage years. Over the next few hours, their friends left one by one, eventually leaving him and Sora alone. They each had a few more beers than they usually drank, and their chat unsurprisingly catapulted towards the end of their high school love affair. They talked about what attracted them to one another, eventually venturing to the regrets Sora had when they broke up.

"I think I never got over you, you know," Sora casually teased him, chugging down another bottle of beer. "Our breakup felt forced, and I hadn't been able to feel the same way with someone else..." her voice trailed off, her hand gently hovering over his thigh.

He didn't push her away. Although he wanted to, but he melted in the attention she was giving him.

He just nodded in reply, drinking from his own bottle, his mind racing, his heart beating uncontrollably in his chest. He knew he had to stop this, but he lacked the willpower to do so.

With Rafael's pent up frustrations and Sora's voluntary prodding, they ended up kissing. Their hands roaming each other as they tried to rediscover their past, their clothes carelessly discarded one after another on his living room. Rafael's head screamed opposition, but his body cannot resist the contact. Shutting down the shouting disagreement in his mind, he let his hands take over him.

He let his hands roam, feeling electrified by someone familiar, who knew his flaws, his body. He sensed that Sora felt exactly the same. In the heat of their bodies, they didn't hear the keys jingling and a door creaking open.

A sound of glass breaking made them look up.

"What the hell?"

There, standing in his dim entryway, was a flushed faced Heather. She held a suitcase, staring daggers at him and Sora as they were sprawled half-naked on the living room couch.

Shit.

Sora followed his gaze, and a mortified look of shame filled her eyes. Heather instantly fled, slamming the door closed behind her. Rafael rose from the couch, cursing under his breathe as he retrieved his clothes and covered his body.

He shot Sora a look of apology, and she understood. Grabbing his jacket and his keys, he followed Heather, running like he was being chased by death. A bitter taste formed at the back of his tongue as his mind raced with the number of possibilities how this night would end. He shook himself out of his thoughts, surprised as rain fell over him the moment he stepped out his apartment building. November is Boston's wettest month.

Despite the lack of visibility, his eyes shot in different directions, trying to find a trace of Heather. He saw her black suitcase just as it disappeared in the nearest street corner.

His shoes dug heavily on the wet sidewalk as he followed her sprinting shadow for two full blocks. He called out to her, unfazed by the fact that the pouring rain could mute him.

At last Heather stopped. He saw as the lights of the stream of traffic shining at her small figure.

He called her once more. But panic instantly filled him as he saw her advance the street in front of a fast-approaching car.

He rushed towards her, pulling her back in time.

"What the hell, Heather?" he looked down at her with fury and concern. He was surprised with her strength as she pushed him back, freeing herself from his grip.

"I asked you first," she gave him an accusing look, poison in her words. He instantly remembered why he chased her.

His stance immediately got defensive. Without thinking, he dragged Heather, ignoring her protests. He found an alley with some sort of roof, saving them from the downpour momentarily.

"Meu amor," his raspy voice breaking as he struggled to make Heather look at him. He reached out to her, touching her shoulders. Her face filled with pain crushed his soul.

"I don't have any words except I'm sorry." His whole body shook, his strong arms wrapping around her as he began to sob. "Heather, I... I made a mistake. I was weak," his hands gently cupped her face, his voice lowering to nothing but a faint whisper. "I just missed you so much, but I swear, I didn't mean for this to happen."

Rafael felt stupid at the lame excuse he could muster, knowing full well how horribly he fucked up.

Being soaked through the bones did not numb the pain he was feeling. Her silence became more unbearable by the minute. He attempted to kiss her, but failed the moment she avoided it.

"If you wanted to give up, you didn't have to pretend." she hissed, with tear-stained cheeks and a gaze haunting back at him, speaking volumes. "If you didn't want me around anymore, you should have just told me." he saw her bite her lip, her voice filled with contempt.

His chest constricted, realizing the damage he had done. "I want you, I still want you. I want no one else but you," he pleaded, wishing that there was a way to reverse what he had done. "Forgive me, meu amor, give me the chance to make this right, please," his voice shook as he begged her, his lungs about to give out, heavy of guilt.

Her silence stung more than any word. Her rigid body, motionless against his shivering chest. When he couldn't take her refusal to speak anymore, he took one last attempt to pound down the walls she was beginning to build. Fueled by nothing but desperation, he took her hands in his and knelt in front of her, waiting eagerly for an answer.

But as he gazed up at her, the small glimmer of hope in him dissipated. The eyes that once shined like the whole universe was in it, turned empty, dark and desolate.

She retrieved her hands from his grip, Rafael's face twisted in horror as he felt her slip away. He knew right then that he just lost her. "I can't, Rafael. I just can't right now."

In those few words, his world tumbled over. He watched her turn around and walk away, helpless. Once that he can no longer see any trace of her, his knuckles pounded the ground until it bled.

The rain outside crept its way inside him. It will be a long time before it stopped.

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