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#so yeah like!!! seeing a grown man who’s obviously not ‘confused’ and who isn’t questioned over falling for a woman then a man is just!!!!!
seilon · 2 years
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sorry I will not shut up about this show But. I just. wanted to mention how fucking cool it is that ok ko has a major bi character in it (a bi man at that) that has important on-screen romantic relationships portrayed with both a female partner and a male partner and neither is considered less legitimate than the other. his orientation isnt pointlessly called into question or suggested to have been faked or changed for ending up with a man when he was previously with a woman. It’s just natural, and so one doubts that he was once romantically interested in/involved with carol just because he ended up with boxman. and I think that is very cool and something I feel like I super rarely see with bi characters– when bi characters are represented I feel like it’s pretty common to only have them shown romantically involved with one gender or another and it’s more of a side note that they also like people outside that gender, or they’re portrayed as “confused” or god forbid suggesting their feelings for someone weren’t really real because they ended up with someone of another gender (not to be confused with comp het; in that case the individual isn’t bi and that’s different). And so having a children/family show that has two solidly bi characters first of all, and one who’s a grown adult who’s had established relationships with two genders on screen is just honestly really cool and I appreciate that so much
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Why Is Sydney “Too Young” for Carmy?
I keep seeing this brought up across many platforms and I’m confused. 
1. We don’t know how old these characters are supposed to be. We just don’t. The original script had Carmy as 25 and I believe Sydney was 35. Tina was also a man named Tito. Changes were made but we don’t know what the current ages are and why those changes were made which brings up many questions. Things that make you go, hmmm.
2. If our closest educated guess is the actor’s actual ages and we assume Carmy is 31 and Sydney is 26 is that a “huge age gap” as I keep seeing people say? When did a five year age difference become scandalous between legal adults? Most women prefer a man a few years older because it usually means more maturity. And men do tend to prefer a woman a few years younger because they are generally (don’t come for me I know it’s not everyone, but it’s the norm) attracted to youth. When I was 24 I was dating a 29 year old. He did not seem too old for me. Recently, I’ve dated men up to 12 years older than me. Currently, I prefer a five year difference either way because that seems to be the most familiar to me. 
So yeah, why is possibly a five year gap suddenly bizarre. Seems like an artificial hangup. Side note, I never see people balk at this age difference between Sydney and Marcus (Lionel is also 31) and sometimes, but rarely, when people mention Sydney and Richie where there is an obviously bigger gap. So what is it about her with Carmy that is age inappropriate?
3. Is it just because Ayo looks young? As a 42 year old petite dark skinned Black woman, I look extremely young for my age. I regularly get hit on by twenty somethings that think we are peers or much older men who think I’m super young. Does this mean who is actually appropriate for me to date should change because I look really young? This bothers me in my own dating life (men my own age range don’t think I’m in theirs) but to see it influence how people perceive a character’s sexuality and prospects is interesting and a bit reductive. Looks are looks but the truth don’t lie. 
But to be really controversial, so what if her looking young is a thing? In my fic I kind of play around with her looking young as being sexy, because hey it is a thing, she’s legal, it can be a subconscious appeal there. Who cares? As long as Carmy isn’t a pedophile why can’t a youthful appearance be attractive? It’s human nature and she’s kind of adorable. Does she need to look “grown” to be a suitable mate for him?
4. Why do people think Sydney is a teenager? I also keep seeing this and I’m like, are we watching the same show? Do teenagers go to the CIA, work for UPS, and have catering businesses? She even mentioned having her own place at one point and having a credit score. I’m confuzzled. 
5. Do people really think Carmy looks that damn old? I think he looks his age or not depending on the scene. In the pilot I think he looks the oldest. I kind of think this is on purpose. Notice he has the biggest eye bags, the wildest hair, etc. in that episode. It’s before Sydney shows up. He’s the most frazzled and then this perky fresh eyed girl appears and he’s stunned. Like why is she in this hell hole? I think this was on purpose. but throughout the rest of the season sometimes he looks like a kid, definitely like a little brother, and sometimes he looks like he’s at the end of the road and could have a coronary. But he still never looks “old”, maybe just run ragged and overly tired. 
Anyways, just me rambling. I would love to hear thoughts. I just think of all of the reasons one may not want to see them together Sydney being “too young” is weak sauce and fake news. 
Bonus: I think a relationship with Carmy would help her mature and get “grown”. I have no problem with that and think it’s actually kind of hot. 
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A new servant desperately struggles to understand what exactly Merlin is:
A cryptid? Arthur's boyfriend? Simply a dude? The court jester? Something else entirely? Who knows, certainly not the new guy.
The first time the new kitchen-hand, Tristan, saw The King’s dark-haired servant sprinting down the corridor, he couldn’t tell if the man was laughing or crying.
He was fast, faster than Tristan thought possible for someone whose arms were so full of laundry, but he politely steps out of the way, coming to the conclusion that he must’ve been late for something. At least... he did think that, until he turns the next corner to see three of The king’s most trusted knights peering out of windows and into random doors. Tristan freezes in the corridor, he’d heard that servants were treated extremely well here, but he’d only been employed for a few days and he didn’t want to risk anything by pushing past or addressing his betters.
One of the knights, Sir Leon, his brain helpfully supplies, spots him stood there, and his annoyed frown quickly morphs into a friendly smile:
“Pardon me, sorry, I don’t suppose you’ve seen Merlin around anywhere, have you?”
Tristan’s eyes go wide and the grip he has on his tray tightens, but he forces himself to take a breath and answer, trying his best to keep his voice even:
“Merlin is... The King’s manservant? Tall, with dark hair?”
Another knight pushes forward, he looks to be the oldest, with dark hair falling in an almost deliberately tousled way around his bearded jawline. His charming grin seems just a little too wide to be genuine, but Tristan isn’t quite sure if that’s because he’s about to take pleasure in punishing someone, or if he’s just being polite to a stranger:
“Yeah, yeah that’s him, seen him? Arsehole turned our shirts pink in the wash, and something tells me it was deliberate.”
Tristan gulps at the accusation and he takes a shaky step back, but before he can even think of defending the stranger that he now thinks must’ve been crying, the last of the three knights, a giant, if Tristan believed in such things, steps forward:
“Don’t worry, we won’t beat him too much.” 
He says it with a grin and a quirk of his eyebrows, but once again the kitchen-hand can’t tell if it was cruel or genuine, if he was being sarcastic or not.
“Uh... yeah, he turned left at the end of this corridor, but I didn’t see where he went after that, I apologise.”
Sir Leon waves away his apology with a smile, looking to the long-haired knight with a raised eyebrow:
“The stables?”
The man grins widely, nodding his agreement as he turns his grin to the giant. Sir Leon offers Tristan another soft smile, murmuring his thanks before moving past him, elbowing the other two to prompt them in to thanking him as well. The three of them march down the corridor with almost vindictive smiles on their faces, and Tristan prepares himself to see a vacancy note, or possibly a funeral invite, posted on the notice board by the next morning.
When he passes a window that evening to see the King’s manservant being carried on the giant’s shoulders as five other knights pelt them with gloves, a grin on every face, he decides that... well... it’s probably best to just not to ask.
~
The next time he sees Merlin, a few days later, The King is also there.
This is the first time Tristan has been in Arthur Pendragon’s presence, and though the other servant’s all rave on about how awkwardly kind he is, he’s a bundle of nerves. Not even Cook’s stories about how often she whacks The King’s knuckles with a wooden spoon when she catches him about to pilfer something stops Tristan’s heart from racing. 
The King was overseeing a few of the servants decorate the main hall for a feast, and whilst Tristan is certain that that’s not something The King normally does, he doesn’t question it, just thinks that maybe the other servants had been telling the truth, and he was a genuinely nice, but normal man. 
Merlin stands at his side, and though Tristan can’t hear their conversation, the two of them are clearly bickering over something. The servant can’t help his curiosity, wanting desperately to move closer to find out what sort of things The King allows his servant to bicker with him about; luckily, the table right next to them has yet to be laid, so he moves towards it quickly. He doesn’t even glance at them, terrified of being caught out, but perhaps Merlin surviving the knights non-wrath the other day is encouraging him, and his steps don’t falter. Their words come in to focus, and he has to stop the confused, and slightly horrified, frown from spreading across his face:
“Arthur, I swear to the Gods, if you make me wear that hat again, I’ll piss in your wine and serve it to you in front of a crowd.”
The King scoffs just as Tristan shakily begins laying down the cutlery:
“That’s treason, Merlin.”
“Do I look like I care? Not only will I piss in your wine, I will not hesitate to push you over a balcony at the first opportunity. This hall is high up and it’s a long way down to the gardens. He drank toxic wine and turned loopy and tipped himself off a balcony and went splat! That’s what people will say. I’m not wearing the Godamn hat.”
Tristan has to focus extra carefully to stop himself from gasping; Merlin just threatened to kill The King... that’s got to be a death sentence. Pissing off some knights that he’s obviously friendly with is one thing, but threatening to kill The-
“Ha ha. Very funny. If you can’t tell, Merlin, I’m being sarcastic, I know you struggle with complex concepts like that.”
Merlin just rolls his eyes, crossing his arms as he says with no hesitation:
“My mind is more than capable of coping, My Lord, it’s your belt I worry about being able to cope nowadays.”
Tristan bites his tongue to stop himself from yelping and turns away so neither of them can see his horrified face. The King just makes an outraged noise in the back of his throat, and Tristan can hear Merlin snort in laughter at whatever expression Arthur was wearing to match such a noise:
“Go to the stocks. I want you there for three hours.”
Tristan lets out a confused breath; Merlin threatens to kill The King, and gets playful sarcasm, but he implies The King might be a tad overweight, and gets sent to the stocks for three hours? How is that-
“Yeah... no. Not happening. The feast starts in less than two hours and I still have to help Guinevere organise some stuff in the courtyard, do Gaius’ rounds for him, then put an extra hole in your belt and help you get dressed because, despite being a grown man, you’re still an idiot who’s incapable of putting clothes on in any sort of decent manner.”
Tristan finds himself relaxing a little. This seems to be the norm for them, but surely... surely The King had a line somewhere, and a servant just flat out refusing to be disciplined must be where it lies?
Arthur just scoffs, and Tristan angles his head in such a way that he can see him roll his eyes:
“Fuck off.”
Merlin grins, seeming to cast a suspicious gaze over the room to make sure no one was watching and somehow completely missing Tristan stood just there, before saying quietly:
“You love me really, you prat.”
With that, Merlin reaches up to yank at a lock of The King’s hair before hurrying off in the direction of the courtyard before Arthur can react. The King jumps slightly, clearly caught by surprise as an annoyed flush rises on his face, but Tristan just frowns in confusion when his shock gives way to a softly amused smile.
Huh.
~
The next few times Tristan saw Merlin made him fear for the servant’s safety. He was being taken on hunts by The King and his knights, that’s meant to be for squires, to learn the ropes and gain experience in tracking and riding. 
He supposes it isn’t entirely unheard of for a servant to follow their master on a hunt, but with the way Merlin complains without pause, and The King in turn complains about his complaining, he thinks it would better for everyone if Merlin just... didn’t go. When he brings it up to another servant, a lovely woman named Guinevere who had helped him get unlost at least three times in his first week, she just laughs and smiles at him pityingly:
“I wouldn’t worry, those two have been like that forever, they’re practically inseparable.”
Tristan responds with a rather intelligent sounding:
“...What?”
Gwen laughs softly again, shaking her head and patting his shoulder consolingly:
“You’ll get used to it, they’re just... like that.”
She gives him one more smile before turning to wave the boys out of the gates and walking back to the castle as if this were the most normal thing in the world. Tristan supposes that it probably is.
The next time Tristan sees Merlin leave the city gates with the knights, Sir Elyan, Sir Mordred, and Sir Lancelot this time, it’s distinctly worse. Because he’d caught sight of the patrol rota last time he ran food down to the training ground, and he was certain that those three had a city patrol right about now.
Before he even has time to gape in shock, he hears Merlin’s pleading voice as he trails Sir Elyan like a lost puppy:
“Please, El, I promise to stay out of the way, I will do anything, but I swear to the Gods if I have to spend one more minute around that prat, I’ll hurl myself from the battlements.”
Swearing to the Gods and threating to hurl various people, including himself, from significant heights seems to be some sort of theme for The King’s manservant. Before Tristan can consider the implications of that, Sir Elyan turns to Merlin with a wide, teasing grin on his face:
“You know, I would’ve let you tag along for free, Merlin, but now that you’ve promised me something I feel the need to take advantage.”
Tristan tenses at that, a shot of ice spiking down his spine. He has keen eyes and sharp ears, he knows that Sir Elyan is the lovely Gwen’s brother, Sir Mordred seems to have an... odd worship for the servant, and he’s definitely picked up on the close bond between Merlin and Sir Lancelot, but is this where Camelot’s image comes crashing down in Tristan’s head? He knew that it was better here for servant’s than other Kingdoms, but there are always people who’ll take advantage of their position, no matter where you are. Merlin’s shoulders just drop and he asks in a sulking voice:
“What do you want?”
Tristan grits his teeth, moving his gaze so no one would catch him glaring at the knight as he tries to figure out a way to help, a way to get this virtual stranger out of being... abused, in such a manner. If he’d carried on glaring, he would’ve noticed Elyan’s soft smile and amused raised eyebrow:
“Next time you gather herbs for Gaius, bring back some more of those flowers that you got for Gwen. She said they added vibrancy to the house, whatever that means, but they make her happy, so...-”
Merlin just giggles and nods and Tristan relaxes, looking back to them with a confused smile on his face. That was... actually kind of sweet, he can definitely see the resemblance between the knight and his sister:
“-AND I want whatever Arthur’s having for dinner tonight, his food always looks way nicer than ours.”
Merlin lets out a faux annoyed groan, but then rolls his eyes and grins, nodding:
“Consider it done. Can we go now? I really don’t want to risk him seeing me and giving me some stupid chore to do.”
Elyan laughs and nods, and the four of them begin making their way out of the courtyard and into the city. Sir Lancelot finally joins the conversation, clearly amused as he says:
“You know it’s literally your job to do chores, right?”
Merlin turns to glare at him as Sir Mordred and Sir Elyan laugh, and Tristan only just hears his reply as the castle gates shut behind them:
“Fuck off.”
Tristan decides it would be pointless to bring this up to anyone again, he figures he’ll probably just get the same answer as last time.
~
The next confusing incident happens only a few days later. But Tristan supposes that at this point... it really shouldn’t be confusing. Gwen was right, he did just... get used to it.
He heard the steps pounding down the corridor before he saw him, but they were coming fast and hard, so he presses himself against the wall, holding the tray to his side to protect it as best he could as Merlin comes skidding round the corner. 
He stops just long enough for Tristan to calm himself by spying the wide grin on his face, but he’s quickly sprinting down the hall again, laughing as he waves whatever it is he’s got clutched in his hands. The second set of loud, rapid footsteps stops Tristan from stepping away from the wall quite yet. Just a moment later, Sir Gwaine follows Merlin’s skidded path around the corner, though the heavier man overshoots slightly and he runs into the wall opposite Tristan with a crash and a deep groan.
The rebellious knight gives a wide-eyed Tristan an awkward nod before pushing himself off the wall and following Merlin’s blazing trail, screaming down the corridor:
“I warned you Merlin!! Don’t come between a man and his ale, now give that back you bastard!”
Tristan hears Merlin’s laughter grow louder, even from the two corridors away that the other servant had managed to race to.
He shrugs to himself, waiting for a moment to see if anyone else was going to come barrelling around the corner before sighing, and continuing his journey up to the visiting Lord’s chambers.
It was unusual, he thought, how quickly he’d come to terms with the fact that a servant was sassing The King and pranking the knights and inviting himself on various hunts and patrols that he really had no business on. Unusual indeed.
~
He’d learnt to ignore it. Or at least brush it off.
In the two weeks since Merlin had (presumably) stolen Sir Gwaine’s skin of ale, he’d seen the servant call The King a long list of imaginative insults (what the hell is a dollop head?), walk around with Sir Leon’s cloak on because he was a little chilly, accuse someone of treason (and somehow been right about it), and threaten to kill at least seven people; including, but not limited to: The King himself, The King’s already dead father, some stuck up Noble (though that was under his breath, Tristan just happened to be stood next to him), and Sir Percival.
And Gwen was... absolutely right. He's just... like that. He's Merlin, and that’s what Merlin does.
So when he turns a corner in a rarely used to corridor to see him pressing The King against a wall, snogging the life out of him, Tristan simply turns around and walks back the other way. Both of them look fairly happy with the arrangement, and they’d probably chosen this corridor for the exact same reason Tristan had: it was out of everyone’s way, and was unlikely to be inhabited.
He thinks it’s odd, how... un-odd he finds it. He absent-mindedly thinks that, with the way they acted around each other, he really should’ve seen this coming. A sudden thought occurs to him, and he ducks into a storage cupboard, laying his tray down carefully as he rummages through the boxes. He lets out a quiet “Yay” when he finds what he’s looking for, carefully picking up his tray with only one hand and nudging the door open again with his hip. 
He walks back towards the corner he had just turned (and turned again) making a conscious effort to keep his steps quiet; he places the danger sign, usually used where walls had collapsed or windows had been smashed, in the middle of the corridor, a clear indication of “Do Not Enter”.
He nods smugly at his quick thinking and easy handy work before mentally planning the quickest route to the kitchens and following it hurriedly.
He casually wonders if he has time to circle around to the other end of the corridor so he could put another sign down before Cook gets angry at him for being late. Probably not. At least, not before they... finish up and move on. Hmm. He suddenly panics about the thought of them seeing the sign and knowing that someone had spotted them but... well. Hopefully they would just appreciate it and move on.
Yet again, he decides not to bring this up to anyone. He may or may not have overheard a few of the knights making some sort of bet, and he may or may not want to watch on with amusement as they fail to realise that all of them have already lost.
Tristan smiles to himself; working here had turned out to be rather entertaining, in the end.
~
THE END
I know it’s short, but I really didn’t know what else to add without it sounding like I was just repeating myself over and over😅
I hope y’all enjoyed it!!
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octerminal · 3 years
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Avoiding the ME1 LI Romances
...And also what to do if you’ve already triggered them.
This is a post I’ve been wanting to remake forever, and with the remaster around the corner I thought now was a good time to finally get on it.
A few things first: I say “avoiding the ME1 LI romances”, but in reality this is mostly going to be about Kaidan and Ashley. While there are a few ways around Liara’s romance I’ve discovered, I have never been able to find a simple way to avoid triggering it. (I’ll get to that later.)
This post will be split into three sections: Kaidan, Ashley, and Liara. Kaidan and Ashley’s sections specifically will go over how to avoid triggering their romances entirely, and then the dialogue choices you need to take if you want to end the romance if it’s already been triggered. I have also included a few bonus things for the both of them, such as avoiding the flirting during the scenic view cutscene in the Citadel Wards. For Kaidan specifically, I have also included content about his mechanics in ME3.
Please note that most of these have been accomplished on console. I have gotten several PC users who do attest that, at the very least, Kaidan’s portion works for them. But on the off-chance that platform influences other parts of Kaidan’s, or Ashley and Liara’s, I thought it was worth mentioning. It should also be said that, obviously, these are all using the original games as a basis, though I am not expecting MELE to change any of this.
I will also be using both my Kaidan transcript and Ashley transcript as reference for their dialogue. I recommend following along there if you find Tumblr’s formatting confusing.
Final note before we begin: this post is not an open invitation to hate on any of these characters. ME1 is turning 14 this year and ME3 recently turned 9. Anything you have to say about these characters and their romance mechanics has already been beaten to death, brought back to life, and beaten to death again. No one wants to hear it, least of all me. Please keep your comments to yourself and be civil.
KAIDAN
“I WANT TO AVOID TRIGGERING IT ENTIRELY, WHAT DO I DO?”
Kaidan’s romance can be triggered after the first main mission has been completed. For many players, I imagine this is Therum, but it really doesn’t matter which mission it is.
Kaidan will prompt the conversation, as he will for every other post-main mission conversation so long as his romance remains active. This conversation will be about his time at Brain Camp. You can read the conversation in his transcript if you find it easier to follow along, though I have done my best to format this post as cleanly as possible.
KAIDAN: Commander, do you have a minute?
SHEPARD: (You can choose whatever dialogue option you want. It makes no difference yet.)
KAIDAN: Off the record, I think there’s something wrong here. This Saren is looking for records on some kind of galactic extinction, but we can’t get backup from the Council? Sorry, Commander. There’s writing on the wall here, but someone isn’t reading it.
SHEPARD: (Again, you may choose whatever dialogue option you want. It still makes no difference yet.)
>FIRST CHANCE TO AVOID THE ROMANCE<
KAIDAN: I hear ya. It - It just seems like a group that’s been around as long as the Council should see this coming. It’s funny. We finally get out here and the final frontier was already settled. And the residents don’t even seem impressed by the view...or the dangers.
SHEPARD (Renegade - Zip it, Lieutenant.): I’m sure your letters home are very poignant. Just keep this kind of sentimentality out of the CIC.
KAIDAN: Yes, ma’am. Sorry to have wasted your time. I’m right about the mission, though. I know it. (The conversation will end here and his romance will not trigger.)
>SECOND CHANCE TO AVOID THE ROMANCE<
SHEPARD (Paragon - Cute way to look at it./Neutral - An old-fashioned view.): Well, well. You’re a romantic. Did you sign on “for the dream,” Alenko? Secure man’s future in space?
KAIDAN: Heh, yeah, I read a lot of those books when I was a kid. Where the hero goes to space to prove himself worthy of a woman he loves. Or, you know. For justice. Maybe I was a romantic in the beginning. But I thought about it after Brain Camp - ah, sorry, “Biotic Acclimation and Temperance training.” I’m not looking for “the dream.” I just want to do some good. See what’s out here. Sorry if I got too informal. Protocol wasn’t a big focus back in BAaT.
SHEPARD (Renegade - Just be ready.): I trust you won’t have any questions when whatever’s coming hits the fan?
KAIDAN: None. I’m not questioning the mission. I’m just concerned. Sorry to have wasted your time, ma’am. It won’t happen again. (The conversation will end here and his romance will not trigger.)
The final chance to cut off Kaidan’s romance before it triggers happens after Shepard asks him about Brain Camp. This opens up a lot of investigation options and you may exhaust all of them. If you want to avoid hearing Kaidan imply that he thinks your Shepard is attractive, avoid the “Time to talk, then./Time to “get physical,” then.” investigation options. Once Kaidan is done speaking about Brain Camp, you will get one final chance to avoid his romance.
>THIRD CHANCE TO AVOID THE ROMANCE<
KAIDAN: Anyway. This was supposed to be a casual debrief, not a bull session about stuff that happened years ago.
SHEPARD (Renegade - You’re right.): I pretty much gave up waiting for the good part.
KAIDAN: Bad habit, ma’am. I do tend to run off at the mouth. I will work on it for my next review. Sorry to have wasted your time, ma’am. It won’t happen again. (The conversation ends and his romance does not trigger.)
You will notice all of these are renegade options. There is literally no way around this if you want to avoid triggering Kaidan’s romance. You don’t get any renegade points from them, and Kaidan does not treat you negatively in the ensuing post-main mission talks.
Here is an easy way to tell if Kaidan’s romance remains active. Conversations between him and Shepard will end like this:
SHEPARD: We’ll talk later, Kaidan.
KAIDAN: I’d like that.
“I’VE ALREADY TRIGGERED IT, HOW DO I GET OUT OF THIS?”
The good news is that getting out of the romance is fairly simple. The game gives you a lot of opportunities before it triggers the love triangle with Liara (assuming her romance has also been triggered, anyway).
If Kaidan’s romance was triggered, you will have an opportunity at the beginning of his second and third post-main mission talks. These are a bit more complex to transcribe, so I really recommend just reading them in my transcription if you need the exact dialogue options to understand.
But the gist: You can’t go wrong with choosing the renegade dialogue options. This is always the dialogue option that will end his romance. You are almost never going to end his romance with a paragon or neutral dialogue option. He will always prompt this conversation by wondering if he’s gotten his signals mixed up, if there’s someone else you’d rather spend time with, if he’s being too casual, etc. Once he does this, just shoot him down with a renegade dialogue option.
Again: you get no renegade points from this. He will not treat you negatively in the ensuing post-main mission talks.
Here is an example. This one occurs in his second post-main mission talk if Liara’s romance hasn’t been triggered:
KAIDAN: I’m just saying...try to leave yourself a way out. I’ve seen what cutting corners can do and I’d hate to have that happen to you, Shepard. Commander.
SHEPARD (Renegade - I don’t need approval.): I’m your commanding officer, Alenko. Are you questioning the way I handle things?
KAIDAN: No, Commander. Just concerned about the reception of the brass if things go sour. I apologize for bringing it up. I know we’re getting the job done.
SHEPARD: (You can choose whatever response you like; they all lead to the romance ending.)
If you have repeatedly not broken off the romance with Kaidan after a certain point and Liara’s romance is also active, it will trigger the love triangle scene. This is one of the last points you have to break off Kaidan’s romance, but it will lock you into Liara’s romance instead. If you are wanting a no-romance run, I recommend choosing one of the other options instead.
There is also a separate way to end the romance outside these three opportunities. In the third post-main mission talk, you must pick the dialogue option that triggers the argument that can “renegade” Kaidan’s opinion on the Council. You must not choose the charm or intimidate option here, and you must then pick the renegade dialogue options. The conversation should go like this:
KAIDAN: So yeah, I hated that turian. But he wasn’t “a turian” to me. He was Vyrnnus.
SHEPARD (Renegade - All turians are the same.): You can’t deny the turians are imperialists. And the asari, the salarians - they’re manipulators.
KAIDAN: Shepard, I outgrew the blame game years ago. If the Alliance is missing its chance, it’s because of men like Udina. Not the rest of the galaxy holding it back.
SHEPARD (Renegade - I’m not so sure.): When anyone out here listens to us, the Council starts up with their treaties and heel-dragging. We can only rely on ourselves.
KAIDAN: We’re not doing the galaxy any favors if we try to force our way into a seat at the grown-up table. They aren’t - malicious. They’re just slow to change. My story doesn’t get any better if Vyrnnus is a good guy.
SHEPARD (Renegade - Whose side are you on?): I don’t need you kissing the Council’s asses, too.
KAIDAN: Look, Shepard. You’re in command, and we’ll all follow your lead. But don’t ream me out for having an opinion. I thought we respected each other more than that.
SHEPARD (Renegade - I can’t respect this.): I can’t believe you’d side with aliens over your own kind. I think we’re done here.
KAIDAN: Yeah, I think we are. It’s--It’s too bad we...It’s just too bad, Commander.
This argument will end his romance. He will also not be renegaded. This is obviously a much more convoluted way to end his romance, but I’m throwing the option out there because it’s 1) hilarious, and 2) way more dramatic, if you want to roleplay ending the romance for whatever reason.
MISCELLANEOUS
Depending on the dialogue options you take for the scenic view on the Citadel, Kaidan will always flirt with you. This does not lock you into, or even trigger, his romance. It is entirely possible to not have him flirt with you at all in this scene, and still initiate the romance later. But if you do not want him to flirt with you, simply do this:
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[image ID: ME1’s subtitles showing Ashley saying “Or maybe they just don’t like humans.” with the dialogue wheel below it giving the following dialogue choices, starting from the top: “What’s not to like?”, “Let’s move out.”, and “That’s enough, you two.” end ID]
When you get to this part of the scenic view cutscene, choose any dialogue option but the top “What’s not to like?” one.
Also, even if you’ve already avoided or shut down Kaidan’s romance, Liara will still ask if there’s something between the two of you if her romance is active. Tell her that there isn’t (because there isn’t). Her saying this does not re-trigger Kaidan’s romance.
Congratulations, you have now survived ME1’s romance mechanics. Enjoy experiencing unromanced Kaidan for the rest of the game.
ME3 BONUS: “OKAY, WHAT ABOUT HIM FLIRTING WITH ME IN THE HOSPITAL THOUGH?”
I have tested both of these personally multiple times and they have always worked for me, but again: see my warning about different platforms at the beginning of this post. If it doesn’t work for you, please let me know.
If you have not romanced Kaidan previously: don’t buy him the alcohol as a present. That’s it.
If you have romanced Kaidan previously: on Mars, tell him your relationship is over. It is a renegade dialogue option, but it is necessary to avoid the flirtation in the hospital. This route also means that you can buy him the alcohol and he will still not flirt with you.
Please note that going renegade on Mars does not lock you out of his romance. It merely prevents him from assuming you’re interested during your hospital visit.
ME3 BONUS: “OKAY, WHAT ABOUT HIS APOLLO’S PROPOSITION THOUGH?”
This only happens if you have not locked in your romance with your preferred love interest first. For Garrus, this is the bottle shooting date. For Tali and Traynor, it’s inviting her up to your cabin. For Liara and Miranda, it’s her Presidium date. So on and so forth.
This means there is no way around it if you romanced Jacob or Thane and do not want to pursue a different romance after them. If you do get this scene: again, just turn him down. It is never brought up again. He does not act like he’s in love with you going forth. You will get his unromanced date in the Citadel DLC, as well as his unromanced London goodbye.
ASHLEY
“I WANT TO AVOID TRIGGERING IT ENTIRELY, WHAT DO I DO?”
Ashley’s romance can be triggered after the first main mission has been completed. For many players, I imagine this is Therum, but it really doesn’t matter which mission it is.
Ashley will prompt the conversation, as she will for every other post-main mission conversation so long as her romance remains active. This conversation will be about her concerns about the aliens aboard the Normandy.
Note: Ashley has one less opportunity to avoid triggering her romance in the first post-main mission talk compared to Kaidan. You may also read the conversation in her transcript if you find it easier to follow along, though I have done my best to format this post as cleanly as possible.
ASHLEY: Commander. You have a minute to talk?
SHEPARD: (You can choose whatever dialogue option you want. It makes no difference yet.)
ASHLEY: I know things are different aboard the Normandy, but - I'm concerned about the aliens. Vakarian and Wrex. With all due respect, Commander, should they have full access to the ship?
SHEPARD: (Again, you can choose whatever dialogue option you want. It still makes no difference yet.)
>FIRST CHANCE TO AVOID THE ROMANCE<
ASHLEY: This is the most advanced ship in the Alliance Navy. I don't think we should give them free reign to poke around the vital systems. Engines. Sensors. Weapons.
SHEPARD (Side - You're out of line!): That's enough, Chief. You always second-guess your superiors?
ASHLEY: Sir! No, sir! I'm sorry. I was out of line. I'll get back to my duties, Commander. (The conversation will end and her romance will not trigger.)
If you do not pick the above option, Ashley will elaborate her stance further until you get to the dialogue wheel with the second (and final) chance to avoid her romance.
>SECOND CHANCE TO AVOID THE ROMANCE<
ASHLEY: My family's defended the Alliance since it was founded. My father, my grandfather, my great-grandmother - they all picked up a rifle and swore the Oath of Service. I guess we just tend to think of Earth's interests as our own.
SHEPARD (Renegade - Just shut up.): I expect you to keep your family politics to yourself, Chief. The mission will be difficult enough without you picking fights with aliens.
ASHLEY: Aye, aye, Commander. (The conversation will end and her romance will not trigger.)
Note: You can still pick the investigation dialogue options that discusses her service and family history. You just have to pick the renegade dialogue option outlined above afterward, instead of any other option.
Like with Kaidan, you do not get any renegade points for picking this option and Ashley does not treat you negatively in the ensuing post-main mission talks.
Here is an easy way to tell if Ashley’s romance remains active. Conversations between her and Shepard will end with the following:
SHEPARD: We'll talk later, Williams.
ASHLEY: Looking forward to it, sir.
“I’VE ALREADY TRIGGERED IT, HOW DO I GET OUT OF THIS?”
Admittedly, you have fewer easy opportunities to end Ashley’s romance than you do Kaidan’s, and most of the early game ones require Liara’s romance also being active. You are still offered multiple different opportunities out before the game ends, however.
If Ashley and Liara’s romances are both triggered, you will have an opportunity at the beginning of Ashley’s second and third post-main mission talks to end the romance. The gist is the same as Kaidan’s: You can’t go wrong with choosing the renegade dialogue options. This is always the dialogue option that will end her romance. You are almost never going to end her romance with a paragon or neutral dialogue option. She will always prompt this conversation by bringing up your relationship with Liara. Once she does this, just shoot her down.
Again: you get no renegade points from this. She will not treat you negatively in the ensuing post-main mission talks.
In both the second and third post-main mission talks, the conversation will go something like:
ASHLEY: Surprised to see you here, sir. Thought you’d be chatting up what’s-her-name. T’Soni.
SHEPARD: (Pick the neutral or renegade dialogue option here; they both lead to the same dialogue branch.)
ASHLEY: Scuttlebutt says you’ve got a bit of a thing for her. I could understand why. The crew’s off-limits, with the regs against fraternization. And at least she looks like a woman.
SHEPARD: (Pick the neutral or renegade dialogue option here. They both end the romance.)
One of the easier exceptions to this that doesn't require Liara’s romance being active is in the second post-main mission talk when Ashley gets Sarah’s vid-mail. It will go like this:
SARAH: - Oh, before I go. You said you’re serving with Commander Shepard now? We saw him on the news here. He’s cute! Later, sis.
ASHLEY: Tell me you didn’t hear that.
SHEPARD (Renegade - That’s unprofessional.): I don’t need to tell you it’s inappropriate to gossip about how “cute” your commanding officer is.
ASHLEY: No, sir. You don’t. Sorry about that. It won’t happen again. (Conversation and romance ends.)
Please note, however, that this will lock you out of the remainder of the conversation and you will not learn about Ashley’s family.
If you have repeatedly not broken off the romance with Ashley after a certain point and Liara’s romance is also active, it will trigger the love triangle scene. This is one of the last points you have to break off Ashley’s romance, but it will lock you into Liara’s romance instead. If you are wanting a no-romance run, I recommend choosing one of the other options instead.
There is also a separate way to end the romance outside these three opportunities. In the third post-main mission talk, you must pick the dialogue option that triggers the argument that can “paragon” Ashley’s opinion on the Council. You must not choose the charm or intimidate option here, and you must then pick the renegade dialogue options. The conversation should go something like this:
ASHLEY: But hey, once we save the galaxy, maybe the Alliance will get its act together. Start acting like an actual government.
SHEPARD (Paragon - The Alliance is all right.): The Alliance isn’t perfect, but it does well enough.
ASHLEY: Have to disagree with you there, skipper. Giving aliens the run of our most advanced ship? Kowtowing to the Council?
SHEPARD (Paragon - It’s not like that.): The Alliance should be able to stand on is own. We can’t. Yet. Why not learn from the races that have been standing for the last thousand years?
ASHLEY: How can you say that, given everything we’ve seen out here? They’re already acting like Saren is our problem. Already siccing us on the bear. The Council races will always think of themselves first. It’s - human nature. We can’t afford to trust them. Not if the survival of humanity is on the line.
SHEPARD (Renegade - I’ve heard enough.): Whatever feelings I might have for you, we have to work with the Council. I can’t let you second-guess our superiors.
ASHLEY: Shepard, I’m a soldier. You’re my commander. If you give me an order, I’ll follow it. I don’t expect you to treat me differently from anyone else under your command. And if you have been - quit it. I thought you knew me better than that.
SHEPARD (Renegade - Do I?): Seems like every time we run up against aliens, you whip out the “Earth first” card. I can’t have my authority undermined.
ASHLEY: I never intended to “undermine” you, Shepard. I believe in you. I wish you’d believe in anyone but yourself. With your permission, sir, I’ll return to my duties.
This argument will end her romance. She will also not be paragoned. This is obviously a much more convoluted way to end her romance, but I’m throwing the option out there because it’s 1) hilarious (that final line, oof), and 2) way more dramatic, if you want to roleplay ending the romance for whatever reason.
MISCELLANEOUS
Like with Kaidan, depending on the dialogue options you take for the scenic view on the Citadel, Ashley will always flirt with you. This does not lock you into, or even trigger, her romance. It is entirely possible to not have her flirt with you at all in this scene, and still initiate the romance later. But if you do not want her to flirt with you, simply do this:
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[image ID: ME1’s subtitles showing Ashley saying “Or maybe they just don’t like humans.” with the dialogue wheel below it giving the following dialogue choices, starting from the top: “What’s not to like?”, “Let’s move out.”, and “That’s enough, you two.” end ID]
When you get to this part of the scenic view cutscene, choose any dialogue option but the top “What’s not to like?” one.
Also like with Kaidan, even if you’ve already avoided or shut down Ashley’s romance, Liara will still ask if there’s something between the two of you if her romance is active. Tell her that there isn’t (because there isn’t). Her saying this does not re-trigger Ashley’s romance.
Congratulations, you have now survived ME1’s romance mechanics. Enjoy experiencing unromanced Ashley for the rest of the game.
LIARA
“I WANT TO AVOID TRIGGERING IT ENTIRELY, WHAT DO I DO?”
As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I have found no easy way around Liara’s romance. If anyone else has, I genuinely mean it when I say I would absolutely be open to you telling me, because I would love to know.
The only way to avoid triggering Liara’s romance that I have found are the following:
Simply not talking to her for most of the game (not ideal)
Completing Therum only after you’ve done at least two main missions (also not ideal since it will require Noveria being completed without her)
Completing Therum only after all the other main missions have been completed (again not ideal, though every player should at least do this once if only for the unique content you get from it)
Okay, so what if you want to complete Therum first but still avoid Liara’s romance? I have found one way to accomplish this, but it requires you to be in a romance with Kaidan (or presumably Ashley, but I have only tested this with Kaidan).
After you recruit Liara, you may check up on her in the med-bay but do not initiate conversation after that. If she prompts you by saying, “I get the feeling you want to ask me something, Commander,” do not pick the yellowed dialogue option:
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[image ID: ME1′s subtitles showing Liara saying, “I get the feeling you want to ask me something, Commander.” with the dialogue wheel showing the following options: “Investigate”, a yellowed option above “Investigate” labeled “I’d like to talk about you.”, and “Goodbye.” end ID.]
After you complete another main mission, you can check back in with Liara and speak to her normally. This conversation should be the one you’d normally get after Therum, where you learn about why she likes archaeology and how she finds Shepard fascinating.
After you complete another main mission, you must talk to Kaidan or Ashley first. To clarify: at this point you should be at the post-third main mission mark. For Kaidan, you will be getting the “Vyrnnus and Rahna” talk that you can read in his transcript; for Ashley, you will be getting the “Williams Curse” talk that you can read in her transcript.
After you speak with Kaidan or Ashley, you may speak with Liara as normal. This conversation should be picking up on where you left off last time. Liara will talk about how she’s looked into Shepard’s history and Shepard can press her for why she’s so interested in them. Liara should then say something like the following lines:
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LIARA: I admit, your connection to the Protheans had something to do with my initial interest. But it has grown beyond that. My interest in you, however, is strictly professional. I want to make that clear. It is obvious you and Lt. Alenko already have some type of relationship. I would not want to come between you.
Her romance will not trigger for the rest of the game.
Please note: Again, I have only tested this with Kaidan. But it should, in theory, work the exact same for Ashley considering many of hers and Kaidan’s other romance mechanics are identical.
“THAT’S NICE, BUT HOW DO I END HER ROMANCE IF IT’S ALREADY TRIGGERED?”
You will follow the same steps as in Kaidan and Ashley’s portions. When she prompts you with whether or not there’s anything between the two of you, you must turn her down. You can never go wrong with the renegade dialogue options here. Again: you get no renegade points for it, and Liara treats you no differently going forth.
She will also usually bring up Kaidan or Ashley depending on what Shepard you are playing, and mention that it seems like there’s something between the two of you even when you do not have their romance active. If you aren’t romancing the VS, just tell her that she’s got it wrong, because...she does. It does not re-trigger either of their romances.
YES I AM ALMOST DONE TALKING
The game really does give you ample opportunities to avoid or end the romances (which is only fair considering how easy they are to trip), so hopefully I have outlined at least one you are comfortable taking.
There are other ways to end both Kaidan and Ashley’s romance that I did not mention (such as during the locker scene, or if you try to un-paragon/renegade) - the point of no return you mainly have to worry about is en route to Ilos. I imagine most players will have their romances sorted out by then, though, so I’m not sure it’s worth mentioning unless you’re wanting to do it purely for roleplay reasons. (In which case: you may read those in their respective transcripts if you’re curious.)
I cannot say I have tested every single romance cut-off, but I have tested most of the important ones players are most likely to take. I am assuming the romances are cut off based on the fact Shepard and the VS’ farewells will change depending on their romanced status (as I outlined in their respective sections), which I do feel is a safe bet. But if you try one of these and find that it did not end the romance: I’m sorry, and please do let me know (and also what platform you play on).
If you read all of this: thank you for your time, and I hope you find this guide useful!
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whelvenwings · 3 years
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Castiel's grace is missing, and Dean's frustrated - instead of looking for it, all Castiel wants to do is grow his flowers. Eventually, the two of them have to talk about it.
Read it below or here on AO3! Tags: Canon Divergent, Gardener!Cas, Cas' Grace
This fic was inspired by this wonderful art by saminzat, and written as part of the @spnreverse-promptchallenge!
It’s not Heaven. It’s not even close. It’s just a garden, where Castiel is growing things.
If it were Heaven, Castiel thinks, then Dean would be looking a lot happier, those wrinkles around his eyes all eased away. If it were Heaven, there would have been a break in the clouds overhead when Dean arrived.
If it were Heaven, the peach rose would be in bloom, not straggling all green and leggy and ungainly through the picket fence that Castiel had put up to help it grow.
Castiel puts down the secateurs he’s been using to prune the forsythia, and takes off his gardening gloves. He walks over to Dean, acutely aware of the fact that he’s wearing enough sunscreen to make his skin shine, the worn-thin, oversized blue t-shirt he found at a Goodwill that says Thyme to Garden, and a very large sunhat to protect the back of his neck.
Sunburn, he reminds himself, is more uncomfortable than the growing look of mixed amusement and judgement in Dean’s eyes. Even on a cloudy day, his skin will burn if he’s outside for a long time. Something he learned the hard way after becoming human.
“I thought you were researching a case,” Castiel says to Dean as he approaches.
“Done. Thought I’d come say hi.” Dean raises an eyebrow and a half-smile at him in greeting. “So, hi.”
Castiel stops a few feet from him and tips his hat a little further back on his head, so that Dean can clearly see his face.
“Hello,” he says. Dean takes in the hat, the t-shirt, the full gardening ensemble, with one sweeping gaze.
“Looking good,” Dean says.
Castiel looks down at himself, and then solemnly back to Dean.
“Thank you,” he says, with just enough irony in his tone to get Dean to smile. Or it would have been, usually, but today Dean’s expression is sinking back into hard lines. The greyish, muted light seems to lie heavy on him, putting a coldness in his eyes.
Castiel searches his face. Just as he’s about to say something more, Dean breaks their stare, glancing around at the plants nearest him as a light breeze ruffles at them.
“They’ve grown since last time you showed me,” Dean says. He’s holding himself strangely, his fists clenched. Castiel tilts his head to one side, and then looks around with Dean at the garden.
He feels the familiar spark of happiness as he surveys his handiwork. Once, the place had been a sad little patch of chalky, lump-filled earth. Now the flowers drip off their stems like dewdrops, and the soil smells rich, and the leaves tremble their creaky little paths to follow the sun each day. Even the blossomless peach rose has strong roots.
Castiel glances back to Dean, and feels the warmth in his chest sputter out. Dean’s eyeing the plantlife with an expression that doesn’t seem impressed.
“It’s been a while since last time,” Castiel says.
“Yeah. Well, you know.” Dean looks distracted, frowning down at a squat little succulent plant. There’s something bothering him, obviously, and Castiel isn’t sure whether Dean wants to be asked about it or have it be left alone.
“You’re always welcome,” Castiel tries quietly. Dean seems to catch himself, shifting his expression to something more neutral as he turns back to Castiel.
“Yeah,” he says, not as though he particularly believes it, and – in a way that almost manages to seem genuine – not as though he particularly cares.
“You can stay,” Castiel says. “If you want. There’s plenty to do. If you’re not busy.”
Dean puts his hands into his pockets and looks around the garden again, this time with his eyes a little less sharp.
“Nah,” he says. “Nah, I don’t wanna spoil the fun.”
Spoil the fun? Castiel gives Dean a look that he hopes is eloquent, and Dean rolls his eyes.
“I dunno, man,” he says. “Anyway, it’s not really me, is it.”
He looks tired, Castiel thinks.
“Didn’t think it was you, either,” Dean adds after a half-beat. He reaches up unselfconsciously, and then seems to realise what he’s doing at the last moment, and awkwardly flicks the brim of Castiel’s hat with the back of one finger before taking a step away. “Didn’t think you’d ever go in for… you know. Whatever this is.”
Castiel can easily read that expression on Dean’s face. He’s seen it before, in other times, other places. The mixture of bravado and hurt and confusion had made sense when lives had been at stake and grand lies had been unfolding, but this – here, today, in among his roses and sunflowers, Castiel hadn’t expected it. Dean looks betrayed.
And Castiel doesn’t know what to say. He reaches up to his hat, just brushing the brim with the tips of his fingers in the same place Dean touched it.
“I need the hat,” he says. “To keep the sun off my neck.”
“Right,” Dean says. “Yeah.” He looks up at the sky, which is still an overcast grey.
“Even through clouds,” Castiel offers.
“Uh huh. Okay.”
Castiel squints at him.
“You seem angry,” he says. No more dancing around it. Predictably, Dean makes a face, as though the suggestion were ridiculous.
“Nah.”
“Dean.” Castiel fixes him with a look, and Dean shrugs.
“Whatever, man.”
“If something is wrong…” Castiel says.
“Listen, if coming out here and growing your little flowers and everything helps, then that’s fine,” he says. “It’s fine.”
There’s a but coming, and Castiel knows enough to wait for it. Dean looks aimlessly around at the burgeoning plants. His eyes trace the tangle of a buddleia, until he glances back to Castiel, who raises an eyebrow.
Dean’s front drops, the stiffness going out of his shoulders, his hands unclenching.
“But your grace, man,” he says. Castiel looks down at the ground. He should have expected this, he knew. But somehow hearing the words still takes him by surprise.
“What about it,” he says, in a tone that doesn’t really want an answer, but knows it’s going to get one.
Dean’s hands come up, palms facing out, asking a question without words at first.
“Seriously,” he manages after a moment. “What about it? It’s your grace, Cas.”
“I know,” Castiel says.
“It’s gone,” Dean says.
“I know.”
“It’s been months.”
“I…” Castiel sighs. “Yes.”
“You told me it was just gone,” Dean says, ducking his chin slightly to catch Castiel’s eyes. “Like it was no big deal. And now all you do is spend time up here, planting flowers. Not even trying to look for it. I don’t get it, man. And whenever I try to bring it up, you just say –”
“It’s taken care of,” Castiel says, at the same time as Dean mouths the words along with him, his expression exasperated with a spiderweb of hurt threaded through.
“It’s your grace.”
“I know,” Castiel says. “I know it is. But it’s taken care of, Dean. I don’t want…”
He cuts himself off before he says too much, pressing his lips together.
Dean shakes his head. Castiel can see him battling with himself, trying to decide whether he wants to push harder. Castiel keeps his face neutral, hoping Dean will drop it.
“Don’t want what?” Dean says, though, and Castiel feels his heart sink. “You’re human, now. And you’re stuck that way until you get your grace back, but you won’t even…” Dean seems to run out of words. Castiel tries to think of something to say to divert the conversation, take them down a different track.
“I’m doing better at shaving,” he says. “And I’ve learned not to brush my teeth before drinking orange juice.”
Castiel can see the slight smile on Dean’s face, but it’s almost completely buried under the worry and the anger.
“Right,” Dean says.
“Dean…”
“I just don’t get it. The grace… if it’s lost, I can help with that. If it’s destroyed, I can try to help too, or… we’ll figure something out. Or if it’s safe, why won’t you tell me what happened with it?” The strain in Dean’s voice tells Castiel that they’re at the heart of it now, at the reason for the tight shoulders and the clipped answers and the judgemental eyes on his catmint and cosmos. “Why won’t you just tell me?”
Castiel stares at him helplessly. The answers are in the back of his throat, ready to be said, but he can’t open his mouth – can’t get them out. He feels his heart thudding, his human heart. He doesn’t know if he likes that feeling, if he wants it – perhaps not, no more than he wants sunburn, or the taste of orange juice after toothpaste, or blood on his palms when he catches himself on that peach rose’s thorns.
But there’s something he does want. And any chance at – at that – any chance at all, it’s worth the weight of being human. He made a choice and he knows he’d make it, the same one, over and over again.
He thinks it all, but he can’t say it. Dean watches him, angry and confused. Overhead, the clouds lumber their heavy bellies across the sky.
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Dean says. Castiel looks away, and Dean takes a step closer. “Cas,” he says. “I swear to god.”
Castiel looks up at him, knowing his own tiredness is right there to be seen on his face – and his sadness, his hurt. Dean’s expression shifts, and he comes even closer.
“What did you do, man? Is it that bad?”
It’s easy to see Dean’s mind working, trying to piece everything together. He’s probably thinking demons, and deals, and treachery, all the things that they’ve been through before. Castiel doesn’t know how to explain to him that he’s wrong without telling him the whole truth. And he can’t tell the whole truth.
“Look,” Dean says, “we’ll figure it out. If you just tell me – tell me where it is, or what happened. Did someone do this? And what… what does all of this have to do with it…” He looks around again at the garden. Castiel closes his eyes for a second, lets the familiar feeling of being here fill him as much as he can let it – the warmth in his chest, the spark.
He knows he should try to talk about it, but he can’t. He can’t.
When he opens his eyes, Dean’s waiting, watching him. Castiel opens his mouth – but nothing comes out.
Dean’s face tightens again.
“Okay,” he says. “So it’s like that. Great, Cas.”
“Dean, it’s –”
“No, it’s fine,” Dean says, his tone taut with bitterness, but his face carefully unbothered. “That’s fine. Deal with it by yourself. That’s always gone so well. And meanwhile, me, I’ll just, what? Wait for you to give me the bad news, I guess. That’s great, Cas. Really. You know, you –”
“Stop,” Castiel asks.
And a little of the fight leaves Dean again. He looks as though he wants to say something else, but doesn’t know what. His face is half apology and half anger.
“It just…” he says. And then waves his hand, like it doesn’t matter anyway.
And it’s the simplicity of the hurt in that gesture that has Castiel throwing all his caution to the wind and saying,
“I don’t want it back.”
Dean stops moving. His eyes fix on Castiel.
“What?” Dean asks.
Castiel’s jaw is tight, but he manages to say again,
“I don’t want it back. My grace. I know where it is. But I don’t want it back.”
All of Dean’s carefully placed anger is gone, suddenly, in his shock. There’s no performance, no strategy, in the way that he steps closer and looks utterly bewildered.
“You don’t?” he says.
“No. I…” Castiel hesitates, and then says, “I took it out myself.”
“You what?”
Castiel lifts one shoulder, a little diffidently. It had been necessary, so he’d done it. As simple as that.
“Cas,” Dean says, and then seems to be at a loss. Castiel doesn’t say anything. There isn’t anything to say, so far as he can see.
He’s made his choice. And if he ever regrets it, if he ever wishes things could be different, all he has to do is look at Dean and it pales to nothing.
“Cas… why?” Dean manages eventually, and Castiel breathes out.
He looks at Dean.
Dean stares right back at him, not understanding.
“Did someone make you?” Dean demands. “We can go and look for them, we can –”
“No,” Castiel says. “No. I chose to do it.”
“But Cas…”
“It’s –” Castiel presses his lips together again, trying not to let the expression look pained, even though there’s a flash of hurt through his chest at the thought of trying to say any of it aloud. Saying it would push the two of them, Dean and Castiel, towards a tipping point. A no-takebacks, no room for misunderstanding point. Sharp as a thorn.
And it’s the last thing Castiel wants.
Until they talk about it, anything seems possible. It almost feels real enough. But if they talk, it’ll all be over. Dean will tell him to take back his grace, and Castiel will have to leave. It’ll be over.
“You took it out. What would you do that for,” Dean says. When Castiel doesn’t reply, he reaches out and puts a hand on Castiel’s shoulder. “Hey,” he says, the word harsh enough to compensate for the touch.
“It’s nothing,” Castiel says.
“Cas.”
“Really, it’s…” Castiel stops. The denial dies in his mouth. He swallows, his eyes on Dean, before he looked down. “I just want to be able to stay with you.”
The last two words are too much – all of it is too much – but they’re out his mouth before he can stop them. Castiel breathes out and waits to feel Dean’s hand loosen its grip, drop away in shock at the unwanted intensity. It’s too much. Castiel knows it’s too much.
But Dean’s hand is still on his shoulder.
“You want to be able to stay?” Dean says.
“Yes.” Castiel says it bluntly, to try to shave off the emotion, make it easier to talk about. Dean’s hand still doesn’t move. Castiel can feel each place Dean’s fingers are digging in slightly through the thin material of his t-shirt. His heart is pounding and he wants to be able to turn it off, quiet it down, hear Dean’s heart instead in the way he could when he had his grace. He wants it with a sudden acuteness, a pang of loss.
“But – you can,” Dean says. “Why would you think you needed to do this?”
Castiel can’t look back up at him.
“Cas,” Dean says.
There’s a band of pain squeezing tightly around Castiel’s chest. He can’t quite seem to get his breath, suddenly.
“I just thought I’d fit better this way,” he says.
“Fit better?” Now Dean moves his hand, pulls back, though he doesn’t go far. “What do you mean?”
“You’re human,” Castiel says. He looks up, meets Dean’s eyes. “Now I am too. I thought, maybe…”
He trails off. He can’t say more. He can’t talk about what he hopes for, what he wants. He can’t.
Dean’s hand is back on his shoulder and the touch is different, now, less insistent. Softer. Castiel can see the gentleness in Dean’s eyes, shy and uncertain, allowed to show just for a few moments.
“We don’t have to be the same,” Dean says.
Castiel doesn’t know how to answer.
“We’ve never been the same,” Dean says. “But we’re still good. Right?”
There are no words in Castiel’s mind, or none that make sense – or none that he can say aloud. He wishes he could give Dean the way that he feels, just drop it into Dean’s mind, show him without having to explain it. The feeling is yes, good, of course we’re good, but there’s more – there’s different things, things I want to be to you, ways I want to be with you. And not telling you feels more and more like lying with every passing day but I don’t know how to tell you without you being suddenly aware that I’ve been wanting you in a different way to how you want me for a very long time, and will you hate me for that? Will you think I’m a liar? Will you send me away? Could I bear that? Could I bear it? If you hated me, how could I bear it?
“I just,” Castiel says, “I just want to be able to stay.” It’s the only part of it that will come out of his mouth.
“You can,” Dean says. “You don’t need… damnit, Cas, you didn’t have to take your own grace out just to be able to stay.”
Castiel nods mutely. Dean’s hand squeezes Castiel’s shoulder.
“So you can put it back, right?” he says. “The grace. You can go get it and put it back?”
“I could.” It comes out more direct and harsh than Castiel intended, and Dean’s grip tightens.
“So…?” he says.
Castiel can’t meet his eyes. He looks to the side, around the garden that he’s created. The flowers that have unfurled for him, trusting, unfussy about what deep love and secrets he’s hiding. The leaves and shoots that grow steadily under the care of his hands, no matter who else those hands wish they could hold.
“Cas,” Dean says again, and gives another squeeze, and then lets go. “Your grace is you, man. All these months, it’s not like you’ve had a good time being human, is it?”
“It’s worth it.”
“Worth it?” Dean echoes.
“If it means we’re the same,” Castiel says. And his reasoning isn’t even clear to Castiel himself, now. It just feels as though if they’re both human, if they both are the same thing, there’s a chance they could both feel the same way, too – it makes no sense, and yet Castiel can’t imagine letting go of the thought.
“We don’t need to be the same,” Dean says, repeating himself with a look that’s crossed between confusion and concern.
“But I…”
Castiel stops talking, cuts himself off. Dean’s eyes search his face.
“You want to be?” Dean says, cautious, hazarding a guess. And when Castiel’s expression tells Dean he’s right, his face goes even more soft with surprise. “Why?”
There isn’t anything that Castiel can say in answer. No explanations he can give that will make sense outside his own mind. All he finds himself doing is looking at Dean – looking at him more openly than he has done in a long time, half tight-lipped and wanting the conversation to end, half hoping that Dean will finally piece it all together. He allows himself to stare, frankly and directly, pushing away the guilt and shame that push at him and tell him to look down, step away, move back, leave. He stares like he once used to all the time, letting down the walls.
There’s Dean, he thinks. There he is. Sometimes the feelings in Castiel grow so big and overwhelming that he forgets the shape of the man at the heart of them. The way Dean cares. The way Dean looks at him right back, matches him – when it comes down to it, never pretends it doesn’t matter to him when it does.
Dean’s mouth opens to form words, but he seems to stop himself. Castiel watches Dean swallow, and feels the familiar swoop and ache in his chest as all his crushing sky-sized love focuses into the smallness of the place on Dean’s throat that he wants to touch.
Dean goes to say something, and then stops.
Castiel looks down at Dean’s lips, and then back up again.
Is it wrong, how much he wants to kiss Dean? The feeling is pressing, immediate, alive. It’s in Castiel’s blood, in his bones. If Dean doesn’t want him too, in the same way, does that make the feeling wrong? Or would it just be acting on it, making Dean aware of it, that would be wrong? But the feeling is a background hum in everything Castiel does. He acts on it even when Dean isn’t with him. He acts on it all the time.
Every passing moment changes the gaze between them. Dean’s waiting for him to talk, not filling in the space with any words this time, but his face keeps sinking further into something that looks dangerously like realisation.
“I don’t know,” Castiel says. If how he feels, or what he’s doing, is wrong, then he should look away. He should go away, leave Dean alone, find somewhere else to be. But he couldn’t, he can’t, not until he knows for sure that Dean doesn’t feel even slightly the same way – and he can’t ask, because as soon as he knows Dean doesn’t feel the same way, he’ll have to leave. The thoughts chase their tails in Castiel’s head and he stares and he stares at Dean and he hurts so much that he wants to hit his own chest just for the distraction of a simpler pain.
“You don’t know what?”
“I just don’t know, Dean.”
Dean is watching him carefully, his mouth slightly open, as though trying to figure out how to phrase something he wants to say. There’s a slight tinge of colour to his cheeks, too, Castiel notices.
“Uh,” Dean says. His mouth shapes a ‘w’ like the start of a question, and then closes again, and he frowns – but he doesn’t look away.
He almost knows, Castiel thinks. He’s almost understood. And as soon as Dean understands, it’s over. Unless he feels the same way, which he doesn’t. He can’t. We’re not the same. No matter how hard I try and how much I change, we’re not ever the same.
He needs to cauterise this conversation like a wound, stop all this from happening, but he can’t find the words. Dean’s still watching him. Castiel’s heart is thunder in his head, drowning out his thoughts.
“You look like the whole world’s falling apart,” Dean says eventually. “Not an exaggeration. ‘Cause I’ve seen your face when the world was actually falling apart.” Dean points vaguely with one finger towards Castiel’s face. “And it looked like that.”
Castiel nods mutely, and Dean sighs and glances sharply away, and then back again.
“Come on, Cas, jesus. Something’s up, so whatever it is, just tell me.” He looks at Castiel for a long time, and then he says it again. In a different voice, quieter, with a little rise at the end as though of hope or something equally as stupid for Castiel to consider. “Tell me.”
It’s said in a way that makes Castiel want to believe he’s asking for all the things Castiel wants to give.
Dean’s eyes are wide, too. Like he can’t quite believe what he’s asking.
And Castiel’s human heart is pounding at that tone in his voice, that look on his face, because it feels as though – tentatively – they could be talking about the same thing. The longer Castiel watches Dean’s face, the more he sees it. There are the little flickers of denial, uncertainty, in the way Dean’s eyes narrow for a half-moment. And then there again is the rise of hope in the depth of Dean’s gaze, the openness.
It’s so small and barely-there that Castiel can’t trust it. He can’t know how this ends. It’s a rope thrown into down into his well, though, and with no idea what waits for him at the top, he still puts his hand on it and wonders if he’s strong enough to begin to climb.
“I, um.” He starts to speak, and his voice is low and rough. When he pauses almost immediately, Dean shifts his weight from one foot to the other, licks his lips. Castiel searches for the words. “I tried staking that peach rose. But it didn’t do any good.”
Dean looks confused. He doesn’t even bother to look down at the rose, just keeps his eyes on Castiel.
“What…” he says.
“It just grew that way,” Castiel says. He can feel a lump in his throat. “Naturally. It wanted to grow that way.”
“Okay,” Dean says, as though slightly concerned for Castiel’s sanity.
“I think sometimes it’s just like that,” Castiel says. He meets Dean’s eyes. “You can try planting them in the place you want them. Cut them back. Put a stake through them.” He resists the sudden, unexpected urge to reach up and touch the place on his chest where, years ago, Dean buried a knife in his heart. He swallows. “But sometimes there are things you can’t control. And even if it’s not… not healthy, or pretty, or the way it’s supposed to go… that’s how they’ll grow. Just towards the place they want to be.”
Dean’s listening intently, but his eyes are clouded with confusion. He looks like he wants to say something, and then stops himself. Castiel can’t blame him for not understanding, when half the point is that he’s talking without getting to the point. He doesn’t want to get to that sharp-split point when his life takes one of two courses, when Dean says one of two things.
“Dean, I…” Castiel says, and his hand reaches out. Unconsciously, awkwardly, the straggling limb of a plant that has never grown the way it should have done. And Castiel goes to catch himself, to stop letting his fingers trail through the air reaching for a place they can’t go – but then Dean takes his hand.
Dean takes his hand, and holds onto it. Not sweetly, not softly. Hard. Like they’re at the top of a cliff and Dean’s afraid of losing his grip and having to watch Castiel fall alone.
Castiel can barely breathe. Against the odds his hand is being held by Dean. Against the way that his words desert him, against the thousands of reasons that the two of them shouldn’t have ever even met, let alone be standing here together in a garden. Against all of it, Castiel’s hand is squeezed tight in Dean’s.
There’s a part of Castiel that’s trying to pinch itself, that’s shaking its head in denial, but Dean’s grip is warm and real.
“Cas,” Dean says. “Do you…”
The question has no ending, but it’s Dean, so the answer is yes. Castiel nods.
Dean’s expression seems, with just the smallest of looks in his eyes, to break apart. He holds onto Castiel’s hand and says nothing, doesn’t move.
“And…” Castiel says, but his throat goes dry. He can do this. He has to do this. If he doesn’t now, he never will. He tries again. “And… you?”
Dean looks momentarily bewildered.
“Yeah, Cas,” he says.
Castiel feels himself go light, so suddenly his stomach flips.
Yeah, Cas, he hears in his head. Yeah, Cas.
On another day, when Castiel hadn’t just told Dean how he feels through a series of oblique angles – when Castiel’s hand wasn’t still being held in the rough warmth of Dean’s – Castiel might have been indignant at that tone in Dean’s voice. As though it had been obvious, when yes, half the time Dean was staring at him like he actually mattered, was ready to die for him – but the rest of the time Dean couldn’t look at him, was ready to die for anything.
Their hands swing a little between them. Just their arm muscles getting a little tired, and their hands moving together. Such a very little thing to happen, Castiel thinks. So very small. After all this time it’s just one hand in another, and it means absolutely crushingly everything, in the way that he’d known it would.
It’s happening, he thinks. It’s happening. We’re the same. We’re the same.
A little clutch of fear that he might change, one day. Wake up and be something else, unexpectedly. Grow again, in a direction Dean doesn’t –
Castiel breathes. It’s alright. He’s torn out his grace for this. He can be the person Dean needs. He can change himself again. Over and over, if needs be.
He holds Dean’s hand. Tight. He can always change again. He can make them the same again. Whatever it takes. For this, for the feeling of Dean's hand in his, it would be worth it, anything would be worth it. But –
Dean’s grip goes slack in his own.
“Wait,” Dean says. “Wait. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Castiel says. He holds tighter. “Nothing.”
Dean’s hand drops Castiel’s. The loosening of his grip is a slow-motion whip crack across Castiel’s chest.
“No?” Dean says, looking at Castiel, asking with the single word whether Castiel doesn’t want anything that just happened. He puts his hands up just a little way, maybe a surrender, maybe just a gesture to show he isn’t touching.
“Wait,” Castiel says, his hand still in place, still reaching. It shows, then, he thinks to himself. That sickle-curve sharpness in his chest, the fear in him that he won’t always be able to fit himself to what Dean wants, it must show. Dean can see it. Castiel lifts his chin, tries to look as though he’s feeling incredibly happy, instead of just incredibly much. “Dean, why are you –”
“Cas…” Dean’s eyes are searching his face, looking for the place where something is wrong. Castiel wants to cut in, insist that nothing is wrong. Take Dean’s hand again, reach for more – he could reach for more, he thinks, and his heart twists, and his head feels light. He could reach for more. Dean might let him. Dean was holding his hand for a moment, there, by choice, as though it really meant something. Castiel’s mouth is dry.
“What’s wrong?” Castiel tries. But his stomach is sinking, even as he’s aching with the terrifying joy of the sudden opening of all the doors he’d always thought were closed for him.
Dean can see that he’s scared. Dean is going to figure it all out. And then those doors will close again.
“I mean…” Dean says. He blinks, shakes his head just slightly. Seems to remember where exactly he is, glancing around at Castiel’s garden. It’s all slipping out of Castiel’s grasp. They’re going to pretend as though the last two minutes never happened, Castiel can feel it.
It’s unbearable. It’s unbearable. The idea of having had it for barely a few seconds, and then losing it. Castiel reaches for words, for anything – something that will show Dean how much it all means to him, how far he’ll go to make it work.
“We’re both human,” he says, almost blurts. “I took out my grace. So we can be… so I can stay.”
Took out, he thinks to himself. What a clinical way to talk about the tearing, the self-destruction, the loss.
Dean just looks at him, mouth slightly open.
This is supposed to be the part where Dean argues, Castiel realises only when it doesn’t come. This is the part where Dean asks me what the hell I was thinking. Tells me to put the grace damn well back where it came from, and to stop making terrible decisions. And then I argue back, and tell him I’ll do what I want to do with my own grace, and I made this choice for him, and I’d do it again.
But Dean isn’t saying anything. He’s just staring. And Castiel stares, too. He can’t argue back when Dean hasn’t started the fight. He can’t push back if Dean never pushed forward. So they stand in silence. The clouds overhead roll on, oblivious to the hearts frantically pounding so far beneath them.
“Cas,” Dean says, and he says it differently to how he’s supposed to – quietly, carefully, handling the name like it’s made of something delicate. “I don’t know what you want me to say, man.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Castiel says.
“But you… you did that…”
Castiel watches him mutely.
“Why?” Dean asks.
So many answers. To be like you. To be near you. To show you I can change for you. Castiel opens his mouth and tries not to say too much.
“For – this,” Castiel says, managing to stop himself saying, for you.
“This?”
“This,” Castiel says, holding Dean’s gaze.
Dean holds his gaze.
“But it – ah. Jesus, Cas, this is hard to talk about.”
Castiel nods. He doesn’t want to let it go – feels sick at the idea of Dean just dropping the subject, and heading back inside, leaving the garden and forgetting all about what they’d said to each other. Chalking it up as somewhere he’d never go again. Too much baggage, too heavy, not worth it.
Dean puffs out his cheeks, though, and breathes out sharply, and says,
“It’s just that, hell, man, you never had to take the grace out to have… you know… anything you wanted out of me.” Dean looks uncertain as he says the last part, as though a little disbelieving that Castiel could want anything from him in particular. “You know that. Right?”
His voice is so different. So gentle in a way that Castiel only barely recognises from the most private of moments they’ve shared. Castiel is suddenly so intensely aware that they’re the only two in the garden, alone with each other. No one else to see them or hear them or judge what they say to each other. It’s a thought that gives him courage.
“I’ve changed for you since the beginning,” Castiel says. Dean opens his mouth, and then closes it, his eyes troubled. Castiel watches him, thinking. “Or –” he starts, as a new thought occurs to him. “Or, changed because of you, at least.”
Dean still looks confused, as though he doesn’t really see the difference. To Castiel, though, it feels clear as day. He changed because he met Dean – without that meeting, he would still be the angel he’d always been. But when he thought about it, the person he changed for was himself. Because it had felt right. Because it felt, period, and that was what he’d wanted.
It loops round and round perfectly in Castiel’s mind. Meeting Dean, the push Castiel needed to start running. And knowing Dean, now, the pull Castiel needs to keep changing, stay with him, stay together.
“I just thought,” Castiel says, when Dean stays silent, “if I could be human like you, then maybe you’d… maybe we could be the same. And stay that way.”
“And you want that,” Dean says.
“Yes.”
“Because…”
“Because,” Castiel says, a little taken aback, “I want… this.”
“But why’d we have to be the same for that? I mean – this?” Dean frowns, as though almost losing track of what he’s trying to say. They’re trying to talk all around it without using any words that are too big.
“Why…” Castiel trails off as he considers the question.
Dean shrugs, in a way that battles to look uncaring and ends up looking heartfelt.
“But… we need to be the same,” Castiel says. He wants them to be close like two leaves on a tree. Closer, two petals on a flower. No, closer still, not even two things. Just one, one plant, growing strong. He wants them that close, that inseparable, after so long being forced apart by fate and circumstance. No would-be gods or divine powers could set them apart if they were one thing. The same.
“But we aren’t the same, Cas,” Dean says, so quietly that Castiel only just hears it over the little burst of breeze that briefly ruffles over them.
Castiel feels his chest clench.
“I’m trying…” he says.
“No, I mean – I mean we can’t be,” Dean says. “I mean, we aren’t, ‘cause we’re… you know… two different people. There it is, you know? Different people. We can’t be exactly the same.”
“But…” Castiel starts, and the word comes out sounding almost angry, so he checks himself and looks down. “But,” he starts again, “if I can just…”
“C’mon,” Dean says, the smallest of smiles softening one side of his mouth. “You wouldn’t really want two of me running around the place, would you?”
“That’s not how I meant it,” Castiel answers, his voice serious, but with a lightness in his eyes to acknowledge Dean’s brush with humour.
“Come to think of it, though,” Dean says, “I’d get a lot more work done on the car if there were two of me. And we could harmonise on Zepp tracks. Maybe you are onto something.”
“Dean,” Castiel says, though he can feel his heart lifting just seeing Dean reaching out for him, trying to make him smile.
“I wouldn’t let you share my toothbrush, though, no way.” Dean looks around the garden. “And this would have to go. Hate to break it to you, but no way are you digging around in the dirt for hours if you’re me. Not unless there’s something to salt and burn at the end of it.”
“I know,” Castiel says, and the words sound little and obstinate, but his hands relax. Dean is looking at him like he gets it – like he sees that curling fear inside Castiel, the one that can’t let them be two different and separate things that just happen by the grace of luck to be next to each other. Because luck runs out, and they both know it. The only way to be sure of staying together, the fear says, is to be so much the same as to be one thing.
But it’s impossible. Castiel can’t be Dean. And Dean’s right, too, because Castiel doesn’t really want to be. He doesn’t want to give up gardening. He doesn’t want to work on Dean’s car. He doesn’t want to share a toothbrush.
He wants to spend time growing things. He wants his own hands in the dirt. He wants – he wants Dean, in the way that he has done since meeting Dean. And he wants to keep wanting.
Even if he didn’t want it, it’s what is. They’re two plants next to each other. Hoping not to be uprooted, hoping for sun, hoping for kind hands that stake them upright and water them even when they won’t flower. Always at the mercy of whatever storms might come, however hard Castiel tries to tangle himself together with Dean, camouflage with him, become just the same.
There are plants that do that, Castiel remembers. Plants that tangle and blend with other plants. They’re weeds. They choke out the first plant, cut off all its light and food until it dies. Two things can’t become one thing without loss. And Castiel doesn’t want to lose Dean – and, he realises quite suddenly, he also doesn’t want to lose himself. There’s so much he wants to do.
Things he might be able to do.
He looks at Dean, who’s watching him piece it all together, giving him time in silence, or maybe just struggling to find more words. But either way, Dean is still here. Dean is in front of him. A moment ago, they were hand in hand.
They could be again.
“You good?” Dean asks, seeming to sense Castiel come to a conclusion.
“Yes,” Castiel says. Dean visibly relaxes, shoulders easing under his coat. Castiel wants to put his hands on those shoulders. He wants to reach out. He wants to touch. He wants, wants, wants, and it feels like still growing, it feels like still changing, it feels like being alive. Like being himself.
He wants to hear Dean’s heartbeat. He wants his grace back. With a sudden absolute certainty, Castiel feels how much he wants his grace back.
He meets Dean’s eyes, and says simply,
“It’s here.”
Dean cocks an eyebrow, catching Castiel’s mood without his meaning.
“It’s here?”
“My grace,” Castiel says. “You were asking where it was. It’s here.”
“Here?” Dean looks confused.
Castiel can feel his mood unfurling, the parts of himself that he’s pushed away and hidden – the parts that have known all along he wants his grace back – finally allowed to breathe, finally being given what they need. He turns his attention to his garden, bending down next to the peach rose that has been so wilfully refusing to blossom.
“I didn’t expect anything to grow when I buried it here,” Castiel says to Dean, over his shoulder. “But then the first flowers came, and so I bought more, and then I put in the fence, and – it helped, being able to come here.” He puts out his hand towards the peach rose, speaking meditatively, almost not quite to Dean at all.
His fingertips brush the tightly closed buds, the sharpness of the thorns. Castiel lets that want for his grace rise up in him, unafraid of the feeling now that he knows it can be acted on. He closes his eyes, and feels for his grace.
It’s right there, waiting for him.
Brilliant and electric. Fast, so fast, and all colours, colours so bright they hiss and spit as they rocket up the stem of the peach rose and through Castiel’s fingers, filling his body with a fierce familiar hum. Castiel breathes in and smells every flower in the garden at once and the breeze and the tang of sap and the rich wetness of the soil and there, behind him, Dean. He breathes out ozone, heady.
He can feel the hat on his head, the way it rests on each hair. He can feel Dean’s closeness, the way the atoms of air jumble between them.
He can feel the sunshine on his face when it finally breaks through the clouds overhead.
The world is turning beneath his feet as it should. The plants around him are creaking as they grow. Dean is breathing a little quicker than usual, and Dean’s heartbeat – there it is. That sound Castiel has missed since the day he tore out his grace. Thud thud, thud thud, thud thud. Castiel closes his eyes more tightly and focuses in on it, loses himself briefly in its rhythm.
“Cas?” Dean says. His voice has all the layers Castiel can hear as an angel. Richer, deeper. He can hear the roughness that comes from the light scarring in Dean’s throat after years of hunting, calling out warnings and yelling in shock. He can hear the exact pitch at which Dean ends the single word, the note that means it’s a question and it’s shy and it’s hopeful and Dean is trying to hide all of it.
The sun is bright when Castiel opens his eyes. There on the peach rose, at the tip of the stem through which he drew out his grace from the earth, is a full-blossom flower. Blushing petals unfurled, just waiting to be looked at, to be touched. Castiel reaches up a finger, and presses it to the velvet centre.
He stands up, and turns to Dean, who’s looking at him with something in his eyes that’s just the same. Newly unfurled, wanting touch.
“Hello, Dean,” Castiel says, and Dean’s face relaxes.
“Here all along, huh.” Dean says. “Damn it, Cas. And there was me, worrying where to find it for no goddamn reason.” The words are irritable but Dean’s tone is a betrayal of them, because it’s so gentle, so serious. Serious enough that Castiel doesn’t feel silly when he takes a step forward, closer to Dean.
He meets Dean’s eyes silently, asking a question.
“You still…?” Dean says.
Still what exactly, Castiel wonders. Still want this? Still want you? Still look at you and think about how anything else I’ve tried to care about felt like trying to follow a script written for a part I was never meant to play, but with you caring grows up without me even trying like a wild rose in good earth?
The answer to all of it is yes. It’s Dean, after all. The answer is yes.
Castiel doesn’t use words to say it. Dean barely used them to ask the question, it was all in his eyes and the way he’s still holding his arms slightly out to the sides as though hoping to have a reason to put them around someone, and so Castiel gives him a reason.
The closeness – Castiel has always thought it might be jarring, if it ever happened, to be in Dean’s space like this. Something he’s wanted for so long and imagined so many times that the reality would be strange. But it’s not strange, it’s – it’s just a little slow, and hushed. It’s so quiet in the garden as they come together. Hand touching hand. Then arms reaching up. Castiel’s eyes tracing the lines of Dean’s face, finally having time to do it in as much time as he chooses, because Dean’s going a pleased shade of red under his gaze.
“I, uh,” Dean says, his voice a little hoarse. Castiel tilts his head at a slight angle. “I, uh. I don’t know how to do this. When it’s you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I – I don’t know if you want me to…” Dean’s eyes drop to Castiel’s lips. Through angel’s eyes, Castiel can see the slight tremor in him, the way he leans in just a little and then pulls back, the way his muscles are tightening in uncertainty.
“Yes,” says Castiel simply. He reaches up, and tilts his hat back.
“But you… it’s…” Dean looks at him helplessly.
And Castiel thinks perhaps he understands. This thing between them, the way that Castiel feels, it’s – it’s alive, it’s wider and deeper than the sky. It’s everything. And they’re supposed to, what, kiss about it? As though it were the end of a fairy tale? The end of a second date?
But then, they’ve done all the rest of it before. They’ve done blood and big choices. They’ve done hands grasping for each other against every rule, against all the smart money. And now there’s just this.
There’s just Castiel leaning forwards, and seeing relief and happiness break through on Dean’s face like sunshine for a second, before they kiss.
Castiel feels his wings unfurl.
It’s still not Heaven. It’s not even close. But – Castiel pulls back, and sees the expression on Dean’s face, the way his eyes are wide and unbelieving and so, so happy. But it’s a place, where Castiel is growing things.
217 notes · View notes
travellingarmy · 3 years
Text
║Kaeya║Goodbye Kiss
Gender-neutral.
Angst.
Word count: 1.7k
---
It is time..
He had fulfilled his duties as a spy and so, it was time for the rightful heir to the throne to return to his home, Khaenri'ah. However, he guilts the thought of going back. In the beginning, he only had one reason of lingering around Mondstadt for a while but now that that he was done, there was really nothing left holding him back to return. So, why is he wavering?
His eyes- both visible- stare at the oh so familiar ceiling of your home. He had grown to love the sight of it over the years. His eyes seemed to sparkle in the night, a hand behind his head. Those eyes if his had always been unique and mysterious apropos to others one would meet along the way. It held a secret that makes one so interested in the soon-to-be former Cavalry Captain, but they could never unveil the truth behind them-- not even you.
Not even you who lay beside him bare and snuggled against him, a hand on his chest. Not even you who was most closest to the knight. If you couldn't do that, who could?
You made a sound during your sleep, gaining the attention of the man. His eyes glistened upon landing sight on you. His heart raced at everything you do. He was happy with you, but he also bitterly blames you for being the reason he was hesitating. Why did you go make such a man fall for you? No, what was it about him that made you fall into his arms? Surely, you could see just how scary those eyes of his, right?
Honestly, you were the first to approach him knowing the darkness that he had carried since young. You dare not question what his past was or where he came from. You openly loved him, but he was going to be your heartache.
If only, he thought, if only he didn't fall into the hole you had made, he would leave Mondstadt all behind without looking back. When did he trip? Was it the first glance of you? There was really something about your eyes that intrigued the male.. Yeah, that was probably it. Something in your eyes shone something he had not seen in himself. Your eyes were free of hidden motives and your quick-witted actions proved that.
Maybe, he was interested because he felt jealous of you. Jealous that you didn't have to carry a burden of a task since young. Maybe he had gotten close to you to take that glimmer in your eyes. After all, he was a man with ulterior motives, no?
Ah, that did no good to Kaeya. He tried to convince himself over and over that there was something he wanted to take from you but as you lay bare beside him, he felt himself at a loss.
You mumbled in your sleep, once more making sounds to gain the attention of the male. Whatever you were dreaming about, it obviously was a pleasant one. He chuckles lowly and put his free hand behind the back of your head, moving you closer to his lips so he could place a kiss on the crown of your head.
"I love you."
-
The clacking of hurried heels and boots greet you upon entering the headquarters. It was early in the morning but everyone was jolted awake and masked with a stern look, brows furrowing as they rush past you.
You knew what was happening. Otherwise, you would still be lazily getting out of bed. "Acting Grand Master," you greet the blonde whose back was facing you. The call of her title brought her attention from another knight to you. "(Y/N), I'm so glad you're here. Have you seen Kaeya?"
Indeed, you have seen Kaeya. Hoewever, it was just a glimpse before your tired eyes fluttered shut for another hour. "No, I haven't." Jean sighs but did not dwell on the thought of the captain. "Well, we'll just pray to Barbatos that he comes soon. We need all the hands to protect the city from the Abyss."
Something inside you churned. Something was calling out to you that you failed to listen. What is it? Why was dread washing over you at the thought of Kaeya? Surely, he would be fine to take on a couple Abyss mages and hilichurls, right? Well, it doesn't matter. Even if he can take down a whole army, you should still be by his side, fighting with him.
Not waiting for orders from the Acting Grand Master, you made a bolt towards the gate. Jean shouted your name but you ignored it as that churning feeling grew inside you. "Kaeya.."
The entirety of Mondstadt was surrounded at all fronts. All sorts of Abyss mages and hilichurls attacked like savages, using this chance to take down the city while the rest of the troops were still coming their way.
Your eyes darted around, hoping to see the Cavalry Captain somewhere amongst the many men who were trying to by more time for backup to come.
You bit your lips, drawing out the blood to trickle down. Where in Teyvat is Kaeya when you needed him most? It wasn't the time for him to go drinking in a bar, getting wasted.
Not wanting to waste more time dwelling on the thought, you took the lead, running past the other knights and heading deeper into the battle. "Captain!" A knight had called your title but you dare not turn around. Something was telling you that Kaeya was further in, and you were going tl follow it. Knowing Kaeya, it does sound like him for him to rush before anybody else. "Please, Kaeya.. Please be okay."
Clearing any enemies in your way, you felt your heart become lighter at the sight a his familiar back, but you dare not break into a smile. It would just make you lose your focus on the fight.
"Kaeya!" You called, but that failed to reach his ears amongst the chaos around. You were drawing near, noticing that the army started to grow thin in the back.
You were about to call him a second time but the words got stuck in your throat, seeing that the male was talking to an Abyss mage. It confused you. Why is the Abyss mage bowing to Kaeya? Why isn't it attacking Kaeya?
The mage looks up, eyes looking past Kaeya and onto you. "Your highness, behind you," the mage gestures him to look behind. Wait, did the mage call him 'your highness'?
Kaeya turned around to look at you, revealing you both of his eyes that held no warmth as usual when they laid upon you. You were stoned into the spot, mouth feeling dry. What were you supposed to say at this point? Your head dizzied, wanting to collapse on the ground for support.
When your silence was prolonging further activities, his eyes narrowed coldly and his mouth drew a wider frown of displeasure. "(Y/N), what are you doing here?" His voice was montoned and no longer spoke in a flirtatious manner.
The mystery behind his eyes were revealed to you; the mystery that all of Mondstadt wanted to know yet could not get close enough to know.
You gulped back the lump that grew. Surely, there is some misunderstanding, right? Kaeya just wanted to toy with the mage before he killed it, right? Yeah, that has to be it. "K, Kaeya, Acting Grand Master wants you back and help protect Mondstadt.." Your eyes slightly widen in desperation, searching for the truth.
"Oh? Does she now?" A smirk tug his lips yet his eyes stayed the same. He turns his full body to face you and rested his knuckle on his hip. He was toying with you. "Y, yeah.. You better get back before she gets mad at you."
Kaeya chuckles at the look in your eyes, knowing that look all too well. "Why should I go back? I'm not from here so I have no reason to protect it." He shakes his head, all the while smiling. "(Y/N), I'm sure you already know that I am not from here, yes?"
"Where are you going with this, Kaeya? Please stop playing around and come back," you spoke with a shaky voice.
His smile drops. Were you seriously trying to convince yourself that he was a good man? He sighs and walks close to you, grabbing your chin in his hands. "Oh, (Y/N), you could be so cute at times. It almost makes me want to take you with me," his words were sincere. "But the land of sinners is not a place to call home for someone like you. So, be good and listen to when I say to stay." A flick of sorrow failed to catch your eyes.
Kaeya had not slept that night, waiting for the sun to shine through the curtains to tell him that it was time. As much as he wanted to stay with you, he was a sinner who ruled a land abandoned by the gods. He had no place in Mondstadt- with you- knowing his origins.
A tear slipped from the corner of your eyes, but Kaeya did not dare to wipe it away in fear that his heart would waver.
"Be good.. Protect Mondstadt.." He shows you one last genuine smile that you loved. His eyes allowed itself to show you his true feelings for you once more as well which just made your heart squeeze itself.
He brings your face, your lips, close to his. He was giving you one last kiss. A kiss that you would miss for as long as you lived. A goodbye kiss.
Tears left your eyes as he deepened the cherishing kiss.
He soon pulls away, watching your tears fall silently onto the ground. He smiles and turns on his heels to walk away, the Abyss mage following close behind him.
Your legs gave in and fell onto the ground as you watch the man you loved walk away from you-- never to return to Mondstadt-- to you.
Kaeya dares not to look behind. If he did, he had a feeling that he'll run up and hug you to stop those tears of yours. This was goodbye.
"Forget me and find someone else, lest you will be broken."
---
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ijustwant2write · 4 years
Text
The Nice One-Fred Weasley x Muggle!Dursley!Reader
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(GIF credit to @avocadosalad2​)
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Tag List: @obsessedwithrandomthings​
Requested by anonymous: 'I have this idea about Fred Weasley falling in love with Harry’s muggle cousin. a dursley. Maybe y/n and Harry were always really close and she obviously knows all about magic. She’s the only person, Harry actually loved and trusted as a child and that didn’t change when he found out he was wizard so there really close, he sees her as a sister. Maybe he wants to introduce her to ginny because Harry wants her approval. And reader ends up liking Fred, and Fred likes her back.'
Characters: Fred Weasley x Muggle!Dursley!Reader, Harry Potter x Muggle!Dursley!Reader (cousin), Weasley Family x Muggle!Dursley!Reader (platonic), Hermione Granger x Muggle!Dursley!Reader (Platonic)
Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name
Warnings: Mention of neglect/child abuse, lots of fluff
                                     *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sitting back in a plastic chair, I looked out of the huge window of the coffee shop, sighing as I realised it had started to rain. I never minded the rain really, but it had been like this since May, with no sign of a proper English summer in sight. Harry returning to the table with two mugs of tea distracted me, and I smiled as he set them on the table, sitting opposite to me.
“It feels like ages since we did this.” I said, blowing over the top of the tea.
“Yeah, I’m sorry I’ve not called or contacted you in any way recently.” he apologised, casting his eyes down.
“Harry, you don’t have to be sorry for anything.” I reassured him.“You’ve been making your life in...well, your world. We’ve all grown up, had to get used to becoming adults and such. Though it is a shame we haven’t seen each other for over a year.”
“Year and a half actually.”
“I wasn’t surprised when you invited me here though. Of course, this is under better circumstances. I’m not having to drag you out of the house to avoid my parents.”
“No, this is much nicer.”  he chuckled.“How are they by the way? I was able to see Dudley last month.”
“They’re fine, same as always. I don’t see them as much as I should, though I do call them often. Sometimes it’s hard you know, especially after all that’s happened in the last few years.” I took a sip of tea, finally able to start drinking it.
Harry seemed hesitant to speak again.“Actually, I was wanting to ask you something.”
“Yeah?” 
“Do you remember me talking to you about a girl called Ginny?”
“Ooh, has my little cousin fallen in love?” I was teasing until I saw the genuine smile on his face.“Wait, Harry, do you really like this girl?”
“W-well...I h-have for a while, we actually told each other our feelings when, when other things turned serious. And it’s been going good between us, really good, which leads me to my question.”
I was confused as to where this was going, but waited for him to carry on.
“I was wondering if you would come meet her?”
“You want me to meet her?” I excitedly repeated. 
“Yeah,” he smiled back,“there’s going to be a birthday party for me at her family home. She’s a Weasley.”
“Wait, isn’t that the last name of your friend Ron?”
“It is.”
“You’re dating your best friend’s sister?”
“I’ve already talked about it with him! Do you remember I stayed with him over that summer, and I wrote to you from there?”
“The Burrow!”
He nodded.“They’re more than happy to have you there.”
“Of course I’ll come Harry! For now, you have to tell me everything about this Ginny girl.”
The party was two weeks away, and I could not contain my excitement as it got closer and closer. Although Harry had told me much about the wizarding world, he was the only wizard I had ever met (unless I counted that giant man that had tracked us down when Harry first found out he possessed magic, though there weren’t any introductions), and I was extremely excited to meet more of them. Would they constantly be using magic? Would they just conjure up food and drink? And would they be comfortable with me there? I knew that Harry wouldn’t leave me alone unless I was one hundred percent comfortable with everyone.
It was surprising that Harry hadn’t become irritated with me on the day of his party. He was coming to pick me up, and I had greeted him with an over excited tone, setting off a party popper which made strings of confetti land on his head. I had never been able to celebrate Harry’s birthdays publicly, always sneaking into his room or under the cupboard to give him a small present and a hug to wish him happy birthday (once I was earning my own pocket money, or sweetly asking dad for a few pounds, I would buy him cupcakes as a birthday cake, stashing away sweets for him after he saw how much we were given). Dragging him into my flat, I demanded he close his eyes, dashing in and out of the kitchen with a stupid grin on my face. Counting down from three, I giggled as Harry opened his eyes, smiling when he saw me holding a cupcake with a candle in my hands.
"You didn't forget."
"Of course I didn't. Is it...is it alright?" I became worried, wondering if I had brought up bad memories.
"No, no, I actually missed this. It was one of the things I looked forward to each year."
He blew out the candle, sighing when I urged him to close his eyes and make a wish. Harry then pushed me to get a move on, his eyes widening when he saw me pick up two presents with wrapping paper, as well as a smaller one on top. I walked past him before he could say anything about them, handing him the keys to lock up.
As we turned up at the infamous Burrow, I couldn't help but stand back in awe. It was like nothing I had ever seen, and although shabby looking, very put together, it had some sort of charm to it, it was so different to other houses. Harry had already taken a few steps forward, stopping when he noticed me not move.
"(Y/N)?"
My eyes snapped back down to him."Oh, sorry."
"It's going to be fine." he said, coming to stand beside me.
I just nodded, walking next to him and standing back when he knocked on the door. A short woman opened it, squealing with excitement when she saw Harry, and as she dragged him in for a hug, she playfully scolded him for knocking, claiming that he could waltz in whenever. Staying outside, I poked my head in, still holding the presents in my arms. I watched as Harry was engulfed in numerous hugs, everyone wishing him happy birthday as well as joking and laughing with him. It shocked me. The only time I saw him this happy was when I was able to cheer him up as kids (and that was extremely hard to do when he lived in the hell hole I called home), but a sudden wave of emotion attacked me, I was so happy to see him being treated right.
"Everyone, this is my cousin, (Y/N)." Harry interrupted my thoughts once again, gesturing for me to step inside.
Sheepishly walking in, I held onto the presents a little tighter, smiling through the awkwardness. There were so many of them standing there.
"Here, let me take those from you love." a man who seemed to be the dad offered, placing the presents on a nearby table. Now I was out in the open.
"So this is the decent one?" one of the younger lads said to break the silence.
"Ronald Weasley, you mind your manners!" the woman scolded him."Don't mind him dear, it's lovely to meet you. Harry has never stopped talking about you."
"He's right though," Harry said,"this is the nice one."
"It's nice to see that Harry stayed in such a lovely place, and with lovely people."
Really (Y/N)? That's the first thing you come out with?
"Oh what a sweetheart." the woman gushed."Believe me, they look like angels, but they don't act like one."
Harry soon broke us into a general conversation, attempting to introduce me to everyone. This family was so different to mine. It felt more loving, as if they didn't hate to be around each other all the time. They included each other in every conversation, they laughed together, joked around with each other. And they also included me.
We were sat around a long table, squeezed amongst one another with food and drink laid out. I had Harry one side of me, and his old friend Hermione on my other. I believed that she and Ron had romantic connections, but I was hoping she would shed some light on Harry's love life, as Ginny was sat beside him.
"They've only recently become public. Everyone knew that they were together, it was bound to happen. But we all acted surprised anyway." Hermione and I giggled, drowned out by the sound of everyone talking.
"Oh bless him, he seemed very happy when he mentioned her. That's why he invited me actually, he was wondering what I would think about her. They don't seem to be able to keep their eyes off each other."
"Someone else seems to have their eyes on someone." she smirked.
I followed her eye line, seeing one of the twins looking in our direction before averting their gaze. I had remembered that they were each wearing the same jumper but with different colours, thankfully making it easier to tell them apart. It had been Fred looking my way, and I hated that I was blushing already; no one had looked at me like that for a long time.
"I'm sure that was nothing." I mumbled.
"If you say so." I heard Ginny say, making me whip my head round to her. She was leaning forward to look at me, and I saw Harry holding back a laugh.
"Come on, I haven't even spoken to him."
"Maybe you should. Perhaps this was meant to happen."
Molly stopped all chatter across the table, standing up to announce that it was present time. Heaps of presents were pushed down to our end of the table, Harry was shocked by how many there were, but stuck right in. After thanking all of the Weasley’s for their sweet presents, especially Ginny. With my presents left, I felt all eyes on me, nervous as to what they would think of my gifts.
One was a collection of books he read when he was younger (until my brother got angry at him and ripped out the pages), the other was two shirts I knew would look nice on him. The last present was a photo book, which I had had personalised; on the front it said ‘Harry’s Memories’, in a beautiful swirling style of writing. The toothy grin on his face fell slightly, and I began to panic again. Everyone waited for him to open the book, a slight tension in the air. Harry slowly opened the book, reading the message I had left for him in his head. It entailed fond memories we had, and how proud I was of him for setting out to school by himself, and how many times he was brave enough to put himself on the line for his friends and family. Turning the next page, a breathless laugh left his lips when he saw the photos I chose. Unfortunately there weren’t many of us together, or of him in general, but I had raided our old cameras back home to find any photos I had taken of him without my parent’s knowledge. After flipping over another page that turned out to be blank, he looked up at me, as did everyone else.
“It’s blank so that you can fill it. I knew you wouldn’t want memories of home, just...just me I suppose. But I’m sure you’ve got better memories to put in there now.” I shyly explained.
“This is amazing, thank you (Y/N).” Harry said, hugging me tightly.
“The pictures aren’t moving?” Ginny questioned.
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.“Your pictures move?”
Once dinner was done with, along with a round of singing as the birthday cake came out, we all broke off into smaller groups. This would have given me an opportunity to speak to Ginny, I had a strong feeling that she was absolutely perfect for him, they seemed well matched, but I still wanted a chat at least. However, Harry had stolen her away, and it wasn’t the right time to intervene. As I thought about who to talk to, Fred walked up to me, leaning against the kitchen counter top as I was.
“Thought you looked a little lonely over here.” he said, but it wasn’t in a cocky way, he was being genuinely kind. 
“Thanks.” I laughed.
He smiled.“I-I didn’t mean it like that.”
I looked up at him.“No I know what you meant. I was actually thanking you.”
“Ah.”
There was a moment of silence as neither of us were sure what to say next. Suddenly, something popped into my mind,“You know, I’ve seen you before.”
“What?”
“When you came to rescue Harry, in your flying car. I was in my room, but my room was next to Harry’s, so I could just about see you and your brothers.”
“That was so many years ago.”
I nodded.“I just remember how shocked I was when I saw the car, but also how relieved I felt when I saw Harry get in there. I was in trouble for not going to my parents straight away though.”
“You don’t sound like a typical Dursley at all.”
“I suppose I’m not. I was never the favourite, for some reason Dudley was. But I was so focused on keeping Harry somewhat happy that it didn’t matter. I just got good results at school, made friends and kept the biggest secret in the world.”
“It is slightly strange having a Muggle about.”
“How do you think I feel? The dishes are doing themselves over there!” I gestured to the sink where there was a floating plate and sponge. He laughed at that."That would be so useful to have at home, especially after a long day."
"So," he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning towards me,"what do you think about our families combining?"
I took a sip of my drink, following his eye line to Harry and Ginny."I can't express how happy I am for him."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. And I'm not just saying nice things because Ginny is your sister. Harry had a long talk about what happened in the past, he's mentioned her, well, all of you, a lot. You've all been able to give him much more than I have."
"That's not true. Harry has expressed multiple times how he didn't know what he would have done if you weren't there for him."
"Seems like everything has worked out perfectly in the end. It even feels right me being here."
"I can agree on that."
"Even if I'm a Muggle?"
"Can't say that's the first thing I noticed about you."
My eyes widened slightly, slowly looking down into the content of my cup."Fred, if I didn't know any better, I would say you were flirting with me."
"Thank god you noticed, thought I might have to start using pick up lines."
"You still can if you want to."
"Nah, think I'll save that for a first date."
"If you're asking, then the answer would be a yes."
"Well, glad that's been sorted."
I giggled quietly, trying not to show how much I was enjoying this."Do I get to find out where you're taking me?"
"If I'm honest, I wasn't sure if I would get this far."
We laughed together, catching the attention of his parents who were with Hermione and Ron. We quietened down, finding it hard to hold back on giggling. Before we could even continue speaking, Harry was approaching me, and I knew he wanted to find out what had happened since he left me alone.
"So, uh, what are you two talking about?" Harry failed to play dumb.
I rolled my eyes, placing a hand on his shoulder."OK, whilst you interrogate my date, I'll go talk to your girlfriend. Sound like a deal?"
"D-date?"
"Don't act like you weren't listening. Relax Harry, this is your party after all."
I heard him sigh to Fred as I walked away."You two are going to be trouble, I just know it."
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wonder-womans-ex · 3 years
Text
When In Vegas
It was loud in the locker room the next morning, but Saint was quiet.
Three days had passed since someone else’s world had been turned upside down, and Saint wasn’t sure whether he was more angry or scared—or relieved that it hadn’t been him.
Those fucking pictures, god. He had stared for hours, maybe more, hands frozen around his phone. The knowledge was unbearable—someone had done this. Someone was out to get people like them.
People like him.
But, in a way, it was also liberating. If he had to guess, he would say that no one had known about Black and Lupin. Judging from the way Tremblay had acted at All-Stars, they probably hadn’t even told their team, and god knew Saint hadn’t told his.
So, really, who was to say he was the only one? Any of the guys here, unlacing their skates beside him, could have grown up amidst thoughts of don’t look and stay silent and focus on the hockey. Any of the guys here could have had boyfriends in high school or college. Any of them could still.
He reveled in the thought. Maybe he wasn’t alone.
Black. Lupin. Tweedle.
Three names on a list wasn’t many, but it was better than one.
Saint glanced up when he felt someone watching him. His eyes met a pair of gleaming yellow ones—before meeting Greyback, he hadn’t even known that eyes could be that colour—and he steeled himself, resolutely not looking away.
Greyback smiled, and Saint recoiled internally. If there were others on the team—others in the league—Greyback was certainly not one of them.
As if Saint would ever, in a million years, want him to be.
He pulled off his second skate with one good, sharp tug. His helmet sat on the bench beside him, and he rested one elbow on it briefly. It was common knowledge that playing professional hockey was difficult, but the thing most people didn’t know was how near-impossible it was just putting on and taking off the necessary gear.
Next, after his skates, were his shin pads—big, bulky things that got hot altogether much too quickly, but at least they protected his legs. Then his jersey, his shoulder pads, his pants, until he Saint could finally lift his undershirt over his head and make his way to the showers.
The warm water felt like bliss against his aching muscles, but a part of him still pleaded to skip this bit and head straight home. All he really wanted was to curl up in bed with a bowl of ramen—decidedly not on his diet plan, but, hey, a guy could dream—and an episode of Drag Race.
And, of course, Luke. But he wasn’t allowed to think about that. Not here.
Or maybe, he realized, mind darting back to pictures taken through the windshield of a car, he could.
He had just begun to put on a pair of jeans and a tank top—grey, with the Golden Knights logo on the front and his name and number on the back—when there came a shout from the other side of the locker room.
“Hey, Tweedle!”
It was Pettigrew, one of his teammates, brandishing a ring of keys in the air. “Need a ride?”
Saint forced a smile. “Nah; I’m good. My roommate’s picking me up. Thanks for the offer, though.”
Pettigrew smiled back. “All right. See you tomorrow, Tweedle.”
“Yeah,” said Saint as he turned back to his stall. “See you.”
He packed up his gear in a sort of half-trance, thinking less about where he was and more about where he was soon to be. Saint loved hockey, true, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t love other things, too.
Other people.
The army green jeep was already waiting for him outside. He glanced around briefly, scanning the parking lot for any of his teammates, then pulled open the passenger side door. He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d checked to see if anyone was watching—it was, after all, nothing out of the ordinary: just a completely heterosexual hockey player getting into his completely heterosexual roommate’s car.
“Hey,” Saint said, meeting Luke’s gaze in the rearview mirror and grinning.
“Hey yourself,” Luke responded, a teasing tone to his voice. “How was practice?”
Saint just shrugged. “Same as always, I suppose. What are we having for dinner?”
Many things could be said for Luke Deveaux, and one of them was that he was a master of recognizing a subject change when he heard one. “Thought I’d finally cook up that chicken that’s been sitting in the freezer. Sound good to you?”
“Sounds fucking incredible. You really do know the way to a man’s heart.”
They smiled at each other again as Luke pulled out onto the main road—the soft kind of smile that said everything for them. Carefully, Saint reached out, resting a hand on Luke’s leg. The simple contact was really all they needed as they both looked back out to the road ahead, letting silence envelop them.
Finally, when they came to a stop at the second or third red light, Luke looked over. “What is it?” he asked quietly—genuinely, in a way only he could.
Saint made a noise of confusion. “What’s what?”
“You’re thinking.”
This time, Saint didn’t say anything for quite a while. He kept his eyes forward as the light turned green and Luke began to drive again. Eventually, just as Luke had begun to think that he wouldn’t get a response at all, Saint spoke up: “What if I introduced you to my teammates?”
Luke had a feeling he knew what Saint was getting at, but he wanted to be sure. “I’ve met a couple of them,” he said, slowly. “Pettigrew. Reaves. Dearborn. Greyback—though I didn’t like him much.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Saint said, and took a breath before continuing. “I meant like… what if I introduced you to them as my boyfriend?”
“Husband,” corrected Luke idly, jerking the wheel to the right.
“Right, yeah. But I’d still probably introduce you as my boyfriend, because, y’know—”
“Nineteen.”
“—Elvis.”
Another beat of silence. Another deep breath. “And I just thought—I was thinking that—that…”
Luke waited.
“Obviously I wouldn’t want to come out to the whole world. Not yet,” said Saint, starting again, “but… you know. People know about Black and Lupin—though they didn’t get to tell people; people were told for them. And if I said something, maybe… maybe, if there are others, they’d know… they’d know they aren’t alone.”
It was Saint’s turn to wait, now, as Luke took a left onto a side street and narrowly missed the curb. He swallowed back the slight lump in his throat—he’d said his bit; now it was time for Luke to say his.
“I love you.” Luke’s words were hushed, and, yeah, it was always nice to get reassurance, but that didn’t really clear anything up.
“I love you, too.”
“And I—” Luke sighed. “Can I have a little while? To think about it? Or, rather, not to think about it, but to think about how I’m going to say it.”
Tilting his head, Saint looked thoughtfully over at the man in the driver’s seat. “Yeah. Yeah; of course. Take all the time you need. It was just something I was thinking about.”
“But you’ve been thinking about it for a while.” It wasn’t a question.
“Well, if the better part of three days counts as ‘a while,’ then, yeah; I guess. Consciously, at least. Subconsciously… maybe longer.” He shrugged. “Who knows. All I do know is that I’m absolutely crazy for you, and I’d like someone who isn’t us or the guy who officiated our wedding to know that.”
“Especially because he almost definitely doesn’t remember either of us anymore.”
“Exactly.”
This next pause was different from the previous ones—more pause-like, though that didn’t make sense, even in Saint’s head.
“It’s like,” said Luke, thoughtfully, as he turned onto their street, “remember when we got married? And neither of us said anything about it for almost a month?”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember why?”
“Um, because typically you don’t get married to someone you’ve only been dating for a week and a half?”
The car slowed to a stop in front of their house. Luke pulled the key out of the ignition and sat back in his seat. “Bingo.”
When he didn’t elaborate, Saint asked, tentatively, “And, uh, what does that have to do with anything?”
“It’s like that, because I could only see that going one of two ways: either we stayed in a marriage neither of us was ready for, or we ended both the marriage and the relationship. And so, of course, the solution my nineteen-year-old and slightly stupid self came up with was to ignore the situation entirely. You can’t annul a marriage that you don’t acknowledge exists, right?”
Saint furrowed his brow. “But… we didn’t annul the marriage.”
“Exactly.”
“...I think you’ve lost me.”
“Yeah; probably.” Luke sighed “I’m going about this all wrong. I suppose the thing I keep getting stuck on is that it would make everything more difficult if—you know.”
“No,” Saint said, “I don’t know.”
“If we broke up.” It all came out in one breath, and Luke looked anywhere but at Saint while he said.
Suddenly, Saint found it difficult to breath. “You—you think we’re going to break up?”
“No. No; god, of course not. It’s just one of those irrational fears; yeah? Like, you know the elevator isn’t going to break and send you falling to your death like Tower of Terror, but you still worry about it.”
“Not quite sure I follow.” Saint waited a moment, then added, “So… I take it you aren’t planning on breaking up with me?”
“Nope.” Luke smiled as he said it, popping the p. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for a little while longer.”
“A lot longer, hopefully.”
“Amen to that,” said Saint, then reached to unlock the car door.
“Wait,” Luke said quietly. “I’m… there’s something else.”
Saint turned back, letting go of the door handle. “Yeah?”
“I—” He shook his head. “Never mind.”
“What was it?”
“I just—it’s been five years—or it will have been in a week, technically, but still—and… and I guess I was wondering if you… might like to do it again. That. Without Elvis, this time.”
“What, get married?”
Luke took a breath. “Yeah.”
“Again?”
“Jesus Christ, Saint; weren’t you listening to anything I just said? It doesn’t matter, anyway. Just—forget I said anything.” Now it was Luke’s turn to begin to open the car door, a rush of cold air seeping in through the gap.
“Wait—Tweedle—”
Luke paused. Saint didn’t often call him that, and, even when he did, usually when he was trying to be serious. It was something Saint would say when they were fighting—it was his way of saying I love you; I don’t regret being with you. It was not something Saint would say to someone he didn’t want to be married to.
“Yeah?” Luke didn’t look over—he kept his gaze on the sliver of pavement he could see in the space between the door and the rest of the car—but he could imagine the look on Saint’s face.
“I want to.”
“What?” He knew what Saint had said. He wasn’t asking for clarification. He was giving Saint one last chance to change his mind, and hoping desperately that Saint wouldn’t take it.
“I want to marry you. Fucking hell, of course I want to marry you. Again. Preferably sober this time. Definitely without Elvis.”
A noise that was halfway between a laugh and a sob escaped Luke’s lips. “Is that your way of proposing?”
“Actually, I think it was my way of accepting your proposal. And, either way, it was better than last time, when I think I just stuck my hand up your shirt and called it a day.”
This time, Luke really did laugh. “And they say romance is dead.”
“No kidding.” A pause, then, “Do you still have your ring?”
“Do I still have my—what kind of a question is that? Of course I do! I—” he cut himself off, clearing his throat. “Why? Do you still have yours?”
Saint looked down, avoiding Luke's eyes. His hand went to his neck, where he pulled out a thin gold chain. On it hung the ring Luke had given him so long ago: slightly battered and riddled with notches, but in a way better than it was when they had exchanged them all those years ago, giggling on the alcohol. "Of course I do." His voice was soft—almost timid. "I'm not sure I could have gotten rid of it if I wanted to."
Luke let himself smile. “I wear mine, sometimes, you know,” he said, in a voice nearly as gentle. “When you’re not around.”
“Yeah. I—I do, too.”
“I love you.”
Saint didn’t even think before he did it. He knew, somewhere, that it was a terrible idea—that this was exactly where Black and Lupin had gone wrong—but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Luke was his husband, goddammit, and if he wanted to lean across the console and kiss him until he forgot his own name, then nothing in the world was stopping him.
Well. Nothing except his seatbelt, and even that only took him a few brief moments to discard. Then he was turning in his seat and reaching out and cupping Luke’s cheek in the palm of his hand and whispering “I love you, too,” against his lips.
"God," Saint said, pulling away. "How could I ever have stopped."
Luke quietly laughed, pulling himself away from Saint's lips. "I don't know, love; it could have been you withdrawing yourself from me. It… it almost made me think you—well, not hated me, but at least that you regretted ever getting married."
Saint made a small sound, as if Luke's words were paining him. "I would never." His eyes were starting to water. "I could never. Sure, we were too young; sure, we were drunk. Sure, it was stupid. But it was the best mistake of my life."
Another laugh, this one slightly louder. “Best mistake of mine, too.”
Luke leaned in for another kiss. “Wait,” said Saint, ignoring the noise of protest he got in return. “I have to…”
Saint reached around the back of his neck, sighing in frustration as he fiddled clumsily with the clasp of his necklace. It took him a good ten seconds, but finally he was able to lift it off and slide the ring into the palm of his hand.
The thin gold band fit perfectly around his finger—the weight was familiar; the cheap metal had already been warmed by his body heat, almost as if he had never taken it off.
“People—” Luke cleared his throat. “People will ask questions.”
“I know.”
“And what—what will—”
“What will my answer be?”
“...Yeah.”
“Sweetheart,” murmured Saint, leaning in to brush their noses together, “there’s only ever been one answer.”
“And what’s that?” At this point, Luke was just playing along—and they both knew it.
“You.”
.
amazing characters by @lumosinlove
thank you so much to @im-oknutzy-trash for being my #1 supporter while I tried to get the words to work (and letting me use some of their words when mine inevitably didn't)
note: this is based off that one ask hazel received literal months ago about how if saint were in SW he'd be on the golden knights bc he looks good in gold. no one else seems to remember it, however, so maybe I imagined it. who knows.
and, yes, Saint's last name in this is Tweedle.
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psychedelic-ink · 3 years
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This is my commission for @some-piece ! Thank you so much for commissioning me once again and oh my god I hope you like this because I certainly enjoyed writing it! 
Pairing: Law x chubby!fem!reader x Zoro
Genre: Smut, Fluff, Drama
Word count: 5 k
Warning: Fingering, anal, dirty talking, threesome 
Summary: You, Law and Zoro go to visit Franky and Robin on Christmas everyone is there including Sanji. Zoro’s and Sanji’s constant bickering annoys Law and you so the two of you hatch a plan to end it all.
Commissions | Ko-Fi
There was a reason why you never invited anyone to your place and it was a good one. It wasn’t one reason though, it was two. 
And the two reasons were standing right infront of you. 
“Stop eating the appetizers you damn moss head!”
“For the love of god could you go bother someone else! Shitty curly ass eyebrow!” 
“What did you just say!?”
Taking in a deep breath you apologetically looked at both Robin and Franky, you felt like you had brought a toddler who just wouldn’t settle down. But the older couple seemed to be happy with this since they both laughed along with Zoro and Sanji’s immature fighting. But sadly you and Law couldn’t be as cheerful, the two of you had grown tired of the constant bickering of the two at every goddamn gathering. It was embarrassing, especially since the both of them had no filter at all. 
The evening continued, it was nice seeing everyone else, honestly the gathering of all your friends was the only reason you appreciated Christmas. Luffy was constantly shoving appetizers in his mouth, Usopp was talking about his new book with Franky, Robin and Nami were happily gossiping, you and Law were mingling, everything could be considered great but of course Zoro and Sanji’s constant fighting put you in a sour mood. Law placed his arm around your shoulder and pulled you close, his warmth calmed you but you couldn’t stop from sighing constantly. 
“I’m sorry,” you mumbled, looking at your raven haired partner. “I’m really enjoying myself but I just can’t seem to zone them out, they’re like mosquitos constantly buzzing in my ear.” 
Law glared at the two, he had no idea why but Sanji had his foot against Zoro’s face. 
“I get what you mean.” he muttered. “Hey dumbass!” he shouted. Zoro flinched and turned his gaze from Sanji’s foot to him. “You promised not to do this. Again.” he hissed between clenched teeth. 
You couldn’t see Law’s expression but you were positive that he was gesturing towards you with his eyes, which you had no issues with since you just wanted the mosquitos to stop quarrelling. Zoro’s eyes went between you and Law, finally he pushed Sanji’s foot away from his face and clicked his tongue in annoyance as he walked towards the two of you. 
“Yeah listen to you boyfriend.” Sanji cooed as Zoro left. 
At that moment both you and Law knew that there was no way Zoro was going to spend the evening with the two of you. Beet read, Zoro turned back on his heel and they resumed their shout race they had with each other. You buried your face into Law’s chest as the two of you groaned. 
“Yeah there’s no way they’re going to stop anytime soon,” Law said, annoyance latched into his voice. “Maybe we could distract them or something?” 
“Zoro has a one track mind, I doubt we can distract the beast after he’s been awakened…” After a moment of silence a smile spread across your lips. “But I do have an idea that might work. We might not be able to distract Zoro but we can distract Sanji.” 
“With what exactly? I already share you with one man, I ain’t sharing you with another.” 
You laughed at the pure seriousness of his tone. 
“No not like that but we could act like the most nauseating lovesick couple ever and annoy the hell out of him.” 
“Are you sure that would work?” Law questioned raising an eyebrow. 
“We’ll never know until we try my sugar bear.” 
Law looked at you and as soon as you made eye contact with him you both started to laugh. 
“There’s no way we’re going to get through this without laughing,” Law said wiping a tear. “If you ever with all seriousness call me sugar bear I will dump you.” 
“Please do so, that just felt wrong.” 
But even if both of your stomachs churned each time you made kissy faces and called cute little nicknames at each other, you continued your attempt to distract Sanji. Surprisingly, you both managed to do it without breaking into a laughing fit and you could tell that Sanji was starting to get annoyed. The fact that Zoro was in a couple and he wasn’t (maybe he could find someone if he just stopped drooling over every goddamn woman he saw) just made him angry in a petty way. 
Honestly you’ve never seen Sanji like this before, he usually just called Zoro names or made fun of his hygiene but this Sanji, a Sanji enraged in seeing a lovey dovey couple at every corner… it frightened you. Of course he couldn’t say anything to you so that meant he focused all that rage towards Zoro which was the exact opposite of what both you and Law wanted. They started to get more violent, more verbal and to be completely honest their behavior threatened to ruin your whole mood. 
You were hoping that dinner would be the solution to everything, everyone was gathered around the table, the smell of Sanji’s cooking enticing everyone's noses and stomachs. Momentarily you saw Sanji, he was oddly calm and much like the Cheshire cat  his lips were spread out in a grin. Your stomach dropped at his expression, the cook had his gaze fixated on Zoro who was sitting right next to you, calmly scooping mashed potatoes into his plate. Law was on your other side and gently you nudged him with your knee, he followed your gaze and locked his eyes on Sanji as well. Ever so faintly you could hear the tattooed doctor groan. 
“Zoro, how does it feel to not be able to make your girlfriend happy?” he asked, humming. “How does it feel to need another man’s help to satisfy her?” 
Your mouth fell open at his words, never could you imagine Sanji hitting Zoro below the belt like that. Quickly your eyes switched towards Zoro, if looks could kill Sanji would be dead by now, he dropped the spoon and stood up, the chair falling to the ground as he did so. Law had his hand on your leg, his thumb going in circles as he tried to soothe your nerves. Everyone was dead silent and was holding their breaths. What would Zoro do? He would fight back obviously? Sanji was still smiling at him as Zoro’s glare intensified. 
Then Zoro did the unimaginable. He walked away. 
That seemed to take Sanji by surprise because momentarily you could see his smug look wavering and for a short moment you could see regret. But that didn’t stop you from lashing out. 
“Good job Sanji.” you spat. “Are you happy now?” 
“I...I…” 
Before the cook could finish his sentence you stomped away and went to find Zoro, Law followed you after excusing himself from the table. You could hear Nami scolding Sanji but you didn’t care about that right now. The only thing you cared about was Zoro, he already wasn’t the most comfortable about the relationship and Sanji had hit him right where it hurt. You searched the house for the green haired man, he was in none of the guest bedrooms, finally the two of you heard a groan and followed the angry mumbling. You saw light coming from a door that was cracked open and well behold Zoro was in the third guest bedroom. 
 “How did you end up here?” Law asked, genuinely curious. 
Zoro flinched at the voice and turned to stare at the both of you, quickly you closed the door as you entered the spacious toilet. 
“I...don’t know.” Zoro grunted, turning his gaze back to the mirror. 
You noticed droplets of water dripping down his face, it was clear that he was trying to calm himself down and honestly you were impressed by his tenacity. You placed your hand gently on his back, just as you were leaning in to check on his face he pushed you back. You gasped, surprised that he pushed you away. It wasn’t a strong shove but it still took you by surprise, Law took a step forward with his eyebrow furrowed as he glared at Zoro. 
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked. “Don’t take your anger out on y/n.” 
“He’s right.” 
“What?” you asked, your heart braking at the tone of Zoro’s voice. 
Zoro averted his eyes and as a plea for help you glanced at Law. He sighed and placed his hand on Zoro’s broad shoulder. 
“Look at me.” Law said firmly, Zoro, hesitant, lifted his gaze back up to face him. “You love y/n don’t you?”
Zoro nodded. 
“You love me too right?” 
Zoro sighed but nodded again. 
“See this isn’t about not being able to satisfy y/n, the three of us love each other. Sanji was just trying to piss you off and you know that.” 
“Yeah.” you chimed in also taking a step forward. “It’s also kind of our fault since we edged him on with the lovey dovey crap.” 
“Really? I haven’t noticed.” 
“Yeah well, you were busy trying to choke Sanji.” Law said, an amused smile on his lips. 
You also broke out into a smile when you saw Zoro finally giving in and chuckling. It looked like Law managed to get through his thick skull of his, taking a step forward you planted a soft kiss on Zoro’s cheek, he seemed surprised by that and gave you a confused look. 
“That’s for not losing your shit in front of everyone.” 
A faint shade of red colored his cheeks, Law patted Zoro on the shoulder and laughed. 
“Yeah good job! You somewhat kept your promise to y/n and me.” 
“We’re still annoyed at you though.” you said, pouting. 
Law nodded at your statement. Zoro sighed and rolled his eyes, it was nice to see him starting to relax. You knew well that he always felt calmer with the two of you, and even though that could be said for the three of you it was especially true for Zoro since he wasn’t the most emotionally open person in the relationship. 
Every beautiful rose has its thorns but when it came to Zoro it was worth it. 
“How about we go back,” Law said, gently pushing Zoro towards the door. “I bet everyone is worried.” 
You followed them both with a smile, Zoro had groaned a bit to Law’s statement but didn’t resist. When Law opened the door the three of you were surprised to see Sanji there, the blond flinched and quickly hit something behind his back, taking a step back he nervously started to tap his feet. 
“I-I wanted to apologize,” he stuttered. “To all three of you, what I said was in bad taste.” 
You locked eyes with Law and you could see in his gold orbs that he was as equally shocked as you were. Quickly your gaze fell back to Sanji who had his eyes locked to Zoro. 
“Yeah it was.” Zoro grumbled as he crossed his arms in front of him. 
“I especially wanted to apologize to you Zoro, I...I was just being an asshole.” he took in a deep breath. “I didn’t mean what I said, so here.” 
Quickly Sanji pulled out what he had stashed behind his back and shoved it into Zoro’s chest, both you and Law peered over his shoulders to see what it was, much to your surprise it was a present. Zoro raised his eyebrow and gave Sanji a confused look as he held the gift. 
“I got everyone a little something for Christmas, this is your present. I really didn’t want to make you upset, especially on Christmas.” Sanji said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. 
Zoro sighed and started to tore away the wrapping paper. Your curiosity grew. 
“Just because you bought me something doesn’t me— WHAT THE FUCK?” 
Zoro’s hands were shaking as he held a black shiny box, Karuizawa Vintage Single Cask Malt Whisky was written on top of it in gold. Behind it there were big red kanji symbols that you had no idea what it meant but apparently it was a big deal because Zoro’s hands were shaking and his mouth was agape. 
“Ohh fancy.” you here Law humming. 
“How did you get this you dumbass?” Zoro blurted out his eyes back on Sanji, the cook seemed amused by Zoro’s reaction. “Did you sell an organ or something?” 
“I have my connections,” Sanji replied with a smirk. “I’m guessing you like your present?” 
“You’re such a piece of shit you know that right?” 
From Sanji’s expression you could see that he wasn’t expecting that, his eyebrow twitched but he quickly took a deep breath and walked away muttering something about ungrateful moss heads. Zoro smirked and called out to him as he left. 
“Thank you!” 
Without glancing at their direction Sanji waved and disappeared from view. Your eyes went between the supposedly expensive bottle and Zoro, you could swear you could see sparkles in his eyes. 
“Should we leave you two alone?” you asked, teasing. 
“Oh shut up,” Zoro replied, hugging the bottle. “Alright let’s go back.” 
╚═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝
You let yourself fall on to the bed, it dipped under your weight and you sighed happily at the coziness of it. Franky and Robin sure as hell knew how to spoil guests. The rest of the night had gone, much to your pleasure, swimmingly. Sure Sanji and Zoro bickered now and then but it was more on the soft side, you could tell Sanji was holding back his vulgar mouth and Zoro’s teasing had become more playful after receiving the very expensive bottle of japanese whisky. 
Law quickly made his way to the shower, despite looking like a homeless college student he did shower quite often and Zoro had laid down on his stomach right next to you. He placed a kiss on your cheek, and grazed his lips against your skin making you giggle at the sensation. 
“Hey y/n,” Zoro whispered, his lips inching closer to your ear. “Let’s have sex.” 
“What?” you snorted. “Why now?” 
Zoro propped himself on his elbow and came closer to you, you could easily sniff the alcohol coming from his breath, a devilish smile spread across his lips. 
“The cook is next door, let’s make some noise.” 
“For the love of god Zoro,” you groaned. “This is you master plan to annoy him? It’s a pretty shit one. Besides you know I don’t moan.” 
“Come on, for me?”
“No,” you said again, furrowing your eyebrows. “Besides I don’t want to be included in this childish game.” 
Zoro flashed you a grin as he climbed on top of you and you rolled your eyes as you guessed what was going to come next. 
“Fine I’ll just have to make you moan then.”
“Yeah good luck with that.” 
He ignored your annoyed tone and snuck his hands under your shirt, his lips latched to your neck, Zoro’s fingers traced your body as you continued to lay down on your back. You let out a shaky breath when his hands brushed over your nipples. Zoro started to squeeze and knead you breasts, it felt good of course and small whines left you but that was pretty much as far as noise making went for you. 
Zoro left open mouthed kisses as he rolled up your shirt, exposing your breasts, he took a hold of each nipple and started to roll the sensitive nubs between his fingers. Your back arched with his touch, and he nibbled on your flushed neck. 
“Come on I want to hear you.” he muttered against your skin. 
But your lips were sealed shut, Zoro clicked his tongue in annoyance. Swiftly he lifted you up and pulled down your sweatpants followed with your underwear, you gasped when he shoved in two fingers. 
“You’re so wet,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Look how easy I can slide my fingers in to you y/n.” 
Your back arched as he fiercely started to thrust his digits in and out of you, your heart was beating madly in your chest as you let out shaky breaths. Zoro disappeared between your trembling legs and left a trail of open mouthed kisses up your thigh, occasionally he would nibble on your soft flesh as he traveled towards your heat. 
You weren’t going to lie, the man was really going all out for you to make some noise. 
“Zoro…” you whispered as you felt his breath ghosting over your clit, his fingers still thrusting in and out of you. 
“That’s a good start,” he chuckled. “But how about we get a bit louder?” 
Before you could snap back with a snarky remark, he wrapped his lips around your clit and started to suck on the already overly sensitive nub. Zoro hummed as he tasted you, your juices overflowing around his fingers. The lewd noises echoing inside of the room turned you on even more, your whole body shivered and you bit your bottom lip. You placed a hand behind his head and started to roll your hips accordingly to the rhythm of his sinful fingers. 
You weren’t sure but it felt as Zoro was smiling at you for slowly coming undone, he continued to suck, nibble and push in your clit with his tongue. He scissored his fingers inside of your, spreading your insides, searching for that sweet spot that he was sure that would make you scream. 
Too bad that you were one stubborn woman. 
Your toes curled, you flinched, trembled, occasionally whined and whispered his name but that was pretty much it. Zoro gradually became more annoyed at your silence, suddenly he pulled out his fingers strings of your juices following his digits, you gasped at the sudden emptiness. You glanced up at him and noticed that he was glaring at you, you raised an eyebrow to that. 
“This shouldn’t be a surprise to you.” you said, challenging his glare. 
“We’ll see about that.” he growled and shoved down his sweatpants, his cock slapped against his abdomen and needless to say you were impressed by his stubbornness. 
Zoro grabbed your hips and squeezed your love handles, aligning his cock with your hole he buried himself inside of you with one swift motion. Your eyes teared up a bit by the sudden feeling of being stretched out, your back arched and you gasped for air. Without giving you a chance to adjust he continuously slammed his hips in and out of you, your breasts bouncing and hitting you in the chest with each thrust. 
“Just make some noise woman.” Zoro grunted as he leaned in and buried his face into your neck, biting and sucking on your skin. 
You closed your eyes and started to lose yourself in the bliss, you couldn’t care less about Zoro’s ambition to make you scream and shout, you were just going to enjoy the ride. Just as you were losing yourself you opened your eyes back up as you heard a faint creak of a door opening. 
Law came out of the bathroom and steam followed him, with a white towel loosely wrapped around his waist, he was dabbing the excess water out of his hair with another towel. Momentarily he glanced at the top of you, unfazed he continued to dry his hair. An idea popped into your head and before Zoro realized that Law was out you furiously started to wiggle your eyebrows at him, he noticed and gave you a puzzled look. You turn your head to the night stand and look at the lube with such intensity that it looked like you were trying to summon the bottle to move towards you. Law understood the message, of course he did, he understood everything and with a grin he quickly grabbed the lube and dropped the towel flashing you a glimpse of his semi erect cock. 
You watched as he stood behind Zoro, pouring a generous amount of lube over his fingers, he spread Zoro’s cheeks and pushed in the tip of his two fingers. Zoro immediately jolted up and his thrusting slowed down, he turned enough to see that Law was behind him. 
“What the hell?” he hissed. 
“I want to join in on the fun too.” Law hummed.
Grabbing Zoro’s chin with his free hand, he pushed his finger deeper as he grazed his lips over Zoro’s. A smile spread across your face when you saw how red Zoro was getting as he parted his lips, wanting a kiss from Law. But instead of a kiss, Law smirked instead and curled his fingers, stealing a rather loud moan from Zoro. 
“Tell me what you want Zoro.” he whispered, his voice dripping with lust. 
Zoro swallowed as his eyes widened, you could swear you could hear his heart racing in his chest, you licked your lips at the sight and felt yourself becoming slicker at the scene playing in front of you. Unwillingly your insides clamped around Zoro’s cock and he let out a soft whimper. 
“Kiss me.” he breathed out, his voice trembling. 
Law placed his lips over Zoro’s, you watched intently as Zoro parted his lips allowing Law to slide his tongue inside. He moaned into the kiss and he slowly started to roll his hips, making you throw your head back as his shaft grazed against your puffy clit. Law continued to suck on Zoro’s tongue as he scissored his fingers inside of him, preparing Zoro for what was about to come. You could feel Zoro quivering inside of you, your mouth watered knowing how good he was feeling. 
Law broke the kiss and with a string of saliva connecting them he grinned at Zoro’s flustered state. He pulled out his fingers and Zoro whined at the loss of them, Law gently placed a kiss on the side of Zoro’s chin and aligned himself with his hole. With both hands squeezing Zoro’s hips, he started to push in. Zoro gasped at the feeling of being stretched open and his cock twitched inside of you. Law clenched his teeth. 
“You’re still so damn tight Zoro,” he breathed out. “I need to fuck you more often.” 
As a reply, Zoro let out a groan, you chuckled at that and saw Law move up his hands towards Zoro’s chest, he grabbed both of his breasts and squeezed them. Your eyes widened as Zoro’s back arched and let out a throaty moan. Law started to play with Zoro’s nipples, rolling the erect nubs between his slender fingers and pulling them occasionally. Zoro’s head fell back and Law continued to push in until he was fully sheathed. 
Law let out a shaky breath and decorated Zoro’s skin with open mouthed kisses, his hands fell back to Zoro’s hips and he pushed the green haired man forward so he would drop on all fours. Zoro’s face was an inch away from yours and his hands were on each side of your head. He was breathing heavily, the scent of alcohol and yourself still lingering in his breath. Pushing yourself up you captured Zoro’s lips with a kiss, you felt Law starting to thrust in and out of him, effectively making Zoro thrust in and out of you as well. Zoro moaned into your mouth as you sucked on his bottom lip, wanting to hear more of him you let go of his intoxicating lips. 
Zoro’s tongue lolled out of his mouth as Law’s thrusts became more intense, sweet moans left him nonstop, you could relate to him, getting fucked by Law was no easy task. The noise of skin slapping against skin was like a sweet serenade to your tainted ears, each time Law thrusted, Zoro thrusted deeper into you. You clawed Zoro’s back, you couldn’t stop watching him, Zoro was looking down at you between half lidded eyes, his cheeks a beet red and his tongue dangling with each thrust, his moans were gradually becoming louder. 
“Ahh...ahh...Law…” he mewled, pushing back into the doctor. “This is too much.” his voice trembled and you could swear you could see his eyes glistening with tears. 
“I’m just starting Zoro.” Law purred and as a demonstration he pulled his hips all the way back  and snapped them back, pushing his throbbing cock in all at once. 
Law rammed his cock into Zoro’s deepest parts and it was just too much for him to handle. You could tell that he hated how good Law was making him feel, hated how he couldn’t stay quiet and hated how he was already coming undone by Law slamming into him, lewd noises of his balls slapping against his flushed skin was enough to make him want to disappear. 
Lost in the pleasure, Zoro didn’t notice Law grabbing his green hair. He pulled at Zoro’s hair, and as a response his hiss could be heard. 
With each thrust Law was able to rip a throaty moan from Zoro, he buried his face into the crook of your neck. Without a hint of shame in his voice Zoro screamed out, he moaned, he groaned and he begged Law to let him cum. 
His voice echoed throughout the whole goddamn house and by the end of the night everyone would know who was making him feel good. A wicked smirk spread across Law’s lips. 
“Law!” Zoro shouted, his voice echoing. 
“Yeah that’s right, scream my name.” Law teased, grinning at you and winking. 
Zoro didn’t reply and instead continued to moan out Law’s name, he sometimes even moaned yours as well, his arms trembled as he struggled to keep himself up so he wouldn’t end up squashing you. You felt yourself growing closer and closer to your orgasm, Zoro’s cock throbbed inside of you, his length now drenched in your juices, you slightly lifted your hips so he could hit that special spot inside of you, normally you would ask but you weren’t sure he could even hear you over his own moans at this point. 
Also wanting revenge for earlier, you lifted yourself up as much as you could, you licked a stripe down Zoro’s neck and ended on his breasts, with one hand you rolled his erect nipples between your fingers and with your mouth you sucked on the other one. 
“Y/n what are you— Ahh!” 
You bit into the sensitive nub and violently sucked on it, Zoro shivered and pressed his chest further into your face. He always did like to have his nipples teased. Your tongue went in circles, the way he whimpered and moaned on top of you made you want to tease him further. You took another bite and sucked, hoping to leave a mark. Falling back you witnessed your masterpiece, even now you could see a dark circle forming around Zoro’s nipple. Just as you were going to suck on the other one, you were pushed back as Zoro basically fell on top of you. Momentarily your gaze landed on Law, he was looking down at both of you, his eyes dark with lust.  
Law’s grip on Zoro’s hips tightened, his movement grew sloppier as he chased his own orgasm. Law flashed you one last grin before plunging himself deep into Zoro groaning, as he came and of course him plunging into Zoro meant that Zoro was burying himself into your deepest parts as well, you saw white as you came, you juices dripping on to the sheets. Zoro was twitching inside of you, his mouth wide open and his eyes crossed as he screamed out Law’s name over and over again. 
Law pulled Zoro out of you, his cock was still hard as a rock. Law motioned you to get on your knees, which you did, Law wrapped his fingers around Zoro’s cock and stroked him until he was cumming all over your face, thick ropes of cum shooting out of him. Your eyelashes felt heavy with his cum, you darted his tongue out and gave it a little taste, it was bittersweet. You looked up to gaze at Zoro, he seemed completely out of it, he was still panting looking down at you with awe, you grinned and stuck your tongue out showing him that his seed was still lingering in your mouth. He shivered. 
“Let’s get you into a shower.” Law said as pulled out, softly slapping him in the ass. 
Without saying anything Zoro let Law and you guide him to the bathroom, his cheeks were still beet red. 
╚═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝
Breakfast was certainly more entertaining, at least it was entertaining for you and Law, Zoro much like an embarrassed child kept his gaze on his plate, Sanji on the other hand...he couldn’t even look at either of you. Whenever he did, he would look away and blush. It was amusing to see them both so silent, it pleased you. 
And of course it pleased Law as well. 
Law wrapped his arm around Zoro’s shoulder and placed the weight of his body on to him, forcing him to press down further into the chair. Zoro let out a yelp, you hadn’t noticed right away but it seemed like Zoro couldn’t quite sit down right, both you and Law chuckled as all eyes turned to the three of you. Your poor green haired partner blushed and tried to cover up his yelp with a cough, this seemed to work on all of them except for Sanji who was now blushing furiously as he excited the kitchen. 
Zoro’s master plan had worked after all.  
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hoplessdreamer9796 · 3 years
Text
BTS 8th Member - All Grown Up; Part 2
The BTS members realise their Y/N is all grown up. Set in 2016 Y/N age is 20 internationally and 22 Korean age. She isn’t a billionaire yet but is still very wealthy.
Read “BTS 8th Member - All Grown Up; Part 1” first.
Haeje, meaning release, is the name of a club (made up), in this au the club makes everyone sign non-disclosure agreements before entering and also takes your phone away. Which is why it’s going to be the regular club for Y/N in this au.
A-Lounge is also a made up club but won’t be mentioned as a regular.
Y/N - Your Name N/N - Nick Name
(English conversation is written in bold)
An hour(ish) later…
The 7 of them all walked into Haeje, having just signed the non-disclosure agreements and handing their phones in. Jimin raised his arms and sighed in deeply, “Aaahh home sweet home.” Jin rolled his eyes at him. They soon made their way to the booth and settled down, ordering drinks and joking around. Yoongi ordering an expensive drink he didn’t even like just to spite Jimin for making him go outside. Jimin just laughed at him and Yoongi glared.
A while later Jimin and Taehyung were on the dance floor with random girls. While the other five were sat around the table drinking and talking. Taehyung came back to the table and sat down against Jin sadly. Yoongi looked at him, “What happened to that girl who’s tongue you were trying to swallow?” Taehyung ignored the dig, sighed in disappointment and shook his head. “She asked if I’d have a threesome with her and her boyfriend.” Taehyung said face scrunched up in disgust. Everyone laughed at him. “At least Jimin lucked out.” Hoseok said. Taehyung pouted and said, “That bitch.” Everyone laughed at him.
Jimin was on the dance floor having the time of his life. This girl was hot, and he was 100% getting laid tonight. Nothing could go wrong… Which is what Jimin thought. But of course, the universe hates him.
As he was dancing with the girl, whose name was Taera, his eyes scanned around the club. Some girl making out with one guy and then making out with another guy on her other side. Good for her. Some guy awkwardly standing on the dance floor, looking like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole, while a girl was practically dancing on top of him. Bad for him. A girl and a guy both taking a shot and then competing over who could chug a beer faster. Definitely the girl the guy already looked drunk off his face and was spilling his beer.
Taera pulled Jimin closer and he looked back down at her. But alarm bells went off in his head and his eyes widened. He whipped his head back over to the boy and girl. It was Y/N who was now laughing at Hangyeol who was pouting at his defeat. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He saw Y/N and all of her friends at a booth drinking. He also saw who he assumed was Kyungseok being very touchy with Y/N. Fuck, this wasn’t good. Didn’t she say that they were going to some other club. What is Jimin supposed to do? Fuck you Y/N. Jimin thought to himself, he was going to have to sacrifice a sure thing to save you. He apologised to the girl, “Sorry this probably would have been fun, like really, really fun, but this is an emergency.” He kissed her cheek and then darted back to their table. Leaving a confused Taera in his wake.
“Hey guys this is fun right? Great! Well, that’s enough fun. Let’s go.” He said frantically trying to rush his members up. They all looked at him like he’d gone insane. Namjoon tugged him down by his arm, “We’re not going anywhere. We just got here.” He said to Jimin. Taehyung looked at him smugly, “Why? Did you strike out with that girl?” Taehyung asked him. Jimin scowled at him. “No. For your information I told her I wasn’t interested because I wanted to go home.” Jimin told him matter of factly, trying to hide his nerves.
All of a sudden, they heard a commotion on the other side of the club and looked over. Someone had dropped a glass on the floor and the table was cheering at him. “Hey, aren’t they Y/N’s friends?” Jin asked. Jimin laughed nervously. “Whaaat? Oh, they are what a coincidence.” Jimin said tapping his feet. Namjoon got that feeling in his gut again. He squinted his eyes at Jimin. Jimin was flailing his arms around and rambling, obviously trying to distract them. But from what? Namjoon’s eyes scanned around the club. There was nothing special until he saw it.
Y/N.
His Y/N was dancing with some random guy at a nightclub after saying that she’d be at her parents.
His N/N-ie lied to him.
He was feeling too many emotions to even comprehend right now. “Y/N?” Namjoon asked out loud but it was more disbelieving than curiosity, because that was definitely her. Jin looked at him. “What?” Jin asked him confused. Namjoon wordlessly pointed over in Y/N’s direction, she was laughing at something the guy said.
Jin gasped loudly gaining the rest of his members attention. “What is it hyung?” Hoseok asked Jin concerned. “N/N-ie is over there dancing with some random man whore.” Jin was seething. He knew his princess had been to clubs before. But that was always with Jimin or all of them. She never even showed interest in any guys, always just drinking and hanging out with them. Why would she lie about going to a club? It’s not like they ever stopped her from hanging out with her friends. But as she leaned up to kiss the guy she was dancing with he soon got his answer. The thought of Y/N with a boy made him furious. No wonder she didn’t tell them.
Jin cautiously looks over at the rest of the guys. Namjoon is just sat there disbelievingly. Taehyung moth won’t stop opening and closing as he takes in the scene. Hoseok looks shocked, his eyes wide. Jungkook’s brows furrowed in anger. Yoongi just looked at Y/N and the guy expressionless. “Who the fuck is that?” Yoongi spoke in an angry tone, glaring at the guy whose hands are dangerously low on Y/N’s waist. Jimin sighed in defeat. “What the hell? She said she was visiting her parents?” Hoseok asked angrily. Namjoon snapped out of his shocked state and glared over at Jimin. “Did you know about this?” Jimin looks at him shocked and chokes on air. Spluttering he replies, “What? No! Of course not!” Seeing the unimpressed look his members give him he backtracks, “Okay yeah I knew.” All of his members glare at him and he chuckles nervously. “Just remember N/N-ie is the one with a random guy.”
They all simultaneously look over to Y/N’s direction. “What the hell is hedoing?” Taehyung questioned in disgust, watching this dickhead grinding on dongsaeng. They watched as Y/N tugged the guy down buy his collar to kiss him. Jin practically squawked in disbelief flailing his arms about, “What the hell is she doing?” He asked in horror. Yoongi felt his muscles tense and his fists clench as he saw the stranger’s hands wandering down Y/N’s body. “He’s dead.” He said angrily standing up in order to go punch the guy and then scream at Y/N. “What? No, you psycho, sit down!” Jimin said pushing Yoongi down into his seat. “Why did you think she didn’t tell you guys in the first place? Huh? Because she knew you’d react like this.” Jimin said pacing in front of them waving his arms around. “She so much as looks at a guy and you practically have a stroke. Let the girl breathe. She’s 22 years old (Korean age). If you flip out at her now you’ll only push her away. She didn’t do anything wrong.” Jimin exhaled deeply after his rant. As if he had finally been able to breathe.
To him it felt as if he had gotten rid of a heavy weight. He saw the guilt you felt at lying to the guys, but he also knew what it was like to need an escape. You were smart, it’s not like you would do anything too stupid. He hated that you felt suffocated and had to pretend about any aspect of your life in your own home when they already had to do that so much for work.
A few minutes ago
Y/N was having a great time. All of her friends had arrived at Haeje a while ago, unknowingly just minutes after the rest of her members. They drank and joked momentarily forgetting about life outside the club walls. Kyungseok was practically clinging to her, the non-disclosure agreement letting him do so freely. A guy came over to Soomi and asked her to dance to which her friends cheered at. Hangyeol was waved but still challenged Y/N to a drinking contest. To which she obviously won. Hangyeol’s catch of the night consoled him while he sulked. Kyungseok leaned closer to Y/N, “Want to dance?” He asked her, his voice purposefully deeper in suggestion. She smirked at him and nodded downing her bourbon which had been refilled countless times.
Once they were on the dance floor Y/N saw that Kyungmin, who was terrible at drinking and was already drunk after a few drinks, dropped a glass to which her friends all laughed and cheered. She chuckled lowly at her friends before Kyungseok pulled Y/N close wanting her attention back on him and not her friends. She felt a flash of annoyance at his neediness before pushing it away and smiling at him falsely.
She closed her eyes; The base of the music felt as if it was beating in sync with her heartbeat. The dim lighting made her feel invisible and the touch of another person, his hands on her waist and lips on her neck made her feel pleasure. The combination made her feel alive. She wasn’t an idol or a CEO, she was nobody and it felt amazing.
Kyungseok moved his lips to her ear, “I thought we’d never get time alone.” He said to her biting her ear. She laughed amused at his eagerness pulling him closer. Unknown to her that all of her members were watching her. She tugged him down by the collar of his shirt before connecting their lips. They kissed hurriedly, tongues battled for dominance as she ran her fingers through his hair, tugging at the strands and he groaned into her lips. He pulled her closer. As his hands started drifting down she pulled away from him, her teeth tugging at his lower lip as she did. She smirked as she felt him shiver at the action. She left kisses down his jawline and neck up to his ear, feeling him grip her waist tighter. “Do you wanna get out of here?” Y/N whispered to him. He grinned down at her, “Hell yeah.”
They went back to the booth and grabbed their things, Y/N handed Daeho her one of her cards to pay for everything when her friends left. He shook his head, “It’s okay I can pay.” She just looked at him pointedly before looking at the table littered with countless liquors. He grimaced as he looked around the table that had many expensive bottles not to mention the table itself. “I might have to sell my house, but I can pay.” He felt guilty that Y/N always paid for everything. She just smiled and kissed his cheek, “You paid for dinner, this is on me.” She said, he sighed in defeat before taking the card. Pouting he said, “Thank you.” She just laughed, said goodbye hugging him and he kissed her cheek.
Kyungseok grabbed her hand the second she stepped away from Daeho and started to lead her away from the table towards the exit. “Get it N/N-ie!” Hanbin yelled looking away from the girl he was talking to. All of her friends cheered causing Y/N to laugh at them before leaving but not before she put her mask on. They got a cab back to the hotel.
Back at BTS’s booth they were still watching them. As Y/N pulled back from the mystery guy her teeth tugged at his lip, Jungkook groaned in horror, “Eww, that’s disgusting.” He said looking away from the scene. Y/N whispered something to him, and they went back to the table. Unknowingly with seven pairs of eyes planted firmly on them. They watched her interaction with Daeho when all of a sudden they were leaving. Namjoon jumped up from his seat, “She’s leaving. Where does she think she’s going? Is she leaving with him?” The members all gathered their things but Jimin stepped in front of them trying to block their path and reason with them. Yoongi glared at Jimin when he couldn’t see Y/N anymore. Jimin nervously tugged at his collar before he stepped aside.
They rushed past Jimin quickly to get their phones with him trailing behind them, “You guys are being ridiculous, what are you going to do? Hunt her down and ground her?” Jimin asked sarcastically as they all waited at the entrance desk for their phones. Jin nodded enthusiastically, “Oh yeah. Until she’s 50.” Jimin just looked done with life. Namjoon called the private car that they arranged picked up the seven. Taehyung sighed frustrated as there was no Y/N in sight.
The atmosphere in the car was tense as they were driven towards their dorm. They sat in silence, everyone processing what had happened. After they got there they all sat in the living room. Jimin eyes darted between his friends nervously. They continued to sit in silence. Until Hoseok broke the silence, “Well, what do we do?” “Call her.” Yoongi said immediately, his voice tense. Jimin rolled his eyes and folded his arms in resignation at how dramatic his friends were being. Namjoon got his phone out before calling Y/N and putting in on speaker phone.
Ring, ring, ring.
“Hello?” Y/N answered in English. Namjoon didn’t answer. He didn’t know what to say. “Oppa are you okay? What’s wrong?”Namjoon looked at his members, “Nothing’s wrong princess. Are you still at your parents’?” He asked, in Korean, hoping that she would fess up. “Yeah oppa. We skyped Adriel and Adonis. How about you guys?” Namjoon couldn’t believe how easy it was for Y/N to lie to him. He used to always be able to tell when she lied, or he at least thought he did. Since when was she able to lie so well? Namjoon felt uneasiness swirl in his stomach.
“Joonie oppa you there? Are you sure you’re okay? Do you need me to come home?” Y/N asked concern lacing her voice. Namjoon let out a breath. “Would you come home if I asked you to right now?” Namjoon asked her. “Of course I would. Oppa what’s wrong? You’re scaring me.” She questioned in Korean. A warm feeling engulfed him. She would come home to them. He was tempted to do it. But N/N-ie never got a real childhood and would never get to be a normal 20 year old. She was a smart kid he knew that. As much as he wanted to get her away from that random guy, he also wanted her to live her life. “You’re okay right?” Namjoon asked in English. Seokjin’s phone vibrated and he pulled it out, “Oppa check on Namjoon oppa I’m worried about him. Is everything okay? Should I come home?” Jin’s heart softened, even if she didn’t say it often, she loved them a lot. And Jin loved her too, which is why he wanted to get her away from that no doubt STD ridden guy. He showed the text to Namjoon who’s lips tugged up at the text. “Yeah oppa I’m fine.”She said. “Okay Y/N have fun. Bye.” He said hurriedly before one of his members could stop him. “Bye.” Y/N said sounding confused. Namjoon quickly hung up.
He could feel his members, bar Jimin, glaring at him. He ducked his head down to avoid their eyes. Jin quickly texted Y/N saying that Namjoon was fine and that they had a few drinks, so he was emotional. He was tempted to tell her that they knew what she was doing, and she had to come home but for some reason he just couldn’t. She texted him back saying to call her if they need anything.
Yoongi glared at Namjoon, “What the hell is wrong with you? You were supposed to get her to come home not tell her to have fun. The whole problem is that she’s having way too much fun.” Namjoon laughed nervously, “We can talk to her about it tomorrow.” He said dismissively. Yoongi scoffed. “This is ridiculous.” He said pulling his phone out and calling someone. “What are you doing?” Jimin asked in panic. “Calling her mother and simply telling her that Y/N left her laptop here. Since she’s apparently at her parents.” Yoongi said putting his phone on speakerphone.
“Hello? Yoongiah?” Almira asked curiously wondering why her daughter’s member called her. “Hello Eomonim, sorry for calling so late it’s just that Y/N left her laptop here and I was wondering if she’d need it since she has meetings tomorrow? I tried calling her, but she didn’t pick up.” Yoongi said hearing her pause. “Her phone is probably out of charge. Don’t worry about it Yoongiah, I’m pretty sure anything she needs Sooah will have.” Yoongi was confused. “I’m surprised Y/N didn’t come back for it since she’s staying at yours and has meetings tomorrow.” Yoongi said, eyes squinted at the phone. “Yes, she doesn’t go anywhere without that thing. I’m glad she left it. Her and her brothers are catching up and since it’s been a while I’m happy.” What the hell was going on? All of the members looked at each other in confusion. “Yoongiah I’ll tell Y/N you called okay?” She said to him kindly. He nodded in shock before realising she couldn’t see him. “Yes, Eomonim thank you. Have a good night.” He said to her. She said bye and hung up.
“What’s going on?” Jin asked confused as fuck at Y/N’s mother’s response. “Did noona actually make her mom lie to us?” Jungkook asked in disbelief. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.” Hoseok says resigned, before he looks over at Jimin who looks back at him weirdly, noticing his stare. “What?” Jimin asks. “Unless you know where she is.” Jimin stared at him in disbelief. “You know what? No. No, I don’t know where she is.” He lied. “And If I did know I wouldn’t tell you.” Jimin said glaring at them his lips in a thin line. Hoseok looked at him in disbelief. “Are you serious? She’s out there with some guy doing…” He trailed off his face twisted into a grimace. “Sex! She’s having sex!” Jimin snapped. “What’s the big deal?”
Yoongi glared at him, “She’s too young.” Jimin scoffed at him. “We all know Jungkook’s had his fair share. What makes Y/N so different? Oh, wait Y/N’s actually older than him so tell me why then!” Yoongi glared but didn’t say anything. Jimin raised his eyebrow at everyone else, all of whom looked away from him. Jimin stomped away from the living room to his room. Everyone else eventually dispersed.
Jimin slammed the door to his room and leaned back in his bed. Groaning in frustration at his member’s attitudes towards the situation. He hated this. He hated the lies but after observing the reaction his members had he knew you had made the right choice. Even he started to feel like you did something wrong with the way the guys were acting. But he knew no matter what he was on your side with this. Because he understood. He knew what is was like to need a distraction and while originally upset about her attitude towards relationships and more importantly her hiding it from them, he grew to accept it after she explained it to him. Explained how she felt like she needed an escape from their crazy lives, how this was the only way she felt like a person at times. And fuck did he understand that.
A while ago
The taxi dropped Kyungseok off at the hotel while Y/N went to the nearest convenience store to buy a phone charger as she forgot hers, she also didn’t want to be seen walking into the hotel with Kyungseok, just in case.
After buying a charger she went into the hotel. Meeting the concierge at the desk she lowers her mask before smiling at him. “Hello Manshik-shi.” The man in his 30’s smiles back at her friendlily. “Good evening Miss Kim.” She frowned at him playfully, “I thought we agreed you wouldn’t be so formal with me.” He laughed lightly before nodding, “Okay Y/N-shi. Here is your room card, your friend has already collected his.” Y/N smiled at him in thanks. He gave her the room key and she tipped him ₩5,000,000. He smiled at her thankfully but in all honesty it was well deserved. During all of her drunken flings at this hotel no media outlet ever found out about it. She smiled at him friendlily before wishing him a good night and raised her mask heading towards the lift.
Before she could press the button her phone rang. She furrowed her brows and wondered why Namjoon would call her. A few minutes later the call ended, and she had texted Jin before getting in the lift. She pressed the button for her floor before the lift doors closed. She then leaned her head back on the mirrors and closed her eyes. She let out a sigh. Of course, she felt guilty for lying to the guys, but she knew that they would go nuts. In their eyes she was still that wide eyed teenager who had to look after her family and had no one looking after her. She was still their baby to the members older than her.
Not to mention how protective Jungkook was of her, ‘his noona’ as he called her. Who he adored. He looked up to her so much and she didn’t deserve it. In his eyes she could do no wrong and no guy was worth her time. Jungkook was practically a guard dog when it came to men, jealous when anyone took his noona’s attention away from him. It was adorable and she loved him, but it made her feel as if she had to put up a front with him. Pretend to be a better person than she was.
But when he looked at her with doe brown eyes that sparkled in admiration resembling the way her younger brothers look at her, she realised that there is nothing she wouldn’t do for him and their members. So, she would continue to put up this front, pretend to be that girl from 4 years ago if it made them happy.
She’s a twenty year old girl with so many responsibilities that she feels like she will crumble under the pressure at times. But the sex and alcohol are distractions, during that time in a hotel room it’s only her and the other person, whoever that may be. She knew that booze and sex weren’t exactly the healthiest coping mechanisms, but it worked for her.
And truth be told she didn’t have anywhere near enough time for a relationship. In all honesty she didn’t want one. In her mind she was the last person who should ever be in a relationship. She’s terrible with affection and practically emotionally retarded. She can hug someone casually but in an emotional situation you’d probably find more comfort in hugging a rock. She’s fucked up and the thought of a committed relationship makes her feel uneasy.
So, she’d continue the meaningless flings. Continue her (not really friends) friends with benefits situation for as long as she could and when Kyungseok decided that he either wants more from her or to break up she would move on to the next guy and repeat. It was the easiest thing for her to do. The alcohol coursing through her veins prevented her from thinking any more about how screwed up she is and stopped her muscles from tensing too much, it created a pleasant buzz that resounded throughout her body.
Opening the room door, she sees Kyungseok on the bed on his phone, he looks up at her and smiles turning his phone off. She walk over to him slowly and sits next to him. She turns her head and stares into his eyes, putting a hand on his cheek, he sighs and leans into her hand for a moment before leaning down to kiss her. She soon forgets about life outside the four walls of the hotel room. (You can guess what happens here)
Around 5am
Y/N wakes up to the vibration of her phone under her pillow, she had set an alarm on the lowest vibration setting. Squinting in confusion as to why she set an alarm at this unholy hour she was about to go back to sleep until she felt the weight around her waist. Snapping her eyes open she sees Kyungseok next to her and then remembers where she is along with the events of last night.
She carefully removes his arm in order to not wake him and walks over to her duffel bag, that Sungmin oppa left, and pulls out her clothes, quickly changing before collecting her clothes and heels from last night that were scattered around the floor and stuffing them in the bag. After wearing the pair of trainers she packed and the coat from last night, she puts on her mask and cap before searching the bag pocket for the keys to Romeo.
After making sure she had everything she looked back at Kyungseok to make sure she hadn’t woken him. She was about to leave the room but hesitated for a moment. She tilts her head to the side before sighing and walked over to the nightstand, where there was a complementary notepad and pen with the hotel’s logo on them. She scribbled something down before tearing the note from the pad and placing it on her pillow and then silently left the room.
Unknown to her Kyungseok was awoken by the vibrations from her phone just like he was every time. And just like every time he silently watched her walk away from him so easily when it was so hard for him. But then he saw stop walking and as she was about to turn around he quickly closed his eyes. He heard her footstep come towards him and he hated the flutter of hope that felt. He felt confused when her heard her pick up something from the nightstand and soon after heard a tearing sound, followed by disappointment when he heard her footsteps walking away and the quiet beeping of the hotel room door.
Opening his eyes fully he saw a piece of paper on her pillow and reached out for it. ‘Last night was fun love. I have work soon but get whatever you want for breakfast, it’s on me.’ He knew she was lying, that she doesn’t have any plans early in the day or she would have left earlier like she normally does when she has something scheduled for the mornings. Despite knowing this he can’t help his racing heartbeat at the thought that maybe one day he could mean something more to her. Shifting in the bed he lays his head down on the pillow she used, engulfed in her scent he falls back to sleep the paper still clutched in his hand.
Y/N sighs after exiting the hotel room, feeling guilty for leaving without a word, but it was easier this way. The thought of waking up with someone was like making a promise that she would be there the next time as well. That she was there for more than the sex when in truth she wasn’t. And the last thing she wanted was to play with someone’s feelings, so she let Kyungseok know at every possible opportunity that this meant nothing to her, that it was just sex.
Walking out she sees Manshik still at the concierge’s desk. When he sees her he smiles and she returns the gesture with a wave. Leaving the hotel, that convinienty and thankfully didn’t have doormen at night, she walked into the car park towards the usual place in which Sungmin usually parks her car. After finding Romeo she puts her bag in the back seat before driving to the dorm to shower and sleep.
Unaware of the shit storm that was going to happen after she woke up.
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all-that-tmnt-jazz · 3 years
Note
I thought of this idea and was curious if you’d be able to do head cannons on it because your writing is amazing— how would the turtles react to having a human S/O that can turn into a mutant whenever they please?
Ooh I like this one!!
Warnings: Swearing.
Incarnation: Bayverse
Extra Info: The mutant the reader can turn into will be different for each turtle- don’t worry, I’ll explain each one.
Leo:
So, your mutation never really came up in conversation
However, it only came up because you had (accidentally) been dragged into a fight with the Foot Clan
You and Leo had been on a date when Donnie had reported Foot Clan activity not far from your apartment
He tried to convince you to lock yourself inside, but you figured it would be a good time to reveal yourself
So, you managed to be dragged into the fight a few blocks away, joined by Raph, Donnie, and Mikey
You watch the boys struggle. You want to help, but you also want to wait for the perfect time
So you wait until you’re being cornered by four Foot Clan soldiers, and the brothers are busy
Perfect.
One of the Foot Clan soldiers tries to throw a small knife at you…
And you caught it.
“Shouldn’t have done that.”
You throw the knife back and hit the soldier
Using the distraction, you turn
The next time the soldiers look at you, wings have sprouted from your back, your eyes have gotten much larger, talons had grown from your fingertips and through your shoes, and your legs had gotten longer to a scary extent.
You are a half-human half-owl mutant.
“It’s showtime.”
You jumped off of the ground and immediately grabbed two of the three soldiers that had tried to attack you
You flew up above the city, not afraid to press your talons into their skin
You unashamedly flung the two Foot Clan soldiers into the Hudson, then watched them struggle as the current pulled them
You went back to the alleyway where the turtles were, watching from far above as they were continuing to fight the Foot Clan soldiers.
It was like they didn’t notice.
You dove down into the alley and pulled up at the last second, grabbing Foot Clan soldiers as you went.
You dropped them into the Hudson as well
You went back to the turtles, who had retreated to the rooftops to converse about what jus happened.
You were able to grab Leo and brought him many, many blocks away, and he was fighting the entire time
You put him down and landed in front of him- it was weird being taller than him for once…
You turned back, and he gasped.
“Y/N… That was… You?”
You nodded.
“I figured I should tell you at some point but it never came up in conversation.”
He just looked at you, unsure of what to think
He pulled you to his plastron and held you, then pulled your chin up gently
“You’re fucking amazing.”
Raph:
Raph always noticed you looking at him
Especially since oftentimes, you would be looking sad
You knew you had to tell him at some point, but it hurt your heart too much
You had gotten cursed and your lifespan became elongated
Also known as semi-immortal
And Raph was not
You’re body has been 18 for years, but you’re actually nearing your 30s
That was why you had been so against getting into a relationship
You denied him every time he asked you, until the day he turned 19- just to be sure
That was three years ago, and you started seeing signs that he wanted to propose
And you were proven right, one night at dinner
It was just you and him at the Lair- he had talked his brothers into leaving him behind while going on patrol this night
Things were going well, yes, but you knew the reason why he wanted to be alone with you
“Y/N, I’ve loved you for years. I want to be your for the rest of my life, if you’ll let me be in the rest of yours.”
You started crying.
He smiled, thinking they were happy tears
“Raph, I… I don’t know.”
His face dropped, but he nodded
“It’s okay, Darling. You aren’t ready, and I shouldn’t-”
“I’m not mortal, Raph.”
There was a long silence between you two
You tried to stop crying
“I’m semi-immortal, Raph. I… I got cursed years ago. I stop aging and will die eventually, just later than you because my life span will be longer… Much longer… Maybe even by centuries, I don’t know…”
He just stared at you, confused, and almost hurt
The only noise was your crying
You didn’t know what to do
Raph kneeled on the ground in front of you, all possible hurt gone from his face
“Y/N, how old are you really?”
“Um… 29. I’ve been physically 18 for-”
“11 years?” Raph asked you, shocked.
You could only nod.
“That’s why you kept saying no- it felt wrong to you.”
You nodded again. 
He hugged you. You tensed, but soon relaxed into him when you realized he wouldn’t be letting go
“Is there anything you can control?”
“I… Just… Yeah.”
“May I ask what it is?”
You hiccupped- you had a bad feeling of where this was going.
“Age manipulation…”
“What?”
“Age manipulation. I can accelerate or reverse the age of organisms and non-living objects…”
You knew the lightbulb went off in his head the moment you said it
He let go of the hug, but remained holding your shoulders
“Raph, I know what your thinking, but no! It can backfire and you-”
“I don’t care-”
“You could forget memories, people, places. You could forget your brothers, even me!”
There’s another long silence
You see the light drain slowly from his eyes
You shrugged his hands from your shoulders and put your face in your hands
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have let it come this far…”
He hugged you again, pulling you off of your chair to put you in his lap
“You’re worth that risk, Y/N.”
“Raph, your brothers-”
“I can’t forget them- I have too many scars and too many memories to forget those assholes.”
You chuckled dryly. 
“I’m sorry for not telling you.”
“It’s okay. You were scared… I know it’s easy to be scared when you have such a big secret to hide.”
You nodded against his plastron and snuggled as close as you could
“I love you, Raph,” you tell him. “I really do.”
“I love you forever.”
You smiled- genuinely.
“Then, yes.”
“Yes?” he asked. “What do you mean?”
“To your proposal. I’m saying yes.”
He held you even tighter
Donnie:
Despite loving Donnie with your whole heart, it was hard to be around him while he was in his lab
He had so many thoughts running through his head, it was hard to keep track
So, you often spent your time in the kitchen, talking to you deceased mother
You possess telepathic powers, and you are also a necromancer
You can hear thoughts and speak to the dead after a freak accident you witnessed in your mother’s lab years ago
It was the accident that killed her, but you didn’t know that until your father told you to prepare for her funeral
That was five years before you met Donnie
You were 17 when you met him four years ago, and had been dating for three of them.
You had been able to control it when you were 17, but then when you met Donnie, you had to re-learn
You had never met someone who thinks so much, and so loudly
You can listen to the thoughts of his brothers, too, and you find Leo’s is the most entertaining
(You’ve never heard him physically swear, but his mind is like a sailor)
But Donnie’s is the one who overwhelms you.
“Y/N, you need to tell him,” you mother says to you. “I can tell he’s starting to feel bad- you keep leaving without explanation.”
“I know, Ma. I just-”
“Y/N, who are you talking to?”
You’re heart stopped for a moment. You slowly looked at the doorway, where Donnie loomed
He was totally confused
Thoughts ran through his head
Are they okay? Is something wrong? Maybe they’re just talking to themself. Yeah-
“You’re wrong.” you say to him.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“I know. I still heard what you were thinking.”
“I’m sorry- you heard what I was thinking?”
You glanced at your mother, who had moved to stand next to Donnie
She nodded before disappearing
“I possess telepathic powers, and I’m a necromancer. I was talking to my mom- about telling you, actually.”
Donnie looks at you, shocked
His thoughts were louder than ever and were moving faster than you had ever heard
You covered your ears and closed your eyes- like that would help
He noticed this, and realization
They way I think is like someone screaming in your ear as loud as possible?
He thinks, knowing you were listening
“Yeah. I… I’m sorry,” you whisper, not moving
He approached you, but you didn’t see.
That’s why you leave the lab so suddenly sometimes? It gets overwhelming?
You nod.
He gently removes your hands from your ears and you finally look up at him
He smiles at you, almost guilty
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Don. You can’t help it.”
He takes you into his arms and holds you close
“Thank you for telling me, Y/N. Is there anything I can do?”
Mikey:
Okay, your mutation isn’t too spectacular
But it’s a mutation nonetheless
You were a test subject of the first recreation of mutagen that Shredder ordered Sacks and Stockman to make
But the Shredder and Sacks soon realized you wanted to rebel
Besides, your body was having different effects than they had hoped
So, they released you
And you went to the police
But did they believe you? No.
But a few years later, you saw Shredder fall. You saw Sacks get arrested.
Oh, now the NYPD listens
And when the man who “saved New York” was revealed, you immediately could tell he didn’t
“The Falcon” was a fake- you were surprised that everyone believe his story
Then two more years go by, and Shredder escapes prison, and then a “threat from the sky” tried to attack
But it was stopped- supposedly by “The Falcon” again
But this time, you knew it couldn’t have been him
A week after the incident, you saw a police escort heading toward Lower Manhattan
So, you followed.
Well, hitched a ride on the back of one of the trucks- which was easy in your mutant form
You hid when they stopped, then followed the path the officers made to a boat
In your mutant form, they let you onto the boat without question
Then, you saw the things that actually saved the city, proving your point
They were four turtle-human mutants- like yourself, but different animals. Obviously.
As the boat started to leave the docks, you approached the turtles, only you knowing that you shared their status as mutants
The one wearing an orange bandana immediately started cooing at you, picking you up off of the ground
“What a cute kitty… Leo, can we keep it?” he asked the turtle with the blue bandana
“We don’t know where it’s been, Mikey,” Leo had said.
So the one holding me is Mikey…
Mikey holds you the entire boat ride- and you don’t like to mention that you loved the way he pet you
Yup. you are a house cat. Specifically, a calico Turkish Angora
So, you followed Mikey off of the boat, and he kept smiling down at you as he walked
You soon realized you were at the Statue of Liberty
You saw that most- if not the entire police force of New York was gathered, as well as the Falcon, a woman from Channel Six named April, and some Ragamuffin Hockey Player-Turned-Police Officer
Then you saw Chief Vincent standing at a podium as she started speaking about the turtles who stood next to her
She thanked them for their bravery and service to this city and gave them Keys to the City
After a while of talking, she approached them to have a small group conversation for a moment
Then, she let them into the Statue of Liberty, and let them go into the statue’s torch
You followed them, of course
After the turtle’s celebration amongst themselves, you made your presence known by rubbing against Mikey’s leg
He squatted and greeted you, petting you
You soon backed away, though, and walked to the other side of the torch
You knew he followed, so, before he caught up, you turned into your human form
When he saw you, he screamed
The others immediately rushed over, and were shocked
“Hi. I’m the cat you were petting earlier,” you said- rather casually
“How? You’re a- person!” Donatello said- you had heard Chief Vincent say his name
“Yeah, I’m a person who got screwed over by Sacks and Stockman. I got mutated just before he got arrested.”
There was a long silence.
“Prove it,” Raphael demanded.
You turned into your mutant form and sat. You licked your paw, then looked up at Raphael, who had gone pale
All of them had gone pale, really, except Mikey
“Woah- you’re kinda like us, then?” Mikey asked.
You turned back and agreed.
“Awesome, dude!”
That was nearly five years ago now. Now, you and Mikey are dating, and have been for three and a half years
You never knew you’d meet your best friends because of the mutation you had wanted so badly to hate
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stellocchia · 3 years
Text
Here’s an analysis of the “Tommy’s Plan To Kill Dream” stream (part 2)
Continuation of this here (though it really isn’t needed to read that one to read this as I will be recapping a bit as I go): https://stellocchia.tumblr.com/post/645995202162671616/heres-an-analysis-of-the-tommys-plan-to-kill
This is the less intense part of the stream. They already talked about their plans to kill Dream (well, Tommy’s plan that Tubbo is VERY reluctant about and Ranboo agrees with). We’re moving into the gathering resources for the surveilance post part now. 
As always moving forward I’ll be soley talking about the characters and, for the dialogue, this are the respective colors: Tommy, Tubbo, Ranboo, Ghostbur.
Analysis under the cut as always
So let’s start off with the obvious: I absolutely love how protective Tubbo and Ranboo are of Tommy, I’m glad he has people who actually care in his life right now. We have various examples of this throughout the stream, but the first one is Tommy seeing a creeper, backing off immediatly (because of his hightened fear of pain, aslo known as algophobia apparently) and them immediately destroying the threat. Of course this is also because they don’t want Snowchester blown up, but it’s still sweet nonetheless. 
He also opens up about his algophobia right after to them and asks for some armour, which Tubbo actually provides.
“You’re wearing Dream’s armour, aren’t you Tubbo?” “Yeah” “Okay, I wouldn’t- I genuinely would advice not. Anything that that man’s fucking been too near you don’t wanna be using” Tommy’s fear of Dream by now is just all encompassing. It is also quite peculiar that he would say this while still using Dream’s trident (right? It’s still his right?), though that could simply be because he puts himself in the category of “things that have been too near Dream” by now and really can’t be affected more then he already has been, though this is just a theory. 
Same thing as with the creeper happens with a skeleton a couple minutes later.
“What happened? Holy crap” “Tubbo he beat me to death, he punched me to death” Bee duo starting to realize how serious Tommy’s situation is right after the scheleton encounter because Tommy was just genuinely panicking. 
“Pain it feels so much more real now, ‘cause I know what’s on the other side” “Surely doesn’t that give closure?” “No... no it gives quite the opposite Tubbo” And what a good choice that was narratively speaking! If death did give closure as us and the characters in the story themselves expected, with resurrection it would be meaningless. This way though, death has just as much narrative weight as if resurrection wasn’t there, which is what you want in a story. 
“On a side note for you two: Sam Nook great guy! Really lovely guy! Awesamdude is a bastard and does not deserve to be running that prison. If he let me die he failed his job” We can see that Tommy’s perception of the warden’s duty is strickingly different from Sam’s. To Tommy the top priority should be protecting others from Dream (even if it means compromising the security of the prison), while to Sam the top priority is keeping Dream locked up.
“My therapy update!” We all knew I had to include this one. It’s actually really great because: 
1) Him actually reacheing out to Puffy to get therapy means that he actually recognises that he needs help and is willing to ask for it, which is the first step towards healing
2) Him acting so happy about it is actually such a good message for the younger viewers to see that therapy is nothing to be afraid of and it’s not taboo
One more thing we had him wanting to remove his own statues as they’re a grim reminder of his death in a scene that is very similar to Tubbo on the 16th asking to remove the decorations of the day of his execution. 
“I don’t think it’s a particularly good idea to... try and kill Dream. I don’t know how canon lives work for you anymore, but I only got one left” As I pointed out in the other post the 2 main reasons why Tubbo is reluctant about the plan are that he’s on his last life and that he managed to build a life for himself with Snowchester and Ranboo that he doesn’t wanna loose. 
“Listen guys, I’ve experienced death now, it doesn’t matter how many lives I have left now, I’m NOT willing to go through that again” “Yeah that makes sense actually, that makes sense” This is an interesting question though of how many lives he re-acquired. We know Jack came back with 3 when he did it, but then again, normal rules don’t seem to apply to Jack Manifold. Also I wanted to include Ranboo’s quote there just because he’s literally been nothing but supportive and I love him for it. 
Also all 3 teens decide at once that ignoring the Egg will most definitely make the problem go away, because that has always worked in the past of course! (Also, honestly, good for them. Let the adults take care of something for once!)
“I’m not very god at smal- that’s not true” “Mhmm” “So eh... you guys heard The News?” “The news about what?” “The news about...?” “You know... what-what’s been happening...” “What’s been happening?” “About- about umm... George”  “About George? What happened with the Gogmeinster?” “Oh yeah, he got banned! Twice” “No no, he... he grew a third ear” “Really? Oh man!” “Oh yeah! I’ve seen a photo of that on instagram!” So, aside from this being so funny, the reason I’m highlighting it is because if there is one thing Tommy never struggled with in the past it was small talk. He could literally start blabbering with anyone about anything, no matter how dumb, with absolute confidence. Now he’s struggling with everything (both here and later in the Nether we have similar scenes for it). He is insecure about everything he says and socializing seems much harder for him. Regardless both Tubbo and Ranboo still go along with everything he says with absolute confidence, which seems to help him quite a bit. Considering that his biggest desire seems to be to be treated the same as he was before having them not pointing out his obvious insecurity (while still very obviously noticing it) is probably quite a big thing for him. 
“Why are Punz’s eyes red?” “Why? Oh- Where is Punz?” “Oh, that might mean we have to kill him, he might kill us on sight” “Yeah, he might try to kill you. Where are you Tommy by any me- where are you?” “Yeah, stay away from him” “No I can fucking take him man!” “No because you get scared of damage...” “Tommy... yeah” “I don’t get scared of damage!” “That’s not true” “Tommy where are you?” I loved this scene so much! Tommy didn’t actually even see Punz here, he only saw his face on the players tab, but the other two were immediately on the defensive. Also this is what I mean when I say that it’s not that they don’t acknowledge Tommy’s situation, they’re just trying to give him some normalcy, because, as soon as he is in any actual or perceived danger they’re immediately in high alert. 
“You’re like a living ghost” “I think that’s just called a human Tubbo” “You’re like a human” “That’s just called someone who is alive” “You’re treating me differently” So two things here: 
1) Tubbo still has a lot of confusion towards the whole revival process an that’s what he was trying to express. Ranboo was not particularly happy with his choice of words though and kinda got the defensive tone again
2) Tommy shuts down very fast any time any kind of change is mentioned. In this case the change being Tubbo’s perception of him.
That said they manage to recover the situation really fast with Ranboo making a comparison between Tommy and Jesus (they’re teenagers, what can I say?)
“Tubbo I feel like we’ve grown less close while I’ve been in prison and dead” “That’s ‘cause you’ve been gone for such a long time...” “Do you like me less?” “Nope!” “Well it feels like you do” “Well, that’s all in your head then!” “No” “Maybe you superpower is immagination” “Maybe my superpower is anxiety” Well Tommy, do my job for me, will you? But yes, these kind of thoughts (fretting about what others, especially your friends or family think of you) is extremely common for individuals suffering from anxiety disorders. Also what Tubbo did here was really important, even if it is the bare minimum, he still provided the ressurance his friend needed and that’s good of him. Also, while Tommy’s dependence on Tubbo does shine through quite a bit during this stream Tubbo does continuosly set up healthy boundaries for them (introducing and keeping firm on his relationship with Ranboo and admitting that they did grow apart a bit and he is still confused about Tommy for example), which is extremely good. Ranboo is also presenting himself as a viable option for emotional support, which will actually be good for Tommy in the future as this would mean breaking out of the habit that was ingrained in him of relying on one single person every time. 
“I’m not afraid of anything! The only thing I’m afraid of is, you know, waking up in the morning and...” “The- the thing your afraid of is waking up in the- are you alright? Are you- are you alright man? Are you good?” That’s concerning! But, again, very fitting with his newfound extreme anxiety he seems to be experiencing. Also ConcernedBoo, he just care about his friends and is worried. Pretty sure Tommy fits together with Michael and Tubbo in the circle of people he’s willing to protect.
Also, in case people were wondering, Ghostbur wasn’t handing out sugar because he was a fake Ghostbur, but just because Ranboo gave it to him and it was the only thing he had. Same goes for Tommy calling Ghostbur “Wilbur” and acting as if he was Alivebur and Ghostbur only correcting him after quite a while: it’s not because he’s fake, it’s because he gave permission to Tommy specifically to do so before. As I mentioned in the other post their relationship is complicated, but Ghostbur very much cares for Tommy a whole lot and he came back specifically because he heard Tommy needed help again, it’s not so weird he’d allow him to do stuff he doesn’t allow for others.
“Last time I spoke to you was like a few days ago...” Now, as some people pointed out this could simply be Ghostbur memory being sort of foggy and him not realizing how much time passed. But the OTHER theory is that he remembers talking to Phantommy (which we know happened thanks to Quackity’s lore, as they visited Glatt’s gym together). Honestly both are plausible (if the first one was true then meeting Phantommy may have simply made him upset and he could have forgotten about it, or perhaps he could have just forgotten that Tommy was dead). 
“Ghostbur do you want him (Wilbur) to come back? Because I- I don’t. I don’t think that I do ever” “It’s... I... umm, hm. The-the world needs structure and order and he- he was good at that. He did that-” “No. The world needs less villains and he was a villain if I’ve ever seen one” “But a- a villain is just- is- sometimes the line’s a little blurry. You could say a little blurry, a tiny bit, it’s like a- a villain it’s just a hero you haven’t convinced yet” Now, as much as I love Ghostbur he’s half wrong here. Let me explain: 
Simply put not all bad people can be redeemed for one thing (for example someone like Dream could never be redeemed because he hurt so many people in such horrible ways without ever regretting it), and secondly describing a villain as a “hero YOU HAVEN’T CONVINCED yet” puts the responsability of that persnon’s actions on their victims. As a matter of fact it’s most definitely NOT up to the ones who’ve been hurt to reabilitate the ones who hurt them (which is why Sam managing the prison now is considerable a conflict of interests). They shouldn’t even be forced to forgive that person if the person DOES change for the better. And here’s the crux of the issue: Wilbur hurt a LOT of people. He hurt Tubbo, he hurt Niki, he hurt Fundy, he hurt everyone who joined Pogtopia. And more then anything else he hurt Tommy. He was abusive and manipulative towards him and Tommy has every right to never forgive him. He has every right to be scared of him and regard him purely as a villain, because that’s what he was for him towards the end of his life. 
Ghostbur bringing him back in the hopes that he’s changed at all just means that, once again, the responsability of his possible reabilitation will be left entirely on the shoulders of the teens of the server and the same goes for if there is NO reabilitation. The destruction will, once more, be left for them to deal with. Tommy specifically will have one more person who abused him to deal with. Wether Wilbur will or will not ally himself with Dream doesn’t matter, because he was still a destructive individual on his own (despite of course being that way because of his own mental spiral, but that just makes him more sympathetic, it doesn’t justify his actions nor make them any less hurtful for those around him). 
Also Wilbur’s been dead for 10-12 years in Limbo time, I can’t imagine that doing wonders for his mental state...
There is a scene after that conversation where Tommy was talking about how being dead was, Tubbo asked a question about it and Tommy got upset. Of course the others got confused about his reactions since ha was already talking about, so, to clarify: the probable reason why anyone (aside from Ghostbur apparently) asking him questions about it upsets him is probably because of Dream. He mentioned multiple times now that Dream treating his death as a science experiment when he revived him was extremely traumatic for him. He hates the idea of being “just science” to the people around him. Ghostbur seem to be an exception to this, but that may be because Tommy seems predisposed to just trust Ghostbur more from an emotonal stand-point (perhaps because he reminds him of how Wilbur used to be before he spiraled). 
“I love monster energy” “Monster energy is kind of scary...” “Mhm, it’s for monsters...” Man the very low-key constant self-deprecation sure it’s kinda worrying... I really do hope that someone will help him with his very obvious sef-esteem issues at some point.
“He (Wilbur) spent a lot of time around a bad guy. He spent around a decade, you said, around Schlatt and Schlatt- Schlatt’s the bed guy, Right?” “I don’t think Schlatt’s the only bad guy” “Him and Eret are the bad guys, right?” Once again Ghostbur’s view of things is very naive and still very much stuck in the past. It’s been so long now since Eret betrayal, and they tried to redeem themselves since. Meanwhile it’s also been months since Schlatt died, and, even back when he was alive, he was far from being the only arguably bad person, Wilbur being right there along with him if we consider what his actions caused. And now we have Dream and the Egg, we have Quackity indulging in torture, we have the syndacate having a gestapo arc, we have Jack back on his goal of killing a teen. We can be sympathetic toward many of this people, but this doesn’t change the fact that they hurt others a lot or that their objectives or actions are objectively morally wrong in some cases. By now it’s honestly pretty hard to draw the line of who IS and ISN’T a bad guy.
“Cobble is GOOD, people don’t like it when I use cobble though...” Again, the usual self confidence is completely lacking. This is worse then post exile: back then he still had the full confidence to build an ugly cbblestone tower on Techno’s front lawn, now even using a bit of cobblestone makes him self-concious. 
Also apparently Sam instructed Sam Nook to keep Tommy specifically away from the prison for his own safety. Man’s still looking after him even if he probably won’t manage to do it directly for a while (at least until Tommy forgives him, if he does).
That’s pretty much it! It’s everything I’d consider important that I could find in the stream!
@mysweatymakerstudentworld
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pennylanefics · 3 years
Text
With the Wrong Man - Isaiah Jesus
a/n: this is really long oops. no ones ever responded to my question, but i’m gonna continue writing for him, even tho they’re not super popular. i love him sm
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•••
Your relationship with your boyfriend Christopher was...rough. You two met after things ended between you and your ex-boyfriend, Isaiah.
You two cared for each other a lot, but Isaiah’s dad told you to break things off because you weren’t a girl who he “saw being with his son.”
It was a very difficult time, you missed Isaiah dearly; he was your first love. So, you left Birmingham to get away from it all. And that’s when you met Christopher. The problem was you were still so in love with Isaiah.
You thought about him all the time after you left, wondering if he had a girlfriend, or if he thought about you as well. Every day, you wished that a letter for you would come, detailing how much he longed for you and how he wished you stayed together. But nothing came.
Now, you were back in Birmingham with Chris, visiting your parents for a little while, and you were dreading it. At this point, you had moved on from Isaiah, moved on from the idea that you were never going to be with him anymore. But, you knew you were going to run into him at some point.
“So this is where you grew up?” Chris asks with a hint of disgust in his voice. You raise your eyebrows at him as he looks around the dingy city.
“Yeah. Something wrong?” He shrugs and looks back down at you.
“Just not what I was expecting.” You scoff under your breath. That was something you always butted heads about; the way you grew up. Chris grew up in a preppy, proper town, while you grew up in Small Heath.
It was obvious the differences between the two of you, but he was sweet overall, so that’s why you stayed with him.
“I told you what it was like. I didn’t have courtyards to play in, I played in alleyways and got into trouble.” This upset him every time you brought it up. He didn’t like the fact that you were a troublemaker and spent time with Finn, who’s related to the Peaky Blinders.
“I may have grown up here, but I’m no longer like that. And you should know.” He shakes his head and you two continue walking, you end up dropping his hand from yours.
You finally get back home from the shops and step inside, immediately being greeted by your parents getting ready to leave.
“Where are you guys going?” You ask, setting your bags down on the floor.
“The Garrison. We thought a night out would be nice before tomorrow.” Your eyebrows furrowed together at them.
“What’s tomorrow?” You wonder in confusion. Your parents look between one another but push it off as they have a surprise dinner planned. Well, not much of a surprise dinner aymore. You were still suspicious.
“Uh, okay. Let’s get going then.” You move the bags to the couch for now and follow your parents back outside and in the direction of the Garrison.
Upon arriving, you notice it’s not very crowded. That’s when you notice the Peaky Blinders gathering in the corner. Your heart begins to race as you glance over the group, and your eyes finally land on him.
Isaiah.
He looked very different than when you saw him last. His lips were fuller, his head was shaved beside the top of it, his face was more mature and older looking. He is still as handsome as you remember, though.
For the time being, you stay with your family, as to not raise any wonders about where you ran off to and them possibly seeing you with him. Your parents knew you were dating him at the time, and though they weren’t very accepting of the idea, since he was starting to get involved with the Peaky Blinders, you ignored them. Unfortunately, he couldn’t ignore his father.
You take a seat in a booth, your parents across from you and Chris. You also had the perfect view of Isaiah, who sadly hadn’t noticed you yet. You wanted nothing more than to run over there and fall into his arms.
Seeing him again, all of your feelings came back. All of your memories with him, secret dates, spending nights in his room before his father found out, the kisses you shared, his words of love and admiration. You were just hoping he felt the same.
Drinks were served and you wanted to get drunk so bad. But, you were an emotional drunk, so you knew you would say something about seeing Isaiah again. So, you stuck to just a couple drinks for now.
After a while, you could tell Chris was having a great time with your parents, but you were so consumed by your thoughts.
“What’s wrong, (Y/N)?” Your mother asks, noticing your absence from the conversation.
“Nothing. Just feeling tired. I’m gonna go to the bathroom really quick.” You slide out of the booth with ease since you’re sitting on the end and make your way past the Peaky men, making eye contact with Isaiah. You give him a look, asking him to follow you, and walk into the bathroom. You wait a couple minutes before he slides in sneakily and locks the door.
“What the fuck are you doing here?!” He wonders in amazement, a playful tone in his voice. You giggle and fall into his arms, hugging him as close to you as possible.
“I missed you,” you whisper into his shoulder.
“I missed you as well, love. It’s so great seeing you again.” You two stay there for a few moments, tears falling down your cheeks at some point. When you pull away, Isaiah wipes them away for you tenderly.
“What are you doing back?”
“Just seeing my parents again.”
“That’s great. Who’s the, uh, man?” He asks. As he does, you feel his grip start to lessen a little, knowing the answer wouldn’t be good.
“My, uh, boyfriend.” He nods and backs away, seeing as you’re a woman in a relationship and it would be improper for him to be so close. Though you didn’t care. Your hands keep ahold of his as much as he tries to break away.
“Isaiah, I still love you,” you whisper, catching his attention.
“Why? You’re with another man, you seem to have your life planned out.” More tears well up in your eyes and your head shakes in response.
“No. I don’t. I’m not in love with Christopher. I mean, in a way I am, but not as much as I loved you.”
“We can’t…” His words broke your heart. “I can’t get in between a relationship. If I were him, and I had you, I would hate for another guy to just swoop in and steal you from me.”
“It’s not like that, Isaiah. I swear I-”
“(Y/N), it’s in the past, I’m afraid.” You were crying quietly at this point, trying to get him to stay and listen.
“Please, don’t do this, Isaiah. After seeing you and hugging you, I realize what I want.”
“I can’t let that happen. You should move on from me. Be with him, have a family with him.” And with that, Isaiah unlocked the door and walked out, leaving you a sobbing mess.
All of your dreams were shattered within minutes. Isaiah was the man you wanted to be with, but he didn’t want to be with you. Or technically, he didn’t want you to break things off with Christopher.
Once you reapply your makeup and regain your posture, you walk out, noticing Isaiah isn’t there anymore. Your heart drops a bit more as you rejoin your family, much more distant and sad than before.
“Are you sure you’re alright? We can leave if you want?” Chris whispers in your ear. Sighing softly, you nod and look up at him.
“I’m sorry. I saw an old friend and they, uh, they weren’t as happy to see me,” you tell him sadly. He puts an arm around you, but you shrug it off. You don’t want anyone’s arms around you unless it’s Isaiah.
Shortly after, you and Chris head home, leaving your parents to stay out and drink for a little. Once home, you head right to bed, leaving Chris confused and wondering what happened.
The following day was stressful and hard. You woke up, exhausted and still heartbroken from last night, spending all morning in bed, not eating any breakfast. Chris ends up dragging you out of bed for lunch, and that’s when things are revealed.
“Honey, who’s the friend that you saw? And why is it affecting you so much?” You shake your head at your mother’s question, not wanting to tell her.
“It was just an old friend I saw all the time while going to the Garrison. I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“It wasn’t Isaiah was it?” Your eyes dart up so quick, you were scared it was maybe too quick to be suspicious.
“Why would it matter if it was?”
“Because you know we don’t like him, being involved in that Peaky Blinder shit.” You scoff and drop your fork, standing from the table and going to your room.
“Darling?” Chris’s soft voice sounds through the room minutes later. “Who’s Isaiah?”
“He’s my ex-boyfriend. I dated him before I left Birmingham. I loved him, and after I saw him, he wasn’t too happy to see me. I guess all of our memories together didn’t mean as much to him as they did to me.” Chris takes a seat next to you as you explain, very vaguely, why you are upset. It wasn’t a total lie, but you obviously left the part out where you confessed your love for him.
“I’m sure he remembers it, but he may have moved on and found someone he loves.” You nod in agreement, trying to make yourself forget what happened. Though it was impossible.
“I guess. I just haven’t seen him in so long and was so excited to see him again.”
“That’s understandable. But, I’m going to treat you to a lovely dinner tonight at a really nice restaurant down the street, so how about you relax for the rest of the day, until we have to get ready. And wear something nice, yeah?” He kisses your forehead and stands up to walk out, leaving you alone with your thoughts once more.
The time leading up to dinner was dreadful. Chris spent time with your parents while you stayed in your room, writing in your journal to clear your thoughts.
In no time, you were sat across from Chris at The Royal Dome, the fanciest restaurant in Small Heath. You felt very out of place, this was not somewhere you would ever eat at, and you never have, not even when you lived here.
“It took me so long to get these reservations,” Chris admits, reaching across the table for your hand. Hesitantly, you take it and smile softly.
“It’s very nice, but I feel a bit underdressed.” You had worn simple nightwear, something similar to what you wore out to the Garrison last night. Everyone else was dressed sophisticated, proper. You didn’t belong here.
“I think you look amazing. So amazing, actually.” Chris stands and reaches into his jacket pocket, and kneels down, producing a beautiful ring in a box.
“Oh my god,” you breathe out. Chris smiles as his hands shake slightly.
“(Y/N) (Y/L/N), will you marry me?” You were speechless. And in that moment, you knew what you wanted.
“(Y/N)?” Chris breaks you from your daze. “What do you say?” You could feel so many people’s eyes on you, waiting for you to scream out yes and fall into his arms like a romantic film.
“No,” you whisper. Chris’s face falls immediately and he slowly closes the box. “I can’t.” You are up and running out of the restaurant within seconds, heading straight towards the Garrison. Tears were clouding your eyes but you made it.
Everyone stared at you as you burst through the door. It was empty aside from the Peaky men.
“Sorry love, Garrison is closed for the night,” Harry tells you from behind the bar.
“I’m here for Isaiah,” you say confidently. No one moves, no one says a word. Your heart is beating out of your chest, scared that Isaiah somehow moved on within a day.
“(Y/N)?” Isaiah stands up from next to Michael, a confused expression on his face. “What are you doing here?”
“I still love you, Isaiah. And I know you may not still love me, but I do. Seeing you yesterday brought so many memories and feelings back, and I can’t get you out of my head. Everytime Chris kisses me or holds me, I wish it was you. I wish you were the one proposing to me moments ago, I wish you-”
“He proposed to you?”
“He did. But I said no. I don’t want to marry him. I want you. I’ve always wanted you, Isaiah.” You were sobbing as you spoke, ready to fall to the ground in defeat.
As you were expecting, your knees buckled and you fell to the ground. Isaiah was by your side in seconds, his arms wrapping around you, making your heart soar.
“Shh, shh. Come on, let’s go to a private room.” He helps you up and guides you over to the room in the corner, locking it once you were in. Taking a seat, you keep your eyes on your lap.
“Now tell me what the hell happened?” You take a deep breath before beginning.
“He took me to The Royal Dome down the street, and I couldn’t help but feel so out of place. I didn’t belong in that lifestyle, I hate the posh, perfect, proper lifestyle that Chris grew up with. He hates that I grew up here and didn’t grow up with a fancy courtyard and posh things. We are so different people and I guess I never realized that until I was sitting in front of him there.”
“He proposed, you said?”
“Yeah. I said no.”
“Why?” That’s when you look up.
“I’ve made it clear, Isaiah. I don’t know what more you want me to say. I love you, I think about you all the time, and I know your dad doesn’t want us together, but I can’t help it.” It’s silent for a moment as he takes this information in.
“Why’d you stay with him?” He asks.
“He took my mind off things. I was with him for the wrong reasons. He was the first guy I met after moving away, and I guess I just stuck with him because he helped me through my breakup, unknowingly.”
“Do you love him as much as you love me?” GIggling, you look right into his eyes.
“Do you think that if I loved him, I would be here right now? Declining his proposal and fighting to get you back?” This makes him laugh as well, slightly breaking the tension of the room.
“I suppose. So, where do we go from here?”
“It’s in your hands. I’ve admitted my feelings many times, I’ve stated what I wanted. I’m just not sure if you want the same. And I guess it’ll be fine either way.” Isaiah stares at you as you twiddle your fingers nervously. Truth is, he still felt the same. But after hearing you were in a relationship, he backed off, knowing your parents wouldn’t approve of you getting back together with him.
“Let’s run away,” he finally says. Your head shoots up and your eyes widen.
“What?”
“You and me. Let’s run away. We can ask Tommy to let us stay at his place for a little while until we find somewhere to live together. I want to be with you.” A huge smile crosses your lips and you are up out of your seat and in his lap.
“I fucking love you,” you mumble against his lips as you kiss him. He chuckles and stands, leaving the room with you.
Soon enough, you and Isaiah are taking a town car to Tommy’s manor, with none of your belongings, nothing to your names, just the two of you.
Tommy’s maids helped you get settled in a guest room after you enjoyed a nice dinner they made. Since you didn’t really have clothes, you chose to sleep naked with one another, something you missed doing with him. He was always warm and his skin soft like silk, it was comforting.
“I can’t believe only hours ago, I was being proposed to,” you whisper, running your finger over his bare chest. He catches it and brings it up to his lips, pressing soft kisses to your fingertips.
“I know. I’m glad we’re finally together. No parents, no other relationships, just us.”
A smile spreads across your face and you close your eyes, imagining your future with the love of your life.
“Just us, my love.”
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Text
Diabolik Lovers VANDEAD CARNIVAL ;; Kou Route ー Chapter 3
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ー The scene starts in cafe Tarte Tatin
Kou: I’m pretty sure it should be around heー ...Ah, there it is!
Yui: You’re right. There’s a cafe here.
Kou: Ah, that table over there is free. Here, this is your seat.
Yui: Yeah!
I wonder what kind of drinks they sell at a cafe in the Demon World?
Kou: Stop! Hold on one second.
Yui: What’s wrong?
Kou: Could you leave our order up to me, perhaps?
Yui: You’ll choose for me?
Kou: Yeah, my picks! Okay?
Yui: I’m happy but...I’d feel bad for just waiting, so I don’t mind going with you?
Kou: It’s fine, don’t worry! This is the man’s task, don’t you think? We’re on a date after all~
I’ll go buy our drinks so you just wait here, okay?
Yui: Yeah...!
ー Kou walks away
Yui: ( I wonder what kind of drinks Kou-kun will bring. I’m a little excited... )
Male Vampire A: Hey, have you heard? Apparently this place’s juice has a little special gimmick. 
Female Vampire A: How so?
Male Vampire A: Ever so often, someone will hit ‘jackpot’ (1), suddenly growing a pair of animal ears as they’re enjoying their drink.
Female Vampire A: Eeh, amazing! I can’t wait~!
Yui: ( ...Actually, I might be a little worried after all. )
*TIMESKIP*
ー Kou returns
Kou: Sorry for the wait, M-neko-chan~!
Yui: Welcome back, Kou-kun.
Kou: I bought our drinks. Here, this is yours.
Yui: Thank you.
( I was somewhat concerned but...It looks normal from the outside. )
( However, I feel like it’s a little much? The glass is big too... )
Wait...Hold up...? Say, Kou-kun? Where’s yours?
Kou: I obviously got something for me too. See, right there.
Yui: There?
( As far as I can tell, there’s just this one drink for me though... )
Kou: Fufufu~ ...I can tell you’re confused by that look on your face.
I suppose that even you’ll be able to figure it out once you see this? Ta-dah! Now what could this be~?
Yui: What? ...A straw, right?
Kou: Yes, correct! Now, question time! What shape is it?
Yui: ...A heart?
Kou: Exactly! Two straws are tangled together, forming a heart shape.
No matter how dense you may be, I’m sure you understand now?
Yui: Don’t tell me, you want to share this juice amongst the two of us...!? 
Kou: You’re 100% correct! Why not? It seems fun!
Yui: W-Wait! That’s just too embarrassing!
Kou: Eeh? How strange for you to say that. We usually do much more shameful things, don’t you think?
Well, I’m usually the one initiating it~
ー Kou moves closer
Kou: Come on, let’s drink it together?
Yui: Uu...K-Kou-kun, you’re close...!
Kou: I approached on purpose. I mean, if I don’t do this, you avert your gaze right away.
For some reason, I can’t seem to figure out what you’re thinking even by staring at you like this...
However, even if I couldn’t see a thing, I feel as if I would still feel happy just from gazing into your eyes.
Yui: Kou-kun...
Kou: ...That being said, you’ll drink it with me, right? Yui.
Yui: ( ...No fair...! )
Kou: Ah, are you dissatisfied with the straw, perhaps? Would you rather have me feed you mouth-to-mouth?
Yui: No...!
Kou: Fufu, you should have told me sooner then~
I don’t mind. In that case, I’ll directlyーー
Yui: Wait, Kou-kun! Fine! I’ll drink it with the straw!
Kou: No need to be modest~ This straw is embarrassing for you, right?
Yui: It’s totally fine!
( Mouth-to-mouth would be much more embarrassing after all...! )
Kou: Fufu~ I figured you’d say that.
Personally, I would have gladly fed you mouth-to-mouth as well, of course.
Here. You take that side, okay?
Yui: ( It’s embarrassing but...I guess I have no other choice but to make up my resolve. )
( I-It really is embarrassing...!! Kou-kun’s face is so close... )
Kou: ...Fufu~ Say, M-neko-chan? Are you flustered?
Selection
→  A little...  (☾)
Yui: A little...
Kou: Why? Because it’s too cliched? Or because...I’m close to you?
Yui: ...B-Both, I guess...
Kou: Fufu, it’s because you’re way too conscious of your surroundings. If you simply focus on the guy in front of you...See? It’s no longer embarrassing, right?
Yui: ( No way...It’s only even more embarrassing...! )
→ Not at all! 
Yui: N-Not at all...!
Kou: Heeh, really~? You’ve grown then.
In that case, I guess this just won’t satisfy you anymore? Let me feed it to you mouth-to-mouth after all.
Yui: Wait, that’s...!
Kou: I’m sure it’d be child’s play considering how much you’ve grown? Come on...Move your face a little closer?
Yui: ...No, Kou-kun! I can’t...!
Kou: Fufu, I figured so. It’s because you tried to act tough when you really aren’t, M-neko-chan~
Kou: Geezー You really always stay so innocent.
In that case, I might as well just make your mind go blank...
Yui: Eh? Wait, Kou-kun...!
Vampire child A: Waitー!
Vampire child B: Ahahaha! In your dreams!
Kou: ...What’s this ruckuーー
*THUD*
Yui: Wah...!
ー The drink gets pushed over
*Splash*
Yui: ...! The juice...!
Vampire child A: Ah...
Kou: Ah-aah...All of it spilled on the floor.
...Say, you kids over there? Do you have a minute?
Vampire child A: Shoot! Run, everyone!
Kou: Ah! Hey!!
Vampire child B: Sorry!! Please forgive us since it’s the Carnival!!
ー The kids run away
Kou: Those little brats...!
Yui: Calm down, Kou-kun. They’re just children, you don’t need to get so upset...
Kou: You can’t spoil them! Those who waste food deserve a divine punishment!!
ー Kou runs after them
Yui: Kou-kun!?
Kou: M-neko-chan was finally in the mood to drink it as well! You scoundrels! 
Vampire child A: We already said sorry, didn’t we!?
Yui: ...They left...
( Could it be...Does Kou-kun usually get scolded by Ruki-kun for wasting good food...? )
( Either way, I should clean up the glass... )
ー A young Kou walks up to Yui
Yui: ーー Eh...?
( A child...? How long has he been standing there? I didn’t notice him at all. )
( Could he be a friend of those kids from earlier? However, he seems a little different... )
???: ...
Yui: Uhm...What’s wrong?
???: ...
Yui: Are you lost, perhaps? Did you get separated from someone?
???: ...
Yui: ( This is tricky. He won’t respond at all. )
( If I leave the cafe, I might get separated from Kou-kun but...I just can’t leave this child be. )
( Besides, this little one sort of reminds me of Kou-kun... )
Say, would you mind telling me your name?
???: ...
...Kou.
Yui: Eh...?
( Did he just say ‘Kou’...? )
ー The young Kou runs away
Yui: Ah...Wait!!
( I want to chase after him but...If I leave, then I’ll... )
... 
( I’m sorry, Kou-kun! I’ll return straight awayーー! )
ー Yui runs after him as the scene shifts to a side street
Yui: ( I’m pretty sure he ran into this direction... )
( ...! There he is...! )
Kou: ...
Yui: ...Kou-kun?
Kou: ...
Yui: Uhm...I’m sorry if this sounds weird but...
Are you...The same Kou-kun I know?
Kou: ...I am.
I am the Kou you know. However...From the past.
Yui: From the past...?
Kou: Exactly. Way, waaay before he met you.
Unlike the guy you know...I’m Kou during the time he was misfortunate.
Yui: ( ...The look in his eyes...Almost as if he is bearing a grudge of some sorts... )
ー Yui has a dizzy spell
Yui: ...!? 
( I’m suddenly growing dizzy... )
ー She collapses
*Thud*
Kou: ...
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Yui: ( My mind’s going blank... )
Kou: ...Say, Yui?
Yui: ( Ah...Kou-kun’s holding my arm... )
Kou: Let me...suck your blood.
Yui: ...Eh...?
Kou: I’m not a Vampire yet at this time. However...That doesn’t matter.
I’m envious of him...So I want to do the same thing he does.
Yui: Him...?
Kou: Yes, him. ...My grown-up self.
It’s no fair he gets to have everything. Meanwhile I’m still incapable of even trusting someone...
The feeling of wanting to trust others...
Yui: ...!
( No way...He’s biting my arm...!? )
S-Stop...! ...Kou-kun...!
Kou: Yui!!
ー Kou runs up to her
Kou: I finally found you...!
Yui: Kou-kun...?
( I’m slowly regaining my focus... )
( Huh...? The small Kou-kun is gone... )
Kou: Why are you crouched down like that? Do you feel sick, perhaps?
Yui: No...I’m fine. I’m sorry for making you worry.
Kou: For real! You weren’t there when I returned to the cafe...So I looked all over for you.
Yui: Sorry...
Kou: Say, are you really okay? Your complexion is pale. Did something happen?
Yui: Well...
( I doubt he’ll believe me...If I tell him I met up with his childhood self. I barely even believe it myself, to be honest. )
( It might have been just a hallucination. However, the sensation of being bitten felt too real for that... )
Kou: ...Wait.
Yui: Eh?
Kou: That wound on your arm...A bite mark?
Yui: Ah...This is...
Kou: It’s a bite mark, isn’t it? I can’t imagine what else it’d be.
Hah...For real? I take my eyes off you for one second and you’ve had your blood sucked?
Yui: W-Wait, Kou-kun! You’re wrong, this is...
Kou: How am I wrong!? Someone sucked your blood, no!?
...Say, who was it? You happened to run into one of those Sakamaki’s and that’s how it happened? Did you let them because you went with the mood of the festival?
Or was it just a random Vampire passing by? You really are a cat in heat.
Yui: Please, Kou-kun! Listen to me!
Kou: Shut up!
Yui: ...
Kou: ...That shop owner was right back then. You’re keeping secrets from me.
You tempt me with sweet words about ‘picking me’ or ‘loving me’ but you deceived me, didn’t you?
Yui: ...! I didn’t!
Kou: If the only thing you’re looking for is a good-looking Vampire and a pair of fangs to please you...
Could you try asking someone else? There’s plenty of them out there, right? In your close vicinity.
I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be that guy. I...can’t stand that sort of thing.
Yui: ( The look in his eyes...It’s the same as that child from earlier... )
Wait, Kou-kun...!
Kou: ...I won’t wait. I mean, you’re fine with someone other than me too, right?
...See you.
ー Kou walks away
Yui: Kou-kun...!
ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー
Translation notes
(1) 当たり or ‘atari’ is the term used for a winning lot in lotteries, lucky draws, etc. 
← RETURN TO CHAPTER 2
→ PROCEED WITH MAIN STORY [CHAPTER 4]
→ SUB-SCENARIO #1 [W/ REIJI]
→ SUB-SCENARIO #2 [W/ KANATO]
→ SUB-SCENARIO #3 [W/ RUKI]
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mymoonagedaydream · 4 years
Note
A Loki x reader would be great please. Maybe something where the reader isn’t really an avenger but is somehow really close with one member, so she visits a lot and is kind to Loki but at the same time doesn’t take any of his crap?
The New Guy
Summary: You were just about at the end of your rope with Natasha’s friends- until you met the newest addition to the compound
Pairing: Loki x y/n
Word Count: 1.8k
Warnings: Language, floofy
Author's Note: Thank you for the request anon :) I really enjoyed writing this one 
---
Natasha had invited you for drinks at the compound again. God help you. 
It wasn’t that you didn’t enjoy spending time with her, you just really didn’t fit in with her work friends. They were all jacked up super soldiers with no interest in talking about anything other than their work- as soon as they found out you’d never been in a fight and you didn't have any personal firearm preferences, they had very little time for you. 
When you arrived they were all sprawled out on the sofas, looking as intimidating as usual, already half-cut on whatever Thor was handing out. You were offered some but Nat quickly swatted it away, assuring you that one sip would leave you absolutely paralytic. 
The usual conversations happened, about missions and combat and god knows what else, until the party inevitably degenerated into the boys finding excuses to make each other take shots. You eventually managed to retreat to the kitchen, claiming that you were going to grab another drink but really just needing a break from the frat party you'd found yourself in the middle of. 
Opening a beer and flopping against the counter, you rubbed your forehead wearily. In future you were definitely only hanging out with Nat at your place. 
Light footsteps padded into the kitchen. You glanced up to see a man you didn't recognise with pale, almost translucent skin and jet-black hair falling onto his shoulders. He stopped suddenly when he saw you. 
'Hi.' You smiled politely. He stared at you silently for a second, looking a little puzzled. 'Oh I'm y/n, Nat's friend.' 
'Loki. Charmed.' His voice was deep and smooth, sending faint goosebumps down your arm. 
His gaze lingered on you just a beat too long as he passed you to get to the fridge, then scanning his eyes over the contents and making a series of disgusted noises.
Glancing back over to the sofas, you figured that they probably weren’t missing you, so there was really no need to hurry back. Besides, this guy had really piqued your curiosity. 
'Do you work for Stark too?' 
His shoulders tensed up slightly and he gave an exasperated chuckle, before turning round to shoot you a gaze that could cut metal. 
'Do I look like I work for him?'
The words were coated in a confusing mix of amusement and annoyance. You thought it was a pretty reasonable question, since he seemed to be living in the compound, so you weren't about to start backtracking. 
'Honestly, yeah. Kind of.’ He smirked and narrowed his eyes at you. ‘You've got a bit of a vampire thing going on, seems like a niche that Tony hasn't filled yet.'
'I don’t think I like your tone.’
The side of your mouth curled into a mischievous smile, the temptation to keep teasing him almost overwhelming you, but you managed to fight it. 
'Why are you here then? If you don’t mind me asking.'
‘Apparently I can’t be trusted to function without supervision.’ He reached for a glass and filled it with water, adding under his breath ‘at least in prison I was left alone.’
He started heading back towards the door, but you were pretty keen to elongate this interaction as much as possible, cause it was saving you from one of the worst evenings of your life.
'Not joining the party?' 
Just the words left your mouth, a half-empty empty beer can flew across the room and exploded against the wall. Thor bellowed something you didn't quite catch and the other frat boys started hooting like morons. 
Loki moved his gaze slowly from the freshly-stained wall back over to you. 'I'd rather have my limbs torn off by wolves.'
A long, laboured sigh escaped your lips. ‘Me too.’ 
You rubbed your eyes harshly, waiting to hear the sound of his footsteps retreating from the kitchen, but nothing happened. You dropped your hands and felt your stomach flip when you saw him still standing opposite you, giving you a curious smile. 
‘What was your name again?’
‘Y/n.’ You mumbled, his gaze making you a little nervous.
‘Very nice meeting you y/n.’
Your eyes followed him as he walked out of the kitchen. You were too preoccupied with analysing what’d just happened to notice Nat approaching, squinting at you suspiciously.
‘Oh god, I know that face.’ 
Your eyes flicked over to her, feeling yourself blushing slightly. ‘What face?’
‘Jesus y/n, I've been trying to set you up with Steve for weeks and now suddenly you're interested in Thor’s psychopath brother?.’
‘He seemed nice enough.’
She grabbed a beer out of the fridge, not wavering her irritated stare from your face. ‘He destroyed Manhattan and almost killed all of us.’
‘Ah.’ Your heart sunk a little, but thinking more on it, you realised that something really wasn’t adding up. ‘Wait, why the hell is he here then?’
‘Thor says he's changed.’
‘Oh right… well maybe he has.’ You shrugged and gave her a teasing smile. ‘His brother of all people would know.’
‘You're unbelievable.’
She was probably right. 
Then again, you were a big advocate for giving people a second chance. 
Oh, who were you kidding? With that smile he could have all the fucking chances he wanted.
---
It’s true, you had promised yourself that in future you’d only see Nat outside the compound, but now you thought maybe you weren't being fair. Maybe you should give her friends another chance. Maybe if you hang around the compound long enough you might bump into silky voice again. 
Besides, this time it wasn’t just a bunch of dudes getting hammered, it was a freaking garden party. Surely it couldn't degenerate in the same way those other nights did...
You were there for ten minutes before Thor sprayed champagne all over your outfit. 
‘My apologies, friend of Natasha.’ He obviously didn’t remember your name. ‘I think you look better like that anyway.’
You could hear a chorus of sniggering behind you. You had half a mind to just give up and leave, when you felt a hand plant itself on your lower back. 
Loki appeared beside you and passed you a wad of napkins with his free hand. ‘Must you be such a blundering idiot all the time, brother?’ 
‘It’s fine, just an accident.’ You shot Thor a tight smile and wiped the sticky alcohol off your face. As soon as he moved out of earshot, you muttered under your breath. ‘Fucking asshole.’
‘An accurate assessment.’ Loki chuckled before removing his hand and slowly moving to stand opposite you. ‘I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect to see you again.’ 
‘Yeah? Why's that?’
‘You didn't exactly seem like you were enjoying their company.’ 
A dejected grimace spread across your face. ‘Was it that obvious?’
You tried your best to dry your clothes, but they were already stained beyond repair. Sighing in exasperation, you balled up the napkins, tossed them on a nearby table and gave Loki a defeated shrug. 
He shot some daggers over at the gaggle of idiots, still guffawing amongst themselves, before placing a hand softly on your upper arm. 
‘I was about to take a walk through the woods. Perhaps you'd like to join me?’
‘That actually sounds really nice.’ You gave him a faint smile. ‘Thanks.’
Following him into the trees, you checked behind you a few times, only relaxing when the noise of the party started fading into the background.
‘Worried we'll be hunted?’
‘Nope, just don’t want Nat to see us disappear into the forest together.’ He furrowed his brows at you in slight confusion. ‘She made it pretty clear that I should stay away from you.’
‘And yet, here you are, alone with me in the dense wilderness. Maybe you have a deathwish?’
‘Maybe. Or maybe I think your bark is worse than your bite.’ 
You walked together for a while, conversation flowing easily. You weren't sure if it was the fresh air, the smell of champagne or your growing excitement at being alone with Loki, but your head started swimming a little.
Every single guy you'd been with throughout your life had bored you almost to tears, it had just been one meathead after another. Granted, moving straight onto alleged psychopaths probably wasn't ideal, but you were a grown ass adult and you were allowed to make terrible decisions if you felt like it. 
Jesus, maybe you did have a deathwish. 
Coming to a clearing, you both stopped at the edge of a small river crossing your path. There was a short, comfortable silence as you listened to the flowing water, enjoying the peace you’d found in what would otherwise have been a turbulent evening. 
‘I can see why you like this walk.’ You eventually piped up. ‘It must be lovely and peaceful when you're alone.’
He let out a deep, breathy chuckle and turned towards you. ‘I'm actually rather enjoying having some company. Intelligent conversation seems difficult to come by in this place.’
‘Interesting. I can’t possibly imagine why anyone would avoid talking to you.’ 
Your voice was dripping with sarcasm. When you finally dared to turn your head and sneak a look at his face, you were relieved to see that he seemed more amused than offended, narrowed eyes glaring at you above a roguish smirk.
‘Let those halfwits avoid me.’ He raised his arm and tugged at your shoulder, gently turning you round to face him. ‘I take great care when choosing my company.’ 
His hand dropped as he stepped closer, leaving barely an inch between your chests. Your breath hitched and you felt yourself tense up a little, his close proximity eliciting a potent cocktail of anxiety and excitement. 
'Are you frightened?' 
His words were barely a whisper, but they raced down your spine and along your arms like an electric shock, making every part of your body tingle. You shook your head slowly, doing everything you could to hold yourself steady. 
'Good.'
His arm circled your waist and he pulled you towards him assertively, gazing down at you against his chest for a second before dropping his face and pressing his lips firmly against yours. 
They were ice cold, the shock causing you to pull in a sharp breath through your nose. He seemed to notice, as his mouth curled into a slight smile against yours, the feeling of which made your stomach quake even harder.
You relaxed as you felt his other arm snake around your waist, both of them tightening to press his body more firmly against yours. You slid your arms around his neck and pulled his head down further, deepening the kiss and eliciting a deep growl from his throat. 
After a minute he pulled away slightly, bringing a hand up to cup your face and hold it in place, hovering close enough to his that you could feel his warm breath against your lips.
A wide, satisfied smile spread across his face. 
‘Perhaps Midgard isn’t so bad after all.’
---
183 notes · View notes
cutie1365 · 3 years
Text
A Kid from Queens Part 21
Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader
Info: CA: Civil War Era. Tony Stark enlists his daughter to find the web slinging spider in Queens.
Word count: 5.4k
Warnings: 18+ content, smut, language. (I had aged up Peter so he’s 18.)
A/N: Flashbacks in italics as usual :) I know it’s been forever, motivation is hard to come by these days. This is the longest thing I’ve ever written, it’s long enough to break into two chapters but I know I haven’t uploaded in a while so Merry Christmas lol.
Any and all feedback is much appreciated! Please please if you could just leave a little message of things you like or what you want to see in the future it really helps.
Masterlist linked in my bio. Taglist in the reblog.
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- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -
“Y/N! Y/N! Over here!” You heard your name called as Happy opens the limo door. He extends his hand to help you to your feet.
“Stark, look over here!” The paparazzi screams were almost deafening as Peter exited the car after you. His mask hid more of his features while yours left little to the imagination, they knew who you were already, so no point in trying to hide it.
“Behave.” Happy pointed a stern finger at you.
“Don’t I always.” You feigned offense as your hand clapped over your heart, he raised a brow as your mouth turned up into a smirk.
“Goodnight Happy.” You chuckled, turning and stepping onto the red carpet leading to the venue.
“Who are you wearing?” You heard different questions screamed in your direction. This was a charity gala after all, not the fucking Oscars. Who cares who made your dress?
You slipped your hand into Peters, trying to calm him. This had to be overwhelming, all the cameras in your face, screaming anything they can to get you to look their way.
“Dr. Stark!” One voice called, gaining your attention. Few people addressed you with your appropriate title. You turned to see a young woman, who didn’t look like she’s been on the job for very long. She was holding her own though, against all these ruthless reporters. You thought you saw The Bugle among them.
“Dr. Stark, Glory Grant from the Times.” She smiled once you looked her way. You took a step closer to her, nodding at her to let her know you were listening and she could continue, “Can you tell us why this cause is important to you?”
“Of course, every child’s life we can save is like an investment into our and their future. They’re going to be the ones to take over the world someday. Who knows who will be the next Einstein, or Madam Curie...” You began with a smile.
“Or Y/N Stark,” She smiled. You laughed, shaking your head humbly.
“If we can do our part in donating and relieving some of the financial burdens off of their parents then it’s worth it. This organization not only helps families and children currently fighting cancer, but it helps look for a cure. A permanent solution to help end this disease.” You spoke from your heart.
“Thank you so much Dr. Stark.” She smiled as she scribbled the last of your words onto her notepad.
“Are you new at the Times Ms. Grant?” You asked, taking another step closer to her and the barrier between the two of you.
“Yeah, I just started.” She smiled nervously.
“Can I borrow your pen?” You asked, and she handed you her pen and pad.
“That’s my work number. If you’d like to be added to the Stark Industries press board, give me a call. They’re the first ones we call about press releases and announcements.” You spoke as you scribbled it down, handing it back to her with a smile.
“Thank you so much Dr. Stark, but why are you helping me?” She furrowed her brows.
“Because it's a man's world, and we can help change that, one woman at a time,” You said, causing her to laugh, “You’re the only one here to actually address me by my title and not ask me about my outfit. I see a bright career ahead of you.” You nodded to her as you took a step back towards the middle of the carpet.
“Enjoy tonight,” she smiled, beaming at the new opportunity. You winked at her as you took Peter’s hand and led him along the carpet and up the stairs towards the venue.
“That was nice of you,” He squeezed your hand.
“I mean it’s effortless for me, but it will help kick start her career. I got this kinda third eye about people.” You smirked.
“That’s not a real thing.” He shook his head with a laugh.
“Sure it is. It’s not always perfect, but sometimes I can just tell when people are destined for something great. Like you, from the moment I met you I knew.” You turned towards him, taking his other hand in yours.
“You knew what?” He titled his head in confusion.
You leaned in to press a chaste kiss to his lips, forgetting you were at the top of the stairs and still in full sight of all the photographers. You saw the flashes but you didn’t care. Peter’s identity was safe with his mask, and you wanted the whole work to know how happy he made you.
“That you’re a good person, and you’re gonna do big things.” You beamed up at him as you pulled away from the kiss, turning to lead him inside.
“So what else can this third eye tell you?” He asked curiously.
“It’s kinda like a gut feeling, to trust someone or not trust them. Like fight or flight, something’s not right kinda feeling. I just trust my gut, ya know.” You shrugged.
“I think I know exactly what you mean.” He said, and you turned to him with a raised brow before remembering your conversation from a week ago.
“Oh that’s right, like your spidey senses.” You chuckled, making sure to keep your voice low.
“My what?” His eyes went wide.
“You said you can sense when something bad's gonna happen. Although mine isn’t as specific and can’t be attributed to a radioactive spider.” You chuckled, walking to a secluded corner of the ballroom.
“Shh someone could hear you.” He whispered, you smiled, shaking your head, knowing everyone’s always drunk at these sorts of things.
Turning to face Peter, you raised your hands to straighten his bow tie. Your mind wandered to how great he looked in his suit. The feeling of butterflies swirling in your belly from the moment you saw him step through your door a few hours ago had barely worn off.
- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -
“Wow,” you both muttered as your eyes landed on each other. You’d never seen him all dressed up like this. He looked good, really good. You gulped, trying to push the dirty thoughts from your mind.
His hair was slicked back, not the mess of curls you were used to. He looked so grown up. You could almost picture him commanding a Stark Industries board meeting or standing at the end of an isle. Wait- slow down Y/N, jesus.
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He looked so natural, so dapper, and then he turns and gives you that signature goofy smile- there he is. It brought a smile to your face. How did you get so lucky? How could you have landed a guy as great and handsome as Peter Parker. Were the girls at his school brain dead? You would think everyone would want him. Kind, sweet, intelligent, respectful, and Christ he cleans up well. He was everything you’d ever dreamed of.
Have you just been staring this whole time? Jesus, Y/N say something, he’ll think you’re crazy, you thought.
“Are you ready to go?” You asked, trying to compose yourself. He only nodded, still not able to formulate words.
You were wearing red. His red. No- not his red obviously, but the same color of his suit. And god he loved it. He felt like you were wearing a piece of him. Like he had marked you, you were his.
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“You look...” He trailed off, his eyes still wide. He cleared his throat and smiled, trying to compose himself. You could almost hear his internal monologue urging him on - Come on Peter, keep it together..., “You look... God Y/N. You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” You blushed. Of course that wasn’t the first time someone had told you that, but coming from Peter it felt different, “You look so handsome. Not your usual kind of suit, huh?” You smirked, causing him to chuckle as he pulled on his sleeves.
“I have your mask.” You smiled, still admiring him, holding the mask out to him.
- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -
“Why doesn’t your mask hide your identity?” Peter asked, as the two of you watched more and more people file into the ballroom.
“Because people will know who I am anyway, and I’m not hiding.” You explained.
“How will they know?” He furrowed his brows, you shook your wrist in response.
“I don’t know anyone else with a custom blaster built into a bracelet. I’m also on the younger side, and pulled up in a ride with Stark Industries plates, so it wouldn’t take a genius.” You smiled, starting to recognize a few faces of regulars as you people watched.
“Do you always wear that thing?” He asked, holding up your wrist and examining it.
“No, I’ve got a watch for day to day wear that does the same thing. Dad may not give me a suit, but he won’t leave me completely defenseless. And it has come in handy.” You trailed off, remembering the not so fond memories of the last time you used it. Your ribs still ached if you thought about it long enough.
“Let’s hope you don’t have to use it tonight.” Peter said, craving one normal night without having to be a hero.
“Someone would have to be very ambitious to attack this place, they’ve got security out the wazoo.” You brushed off, praying tonight would go well.
A hush fell over the crowd as the charity president walked onto the stage and welcomed everyone. You felt Peter’s hand slip around your waist protectively as everyone pushed a little closer to the stage to hear. This part was pretty standard, basically a little speech to kick off the  night, a thank you for coming, and who to make all checks out to. Music filled the ballroom as the band began playing after the applause for the speaker died down.
“I’ll get us something to drink.” Peter nodded off towards the open bar.
You nod as he walks off and turn to admire the ballroom. Your eyes soon land on a familiar face.
“Dr. Strange,” You smile, greeting him.
“Dr. Stark,” He nods. You’d met a few times at these sorts of events. You hadn’t seen him for a while though, and there were rumors of an accident.
“How are you Stephen? I haven’t seen you since...” You paused to trying and remember, “Was it that benefit for the hospital a year ago?”
“Had to be, I’ve been... traveling.” He stated ominously. You glanced down to see the long thin scars along his fingers.
“Well it’s nice to have you back.” You smiled.
Peter now rejoined you at your side, slipping a drink into your hands- non-alcoholic of course, per May’s request. His other hand found its way to the small of your back.
“Peter, this is Dr. Stephen Strange.” You introduced him.
“Peter Parker,” He smiled, shaking the doctor’s hand. Something you couldn’t describe flashed over Peter’s eyes as they shook hands. Like a gut feeling he couldn’t quite place. For some reason his spidey senses were going off.
“Enjoy your evening, I need to check in at work.” Strange gave a curt nod and smile as he said his goodbyes. As he walked past you he dropped his voice to a whisper and spoke into your ear, “I like this one much better than the last.”
“Me too,” You whispered back with a smirk.
“So... how do you know him?” Peter asked curiously as the doctor excused himself to call the hospital.
“We run in the same circles, it’s a lot of the same people that come to these sorts of things. His hospital donates a lot of money to these causes and when he pisses off the board they send him to represent them as punishment.” You explained.
“This is a punishment?” Peter asked, dumbfounded.
“For a neurosurgeon it might just be,” You laughed, shaking your head, “I’m surprised he’s here.”
“Why?” He furrowed his brows.
“I heard he was in an accident not too far back. A bad one. I didn’t know he had gone back to work. Hmm...” You looked off to where the man had disappeared to.
“Care to dance, Parker?” You changed the subject, taking his hand into yours and placing your drinks onto the nearest table.
As the song changed to I Only Have Eyes For You by The Flamingos, he held you in his arms, swaying slowly. You were lost in him, hours could have passed, or seconds. As your bodies were pressed together you felt a sensation you could only describe as home.
“So has it been everything you dreamed it would be? These stuffy formalities for rich people to get drunk and spend money.” You chuckled as you looked up at him.
“It’s beautiful, but I guess, I mean it seems so glamorous from the outside.” He shook his head.
“Sorry to burst the bubble for you. It’s a little less Gatsby, and a little more, middle aged businessman doing coke in the bathroom.” You quipped.
Peter’s head immediately whipped towards the bathroom door where two men were emerging, one rubbing his nose.
“No way...” He looked back to you with wide eyes.
“You’d be surprised.” You chuckled.
- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -
After a little more dancing and mingling you and Peter made your way out onto the deserted balcony.
“Are you cold?” He asked, as he leaned onto the railing next to you. You were hiding it well but he still sensed it.
“A little.” You chuckled, cursing those spidey senses for giving you away.
Peter slipped off his coat and placed it over your shoulders. You thanked him as you turned to admire the moonlit lake below you. It was so quiet and peaceful, untouched by the party going on just on the other side of the glass doors.
“Did you have a good day?” Peter asked.
“Perfect.” You looked up to him and smiled, and you meant it.
“Um, so, Happy told me that you don’t like to celebrate your birthday but,” Peter began to speak, nervously. Your eyes grew wide, how in the world did he know it was your birthday? That was the one day you liked to keep private and out of the press. Only the Avengers, Pepper and Happy knew when it was. “I wanted to give you this. Everyone deserves at least one present on their birthday.”
“Peter you didn’t-” You shook your head, before he cut you off.
“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. And don’t worry, Mr. Stark swore me to secrecy so I won’t go announcing it to the world.” He reassured you as he reached into his pocket to pull out a little box.
“I know it’s not much, and I’m sure you have a million other fancy things, but I wanted you to have this.” Peter opened the box nervously, revealing a necklace. It was a single pearl and diamond dangling from a silver chain. Simple, but beautiful. “It was my mothers. Aunt May said that my dad gave it to her on their wedding day.”
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Your jaw dropped slightly and your hand went over your heart.
“Peter, I-” How could you accept this? It was probably one of the last bits he had of his mother and he was just giving it away? You knew how much they meant to him, and he’d been through so much. With losing both parents so young and then his Uncle Ben not that long ago. Tears began to pool up in your eyes. Did he really care about you that much to part with something this important?
“Are you sure?” You asked softly.
“Of course I am. She would have loved you. She would have wanted you to have it.” Peter spoke, slipping the necklace on you as a single tear slipped down your cheek.
You turned back to him with a smile, he gently rubbed his thumb across your cheek to wipe the tear away. He didn’t know what to say- actually that’s a lie. He knew exactly what three words he wanted to say, but he thought it might be too soon and he might scare you. He absolutely didn’t want that. So he just smiled at you as you leaned in to kiss him.
You pulled away and wiped your tears, trying your best not to mess up your makeup.
“Thank you Peter.” You sniffled, chuckling at how silly you were being.
“Happy birthday.” He beamed as you heard the band strike up a slow song inside. He extended his hand to you, “Y/N Stark, can I have this dance?”
There was that goofy smile again, causing you to giggle as you placed your hand in his. He pulled you close, you rest your head on his shoulder as you both sway to the music. And for once in your life, everything was perfect.
- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -
After everyone had said their goodbyes and they ushered you out of the venue, you and Peter began your short walk through the park to the Plaza Hotel across the street.
“Tonight was like a dream,” You said, as you swung your intertwined hands slightly.
“Haven’t you been to a million of these things.” Peter chuckled and shook his head.
“Yes, but I’ve never been to one with someone I love and it’s a very different experience I’ve learned.” You spoke, causing Peter to stop.
You turned to face him as you noticed his wide eyes, not believing the words that just came out of your mouth. It took him a minute to process. One, that meant you loved him. And two, that meant you were never in love with Thomas, since you’d been to these events with him before.
“Ok, you’re kinda scaring me now Peter,” You laughed nervously at his awestruck state.
“You love me?” He asked, and you answered with a nod and a smile.
He placed his hands on either side of your face and pulled you into a sweeping kiss.
“Am I dreaming?” Peter asks, pulling away, looking for any sign on your face that this was all some sort of joke.
“I sure hope not,” You chuckle.
“I love you too,” Peter beams at you, pulling you into another kiss.
- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -
“Woah...” You and Peter both mutter as you push open the door to your hotel room. Now this was fancy. You felt like you were in a room in Buckingham Palace.
You both walked around, inspecting the room as you dropped your coats. You saw your bags in the corner that had already been brought up. You ran your hand over one of the pillows on the huge California King sized bed as your lips morphed into a smirk and an idea popped into your head. You clutched onto the pillow with one of your perfectly manicured hands as you spun around, whacking Peter with it.
“Hey!” He yelped, eyes growing wide at what you’d just done.
“Come on Parker, let’s see what you’ve got.” You tossed him another pillow from the bed with a smirk.
“O you’re gonna regret this,” He stalked towards you. You kicked off your heels and jumped onto the bed, standing up on your knees.
He swung his pillow as you ducked, it just missed you. You took the opportunity to whack him again. He looked at you with wide eyes, thinking, How had he missed?
“What? Couldn’t see that coming, bug boy?” You laughed. Taking those few seconds to gloat had proved fatal as you felt his pillow attack your side.
“Oof,” You feigned pain as you dropped backwards until your back hit the bed.
“Are you ok?” Peter asked, worried, thinking he’d really hurt you. With his super strength he was never sure.
You waited until he was kneeling next to you to jump into action, according to your plan. You jumped up, pushing him back onto the bed as you straddle him, grabbing your pillow and smacking him a few times.
“Ok, ok, you win!” Peter cried out, forfeiting.
“Yes!” You threw your pillow up in the air in victory. Peter looked up at you, still on top of him with your hair now a mess, hanging all around your face. He cherished the genuine smile on your face. All he wanted to do was kiss you, you looked so happy.
You crawled off of him and back onto the floor where you extended your hand to help him up. As he placed his hand into yours and rose to his feet, you didn’t notice his left hand reach for the pillow. Before you knew it, there was a pillow lightly thrown in your face.
“Peter!” You squealed through laughter. He knew you were about to retaliate when you reached for your own pillow on the bed. But he was faster, wrapping his arms around your waist and lifting you away.
“Come on, truce?” He asked as you struggled against his arms.
“Fine, truce.” You said, shaking his extended hand as he let you go.
“Hungry?” You asked, reaching for the room service menu on the desk and flipping through it.
“Starving.” He said, reading it over your shoulder.
After you had called in the food, you walked over to explore the rest of the room.
“They said it will be about an hour.” You told Peter, as you pushed open the door to the bathroom.
“So what do we do til then?” He asked, but you didn’t hear him.
“Jesus, look at the size of that tub.” You exclaimed, and Peter came over to your side to get a look at it too.
“Wow,” He said when his eyes landed on the giant clawfoot tub, “Um we definitely have to use that.”
You turned to face him with a smile.
“Really? You’d wanna do that?” You asked, who knew Peter Parker was a sucker for bubble baths.
“Absolutely. And do they have those big fluffy robes like in the movies?” He asked, excitedly, like a kid on Christmas.
You walked over to the closet and pulled the doors open, revealing two robes as described. You pulled them out and presented them to him.
“Cool...” His eyes lit up as he felt the material between his fingers.
You started to run the water, adding bath salts and bubbles, knowing it would take a while to fill the whole thing. Your things had already been brought to the room before you got there, so you got to work taking off your makeup and letting your now messy hair down.
You tried to reach for your zipper, as your body cried to be released from this skin tight dress.
“Hey Pete,” You called, and he strolled in the bathroom, now only wearing his dress pants and no shirt... and the butterflies were back. God how could he look that good, you stared shamelessly.
“You called?” He smirked, breaking your train of thought.
“Oh um, can you help me with my zipper?” You blushed, knowing you’d been caught.
“Mhm, turn around.” He instructed, before his fingers found the metal pull tab and he slowly worked it down, revealing more and more skin.
“There you go.” He smiled, placing a kiss on your shoulder, his gentle action nearly making you swoon. “I think the water’s ready if you want me to turn off the tap.”
“Yeah, yeah go ahead.” You nodded. You watched him turn off the spout and slip off his dress pants until he was just in his boxers. He folded them and set them aside before looking up to you. You were still holding your dress against your chest to keep it up, as the back gaped open and the thin straps slipped down your arms.
“Do you need help with that?” Peter asked, pointing to your dress, thinking you might need help taking it off. You thought you could manage, but on second thought you might need help. It was a tight dress and your stylist had helped you into it. You only nodded in response as Peter moved behind you. He gently helped you slip your arms through the straps and pulled the fabric down your body. He gave the fabric a quick tug as it struggled to get past your hips. You were now exposed in front of him. The dress was too tight for you to wear any sort of undergarments. He took you in for a moment before shifting his attention respectfully to the red indentations down your side from where the seams of the dress dug into you.
“Does this hurt?” He asked, gently rubbing his fingers down them.
“Not really,” You shook your head. He reached out his hand to help you into the tub without slipping.
You sank into the warm water as Peter dropped his boxers and joined you. Your eyes went wide at the size of him, and you looked away, a blush slowly crept onto your cheeks.
He must have noticed because the next thing you knew, a splash of water was hitting your face. You looked back to him in shock, he was sitting back laughing. You flicked your hand through the water, splashing him back.
You moved to do it again, but he grabbed your wrist, stopping you. You knew it was a good idea, if the two of you started going at it again like in the pillow fight, it would lead to a mess and an expensive clean up bill.
“Do they always book rooms this fancy for the galas?” Peter asked, taking in the room once more.
“I don’t know, this was the first time I’ve accepted it.” You shrugged, following his gaze up to the gold crown molding and chandelier.
“Really? I thought you did this all the time.” Peter assumed.
“No, I don’t make it a habit of jumping into tubs with strange men.” You joked.
“That’s not what I meant, and I’m not a strange man, I’m your boyfriend.” He teased as he pulled you towards him. You chuckled and placed your lips onto his quickly before pulling away.
“Say it again.” You smiled. He furrowed his brows for a moment before smiling.
“I’m... your... boyfriend.” He said slowly, placing a kiss on either cheek between words, his lips landing on yours after his last word.
He now had his arms around your waist, pulling you close as your lips collided. When you broke apart for air, he looked down at the necklace around your neck and smiled.
“This is a dream right? I’m dreaming.” Peter shook his head with a goofy grin, not being able to believe his eyes.
“Does this feel like a dream?” You asked, taking both of his hands and placing them onto your breasts. He responded by crashing his lips onto yours, he groaned against your mouth as he pulled you closer.
“It’s nice to know you dream about me Parker.” You quipped with a smirk as you broke apart for air. He chuckled at your cockiness.
“All the time, baby.” He replied, and the pet name rolled off his tongue before he even realized what he said. God you almost melted at the sound. It was your turn to crash your lips against his and let out a moan as his hand traveled down to squeeze your ass.
A knock at the door pulled you both apart as you stared at each other with wide eyes.
“Room service!” A voice called, causing you both to let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding in.
- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -
The two of you sat at the dining table, both in your white fluffy robes with nearly dripping wet hair.
“God this is so good.” Peter said, stuffing his mouth.
“Mm, I know, I didn’t realize I was this hungry.” You said, doing the same. Who knew fancy hotels made burgers and fries this good.
You picked up a fry from your plate, waving it at Peter.
“Ready? Catch.” You said as you threw it across the table as Peter caught it in his mouth.
“Ok your turn,” Peter said, tossing one of his. You leaned to the side, nearly missing it, but catching it in your mouth. You thrust your fists in the air in celebration, causing Peter to chuckle.
The two of you ate and talked, before cleaning up.
“Ugh, I’m so full.” You groaned, falling back onto the bed, rubbing your full stomach, causing Peter to laugh.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” Peter asked.
“Oo yeah, we should probably get out of these robes though.” You said, moving from the bed, not wanting to get it all wet.
“Here,” Peter said, moving to his duffle bag and tossing you one of his t-shirts. You slipped it on as he slipped on some boxers and hung up your robes. You glanced down at the Midtown Tech logo and smiled. The fabric fell down to the middle of your thigh.
“I like seeing you in my clothes.” Peter smiled as he approached you sitting on the edge of the bed and pulled you into a chaste kiss.
“Cafeul, soon all your sweatshirts are gonna go missing.” You said, making him laugh.
Peter sat with his back against the headboard, and motioned you over to him. You crawled across the bed and laid into his side as he wrapped an arm around your waist, keeping you close. He held the remote in his other hand, scrolling through options on the large screen.
“Have you seen this?” Peter motioned towards the screen.
“That’s my favorite movie.” You chuckled, smiling up at him as he immediately pressed start.
Peter absentmindedly played with your hair as the movie went on. As the credits rolled a few hours later you leaned up to face Peter.
“Thank you for today. As birthdays go, I gotta say this may be my best yet.” You spoke genuinely.
“Well it’s not over yet.” He stated after glancing at the clock on the bedside table.
“It’s not?” You smirk, as he pulls you closer.
“I think we were interrupted earlier.” He said slowly, a blush returning to your cheeks as you remembered the events that took place, or almost took place in the bathtub a few hours earlier.
“I think you’re right.” You whispered back, as you climbed onto his lap as his lips intertwined with yours.
You’ve kissed him before, that wasn’t new, but this time something was different. There was a hunger you couldn’t quite describe. His hands began to roam your body, trying to take in every inch of you. A strong arm wrapped around your waist, lifted you, and laid you down onto the bed as Peter now hovered over you.
You gasped at the sudden movement before smiling as Peter lowered his lips to yours once more.
“Y/N,” He said, making you stop and open your eyes, worriedly. Was he ok? Was this too much?
“I’ve never...” He began, nervously.
“That’s ok Peter, we don’t have to-” You tried to reassure him, but he shook his head.
“I want to, God I want to. I want to make you feel good.” He said, his hand traveling up your shirt and resting on your waist.
“Are you sure?” You asked, not wanting to push him into something he wasn’t ready for.
He nodded, muttering a yes as he brought his lips down to you once more, before pulling away.
“Are you?” He asked, making sure this wasn’t one sided.
“Absolutely.” You smiled, taking in the sight of him above you, reaching up to gently move a curl that was falling onto his face, brushing his hair back with your fingers.
And for the first time in your life, you realized why it was called ‘making love’. As much as the phrase made you cringe. As much as you hated when people said that, that was the only way you could think to describe what you and Peter just did. It was sweet but passionate. Peter was gentle yet ruthless in all the right ways. You figured it out together, through the giggles and moans. And as first times go, it was perfect.
For one night you got to be kids. Of course you were adults, just barely. But the two of you had more weight on your shoulders than most adults would ever have. You had responsibilities, that the safety of the city and the world depended on. But for one night, you got to be normal, you got to be kids. For one night you were free, and you cherished it, because neither of you knew how long it would last.
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