#some really huge opportunities are being offered to me and i can’t afford to miss out on them

[baepsaesbae]

None of Your Business

Pairing— Jung Hoseok x reader  

Genre— SMUT, enemies to lovers au, business/professional life au, slight angst, slight fluff, mutual pining bc im a slut for that

Warnings— inappropriate workplace behavior, explicit unprotected sex, face sitting, slight biting, one (1) butt slap, dirty talk, swearing, switch!Hoseok, Hoseok being a god damn nuisance, (also I’m not a business person so if you are and I state inaccurate/dumb things I apologize in advance)

Word Count— 8.9k

Summary— You have a shot at attaining a huge promotion at your company. The only problem standing in your way is the same one that annoyed you in college. Jung Hoseok. How will you manage to spend an entire weekend at a conference juggling impressing your supervisors while simultaneously battling Hoseok?

A/N— This super cool banner was made by the one and only @kimtaehyunq​, thank you so much! Please let me know what you guys think. Feel free to leave a comment or send an ask! 

The business world has always been mercilessly cutthroat; that’s one of the first things business students learn when they enter college. The competition to get an internship at a top company was fierce. Recruiting has to start at least a year in advance if you even want to give yourself a chance.

Luckily for you, you were the top student in your program. Well, one of the top students. Over the past four years, your position had been flip flopping with some surprisingly competent bonehead who annoyingly plagued your life.

“Excited to be graduating this semester, ___?” an all too familiar voice interrupted your studying.

“Excited to graduate as top of the class? Yes, of course,” you replied coldly. 

“Top of the class? That’s a little presumptuous, don’t you think?” the handsome boy sat on your table.

“I think it’ll be pretty much set in stone after this last final,” you returned your attention to your notes.

“Well, even if you’re number one, I think experience matters a lot in this field,” the boy refused to leave you alone. 

“Then it’s a good thing I did an internship with one of the top companies over the summer,” you glared at him.

“Oh yeah, how could I forget about the internship that you stole from me?” the boy pouted.

“I was obviously more qualified. And how could you say that when you stole my opportunity to go on a study abroad trip with my favorite professor last Spring Break? I’m still furious that he chose you over me solely because you were sleeping with his daughter,” you retorted.

“That was a coincidence! I don’t know how many times I need to tell you that,” he tried to defend himself.

“Whatever. Do me a favor and leave me alone, Hoseok. Hopefully today will be the last time I’ll ever see you.”

“That’s kind of sad to think about. Who else will get under my skin and annoy me every time they open their mouth?” Hoseok bantered, “Also, I told you to call me Hobi.”

“That would imply that we’re on friendly terms. I don’t like lying, Hoseok.”

“Fine. Good luck on that last final. See you around,” Hoseok hopped off the table and patted your head.

“Don’t touch me,” you grumbled as he walked away.

That was five years ago.

The company that you interned with gave you a job offer immediately after graduation. Quickly moving up through the ranks proved to be an easy feat since your tenacious nature made you the ideal employee. 

You were currently waiting outside of the CEO’s office. Seconds felt like hours as you mindlessly bounced your leg. It was eerily silent, and all you could hear were the click clacks of the receptionist’s keyboard as she worked. You looked around at the bleak décor that was a sorry excuse for modernism as you racked your brain. Were you in trouble? Did something happen? You were summoned up for a meeting but had no clue what it was going to be about. 

Once you were finally called in, you were greeted by both the CEO and VP of the company. 

“___, please take a seat,” the CEO politely smiled, “As you know, I am getting old. I am unmarried, so therefore I have no one to oversee the company after I’m gone. The executive council and I have been looking for people to fill my shoes. Or at the very least, take a seat on the executive council if one of them were to take my place.”

“Your numbers have been exceptional this month,” the VP chimed in, “And every month prior. After much deliberation, your name has been cast into the lot.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Being a member of the executive council at your age was almost unheard of.

“There is one other candidate that has also been hand selected at the other branch. You both are to attend a conference in which you will mingle with executives from other companies. There will also be a time in which you will pitch an idea to me on how to make this company better,” the CEO continued when he saw your loss for words.

“First and foremost I would like to thank you for this opportunity. I will do my best to live up to your expectations,” you bowed to show your gratitude. 

“Perfect. The conference is in two weeks. I believe that should give you ample time to prepare your presentation,” the VP shook your hand.

After shaking hands with the CEO, you turned to leave. However, something was nagging you. 

“May I ask who the other candidate is?” you inquired.

“Jung Hoseok from the northern branch,” the VP answered without missing a beat. 

“Ah,” your brain exploded.

“Do you know him?” the CEO asked.

“We went to college together. I know of him,” you said curtly.

“Well you’ll finally get your chance to meet him. I’ve heard he’s very popular with the ladies at his branch. That’s not pertinent to his skills; however, you can’t blame an old man for wanting to know the gossip of his own employees,” the old man chuckled.

“Of course,” you smiled politely as you excused yourself from the office.

Jung Hoseok? That douchebag? Just your luck to run into him again (to fight for the next step in your career no less!). You think back on all the run ins you had with him during your collegiate days. Nothing but irritating memories of the two of you competing for the top spot came to mind. 

Whatever. It didn’t matter who the other candidate was. You had to get to work and come up with a brilliant plan that will impress the CEO. You brushed the thought of Hoseok aside. It had been a couple of years, maybe he wouldn’t even remember you. There’s no need to stress out over something so trivial. 

The weekend of the conference had finally arrived. You were instructed to travel together with Hoseok. You waited alone at the airport terminal. If you were lucky, Hoseok wouldn’t show up at all. You weren’t. 

“___!” Hoseok called out your name in a sing songy voice.

“Hello Hoseok. Glad to see you haven’t changed,” you were already irritated.

“How are you? It’s been so long. You look great!” he went in for a hug but you turned away. 

He stood awkwardly with his arms in the air for a second until he bounced back. He took the seat next to you and began chatting. You answered his list of questions apathetically. 

“Did I do something to offend you?” Hoseok finally asked.

“I just think it’s funny that even after all these years, I still have to compete with you,” you retorted.

“Still hung up on that? It doesn’t even matter anymore. We got good jobs and now we’re here. Together! Isn’t that cool?”

“No, not at all. Although I guess it will be nostalgic coming out on top once again,” you smirked.

“Your competitive nature always amused me. You’re so cute when you lose,” Hoseok teased.

“I never lost to you,” you gasped.

“That’s not what that one study abroad trip with Professor whatshisname says,” he cooed. 

“Professor Namjoon! You knew he was my favorite, you prick. At least I graduated as top of the class with honors,” you argued. 

“My GPA was off by thousandths of a point. That doesn’t really bother me. But I’m glad you have something that makes you happy,” Hoseok shrugged. 

‘This is gonna be one long fucking weekend’, you thought. 

The flight was short and pleasant since Hoseok left you alone. You wanted to see as little of him as possible during this trip. You intended to get that promotion no matter what. 

After the plane landed, the two of you made your way to the hotel that was hosting the conference. 

“Hi, last name ___ and Jung?” you smiled at the hotel concierge. 

“Ah yes, you guys are here for the business conference?” the concierge asked.

“Indeed we are!” Hoseok chimed in from behind you.

“Alrighty, I got you guys all checked in. Enjoy your stay!” the concierge handed you a singular set of keys.

“Oh, I’m sorry, there must be a mistake. We’re in two separate rooms,” you politely tried to hand back the keys.

“The reservation is for a singular suite,” the concierge explained.

“Probably cheaper that way,” Hoseok reasoned while nodding.

Your fake smile faltered for a second. How the hell are you supposed to spend an entire weekend sharing a room with the most despicable person on the planet?

At least the hotel itself was grand. There was no way you’d ever be able to afford to stay in such a swanky place. The lobby was decorated with ornate marble pillars that were laced with gold trimmings. It even had a fancy fountain in the middle to greet incoming guests, which you thought was a bit overkill. 

“Excited to sleep with me, princess?” Hoseok teased, obviously picking up on your annoyance.

“Fuck off. Stay the hell away from my bed and my things,” you spat.

“Who’s to say that you won’t be able to stay away from my bed?” he smirked. 

“You wish,” you rolled your eyes as the elevator finally stopped on the top floor. 

You led the way to your shared suite with Hoseok. The trip was exhausting; you couldn’t wait to take a nap on your large luxurious bed that was probably topped with Egyptian cotton (one can dream). 

You immediately dropped your bags on the side of the room and flopped onto the bed, shutting your eyes. 

“Interesting,” Hoseok said.

You ignored him.

“Very interesting,” he continued. 

“What? What is so interesting?” you sat up and glared at him in frustration.

“Take a quick glance around the room,” he suggested.

Your heart sank, “No fucking way.”

You loved this trope in fanfics, but in real life? Fuck no, not with this asshole. Yes, there was only one luxurious king sized bed in the room. 

“Well, looks like you're going to sleep on the floor,” you smiled sweetly at him.

“The bed is huge, we can definitely share,” Hoseok argued.

“I think the fuck not,” you dropped back onto the bed, “I’m sure you’ll whore your way into someone else’s bed each night anyway.”

“I don’t think I need to, not when I’m already sharing a bed with you,” he flirted.

“Bite me, Hoseok,” you sighed, not in the mood for a tit for tat.

“Are you into that? I’d happily oblige,” he responded as he sat on the other side of the bed.

“I’m afraid that’s confidential information that you are not privy to,” you huffed, turning away from him.

“Are you really going to make me sleep on the floor?” he asked quietly. 

“Would you listen to me if I said I wanted you to?” you were curious to know.

“Look, I’ll admit that I can be an asshole, but I’m not a creep. If you’re really not comfortable with sharing a bed with me I’ll sleep on the floor. All I’d ask of you is to spare me a pillow.”

There was a short silence as you mulled over your options. 

“Fine, we can share the bed. But I demand a pillow divider to be set between us,” you caved.

“Wahoo! Thank you so much for your generosity, ___. Do you want to use the bathroom to get ready for bed first, or shall I?” Hoseok celebrated.

“I’ll get ready first,” you lazily rolled off the bed and trudged to the bathroom.

You were so tired that you missed hearing Hoseok’s soft chuckle as he watched you stumble to the bathroom. He patiently waited for you to finish before it was his turn to get ready for bed. You were sound asleep by the time he was done.

The blankets were haphazardly sprawled out on your side of the bed. One leg was under the covers while the other was completely exposed. Your mouth was agape with a bit of drool seeping out, and your shirt lifted up to expose some of your tummy.

Hoseok smiled at the sight. Never in a million years did he think he’d ever be lucky enough to see you like this. He pulled down your shirt in an attempt to make you look decent, but there was nothing he could do about your drooling. He tucked you into the sheets properly, making sure that the blankets covered you up to your neck.

He settled into his side of the bed. You forgot to put up the pillow divider. Hoseok stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He turned over to face you in an attempt to get comfortable. 

‘She looks so sweet. Almost cute,’ Hoseok thought. 

He quickly brushed the thought aside. You were his rival, and have been since the first day of college years ago. He sat up and created a pillow barrier. Bickering with you first thing in the morning was the last thing he wanted. 

The first day of the conference was filled with attending various meetings while attempting to make as many networking connections as possible. You got up early and left the room before Hoseok was even awake. The less time spent with him, the better. 

Of course, completely avoiding him was impossible. You were to sit with your respective company during the meetings and presentations. The VP sat between you and Hoseok, while the CEO switched between sitting on either side. You were thankful for the separation, but nervous nonetheless.

The CEO would occasionally lean over to ask you questions about the presentations, and he intently listened to your responses. The VP would merely look over occasionally to give you a smile or wink; he acted more like moral support. You knew the entire weekend would practically be an interview, but you underestimated how anxiety inducing it would be. 

The higher ups finally left you alone when lunchtime came around. You picked up your lunch in the hotel’s decadent ballroom that had been turned into an eating area. You scouted an empty table in the far corner of the room in the hopes of finding some peace and quiet.

Hoseok had other plans. He saw you sit down at the table and happily followed you.

“Hey there buddy!” he greeted you as he sat down.

“Shouldn’t you be networking with new people?” you rolled your eyes at him.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he retorted as he took a bite of his sandwich.

“I’ve been doing that since before you were awake. I think I deserve a break,” you replied.

“I forgot that you’re quite the hard worker. I couldn’t have asked for better competition,” he said.

“Was that a compliment?” you asked with an amused grin.

“Yeah, and it’s the only one you’ll ever get from me. Is your pitch to the CEO ready?” Hoseok inquired.

“It has been. And no, I’m not going to tell you what it is,” you proudly answered.

“Oh c’mon! Mine is ready too! You’re a damn fool if you think I’m gonna steal your idea. I’m just curious,” he pouted.

“Fine. I’ll tell you if you tell me yours first,” you offered.

“So distrustful,” Hoseok feigned offense, “Okay, so I think offering higher bonuses for working overtime would be a good start. There could even be competitive bonuses in each department for the person who gets the best numbers that month.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” you said at first, “But don’t you think that would just create more animosity between coworkers?”

“I think competition is a healthy motivation factor. It worked for me in college,” Hoseok defended his idea.

“Everyone is competitive in college. Especially in the business schools,” you argued.

“Yeah, but not everyone is you,” Hoseok stated. 

“Excuse me?”

“Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be here today if you weren’t always on my ass,” he admitted, “Being your rival was kinda fun. You got flustered so easily, it was almost cute.”

“I do not get flustered easily! Plus, it was always you who was on my ass,” you huffed.

“I see that you still do,” Hoseok laughed, “But seriously. The universe brought us together again so I guess it’s telling me to thank you.”

“That’s uncharacteristically nice of you to say,” you looked away from him to hide your reddening cheeks, “You pushed me too, so thanks for that...I guess.”

“Mhm, no problem buddy. I’ll see you in the next presentation room,” he got up to leave.

“Wait Hoseok!” you called after him.

“Yeah?” he turned around quickly.

“I didn’t tell you my idea--”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s brilliant,” he winked before walking away.

The rest of the day passed by quickly. You retired to your room, exhausted from all the forced socialization. Your mind was stuck on what Hoseok said earlier. Maybe he wasn’t as big of an asshole as you thought. Perhaps you mistook a friendly rivalry for toxic competition.

You were sprawled out across the bed in your pjs when Hoseok entered the room.

“Are you gonna sleep like that?” he asked.

“You’re gonna have to forcibly remove me from your side if you want it that badly,” you replied with your eyes still closed. 

“That’s fine,” Hoseok said as he abruptly rolled you over to your side.

“Hey!” you squeaked out in protest.

“It was either that, or I laid on top of you and suffocated you.”

“Hmph,” you let out a displeased noise.

“Oh my god, you’re so bratty. How old are you?” Hoseok chuckled.

“Old enough to know that you’re a meanie,” your response was muffled by the pillow you buried your face in.

“Sorry I’m a what?” Hoseok teased.

“A meanie!” you quickly got up and slammed a pillow into Hoseok, catching him by surprise.

“I’m the meanie? You just pelted me with a pillow!” he cowered away from you.

“And I’ll do it again!” you threatened.

“I don’t think so,” Hoseok suddenly lurched forward, tackling you back onto your side of the bed.

You’re both laughing at this point. Seeing Hoseok up close and personal made you realize how handsome he truly was. Had he always been this attractive? Hoseok’s cheerful laugh echoed throughout the room as he loomed over you, pinning you down.

“I’ll get off if you promise not to hit me with a pillow ever again,” Hoseok tried to say in a serious tone, but his smile betrayed him.

“Sorry, I can’t make such a ridiculous promise,” you sassed.

“God, you really are so bratty. Kinda cute, kinda naughty,” Hoseok tsked.

“There’s nothing you can do about it,” you stuck your tongue out at him.

Hoseok leaned down to whisper in your ear, “Oh, I’m sure there’s something I could do.”

That sent chills down your spine. This was perhaps the most intimate moment you’ve shared with someone in a long time. 

“Keep dreaming then, lover boy,” you said. Truth be told, just that one sentence turned you on, but you couldn’t let him know that.

“As you wish,” Hoseok released you and retreated back to his side of the bed. 

“Maybe you aren’t as big of an asshole as I remembered,” you chuckled.

“You thought I was an asshole?” Hoseok laughed.

“I did. Maybe I still do. Not that it matters, we’ll never see each other again after this stupid conference.”

“That’s not true,” Hoseok disagreed, “I’ll be on the executive council, so you may see me from time to time.”

“I like the confidence. Too bad it’s in vain,” you teased, “I’m going to bed. Our day starts early tomorrow.”

“Our?”

“The. The day starts early tomorrow. Just go to bed Hoseok,” your turned over to conceal the faint smile on your face. Maybe he wasn’t so bad afterall. 

The second day of the conference started off as boring as the previous day. The various presenters droned on about different strategies regarding the improvement of a company with a plethora of charts and numbers to back it all up. The CEO wasn’t as talkative today to either you or Hoseok. The VP still made his reassuring gestures to you, flashing smiles and winks here and there.

“Can I see you privately after the last morning presentation?” the VP whispered to you.

“Yes, of course!” you excitedly answer. Currying the VP’s favor may come in handy later. 

After the last presentation, the VP discreetly led you to a vacant corner. His tone became serious as he began to speak.

“The CEO discussed his initial thoughts with me last night. I know I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but he’s currently leaning towards Hoseok,” he explained.

The news made your heart sink.

“I’d rather see you on the executive council, if I’m being frank. My pride is on the line since I recommended you,” his voice lowered, “However, I think there is a way to sway his opinion.”

“Which is?” you eagerly asked. 

“Someone might overhear here, meet me in my room in an hour,” the VP covertly handed you his room key.

He walked away without another word. The fact that the VP was on your side gave you a faint sliver of hope. The next hour of free time was spent frantically networking while your mind was obviously elsewhere. Every now and then you heard Hoseok’s voice, and just the sound of it spurred you on to make even more connections. By the end of it, your face began to hurt from all the fake smiling. 

You were standing in front of the VP’s hotel room exactly an hour after your secret rendezvous. The door opened immediately after you knocked.

“You’re extremely punctual; that’s wonderful,” the VP observed as you entered, “Make yourself comfortable.”

You scoured the room to find a place to sit. Your uneasiness must have been obvious, as the VP gestured towards the bed.

“Thank you,” you said as you awkwardly sat at the edge of the bed, “What is your plan?”

“It’s quite simple actually,” the VP sat beside you, “I just need to get to know you better. That way I can give an authentic and flawless review to the CEO.”

“So, you’re going to conduct an in-depth interview?” you asked timidly as you noticed him scooting closer to you.

“You could say that,” he voice lowered as he rested his hand on your thigh, “We have about 45 free minutes remaining. I believe you should make the most of this interview, Miss ___,” he smiled slyly as his hand began to travel upwards.

“How dare you?!” you yelled as you abruptly pushed him off of you, “I’m going to report you to HR!”

“Then say goodbye to your promotion. You really think you were chosen just because your numbers have been decent? You definitely were not the CEO’s first choice. He didn’t even know who you were. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even be here,” he explained with a shit eating grin. 

“Then why the hell would you even bring me up to the CEO? Just so you could try and sleep with me?” you were enraged.

“Don’t blame me for wanting some eye candy to entertain me during this god awful convention,” he smirked.

“Fuck you, you fucking pig,” you spat.

“Ohhh feisty. I like that in a girl. If you leave now, you can kiss that promotion goodbye,” the VP called out to you as you stormed towards the door.

“And you can kiss my ass, and shove that promotion up yours,” you snapped, flipping him off before slamming the door behind you.

Tears welled in your eyes as you made your way to your room. You were absolutely distraught. Had all your hard work been for nothing? Had you been nothing but a pretty sight for men to stare at for the past five years?

You entered your hotel room to find Hoseok laying on the bed. You quickly wiped away your tears; you hadn’t expected him to be there. He appeared to be taking a nap. You watched his chest rise and fall slowly as you snuck into the bathroom. You freshened yourself up to the best of your abilities. Maybe a little power nap would help calm your nerves. Too bad Hoseok was taking up the bed. Fuck.

You left the bathroom to see if maybe you could curl up in one of the corners of the bed. Luckily, Hoseok was on his side of the bed. You set a timer for half an hour and slowly crawled under the covers. Your eyelids felt heavy as you closed them.

“If you wanted to cuddle you could’ve just let me know,” Hoseok’s voice surprised you.

“Well, I don’t. Leave me alone,” you responded.

“What if I want to cuddle?” he asked.

“There is an abundance of perfectly good pillows for you to use,” you sighed, then sniffled a little.

“Are you sick?” Hoseok asked with a worried tone.

“No, I’m fine,” you answered quickly, panicking. 

“___, what’s wrong?” Hoseok was sitting up now.

“Nothing, leave me alone,” you turned away.

“If you insist, I won’t push it. Just know that you can talk to me if you need to,” he offered.

You heard him get off the bed. You pulled the sheets over your head to hide your face. You cried silently as Hoseok shuffled around the room, presumably getting ready to leave. Suddenly, he pounced on you.

“Hoseok! What the fu--” you cried out as he yanked the sheets off of you.

“Surprise attack!” he gleefully exclaimed. 

His expression quickly changed when he saw your tear streaked face. You looked up at him with puffy eyes. You were too exhausted to hold your cold stare. Instead, you looked away in embarrassment.

“___, what happened?” he asked softly.

“It doesn’t matter. But congrats, you basically got the promotion,” you laughed in defeat.

“You spoke with the CEO?” Hoseok was shocked.

“No, with the VP. That stupid son of a bitch. He--nevermind. I blew my chance, so the job is all yours. I am almost positive that I am unemployed now as well,” the tears returned and you couldn’t stop them.

“Hey, ___, it’s okay,” Hoseok tried to comfort you, “If the CEO didn’t tell you himself, then you can’t be 100% certain.”

“I was literally only invited because the VP tried to get in my pants!” you blurted out.

“What?” Hoseok was dumbfounded.

“He just told me that I’d have the job if I had sex with him. Can you fucking believe that? How long have I not been taken seriously? This has been so demoralizing,” you let it all out.

“Aw, c’mere,” Hoseok pulled you up and gave you a warm embrace, “What did you say to him?”

“I told him to shove it,” you sniffled against his firm chest. 

“There’s the you I know. You haven’t changed a bit,” he chuckled, “We can talk to the CEO together tomorrow about this.”

“Why would you help me? The promotion is basically yours because of this,” you sighed.

“I don’t really care for it, if I’m being honest. I’m satisfied with my job now. I don’t want any more responsibilities,” he answered while stroking your hair. 

“Then why are you here?” you looked up at him.

“I only agreed to come after they told me that you’d be here,” he admitted. 

You didn’t know what to say. Too many things have happened in the past hour alone. 

“Don’t get it twisted, I was just curious to see how you’ve been after all these years. Plus a free trip is always enticing. Getting to share a bed with you has just been an added bonus,” he smiled.

Your timer rang, causing you to break away from Hoseok’s arms. 

“Guess it’s time to go to more boring meetings. Yay,” Hoseok feigned enthusiasm. 

“I’m gonna stay here. There’s no point in me attending anymore,” you stated.

“Nope, you’re going. I’m dragging you with me! You gotta show the VP that he didn’t frazzle you at all. Fuck that guy. Well, not literally,” Hoseok was pulling you out of bed.

Hoseok subtly made sure that you sat between him and the CEO the entire time. You caught him giving the VP dirty looks, which made you feel a little better. 

You quickly excused yourself after the last meeting and tried to make a break for your room. Unfortunately, Hoseok prevented you from doing so. 

“You got a date for the banquet tonight?” he asked.

“No. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem because I’m not going. Have fun with your date though,” you shook your head.

“Who said I had a date?”

“I’m sure women were basically throwing themselves at you.”

“You’re not wrong, but I turned them all down. I have my eyes set on one gal.”

“Lucky her, I guess,” you rolled your eyes.

“Indeed. Although I still gotta ask her,” he looked around the room as if he was searching for her.

“You better hurry. Isn’t it in a couple hours?”

“Yep. Alright, here goes nothing!” Hoseok rushed off, finally giving you the chance to disappear.

You let out a sigh of relief as the elevator doors start to close. However, someone’s hand shot through at the last second. Hoseok stumbled in as the elevator doors reopened. You groaned. Why can’t you escape him?

“Did she say yes?” you asked with an indifferent tone.

“Not sure yet. Will you go to the banquet with me?” Hoseok asked.

“Fuck off.”

“Alright, well she just said no. Ouch,” Hoseok clicked his tongue. 

“Wait, are you being serious?” your eyes widened.

“If the word ‘date’ threw you off, then I’m happy with going as friends,” he proposed. 

“I’m flattered, but I’m really not in the mood to party with random strangers.”

“You don’t have to. Just party with me. Why would I let you be sad and mopey all alone in a hotel room when you could be drinking free booze?”

“Is the alcohol is free?”

“Duh, it’s all being charged to the company. Plus dinner is served.”

“Ok fine, I’ll go. I guess I didn’t pack that stupid dress for nothing.”

“Let’s not allow a gorgeous dress to go to waste,” Hoseok agreed.

“You haven’t even seen it,” you suppressed a smile. 

“Anything can be gorgeous if you’re the one wearing it,” he winked.

“Oh, shut up,” a small smile cracked on your face.

Hoseok was the first to get ready for the banquet. He wanted your look to be a surprise so he insisted on going first. You were beginning to find his weird yet endearing antics kind of cute.

You weren’t prepared when he came out of the bathroom. You were well aware that Hoseok was a handsome guy, maybe even handsome enough to model. However, you weren’t ready when Hoseok emerged in a grey suit with his hair styled to reveal his forehead. His radiance was comparable to that of the sun, and he only shone brighter when he smiled at you. 

“You look good,” you tried to act cool.

“Thank you! I’ll admit I do enjoy dressing up from time to time. But who doesn’t, am I right?” he beamed.

You nodded as you hauled your things into the bathroom. After about an hour, you were ready: fully dressed, makeup done, confidence soaring. You had forgotten how therapeutic dressing up could be. 

Your dress was a deep emerald green that was elegant yet seductive. It had a side slit that flirtatiously showed off one of your legs. The neckline gracefully outlined your cleavage while still remaining on the classy side.

“Holy shit. You look amazing!” Hoseok praised you as soon as you stepped out.

“I was only trying to match you,” you said shyly, trying to hide your flushed cheeks.

“I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be the most breathtaking duo there. Shall we depart?” he extended out an arm.

The dinner started out with boring speeches by people you didn’t care to remember the names of. Hoseok elected to sit at the table furthest away from the stage, which was an excellent choice. That allowed the two of you to chat the night away in hushed voices. You both had already gone through five glasses of wine by the time the speeches were finally over. 

“The dance floor is now open! Enjoy the rest of the night, and don’t forget that there’s an open bar!” the MC shouted through the mic.

The lights dimmed and a disco ball lowered in the center of the room. People began to crowd the dance floor. You laughed with Hoseok as you both observed various awkward shuffles and sways. 

“Wanna dance?” Hoseok yelled over the music.

“I can’t!” you yelled back.

“I’m sure you can! Let’s go!” Hoseok didn’t wait for a reply.

He dragged you to an empty space on the dance floor. The two of you began drawing attention to yourselves as soon as you stepped out. Two beauties were dancing in the open for everyone to see. You shyly swayed to the rhythm of the music and laughed at Hoseok’s silly moves. However, Hoseok began to move in a way that was absolutely bewitching. He looked like a professional dancer with the way he commanded his body to hit every beat. Hoseok had drawn a very large crowd as people began cheering him on. 

You were amazed by his stage presence. You’ve always had a thing for dancers, and he looked downright sexy. The song ended and Hoseok gave his audience a dramatic bow, awarding him deafening applause. 

“I didn’t know you could dance!” you shouted when he returned to your side.

“I like to dance in my free time! Did you like it?” he shouted back.

“I’ll admit it was sexy,” you laughed.

“You think I’m sexy?”

“Maybe I do,” you winked.

You had more fun than you expected while dancing with Hoseok. He made you feel secure, so you were able to let loose. You didn’t care what you looked like, as long as Hoseok was there with you. 

The night progressed and you began to feel bold. A particularly raunchy song came on, as if it were asking you to grind on Hoseok. And that’s exactly what you did. You guided his hands to your hips as you grinded into his crotch

“You sure you wanna be doing that?” Hoseok spoke into your ear with a low voice.

“Absolutely,” you replied.

Hoseok spun you around and gazed at you intimately while he brought you closer into his body. Various body parts were rubbing against each other now. The sexual tension was palpable. 

Hoseok’s hands were running up and down your body, and your mouth was dangerously close to his neck. The scent of his cologne was intoxicating. You couldn’t help yourself; you leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on his neck. His low growl was an indication that he liked it, so you kissed him again with more vigor. 

“You’re going to have to stop,” he scolded.

“Shit, I’m sorry. Did I overstep your boundaries?” you were embarrassed.

“Absolutely not. But I can’t fuck you out here in public now can I?” he towed you off the dance floor and made a beeline for the elevators. 

Thank god no one else was in the elevator, neither of you could keep your paws off of each other. Hoseok’s hands were unabashedly feeling you up and down while his crotch was slowly grinding into yours. Your arms were wrapped around his neck as you planted kisses along his sharp jawline.

Hoseok couldn’t stop whispering naughty things into your ear during the entire elevator trip up to your shared room. His lowered voice sent chills down your spine as he expressed just how eager he was to finally have you. You felt yourself getting wetter by the second.

“I wanted to strip off that dress the moment I saw you wearing it,” he cooed, “God, I can’t wait to see how beautiful you’ll look underneath me.”

“Hoseok, do you ever shut up?” you teased with a coy smile.

“I dunno, you might have to make me,” he played along.

“Maybe sitting on your handsome face will do the trick,” you said as you nipped his ear.

“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

The elevator doors finally opened, and Hoseok quickly dragged you out. He immediately tore off your dress the moment the hotel room door was closed. You did him the same favor as you frantically unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his toned body. 

“Why don’t you be a good boy and wait for me on the bed?” you suggested.

“Yes ma’am,” he complied, his eyes never leaving your body.

“Like what you see?” you asked, turning around slowly to fully show off the lingerie that perfectly complimented your body. 

“You are so fucking sexy, ___,” Hoseok smiled in awe.

“I’m so glad you think so. You’re not too bad yourself,” you winked at him.

You finally joined Hoseok on the bed. You kiss his body from his abdomen all the way up his chest before stopping at his mouth. You took a second to relish the feeling of his plush lips against yours before he deepened the kiss with a ferocious intensity. 

“Wanna try and shut me up now?” Hoseok lifted his eyebrows suggestively once the kiss broke.

“With pleasure,” you responded as you began to position yourself above him, “Wait, do you want me to take this off?” you gestured to your undergarments.

“No need,” he said before abruptly pulling aside your panties.

You slowly lowered yourself onto his face and stopped when you felt his breath on your pussy. Hoseok impatiently gripped your hips and pulled you directly onto his tongue. The sudden contact made you gasp. Hoseok didn’t waste any time getting down to business.

He flattened his tongue out to cover as much area as possible as he licked across your folds. He expertly flicked and lapped your pussy in the perfect places. Your legs began to tremble, and you had to grip onto the bed’s headboard for support. 

You looked down to see the beautiful man’s face buried in your pussy; that sight alone was almost enough to bring you over the edge. Hoseok’s hands slithered their way up to your chest, where he began to twist and pull at your sensitive nipples through your bra. 

“You taste--so good,” Hoseok panted out from underneath you.

“Should I get off--fuck!” you were interrupted by Hoseok sucking on your clit.

His mouth was heaven sent. Your body began to heat up and soon you lost the strength to hold yourself up even against the headboard. 

You cried out as you came all over Hoseok’s face. His face was glistening with your juices as he smiled up at you. He seductively licked his lips to taste you again.

“Your turn?” you asked.

“As much as I wanna see your pretty lips wrapped around my cock, I think I need to be inside you more,” he replied as he repositioned himself.

He stripped off the rest of his clothing. You watched with admiration as more of his skin became exposed.

“You can take off the fancy underwear now,” he said once he caught you staring.

“You don’t want to see it anymore?” you fakeed a pout.

“___, you’re drop dead gorgeous in it. However, I advise you to take it off yourself because I won’t hold back. I don’t want to ruin your underwear, just you,” he replied.

Hoseok mixed in little nibbles while he kissed along your neck. Your voice dripped with bliss as you quietly moaned. 

“I guess you do like being bitten, huh? What about this?” Hoseok licked your neck, causing you to squirm underneath him.

“I think I like that too,” you whispered, biting your lip.

You wriggled out of your undergarments, leaving yourself completely naked in front of Hoseok. You pull at the hem of Hoseok’s underwear, eager to see what he was packing.

You were not disappointed. Although he was well endowed, what he lacked in length was made up for in girth. 

“Do you want me to use a condom?” he asked.

“I’m on the pill, and I’m pretty sure I’m clean. I haven’t been intimate in an embarrassingly long amount of time,” you admitted, blushing.

“I find that hard to believe,” Hoseok said while kissing around your face, “Since you’re so damn beautiful,” his lips found yours and led you into a passionate kiss. 

His hips began to grind into yours, his dick rubbing against your bare pussy. You wrapped your legs around him, bringing him closer.

“Please don’t tease me,” you pleaded.

“What are the magic words?” Hoseok teased.

“Fuck me, Hobi,” you begged.

“Oh my fucking god,” he growled.

He slammed his hips into yours, not giving you enough time to adjust to him. The stretch was intense at first, but it soon turned into nothing but pleasure. Your euphoria grew as he rhythmically bucked his hips into you. 

Hoseok spread your legs out as wide as you could go, giving him quite the erotic view that only aroused him more. You tried to stifle your moans, but were failing miserably.

“Don’t hold back baby, let me hear you. Show me how good I make you feel,” he leaned over to whisper into your ear. 

You complied instantly, your moans resounding around the room. Hoseok’s position allowed him to hit you deeply with every stroke. Without a word, he pulled out of you and flipped you over onto your knees. He roughly forced your chest down, leaving your ass in the air for him.

“Your ass is so fucking fat,” he said as his hand connected with your bare skin, causing you to shriek.

He kissed it afterward while his fingers teased your clit. He realigned himself with your entrance. This new position was even better than the last. You could no longer hold in your moans even if you wanted to. Hoseok repeatedly hit your g-spot, and you could feel another orgasm welling up within you.

“Hobi, I’m gonna cum,” you cry out.

“Say that again,” he demanded.

“I-i’m gonna cum!”

“No, not that. That’s hot but call me Hobi again,” he chuckled.

“Hobi!” you said with an exasperated tone.

“Yes princess? Fuck, I’m close,” Hoseok’s movements were becoming more haphazard by the second.

“Hobi, right there oh my god keep going please,” you begged, “Hobi...ah shit!” you came undone.

It wasn’t long after until Hoseok followed suit, pulling out to cum all over your ass. He rolled off the bed to get something to clean you up with. 

“How are you feeling?” Hoseok asked.

“Better. You?” you answered.

“Doing pretty well. I fucked the girl of my dreams,” he said gleefully.

“Shut up,” you playfully pushed him.

“I’m serious. I’ve adored you since college. I lived for your playful banter,” he began to explain.

“It wasn’t playful,” you interjected.

“Yeah, I know. But that’s what made it fun! All the other girls just wanted to be with me for my looks or whatever. None of them knew the real me.”

“And I did?”

“More so than most. You always pushed me to do my best. I really just wanted to be good enough for you. Kind of silly huh? I even dated that girl in an attempt to make you jealous. Which backfired since her dad was Professor whatshisface who took me on that trip,” Hoseok opened up.

“Hobi I...I’m so sorry. I was such a bitch to you back then. And now too I guess. My competitive side gets the better of me. I was always annoyed by how you were seemingly good at everything. It even irritated me that you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in my life,” you began to apologize, “Oh, and his name is Namjoon. Professor Namjoon.”

“Thanks for reminding me. I hate to admit it but he made me a little jealous. I wanted you to praise me the way you praised him. Anyway, things can change now that everything's out in the open,” Hoseok smiled, “You’re even calling me Hobi! I’ve been dreaming about this moment.”

“Was it everything you ever hoped for?” you joked.

“You said it when you asked me to fuck you, then you said it multiple times while I was balls deep inside of you. So yeah, I would say it was everything I could’ve hoped for, if not more,” he pulled you into his chest.

The two of you continued talking for what felt like hours while cuddling. You hadn’t been this relaxed in ages. You were nearly asleep on his chest when he stroked a strand of hair from your face. 

“Tomorrow will be interesting, huh?” he said softly.

“I guess I still have to pitch my idea to the CEO,” you sighed softly, “What a waste of time.”

“It’s not a waste of time if you’re gonna get the promotion,” Hoseok reprimanded.

“I already told you, I’m not. The VP will make sure that you get it. This is good for you. Don’t worry about me,” you kissed his cheek, “We should get some sleep now.”

“Alright. Goodnight, ___,” he kissed your forehead.

“Goodnight Hobi.”

“Fuck, I really love when you say that.”

It was time. Time to pitch your idea to the CEO for no damn reason. You were beyond nervous, and Hoseok could tell. He tried to ease your nerves by giving you a firm shoulder massage as you both waited to be called into a small conference room.

The VP emerged, ignoring your mean scowl, and called Hoseok in to present first. Of course he would go first, no need to waste time hearing your proposal.

It was an anxiety riddled wait. You recounted the previous day’s events, which was a mistake because that only infuriated you. The whole situation was an affront on your character, and you will not stand for it. You debated giving the VP another piece of your mind at the end of everything. 

“___, you’re up,” the VP called you after Hobi finished.

“You’re gonna kill it,” Hobi encouraged you, coupled with a pat on the back.

“This is pointless and you know that,” you sighed.

Hobi shook his head in disagreement. It was heartwarming to see how supportive he was being. Maybe it was due to the fact that the job was practically his already. It doesn’t matter now. 

“Good morning gentlemen,” you greet them.

“The floor is yours, Miss ___,” the CEO responded cordially.

“I’ll keep it short and simple. I propose that the best way to improve the company is to shorten work day hours and increase PTO days,” you said confidently.

“Is that it? Can you expound on that?” the VP cynically asked. 

“Yes, I’m so glad you asked,” you smiled coldly, “Studies show that employees are exponentially more productive when they are happier. Not only will the company become more efficient, but the overall company atmosphere will become more positive. Interpersonal relationships between employees and bosses will improve in an appropriate professional manner,” you glared at the VP.

“That’s a very interesting take,” the CEO said thoughtfully, “Do you have any suggestions regarding the actual work that the company does?”

“No sir. The company has been thriving, so I believe that the way things are running now are proficient. However, as a company, we should always be willing to listen to our employees’ concerns,” you stated.

“You’ve brought up interesting points to the table. As an employee, do you have any concerns you’d like to express?” the CEO asked.

“There is one pressing matter that comes to mind,” you stole a glance at the VP to see him shift uncomfortably in his seat, “I firmly expect that employee/supervisor relationships should be strictly professional.”

“Are you just giving us your opinion on office romances?” the VP sneered.

“I believe that trying to use intimacy as leverage is highly immoral, if not a fireable offense,” you held your ground.

“Of course,” the CEO agreed.

“Then said employee would simply need to file a complaint with HR,” the VP dismissed you.

“What better way to get my complaint heard than speaking directly to the CEO?” you smiled sweetly, “Sir, yesterday the man sitting beside you crudely suggested that I sleep with him in order to gain the promotion. He also alluded that all of my accomplishments are for naught, and that I am purely ‘eye candy’.”

“Is this true?” the CEO asked his VP in dismay.

“Of course not. She’s grasping at straws. Look how desperate she is to get the job,” the VP quickly defended himself.

“I am not lying. I am fully prepared to be fired on the spot. I cannot continue to work at a company that allows this kind of sloppy behavior to go unpunished. Thank you for your time,” you bowed and quickly took your leave.

You released a huge sigh as soon as you were outside of the room. Hobi rushed over to your side. Suddenly, you began to laugh hysterically. Hobi looked at you nervously, obviously concerned about your mental state.

“Isn’t it so funny? All my hard work had just been flushed down the toilet by a stupid man drunk on power. I love that!” you wheezed.

“___, ___ calm down. What happened?” Hobi inquired. 

You told him what just went down. A smile crept across his face as you got to the part where you put the VP on the spot. 

“I wouldn’t count yourself out just yet dude,” Hoseok shrugged, “All we can do is wait.”

“Yeah, I’ll be the first one to congratulate you on your new job. Then I’ll begin my search for a new one,” you gave him a thumbs up.

The VP stumbled out of the room and angrily stomped towards the both of you.

“You fucking bitch! Who do you think you are? Do you even know what you’ve done? I know people. I’m gonna make sure your life is hell!” he yelled at you.

“That’s enough! You have been dismissed. I do not want to see your face around here again. Clean out your office on Monday,” the CEO ordered, “Would the both of you please follow me back into the room?”

You both timidly followed him, curious as to what he had to say.

“I apologize on behalf of the company for this incident. This isn’t the first time a complaint has been filed against him. Unfortunately, he always told me that they were just futile grasps for leverage and I foolishly believed him. However, his loss is your gain,” he smiled, “How would you like to be my new Vice President?”

You were agog. Hoseok’s eyes widened as he stood beside you.

“Surely there are more qualified people,” you stammered in disbelief.

“There definitely are. But none of them are what this company needs. It takes a special person to have their rival pitch all the reasons why you are a better candidate than they are,” the CEO happily nodded.

“I- he what?” you cast a surprised look at Hobi.

“Oh yes. He spent all his time highlighting your best qualities as an employee. It was quite a shock,” the CEO smiled.

“I will humbly accept your offer. Thank you so much sir, I will work even harder!” you bowed gratefully.

“That brings me to Mr. Jung. The position on the executive council is yours, if you want it,” the CEO offered.

“If the offer is unopposed, then I have no choice but to accept. I will do my best!” Hobi joined in your bowing. 

“Wonderful! It’ll be refreshing to see some lively young faces at those atrocious meetings,” the CEO laughed, “Oh, and one more thing. The two of you will have to relocate to the main branch, I hope that’s okay. I look forward to working with both of you.”

You both nodded gleefully. After the CEO dismissed the pair of you, the trip back up to your hotel room was nothing but joyous. It was like you were in a dream that you never wanted to wake up from. You even pinched each other to make sure it was all real. 

“I can’t believe you were advocating for me,” you hugged him.

“You deserve it. Your impressive diligence should not go unrewarded,” he squeezed you tighter, “Plus, this ended up being pretty sweet! Congratulations to both of us!”

“We need to go out to celebrate!” you wiggled.

“Yes! Let me take you out,” Hobi tackled you onto the bed.

“Where shall we go?” you playfully ask.

“Maybe we should go explore our new city together?” he suggested.

“Our?”

“Yes, our. And when I say I’m gonna take you out, I mean as a date. Because I want to date you. And have been wanting to for years,” Hoseok charismatically emphasized.

“I’m looking forward to starting this new chapter of my life with you then, Mr. Jung Hoseok,” you press your forehead against his. 

“Imma be all up in your bidness girl,” he joked.

“Your business is my business now loser,” you teased back. 

Looks like all that hard work had paid off, and there’s no better reward than finally being with Jung Hoseok.  

Published May 13, 2021. No editing, copying, translating, or reposting allowed. All Rights Reserved © 2021 Baepsaesbae.

[cloud9in]

Driving Lessons Pt 2 (Poppy x Bea)

Long awaited. I hope you all enjoy. This is the finale of the series but I think that Bea and Poppy’s high school stories should be continued.....

Read Part 1 HERE

Tags: @samanthadalton @somewillwin @baexpoppy @poppysmc @clowneryme @thedaft1 @zigxryanz @aleiramacaii

Word Count: 2.6k 

Pt 2: The Date

Friday night had arrived and Bea’s nerves were at an all time high. She practiced breathing exercises that conveniently popped up on Youtube, there was no room for thoughts other than that of a blonde cheerleader. The buzz of her phone prompted her to jump up in excitement. 

1 message from Poppy🙄

 Poppy: I’m 99% sure that you haven’t forgotten about our “date” tonight. But if you did I’m not here to remind you. I’ll be here in 5 minutes. Remember, dress casual. ❣

 A familiar grin crept its way onto Bea’s lips as she reread the message about twenty times, taking note of the heart at the end. It may seem conventional, but even that was a lot coming from Poppy. Another message popped up which induced a smirk from the brunette. 

 Poppy: No, I am not driving the Benz.

 Bea set her phone down and spun around to check herself out in the mirror. She wore black ripped jeans with a red plaid design in the holes, red converse, and an oversized grey and black long sleeve. This should definitely fit Poppy’s definition of casual, right? 

 The blonde arrived outside of Bea’s house just as she reached the front door. Poppy was the first to react, her jaw threatening to drop open as she took in Bea’s appearance, all of it. Luckily, she was the queen of poker face’s and masked her thirsty expression….Bea on the other hand, failed horribly. She stood there wide eyed, her hands hanging uselessly by her sides as she studied the blonde. Poppy wore a white and pink checkered wool skirt, a knitted pink sweater, and a white crop top. Her jewelry also dazzled brightly against her neck. The blonde watched Bea amusingly, “you can quit ogling me now...:”

 Bea darts her eyes away self consciously. “Your uh...jewelry is distracting.” Really Bea. Nice going. She winces at her excuse and Poppy arches an eyebrow, clearly enjoying the flustered mess of the brunette in the moment. 

 “Hmm..well come now. I don’t like to waste time.”

 Like a puppy being offered food, Bea follows Poppy into her silver Range Rover. She gapes at the pristine interior and the stars on the ceiling. “I thought those star things only existed in Rolls Royce’s.” Poppy smirks appreciatively, her fingers flexing on the steering wheel, “Oh they do, but I have my ways.”

 Bea tries to convince Poppy to tell her where they’re going, but she scoffs immediately, not even turning her head in the brunette’s direction. “It’s a surprise.”

 “I didn’t take you for a girl that likes surprises to be honest.”

 “Well then there’s a lot you don’t know about me, Hughes.”

Bea fought the urge to ask Poppy to elaborate, to tell her every last detail about her. What flavor of ice cream she liked, what she loved to do on a rainy day, but there’s that moment of insecurity  that pushes her away from indulging in those thoughts. She didn’t want to seem overly-interested.

 But maybe that’s what Poppy wanted.

 The sudden quietness becomes obvious and Poppy peers over at the brunette, “I could always let you test drive this one. Maybe brush up on your driving skills?” Bea side eyes Poppy suspiciously, memories of Monday night’s driving lessons infiltrating her mind. “I can’t tell if you’re being serious right now..”

 “Of course I’m not! You don’t think I remember what you did to my other baby?! You’re lucky you were hurt in the process, otherwise who knows what I would have done…” Poppy glances quietly over at Bea, her eyes carefully scanning the scar that sits on her forehead.

 Bea smiles sheepishly, her hand reaching up to move her locks back. “I don’t think I wanna know- wait hey! What do you mean I was lucky-”

 “Oh please, you were lucky that I took you to a hospital. You are crazy Hughes, you know that?”

 “Crazy for you? Well now that you mention it…”

 Poppy rolls her eyes but can’t stop the smile that erupts on her face. “...Just let me take a look at it later. I need to make sure it’s healing right.”

 “Whatever you say doctor!” Bea mock salutes the blonde which earns another heavy eye roll, emphasis on heavy, but she didn’t mind. The opportunity to be less than an inch away from Poppy’s luscious lips again? Hell yes.

 “Okay, but what did your dad say? I’m sure he understood it was a complete accident.”

 “Mhm tell that to the insurance company. Which reminds me, you will be receiving a bill in the mail sometime next week for all the damages.”

 Bea nearly leaped out of her seat as her head snapped towards the blonde, who looked like she was having a great time. “Pop...you’re joking right...that is a thing you are doing right now.” Poppy rolls her eyes with enjoyment, letting out a soft chuckle. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, Farmsville, I know you can’t even afford a tire. 

 “Wha-...hey!”

 ***

 After continuous bickering which almost prompted Poppy to unlock the passenger side door and kick Bea out...psychically, while they were doing 80 on the freeway, she eventually pulled into a parking lot. The only main source of light was the huge sign illuminating the words, “Animal Shelter”. Bea blinks in confusion for a few seconds before realizing she was the only one in the car. Poppy had already started walking towards the entrance, greeting a man with a….smile? Oh yeah, Bea was definitely curious now. Poppy actually looked relaxed when Bea had finally caught up with her. The blonde noticed her approach and hummed to herself, “took you long enough, hurry lets go inside.”

 “Pops-did you take a wrong turn...this is an animal shelter...”

 The blonde rolls her eyes so far back into her brain as she grasps onto Bea’s words. “No I did not take a wrong turn you imb--.....this..this is the place I picked.” The brunette flicks her eyes continuously between Poppy and the entrance before shrugging, a surprised expression on her face. Before Bea could say anything else, Poppy grabs her hand and pulls them into the store and into the column where cute puppies reached for them. A beautiful smile immediately lit up Poppy’s features as she bent down to pet one of the baby bulldogs. This gesture immediately enraptured Bea as she watched...Poppy? Or whoever this was. 

 Not wanting to disturb the moment Bea leans down to the cage next to her and picks up the golden retriever who happily licks her face. “Woah okay there boy, a little too much tongue.” She holds up the puppy as he barks playfully and wiggles in her arms. 

 “I’m definitely not complaining about your destination of choice, but can you tell me why you picked it?” 

 Bea gazes over at Poppy who looks like she’s in her true element. The blonde sighs and stands up, brushing her skirt down. “Well my parents own the place…and well to put it bluntly, some of these animals don’t have much time left.” 

 She turns towards Bea, watching her safely caress the puppy in her arms, and smiles, “I figured you have a close connection with animals and would want to make them feel loved before they go.” 

 Bea watches Poppy with a warm look in her eyes, and it was funny because Bea had been around the cheerleader a lot, but this...was different. Almost incredible. And Bea knew that this was the start of a feeling that she would never get enough of. 

 “I would. Thank you.” 

 The two girls spend a good amount of time playing with the animals. Poppy helped Bea feed newborn strays with a bottle of milk, more than often grabbing a hold of the brunette’s hand to steady the slight tremble. Bea didn’t want to admit she was nervous because Poppy was very close to her. And Poppy would never admit that Bea was doing everything right, but she wanted to hold her hand because it felt incredibly soft for a girl who worked on a farm everyday. 

 But she wasn’t the only one who was very observant that night. Bea kept her mouth shut about the situation, but this new side of Poppy blew her mind. There was so much to ask, to say, but the moment was too valuable to ruin. 

 The time seemed to go by quickly as the shelter started to close down. The time they spent with the animals felt fulfilling but Bea never missed the solemn look on Poppy’s face as she watched one of the older cats rest peacefully. There was so much to learn about the girl, and Bea thought it was best that she kept this date going.

 Food. That could work. 

 “Hey pops...I know I said you could pick the place but there’s somewhere else I want to take you. If you’re up for it.” 

 If it was anyone else, Poppy probably would have cussed at them for taking up too much of her time. But this was Bea, and something in her couldn’t say no. “As long as it doesn’t involve you and I in a forest alone.” The brunette laughs easily, wrapping her arm around Poppy’s waist without a second thought. “Oh please, do you really think that’s how I’d get rid of you?” 

 Poppy seems to lean into her touch, letting her strawberry blonde locks brush up against Bea’s cheeks, “I doubt you’d be the one getting rid of me darling, but sure.” 

 ***

“....Alright I take it back! I’ll even let you drive the car because I am not eating at a diner.”

 “Oh come on, they have the best milkshakes in town!”

 The brunette drags Poppy towards the diner without letting go because if she did, Poppy would probably scream bloody murder in the middle of the lot. 

 Bea led her towards a booth in the back, only then freeing her arm. Poppy plops into the seat after realizing there was no way she could charm her way out of this. “Don’t look so bummed out, you’ll change your mind when you try the famous strawberry milkshake.” 

 “I have never had a milkshake in my life.” Poppy visibly cringes, her posture stiffening at the thought of a sugary liquid infiltrating her body. 

 “Well today is your lucky day baby.” Bea winks at her and calls over a waitress who seems too comfortable with laying a hand on the brunette’s shoulder. It wasn’t evident whether the severe blush on Poppy’s face was because of Bea unknowingly using a pet name or because of the mystery girl who decided to do the most in her presence. 

 “We’ll have the regular Tasha, oh and the strawberry milkshake please.” 

 “Just one? What about your friend over here?”

 Poppy snaps her head up at the waitress who seemed to scan her every move. Something Poppy was definitely used to. Her hands are the first to make a move, slowly trailing their way up Bea’s arm from across the table. She doesn’t take her eyes off the waitress as she speaks softly. “Oh we’ll be sharing it honey. Put a cherry on top too okay?”

 The waitress reverts her eyes from the two and walks away without a word. Poppy watches her leave, biting her lip with satisfaction. 

 Bea can’t help but smirk to herself. “Oh you cannot take your eyes off of her can you? Relax, she’s an old friend.”

 The blonde scoffs, keeping her hands on the surface of Bea’s skin. “I don’t care who she is. Does she flirt with every customer in here? What happened to having class? Or some sort of decent? I mean do you talk to pigs like this?

 Bea squints her eyes and sighs warily. “Poppy this is not a five star restaurant, and that’s what you call being polite and kind to well known customers. People here are normal, not trained robots.” 

 Poppy shrugs to herself, her eyes darting around to the wall decorations and other people who are chatting happily with their families. The atmosphere did feel warm and peaceful, nobody sat up straight and practiced proper table manners. Nobody judged her for who she was or what designer she wore. There was room to actually breathe. Bea could sense the blonde slowly starting to adapt and relax in their new environment and she couldn’t be more grateful for making the right decision. When their food had come, Bea slid the milkshake towards Poppy and smiled shyly. “It’s all yours if you like it, we don’t have to share.” 

 “Nonsense Hughes, I can’t possibly drink this all by myself…but I call dibs on the cherry.” She steals the cherry from the top and plops it into her mouth, eyes sparkling from the burst of flavor. It was nothing compared to the milkshake though, Poppy swore she saw stars when tasting the sweet liquid. Bea laughs as a whipped cream mustache develops on the blonde’s lips after hogging the shake for herself.  

 ***

 “I’m paying for our next date by the way.” 

 Bea peers over at Poppy who walked her to her front door, “oh so there’s gonna be another one?” She can’t help but smile at Poppy’s sudden shyness. 

 “Well I enjoyed tonight, a lot. Maybe more than a lot.”

 “I did too.”

 The silence that consumed them wasn’t exactly uncomfortable but it was enough to make them stare at each other. Bea’s mind started to fog as she thought about finally closing the distance between them. She wanted nothing more than to mask the silence with a kiss. Bea looks at Poppy, who seems to be lost in thought. 

 “What are you thinking?”

 “What?”

 “You’re usually deep in thought when your eyebrows scrunch together like that. Or maybe you’re just planning on jumping me as soon as I turn around.”

 Poppy smiles softly. “Do you know the feeling when the thing you wanted the most is right in front of you, yet it still feels unreal and almost impossible.” 

 Bea takes a deep breath and nods, “I do.” 

 Okay Hughes you’re gonna kiss her in 3. You’re gonna make the move. Come on. 

 But of course Poppy had other plans. 

 “Mmh!”

 The feeling of Poppy’s soft lips had caught Bea completely off guard. A hum of pleasure escaped her mouth as the heat started to increase between them. Bea grabbed hold of Poppy’s cheek and steadied the kiss, her eyes slowly started to shut as she sunk into the warm, smooth feeling. Bea smiles into the kiss as Poppy’s tongue begins exploring the depths of her mouth, and she bites back a moan when the blonde takes her bottom lip between her teeth, tugging it slightly, feeling the desire pooling in the pit of her stomach. Poppy places her lips back on Bea’s, passion igniting once more as Bea begins to dominate the kiss, her hands finding her way to the blonde’s waist, pulling her in even closer. 

 Poppy felt like she could kiss Bea forever, if it wasn’t for the need of oxygen. When they both finally pulled back, the blonde laughed with joy. “That felt so amazing.” 

 Bea wanted to blow a huge sigh of relief that Poppy initiated the kiss, because imagine fucking that up. She just held her close and basked in the moment. Her lips swelled with excitement as she still felt the ghost of Poppy’s tongue tracing it. Poppy always had something to say, but right now there was so much more she could do. And the first thing she would do is finally make Bea hers.

***

if you want to be tagged in any Poppy fics let me know.

[dazaimency]

Bakugou x F!Reader - Carnival Date - NSFW

Request for CuteLilPupCake on AO3

soft!Bakugou - date + soft/playful smut

no warnings when it comes to smut -> vanilla

words - 3.346

crossposted from AO3 - HERE 

Stepping through the large gate, you gasp at the sight. Your surroundings are a mix of screaming children, carousel sounds, and overall atmosphere filled with joy. Smiling, you turn to Bakugou next to you, who seems to be in a similar awe. The colourful lights reflect on his blond hair, softening his expression. Not being able to resist, you place a peck on his cheek.

Bakugou blushes a bit but grabs your hand, leading you further into the fair.

“So, what do you wanna try first?” Katsuki looks at you, eyebrow raised. Noticing how you shiver from the cold breeze, he takes off his jacket and puts it around you.

“Told ya to bring a fucking jacket, dumbass,” he tsks. Thanking him, you bring the jacket closer to you, soaking the warmth coming out of it. 

“What about a ferris wheel? Let’s start with a classic,” Katsuki nods and starts to lead the way. The large carousel wasn’t hard to see, it was towering over the whole carnival, luring people to it.

Bakugou himself wasn’t a fan of slow rides but you wanted to have a romantic night, so he sacrificed the attractions he had heard about, specifically The Death Drop, and others for the sake of some dumb large wheel.

Arriving at the Musutafu Eye, Bakugou buys the tickets for you two and impatiently waits to get on the carousel. It stops when you get to the top and you snuggle closer to your boyfriend to get more heat. The cold wind is stronger there, playing with your hair and giving you a perfect excuse to be glued to Katsuki’s side. Not that he was planning on protesting.

“I think I can see UA from here,” Bakugou remarks, making your head turn to see where he was pointing at. Katsuki smirks and bites your neck playfully, making you yelp in surprise.

“Hey!” laughing, you nudge him with your elbow, before bringing him closer to kiss him. Instantly, Bakugou puts you on his lap and embraces you. Hands run across your back, the touch toned down by your (his) clothes. 

You grip the back of his head, your other hand caressing his shoulder. You tug at his hair and swallow the gasp he lets out. Taking this opportunity to deepen the kiss, your tongue pushes into his mouth to intertwine with his. You continue your little dance/battle for dominance until Bakugou wins, lips hungrily latching onto yours. Sadly, it doesn’t last long.

“This is nice, Teddy Bear, but you should also enjoy the view,” he smirks at your blushing face, cupping your cheek with his hand. You nod, connecting your lips again for a brief moment. However, you choose to stay sitting on his lap and turn your attention to the view. 

You couldn’t see much because of the dark blanket that had settled over the city, as it slowly prepared for another night. Focusing on finding UA, your gaze runs over the whole landscape, looking for the hill that housed the school grounds.

“There, dumbass,” Bakugou points again, this time allowing you to take a look and not biting you. You nod when you finally notice it, standing on the lone hill in the sea of lights.

Soon, you make your way down. Glad to feel solid ground under your feet once again, you let out a soft sigh. Both you and Bakugou look around to see where you could go next, then Katsuki next to you goes stiff.

Confused, you follow his eyes, seeing Midoriya and Todoroki holding hands, walking towards you two. It didn’t look like they noticed you yet, they were too busy talking, and Deku was holding a plushie in front of him that was almost as big as he was.

“Motherfuckers, I can't have one peaceful day without them,” Bakugou cursed, grabbing your hand and dragging you to walk with him, “and that’s a small-ass teddy bear, I’ll get you a bigger one, just watch.”

“I would like to see you try,” you tease him. The stuffed toy you saw was big, it would be surprising if some attractions offered a bigger one.

Smirking at the challenge, Bakugou leads you to the nearest shooting range that had such teddy bears. He was just about to buy a few tickets for himself, when you held his hand down and put in your own money to try the range yourself.

“What, you think you can shoot better than me?”

“Well, I did have some training with Snipe when you were busy with Best Jeanist. Plus, I really want to give you that toy,” you point your chin at a small Pomeranian plushie that had a very similar grin on its fluffy face.

“Don't you fucking dare. How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not like some damn dog?” tsking, he picks up the plastic gun and tries it out. Giggling, you eye the toy, giving it a silent promise to win it.

“Okay, shut up, watch, and learn,” sneering, Bakugou takes a first shot, missing. Gasping, he shouts: “The fuck?!”

Laughing at his disbelief, you decide to be a supportive girlfriend and not to torture him with teasing. Rubbing his back, you try to soothe him: “It’s okay, Katsuki, it’s just one shot.”

“You have to hit all your shots to win the big teddy bear,” the range worker chirps in with a bored expression that would rival Jirou’s. 

“Fucking fine. I won’t miss next time,” Bakugou grumbles, taking out change to pay for another set of tickets. You let go of him, giving his side an assuring squeeze, and move to his right to grab your own gun. 

Lucky for you, the Pomeranian counts as a small prize, so you can miss some shots and still win it. Managing to hit all required targets, you laugh and thank the staff for the plushie.

Looking at your boyfriend, you see him aiming carefully, biting his lip in concentration. He shoots and hits the mark perfectly.

“Fucking told you I could shoot. The game’s just rigged,” he remarks when he notices your gaze. He quickly turns his full attention to the game. Steadying his weapon, he pulls the trigger and misses the aluminum target by a hair. It dings, making you cringe when the awful sound rushes through your skull.

Meanwhile, Bakugou’s eye twitches and he lets out a spray of curses. Giggling at him, you can’t help but mock him a little: “Ooh, the Great Lord Murder Shooter, teach me your ways,” laughing, you show off the plushie you won for him. 

Katsuki pushes down the need to blow it to pieces, and instead reaches to his pocket to pay for yet another set of tickets. 

“Third time’s the charm, I’m getting you the teddy bear like my fucking life depends on it. Doesn’t matter if I end up broke,” Katsuki declares and glares at the desired prize. Your heart stops for just a second and warmth settles in your chest. With a loving smile, you hug him and kiss him. “For good luck.”

Bakugou nods and a spark of determination settles in his red eyes, making them shine more as they focus on the target. Reloading the gun, he starts to shoot, hitting the marks. Not hesitating when he aims at the last one, Katsuki pulls the trigger and the sign falls down with a small clink.

You yelp in joy, pulling your boyfriend into a tight hug. His arms envelop around you and you feel his lips brush against your hair. The tension from his body slowly evaporates and he relaxes. He really wanted to win the stupid teddy bear for you, and not only to show you off or to prove Deku and Icyhot that he can give his girlfriend a better prize. He shot to win the smile on your face.

The stall worker interrupts your moment with a cough, handing over the teddy bear to Bakugou. It’s huge even in his arms and when he grabs it tightly, the only things visible are blond spikes and black combat boots. 

He adjusts his grip, so he can actually see you. Quickly pulling out your phone, you take the opportunity to snap a picture of him holding a giant plushie. Easily a new lockscreen picture. You open your mouth but you’re interrupted.

“Don’t you fucking dare to say ‘teddy bear for your Teddy Bear’ or I’ll fucking dump you.”

“Wasn’t going to, but I’ll make sure to use it later. Now, give me my plushie!” you exchange stuffed animals, both grinning like kids. Bakugou looks at you with a soft expression, or at what he can see, as the bear is almost completely blocking his view.

After Bakugou admits he spent almost all of his money on the shooting range, you decide to head home and have a quiet night in. Just when you are about to leave the carnival, Katsuki runs off for a second, while you search for the best transportation method, holding both plushies. It’s a wonder you can see the phone. 

Your boyfriend returns as your arms start to hurt. Turning around, Katsuki stands in front of you, blushing. In his hand lays a single red rose. 

“For you, dumbass,” he mutters, offering you the flower. You melt a bit inside when you take the sight in. It’s beautiful, but you are more focused on Katsuki, who, even with his distaste of romantic gestures, has bought you the flower with the most passionate meaning there is. 

Smiling at the redness staining his cheek, you kiss the coloured spots, exchanging the rose for the large plushie, so you can hold it close to your face and breathe in the soft aroma. 

“Thank you, Katsuki.”

“You better like it, I spent the rest of my money on it. I wanted to give you more but… the damn shooting range bled me dry,” planning on giving you a bouquet, he felt moronic and cursed himself silently when he realized in front of the flower stall that he could afford only a single rose.

“Don't worry, one is enough,” beaming, you intertwine your hands and gently squeeze his in assurance.  

You get to his house quickly - it’s empty, his parents out for a work weekend, so you decide to stay in the living room. Laying down on the coach, Bakugou starts to browse the movie collection before picking one. He had free rein as you were alright with whatever he would end up choosing. 

When he's done, Katsuki lays down next to you, pulling you closer to his side. Resting your head on his shoulder, you sigh contently at the relaxing aura that’s residing in the room. For his brash personality, he could often be tender, especially around you or the squad. And for all your love for his harsher side, you also enjoyed sharing those soft moments. 

Bakugou’s cheek rests on your head and soon, you feel a gentle touch of lips. Snuggling closer to him, you turn your attention to the screen.

Meanwhile, Katsuki focuses solely on you, tuning out the dumb movie. His hands rub circles on your skin, slightly tickling you. Looking at you, his heart is calm, his guard let down for once. Breathing in your scent, Bakugou hides a smile in your hair and strengthens the embrace.

You continue to watch the film in comfortable silence and plushies watching you from the other end of the sofa. The rose is already put in a vase, giving the room more colour. During the movie, Bakugou kept his eye on you, deep in thought about how your warmth slowly melted down his walls when you two were alone, how your eyes sparkled when he was about to win or how you would smile every time he looked at you. 

The images disappear from his head when you wiggle in his hold, brushing your thighs over his crotch. 

“Oh, my bad,” you giggle and repeat the move. 

“Uhuh,” Bakugou scuffs, having his headspace filled with different type of thoughts. He pulls you closer by your chin and kisses you, gently biting your lower lip.

Smirking on the inside, sparks of joy go off in your chest because your plan has succeeded. You respond to the kiss, caressing his lips with your tongue. Pressing your thighs to his, Bakugou lets out a gasp.

“An accident, my ass,” he scoffs and takes your shirt off. You wiggle out of it, laughing when your arms get stuck at the collar. Repressing the need to explode the cloth, Bakugou quickly gets you out of it. His own shirt soon follows and you can finally feel him skin on skin. 

Lowering his head, Bakugou cups your breasts, taking the bra off. His teeth tease the tip of your nipples, his tongue circling around the now hardened buds. Caressing your chest, Katsuki lets out a sigh, tickling you softly. 

Your hands wander to his back, rolling him so he is leaning over you. Gripping his back, you feel the gentle movement of his muscles under your touch and dig your fingertips a little. Another rushed exhale of his sends shiver down your spine, making you turn your head sideways in pleasure when he marks your collarbone. 

Moving lower to get rid of his trousers, something catches your eyes, making you stop. Katsuki senses your stiffness and pulls himself up, scanning your body over to make sure you are okay.

“What?” Bakugou panted, voice lower than usual. You continue to look at the plushies almost next to you.

“I can’t, the toys are watching,” you whisper in fake panic and turn to your boyfriend, holding back a smile.

“Fucking fine,” Bakugou scoffs and goes to turn them around. He swiftly returns and kisses you deeply, thumb caressing your cheek. You disconnect with a soft pop when he presses you down, his face hidden in the crook of your neck, ready to place another mark on you.

“They can still hear us,” you whine, pushing him away before his teeth can bruise you, “I don’t want to traumatise them…”

“Couldn’t you tell me that sooner?!” Bakugou almost shouts to your ear before getting you both up to carry you to his bedroom. 

Placing you on the bed, Katsuki kneels down, takes off your clothes until you are both in nothing but underwear. 

“Better?” Bakugou grins and goes down to nibble at your earlobe.

“Much better,” you agree, already a little out of breath. Moving lower, you rub on him through his boxers, forcing a groan out of him. His hips thrust up to meet your touch and you press harder on his growing erection.

Bakugou moans out your name and kisses you, tongue plunging in, swirling around your mouth. Your other hand presses on his back to have him close to you and you continue like this, exploring each other’s bodies, moaning at the soft strokes.

The kiss ends when Katsuki pinches you, making you yelp a little. Chuckling, you push your palm down his boxers, giving him a few strokes before going back in revenge. 

“Not a smart move, Teddy Bear,” Bakugou growls, wiping the smile off your face when he does the same to you, except his fingers move your panties out of his way, so he can push inside your folds. A groan escapes your lips and you gaze at your boyfriend, towering over you with a playful smirk. 

“Already out of words, huh, baby?” gloating, he pushes his digit deeper, curling it until it settles near your sensitive spot. 

Not wanting to go down easily, you guide your hand to his cock again, this time not retreating after a few strokes. You brush your thumb over his tip, feeling the pre-cum sticking to you. He groans and buries his face in your neck, covering it with kisses and licks.

“Who is out of words now?” you comment after you trail the vein on his length and his lips stop giving you attention. 

“Definitely not me,” Katsuki exhales and pushes a second finger in, stretching you out and avoiding your most sensitive spot on purpose, while teasingly brushing his thumb over close to your clit.

Cursing him, your hips thrust up, meeting his digits. Bakugou takes notice of your flustered face and shut eyes and decides to take pity on you. His thumb presses down on your neglected clit, tips of his fingers brush over your g-spot. 

Katsuki moves up to swallow your moans with his lips. Your hands stroke him irregularly, the only thing on your mind is the pleasure from his fingers shoved inside you, already making your walls clench.

“F-Fuck, baby,” Bakugou groans to your mouth and impatiently takes his fingers out. 

“Can’t wait already?” you mock him when the dizziness evaporates from your brain. Now, able to focus, you take a proper look at your boyfriend, taking in his muscled form, already stained with sweat and blushing spots. 

“You’re one to talk with how wet you are,” he gets rid of his boxers quickly and takes your panties off.

“Can’t argue with that,” you hum and bring him down for a kiss. The atmosphere in the room was different than normally, when he would get rough just the way you wanted him, or even sometimes pushing your limits. Now it was more teasing and relaxed, neither of you were chasing after release, preferring to simply lose yourselves in the moment.

A soft gasp leaves your lips when you feel Bakugou enter you. Slowly pushing in, it takes a bit before his length is fully settled in. He stays still until you move your hips in a silent sign that he can move.

Already feeling a small relief when your warmth envelopes around him, Bakugou starts to thrust slowly, focusing on every little clench. Having placed his forearms around your head, one of his hands finds its way to your hair, stroking it gently.

You loop your arms around his torso, keeping him close. 

“Fuck, you feel so good, baby,” Bakugou whispers into your ear, sending shivers down your spine and straight to your clit. You return the compliment, getting a harder thrust as a response. 

“Love see… seeing you like this, Teddy Bear. Spread out and all red, just for me.” You nod, the only thing you can see is his adoring expression. His pushes continue and you keep exchanging whispers of love and praise. 

Bakugou’s words have always had the power to make your knees weak and sweet-talk in bed made you only more in love with him. You bring his lips to yours, putting all that love into the touch. The soft but steady pressure of his mouth says silent ‘love you too’. 

Soon, you feel your orgasm approaching and Katsuki groans when your insides tighten around him. Speeding up a little, he moves his lips to your ear, gently nibbling on it and licking the reddened skin.

The hand entangled in your hair moves down, circling around your clit, taking you over the edge with a final deep push. Moaning out, Katsuki comes, staining your inner walls white. 

Slowly taking his cock out, he turns to your neck, leaving a trail of butterfly kisses. Sighing, you revel in the waves of pleasure slowly fading and turn you both on your sides, still facing eye to eye. 

The adoration in the crimson is more evident now, that the taint of lust is gone. You must have a similar expression on you as Bakugou smiles and takes you by your chin for a peck. Both of you say nothing for a while, simply basking in your feelings until Katsuki breaks the silence. 

You could write manuals on his expressions by now, and you are pretty sure he is going to say something silly thanks to this particular spark in his eye and the way he licks his lips before they take the shape of a smirk.

“That’s your soft sex for this month, alright? Next time Imma break the damn bed.”

[moved-justabakusimp]

Bakugou x F!Reader - Carnival Date - NSFW

Request for CuteLilPupCake on AO3

soft!Bakugou - date + soft/playful smut

no warnings when it comes to smut -> vanilla

words - 3.346 

crossposted from AO3 - (https://archiveofourown.org/works/27658058/chapters/68737356)

a part of our smut collection but softer than the rest, hence the crosspost on tumblr! smut is not the focus here

Stepping through the large gate, you gasp at the sight. Your surroundings are a mix of screaming children, carousel sounds, and overall atmosphere filled with joy. Smiling, you turn to Bakugou next to you, who seems to be in a similar awe. The colourful lights reflect on his blond hair, softening his expression. Not being able to resist, you place a peck on his cheek.

Bakugou blushes a bit but grabs your hand, leading you further into the fair.

“So, what do you wanna try first?” Katsuki looks at you, eyebrow raised. Noticing how you shiver from the cold breeze, he takes off his jacket and puts it around you.

“Told ya to bring a fucking jacket, dumbass,” he tsks. Thanking him, you bring the jacket closer to you, soaking the warmth coming out of it.

“What about a ferris wheel? Let’s start with a classic,” Katsuki nods and starts to lead the way. The large carousel wasn’t hard to see, it was towering over the whole carnival, luring people to it.

Bakugou himself wasn’t a fan of slow rides but you wanted to have a romantic night, so he sacrificed the attractions he had heard about, specifically The Death Drop, and others for the sake of some dumb large wheel.

Arriving at the Musutafu Eye, Bakugou buys the tickets for you two and impatiently waits to get on the carousel. It stops when you get to the top and you snuggle closer to your boyfriend to get more heat. The cold wind is stronger there, playing with your hair and giving you a perfect excuse to be glued to Katsuki’s side. Not that he was planning on protesting.

“I think I can see UA from here,” Bakugou remarks, making your head turn to see where he was pointing at. Katsuki smirks and bites your neck playfully, making you yelp in surprise.

“Hey!” laughing, you nudge him with your elbow, before bringing him closer to kiss him. Instantly, Bakugou puts you on his lap and embraces you. Hands run across your back, the touch toned down by your (his) clothes.

You grip the back of his head, your other hand caressing his shoulder. You tug at his hair and swallow the gasp he lets out. Taking this opportunity to deepen the kiss, your tongue pushes into his mouth to intertwine with his. You continue your little dance/battle for dominance until Bakugou wins, lips hungrily latching onto yours. Sadly, it doesn’t last long.

“This is nice, Teddy Bear, but you should also enjoy the view,” he smirks at your blushing face, cupping your cheek with his hand. You nod, connecting your lips again for a brief moment. However, you choose to stay sitting on his lap and turn your attention to the view.

You couldn’t see much because of the dark blanket that had settled over the city, as it slowly prepared for another night. Focusing on finding UA, your gaze runs over the whole landscape, looking for the hill that housed the school grounds.

“There, dumbass,” Bakugou points again, this time allowing you to take a look and not biting you. You nod when you finally notice it, standing on the lone hill in the sea of lights.

Soon, you make your way down. Glad to feel solid ground under your feet once again, you let out a soft sigh. Both you and Bakugou look around to see where you could go next, then Katsuki next to you goes stiff.

Confused, you follow his eyes, seeing Midoriya and Todoroki holding hands, walking towards you two. It didn’t look like they noticed you yet, they were too busy talking, and Deku was holding a plushie in front of him that was almost as big as he was.

“Motherfuckers, I can't have one peaceful day without them,” Bakugou cursed, grabbing your hand and dragging you to walk with him, “and that’s a small-ass teddy bear, I’ll get you a bigger one, just watch.”

“I would like to see you try,” you tease him. The stuffed toy you saw was big, it would be surprising if some attractions offered a bigger one.

Smirking at the challenge, Bakugou leads you to the nearest shooting range that had such teddy bears. He was just about to buy a few tickets for himself, when you held his hand down and put in your own money to try the range yourself.

“What, you think you can shoot better than me?”

“Well, I did have some training with Snipe when you were busy with Best Jeanist. Plus, I really want to give you that toy,” you point your chin at a small Pomeranian plushie that had a very similar grin on its fluffy face.

“Don't you fucking dare. How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not like some damn dog?” tsking, he picks up the plastic gun and tries it out. Giggling, you eye the toy, giving it a silent promise to win it.

“Okay, shut up, watch, and learn,” sneering, Bakugou takes a first shot, missing. Gasping, he shouts: “The fuck?!”

Laughing at his disbelief, you decide to be a supportive girlfriend and not to torture him with teasing. Rubbing his back, you try to soothe him: “It’s okay, Katsuki, it’s just one shot.”

“You have to hit all your shots to win the big teddy bear,” the range worker chirps in with a bored expression that would rival Jirou’s.

“Fucking fine. I won’t miss next time,” Bakugou grumbles, taking out change to pay for another set of tickets. You let go of him, giving his side an assuring squeeze, and move to his right to grab your own gun.

Lucky for you, the Pomeranian counts as a small prize, so you can miss some shots and still win it. Managing to hit all required targets, you laugh and thank the staff for the plushie.

Looking at your boyfriend, you see him aiming carefully, biting his lip in concentration. He shoots and hits the mark perfectly.

“Fucking told you I could shoot. The game’s just rigged,” he remarks when he notices your gaze. He quickly turns his full attention to the game. Steadying his weapon, he pulls the trigger and misses the aluminum target by a hair. It dings, making you cringe when the awful sound rushes through your skull.

Meanwhile, Bakugou’s eye twitches and he lets out a spray of curses. Giggling at him, you can’t help but mock him a little: “Ooh, the Great Lord Murder Shooter, teach me your ways,” laughing, you show off the plushie you won for him.

Katsuki pushes down the need to blow it to pieces, and instead reaches to his pocket to pay for yet another set of tickets.

“Third time’s the charm, I’m getting you the teddy bear like my fucking life depends on it. Doesn’t matter if I end up broke,” Katsuki declares and glares at the desired prize. Your heart stops for just a second and warmth settles in your chest. With a loving smile, you hug him and kiss him. “For good luck.”

Bakugou nods and a spark of determination settles in his red eyes, making them shine more as they focus on the target. Reloading the gun, he starts to shoot, hitting the marks. Not hesitating when he aims at the last one, Katsuki pulls the trigger and the sign falls down with a small clink.

You yelp in joy, pulling your boyfriend into a tight hug. His arms envelop around you and you feel his lips brush against your hair. The tension from his body slowly evaporates and he relaxes. He really wanted to win the stupid teddy bear for you, and not only to show you off or to prove Deku and Icyhot that he can give his girlfriend a better prize. He shot to win the smile on your face.

The stall worker interrupts your moment with a cough, handing over the teddy bear to Bakugou. It’s huge even in his arms and when he grabs it tightly, the only things visible are blond spikes and black combat boots.

He adjusts his grip, so he can actually see you. Quickly pulling out your phone, you take the opportunity to snap a picture of him holding a giant plushie. Easily a new lockscreen picture. You open your mouth but you’re interrupted.

“Don’t you fucking dare to say ‘teddy bear for your Teddy Bear’ or I’ll fucking dump you.”

“Wasn’t going to, but I’ll make sure to use it later. Now, give me my plushie!” you exchange stuffed animals, both grinning like kids. Bakugou looks at you with a soft expression, or at what he can see, as the bear is almost completely blocking his view.

After Bakugou admits he spent almost all of his money on the shooting range, you decide to head home and have a quiet night in. Just when you are about to leave the carnival, Katsuki runs off for a second, while you search for the best transportation method, holding both plushies. It’s a wonder you can see the phone.

Your boyfriend returns as your arms start to hurt. Turning around, Katsuki stands in front of you, blushing. In his hand lays a single red rose.

“For you, dumbass,” he mutters, offering you the flower. You melt a bit inside when you take the sight in. It’s beautiful, but you are more focused on Katsuki, who, even with his distaste of romantic gestures, has bought you the flower with the most passionate meaning there is.

Smiling at the redness staining his cheek, you kiss the coloured spots, exchanging the rose for the large plushie, so you can hold it close to your face and breathe in the soft aroma.

“Thank you, Katsuki.”

“You better like it, I spent the rest of my money on it. I wanted to give you more but… the damn shooting range bled me dry,” planning on giving you a bouquet, he felt moronic and cursed himself silently when he realized in front of the flower stall that he could afford only a single rose.

“Don't worry, one is enough,” beaming, you intertwine your hands and gently squeeze his in assurance.

You get to his house quickly - it’s empty, his parents out for a work weekend, so you decide to stay in the living room. Laying down on the coach, Bakugou starts to browse the movie collection before picking one. He had free rein as you were alright with whatever he would end up choosing.

When he's done, Katsuki lays down next to you, pulling you closer to his side. Resting your head on his shoulder, you sigh contently at the relaxing aura that’s residing in the room. For his brash personality, he could often be tender, especially around you or the squad. And for all your love for his harsher side, you also enjoyed sharing those soft moments.

Bakugou’s cheek rests on your head and soon, you feel a gentle touch of lips. Snuggling closer to him, you turn your attention to the screen.

Meanwhile, Katsuki focuses solely on you, tuning out the dumb movie. His hands rub circles on your skin, slightly tickling you. Looking at you, his heart is calm, his guard let down for once. Breathing in your scent, Bakugou hides a smile in your hair and strengthens the embrace.

You continue to watch the film in comfortable silence and plushies watching you from the other end of the sofa. The rose is already put in a vase, giving the room more colour. During the movie, Bakugou kept his eye on you, deep in thought about how your warmth slowly melted down his walls when you two were alone, how your eyes sparkled when he was about to win or how you would smile every time he looked at you.

The images disappear from his head when you wiggle in his hold, brushing your thighs over his crotch.

“Oh, my bad,” you giggle and repeat the move.

“Uhuh,” Bakugou scuffs, having his headspace filled with different type of thoughts. He pulls you closer by your chin and kisses you, gently biting your lower lip.

Smirking on the inside, sparks of joy go off in your chest because your plan has succeeded. You respond to the kiss, caressing his lips with your tongue. Pressing your thighs to his, Bakugou lets out a gasp.

“An accident, my ass,” he scoffs and takes your shirt off. You wiggle out of it, laughing when your arms get stuck at the collar. Repressing the need to explode the cloth, Bakugou quickly gets you out of it. His own shirt soon follows and you can finally feel him skin on skin.

Lowering his head, Bakugou cups your breasts, taking the bra off. His teeth tease the tip of your nipples, his tongue circling around the now hardened buds. Caressing your chest, Katsuki lets out a sigh, tickling you softly.

Your hands wander to his back, rolling him so he is leaning over you. Gripping his back, you feel the gentle movement of his muscles under your touch and dig your fingertips a little. Another rushed exhale of his sends shiver down your spine, making you turn your head sideways in pleasure when he marks your collarbone.

Moving lower to get rid of his trousers, something catches your eyes, making you stop. Katsuki senses your stiffness and pulls himself up, scanning your body over to make sure you are okay.

“What?” Bakugou panted, voice lower than usual. You continue to look at the plushies almost next to you.

“I can’t, the toys are watching,” you whisper in fake panic and turn to your boyfriend, holding back a smile.

“Fucking fine,” Bakugou scoffs and goes to turn them around. He swiftly returns and kisses you deeply, thumb caressing your cheek. You disconnect with a soft pop when he presses you down, his face hidden in the crook of your neck, ready to place another mark on you.

“They can still hear us,” you whine, pushing him away before his teeth can bruise you, “I don’t want to traumatise them…”

“Couldn’t you tell me that sooner?!” Bakugou almost shouts to your ear before getting you both up to carry you to his bedroom.

Placing you on the bed, Katsuki kneels down, takes off your clothes until you are both in nothing but underwear.

“Better?” Bakugou grins and goes down to nibble at your earlobe.

“Much better,” you agree, already a little out of breath. Moving lower, you rub on him through his boxers, forcing a groan out of him. His hips thrust up to meet your touch and you press harder on his growing erection.

Bakugou moans out your name and kisses you, tongue plunging in, swirling around your mouth. Your other hand presses on his back to have him close to you and you continue like this, exploring each other’s bodies, moaning at the soft strokes.

The kiss ends when Katsuki pinches you, making you yelp a little. Chuckling, you push your palm down his boxers, giving him a few strokes before going back in revenge.

“Not a smart move, Teddy Bear,” Bakugou growls, wiping the smile off your face when he does the same to you, except his fingers move your panties out of his way, so he can push inside your folds. A groan escapes your lips and you gaze at your boyfriend, towering over you with a playful smirk.

“Already out of words, huh, baby?” gloating, he pushes his digit deeper, curling it until it settles near your sensitive spot.

Not wanting to go down easily, you guide your hand to his cock again, this time not retreating after a few strokes. You brush your thumb over his tip, feeling the pre-cum sticking to you. He groans and buries his face in your neck, covering it with kisses and licks.

“Who is out of words now?” you comment after you trail the vein on his length and his lips stop giving you attention.

“Definitely not me,” Katsuki exhales and pushes a second finger in, stretching you out and avoiding your most sensitive spot on purpose, while teasingly brushing his thumb over close to your clit.

Cursing him, your hips thrust up, meeting his digits. Bakugou takes notice of your flustered face and shut eyes and decides to take pity on you. His thumb presses down on your neglected clit, tips of his fingers brush over your g-spot.

Katsuki moves up to swallow your moans with his lips. Your hands stroke him irregularly, the only thing on your mind is the pleasure from his fingers shoved inside you, already making your walls clench.

“F-Fuck, baby,” Bakugou groans to your mouth and impatiently takes his fingers out.

“Can’t wait already?” you mock him when the dizziness evaporates from your brain. Now, able to focus, you take a proper look at your boyfriend, taking in his muscled form, already stained with sweat and blushing spots.

“You’re one to talk with how wet you are,” he gets rid of his boxers quickly and takes your panties off.

“Can’t argue with that,” you hum and bring him down for a kiss. The atmosphere in the room was different than normally, when he would get rough just the way you wanted him, or even sometimes pushing your limits. Now it was more teasing and relaxed, neither of you were chasing after release, preferring to simply lose yourselves in the moment.

A soft gasp leaves your lips when you feel Bakugou enter you. Slowly pushing in, it takes a bit before his length is fully settled in. He stays still until you move your hips in a silent sign that he can move.

Already feeling a small relief when your warmth envelopes around him, Bakugou starts to thrust slowly, focusing on every little clench. Having placed his forearms around your head, one of his hands finds its way to your hair, stroking it gently.

You loop your arms around his torso, keeping him close.

“Fuck, you feel so good, baby,” Bakugou whispers into your ear, sending shivers down your spine and straight to your clit. You return the compliment, getting a harder thrust as a response.

“Love see… seeing you like this, Teddy Bear. Spread out and all red, just for me.” You nod, the only thing you can see is his adoring expression. His pushes continue and you keep exchanging whispers of love and praise.

Bakugou’s words have always had the power to make your knees weak and sweet-talk in bed made you only more in love with him. You bring his lips to yours, putting all that love into the touch. The soft but steady pressure of his mouth says silent ‘love you too’.

Soon, you feel your orgasm approaching and Katsuki groans when your insides tighten around him. Speeding up a little, he moves his lips to your ear, gently nibbling on it and licking the reddened skin.

The hand entangled in your hair moves down, circling around your clit, taking you over the edge with a final deep push. Moaning out, Katsuki comes, staining your inner walls white.

Slowly taking his cock out, he turns to your neck, leaving a trail of butterfly kisses. Sighing, you revel in the waves of pleasure slowly fading and turn you both on your sides, still facing eye to eye.

The adoration in the crimson is more evident now, that the taint of lust is gone. You must have a similar expression on you as Bakugou smiles and takes you by your chin for a peck. Both of you say nothing for a while, simply basking in your feelings until Katsuki breaks the silence.

You could write manuals on his expressions by now, and you are pretty sure he is going to say something silly thanks to this particular spark in his eye and the way he licks his lips before they take the shape of a smirk.

“That’s your soft sex for this month, alright? Next time Imma break the damn bed.”

[janaikam]

Roommates

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @emsylcatac!!!!!! You are such an amazing friend and I hope you have the best day ever!!!!

Summary:  When the new mayor of Paris offers an apartment to Paris' heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't pass up on the chance.

Beta reading done by the marvelous @macaronsforchat

Read on AO3.

“Woah!” Ladybug and Chat Noir breathed, looking around at the apartment.

Mayor Beaumont, Paris’ newest mayor, had recently offered the heroes an apartment in Paris. He claimed that it was to honor the heroes’ hard work over the years. But Ladybug figured that it was to keep him on the public’s good side. After all, he barely beat Mayor Bourgeois in the last election.

Although Marinette had her reservations about the apartment, she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to have free housing in Paris. She had just started looking at housing for her second year in university, and it was not cheap to find a decent apartment.

Plus it helped that Mayor Beaumont was keeping everything with the apartment confidential. It turned out that he owned multiple buildings around Paris, so they didn’t have to worry about a landlord selling the heroes out.

She was a little hesitant about rooming with Chat, but Beaumont reassured her that he would find the best apartment that would not reveal their identities to Paris or each other.

The last thing Marinette expected was for the mayor to get them a penthouse style apartment.

The apartment had a large kitchen, and after quickly checking the cabinets, it was fully stocked. An island in the middle of the kitchen separated it from the living room which had some nice black couches with some dark grey and white spiral pillows on top of it. Surrounding the couch there were two dark grey single seats. There was a door on the back wall that Ladybug realized was a balcony.

The walls were a plain cream color making the room not as inviting, but Marinette was sure that they could make it feel homier without them revealing their identities.

A little in between the living room and kitchen were two hallways on both ends. Walking down the hallway on the right, Ladybug saw that the hallway had two rooms--one looked to be a bedroom and the other an office--and a washer and dryer unit. Connecting the bedroom was a bathroom that had both a huge bath and a shower.

She could only imagine that the other side was set up similarly. It would definitely be possible for them to hide their identities without having to use their kwamis too much.

Walking back to the main area, Ladybug saw that Chat was just coming back after checking his side of the room.

“Alright, Chat, if we’re going to make this work, we need to set some ground rules.” She went to sit on the couch, and Chat followed.

“Anything for you my lady.”

“First off, I think in our respective spaces we can be detransformed, so we don’t overwork our kwamis. Second, whenever we’re here in the main space, we should be transformed or at least have something to hide our identities.”

Chat nodded in understanding. “What about inviting friends over? Some of my civilian friends know I’m moving into a new apartment, and it’d be really hard for me to keep them from here.”

Ladybug hummed. She had the same issue because Alya was definitely going to want to come over.

“How about we tell each other in advance? Like send a message or write a note? That way we would know when to just avoid coming to the apartment.”

“We could get separate phones to text on!” Chat’s eyes lit up. “It would be like we’re spies with a second phone.”

Ladybug scrunched up her face. “Ignoring the fact that we’d have to pay for phones and service, I think my friends would wonder why I suddenly have two phones.”

Chat deflated a little. “You’re right. Hmmm. Oh! We could use one of those online messaging apps. We could just make accounts and message each other there!”

“That would work.” Ladybug nodded.

“I’m excited to be your roommate, m’lady.”

“I’m excited to be your roommate, Chaton.”

--------

It had been a week living with Chat, and so far it had been going smoothly. Their schedules thankfully allowed them to miss when the other left or came back, so Marinette had no clue what Chat looked like. Though she did make a couple of masks that resembled their superhero ones. She always slipped hers on when she got on the elevator just in case, but there hadn’t been much of a need for it.

They had also found a website to message on to let the other know someone was coming over. He had some friend over earlier this week, and she just ended up spending the afternoon with her parents at the bakery.

It was her turn to have the apartment to herself as Alya was practically demanding to see Marinette’s new place.

Marinette was tidying up her new sewing room--she decided to use the office space for her sewing--when she heard a knock at the front door.

Opening the door, she saw Alya standing there practically bouncing with excitement.

“Marinette!” The brunette jumped onto Marinette and gave her a hug. “It’s been too long!”

Marinette laughed, hugging Alya back. “It’s only been a week.”

“Exactly. Too long.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Marinette shook her head as Alya walked in and set down her purse on the island.

“Not ridiculous. Excitable.”

Alya examined the fairly large apartment, walking over to the living room. Alya picked up one of the picture frames that Marinette had placed down. Marinette followed, looking over Alya’s shoulder and saw that she had picked up the picture of a Ladybug on a green flower.

Marinette smiled as Alya put it down. The photo just seemed like a regular picture to anyone, but for her and Chat it was a little nod to their identities.

“This place looks really nice. How on earth are you affording this?” Alya asked, turning to face Marinette.

Marinette nervously laughed, trying to think up an excuse. It was times like this she wished that she didn’t have to keep secrets to keep her friends safe. “My roommate knows the owner of the building and they worked out some deal, so we got the apartment at a nice price.”

Alya nodded, accepting the answer. “This must be some roommate if they’ve got connections like that.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty awesome.” Marinette sighed, thinking of Chat.

She wondered what he was doing right about now since it was the middle of the afternoon, and he couldn’t be at the apartment. It had been something she found that she was always thinking about ever since they moved in together. Shaking out the thoughts of Chat, Marinette turned back towards Alya.

Her best friend was giving her a suspicious smirk that Marinette couldn’t quite place.

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing. I can’t wait to meet this super special roommate. He really seems like something,” Alya said, the smirk still on her face.

Marinette shivered, thinking about the trouble Chat’s civilian self might get into with Alya. They were already mischievous as it was when they were heroes back in collége, who knows what they would do.

“Ah, you probably may not see him around much. We have pretty different schedules, so I don’t see him much as it is.” Marinette let out a soft chuckle. “Hey! Let me show you my side of the apartment!”

Marinette dragged Alya to the hallway on the right, but a thud from the balcony stopped her in their tracks.

Turning towards the balcony, Marinette saw a blur of black before it quickly disappeared.

“What was that?” Alya freed herself from Marinette’s grasp and walked over to the balcony.

Marinette followed her onto the balcony.

“Is that Chat Noir?” Alya pointed to a fast-moving blur on the rooves. Marinette nodded, recognizing her partner from this distance. “I wonder if he’s going to that new apartment the mayor got the heroes. But why is he in such a hurry?”

Marinette turned to look in the direction that Chat had just come from only to see a large purple blob moving towards them.

“I think that might be why.”

Alya’s eyes widened as she spotted the akuma.

“Hey, Mari, I’m gonna have to take a rain check. See ya!”

With that Alya ran out of the apartment, phone in hand ready to record.

Marinette shook her head at her best friend. Despite how much they’ve grown, she was still the same person.

“Tikki, spots on!”

----

CN: Movie night?

Marinette considered the text. It wasn’t like Chat and her hadn’t been in the same room before, but the thought of being in the same room as Chat for at least an hour seemed like a weird concept to her. But it definitely didn’t sound unpleasant.

LB: What movie?

CN: You pick

Marinette hummed. It didn’t seem like a bad idea. Plus she was likely going to watch a movie by herself, so might as well have someone to watch with.

LB: Sure

Grabbing her mask and a couple of blankets, Marinette made her way to their living room.

Chat was already there along with a mountain of blankets and two medium-sized bowls of what she assumed was popcorn. Her kitty had the biggest of grins on his face, and when he spotted her he patted a spot on the couch where the pillows created a hole for someone to sit. The T.V. was already opened to the Netflix search.

Once Marinette had settled herself into the spot, Chat handed her one of the bowls of popcorn and the remote. Glancing down at the bowl of popcorn, Marinette noticed that there was a bunch of M&Ms and hardened chocolate syrup all over the popcorn.

“Omg, Chat, did you make all this?”

Chat nodded excitedly. “My mom and I used to make it all the time when I was younger. I thought you might like it.”

Marinette smiled back. “It looks great. Thank you, Chat. But how’d you know that I would say yes?”

“So what are we watching, my lady?” Marinette glared at his obvious change of topic but proceeded to find her favorite movie on the streaming service.

Clicking on the movie, she clicked play and settled back into the couch.

“Mirror, Mirror?” Chat asked.

“Yup. It’s a fantastic take on Snow White, and the costumes are just to die for,” Marinette said, popping some popcorn into her mouth. “Now hush, it’s starting.”

--

Marinette groaned, snuggling up closer to the wall next to her as a finger poked into her side. The wall chuckled, and the poking shifted into a slight shake.

“My lady…” a voice whispered near her ear. “My lady, the movie’s over.”

Slowly opening her eyes, Marinette saw that the movie credits were rolling, and some Netflix recommendations were showing on the screen.

She looked over to where Chat was and realized somehow during the movie, she had snuggled up right next to him.

She jumped up off the couch, a blush forming on her cheeks. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry for falling asleep on you!”

“You’re good my lady.” Chat grinned. “You were right, the movie was great.”

“Uh yeah, I’m glad it enjoyed you.” Marinette shook her head. “I mean you enjoyed it. Anyways have a good night!”

As quickly as she could with her blanket, Marinette ran into her room, not daring to look back at Chat.

----

Marinette and Nino laughed as Alya slapped Adrien’s hand away from her fries. Adrien pouted but leaned back in his seat beside Nino.

“That’s what you get, you fry snatcher,” Alya reprimanded, holding a fry to emphasize her point.

Marinette couldn’t help but break out into laughter again. She missed spending time with her friends like this. The four of them had all started university at different schools this year, and it was hard for them to meet up. It just so happened that all of them had the afternoon free, so they planned to get lunch together and walk back to Marinette’s place.

Aside from Adrien stealing Alya’s fries, the afternoon consisted of the four of them sharing university stories.

They had already paid for their food and were waiting on Alya to finish so they could walk over to Marinette’s place to watch movies or maybe play some video games.

“There, all done. Now there are no more fries for you to steal.”

Adrien stuck out his tongue, causing Alya to sick out hers.

“Children, children, let us go so you can continue your childish games later,” Marinette said in an obnoxious accent.

“Pfft. What was that?” Alya asked, laughing.

“That was called a sophisticated voice, something you clearly know nothing about.”

Nino shook his head, standing up from the table. “You all are crazy.”

“If we’re crazy, then what are you? Cause you aren’t sane that’s for sure,” Alya teased.

“I’m saner than you.” Nino poked Alya’s nose with his finger and led them all out of the restaurant.

--

The walk to Marinette’s apartment building didn’t take that long. In fact, if Marinette didn’t know better, Adrien looked a little pale as their group entered the building.

“Hey, dude, don’t you live here?” Nino asked while they waited for the elevator to come down.

“Yeah, top floor.” Adrien flashed one of his model smiles, which meant something was bugging him, but Marinette couldn’t fathom what.

“I live on the top floor too. I didn’t know you moved into an apartment.”

The elevator doors opened, and Marinette clicked her floor.

“Yeah, turns out my dad owned this building, and I figured I might as well move into one of the apartments,” Adrien explained, scratching behind his head.

Adrien was lying. He had to be. The mayor of Paris owned this building. But why on earth would Adrien be lying about something like that? It didn’t make sense.

“Oh, uh, that’s neat.”

Thankfully they reached the top floor before Marinette could confront Adrien. He probably just didn’t want them to think he was wasting his money. Yeah, that had to be it. She didn’t know how much these apartments cost, but she figured it had to be a whole lot.

“You know Marinette has this hot roommate. From what I hear, he’s quite some guy,” Alya said to Adrien.

“Alya! You haven’t even met my roommate!”

“Do I have to meet him to know that he’s cute?” At this Nino raised his eyebrow, but Alya waved him off. “Not as cute as you babe.”

“Good.”

“1377. This is me.” Marinette unlocked the door to the apartment and let them in.

“Okay are you guys messing with me?” Marinette turned to see Nino standing in the doorway, looking between Marinette and Adrien.

Adrien himself looked like he was in a state of awe and panic.

“What do you mean?” Marinette scrunched her face together.

“This is Adrien’s apartment.”

“No, it’s no-oh my gosh.” She looked over at Adrien, making eye contact with the blonde. Her eyes widened as she recognized the familiar green eyes of her partner. It suddenly made sense why Adrien had been acting the way he did.

Staring into his eyes, she could see that he was having the same realization that she was. Slowly, Marinette made her way to Adrien, cautiously reaching her hand up to touch his face.

“It’s you,” Marinette gasped, covering her mouth.

“It’s you.” Adrien smiled a real smile, not his fake one.

She hugged him tightly as tears filled her eyes and threatened to fall. Adrien hugged her back just as fiercely, and she could feel his own tears flowing down, causing her own tears to fall.

“This is weird right?”

“Yes, Nino, this is weird.”

[angsty-nerd]

So… I was thinking about RNM… as one does… and I realized that a line in 3x01 reminded me of something…

Heath says to Liz, regarding her leaking their research: “Genoryx owns your computer, your phone, your apartment building and your I.P., so if it's you, you're toast.”

It suddenly occurred to me why it was familiar. Because I wrote it. Or something very similar to it. Back in 2002 ish, in one of my OG fics, future Liz is working for a sketchy laboratory that sets her up real good, but it comes with a catch, and the catch is surveillance. Lots of it. Which now has me speculating something similar from Genoryx and/or Deep Sky. Rosa did mention alien resurrection when they face timed in the apartment in 3x01…

Here…have some examples from my fic 😆

From Ch 16…

“I can’t believe it took you this long to call me!” Maria ranted as she rushed inside. “You’ve been here for…what? A whole day? And I’m just now seeing you? That’s just not right! You had better be prepared to make it up to me big time!” Maria turned and in a quick glance took in the lushly decorated apartment around her. “Hey, this is a pretty nice place!”

“Yeah, blackmail…” Liz muttered under her breath as she followed Maria around the apartment, giving her best friend a chance to explore. Maria reached the bedroom and arched an eyebrow at the sight of the massive pillow-covered king sized bed.

“All right chica, what’s your secret?” Maria demanded, turning to Liz with her hands on her hips in annoyance. “I could never in a million years afford all of this stuff, and I’ve been working full time since I was, like, fifteen!”

Liz held up her hands in surrender. “It’s not me! I swear! It’s my new job’s doing.” She spit out the words distastefully while the two friends made their way back to the main room. “They’re trying to show me what a valuable commodity I am to them.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” Maria raised her eyebrow at her friend with disbelief. “You’re living in luxury, girl!”

Liz sighed, slumping back down into the huge armchair in defeat. “Oh God, Maria.” Liz cried, raking a frustrated hand through her hair. “I’ve had the worst day! This job is absolutely nothing like I expected it to be.”

“Oh sweetie!” Maria exclaimed as she noticed Liz’s exhausted, ragged appearance for the first time. Maria ran across the room towards Liz, pulling her into a tight hug. “I’m here for you, girlfriend! Tell me everything.”

Liz gave Maria a relieved smile. She knew for a fact that this was exactly what she needed…to let loose all the tension inside of her and get a second opinion on the situation from her friend. Maybe with a little perspective she could figure out how to proceed when she went back to work in the morning. Not to even mention she needed advice on how to act around Max in the meantime. She didn’t need another disaster like her jumpiness in the hallway earlier that evening.

“Well…” Liz started, only to be immediately cut off by the shrill ringing of the telephone. She rolled her eyes at the interruption, and pushed herself back to her feet. “I’ll be right back.” She grinned at her friend, padding lazily across the room to pick up the phone.

“Hello?” She asked, turning her back on Maria to take the call.

“It would be wise of you to keep your mouth shut, Ms. Parker.”

The cold, lifeless voice on the other end of the line sent a chill running down Liz’s spine, and the smile slid right off of her face. She paled as the voice continued.

“You wouldn’t want someone to find out things they shouldn’t know about. It might initiate certain unexpected accidents to remove unwanted factors into our project.”

Fear surged up inside of Liz as she realized what they were suggesting. She berated herself at her own stupidity. They had everyone she knew under surveillance twenty-four hours a day…of course they would be watching her just as closely, if not more closely. She glanced around the room for a moment, trying to spot cameras or other hidden security equipment that she might have missed before. Of course, none of it was visible to the naked eye.

“Say something, Ms. Parker. Your friend is going to get suspicious.” The voice warned her in a threatening tone.

Thinking quickly so not to raise Maria’s suspicions, Liz began to ramble a response. “Yes, this is (505) 648-2697, but I’m sorry, there’s nobody by that name here.”

“That’s right, Ms. Parker, just pretend you don’t know who it is. Everything is totally normal here. And remember…watch your mouth if you value your friend’s life.”

And in Ch 17 the next morning…

“Good, you’re on time. Have a seat, Ms. Parker.” He gestured dismissively at the empty chair opposite him. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

“Bullshit, you won’t be with me in a moment.” Liz swore angrily at him. “You’re going to talk to me right now!”

Dr. Thompson raised an eyebrow in surprise at her passionate order, and calmly set down his reading. “Very well, then. What do you want to talk about?”

“My legal rights.” Liz stated firmly. “You have no right…no right whatsoever …to bug my apartment! What are you doing? Watching and listening to everything I say and do? Haven’t you people ever heard of privacy?”

“Liz…first of all, it’s not your apartment. It’s our apartment. You willingly walked into there yourself. If we want to install security equipment in our own facility, then that’s our choice…just as it was your choice to sign a contract with us before you even visited our facility. Do you remember that contract, Liz? You agreed to all of this.”

The blood drained from Liz’s face as she realized that all he said was true. His point was only accentuated as he opened his file drawer and pulled out a copy of that very same contract that he spoke of, sliding it across the desk towards her.

“Take this, Liz. Read it again. See what you agreed to. You can’t break this contract now.”

Bile rose in Liz’s throat at the sight of the words before her. Statements that initially seemed to be cloudy and obscure now made perfect sense. She felt completely moronic for agreeing to anything before she knew the reality behind the lab’s projects and procedures.

In short…she was completely trapped.

Aaaand, chapter 24 after shit hits the fan….

“Max, the people we’re up against here will stop at nothing to get to you.”

”Do they know what I am?”

Liz stared at him for a long moment before responding. Her heart went out to him at that moment. He asked her in a soft, nervous voice, his question hanging out in the air with the knowledge that he knew his life depended on the answer. He was scared, but trying desperately not to show it. Liz knew this was at least one answer she could try to comfort him on, even if it still wasn’t the best possible situation.

“They don’t know that you’re an alien.” Liz answered carefully. “But they do know that you can do things that most people can’t do.”

“How did you get involved with these people, Liz?” He wondered.

Liz sighed. She sank down beside Max on the bed, and stared down at her feet, not quite able to meet his eyes as she told him the truth.

“I work for them.” She explained. She fell silent for a moment as she collected her thoughts and tried to decide how to go about explaining her involvement with the Brown Institute. “When I look back at it now, the whole situation was really weird, but I didn’t think twice about it at the time. It just seemed like a great opportunity. They contacted me directly, right when I was starting to look for a new job. The head of the lab, Dr. Thompson, e-mailed me directly and offered me a position doing hands-on lab research if I came back to New Mexico. It was hard to refuse. The job sounded like it was exactly what I was looking for, and coming home was a tempting offer after being away for so many years.”

“They tricked you.” Max interrupted. Liz turned to look at him, startled out of her nervousness by the anger in his voice. It was only accentuated by the look in his eyes now. They burned with a fire that startled Liz, even as he leaned towards her protectively, as if in that moment his presence could chase away the lingering demons in her world.

“Yeah, they did.” Liz replied. “They didn’t tell me what the job entailed until after I arrived in Roswell…and moved into their apartment, and started driving their car, all of which were wired with surveillance equipment. Only then did they sit me down and tell me flat out what they wanted me to do for them.”

“They wanted you to get close to me.”

“Exactly.” Liz confirmed his statement. “They wanted me to get close enough to you to find out how it was that you’re capable of healing people with a touch…they had surveillance of you healing some children in a hospital. They wanted me to find out the truth, and then turn you in to them. My prize would have been to be a part of the group that would study you. If I didn’t do everything they asked me to do, they would kill my family and friends.”

PS, the whole thing is on AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20479655/chapters/48595892

[whitewolfandthefox]

26 + Geralt x reader for the Horror and the Wild prompts!

Summary: Modern AU, Geralt x fem!reader. An early snowfall has Geralt trapped in town where he’s been staying for meetings, unable to get to his winter house. Enter you, bringing memories from many years past.

Prompt 26: Come rest for the winter, wear my jumper all night long.

Words: 4.4k

Warnings: fluff, whole lotta fluff, teeth rotting fluff

Masterlist

A/N. This is for my lovely Lu, who is ever so helpful and I love dearly. Hope you enjoy this babe!

Add yourself to my taglist!

Hide Under the Covers

The winter started out cold and had come far too early for Geralt’s liking. He had ended up staying in the small town he was in for an extra week when his boss had booked him for extra meetings. He had recently been promoted to Project Manager, which had resulted in more work and him having to physically meet with the clients rather than being given the briefing. Not that he minded, he didn’t have anyone to go home to. At least he thought he wouldn’t mind, until the snow came early and blocked the path to his house in the mountains. Normally he would snowshoe or ski up to his winter home once the snow set in, but he hadn’t anticipated the early snowfall and had left them there. He had been planning on making the move this weekend, having just finished renting out his summer home, which he was now regretting. 

The town itself was nice, he didn’t mind staying there. He could do some touristy things, there were quite a few small businesses, a university, some schools, along with some museums and galleries. It was a quaint, pretty little place, it would just be lonely.

He had found himself in a small restaurant, perusing a menu as he debated what his next move was. Geralt sighed into his beer, knowing he had to find somewhere to stay until the paths cleared enough that he could get up to his house. Maybe a hotel? That would be expensive, but it’s not like he couldn’t afford it. He just hated staying in hotels any longer than he had to, they always felt so impersonal. As he flagged the waitress down, asking for a second pint of beer, he heard a familiar sound. Perking up, he scanned the room before his eyes landed on a figure that he hadn’t seen in a couple of years. 

He remembered the last time he had seen you, a somber parting as the two of you went your own ways. The two of you had been dating for a few years, the talk of engagement having been thrown around. Geralt had even recruited your best friend to go ring shopping with him, trying to get ideas of what you might like. That all changed when he had been headhunted by the company he was with now. It had been his dream job, a senior architect at a construction company. The only hitch had been that the company was in Europe; they had seen some of his work and wanted his input on the design of their new corporate building. If they liked his work, there was the guarantee of a long term contract overseeing multiple projects within the company.

You had debated going with him, teaching being fairly mobile. Just as you had decided to go with him, you were offered the position of curriculum consultant. You had just finished your Masters in Education, so this was a huge step for you, being able to get out of the classroom and share your expertise with other teachers. It had been too big of an opportunity for you to pass up, and after a series of fights and disagreements, the two of you had tearfully agreed to end your relationship, neither person able to give up the advancement in their career. Geralt had moved to Europe, slowly working his way up through his new company while you stayed back in Canada.

A small smile appeared on his face at the sight of you, a warm feeling flaring in his chest even after three years. He still thought of you sometimes, even though he knew nothing would come of it. You seemed to sense his gaze on you, looking up only to freeze when you met his eyes. A light blush came over your cheeks as you stared at him before you excused yourself from the group you were with, quickly making your way over to Geralt’s table before dropping into the chair across from him.

“Geralt!” you exclaimed, pinning him with a brilliant grin. “It’s so good to see you again!”

“Y/N,” he offered, “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good, busy. I’ve been researching a new teaching method, just working on writing my thesis to get my PhD.” Your passion was clear to see, bubbling over into any interaction you had. Geralt smiled gently as you continued telling him about the specifics of your research, you had always talked about moving away from the classroom into pedagogy and continuing your education. Anyone else would have been horrified to see you launch right into your conversation, totally disregarding the time apart, but Geralt just chuckled, it was so you.

“But enough about me, what have you been doing? How did the new job go?” You focused your attention on him completely. As Geralt met your gaze it felt like the sun had appeared from behind the clouds, like there had been a fog drifting through his life that had been burned away now that you were back.

“I’m Project Manager now, I was in town for the week for meetings, talking with the client to see what exactly they wanted. I’m enjoying it, I’m challenged every day, and the work is constantly changing, which has been exactly what I needed.” It felt natural, talking to you again, as if the three years you had spent apart had never happened. You had propped your fist under your chin, giving him all of your attention, jumping when the waiter came by to take your orders. The two of you had quickly requested your meals before continuing your conversation, Geralt telling you about all of the different buildings and projects he had been overseeing. You had chatted a while longer, silence falling when your food was placed in front of you. The silence that fell wasn’t awkward, it was easy, right, to be sitting with you once more. 

You had grinned at him when Geralt had ordered dessert, he knew you had a wicked sweet tooth. As the dish was placed in the middle of the table, the conversation picked up. You settled your arms on the table in front of you as the conversation changed to relationships. You told him about the wedding you had attended a year ago, a mutual friend of yours getting married. Geralt could feel his heart clench as you mentioned marriage, though you didn’t seem to notice. You looked up at him, seeming to hesitate before you asked, “Have you been seeing anyone?”

He swallowed hard as he looked away, unable to get the words out of his mouth. Swallowing again, he managed to force his mouth to work. “No.”

Sensing the tension, you quickly changed topics, “Are you here long, Geralt?”

Relaxing now that the conversation was moving away from dangerous territory, he shook his head as he answered, “I was supposed to head up to my winter house a little ways out of town, but the snow’s changed those plans. The roads don’t get cleared so once they’re blocked I have to ski or snowshoe in, but I store them up there over the summer and haven’t had a chance to go pick them up. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get up there right now. Might have to wait for the snow to melt a bit.”

A furrow appeared between your eyes as you frowned at him, “So what are you doing if you can’t get up there?”

Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck, “Ah, I hadn’t gotten that far. I’ll probably just stay in a hotel until the snow clears up or I can figure out a way to get up there.”

You looked down at your hands, playing with your fingers as you stole glances up at him. He waited, lips quirking up at the sight of your nervous mannerisms. They were still adorable, even after all this time. You glanced up at him, eyes darting away when you met his gaze. He sighed, leaning forwards as he reached for your hands. You stilled under his touch, lips parting as you met his gaze. “Out with it, mouse, you know you can tell me anything.” His voice was soft, and you visibly relaxed at the old nickname.

The blush on your cheeks reappeared, “Ah, it’s not very big, but if you wanted, you could stay at my flat? My couch is a pullout, I would just have to put some sheets on it.”

“No, no, I couldn’t impose on you-” you cut him off with a hand on his arm. Your eyes were gentle as you smiled at him. “I insist, Geralt. Really, it’s no trouble.”

He hesitated, not wanting to be an inconvenience but not wanting to leave you again so soon. You must have seen the indecision on his face because you squeezed his arm gently, saying “Besides, I missed you. It would be nice to have some more time to catch up.”

At your admission his resistance melted, a wry grin coming to his face as he accepted. A bright smile lit up your face at his words, a warm feeling overtaking Geralt’s chest at the sight. You flagged the waiter down, asking for the bill. When it was placed on the table, Geralt smoothly snatched it up from underneath your hand as he tucked his credit card into the pocket. He chuckled as he saw your pout, “Don’t worry, mouse, it’s just my thanks for letting me stay with you.”

You left the pout on your face but didn’t argue, still glaring at him as he paid and thanked the waiter. Standing, he tugged your coat from the back of the chair, helping you slide your arms into the sleeves. He quickly donned his own coat, smiling down at you as you tucked your hand into his elbow. The two of you left the restaurant, you gently guiding him down the street towards your flat. His heart swelled as you stared at the sky, getting lost in the stars that decorated the sky. You had always loved them, spending hours staring up at the sky when you get the chance. You were never able to see them back in Canada, the city where you had lived had too much light pollution, but the small town was perfect to let you see the beauty of the stars.

It was a short walk to your place, you letting go of his arm to insert the key into your door as you unlocked your house. The two of you quickly entered, happy to be out of the cold. The hallway was narrow, a small closet set in the wall. You handed him a coat hanger before hanging your own coat up. He toed his shoes off as you locked the door behind him. He waited patiently, curious to see the rest of your place. “It’s not much, but it’s home. I, uh, can’t afford much on my salary right now. I get a little bit from working with the school board, and I have grants from the university, and I make it work, but this is kind of it.” You looked sheepish as you spoke, almost as if you were embarrassed that he was seeing your home.

Unable to stop himself, Geralt reached out to brush a strand of your hair behind your ear. You froze, staring up at him as he blushed, his pale skin colouring under your gaze. “Sorry, I-”

You stopped him with a gentle smile, “It’s okay, Geralt.” You placed a gentle hand on his arm as you slipped past him. He followed you into the main part of the small flat, curious gaze roaming the walls. The room was small and messy, but in an organized chaos kind of way. There were various textbooks and scientific charts scattered around a desk while a small kitchen on the other side of the room was piled with used dishes. The tv was paused in the middle of some sort of video, calculations and diagrams decorating a whiteboard next to it.

You turned pink as you watched him glance over the room. “It’s a little dirty, I know.”

“It’s you,” Geralt turned to face you, a grin on his face. “Your office always looked like this when we were-” living together. He cut himself off before he let the words slip. You paused as well, staring at him with an odd look on your face. He couldn’t read you as well as he used to, having spent three years apart. “It’s very homey, about what I’d expect from you.”

You flushed harder as you smacked at him, “Geralt!” 

He chuckled as you flopped onto the couch, pout clear on your face. He followed you, sitting down on the opposite side of the couch. He frowned at you as realization dawned on him, “Wait, why are you here? Why do you have a flat in town?”

“Oh! Yeah, I guess I didn’t mention it, I live here now. I was offered a research position at the university in town, and once I finish my PhD I’m going to be teaching there as well.” You bounced as you spoke, clearly excited at this new prospect in life. Geralt had stopped listening, mind fixated on the words “I live here now.” Hope bloomed in his chest before he viciously quashed it. Don’t go there. Having broached the subject, the floodgates opened as you continued telling him about your research. He smiled gently as his mind caught up to the present, watching you softly as you gesture wildly, telling him a story about one of the classes you were working with in the local highschool.

“Do you want a beer?” He startled at the question, having gotten distracted as you giggled at yourself. You grinned as you realized what happened, the man sputtering out an answer to your question. Your soft laugh filled the air as you stood, Geralt watching your hips as you walked towards the kitchen. You stumbled as you returned to the couch, laughing at yourself. Handing him a beer, you dropped back onto the cushions, closer to the man than you had originally been. You took a sip from your own drink before laying your head back, “I maaay have started drinking before I saw you, I’m a few drinks in.”

As you leaned forward to reach for the remote, Geralt saw a flash of smooth skin as your shirt hitched up. He quickly tamped down on the urge to reach for you, to run his hand over the smooth skin he saw in the break in fabric before slipping under your shirt. He focused on the tv as you closed the video on it before opening up a streaming service, handing him the remote. “I probably won’t last the movie, you pick something you like.”

Geralt just sighed and shook his head, taking the remote from your hand before picking your favourite movie. “You remembered,” your voice was soft as you realized what film he put on.

“I remember a lot of things, mouse.” You offered him a shy smile at your old nickname, a shiver running down his spine as you tipped sideways to tuck your hands around his arm, head against his shoulder. 

“Geralt?” Your voice was hesitant as you softly called his name. He hummed in response, looking down to see you staring up at him, Y/E/C eyes swimming with emotion. He swallowed as he gazed at you, daring to reach his hand up to push that wayward strand of hair back behind your ear, brushing his fingers against your cheek. You closed your eyes as you turned your head into his hand, breath warm against his palm as it left you in a rush. You pressed a shaky kiss to his palm before opening your eyes, meeting his gaze. Geralt had frozen at the movement, hope flaring in his chest. 

“You said you weren’t seeing anyone, I can’t but hope…” your voice trailed off, hesitation clear on your face. Geralt responded by reaching for your other hand, lacing your fingers together as he prayed he was reading this situation correctly. That action seemed to give you the confidence to finish your sentence, taking a deep breath as you continued. “Would you consider trying again? Trying us?”

The knot in his chest burst at your words, a burning feeling rushing through his body, starting where his skin met yours. He leaned forwards, sliding his hand from your cheek to the back of your neck, tangling it in your hair as he pressed his lips against yours. You were frozen for a moment, making Geralt wonder if he had overstepped. He started to pull back, shame blooming in his chest before your hands were fisting in his shirt, pulling him towards you as you kissed him back. He relaxed into you, the shame being replaced with a different feeling, something he hadn’t felt since the last time he had seen you.

The kiss itself was messy, filled with a passion that had been missing from his life. He chuckled when the two of you bumped teeth, prompting you to squeak in indignation, licking into his mouth as his laugh gave you access. His chuckle quickly turned into a sharp inhale, the feeling going straight to his groin. Finally, you pulled back, Geralt leaning his forehead against yours as you both tried to catch your breath. You giggled, looking up at him with shy eyes.

“I take it, that's a yes?” At the sight of your eyes shining with happiness, Geralt let out a low growl, reaching to grasp your hip as he pulled you towards him, seating you in his lap as you straddled him, almost chest to chest. You gasped at the sudden movement, hands going to his shoulders to help stabilize yourself. You stared down at him, mouth forming an ‘O’ at the surprise of his movement. He couldn’t help himself, reaching up to tug you against his chest. One hand tangled itself in your hair as the other went around your waist. He could feel you relax into him, your own arms wrapping around him as you nestled into him. 

“It’s almost like you never left.” The sentence was quiet, murmured as if you were on the edge of sleep, but the meaning made Geralt go cold. He stiffened, quickly forcing himself to relax underneath you before you could notice. Did you blame him for the end of your relationship? It didn’t work though, and you were quickly leaning back from him as dismay came over your face.

“No, I didn’t mean- not like that- I would never-” Geralt quieted your stuttering with a gentle kiss, the knot that had tightened in his chest releasing at your frantic words. He pushed a strand of your hair behind your ear, smiling at you in an attempt to soothe you.

“I didn’t mean it that way, Geralt, I never blamed you for the end of our relationship. If anything, I blamed myself. I was selfish, I put myself before us. Some days I wonder what would have happened had I gone with you.” He tried to catch your eye but you wouldn’t look up, playing with your fingers. Geralt raised his hands, catching your fingers between his, causing you to still, though you still wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“I never blamed you, Y/N. I don’t think I would have forgiven myself if I had asked you to give up your career, your dream for me. You wouldn’t have been happy had you gone with me, you were never one to play housewife.” He drew a small smile out of you at that, your fingers twisting to intertwine with his own.

“I could have, if it meant staying with you.” Geralt growled low in his throat at your words.

“I wouldn’t have let you.” You looked up at him, shock clear on your face. “You would have regretted coming with me, you were so excited about your new position. Mouse, would you have let me turn down my job to stay with you?”

Silently, you shook your head, squeezing his fingers. “Then don’t think it would have been any different for me. You wouldn’t have been happy, staying at home or teaching. You wanted to help people, to train other teachers, and that’s what you got to do.”

Tugging you closer, Geralt kept one hand wound with yours as his other hand came up to stroke through your hair, causing you to melt into him. “Besides, we came back to each other, that’s all that matters right now. And I’m not planning on going anywhere anytime soon. I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me.”

You relaxed further, leaning your head against his chest as your free hand came to rest on his hip. You absently rubbed at the tight muscles there, fingers loosening knots as Geralt let out a low groan at the feeling. You whispered quietly to him, the man almost missing your words. “I want you forever.”

A fire lit deep within Geralt, all of the happy memories the two of you had together finally coming to the surface. He had locked them all away when you split, not wanting to miss you, not that he had been successful. It felt right, having you laying against him, to be able to just sit with you in silence. He felt at peace, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. 

Eventually you shifted, Geralt feeling you yawn against his chest before pulling back to look at him with sleepy eyes. He hid a chuckle in a cough as he looked at you, a feeling of fondness welling in his chest at the sight of you in front of him. “Bedtime?”

“Course,” he murmured, placing a gentle kiss on your forehead before helping you off his lap. You stumbled a little bit, leading him to the bathroom where you handed him a new toothbrush. He brushed his teeth as you washed your face, switching once you were done to allow him to do the same. The two of you fell into a routine, almost the same as it had been so long ago. Finished, you led him to your bedroom. He paused in the doorway, not sure if you meant for him to sleep in your bed with you. He surveyed the room, seeing the cluttered bedside table, your vanity littered with various items, pausing when he saw the pictures on your dresser. There were a few of your family, some of your friends, and one that made his heart stop. It was the two of you on your third anniversary of dating. Geralt had surprised you with a picnic in the park, your favourite dinner paired with wine while you watched  a movie on a big screen he had set up earlier that day. He smiled as the memory left him, watching as you moved towards your closet. Mind made up, he decided he would stay with you, unless you said something. The two of you got ready for bed in silence, Geralt pulling a pair of boxers out of his suitcase as you changed into sleep shorts and a tank top. You shuffled towards the bed, sliding under the covers before patting the bed next to you in encouragement. He made his way to the opposite side, lifting the covers to allow him access as well. Once he was laying down, you shuffled towards him so that your back was against his chest as his arms went around you. He pulled you closer, nestling his nose into the crook of his shoulder as he closed his eyes and inhaled your scent. 

He never wanted this moment to end, he wanted to stay with you in his arms forever. Screw the rest of the world, screw his job, screw his responsibilities. You were all that he wanted, just to hold you in his arms. He was finally able to relax, finally able to shed the weight he had been carrying ever since he had walked out of that door and left you behind. You sighed in front of him, cementing the decision that had been floating around in Geralt’s mind ever since you had said that you lived here.

“Stay with me, Y/N.” his quiet voice broke the silence, you stirring slightly at the sound.

“What?” your voice was sleepy, bringing a smile to Geralt’s face.

“Come with me, rest for the winter; you have all your research collected, take a break for a little bit and stay with me. You could even wear my jumper, you know I like to see you in my clothes.” He cursed himself as he heard the pleading in his own voice, body tense as he waited for your answer.

“Are you British now, calling it a jumper?” He could hear the teasing tone of your voice as you shifted in his arms, struggling to turn over to face him. He helped you move, arms tightening around you as you slotted a leg between his. You smiled gently at him, your hand coming up to cup his cheek as you laid your head against his arm. Geralt held his breath, waiting for the answer to his request.

“I’d love to.” He let his breath out in a rush, squeezing you against him until you squeaked, smacking at him to let you breathe. You giggled as he let you go, a huge smile on your face. 

“I want to see this ‘winter house’ as you call it. I can only assume it's huge, knowing your taste. You were always fond of having lots of space.” Geralt grinned, not even your teasing could pop the bubble he was in, ecstatic as the thought you were back in his life now. 

“You just can’t decorate a house that big to save your life. This apartment is tiny, and you’ve already messed it up.” You glared at him, poking his ribs to show your displeasure. Geralt just smirked at you, swallowing your protests as he brought his lips to meet yours. You melted into him, hand coming up to tangle in his hair as you held him against you. Drawing back, he gazed down at you gently before pulling you close, the two of you melting into each other. You relaxed against him, breathing slowly evening out as you fell asleep, Geralt following soon after, chest filled with hope at the beginning of his future.

**~*~*~*~**

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[jihyuncompass]

Can I please get the RFA + Minor Trio reacting to a vegan MC. As in nothing derived from animals and involved in (peaceful) activism. It's something they'll make exceptions for. If they're given a gift they'll apologize and give it back, even offering to pay them back. If there isn't anything for them they won't eat or will try to cook for everyone. They don't need their S/O to be vegan, but they'd strongly prefer them to at least be vegetarian at home. Thank you, I hope it's not too specific.

Zen

Although in-game Zen’s diet is kind of vague I think he would definitely try and eat healthily. 

Yeah he has a vice when it comes to beer and cigarettes but other than that he’s a fairly healthy dude. He feels his best when he’s eating food that’s good for him. 

So when he finds out you’re vegan he’s pretty interested. He’s tried a few other diets here and there but never been vegan. I think with some conversations with him he’d definitely be willing to try it.  

He struggles a bit at the start. It’s always difficult to change your diet in any way. At first he may miss certain foods or drinks he loves, but once he learns about the wonderful world of vegan substitutes he’s in much better spirits about the whole thing. 

I think a vegan lifestyle fits in really well with the celebrity thing Zen has going on. I can imagine a lot of the people who work in Zen’s field being vegan or vegetarian. So he actually probably finds a lot of friends in that aspect. 

He may crack once in a while and eat something with dairy or eggs. It isn’t often but sometimes he’s just really craving something and the substitutes aren’t the same. 

Overall? 7/10 on being vegan. Not perfect, but pretty good. 

Yoosung

Yoosung is a college student, he doesn’t have a lot of money so he’s one to just eat whatever’s in front of him and cheap. 

And being vegan isn’t always a super cheap lifestyle. So before he met you it wasn’t really something he ever considered doing. 

But then he meets you! 

I can see him doing okay as a vegetarian. After all buying meat is expensive most of the time. But I think as long as he’s a poor student he probably couldn’t afford to go all out vegan and still eat healthy. 

But once he can he’s willing to do it! Especially after he opens his vet practice!

It actually becomes a fun activity for the two of you to try out vegan recipes together! You may fail a couple times but it’s always a fun experience so even if the end result isn’t good it’s more about the journey anyways!

He sometimes has cravings for foods he used to eat. He’ll try and resist but sometimes it’s difficult, so he’ll try and find vegan or vegetarian versions to eat! 

Overall? 5/10 in college but 9/10 after. He’s pretty good about it, though he might slip up some times. 

Jaehee

I think Jaehee could do it. I think the problem is time. 

She’s a busy woman she barely has time to eat not to mention try and cook for herself! 

She usually just eats whatever she can get ready to eat at the store or something that only needs an oven or a microwave. She’s a tired lady. 

However with you she wants to try it out. Especially since she doesn’t always feel very good eating all that ready made food. 

To be honest, until she quits her job and opens the cafe she probably won’t be able to eat vegetarian or vegan unless you cook it for her. She just doesn’t have the time. 

But once she quits? It’ll be WAY easier for her. She’ll have the time and the energy to actually eat the way she wants to. 

Actually most of the cafe menu ends up being vegan drinks and desserts! Since the two of you end up being vegan (or at least vegetarian for Jaehee) it only makes sense!

Of course all of your desserts are incredible, in some cases they probably even taste better than some of the non vegan options. 

Overall? 7/10. She isn’t going to be able to keep up with that diet working as an assistant but after? Definitely. 

Jumin

Okay, so it’s canon that Jumin loves to eat steak, and in general I think he’d be one to enjoy eating meat. 

However, he does enjoy you significantly more. So if you asked him to at least be vegetarian at home he’d agree. 

Actually I think at home he’d probably be willing to go full vegan. It gives him a chance to try something different. He even hires a vegan chef to start preparing meals for the two of you. 

While this isn’t something he would do on his own I think he would absolutely love doing with you. He enjoys being able to try foods he’s never had before. 

However when it comes to business dinners he might have to break a little. He’ll never do it in front of you though. He doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable. But if he’s at a lunch with an important client, he might have to order a steak if only to look professional and polite. 

With you though? He’s all the way. He’s a dedicated man, and he takes great pride in doing things right by you. 

Overall? 8.5/10. With you he’s perfect, away from you? Sometimes debatable. 

Seven/Saeyoung

His diet is all sorts of messed up. (Are HBC and Dr. Pepper even vegan? probably not). 

Kind of like Jaehee you’ll probably have to cook for him if you want him to eat the same diet. 

Also at the same time Seven kind of has the diet of a 12 year old boy so getting him to eat certain things might be challenging. 

You might not have a lot of luck with getting him to go full vegan, but vegetarian you could probably swing. I imagine most of the food he eats is ready made or delivered so if you cook or order something vegetarian it won’t be a huge issue. 

Over time you might try offering more vegan options to get him to try those. There may be some hits, and there may be some misses but with time he might become more open to at least trying. 

But you might just have to accept that he’ll never be fully vegan. But honesty, it’s better than what he had been eating before. So you can’t complain too much.

Overall? 4/10. Not the worst, by far not the best. And you’re going to have to put a lot of effort in this this disaster of a man. 

V/Jihyun

If you’re looking for someone to go vegan with you. Jihyun is going to be your guy. 

This man is already so much of a hippie is it really that much of a surprise? Doesn’t he give off the buy natural and organic vibe?

Honestly it wouldn’t surprise me if he was at least vegetarian already. But either way he’d be absolutely interested in being vegan. 

The two of you love to try new recipes and when you’re feeling up to it go and try new vegan restaurants nearby. 

He loves being able to share this with you. It’s something that really brings the two of you together. 

Together the two of you may engage in activism to support animal rights causes. He’ll auction off his heart to raise money and help spread awareness to a variety of issues and causes. 

I would say Jihyun is probably not very likely to start craving things. I see him as having pretty good self control on those matters And if he does have a desire he’s good about finding vegan alternatives! 

Overall: 10/10 He’s the dream vegan boyfriend. 

Saeran

This man loves ice cream too much to give it up let’s be real. 

Sherbet and the alternatives just aren’t the same you know?

However I do think he could do vegetarian alright! I don’t think Saeran is particularly picky when it comes to stuff like that so I don’t think it would be an issue.

He might even enjoy being able to work on vegan meals for the two of you! There’s a lot of chances to experiment there and he finds a lot of joy in being creative in that way.

Also! Vegan desserts are a fun way to try something different! It really allows him the opportunity to branch out into different things and there’s a lot of fun to be had! 

Again, he probably won’t go full vegan for you, preferring to eat dairy at least on his own but it’s something he’ll never force on you or do in front of you if it makes you uncomfortable! 

You’re what’s most important to him and if it makes you feel uneasy he’ll do what he can to make you feel better. 

Overall? 7/10. Will cook Vegan food for you but won’t go fully vegan with you. But very supportive! 

Vanderwood

Okay so we know NOTHING about Vanderwood’s eating habits in canon. 

As a whole, Vanderwood is a huge question mark so I’m just going to go off of the vibe I get. 

I imagine Vanderwood probably eats a fairly balanced diet. They have to stay healthy for their agency work and in general I think they’re better then Seven in maintaining healthy life habits.

But I don’t know I get a vibe that Vanderwood would be a pretty big meat eater? I have no reason for this it’s just a vibe. 

So when you tell Vanderwood that you’re vegan they’re going to be a little unsure at first.They may complain about it at first but eventually they they’ll do their best to be vegetarian at least around you. 

When they aren’t with you? They’ll probably still eat whatever they want but despite this they don’t ever want to make you feel uncomfortable. 

Out of everyone it’s probably the biggest adjustment for Vanderwood. But they learn how to deal with it. 

Overall? 4/10. Will be vegetarian with you. But when you’re apart? Don’t count on it. 

[soft-study-vibes]

Unsure About Studying A Masters? Here’s What You Need To Know:

I promise this wasn’t designed to scare people away from doing a masters! However, for me there was a lot of things university didn’t prepare me for when it came to starting up a masters. These are just some of the key things to think about if you’re a uni student who’s unsure whether a masters is for them

See if your university offers you a discount - This was something that applied to me and helped me make my decision on whether or not to do a masters. A lot of the time, if you’re staying at the same place you did your undergraduate degree, your university will offer you a discount on tuition if you stay and continue on with them. It depends on whether you’re choosing to do a full-time or part-time course, but this can typically be anything from 10-20% discount! This is a major deal if you’re wanting to minimise your loans or payment in general, plus who doesn’t love a good deal?

Be prepared to be independent - It sounds kinda obvious, but you don’t really realise how much help you receive at an undergraduate level compared to postragduate. Depending on where you are and what you’re studying, a big chunk of the time, you’ll have to find stuff out for yourself. That involves emailing about supervisors for dissertations, contacting them DIRECTLY to see if they’re available rather than being assigned someone and having them contact you first. It’s a little daunting at first, but usually these people are super chill and friendly! Just be prepared to send a LOT of emails.

Be prepared to be creative - I’m currently doing a sciency research masters, which you wouldn’t initially think would require much creativity, but it does! You’ll be helping to develop and expand your field of research for whatever you’re pursuing, so being unique and creative with your ideas will not only be beneficial, but make things much more interesting! There won’t be a list of questions to choose from for your masters dissertation, it’s gotta be something fresh that hasn’t been done before with a reason for why it should be done! This doesn’t necessarily mean being the next Issac Newton and developing your own theories, but expanding and adapting old research counts too. You may already have an idea in mind, so see if you can evolve that into a dissertation idea! Talk to lecturers about it and see if it’s feasible to do too, it’ll be a massive help.

Organisation is KEY - Again, another obvious one, but you’d be surprised how many deadlines you’ll receive within the first three days of induction. For myself, I had 6 deadlines as soon as I arrived, all which need to be completed within the span of a month or two. Write all these things down somewhere and put them into chronological order so you know which things are due to soonest. Set yourself enough time to email lecturers about things you’re unsure of or to enquire about supervisors for certain modules. Start your work EARLY, otherwise things will get overwhelming very quickly, especially if you’re also working part-time.

A lot of work in a small amount of time - With undergrad, you can kinda afford to miss a day or two when it comes to lectures, no biggie. With postgraduate, you cover a lot of content in a small amount of time. Lectures will typically be over the weekend, usually with a 9-5 setup with an hours break and that’s pretty much it. Your teaching time is extremely limited in comparison and it’s super important to be there so you have the chance to ask your lecturers directly if there’s something you’re unsure about! There will be times where you’re ill and missing a day can’t be helped, but if it’s just because you’re unmotivated then PLEASE GO IN ANYWAY, even if it’s not for the whole day. Your future self will thank you for it!

Have a passion for what you’re studying - Although it might seem wise to get a masters under your belt, if you’re not passionate or motivated about what you’ll be studying then maybe a masters isn’t for you. If you’re driven and passionate about what you’re doing, then I would definitely encourage a masters! It will be a lot of work, but it will be super interesting! If you’re interested then you’ll be more engaged and your grades will benefit in the long-run. Sure, there may be some modules that are a bit of a bore, but you’ll also have the opportunity to potentially meet professionals in the field that you’re wanting to explore. That alone can be a HUGE thing!! Especially if you want to hear about the real-world experience of that job role.

[thenovelartist]

Disruptor Designer and her Model, day 3

<Previous  Next>

3. Couple

Marinette was beside herself in excitement. After all, she was attending a fashion dinner she could only have dreamt about a few years ago.

She’d spent days sewing a ballgown that would be suitable enough for such an event. She was known as Ladybug, so, she would highlight that fact with her look. The dress’ skirt was full of layers of varying length, fading from red like the bodice to black. She decorated her hair with red ribbons, and to finish off her look, she wore a heavy ring of red eyeshadow with a few black dots by the corners of her eyes.

She was sure to make a statement. But that’s what Ladybug did.

She was greeted warmly enough by the host, to which Marinette grinned and thanked him for the invitation. When she entered the venue, her jaw dropped. It was practically dripping in crystals, distorting the lighting enough to make the whole place seem like it was glittering. The number of high-class designers here had her fangirling out on the inside.

But suddenly, once the initial awe ebbed, she realized she was standing in the middle of the room, completely out of her league. She didn’t do high-society events like this. She did little meet-and-greets with fans. She interacted with regular people, not with people who thought they were above those people.

So how was she supposed to navigate this?

“You look lost.”

Marinette jumped at the voice, then spun around…

Only to come face to face with Adrien Agreste.

She bit her tongue to hold in her word vomit until she was able to assemble it into something intelligible. “Maybe a little. I don’t exactly do events like… this.”

She patted herself on the back for her ability to speak as well as she did.

His grin widened. “Well, then maybe I can escort you around for a while? Until you understand the ropes?”

Her heart was flailing wildly. “That would be really kind of you. I’d appreciate it.”

He extended his arm to her, and she gladly took hold of it.

“Have you ever been to an event like this before?” Adrien asked.

She shook her head. “No. I’ve done large crowd events, but not for the high-class.”

He smirked. “Do you have any idea what happens at meetings like this?”

“My guess is a lot of talking business.”

“It’s all that happens,” Adrien informed. “And after a while, it gets rather boring. You learn who likes each other and who hates each other. You learn who’s backstabbing who. You learn who you can forge tentative alliances with, and who you can’t. You learn market trends and what’s likely to be in style and who’s hosting what event, etcetera, etcetera.”

“You make it sound like we’re spies gathering information.”

Adrien chuckled. A lovely sound, if Marinette were honest. “You have a lot of people who have their best interests in mind. They want their company at the top, and they do whatever they need to to make sure that happens.”

Marinette made a note of that.

“So what I’m trying to say, little Ladybug…” He bent over, his lips now close to her ear. “Is welcome to the wolf den.”

…

The moment Adrien had watched the angel in red walk down the stairs into the venue, he felt the overwhelming urge to protect her. That smile was too bright, too genuine for this crowd. One that would eat her alive.

He quickly swooped her under his wing, vowing that he would make tonight as enjoyable for her as he could make it. Thankfully, the few people he introduced her to were polite, talking about the fashion in the room over the fashion world in general.

At least, they could get along with that.

And then, dinner was served.

Thanks to assigned seating, Adrien couldn’t sit by her. He was seated between his father and another high-ranking designer. Ladybug, on the other hand, was on the other end of the table from him. Meaning he couldn’t protect her when one designer decided to pick on her.

“Miss Ladybug, you seem to occupy a… unique sector of the fashion world.”

“I don’t think the corner I occupy is unique,” she responded politely. “Just a different one from you.”

The man nodded. “And just how did you decide to occupy that corner?”

She paused, frozen. “Well, it started off as a hobby, and then the more I grew, the more I found ways to reach out to my audience and interact with them and learn from them what they wanted from me.”

“An… interesting approach,” the man said, gathering murmurs of agreement. “So, you would say you run more on the whims of other people than your own?”

“No, sir,” she respectfully explained. “I run on my own ideas, but it is my fans that tell me which of my ideas they like more.”

“And you find success in that? Letting other people tell you which ideas are the best rather than being the influencer?”

“I am an influencer, but what good is being an influencer if people don’t enjoy my content?” Ladybug spoke with authority, her tone strong and her posture proving she was not to be intimidated. “It would be as silly as a fashion designer who made things no one would want to wear. Isn’t that why all designers follow the trends the consumers set for them?”

The table went silent, staring at her in shock and awe, and in Adrien’s case, in pride. He’d been a follower of hers long enough to know she had to be a genuinely sweet person. The was a darling in the media. She could do no wrong. But apparently, Ladybug had a hard-enough exoskeleton to stand up to some ill-intended conversations.

And for that, his crush for her got a little bit worse.

The next conversation that happened when the next course was served, Adrien didn’t quite know how it started, but all he knew was that Ladybug was speaking again.

“I would say most of the market of consumers either doesn’t care about high-fashion or can’t afford it.”

“If most of the market doesn’t care,” some man said. “Then we wouldn’t have a business.”

There was a collective laughter at that. Adrien was watching Ladybug, already thinking of the best way to defuse the conversation if worse came to worse.

“What market are you talking about?" Ladybug challenged. “Everyone in the world wears clothes of some sort.”

“Yes,” a woman in a sleek black dress across from Ladybug said. “But what about people in our positions? People who need to present themselves as best they can? Men’s suits are a huge industry. And what about the women’s side? Does the average high-class woman not like looking as best they can? Having matching purses and shoes for every outfit?”

Ladybug stared down the woman.

“Of course,” Audrey Bourgeois herself spoke up. “Ladybug, you as a woman should know that a handbag can make the difference between looking sloppy or being at the height of fashion.”

“Yes, but height of fashion does not mean a two-thousand-dollar bag. That is the height of status. It’s entirely possible to spend less than two hundred and look like a millionaire just like it’s possible to shop in any last one of your stores and look like a complete fashion disaster.”

Adrien had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. Oh Ladybug, he thought, looking at the girl who smirked as she observed the lines of people with their jaws on the table. You have no idea what you’ve just started.

…

“I completely ruined any chance of being invited back, haven’t I?” she asked Adrien, who had kindly offered to escort her to her car. Marinette didn’t think it was too late, but people had started taking their leave shortly after dinner.

“Oh, my lady, you…” He chuckled, his smile bright with amusement. “You did something.”

She smacked her hand over her face. “I’m such an idiot.”

“Maybe,” Adrien said. “But I thought that was the most interesting dinner I’ve ever been to. For someone so ‘beneath their status’, you certainly put them all in their place.”

She groaned. What an idiot she was. How dare she say any of that. But having watched those people staring down at her… it was like being bullied back in high school and she’d sworn she’d never let people walk all over her like that again.

And while she’d felt empowered at the time, she realized that these were the kind of people who could tear her apart in the fashion world. They could destroy her.

“But,” Adrien continued, pulling her from her thoughts. “I honestly loved watching you do it.”

Her heart that had been racing with anxiety beforehand came to a screeching halt. And so did she, she soon realized when he turned around to look at her. “What?”

Adrien gave her a sweet, warm grin that could knock her to her knees at the moment. “I’ve been around people like that my whole life,” he said. “And it’s honestly so tiring watching all these really pretentious people who think they’re high and mighty because of their money and status, and some of them think they know everything.

“And then here you come,” he continued, taking a couple steps closer to close the distance. “Not a care in the world for their status or what they could do to you, and when they start bullying you, you just put them in their place and act like a queen doing it.”

She felt like she was going to pass out on the spot.

“And let me tell you, I am going to get some serious crap from my dad for showing you around tonight and escorting you out like we’re some couple instead of near strangers, but I honestly couldn’t care less. Because from what I can tell, it was worth it. And…” He shuffled nervously, glancing down at his feet for a second before meeting her gaze once again. “You’re a very interesting woman, Miss Ladybug, and I would really like if you would grant me the opportunity to take you out on a date.”

[mcatra]

Oh my god they were lab partners pt. 2/2

part one

A03 LINK

Highschool AU fic of Hordak and Entrapta becoming lab partners. Hordak may have accidentally fallen in love with her somewhere along the way. 

Hordak's never liked anyone before in his entire life. Not even as friends. So whatever this was? Completely out of his depth. 

There was no stopping it- these feelings. It was insane how much her name plagued his thoughts in random places at all times of the day. These symptoms formed in unexpected ways, like how he had thought he was having a heart attack, when really all that happened was that Entrapta smiled at him. Or how his face would heat up and his hands would involuntarily go clammy when she would drag him by the hand to go somewhere. 

Hordak had even learnt how to braid. He had gotten pretty good at it too, if the complicated french braids and buns Entrapta was sporting before lab now was of any indication.

It didn't matter though, since she obviously didn't feel the same. She's had dozens of friends before, and he was just one of them. But Entrapta was his first friend- but he's already screwed that up. It's taken him this long to find someone that he can actually tolerate the presence of, and it seemed fate was determined to take that away as well. 

So he crushes the feelings deep inside, though they threaten to spill out every few minutes when he's with her. He's fine with being friends, really. 

The school holidays was starting, which would give him plenty of time to get over his feelings. 

This plan is immediately compromised when Entrapta insists on texting him several times a day. 

Entrapta:

yakult is the perfect size of drink but it's not fizzy!! (〒﹏〒)

Hordak: 

Perhaps you should try packaging your drinks in smaller sized Yakult bottles. 

Entrapta: 

:00 yea ur right!! I'll ask my butler to do that be righttt baackkk 

Hordak: 

A butler? 

Entrapta: 

yep my parents r always busy working!! Soda pop makes the best lunches ヾ(´ ▽ ` ) 

[image.attachment] 

It's a photo of what seems to be her lunch, bite sized cookies, scones, and of course pink fizzy lemonade in a tiny bottle. 

Looking at it, he thinks it's only customary to send a photo of his own lunch.  

Hordak: [image.attachment] 

Entrapta: ???????‽‽ Σ(°△°|||)︴ 

Entrapta: NOO9OOOOOO what is THAT ??!!!  

He's confused by her response. It was all that Prime stacked their food cupboards with, he didn't see anything wrong about his grey ration bars. It wasn't even the brown kind today. 

Hordak: That is my lunch. 

Entrapta: (ಥ﹏ಥ) I'm so sorry hordak… 

pleaseeee let me come over and deliver U some of my food!!! 

He wishes she would, but he can't afford letting Prime see her. There's a reason why he's dodged every request from her to come over. 

Hordak: Thank you for your consideration, but that won't be necessary. It gives me enough nutrition for the day. 

Entrapta: FINEE but when we get back I'm giving you all the food U can eat!!! I'll even make them big!! Just for you!! 

Hordak: I look forward to it. 

Entrapta: (≧▽≦) ♥️  

Did...Did she just send a heart? What did that mean?

He stares at the screen in disbelief. Every time he thinks he's doing well she sends his mind into overdrive. 

Scratch that, what was he supposed to send back? 

He falters on a response, anxiously trying to decide one before she got suspicious and asked him why he was taking so long. A solid 5 minutes later, he finally settles on one. 

Hordak:  :]

---

...

[Incoming video call from Entrapta]

He bolts upright in bed, hair in disarray. 

The clock reads 1am. What was she doing calling at this hour? He scrambles to lower the volume, unlocking it in the process, and when he does Entrapta's face fills the screen. 

She's in her pajamas, her hair tied up haphazardly into a messy bun on the top of her head. It seemed like she had attempted to recreate the neatly tucked bun that Hordak always did for her, but couldn't quite figure it out. 

'Hordak! I've just made the most fascinating discovery- oh sorry, were you sleeping?' 

'Ah, no. I wasn't.' He fibs, not wanting her to hang up. He didn't want to admit it, but he missed seeing her face. 'Do go on.' 

She digs through a stack of letters, and brings it up triumphantly to the screen. 

'I've found some scholarship offers buried in my junk mail!' She chirps through the pixelated video feed.

'Got one from California Institute of Technology, Harvard and MIT! They loved my research papers and scientific breakthroughs!' 

He blinks in shock. That was huge. 

'Congratulations!' He bursts out- those are incredible opportunities. ‘Which one will you be attending?' 

'Oh, that's why I called! I needed help deciding. So I was wondering…' She looked oddly nervous, tapping two fingers together. 'Which university would you be going to?' 

Hordak hadn't even applied to any university, let alone receiving offers from Ivy League schools. It had been decided since he was a kid that he would be working for Prime's company right after graduation. He hadn't considered any other alternative before. 

'I…have not applied to any yet.' 

'What?!’ She cries out, appalled. ‘You should definitely apply! You have more knowledge of cosmic forms than I do, Hordak. Plus your grades have improved exponentially this year- I even made a graph!' 

Before he can ask why on earth she had made a graph of his grades she brings out a spreadsheet of his progress. 

'According to the numbers you can definitely apply to any of the surrounding schools in the area! Oh but how fun would it be if we could go to the same university?!' 

'I can't possibly afford the tuition-' 

'Bank loans, and you can work part time! You could even apply for financial assistance. Please come.' 

Hordak hesitates, looking at the door behind him. Imp was stirring in the room next door. He lowers his voice. 

'I.. I...'

He starts and aborts a few sentences. He clenches his scarred arm unconsciously. Of course he wants to. But he had responsibilities that weighed heavily on his shoulders, and circumstances that a carefree sheltered girl couldn't even comprehend. No amount of optimism or daydreaming could fix his grim reality. 

 'I can't.' Is all he manages to say.

She looks slightly taken aback, and he can see her trying not to look disappointed.  

'..That's okay. I understand.'

A horrible sense of guilt spreads in his stomach. Entrapta changes the topic and they don't bring up the subject again.

---

Entrapta has always had trouble making friends. People usually ignored her when she talked about her interests, or were telling her what she did wrong. Usually it was a missed social cue, or she had used words that were too technical for them to understand. 

Hordak was different though. He always listened, understood her technical jargon and offered his own knowledge that sometimes even outweighed her own. She had been curious about this elusive person that everyone was afraid of since she had met him behind the bathroom block. He didn’t seem like the vicious animal that the rumours made him out to be. So on a whim, she had volunteered to be his lab partner.

At first she was just ecstatic to find someone who liked the same things she did, but soon it was more than just the shared love for science. Entrapta had thought for years that the only way she could make friends was allowing them to copy and take her work, but Hordak had showed her otherwise. A shared solidarity for two outcasts. 

Even though he showed a tough angry exterior to everyone, with her Hordak was surprisingly kind. 

He always did little things for her without prompting. Once she had forgotten to bring her jacket when it was cold and he had wordlessly handed his over for her to wear. Or how he noticed when she hadn't slept that night and bought her an iced coffee from the vending machine. He had even poured it into the lid in an effort to make it the way she liked it. 

She began to notice things about him as well, like how he got embarrassed easily, or how despite his old demeanor he could be surprisingly childish. His reactions became even more fascinating than her experiments. Entrapta catalogued them in her mind, keeping track of the emotions he would show. He was always so stoic, the primary emotion being anger or quiet indifference. A few smiles here and there, scattered in between. 

However when Hordak laughed for the first time ever, she was caught completely off guard. 

When his eyes crinkled into little slits, and his laughter exposed his canines, her brain was shaken only leaving one thought. 

Beautiful.

Entrapta had found something more valuable than any discovery she's made in her career as a self made scientist.  She wanted to discover more about him, however he never talked about himself, which both enthralled and frustrated her to no end. But graduation was coming soon, and the last thing she wanted was for Hordak to not talk to her anymore like Adora and the others.

She had tried to put off the deadline, ignoring the growing stack of offer letters that could whisk her away to anywhere in the world.

Come with me. 

I can't. 

 Why? Had she misread them this whole time? Did he not want to be with her too? But she was wrong with Adora and her friends, and Catra. 

Someone told her once how people cannot be quantified, calculated, predicted. Feelings can be there one day and gone the next. She is no stranger to failure. But it doesn't mean she isn't afraid. 

-----

School resumes again for their final term, and Hordak is inwardly thrilled to see his friend in person again. Entrapta waves at him from the school gate, before diving headfirst into all the things that happened over the holidays she couldn’t show over text. 

They agree to be lab partners again without hesitation, and fall back into their comfortable friendship. 

Soon it’s prom season, and the halls are decorated in banners, posters and flyers. People are pairing off left and right, chattering away about how to ask their dates out. 

Hordak never attends these sort of events, he always blatantly refuses to go. However during one of their study sessions in the library, Entrapta tries to convince him to come with her. 

‘It’s meaningless to go to such an event. Mingling or dancing is not a productive venture.' 

'But it could be fun! I’ve been wanting to conduct a social experiment and it’s the perfect place for it.' She protests. 'Also Prom is imperative to the high school experience.' 

He waves her away, unconvinced. It's not like he could afford the tickets anyway, and Prime would never let him go. 

'I refuse to squander my time on something so pointless. There will be no further discussion on this.' 

She pouts, turning back to her notebook. The sulky charade lasts for a record 10 minutes before she caves and starts running her mouth again. 

He's still adamantly against it, but that sentiment gets stopped in its tracks when he catches someone approaching Entrapta.

'Hey, Entrapta was it?' The tall blonde says languidly. ‘Can I speak to you for a moment, over there?’ 

'Oh, sure!' She says, getting up from her chair. 'Can I get you something?' 

'Certainly!' 

Hordak listens to the conversation happening behind the bookshelf. He doesn't like the look of them, all greasy smiles and cocky demeanor.  

'A date to the prom, please.' They smirk, their tall stature allowing them to lean over her. 

Hordaks jaw drops, and the feeling of jealousy flares in the pit of his stomach. He fights the urge to throw that cocky bastard across the room. But the knowledge that he has no right to be angry when he had already turned down her offer kept him rooted to the spot. 

Thankfully Entrapta doesn’t seem to get it. 

'Oh I'm not organising that.’ She says, tapping her chin. ‘I think Frosta and her prom committee are. Or you could ask our school captain Adora and her prefects, they’ll know who to talk to get tickets.'  

They look dumbfounded, but hastily amend their wording. 

'No, I meant- will you be my date. To the prom.' 

'Me?' 

At this point there are marks on the wooden bookshelf from Hordak’s nails. The other person looked almost cocky in their confidence, smirking while waiting for a response. 

Of course she’d accept, they were just friends after all, and she didn’t owe him anything. However Entrapta cuts through his spiralling thoughts.

‘Thank you. But I won’t be going.’ 

Hordak looks up in surprise, shocked at her response. So do they, as Entrapta swiftly passes them and lights up when she spots him behind the shelf. ‘Hordak, there you are!’ She chirps brightly. ‘Come on, I wanted to show you progress photos of my new upgrades with Emily.’ 

He feels awful as she leads them back to their desks, it seems like he was letting down Entrapta a lot these days. First with the university, and now this. However Hordak is determined to make it up to her, racking his brain for ideas until he remembers the bandaids she had given him years ago.

Cupcakes. Despite not having much he managed to scrounge enough coins to buy ingredients. 

Half of them end up charred to a crisp but he manages to salvage a few through enough scraping. With the help of Imp, he manages to frost and decorate them purple and blue to cover up the scorch marks. 

Hordak thrusts the cupcakes in her face before class, before realising that he hadn't prepared anything to say.

'I, uh, wanted to..here.' He stammers, dropping them into her palm. 'I made them. For you.'

She looks at the cupcakes, stunned. To his complete and utter horror, Entrapta's eyes start to water.

Oh no. Did he mess up? His mind goes into overdrive in panic, and he looks around frantically for a way to calm her down.

'Were they unsatisfactory? I will try again. Please allow me to dispose of those-' He reaches out to take them back but she pulls it away.

'I love them.’ 

She wipes her eyes with her sleeve, and she's beaming a crooked smile. 

He hesitates, unsure what to make of her reaction. 

‘E-Entrapta..I, um…’ He begins, remembering the person in the library. He fishes around in his pocket and pulls out two tickets. ‘Do you want to.. Go to the prom. With me. So you can study people, like you said.’

Entrapta gasps, a long and drawn out one that gets higher in pitch.

‘THANK YOU HORDAK!!’ She squeals, and she practically launches herself into his chest, nearly toppling them over. ‘Of COURSE I will!’ 

He smiles at this, glad that he had been the one to put that grin on her face. Anything was worth making her happy. 

-------

It’s a bad night again. He wants nothing more than to stay in bed but he forces himself to get up, if nothing else to get away from Prime. His older brother had found out about the money he had taken to buy the prom tickets and make the cupcakes. This resulted in having the life beaten out of him while Imp watched, cowering behind the door. He gets his phone taken from him, a clear warning not to talk to Entrapta again. 

It’s summer, but Hordak opts for a black turtleneck sweater under his uniform and a baggy jacket. He however can’t disguise the bruises on his face, as usually Prime would avoid making markings that would arouse suspicion.

He can hear his classmates whisper amongst themselves, saying that he’s gotten into a fight and beat the rival gangs in the area. Hordak growls at them menacingly, and they scatter. He watches them go, and for the first time in a long time goes to skip class.

It’s nice out, a cool breeze on the rooftop soothes his skin. He gingerly takes his uniform off, wincing as he peels off the slightly blood stained sleeve.

He should be used to it by now. But it doesn’t get any better.

‘You didn’t reply to my texts.’

Hordak nearly jumped out of his skin, whipping around to see Entrapta. She has a delicate frown on her face, and looks at him up and down.

'You shouldn’t be here.’ He says, turning away. 

She doesn't look convinced, and starts to walk towards him. ‘Hordak-’ 

‘I said, GET OUT!’ He shouts, furiously wrapping his uniform back around his shoulders. ‘The prom’s off. Leave.’ 

Entrapta disregards his outburst, striding forward to confront him. 'I can’t keep ignoring this, Hordak.’ She catches his wrist easily, looking at his wounds. 

'You come to school with these new burns, these bruises, and you never TELL me anything.’ She says, pained. 'People say you got them in fights, but I know you. What really happened?’

He stares at her, but she looks determined. Ever the scientist, always looking for answers to things she didn’t understand. 

'You really want to know?’ He growls, tearing his arm from her grip. ‘I am an orphan. My brother Prime got full custody since he’s the only one old enough to earn money to support us. I can’t leave, no matter how much he beats me. My younger brother, Imp. He’s only a toddler- if I go, what happens to him? I couldn’t possibly support the both of us.’ 

She looks shocked, but doesn’t say anything. 

‘He’s ordered me not to talk to you. So that’s what I’m going to do. Don’t make it any harder for me.’ He tries to sound angry, but it comes off more like pleading. 

‘No.’ She says simply. 

He looks at her, incredulous. ‘Did you not hear what I just said-’

‘No, I heard you.’ She replies, bringing out bandages from her backpack like the first time they had met. 

‘I’ve got an idea. I’m breaking you out of there.’ 

‘You’re what?’ 

----

Lab Partner: Are you ready??

Hordak: This is such a bad idea.

He’s had no idea how he ended up in this situation. As per instruction via Entrapta’s burner phone, he had packed a getaway bag with their documents for him and Imp, and was waiting for several of her tiny bots surveillancing the area to give the all clear. 

Entrapta had temporarily disabled the security cams in the entire neighbourhood, and was currently waiting in the getaway car. 

Hordak:  I can’t believe I’m turning on my brother. 

Lab Partner: Its okay, we can work on that crisis later!! 

Lab Partner: I've also got your disguise in the car :))) 💃💃

Prime was still out at work, and it should be a few more hours until he came back. Hordak leads Imp by the hand down the driveway and fastens him into the booster seat of the getaway car. 

'He is so cuute!' Entrapta coos, poking his baby brother’s cheek. ‘I’m Entrapta. We’re gonna make sure you’re safe, okay?’ 

Imp nods, somewhat confused. ‘Entrapta.’ He repeats, and she grins. 

They peel out of the driveway, and although Entrapta is a terrifying driver they make it safely to her house outside the city. 

When they arrive, he is rendered speechless. Was this a castle? A mansion? The guards out front nod at Entrapta and the security gates open, letting them through. 

At least he knows Prime couldn’t possibly follow him here, thanks to Entrapta’s parents security team. 

Imp has taken to the place, admiring the many robots she had engineered. Her butler offers him some tiny beverages as he waits for Entrapta to finish whatever she was doing upstairs.  

After a while she comes down the stairs and he can practically feel himself stop breathing. She’s gorgeous, dressed in a purple velvet suit, tied together with a vest and a bow tie. Her coattails swish as she walks towards Hordak, who had been stunned into silence. 

‘I...ah..’ He stutters. ‘What is this for?’ 

Imp kicks him in the shin.

‘Uh. Y-you look... exemplary. A magnificent choice of attire.’ 

‘It’s prom today! Did you forget?’ She grins, whisking him from his seat and plonking him in front of the mirror. ‘We bought the tickets, we may as well go!’

‘But Imp-’

 ‘-Will be safe. There’s no way he’ll find him here. We’ll be in and out, and be back before he’s even left work.’ 

Entrapta takes out a makeup brush and some black lipstick, and starts applying it onto his face. For some reason he lets her work, he’s never really been able to say no to her. She styles his hair so some falls across his face. ‘Now for the good part!’ She declares, and brings out a long black dress combined with an inner red cape, with slits on the sides. They’re accompanied by tall black heels and a black clutch. 

‘I-I don’t know.’ He says. He’s never worn anything that bold or attention grabbing before, usually choosing clothes that would hide his scarring. 

‘Just try it on!’ 

------

They arrive at the prom arm in arm, and people audibly gasp as they walk down the stairs into the hall. The crowd clears from their path as they make their way down the venue, their stares turning into ones of admiration. 

The person from the library shoots them an affronted look, much to Hordak’s satisfaction. Perhaps this wasn’t so bad after all.  

Entrapta starts grabbing random food off the tables for Hordak to try. As he eats she starts recording Hordak’s different reactions to each new food into her little recorder. 

‘It’s absolutely fascinating how social groups function in peculiar ways! For example,’ She commentates, pointing at her old group of friends. ‘Catra asked Scorpia out to make Adora jealous.’ 

He watches the brunette antagonize her ex friend, and Adora seemed to be taking the bait. Scorpia watches on, looking disgruntled. 

‘Seems like it is working.’ 

‘No mind, Glimmer’s only Adora’s date to make Bow jealous. But according to my observations, that seems to be less successful.’ 

He nods, seemed like there was a lot going on in Etheria he had never cared to notice before. 

Soon they are interrupted by loud commanding voice on the microphone. It’s Frosta, and she’s announcing the first dance. She looks impossibly small up there behind the podium, which happens when you skip a few grades. 

‘Let’s go dance!’

‘I don’t know how to-’

Entrapta drags Hordak onto the dance floor before he can object, joining the other couples paired around them. She puts a hand around his waist, and clasps the other in his. 

'Also, Hordak! I got you something.' She says, almost shyly, handing him a box. 'Instead of a corsage...'

He peers inside and in the box is a beautiful purple crystal, embedded onto a necklace. It has some sort of foreign script engraved into it. 

‘Wait, is this…’ 

‘Yep! It’s the crystals we grew together at the lab last term!’ She beamed excitedly. ‘Didn’t they grow so beautifully?’ 

He turns the crystal in his fingers in awe. It’s been months since the incident with the beaker. ‘What does it say?’ 

‘O-oh. Um….’ 

She turns slightly red, embarrassed. Hordak is fascinated, he’s never seen her look like that before. He presses again, curious. 

Entrapta mumbles something incoherent, blushing up to her hairline. Her grip tightens on the fabric of his dress as she buries her head into his chest. 

‘Loved.’ 

His eyes widen in shock. She finally looks up, eyes burning with sudden conviction. The rest of the prom seems to fade away into the background. 

‘I love you, Hordak.’ 

Now it was his turn to go completely red- she also looks mortified, so now they were just two embarrassed teens in the middle of the dance floor.  

‘I-I love you too!’ He bursts out, awkward and fumbling but finally honest. 

‘Really?!’ She says, her hair floofing in excitement, like she can’t believe it. ‘You really do?’ 

‘Of course-’ and before he can explain the months of agony of being unable to fight his feelings she mashes her face against his. 

His knees almost buckle out of pure shock, but can feel himself melt into the kiss, her lips are unimaginably soft. He can feel her smile against his own, and she breaks it, giggling. She goes to say something but he's the one to interrupt her this time, kissing her over and over again as she squeals. 

He chuckles at her response, he doesn’t think he’s ever felt this happy. 

--- 

It's been a year since, and they find a cozy apartment in between their universities. Entrapta’s studying engineering at MIT while being cross registered at Harvard.

Meanwhile Hordak studies space science at Columbia University, while working part time. 

Hordak had collected all of his and Imp’s legal documents, voice recordings and picture evidence of the abuse and emailed them to Entrapta’s lawyers. Since he turned 18 he was able to win the court case against Prime and take Imp in to be under his legal guardianship. Thankfully he also managed to get a restraining order after a few incidents since Prime was outraged at losing his servants. 

‘I’m home.’ He says, opening the door to find Entrapta chasing Emily around the apartment, his younger brother perched on top. She picks up Imp from her bot holding him in her arms.

'Welcome back!' She greets him with a kiss. 'Ready to start our new project?' 

Hordak smiles, he's been doing that a lot lately. All the suffering he'd been through was all worthwhile if it brought him to this happy little family. He thumbs his little LUVD necklace which he wears every day. 

'Always.'

[ariadnassecretdiary]

The black swan’s lake (AU)

*Mun Ari: I’m still sad how the first version of this AU got deleted T~T. However, what it’s done it’s done. Let's hope this version surpassed the previous one~

As always, enjoy!

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Once upon a time, it existed the Koizumi kingdom. The young prince and heir of the throne, Daisuke, married a young yet beautiful foreign princess Morena. They were in love and so they decided to spend the rest of their lives together, a very rare situation considering most princesses and princes married out of convenience between their kingdoms. After some time, the princess now queen, gave birth to their first daughter: Akane. And just a few years later, a second princess was born: Ariadna.

Although they were sisters, they were like drops of water and oil. Akane was dedicated to her studies, reserved and with firm and strong personality. She was also very organized, ambitious and was logical as well. On the other hand, Ariadna was quite the opposite: she was sensible and delicate, indecisive and had difficulties imposing her wishes or demands. She was kind-hearted, humble and was rather shy. Ariadna wasn’t always like that: as a little girl, she had a difficult time concentrating and instead of learning and attend her responsibilities she would rather play. As time went on, she had problems bending in and was isolated causing Ariadna great grief and so decided to change the way she behaved and be more like a princess…like “she was supposed to”.

Besides, since a very young age, Ariadna was told she wouldn’t be ascending the throne anytime soon if not at all. She wasn’t pushed too hard, plus she wasn’t abicious to even think taking the throne herself. It was a huge responsibility and she thought she would be seen, not just by her people but by other kingdoms, as weak. Ariadna always admired her sister and always saw her fit for the throne. Ariadna then decided to focused solely on acting as a proper lady and study, so she wouldn’t humiliate or bring dishonor to her family or people.

Ariadna, unlike other princesses, she was able to be free. After attending her responsibilities, she would ride her horse and go whenever she wanted. Usually she would go in disguise to the village and see and listen to her people for herself. She liked to help and just feel like any other girl. Other times, she would just explore the surrounding forests, never daring to explore further her kingdom’s limits. There she could just spend some time by her own and simply be.

With all this set…let our story begin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ariadna felt her hair flying wildly with the wind. Riding her beloved horse “Night Star” as she alway did.

“Princess Ariadna! Please, get down that beast!” Miss. Sonia shouted trying to catch Ariadna in the back of a guard’s horse.

“It’s not a beast Miss Sonia! It’s Night Star, remember?” Ariadna replied “However, what is the matter? Why so much insistence?”

“Princess! There’s no time for a sudden adventure! Not today!”

“Oh!” Ariadna made Night Star stopped “Is it for today’s ball? I’m aware of today’s preparations, so worry not Miss. Sonia”.

“That’s not the point Princess! Today is not like any other ball! So that’s why we need to prepare you with time!”

Ariadna sighed.

“I understand. I’m sorry, I caused you troubles. Considering you were forced to ride such ‘beast’ you aren’t fond of” Ariadna apologize.

“Thank you Princess…now, please head back to the palace. We need to start the preparations right away!”

Ariadna was helped by a servant to get down her horse, she thanked him and went back inside the palace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Where were you all morning sister?” suddenly Ariadna turned around to find her older sister Akane coming out the study room.

“I’m sorry sister…I went for a walk, but I lost track of time”.

“Please be more careful next time. You made us all worried. Today is a really stressful day and there’s no time to waste”.

“I understand sister, please forgive me. I’ll head back to my room and allow my maids to help me get ready”.

“Thank you”.

Ariadna was about to head back to her room, but stopped tracks and then said:

“You really don’t like balls, don’t you sister?”

“I consider them troublesome” Akane answered “Also they are a waste of time and resources if you ask me”.

“Please don’t say that~ some of them are pretty enjoyable. Besides they are made in your honor”.

“I would prefer having the suitors information in my desk and read them at peace to choose than to have to deal with them in person”.

Ariadna nodded. In the end that was the reason to be held to begin with: they were an opportunity to all available men in the nobility to get to know and try to win over the available ladies of the nobility as well. In the end, unlike fairytales, weddings were used to create alliances between kingdoms. There was no place for love for heirs.

“You can look at them through that perspective or you can see them as a good opportunity to find love~" Ariadna said in a small teasing smile.

“You know that love doesn’t not have a place for people like us. I’m soon to be queen and I need to look for a suitable king. I can’t choose a man based on my likings: I need to look the best man for our kingdom, for our people. Someone that will be able to reign by my side and to look after our best interests. Someone that can provide safety, wealth and peace. Something as love is out of the question”.

“I understand sister…please forgive me. I must have caused you troubles”.

“Not at all” Akane said while approaching Ariadna “I understand you’re just trying to cheer me up. Sadly, us the nobility, sometimes can’t have the luxury to find someone to love. In my case, I’m looking for someone that will be able to rule by my side and worthy. Someone to fight for our people and seek for our interests. Our parents worked so hard for our kingdom all these years to let it all crumble for a bad choice”.

Ariadna averted her eyes, she was right. Unlike her, she couldn’t be careless when it comes to rule. They were princesses, they had responsibilities to attend. Love indeed, was a luxury only normal people could afford.

“But don’t fell down. I accepted that long time ago Ari” Akane continued “I really appreciate your concerns. Besides…” she said while turning around and start leaving “I’ve always admired the beauty in which you see the world. Never lose that. Never, ever, lose that sparkle”.

Ariadna smiled and headed back to her room to get ready.

As Akane was walking down the alley she heard some whispering that caught her attention:

“Princess Ariadna…she may be a princess, but the queen haven’t been very severe on her” one maid said.

“I agree. She’s rather careless and way to free for her own good” another replied.

“Finding ‘true love’? It’s clear she isn’t aware that, unlike her, princess Akane have more responsibilities that she’ll ever will”.

“Thank God she’ll never ascend the throne! Our kingdom would be doomed with such childish attitude!”

“Yes!”

“If you two have so much free time as to speak in a very disrespectful way about a member of the royal family. I would highly recommend you to think again about your choice to work here” Akane interrupted them.

“Your highness!” they both exclaimed in fear “W-We…I-Is just–”

“Silence! Know your place: she might not ascend to the throne, but she’s still and always will be your princess, understood?” Akane said coldly. “Now, leave”.

The two maids bowed ashamed and scared and excused themselves. Akane kept walking, something as allowing somebody to offend or hurt her sister won’t be accepted. Not again, as long as it was in her power to avoid it.

~~~~~~~~~~~

There was only one thing that Ariadna did love about being a princess: the balls.

The beautiful dance hall richly decorated with chandeliers all light up with candles and delicate crystals that gave the light a twinkling effect. The orchestra playing sweet melodies and the exquisite food offered gave the touch. 

Ariadna also loved seeing the gentlemen dressed elegantly and all the pretty dresses the ladies were wearing as well. But what she loved the most was observing the couples gracefully dancing each piece.

Ariadna left a tiny and discrete dreamy sigh, she really wished to be like them…

“Oh my dear lady~ to let such a sigh filled with desire...makes my heart ache with grief” she suddenly heard next to her.

“I’m glad you made it, oh princess Naomi Nakahara from the Adler kingdom~” answered Ariadna while bowing to her friend.

“I’ve told you I dislike being called by my complete title by you” Naomi huffed “Of course I would come!”

“Let me guess: You came for the same reason as Akane”.

Naomi sighed: “Just like you said, I’m here by the orders of my mother who’s desperate to get me married to a heir. In that way, I understand the situation in which you’re sister’s at” Naomi replied looking towards the direction where Akane was surrounded by many sutors “however~ I also came to see you~ Unlike all hypocrites here, I love spending time with my dear and only friend~”

Ariadna and Naomi met one time, long time ago when Morena offered a tea party at their castle. All the ladies were invited and also the queen and princess of the Adler kingdom came. Naomi's mother asked her to become friends with Akane as she was the heir of the Koizumi kingdom. Naomi did as her mother ordered her, but Naomi enjoyed Ariadna’s company much better than Akane’s. And so Naomi became friend with Ariadna rather than Akane, but in the end Naomi’s mother was pleased with her daughter. Since then the Adler and the Koizumi family have a great relationship.

Naomi was almost the contrary as Ariadna: cold and very polite towards strangers, she was rather closed minded and reserved when people tried approaching her. She knew that, due to be the only heir to the Adler throne, she was constantly surrounded by interested people, but they were interested only on her title rather than her as a person. She enjoyed talking about scandalous topics and was very cultured, she also was brutally honest and stubborn. Ariadna wasn’t like them: since she was a princess as well and with a more docile personality, won over Naomi’s softness deep inside her. She had no interest and simply enjoyed listening and learn about other things. She was also kind and nice towards Naomi and people in general, so Naomi understood she was genuine, something she thought was impossible in the world she lived in.

“I’m so happy to see you too Naomi. I thought I would be alone”.

“No way~ I only missed the last ball, but now I’m here!” Naomi said in a comforting voice “so~ tell me what is new?”

“Oh nothing really~ no incident have happened yet and I’m enjoying the ball”.

“Is that so? Well, I noticed from a while now you’ve been rather anxious, am I wrong?”

“Me? Why you think so?”

“I don’t know~ maybe is because you haven’t stop searching among the guests for certain ‘someone’~?”

Ariadna blushed.

“Y-You got me…”

“I knew it~ oh, my dear friend. You’re pretty easy to read. Specially when it comes to balls: you are always waiting for Prince Isaac Guiseman from the North kingdom~”.

Ariadna let a dreamy sigh. Isaac Guiseman was the prince and heir to Guiseman royal family of the north kingdom. Ariadna met him during her first ball and they talked since they were both rather uncomfortable about their current situation. The next ball they met again and they even shared a dance. Ariadna couldn’t help herself to fell in love with him due to find him attractive as well as they shared many interests. However, lately Ariadna heard he was very busy within his kingdom’s responsibilities. 

“You know that whenever there’s a ball he attends he’s never late” Naomi got Ariadna out of her thoughts. 

“Maybe he’s just delayed…”

“He’s has missed the last five balls Ari. I think you should simply stop waiting for him in general…”

Ariadna flinched.

“Why you say so? You usually cheere for me, why the sudden change in mind?”

Naomi looked at Ariadna and sighed.

“Listen, you know I listen to lots of rumors on daily bases. However, I listen to this peculiar rumor that I know you won’t particularly like…”

“What is it?”

“Ari...you know that he’s been busy, but you know the real reason of that?”

“His training won’t let him even breath. In the end, he’s taking the throne anytime soon…”

“And for that same exact reason I want to tell you this: he is indeed busy with his kingdom’s responsibilities, but he’s also searching for a prospect princess to marry Ari”.

Ariadna felt like the color drained from her body. That meant that he was going to get marry as soon as he found one.

“To make things worst: I heard that he…” Naomi stopped.

“He what…?”

“That he have already choose who to get married with…”

Ariadna then understood. He have already found someone to marry...and it wasn’t her. She felt her heart ache.

“Please remember it’s just a rumor! It can’t be completely true”.

“But also completely false…” Ari said in a sad tone.

“Please Ari, don’t feel down. Keep positive! You know he’s not exactly the social one, so he doesn’t surround himself with many women. Besides, who knows? Maybe it’s indeed just a rumor~" Naomi tried cheering Ariadna up.

“I don’t think so…I haven’t received any letter from him…”

“I think that–”.

“I’m sorry for interrupting, however I was wondering if I can have this dance Miss Naomi” suddenly a young man interrupted.

“I’m afraid I–” Naomi started to excuse herself.

“She would love to~” Ariadna accepted in Naomi’s behalf “If you excuse me”

Ariadna bowed at them and slowly retired. Not before noticing Naomi looking at her angrily.

Ariadna went towards the balcony, luckily it was empty and so she could enjoy some fresh air.

Ariadna looked above in the night sky. She always enjoyed looking at the stars twinkling and the round big moon. They were so pretty…yet for some reason instead of causing her wonder like they usually did, she felt instead sadness.

“So now Isaac is getting marry soon, huh?” she muttered for herself “Well, is obvious since he’s about to take over his throne…I wish him the best I guess. That girl is going to be so lucky…” 

Suddenly she felt tears forming in her eyes. She was really sad he didn’t corresponded her feelings. Then a thought came to her mind: even if they were in love, they couldn’t be together. He needed, just like Akane, someone more useful for his kingdom than a second-in-line princess. Ariadna felt more sorrow, was it time for her to simply let go?

Then a certain song came to her ears and turned around. That song…it was the song they always danced. She looked to all the couples dancing and spinning around the dance floor…life sometimes was so unfair.

“I hate that song…I really hate it” she thought as painful tears starting falling down her cheeks without her being able to avoid it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Ariadna woke up early in the morning. The night before, she sent a maid to tell Naomi that she was very sorry, but that she felt indisposed and went to sleep early. She cried until she fell asleep, but then she came to the conclusion she couldn’t help it. Things were like that for people like her. 

She went down to the kitchen and grab something small to eat and then took Night Star out for a run. She left a note to her family, excusing herself from breakfast and that she would be back before down. She rode Night Star as fast and as far as she could into the forest. It was already the afternoon when she found a clear spot in the middle of the forest and decided to spend the time there. She needed to get away from possible questions from her family about her sudden disappearance from last night’s ball. She needed to think and more importantly, heal. 

“You know Night Star? Sometimes being a princess is horrible” she spoke to her horse as it was eating some grass at peace. “You have so many responsibilities and obligations…you have an image to keep. Everyone is right…I would be a terrible queen: feeling down for something so trivial” Ariadna let a sigh escape her lips. “Sometimes I feel ashamed of my own immaturity”.

Ariadna saw her left hand where her family ring shone under the sunlight. She took it out her finger and looked close at it: the gold figure of a tree richly decorated by jewels, her family’s shield. That ring that was a symbol and remainder of the weight she carried on her shoulders just for being a princess. 

“I guess…I’ll just have to wait until my parents to find some prince for me to marry and that will be beneficial for our kingdom” she said resigned.

Suddenly, Ariadna heard a squawk and in a blink of an eye a raven stole her ring from her fingers.

“What!? No! Wait! Give it back!” Ariadna shouted to the crow who just kept flying “oh no! My mother will kill me if I lose that ring!”

Ariadna quickly got in Night Star and started following after the raven.

At a certain point, the raven descended and started walking towards a tree log that was hanging like some sort of bridge. Ariadna stopped Night Star and tied her to a nearby tree and looked towards the log. 

“Great…But if I come back without it my mother sure will disown me…it can’t be helped”.

Ariadna carefully followed after the raven until the crow disappeared behind a waterfall. Ariadna grunted, just how bad was her luck? She went behind the waterfall until she reached some sort of tunel. She was about to leave, since she was a little scared of what sort of thing she might find if she continued, but then the raven squawk again and she forced herself to continue. Once she crossed the tunnel, she went speechless. 

There was a beautiful river with clear water, where some birds were swimming. There was also beautiful trees that formed a forest. The grass and flowers grew wild and free, it was such a pretty sight. Ariadna was fascinated by the beauty of the landscape that when she heard the squawk again she focused again on the task in hand.

She ran after the flying thief. She guessed she needed to wait until the raven got to it’s nest and grab it once it was out again. She followed him through the forest each time deeper. The river ran next to her until she realized that it got wider until it it turned into a huge lake.

The sight was even prettier that the landscape before. The lake was surrounded by some mountains and at the top there was a beautiful willow tree that looked like some sort of refuge. The raven stood in one of the branches and remained still, like waiting for something.

“Please little bird! I need that ring!” She shouted but the raven remained still.

Suddenly, she heard a sound in the water. She turned around and noticed another creature just landed in the middle of the lake. It was a rather beautiful yet elegant swan, but not like any swan she have seen before: it was deep black. Ariadna was surprise from such unusual color. 

“Hi there little friend~” she greeted the swan with a smile.

The swan looked at her unamused and kept staring at her. Ariadna wished she had brought some seeds to give the bird, but she then noticed the deepness in which the animal seemed to look at her with it’s deep and tiny red eyes. They stared at each other for some minutes and then the swan started swimming closer to the shore where she was standing.

The last rays of the sun where falling behind the mountains and were slightly illuminating the surface of the lake itself. Some of the light from the surface of the lake reflected in the swan’s dark feathers. Unexpectedly, the swan started to shine so bright that at a certain point it made Ariadna closed her eyes. She could distinguish the swan seemed to grow taller and it kept getting closer to her. Then the light extinguished and Ariadna opened her eyes only to find herself in shock.

Before her there wasn’t any trace of the black swan, rather for a young man. Judging from the small amount of black feathers laying on the floor where the boy was standing, Ariadna’s realization hit her to the point she fell from the surprise. The boy looked at her with a serious expression. Ariadna observed him and could notice he seemed around her age, quite taller than her, with a dark black hair but it caught her attention was the deep red of his eyes. She couldn’t believe her eyes, just a minute ago there was a swan and now it turned into a boy!? 

“What? You’ve never seen a guy in you life?” he asked in a mocking tone.

“I-I…Of course I have! But not a swan that could turn into a guy!” she muttered in surprise

“Well, your reaction was rather boring~” he said while getting some feathers stocked on his suit out. 

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you” she commented standing up with a sarcastic tone.

“Seriously…is she the best you could get?” the boy asked looking towards the top of the mountain where the raven kept standing. The raven squawk in reply. 

“Excuse me? What you mean by that?”

“Sometimes you’re useless Yuri” he said when the raven flew and stood on his shoulder. “I told you to bring a girl but you instead you brought a mere villager”.

“Huh!? Well at least I’m not sort of…whatever you are! Besides I don’t talk to birds like you do” she answered angry. Just who he thinks he is?

“Oh really~?” he answered sarcastically “Well, it can’t be helped, you will do”.

“I’m out of here, you’re scary” she said while thinking ‘Besides he might be some sort of wizard I must get away!’

“hold on! That raven! It stole my ring, can you please tell him to give it to me, please?”

“A ring? Is that true Yuri?” the raven nodded and flew back to the tree and returned with Ariadna’s ring.

“Yes! That is my ring!” she exclaimed.

“Is that so? This ring seems very valuable for a villager like you to have it~" he commented.

“What…?”

The boy looked closely to the ring and then threw it to the lake on his back.

“HEY!! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?” Ariadna exclaimed going to the lake. “Oh no oh no oh no!” Ariadna was about to enter the lake when the boy stopped her.

“I wouldn’t enter if I were you~".

“Why!?”

“It is said that a huge crocodile lays at the bottom of the lake, plus you may tangled with all the seaweed that grows at the button~”.

“I need to get my ring back!” she exclaimed frustrated “Then go and get it!”

“As if~" he answered in a mocking matter.

“Transform into a swan again and bring it back!”

“That’s not how it works ‘villager’ I can’t transform at will”.

“What? Then, how I’m supposed to get my ring back?”

“There is a way~".

“Tell me! I’ll do anything!”

“Anything~?”

Ariadna realized the mistake she had just made.

“Yes…”

“I’ll give your ring back, if you promise to come back everyday here”.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, you see it’s pretty boring here so you just need you to come and make me company, what you say?”

“F-For how long?”

“For as long as I’m satisfy, of course~".

Ariadna looked at the lake and then towards the boy.

‘I can’t risk having my mother know I lost the family ring…guess there’s no other way…’ she thought.

“Ok…It’s a deal then”.

The boy smiled satisfied. He came closer to her and offered her his hand. Ariadna looked at his hand doubtful and grabbed it to do a handshake.

“Good~ then see you tomorrow~" the black haired man turned around and started leaving.

“W-Wait! What is your name?” Ariadna asked.

The boy stopped and then turned his head around.

“You can just call me Kino” and with that Kino kept walking.

Ariadna stood there and cursed at her bad bad luck. She now was stock until who knows when with that Kino in order to get her ring back. She looked above to the sky and noticed it was almost night time.

“Now my mom is going to kill me if I’m late for dinner!” and with that she headed back to where she left Night Star in a hurry.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuri squawk in Kino’s left shoulder.

“Hey! That was in my ear!” Kino exclaimed covering it “By the way, are you comfortable there? You got some nerve”.

Yuri flew off Kino’s shoulder and once he laid on the ground, he was surrounded by some light to finally revealed his human form.

“I apologize” Yuri said. 

“You must be sorry. The girl you brought was seriously disappointing”.

“You told me to bring you a young girl, I did as you wished” Yuri replied unbothered “Besides, no girl seems to come this deep into the forest these days. Guess the stories about it keeps people away in general”.

“Maybe it was all her doing, in the end she just enjoys keeping me here all bored”.

“Maybe that is. In any case, I hope this girl ends up being useful”.

“I hope so too” Kino said while looking into the now dark sky “Time’s running out and I don’t want that to happen”.

“You’ll succeed Kino… you have to”.

“I know, I know”.

The two gentlemen kept walking through the forest until they could no longer be seen. With a plan in mind, what kind of destiny awaits for the young princess Ariadna?

To be continued…

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

*Mun Ari: They say things happen for a reason! I think this version ended better than the previous one that got deleted! Anyway~ comment what you think and I’ll work on the second part as soon as I can! I hope this will be a short serie rather than a long one :’D (I’m planning it to be three episodes long…let’s see if I can make it ^^'). See you soon!

[talix18]

November 3

Today begins with the time change back to EST, a Fleetwood Mac concert two hours away in Philly, and a head cold. I went to bed at ?? o'clock, woke up at 5:something AM, ate some leftover Halloween sugar, and put myself back to sleep. It's now 10:30 and I've finally made my way out of bed. My intentions are to pace myself and nap so that I'm still awake for the drive home from Philly, but this day's start is not encouraging. I've eaten some pizza for breakfast, so I'm thinking of taking some Excedrin or cold medicine, which will add yet another variable to this consciousness management equation.

I'm saying it's a head cold, but really it's just congestion and a headache. I'll see what's in the medicine cabinet when the cat gets off my lap.

Yes, I've become that sad middle-aged lady in the office with no husband, no kids, and two cats. I know that there are pros and cons in all of these choices, and I know just about the same number of people who are happy with their families as people who are either struggling as single parents with young kids or in unhappy relationships and really, there are no guarantees anywhere. The goal, as Sinead O'Connor put it back in the 80s, is to not want what I haven't got. But that has never been my MO.

Almost every decision I've ever made (or failed to make) has been about giving myself the maximum possible outs. I've never been good at commitment – I've always wanted room to move and now that I have it, I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. I've got all the freedom and independence to make grand gestures and absolutely no idea what to do next.

There's this saying in my specific 12-Step program that says something like “working this thing will give you a life beyond your wildest dreams” and I have a lot of issues with that. (Of course, because I am a philosophizer and an addict, justifying and rationalizing all the livelong day.) My wildest dreams include being in a loving relationship and being Stevie Nicks, so clearly I'm falling short.

So I think, well, maybe that “life beyond your wildest dreams” stuff means living like a productive member of society instead of sleeping in abandominiums. Having a job and a bank account and paying bills. Maybe my bottom wasn't low enough to make the life I have now seem remarkable. I've seen how using addicts live – when every decision is literally about getting and using and finding ways and means to get more. I got clean at 27 and I had very little to lose because I didn't have anything of my own. I was just about to start making some incredibly bad decisions when I got a DWI and a year's suspended jail sentence and was scared straight. I was still living at Mom's and going to grad school.

Maybe my dreams are too outrageous. I have a friend who celebrated 25 years recently and realized that she is living her best life. She has a job that she worked hard for and cares about, is married to a man who adores her, has two rescued dogs, and has a good relationship with her grown daughter. Why are my dreams on such a different scale? I have no ability to want things in any correct proportion. I can't play a damn instrument and haven't sung with anyone in public since I got clean – maybe touring with Fleetwood Mac is aiming a little high. How about I start with taking guitar lessons that don't cause me sleep-disrupting pain? That seems like a reasonable place to start.

Then there are my world travel dreams, many of which I've been lucky enough to live out. I went to India, for gods' sake. Not that long ago. That was amazing and surreal. And one of those things that really is a gift from the Universe, like my job and my house. I got the job I have because my father took my resume in to work and back then, the government had an Outstanding Scholar Program. Because I had excellent grades (despite having graduated from college ten+ years earlier), I was hired at one grade and automatically promoted several more within my first three years, where I've leveled off and received modest within-grade step increases at regular intervals since. I make more money than I ever though I would working a nine-to-five job; enough to put some away for retirement and still have enough to have a life now (like seeing Fleetwood Mac twice in one year or international travel). That alone puts me at a higher standard of living than most of the damn world.

My house also sort of fell in my lap. I had just moved back to Mom's after moving out of a friend's house – she had recently gotten engaged and he had moved in. They got a new puppy, so I took the cat and moved back into the basement. One of my friends' mom's is a real estate agent and told her to see if I was thinking about buying. I wasn't, but I was in my 30s and my cat did not get along with my mom's cats, so it was time to consider a living situation. I had been gifted stock in a utility by my mother's second husband's parents when I was a kid; that money was more than enough for a down payment on this tiny house next to the state park. I was about to get one of those automatic grade increases at work and could afford the mortgage and utilities: voila! Home ownership. Only some of the factors that came together to make that happen were within my control. I've seen people stuck in relationships because they can't afford to support themselves. I've seen people move from spare room to spare room because they can't afford a place on their own. I always wanted a place to live where I'd have enough room for all my stuff and no one could kick me out. (Except the bank, obvs.) I have that and have had it for damn near 15 years.

Maybe my life has been so good for so long that I don't even notice it anymore. There are very few things I have to if I don't want to do them. Just that is a huge freedom.

India happened because I had recently gotten back in touch with a women I'd met when she did PT on my first bad shoulder. She was also a yoga teacher and I'd taken some classes with her, but our schedules stopped syncing and we hadn't seen each other in a while. I responded to one of her emails offering a new class and about a week later, she asked if I wanted to join her for an evening of kirtan. I said sure, and on our way to Annapolis, as we caught each other up on our lives, she mentioned that she might be going to India with the founder of the yoga tradition she practices. “I want to go to India!” I said before even realizing it was true, and she said “Come with us!”

Now I am not a person of spontaneity. I'm not a compulsive researcher, either, but finding out in October about a possible trip to India in January is not way out of my comfort zone. For one thing, I'm a terrible flier. I'm not sure if it's the stress of airport security or being trapped in a steel tube in the sky with strangers, but anytime air travel is involved, my anxiety levels start off near the top of the chart. And this meant flying halfway around the world to a completely foreign country, although with a group that would handle all of the hotel and travel arrangements. It was the best opportunity to go somewhere I'd probably never go on my own.

And to my surprise, my reaction wasn't “I can't do that!” It was “What would stop me from being able to do that?” I had just enough vacation saved, just enough money saved, and a mom willing to take care of my cats while I was gone. I applied for a visa and got the recommended vaccinations and found myself in Mumbai in January of '18. That was a dream I didn't even know I had until it happened.

And it was almost everything I wanted it to be. My own personal eat, meditate, and have sex for the first time in two years. All that was missing was meeting an elephant. (I'll make sure the pictures of me on a camel and of a monkey on me are included at some point.) It wasn't included on our tour (which took us from Vrindivan to Rishikesh), but we added a few days on to the end and went to the Taj Mahal. I still can't believe that happened and I have pictures to prove it did. I know there are many tourist attractions that don't live up to the hype, but trust me when I tell you that the Taj Mahal is worth going out of your way for. Our first views of it were from a distance and looked exactly life every picture you've ever seen, but as I walked toward it and the perspective changed as we got closer...it was overwhelming. The white marble of the building is inlaid with stone of every color and...the artistry is literally breath-taking. We went to a workshop where, according to our travel guide, the descendants of the craftspeople who built the mausoleum still worked creating marble pieces today, several of which made their way home with me. Those Indian people see us white folk coming and I was happy to leave several hundred of my American dollars behind with them.

And that is just sliding onto the edge of today's word count. I wonder how long it will be before I see this taking any kind of shape. I know the whole point of this exercise is just to get the words out, but I'm not sure how long I can do this without repeating myself. Would I be easier if I made something up? You'd think I could wring 10K words out of each decade I've been alive, but even I know that most of them just aren't that interesting.

[vagrantblvrd]

Star-crossed (1/1)

Summary: “You want to pimp me out for the ‘good of the crew’,” Michael says flatly.

Cannot fucking believe his ears, but this is Geoff and they’re the Fakes and this shit just kind of happens sometimes.

Notes: Prompt fill for @fahchaus who asked for Mavin. :D?

(Read on AO3)

“I’m sorry, what.”

Geoff has his ah-ha-ha, isn’t  this just the funniest goddamn thing face on, that awkward little laugh spilling out of his mouth as he folds his hands on the table in front of him.

Ryan is stone-still. Jeremy is looking between Geoff and Michael like he can’t decide which one of them is going to lose their shit first. (Michael. The answer is Michael.)

Trevor has his business face on, and Alfredo is sharing fucking popcorn with Lindsay who looks like all her Christmases have come at once.

Jack isn’t even here, wants nothing to do with this bullshit which says everything about this goddamned mess.

“Michael,” Geoff says, like he has any right to pretend to be a reasonable man right now. “It’s for the good of the crew.”

Michael’s eyes flick over to Ryan, because he knows the fucker won’t be able to help himself.

“’The good of the many outweighs the needs of the few,’” he intones, like the huge fucking nerd he is.

Which, fair.

It isn’t all that often that Ryan gets handed such a golden opportunity to let loose with prime Star Trek quotes.

He deserves to have his little moment.

It still doesn’t change what Geoff is doing. Trying to do.

“You want to pimp me out for the ‘good of the crew’,” Michael says flatly.

Cannot fucking believe his ears, but this is Geoff and they’re the Fakes and this shit just kind of happens sometimes.

Geoff looking at him like what he’s just said is a perfectly reasonable request to make, like it’s not goddamned ridiculous.

And Michael, okay.

He just wants Geoff to know what he’s asking for here, what he sounds like.

Wants the others to hear what he sounds like, really let it sink in.

A beat, two, and the sound of chairs being pushed back slips into the void Michael’s words leave behind as the others literally remove themselves from the line of fire.

“Oh, shit,” Alfredo says, caught somewhere between surprise and a twisted sort of delight. “He went there. He went there!”

Geoff makes a face, unfolds his hands. (Mutters something that sounds a hell of a lot like “Well when you put it that way it sounds bad.”)

Michael’s scowl deepens.

“Michael, you know this feud has been gone on for too long as it is. We can’t afford to spend crew resources dealing with that and our rivals.”

The crew’s spread thin as it is, B-Team working overtime to keep things running smoothly and several of their allies starting to waver in their convictions. Wondering if siding with the Fake AH Crew is such a smart idea after all when their rivals are offering up sweet little incentives to change loyalties.

No one’s made a move yet, still wary of forcing an all-out war when the Fakes are still firmly on top in Los Santos, but it’s a matter of time.

Settling this stupid feud would help with that, allow the crew to focus on matters closer to home. Solidify their hold on Los Santos and remind everyone just how they’ve done so as long as they have.

And for whatever godforsaken reason Geoff seems to think Michael’s the key to ending this fucking ridiculous feud. Thinks it’s going to be as easy as that.

“Michael,” Geoff says, quiet and honest as he knows how. “You know I wouldn’t ask you to do this if there was any other way.”

If Geoff asked any of the others to do this one little thing for him, everyone would be dead and - at the very least - half of the city would be gone.

Just.

Gone.

Geoff seems to think he can reason with Michael though. Appeal to his sense of loyalty and duty to the crew. (The worst part is, he’s not wrong.)

========

The feud started long before Michael joined the crew.

Years and year and years ago, with a careless comment from Geoff (sometimes it’s hard to remember there are any other kind from him), and suddenly the Fakes were caught up in a feud with one of the biggest crews around.

Dragged into things because Geoff turned it from being his problem to theirs in a heartbeat, and Michael’s never known anything else.

The other crew is big enough to be patient about it, take their time and be thorough.

Hit them at the right moment to do the most damage. Over and over again until they ended up here, and how the hell Michael ever agreed to any of it he’ll never know.

Sure as fuck isn’t for Geoff who got them all in this mess, and now look at him.

There’s a knock on the door to Michael’s room, and a moment later Jack pokes his head in.

“Time to go,” he says, watching Michael carefully.

Looks like he’d like to point out Michael doesn’t have to do this, could absolutely kill the hell out of Geoff and end the feud that way if he’d like. He sure as hell won’t stop him, but doesn’t come out and say any of that, no.

Jack just has an expressive face like that.

========

Michael refuses to dress up for this little party, fancy shindig on Geoff’s stupid yacht.

Isn’t going to let Geoff make this into more of a dog and pony show than it already is, let him parade Michael around in a stupid expensive suit or tuxedo, no.

Not when Geoff’s the reason Michael’s taking part in some medieval bullshit.

”Only better”, because Geoff had to make things worse by trying to make them seem less terrible. Couldn’t keep his fucking mouth shut. Seemed to think he was painting a fucking silver lining on things. ”It’s not like this is an arranged marriage, Michael, it’s more like...arranged dating.”

Like that made it any better, Geoff throwing Michael at the asshole’s kid because anyone else and it would have been a disaster. Had Los Santos burning before midnight and where would they be then, huh?

No promises to be made, no binding contracts. Just a “trial period” to see how things go, and then who knows after that?

Play nice with the boss’s kid, or at least don’t kill the little bastard because that might put a crimp on things.

Fucking hell.

========

Feuds being what they are in this life, they’ve all gotten caught up in it in the past.

Little run-in here, chance meeting there.

Close encounters with the smug bastards, all high and mighty and always convinced they had the upper hand. Old roots dug down deep, too solid to be uprooted by the likes of the Fakes. Upstart crew just getting their feet under them out here and no real threat.

All kinds of regrets everywhere else because none of this needed to happen.

Didn’t need to lose Kerry to these bastards early on. Friendly smile from some asshole who just wouldn't shut the fuck up, and all these tempting little offers. Promises too good to be true, and Kerry always was that kind of stupid. Caleb and Kdin followed not long after that.

Almost lost Ryan a few years back to one of their freelancers. Kindred spirit, and more truth to Ryan’s alias than anyone realized. Geoff managing to win him back with a shiny new mini-gun and the promise of all the bullets his black little heart desired before he went wandering again.

They did lose Mica a year or so ago, and that one still stings.

The crew’s lost too goddamned many people to these fuckers, and Geoff’s always been too stubborn to swallow his pride and put an end to things.

Until now.

========

There’s a chopper flying in, guests of honor on board like their people aren’t out there in the dark in speedboats in case things go south. Circling the yacht like sharks, and Michael regrets his act of good faith in leaving his weapons behind when he hears them round the yacht’s bow, veer a little closer each time.

Ryan and Jeremy are keeping an eye on them, guaranteed to be enough firepower between them to handle things if the assholes try something.

Trevor and Alfredo are dressed in matching tuxes and smiling sweet as anything, yes sir and no sir and is there anything I can get you tonight sir? we’re got an excellent vintage aboard.

Creepy as fuck, and the only good that will come from it is knowing they’re making Geoff paranoid as hell with their little act.

Lindsay is coordinating with Jack, and Michael is -

“Michael!”

Michael is being dragged towards the helipad to greet the guests of honor. Asshole in his perfectly tailored tux and his idiot kid. Couple of bruisers bringing up the rear because this is meant to be a friendly little gathering, no need to bring the whole crew on board, never mind the speedboats out there as a reminder to play nice.

Gets to watch them pause to brush lint off their shoulders or whatever the fuck they’re doing after they get out, sweep the people gathered around with appraising looks.

Sees the asshole smile. Slow, smug as hell.

“Hello, Geoff,” he says, like Geoff’s just oh so thrilled to see him. “What a lovely yacht you have.”

There’s a pause, and all these things everyone here knows.

“I used to have one just like it.”

He did.

Damn thing went missing a few years back, something about a storm and pirates of all things taking advantage of the cover it offered to steal it. The asshole’s people forced into the lifeboats while the pirates got away, and not like they could go to the authorities about it considering their chosen profession.

Pity, really.

“Is that so?” Geoff asks, like he hadn’t known.

There’s a little stare down, dick-measuring contest, Michael doesn’t fucking know or care. Looks to the asshole’s kid who’s looking around, eyes hidden behind a pair of douchebag sunglasses and this slight curve to his mouth like this is just all so goddamned funny.

“Hey,” Michael says, because Geoff and the asshole are still playing their little game.

The guy turns his head to look at Michael, does a slow once-over before he smirks.

Opens his mouth to say something, but Geoff squawks indignantly at something the asshole says.

Throws all the shit he told Michael earlier about not letting these fuckers see them sweat or whatever out the window and  pushes into the asshole’s space, annoyed about God knows what.

Michael looks to the two bruisers, but they’re standing back, seem to think their boss can handle Geoff just fine. Jack and the others are doing much the same, and -

Michael stiffens as he feels fingers wrap around his wrist. Looks at the asshole's kid who is still smirking.

“Maybe we should leave them alone?” he asks. “They could be at this for a while.”

That  -

He’s not wrong.

Everyone else is so focused on Geoff and the asshole they don’t even notice when Michael and the asshole’s kid slip away.

========

This far out, they can actually see the stars.

Faint pinpricks of light glittering up there all pretty and shit.

Michael lets the asshole’s kid pull him past the others towards the back of the boat. Watches him when he releases Michael’s wrist and goes to lean against the railing to look up at the damn stars.

“So,” he says. “That went about as well as I thought it would.”

Michael sighs, because given Geoff’s involvement, yeah.

He joins the idiot at the railing. Watches the speedboats in silence for a long moment, before he loses interest and glances over at the idiot beside him.

Stupid hair and ridiculously expensive designer clothes. Goddamned douchebag sunglasses at night and this relaxed slouch to him despite everything.

They can hear raised voices somewhere behind them, Geoff and the asshole’s, and it doesn’t seem like they’re about to come to an understanding anytime soon which is pretty typical for them, actually. Nothing new there.

“This was the best idea you could come up with?” Michael asks gesturing between them, because fucking Christ.

A goddamned kid could have come up with it.

There’s a quiet little laugh, the idiot turning his head to look at Michael and a stupidly fond smile on his lips.

“Well it’s not like anyone had a better idea, Michael,” he says, accent twisting Michael’s name into some bastardized version of itself. “Best I could do, really.”

Planting the seed of an idea in the asshole's ear, letting it grow on its own until he and Geoff batted the world's stupidest plan around until it took root. Made them think it was such a brilliant fucking plan, that there was no possible way it could go wrong. (Tempting fate in the process, but when haven't they?)

Michael watches him push his sunglasses into his hair, gold catching the moonlight.

“Besides,” the idiot continues, and there, there is that little spark of mischief that's caused Michael so much goddamned exasperation over the years as he flashes Michael a little grin. “’S pretty funny, innit?”

========

Geoff split from his old crew just about a decade ago and took Jack with him. Used the weight of his reputation and everything he learned from them to build up his own little crew.

Did alright for themselves and careful who they recruited because there are all kinds of assholes here, and some are worse than others.

But then Geoff got stupid, or maybe he always was.

Said some shit he shouldn’t have, got a little cocky and suddenly he’s in some stupid feud with one of his old crew members.

Worst of the bunch because Burnie's goddamned bastard.

Knows which buttons to push to get Geoff reacting without thinking, saying the kinds of things he’d regret later.

Pulling the rest of the crew into the whole mess because of course he did, and goddamn had that been an experience for Michael when he joined. Hit the ground running only to realize how unbelievably stupid the whole thing was.

Realized there wasn’t anything to this feud he’d heard rumors about for ages before Geoff approached him about joining the Fakes.

This thing that had been going on for years by that time, had all of Los Santos waiting and watching and fucking clueless about everything.

No one seeming to notice that for as long as the feud had been going on, the kind of people involved. (How quick both crews were to take care of their enemies, the way they’d work together against a larger threat.)

A hell of a lot of property damage and shit going missing like Burnie’s yacht, but nothing unforgivable

This slow bleed as Burnie and his people wooed some of theirs over to their side with the promise of better opportunities and whatever else while Geoff scowled at the fucker.

Let them go because they’d just stagnate in Los Santos if he didn’t. Knew they deserved better, but goddamn had he been annoyed at Burnie for being right about it every fucking time.

And then Gavin had shown up, Burnie taking him under his wing as his protégé  and things had gotten complicated.

The little shit is too curious for his own good, kept poking and prodding at the Geoff and his crew, and fucking latched onto Michael when he came along.

Not put off by Michael and his everything, coming up with the stupidest plans for the two of them to oh so conveniently run into one another. Make it look like they were doing their part to keep the feud going while living some bizarre Romeo and Juliet life on the side after he broke Michael down with his goddamned annoying persistence.

Always there, dumb little grin and stupid face and his everything. Michael the kind of asshole who was defenseless against all of it when it came down to it.

Slipping away when the others weren’t looking to trip into one of the idiot’s little traps, coming up with schemes of his own to catch him.

Stupid fuckers, both of them, but Geoff pouted whenever one of them didn’t at least pretend like this “feud” of his was serious business. Easier to humor him than try to apply logic to things.

========

Gavin’s grinning at him because he knows how annoyed Geoff’s feud makes Michael. The lengths they all go to because of it.

Inches a little closer, his elbow nudging Michael’s.

“They’re going to figure it out you know,” Michael says, trying to hold on to his scowl. “You’re kind of shit at this.”

Gavin chuckles because they both know he’s not even trying. Thinks the whole thing is as ridiculous as Michael does, but unlike Michael he also thinks it’s hilarious.

Two of the most powerful people around engaging in what amounts to a playground grudge.

“Yeah?”

Michael thinks about it for a moment. Thinks about Geoff, and Burnie, and the way they’ve let things go on as long as they have. The way everyone seems to know about Michael and Gavin except for the two of them, because as smart as they are, they’re also amazingly dumb sometimes. Blind about shit they shouldn’t be.

Bought into Gavin’s dumb plan about bringing their crews together like a pair of kings marrying their kids off, what the actual fuck. (Actually thought Gavin’s plan to end the feud was a good one. Like he hadn’t just stolen it from bad romance novels.

“Alright, maybe not,” he mutters, because Jesus Christ.

========

It’s a little strange seeing everyone together like this. No paintball guns or pellet rifles in sight. No clever heist or supposedly diabolical scheme in play.

The speedboats anchored just off the yacht’s stern, everyone aboard for the celebration. Toasts to the end of an era, a long and bloodless feud started by idiots.

“I’m a little worried by that,” Gavin murmurs, gesturing with his drink to were Ryan and Meg are talking, Mica and Ashley headed their way, and there’s no way that ends well for anyone. “Doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

Michael snorts, because that’s a bit of an understatement.

That’s a recipe for disaster right there, all the murder friends together in one spot.

“You should be, this is all your fault,” Michael says.

It really is, and Michael's trying not to look too happy with it all because Gavin's ego doesn't need the boost.

========

The good news is with the feud settled, Michael and Gavin don’t have to sneak around anymore when they want to see each other. Give Geoff and Burnie the flimsiest excuses, watch the others around them choke back their laughter and give each other knowing looks.

The bad news is -

“What?!”

The others are quick to rat them out, let Geoff and Burnie know about their whole forbidden romance because that’s the kind of people they are.

Tight-lipped when it comes to anything like crew business, goddamned chatty about anything else at the slightest provocation. (In hindsight, it’s a miracle word about the two of them didn’t get to Geoff and Burnie before now.)

Michael pinches the bridge of his nose as Geoff sputters, all indignant about being kept in the dark like this. Like he wouldn’t have been an asshole about things if he’d known.

Knows Gavin is about to start some shit because he loves riling Geoff up, and puts a hand over the idiot’s mouth. Glares at Geoff who is pointing an accusing finger at him like this is one of those terrible shows he loves so much.

“Look, asshole,” Michael says. “You want to mke a big deal about this? How about we talk about your Thing with Burnie while we're at it?”

Everyone knows about his Thing with Burnie. Couple of morons who just can’t apologize to one another over an insult years and years ago, but goddamn can they -

“That’s different!”

Geoff being a hypocrite is nothing new. Geoff being a hypocrite while Michael and Gavin are trying to have some quality time together is annoying as fuck.

“Geoff, fuck off,” Michael says, ignoring the way Gavin’s laughing himself stupid next to him.

Geoff blinks, like hes just realizing what he barged in on, and his face goes through the various stages of utmost suffering when it finally processes for him.

“Oh, God,” he mutters, sounding horrified. “Oh God.”

Michael grabs one of the pillows off the bed and throws it at Geoff, which seems to be the right trigger to finally get him moving, mumbling under his breath as he shuts the door behind himself.

That’s...that’s going to be a Talk in the near future, he just knows it, but for now -

Michael looks at Gavin. The stupid grin he can feel under his hand and laughter in Gavin's eyes because of course he thinks this is funny. Little idiot Michael's so far gone for he'll go along with whatever stupid plan he has.

"Idiot," he says, stupid soft and fond as he leans in to kiss him again.

Now that they have all the time in the world, they need to make up for lost opportunities.

[kotlc-oneshots]

Believing (Blind!Keefe AU pt 2)

Word count - 3551

A lot of soliditary between keefe and my other bbys

God I can’t wait to write from Tams perspective, next chapter y’all!

Anyways I hope you like it and that it’s not Bad™️ considering how tired I am

~*~*~*

Pt two

Keefe

The next morning, I wake up and go through my simplistic routine again. Get dressed, brush teeth, message Fitz, eat. When I hear the honking of Fitz car outside, I carefully grab my cane and walk out the doors, tapping my way yard and to the street.

“How goes it?” Fitz’ voice calls, and a smile splits across my face at the inside joke.

“I don’t know,” I reply, laughing at the memory it brings. “I can’t see.” Fitz laughs in response.

“You’re sitting up front today; Biana took Sophie to get coffee early, so it’s just us boys.”

“Dex sat in the back?” I questioned, as he normally was quick to jump on shotgun. I reach the car and pop the door open, and am greeted by the familiar smell of Fitz’s car.

“More like laid in the back,” Dex pipes up, while I thud my bag to the ground and shut the door. I shake my head.

“You’re supposed to be the responsible one, Dex. Shame on you.” I chide, and Fitz peels away from the house. I roll my eyes and laugh; they’re so dumb. We’re so dumb. And I’m grateful for it.

“We're here—part two!” Fitz exclaims in the seat next to me. “Well, for half of my classes this’ll be my first day. I missed a lot yesterday—freshman presentations are ass,” he grumbles as he parks the car. I chuckle and shake my head.

“Your fault, man,” I taunt him, and he scoffs as a response. “Hey Dexxxxx… wanna walk me to class?” I say, fumbling around in the back, trying to hit him.

“Hmrrghh. Yeah.” I hear him shift around, and we step out of the car together.

As soon as we're both out, Fitz locks the car. “See y’all later!” he calls, jogging off- likely to some lifting or meeting or something. I chuckle; whenever I think of Fitz, I imagine he’s either very ugly, or really attractive. From what I heard, it’s the latter—he's the epitome of perfection to the entire school, and many other schools as well. I, however, know better—he’s a complete and utter dumbass. He once chugged half a gallon of milk on a dare, and another time got himself locked in a dog kennel—and that list can go on. I don’t quite understand how he keeps the guise of perfection and stability when he’s oh-so-clearly not. Him running off to a meeting or club isn’t a surprise, but it’s hard to imagine, knowing what he’s actually like.

“How the hell does that man manage all that shit?” Dex grumbles, also acknowledging that Fitz is definitely insane. I shake my head.

“A very, very large amount of crack,” I state solemnly, as if this is a sad, but true fact. Dex laughs loudly.

“I don’t doubt it. Better not let his coach find out,” He replies, just as sincerely. “What room number are you in, by the way?” He asks, just as I detect the curb with my cane. Gently stepping up, I tell him. “Nice—we aren’t that far from each other- you’re going straight there, right?” he asks, and I nod.

“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you—is there anything new with the Stina situation?” I bring up the topic gently—Stina Heks was Dex’s early on bully. Before Sophie brought Dex into the group halfway through their Freshman year, she would nag on him relentlessly—he was attending the school on a partial scholarship, and his family has a bit of bad history of being… odd. His dad runs a small pharmacy, and it’s mostly alternative medicine. She used to take any opportunity she could to point out anything about him that wasn’t strictly ‘normal’. I absolutely love it there with Dex. Mr. Dizznee is the kindest, most loving person ever—a huge contrast to my barely around, statue of a father. Plus, it always smells really nice in the store.

“Oh… well, we have precalc together, but she hasn’t said anything to me. She hasn’t said anything all summer—I feel like she's matured, a bit. Probably.” He sounds fairly put down, and I use his voice to guide me in the direction to wrap him in a one armed hug.

“Sorry I brought it up. But let me know if anything happens,” I say and he chuckles and pushes me away. From those few moments, I can tell he’s almost taller than me—which doesn’t feel right.

“No worries. Let's get you to class,” he says, and I can tell he’s being honest—it doesn’t bother him. Which is good, in my opinion. He’s growing up. Sometimes I feel like such a dad.

We walk into the main doors of the building and make our way down a few hallways. I use my photographic (ha) memory to make my way, but Dex still stays close to me, not letting me bump into kids or trip. I appreciate it, because I don’t have to use my cane—I might not be able to see them, but I can feel the people staring at me when I have it out.

“Well, we're here. We have, like, 15 minutes before class starts, though,” Dex states.

“I know- I always show up early,” I reply. “I mean, the other option is sitting in the cafeteria.” I shrug.

“Well, I might as well go to my class then. Brech told me yesterday I should come in if I had questions- and she assigned a couple starter worksheets. I gotta deal with that.” Even though I can’t see it, I can practically hear his frown.

“No worries,” I tell him, and he gently pats my shoulder before walking off. I pull out my cane, letting it guide me into the still unfamiliar classroom. The milky blobs of color offer little help as to finding a seat, so unfortunately this tends to be necessary.

“Hey! You should sit here.” A familiar voice says from the back corner. I rack my brain—Linh!

“Oh! Hey,” I reply. “Umm, where are you, exactly?” I ask, sounding really cool, I’m sure. I hate needing help.

“Just back here- this chair would be great.” She knocks on what I presume is the chair next to her. I use the sound to guide me, as well as the cane.

“Thank you,” I say, smiling. “You know, it's really hard to find a seat around here. Like, I literally can't see any! Must be budget cuts,” I say, grinning. There's a pause, then a small laugh.

“Some private school. They can't even afford chairs.” I chuckle.

“I mean- where’s the proof that there's even a building. Or classrooms! You gotta see to believe, and I certainly don't see, so…” I trail off and nod seriously. She laughs- I’m grateful. Blind jokes don’t go well with everyone. “Anyways, how are you?” I change the topic with a grin. “Long time no see.” This pulls out another laugh.

“Well, I’m ok. My schedule has been pretty stressful—but other than that, good. I’m still trying to make friends. I didn’t mention it yesterday, but this is my first year at Foxfire,” she says. I nod in acknowledgment.

“So, kinda on your own then? That’s not easy,” I reply, wondering if I should introduce her to the group. She seems nice enough, and, I hate to admit it, but half of being a part of our group is not being a piece of crap about me being blind. And all of us secretly being idiots.

“Well, there’s my brother—we’re twins. But other than that, yeah.” She sighs softly.

“Oh! You have a brother. That’s always nice,” I say.

“Well, yeah. He’s super over-protected. We got sucked into the foster care system, because… of some things, and there was a lot of bad things, which he always felt he had to keep me from. But we found a really great family now! They’re very nice, and actually acknowledge me and Tam’s ability. We’ve always been considered smart, but nobody really cared. They we're just in it for the money. Our new parents, however, have money, which is nice. So when they found out our test scores, they sent us here.” I nod in acknowledgement—Sophie went through some similar things before she got adopted by Grady and Edaline.

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry you’ve been through that,” I say, trying to find the right words. “It’s really good that you’re here now. Even though I’m pretty convinced there isn’t an actual school, I’ve been told that it’s nice.” She laughs at this.

“Yeah, so have I. Oh! I almost forgot. I’m in your stats class. Frer was just being rude the whole period, so I didn’t have a chance to say anything,” Linh says. I grin.

“Nice! Now that I know, you officially have to help me prank him at least once this year.” I tell her, very seriously.

“Oh…I don’t know about that.” she sounds apprehensive.

“I mean, you don’t have to. But I’m going to do it, so you may as well help.”

“I’ll think about it.” She says, and the door opens.

“Oh! Hello, you two. Early again?” A feminine voice—our teacher’s—says.

“You know it,” I tell her, smiling.

“Alright, well. You have a little bit less than five minutes before class starts, so go ahead and continue what you we’re doing.” Based on her tone—the bright, too cheery one that I hear a lot- I can tell she’s a little annoyed. I try not to let that affect me.

“Hey—I’m gonna work on some AP physics stuff,” Linh says, and I can tell she doesn’t really want to talk with the teacher there- even if its casual conversation. I nod, and let my thoughts be my own for the moment.

At least I’m used to it.

*****

Not much happens the next couple of periods—Fitz and I work on English together, and Dex and I use morse code to ‘pass notes’ in AP physics. He’s really good at science (like, really good), so he skipped a year and is in APP2 as a junior. I appreciate it- he’ll be a help for when I actually feel like studying. During Lunch, Dex and I sit at our table and Linh came to sit with us, introducing herself to Dex. In Government, I sit on my own and listened to the online assignments. In Stats, Linh manages to find a spot next to me and helps me out with the worksheet.

I find myself needing to go to the bathroom, so I ask to be excused. On my way there, a familiar voice calls my name.

“Keefe! Hey. Um.”

“Foster! Uh… what’s up?” I ask.

“Oh! Nothing. But, hey, do you think that you could come over tonight? There’s… there’s something I really want to talk to you about.” Just from her voice, I hear she’s slightly frazzled. Nervous.

“Are you ok, Sophie? Is someone bothering you again?” My mind jumps back to when she was first adopted by Grady and Edaline, and all the crap other kids gave her.

“No! It’s not like that. Just, something I wanna talk about. I need advice.” I smile.

“Ah. You need the wise old Keefester to help you out. Well, no worries, m’lady, I will do what I can. You want me to come over?”

“Yeah. I’ll just have Fitz drop both of us off at my place, Biana can ride on her own—sound good?”

“As long as you have food, I’m okay with anything.” She laughs softly.

“Of course. See you.” I hear her walk away, and smile to myself—I think back to when I had feelings for her, and can’t help but think about how they’ve changed- she’s like a younger sister to me now. It’s odd.

I go to the restroom and return to class, thinking about what Sophie might have to tell me that made her that nervous.

Stats class ends (for me), and my minds swimming with Frer’s stupidity as I go to Latin. I get there around when the bell rings to dismiss everyone else, and I find a seat close to the door. People filter out and in the classroom, and then someone speaks.

“Dude! Keefe, I forgot you we're in this class.” Fitz says, and a grin spreads across my face.

“Yeah, you had that Freshman help thing yesterday. You know there’s only one AP Latin 2, dumbass.” I respond, and he chuckles. I hear him put his stuff next to me.

“How was this class yesterday?” He asks, and I shrug.

“We barely did anything. Got a list of vocab and grammar to review.” I tell him, pulling up my bag to get my computer.

“That’s valid. Not gonna lie, I’m glad I missed it.” This makes me laugh.

“Oh, no—Wonderboy didn’t want to go to class? That’s a fuckin abomination.” I reply sarcastically, and the bell rings. I can hear Fitz scoff, but our teacher starts talking so he can’t respond. We get a reading prompt, and I have to go into the hall and listen to it. The teacher doesn’t let Fitz come out and help me, which sucks- but I have to consider the situation. Which also sucks. I hate having to be worked around.

One thing that really bothers me about our teacher, Sam, is she never lets me leave early. So Fitz has to help me through the crowd of people. The kids don’t really acknowledge me, but having so many people around that I can’t see, don’t know, that don’t care sends massive spikes of anxiety through me. Fitz does a really good job at helping me, his steady hand on my shoulder the whole time, making sure we both get through the crowd.

I’m so damn grateful for him sometimes.

We finally manage to get out of the building and to Fitz’s car. He unlocks it, and I climb into his car carefully. I can hear as he types on his phone, likely texting someone.

“How’s shit at home been going?” He asks, somewhat startling me.

“Oh. Well, not much has happened, really,” I admit with a shrug. “He’s been out a lot lately- I don’t have to interact with him much.”

“Good. We’re not gonna let him give you shit this year, got it?” I laugh.

“You’re so overprotective, Fitzy. I can handle my dad.”

“I’m serious, Keefe. None of this is your fault. Especially now with your mom gone… we-”

“I get it, Fitz. I know.” While I do love Fitz with my whole heart, he can be… overbearing. I reach out and search for his shoulder. “I’ll be okay.” I give him (what I assume to be) an award winning smile. “Besides, I got this year in the bag. All my pranks? Planned out to the t. I won’t get in trouble all year, I swear.” Fitz scoffs, but it’s lighthearted and followed by a chuckle.

“All right Keefe. I’m sorry.” He sounds genuine and I lean into him, letting my head rest on his shoulder. He can be a stubborn little shit sometimes, but he’s… a good friend.

“Oh my god, that’s fucking adorable.” The door crashes open and Dex steps inside. “You guys are gross, though.” He adds.

“PDA is not the Foxfire way.” Sophie says, jokingly.

“I will kiss him, right here, right now. Fight me,” Fitz says, joking but aggressive. Protective as ever. I laugh and push away, settling back into my normal seat.

“I think once is enough, isn’t it?” Dex laughs, but there’s something in his voice… I ignore it, and grin.

“Not when I’m involved. Trust me, even Fitz Vacker wants a piece of this.” I say, grinning and indicating myself.

“Not that you would know,” Fitz responds, ruffling my hair.

“Dude, I don’t even have to see to know how incredibly attractive I am,” I inform them.

“No need to argue with that.” Dex chuckles.

“Oh!” Sophie popes up. “I forgot to mention. Keefe’s comin over, could you just drop us both off at my place? I can get him back, Edaline normally doesn’t mind.” I’m actually the only one of the group that lives in town- everyone else lives in the country, because their parents needed or liked having the land.

“That makes it easy for me. Let’s go, brethren.” I don’t know when Fitz started referring to us at that, but I still think it’s hilarious. I snort at his idiocy, and we head off.

“Dex, are you doing debate this year?” I pipe up. I’m EXCITED for debate season.

“Yeah. I’m actually writing some stuff right now, on how to not be a little bitch.” Dex says, laughing.

“Dex, PLEASE. You’d do really good,” I argue. “Just write an oratory on veganism or something!”

“Dude, you’ve been trying this for the past two years- the meetings clash with robotics. Besides, why would I want to right an oratory when you’ve placed first twice now.”

“Not that that mattered,” I contest. “Considering my dad didn’t let me go.”

“Pleeeasseee. For me.”

“FINE. I’ll go to one meeting. Only because there’s no robotics and Sophie’s going. No offense Keefe, but you suck.” I stick my tongue out at him, but grin happily. I’ve been trying to do this for YEARS.

“You guys are such nerds,” Fitz inputs, and I hit his shoulder. “Oh, you know it’s true.” I scoff.

“Says the president of the chess club.” Sophie states, laughing.

“We don’t talk about that.” Fits says, and I feel the car pull to a stop. “We’re here, Sophie. Keefe, you too. Dex- get up here you little shit.”

“Hey. Don’t disrespect my son like that.” Sophie tells, and I hear Dex grumble a bit.

“Fitz, if you’re not busy, wanna do something? Like, I dunno, egg some annoying blondes?” I snort. Dex has learned well.

“Um, yes to the first part, no to the second. That’s a lot of work. Also, aren’t you vegan?”

“Oh! Yeah, that.” Dex says casually. I laugh, and step out and away from the car carefully.

“Have fun, nerds!” Sophie calls as they drive off, and I grin in her direction.

“So, Miss F, what was it you wanted to tell me?” I ask, and I can practically feel the shift in her mood.

“Oh. Um. Yeah. Come inside?” I nod, and she guides me to the doors.

“Sounds serious,” I tell her.

“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. Just… something that’s been on my mind for the past few months. Especially… I dunno.”

“Wanna go to your room first?”

“Yeah. Um…” I can tell she’s nervous, and likely picking at her eyelashes- what many people have told me to be her nervous tick. We walk over to her room in moderate silence.

“What’s the sitch?” I ask, and Sophie laughs- and replies with the Kim Possible beep. “Seriously though, what’s on your mind. Unless you wanted me over just to admire how incredibly handsome I happen to be.”

“Well, um, no… uh.” She sighs. I search around for a chair and sit down.

“Hey. It’s okay. Whatever it is, I’m here for you.

“Well, I. I think. I’m gay, I think. Like, maybe not full gay, but pretty gay. Like, girls are cool gay. Really cool. But maybe not, I don’t? Know If I’m Actually Gay Gay. Maybe I’m just thinking and stuff, but I’m probably gay? I think? I don-”

“Sophie. Hey. It’s okay.” I interrupt, to keep her from going insane. “Take a few deep breaths.” I hear her do so. “You know none of us will judge you. Right?”

“Yeah. Yeah. I guess, I just don’t want to make a big deal of it.”

“I get it. I’m glad you told me, though.” I smile at her warmly.

“Well. That’s all I really wanted to tell you. I guess.”

“Wanna play Smash?”

“Yeah.”

****

That night I get home relatively late- Sophie feeds me and we play video games for quite a while. We didn’t talk about what she told me- I want to respect her space.

“Where have you been?” My father, voice stern, says. I haven’t even closed the door yet.

“Sophie’s.” I respond, automatically pulling on a calm expression and heightening my posture. I shut the door softly.

“And what, may I ask, were you doing?” His voice is condescending.

“We were playing video games and I lost track of time- I’m sorry.” He scoffs.

“I’m sure. Do you have any homework?” There's the implied ‘that you didn’t do’ at the end.

“Not really. I have some reading I can do, though.” I admit. I’ve learned that lying to my father doesn’t work. Ever.

“You better get on that.” He sneers, and I try to keep my expression respectful and blank.

“Of course. I’m sorry.” I say, and walk in the direction of my bedroom. “Debate starts Thursday, by the way.”

“Convenient. The day that I have off.” He scoffs back.

“I’m sorry dad. Do you want me to come home? They won’t mind if I miss the first meeting.” I try not to yell, or say anything that will anger him.

“I don’t care. Go finish your reading.” He says. I can tell that he’s not lying- he doesn’t care.

I bite my tongue and nod. Then I go finish my reading.

[virmillion]

Ibytm - T minus 9 seconds

Masterpost - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter - ao3

Words: 1,741

Logan stares out the window, watching nothing, seeing nothing, feeling nothing. No breeze, no leaves, no kids, no backpacks, no nothing. Everything is empty and still, the world having turned in for an early night and leaving Logan in the dust.

“You gonna drink any of your coffee?”

It’s more of an afterthought than actual acknowledgement of the question when Logan turns his head to see Virgil pointing at his mug, untouched on the table. “Maybe.”

“Alright, well, just hurry up, or it’ll get cold, and then I’ll drink it, and then where would we be?”

“Responsibly consuming the goods our hard-earned money went toward purchasing?” Virgil squints at Logan with a strange look in his eyes, and Logan wonders whether now would be a good time to bring up that whole ‘ideal career disparity thing. As he opens his mouth to discuss as much, the door swings open and the bell chimes cheerfully. It’ll have to wait, then.

“Hi, we did a door dash for Patton?” Patton calls, waving to the barista. She smiles and nods and holds up two cups, one of which she passes off to Roman. “Thanks much!”

“Anything exciting happen yet? We miss any significant developments?” Roman asks in lieu of greeting as he plops himself to Logan’s right. Patton perches on the chair opposite Roman, exchanging that same weird elbowshake with Virgil again—backwards this time, since they’re on opposite sides, but it looks strange either way. So.

“Not really,” Virgil mumbles, finally taking Logan’s cup for himself. “I guess this one is on a silent treatment tirade for no reason, so that’s neat.”

“Oh, is he now?” Roman’s voice is much more mischievous than Logan would prefer it to be. “Logan, did you tell him about—”

“No.” An uncomfortable silence falls in the wake of his abrupt answer, but Logan is hardly aware of it as he returns his gaze to the window. A thin layer of clouds has descended, a weak veil to shield the stars from the rest of the world, and he wonders. Not about anything in particular. He just wonders.

“So!” Patton says brightly. “Virgil, you still on for that big-up tour group tomorrow?”

“Yeah, no, for sure.” Logan wonders whether there’s something he’s supposed to notice about the tone of Virgil’s voice, but he certainly has no idea what that would be. “So, what, do they have a huge final coming up or something? The groups don’t normally get that big.”

“No, but there’s some extra credit opportunity that a bunch of the main feeder schools got together to start up, since the students this year haven’t been—”

The conversation falters and fades from Logan’s ears as he watches the clouds floating across the sky. Pretty unnerving, if you think about it, how ‘space’ as most people normally define it is only sixty-eight miles away. He could drive a car straight upward for an hour or so and just be in space. Off the planet. Literally out of this world, and it’s only an hour’s drive away, and he’s stuck here with the suffocating gravity of Earth. His legs suddenly feel very heavy.

“Hello? Mission control to Logan?”

Logan absently turns his head, and he’s pretty sure his eyes land somewhere around Roman’s face, but they refuse to focus. “Yeah.”

“Did you tell them about the follow-up?”

“No.”

“Did, um—did you want to?”

“No.”

That same silence returns. Logan wonders.

“Okay. Um, so, Patton, remember that new assignment I was telling you about, the one Cassidy thought—”

“What would happen if we found life off Earth, beyond our solar system?” Logan asks suddenly. Roman gives him wary look, but the question is already out in the open. Nothing to be done for it now. Logan wonders.

“Um, it would be pretty cool, I guess?” Patton tries. There’s something in his voice that Logan doesn’t know what to do with. “Hopefully it’d be peaceful and friendly?”

“Why do you ask?” Virgil sounds about as interested in this conversation as Logan was in the previous one—which is to say, not interested in the slightest. Maybe he’s looking at the clouds outside. Maybe he’s looking past them, too.

“What would we do if they contacted us? What if they insisted on meeting on their turf, maybe light years away, a guaranteed one-way trip because we don’t know who would walk out of that meeting alive? What if they said no? Would they come here and raze the planet? Is sacrificing one person to the possibility of expansion worth protecting the billions of lives that don’t even know it’s happening? Would it make a difference if you knew that one person?”

“Slow down, Lo, take a breath or something.” Roman’s voice, in an attempt to soothe Logan, only serves to agitate him further.

“What if it was you? What if it was me?”

“That’s not really—” Roman begins, but Virgil has apparently had just about enough of this.

“Then everyone is screwed, and you bringing shop talk to coffee night would have done nothing to prevent it. Is there anything you actually want to talk about?”

“I just—”

“Because if not, then why are we even here? Why did you come out here to sulk and stare out the window and bring down the conversation when Patton and Roman could be doing literally anything else besides listen to you whining about hypotheticals?”

Logan bites at a piece of dead skin on his lip, wincing when it tears off some of the fresh underlayer with it. “Not like I have anything else I can talk about.”

“Because work is your life, that’s right, how could I forget?”

“Oh, like you’re one to talk.”

“Say that again.”

Admittedly, this is neither the time nor place Logan expected to have this conversation, but he’s said it himself multiple times—it does have to happen eventually. No time like the present. “Like you’re one to talk. The only job you can actually claim is as a temporary tour guide who sometimes shows up on alternate days to a museum that can get away with paying you less than you deserve for what you do.”

“The kids pay me, actually, in tips that are neither required nor solicited, because they know how much I care about doing a good job and helping them. How do you know you’re doing a good job if you get paid the same amount every other week, no matter how crappy your work is?”

“Because you’ve so clearly forgotten that I was promoted and given a salary increase, right? Because surely that had nothing to do with the new car, or the likelihood of a motorcycle, right? Because obviously the spare change from those kids is what’s paying for our auto and life insurance, right?”

“That is not fair.”

“You want to talk to me about fair? ” Logan explodes. He can see Roman flinching away in his peripheral vision, but he doesn’t care. “Is it fair that you get to be the emotional one? Is it fair that you always get to get mad about whatever trivial thing crossed you that day, while I suck up my fucking pride and come apologize to you when not once, not a single time in four fucking years, have you realized that maybe, just fucking maybe, you might be in the wrong? Is that not fair? Is it? Because if not, then why don’t you go ahead and tell me what is fair, hm? Is it fair that you live on your own schedule and barely scrape by with what that nets you? Is it fair that you choose to act like a child who still thinks money grows on the trees in the tooth fairy’s garden?”

“It is if that’s the life I chose to lead. I never asked you to start funneling your bank account into my life.”

“But you agreed to as much when you proposed, yes? When you said your ‘I do?’ That’s not exactly a small question and answer combination you just tossed out for no reason, is it? I would even venture that you knew what you were doing, being a grown adult, and you still—”

“Okay!” Patton yells, banging his fist on the table hard enough to rattle the window. Logan shrinks away from it, and even Virgil seems to recoil. By some miracle, the barista—and any of the other coffee shop patrons, for that matter—are nowhere to be seen. “This is absolutely outside the boundary of appropriate conversations to have on a nice coffee night, but if y’all wanna have it, we can have it.

“Logan, you need to lay off Virgil. He was getting by just fine on his own before you, and you need to stop acting so high and mighty about the opportunities your life and upbringing has afforded you, because not everyone comes from a family that can put them through a prestigious college that funnels them straight into a selective and competitive area of the workforce.” Virgil juts his chin out at Logan and crosses his arms, but Patton isn’t done yet. “Virgil, you need to accept that not everything static, and you can’t get by on pennies and favors forever, even if you have distant parents behind the curtain to catch you if you fall. Logan is trying to have a reasonable discussion with you about your futures—which, like it or not, are connected—and you keep shutting him out or shutting him down, plugging your ears and babbling because your pride is too important to consider that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t kill you to ask for help once in a while. You’re both acting like children. Grow the fuck up.”

With that, Patton shoves his chair back and stomps out of the cafe. Logan isn’t sure whether he’s breathing anymore. He looks at Roman, who opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again, and shakes his head. Not even offering a farewell, Roman stands and follows Patton out the door.

“Virgil, I—”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Virgil moves for the door. Logan doesn’t lift a hand to stop him. He instead turns his head toward the window again, the world still empty, still passive, still silent. He wonders whether Virgil can see the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes through the glass. He doesn’t wipe them away.

He just wonders.