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woniepop · 3 years

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➜ sunghoon had never fallen in love with anything the way he did with skating. the wind in his face, the crunch of the ice beneath his feet, it was wonderful. and yet, something about it made your blood boil. you once loved ice skating too, for the same reasons as he, but maybe all you needed was a simple goodbye to understand park sunghoon.

wc: 4.6k

genre: ice skating au, best friends to lovers (ish), angst, fluff, romance, slice of life

content warnings: illness, mentions of medication, mentions of blood, death, mentions of anxiety, mentions of fainting, hospitals, angst, death of a loved one

heavily based off Your Lie in April

tagging: @svnghoonie @unghoon @swanlakesujin @heeblr @sweetseung @ferxanda @katberri @usdolans @kisshoons @scintillasofbeomgyu @leemika @qngelhoonie

a/n: hi everyone! this is my first time i’m writing something like this, so i hop eyou guys enjoy it because i’d be super down to write more in the future.

Friday, October 16, 2020

The busy sounds of couples, families, and friends fill the air as the cold wind hits your face. Holding hands with your mom, you glide through the ice, laughter filling the entire rink. The bleachers, the other skaters, the floor, it all disappears and the only thing that’s left is you and your mom. Your seven year old self had never felt so alive.

And yet, here you were, seventeen, staring off into the ice rink as other kids and their mothers ice skated. Ever since you fell in love with the sport it had been the bane of your existence. Mom died, so you stopped. You swore to never go back again, it gave you anxiety. You tried, you really did, but something about being on the ice reminded you so much of the past you wanted to leave behind. It went downhill from then on.

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” a familiar voice calls out to you. Sunghoon, who had been practicing for his upcoming competition, leans against the side of the rink, talking to you who was sitting on the bleachers.

“Just my mom again,” you reply.

“It’s been a while since she passed away, huh. Should we go get some ice cream to cheer you up then?” He says as he skates towards the exit, walking to you. You stand up, bag in hand, and wait for him to change out of his skates. Sunghoon, who had been your best friend since your five year old skating class, had been with you through everything. He always seemed to know just what to say to cheer you up.

“Hey, y/n. Do you think you’d ever try to skate again?” Sunghoon asks, fully knowing the answer but hoping maybe this time it'll be different.

“Haha, you really want me to get back into skating that badly?”

“Well, it’s been a while since you’ve done it. You don’t have to compete with me again, you know. But why don’t you just try it again for fun?”

You stop in your tracks and think about it. It wouldn’t hurt to try for fun. It was your life at one point. “Fine, tomorrow afternoon. But that’s it.” you say, watching his face light up.

Saturday, October 17, 2020

“Don’t let go, Sunghoon. I SAID DON’T LET GO.” You shout, as he laughs.

“Y/n, just relax. You know this. I’m letting go now.”

“SUNGHOON!” you shout. Your legs bent and you stand in place, too scared to move. You watch as he takes your hand and guides you around the rink. The nostalgia comes rushing back. The wind in your face, the feeling of your feet gliding across the ice like nothing, it had been so long. Before you realize it, you had let go of Sunghoon and gone way ahead of him. Looking back, you find him smiling at you. You remember this feeling, and you loved it.

You’d definitely got your love of skating from your mom. Being the daughter of a professional skater, it had been your dream to be like her. She was and always will be your role model. When you had quit skating you wondered if she’d be disappointed in you for quitting, but thoughts of her always flooded your mind and you could never focus on the task at hand. You knew your mom would never be disappointed in you, but you were disappointed in you.

It had been half an hour of skating and an all too familiar voice calls out to you.

“Y/n!”

“Mom?” you say in response. You look back, no one. Not soon after, your breathing gets heavy, the world starts spinning and the nostalgia of the rink gets washed over by spots of black, your head was pounding. You keep looking. Where was she? Why was this happening? You wanted to hug her. Was she proud of you? Upset that you didn’t skate anymore? Why did she leave you? Before you know it, you could feel Sunghoon holding you on the floor before going unconscious.

Sunday, October 18, 2020

“Y/n, I’m so sorry.” Sunghoon says, clutching your hand while kneeling next to your bed.

“Sunghoon, I’m fine. It’s not your fault.”

“BUT IT IS! I asked you to skate with me and now you’re hurt.”

“I’m not hurt. It’s okay.” you say as you rub the back of his hand with your thumb. You look at the clock. 7pm. It was the next day. “Don’t you have practice? Let’s go.”

“What do you mean let’s go?!? You just woke up??” Sunghoon utters in a panic.

“Yeah, which means I’m energized. I need to make sure you don’t stay there for too long and hurt yourself too.” you say, standing up to shoo Sunghoon out so you can change. “Wait on the couch,”

A few moments later you both were out the door and on the bus to the ice rink.

“I’m not going to stay for long then. I don’t want you to be out for too long.” He decides.

“That’s fine.”

The noise Sunghoon’s skates made as they hit the ice and the chilly air gave you comfort as you watched him run through his routine. Running his fingers through his hair, your eyes follow him wherever he went. He knew you were watching, which was why he was putting on his best performance. The both of you had never felt butterflies for each other like the way you did now. Before you knew it, the two of you were falling hard.

“Y/n, let’s go now.” Sunghoon says as his chest rises up and down, panting from his last run.

“Okay, you did good today.” You compliment him as you walk to the bus. His hand accidentally bumps into yours. You desperately wished that he had gone to hold yours, but he was just your best friend. Nothing more. The ride was filled with a comfortable silence. You stared out the window while Sunghoon stared at you. Feeling his gaze on you, you turn to look at him only for him to turn away and pretend like he was looking the other way. Having spent almost everyday for the past ten years with Sunghoon, you guys never needed to talk constantly, having each other there was just enough to have a great day.

You get off together, but Sunghoon was acting suspiciously jittery. He walks you home, but you see him turn the opposite direction of your house once you’re inside. Weird.

Alone, Sunghoon gets back on the bus. His home was close enough to walk from your house, though. “What was he doing?”, you thought.

Arriving at his destination, Sunghoon sighs as he puts a hand up to his backpack strap.

“Name?” the receptionist asks.

“Park Sunghoon.”

“Sunghoon! I’m sorry to see you back. You’ve grown so well. The doctor is ready for you in room 306. Good luck!”

In and out of hospitals ever since the seventh grade, twelve year old Sunghoon stands in the dark hospital hallway, watching his parents cry in the moonlit lobby. He didn’t have much time left, he thought.

Trudging through the all too familiar hallways, Sunghoon makes a left turn and opens the fourth door to the right. He knew this place like the back of his hand.

“Hey Sunghoon! Welcome back! Just take a seat over there and I’ll start preparing to run some tests and then we’ll talk about starting your physical therapy.” The doctor says in a way too cheerful voice.

“That sound’s good. Thank you.” Sunghoon replies. Hearing the sound of the door clicking shut, Sunghoon sat deep in thought. He wanted to skate with you again, but he was worried about your health. Just one more time. That was what he wanted. The glimmer in your eyes, you huge yet adorable smile. He wanted to see it again.

Next Saturday, October 24, 2020

The day started out hectic but you finally found your seat in the stands. You waited for them to announce Sunghoon. Alas, he came gliding out and the crowd was already cheering. Before he starts his eyes search for you, smile widening when his eyes finally meet with yours. Although he had other passions, like skating, his favorite one would always be you. The music starts and the audience quiets down. You had probably seen this routine over 100 times, but something about the setting, the mood, made it seem like a whole new dance. Every move he made drew you further in. He pushed the audience to the edge of their seats leaving them in awe. It was all for you. Everything about him at that moment was brilliant. Once he ends, the audience roars and Sunghoon, not surprisingly, ends up winning. Of course he won. He was your Sunghoon.

You make a beeline towards the performers’ hall and jump onto Sunghoon’s back, accidentally hitting his face with the flowers you had purchased a few moments before.

“Y/n, I told you to stop buying me these. They’re a waste of money.” Sunghoon giggles, happy to see you. You’d had always brushed them off as a pretty reward for a pretty performer, but there had always been a separate meaning behind the red tulips you give him. They would always end up in your home, in the glass vase next to the couch. A gift from your father to your mother, every Friday. Red tulips, the symbol of true love.

“Alright, I need to go change, wait here.” he says, leaving you behind.

An hour goes by and you were starting to get a bit worried. You knock on his changing room door. Nothing. Did he leave without you? You knock on the door again, and nothing. Opening the door, your eyes widen and you let out a gasp. Sunghoon had fainted due to exhaustion and the blood from his head injury had stained the floor.

You call the ambulance and thankfully they arrive quickly. Refusing to leave Sunghoon’s side, you watch as the nurses wrap bandages around his head. This had been the first time you’d seen Sunghoon like this. Was it happening often? Did he not get enough sleep last night?

“Sunghoon, I’m glad to see you’re awake. You passed out from exhaustion again and we’ve handled your head injury. You’re free to go anytime.” The doctor says.

“Again?” you ask.

“Yeah, but only a long time ago. You don’t need to worry about it.” Sunghoon says. “My parents have been overreacting and making me get routine tests, though.”

As a kid, you hated going to the hospital, and Sunghoon knew that. It was bland, it was boring, but most of all it’s the place you lost your mother. You hated the hospital. You’d come almost every month, week even, watching them run tests on your mom, prescribe her what seemed to be like hundreds of different medications, it was terrible. Losing your parent to cancer was not fun. No more skating, no more family days, no more cheering at competitions. Your family dinners turning to just you and your dad, and then just you. Referring to your parents as my “parent,”. Learning how to live life without the person you cherished most. It seemed like your life revolved around that retched place you called the hospital.

The rain poured and thunder boomed through the quiet hospital. He had sent you home before it rained, not wanting you to get wet and sick from the cold. Sunghoon sat still and thought to himself in his bed. “I see, so I’ve passed out again,” he thinks.

Monday, October 26, 2020

The chair screeches across the floor as Sunghoon drags it to your desk.

“Y/nnnnnnn” he whines, seeing you eat your gummy worms.

“No.”

“But I’m hungryyyy” he cries. You roll your eyes, placing one in his hand. You watch as he holds one side close to his mouth as if he was waiting for something.

“Sunghoon, what are you doing?” you ask.

“Bite the other side” he says, causing your face to go red.

“No”

“yes”

“no”

“why not?” he says with his best attempt at puppy eyes and a pout.

“why?” you ask, hoping he hasn’t noticed your tomato red face yet

“cause I want to. we can lady and tramp it.” he says. “you know you want to.”

“I’m not going to lady and tramp a gummy worm with you. eat it or i’m taking it back.” you argue.

“Fine, but I have a proposal.” he announces. “I want to enter the next competition with you. Just one. Give me one more duet before you quit for good.”

“no,” you reply. “I’m never skating again.”

“Why not? You love it”

“Why do you want me to skate so badly?” you ask. He didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t tell you the real reason. He couldn’t tell you he was dying, that was a huge no.

“I miss being able to skate with my best friend. I feel so lonely.” he says, puppy eyes resurfacing.

“I’ll think about it then.”

“Good. Meet me at the ice rink on Saturday at 10am” he exclaims before getting up to go back to his desk.

“I haven’t even agreed.”

“Oops I can’t hear you!” he says as you roll your eyes.

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Little you steps off the ice as tears threatened to pour out of your eyes. Running out of the rink into the changing room, you latch on to your mother.

“Mommy, I’m not gonna win,” you say. Her hand comes up to run her fingers through your hair. She coos at you until your breathing has relaxed.

“Why don’t you think you’d win, honey? I loved watching you out there. You were so beautiful.” she says.

“I fell on the ice! Winners don’t do that. I wanted to win just like you.” you manage to sniffle out. You feel your mother give you a kiss on the forehead before kneeling and holding both of your hands.

“Ah, you see, my love, they do! Mommy fell all the time! She still falls! I promise you no winner has never fallen. Mommy only wins because she knows what it’s like to fall! Even if you don’t win, mommy is very proud of you, okay?” she says.

You bolt up from your sleep. It was just a dream. Scrunching your face, holding back the tears that threatened to spill out, you force yourself to get ready for the day, not giving any time to be sad and reminisce.

You enter the complex, Sunghoon standing at the entrance of the rink, impatiently waiting for you. He was so excited. This was going to work out for him. You both walk to the bleachers to satrt lacing your skates, Sunghoon practically bouncing off the walls.

“Aw man, I forgot my hair tie” you complain. Sunghoon pauses lacing his boots and holds his arm out to you.

“Here” Sunghoon says as you look at the extra hair tie on his wrist.

“Why do you have these.” you ask.

“You always forget.” he says, unsurprised.

“Awwww you were thinking of me?” you teased.

“Of course, idiot. Did you forget? I’m never not thinking of you” Sunghoon argued, wallking away, leaving you dumbfounded and blushing like a tomato.

Once again you step into the rink. You were stronger this time. Taking a deep breath you start to glide across the ice once again. It was very unsettling, though. Being on the ice, having fainted the last time you were here. Both you and Sunghoon were on edge, but you were determined to help him win this competition.

The day was filled with talking with your instructor, cleaning up your spins and jumps, and getting back to where you were before. You were getting it and you showed no signs of panic. Sunghoon was so proud of you. YOU were proud of you.

Sunghoon was happy, and he was hopeful. On his walk home all his thoughts were filled with you. Loving you ever since the seventh grade, when he found out he had an illness. He had decided never to tell you, fearing his time would come and leave you alone, but it was too late now. He didn’t want to push you away, you were his ride or die. His heart ached, he didn’t want to say goodbye. He didn’t want you to have to live alone.

Opening the door to his home, he walks through the hallway, leaning against the wall limping to his room. Every big event Sunghoon would write you a letter, and so tonight he poured his heart out onto this piece of paper, tears staining his face.

Sunday, November 1, 2020

On Sunday, you show up to his house unexpectedly but not surprisingly. “Sunghoon, get dressed. We’re going to the market.” you say. Without question, he does as you ask and you both head to the market in no time.

Walking down the ice cream aisle, you grab all the flavors you enjoy, filling your whole basket with different ice creams, toppings, fruit, drinks, and even a cake. “You’re quite hungry, aren’t you?” Sunghoon teases, earning him a slap to the arm.

As soon as you get home, you send Sunghoon alone to his bedroom, telling him you need time to prepare everything. You had pulled all the stops, whipping out the cheap snoopy shaved ice maker, birthday party hats, streamers, balloons, and banners. It was no one’s birthday in particular, but the fake birthday party put you in a festive and refreshing mood. You had set up a giant ice cream sundae bar, and had even made lemonade.

Calling Sunghoon to come out of the bedroom, he was not surprised but very impressed. Wanting to make it even more fun, he suggests to make sundaes for one another, which you happily agree to. The day was so fun, and it was hardly possible, but Sunghoon had fallen in love with you even more.

Sunghoon was so happy that you planned something like this. He was never one to do anything cute for you unless you begged, so this time he wanted to show you how grateful he was to you by giving you one FREE boop on the nose. Scooping some ice cream with his fingertip, he lightly taps your nose, leaving the melted strawberry ice cream to drip off your nose. You turn to look at him in disgust, eventually dipping your finger in the ice cream and starting a war.

Monday, November 2, 2020

From: Sunghoon (sent at 7:30am)

[ GOOD MORNIN PARTY PEOPLE!!! ]

From: you

[ where are you ]

From: Sunghoon

[ Oh yeah I forgot to tell you I’m not coming today. ]

From: you

[ what, why? I don’t wanna eat lunch alone like a loser. ]

From: Sunghoon

[ oh yeah. i’m back at the hospital LMAOOOO ]

From: you

[ WHY ]

From: Sunghoon

[ idk i forgot. i just woke up here and they were like “hihi” and i said “hihi” back ]

From: you

[ you are unbelievable. i’m coming after school. ]

From: Sunghoon

[ NO DON’T ]

From: you

[ why ]

From: Sunghoon

[ i don’t wanna get yelled at again. only come if you bring me more gummy worms ]

From: you

[ fine. since you’re sick ]

You acted like you didn’t care, but you were so worried. What could’ve happened? Why couldn’t he remember? Even when bed ridden, he still managed to get you to fall head over heels.

That afternoon, you arrive at the hospital, finding Sunghoon playing video games while lying in bed. You chuckled. Even with head bandages and an IV drip, he still managed to be his teenage boyish self.

“Y/n! Today was so boring. Can we take a walk in the garden, I’m sick of being here.” he asks, to which you reluctantly agreed.

During your stroll you talked about anything and everything, a common activity you both did.

“How was school today? Did you miss me?” Sunghoon asks cheekily.

“I did actually. I didn’t realize how much time I spend with you until today.” you respond. “But, it was okay. I got your gummy worms and some other snacks too. I know you hate hospital food.”

“Well I missed you too, there was no one but the staff to bother.” He chuckles. “You know, I’m not always going to be around to help you.”

“I know, but we have time.”

Before you knew it, the sun was setting and Sunghoon sent you home so you didn’t have to walk alone in the dark. On his walk back to his room, Sunghoon worried. The thing was, you didn’t have time. The fact that you missed him in just a few hours? How would you feel about forever? He never wanted you to have bad days, let alone be the one to cause them.

Walking through the hallways he trips and falls. Landing on his knees. He tried to get up, but he couldn’t. Why wouldn’t his legs move? He punched his leg. Nothing. Again. It was no use. He had lost feeling in his legs. Tears start pouring out of his eyes. Move, it’s just your leg. Get up. Move. Water droplets fall from his face as he bangs his fist on the floor. Why can’t he move. Eventually he gives up, dragging himself back to his room with his arms. They hurt. His heart hurt. Everything hurt. Was this it?

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

After last night’s events, Sunghoon felt out of it. He wouldn’t be able to go back to school for a while, the nurses claiming that if it happens again the situation can be way worse. He couldn’t skate anymore. He couldn’t see YOU skate anymore. This was it. His illness was getting to him.

With a knock on the door, Sunghoon falls right out of his daze and watches as you come in with another bag of goodies.

“I brought you some stuff from the convenience store.” You say, taking out a bottle of green tea and handing it to him. He reaches out to grab it but as soon as you let go the bottle slips out of his hands.

Ah, so it’s spreading to my arms too, he thinks as he realizes he was too weak to grip the bottle. The doctors told his parents last night that surgery was an option, but it would only give him a little more time, but he wanted to take it. He wanted to be able to skate a little longer. He wanted to make it to the competition.

“I’m in the mood to watch all the Studio Ghibli movies in one sitting.” Sunghoon says as he leans his head back.

“Scoot over,” you reply, getting up to sit in his bed with him. “Good thing I brought my laptop.”

“Are you sure? That’s gonna be like all night.” He asks.

“Of course, I’m always in the mood for you,” you say as Sunghoon wraps an arm around you, prepared for the whole night of cuddling and movie watching.

Half way through the marathon you feel Sunghoon nuzzle his face into your neck. His soft snoring tickled you. You bring your hand up to stroke his hair. Park Sunghoon, I am so in love with you, you think. Your smile. Your eyes. Your lips. Your hair. Your voice. You teasing. The way you say my name. The way you stare at me. The way you talk. The way you smile at me. The way my day isn’t complete without you. I love you.

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

The next day was supposed to be better. Sunghoon was going to see you and you were gonna get him more gummy worms. Sitting up with him on his bed, you were cuddling, and he seemed to be getting paler and paler by the minute. He seemed really tired, like he was sick to his stomach.

You got up to go get him a drink from the vending machine, and as you came back nurses and doctors were rushing in and out of your best friend’s room. Your heart feels like it’s going to beat out of it’s chest and you run to his room. Sunghoon was clutching onto the sides of the bed, doctors scrambling to get the defibrillator going. His heart had stopped.

You’d later learn that he had gone into cardiac arrest, and you watched as the nurses wheeled his bed to the ICU. But the surgery didn’t work, and he didn’t survive. You felt numb. Stretching out a trembling arm, you took hold of Sunghoon’s hand. You shut your eyes and squeezed his palm. It was cold. Your hand trembled harder with each passing second, as if the movement would cause Sunghoon to wake up. Your face buried into the crook of his neck. You nudged the bridge of your nose against the cool skin. Your lips brushed against his collarbone in desperate search of that familiar warmth. Both hands had clasped around Sunghoon’s, quavering without pause. Devastation weighed down on you. It was a surreal feeling, one that you could never in one million years describe. It squeezed you, threatening to crush you from the inside out. The pain seared itself into your soul, hindering him, rendering him speechless to a point where he no longer knew what words were. A sob wretched its way out from your throat. You tried desperately to hold it in. Tried so hard to keep yourself together, but you knew you were too weak to pull such a bluff. Once the second sob had left you, you felt yourself spiraling. There was no hiding it.

The doctor comes to hand you a letter. Weakly reaching out, you read it right away. You were desperate. You needed to hear something from Sunghoon, anything.

Dear Y/n,

HI BESTIE, I know I write you one of these every big event, but I’m afraid this might be my last. I’m sorry if you’re getting the before the competition. I desperately wanted to skate with you, but I guess if you’re reading this then my time has come. I hope you’re doing okay. I don’t want you to miss me too much. Please keep skating. I love watching you skate, more than anything. You look so happy, so carefree. I want you to live like that always. It’s a lot to ask, I know, but I don’t want you to associate something you love so much with sadness. I’m with your mom now, and we’re rooting for you. Always.

I know it was pretty obvious, but I love you. Actually, that’s an understatement. I’m so in love with you that my heart hurts when I’m not with you. I’m in love with you. And I love that I’m in love with you. I love the feelings. The happiness when I think of you, the butterflies when you text me, the excitement I get when I know I’ll get to see you. It’s amazing. And you’re amazing, and I love you. And I’m sorry I had to keep so many secrets. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the competition. I’m sorry for not telling you about my illness. I didn’t want you to carry this burden with me. You’re the light of my life, Y/n. I love you.

Love,

your bestie, sunghoon.

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n0bamak1s · 3 years

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drive you crazy - mai zenin x reader

request: “could you do mai’s reaction to silent treatment? can the read be gender neutral also?” - @hitchsimp

summary: after having to carry mai to the infirmary following the goodwill exchange event, reader finds themself in an argument over mais carelessness. this leads to mai wondering just why she’s so upset over being ignored like this. (genre: enemies to lovers, angst-ish to fluff, oblivious pining)

warnings: mentions of violence, some angst, swearing

word count: 2.2k

a/n: sorry i’ve been kind of slow with writing lately everyone! exams have me pretty busy atm but hopefully i’ll be in less of a slump after i’m done with that. i hope you guys enjoy this in the mean time! also criticism is greatly appreciated bc i’m still kind of a beginner on writing arguments and stuff like that ^_^

mai decided that she hated being ignored.

not that you two were anywhere near best friends or anything, in fact most of the time you guys were at each others throats over something trivial. at least when you guys argued, though, you still acknowledged her presence. she knew you couldn’t stay silent towards her forever, you guys would have to work together eventually, you were teammates of sorts after all.

you had started giving her the cold shoulder not long after the goodwill event. utahime had called you to inform you mai was out of the game, and you had to go retrieve her. you groaned at the idea of having to be her knight in shining armor, but reluctantly began to make your way to the forest that the group had split up in.

by the time you found her lying on the grass, unconscious, you were already irritated as you cursed whoever made these uniforms so stiff to run in. you crouched down to get closer to her level, lightly shaking her shoulder in hopes you would stir her awake. when that didn’t work, you rolled your eyes and picked her up, one hand supporting her upper back and the other tucked under her knees.

at first glance to anyone else who may have seen how you carried her, it would almost seem romantic. thought, their opinions would probably change pretty quickly if they saw how you lectured her when she woke up.

she stirred awake and blinked a couple times to adjust to her surroundings before turning to see your very tired and very annoyed face.

“you could’ve just stuck to the plan, you know.” despite the anger clear in your face as you stated at your lap, your voice had a quality of softness to it mai had never heard. before she could get any words out, you interrupted her train of thought and continued talking. “we made that plan for a reason. you knew you weren’t ready to take on maki, so why would you put yourself in danger like that?” you looked up to make eye contact with her, and she noted the subtle hint of gentleness in your eyes, but not before she jumped to defensiveness.

“what the hell makes you think you know why i wanted to fight maki?” she resented your concern in favor of starting an argument with you.

“have you ever considered that maybe you need to think about how your little revenge fantasy ruins our chances of winning this thing.” the warmth in your voice was now gone, replaced with a tone far from sympathetic. “we’ve all worked hard to get a chance to make it somewhere as jujutsu sorcerer, so it would be nice if you at least tried to care.”

for a moment, mai found it hard to come up with some kind of response. of course she knew how hard you worked to get here, not that she’d admit it. so why did she suddenly feel a twang of sympathy at how betrayed your words sounded?

before she could even think of how to counter what you said, you got up from the seat you had been in and strolled out, not even giving her the satisfaction of some kind of goodbye.

you guys weren’t even friends. she thought you were too irritable and you thought she was too full of herself. she shouldn’t care this much about whether or not she had hurt you. this feeling would probably wash over by morning, and you guys would go back to your usual bickering.

it only took one glance at you the next morning to see that, no, the feeling had not washed over.

for one thing, you had completely ignored her when utahime announced you would choose partners for sparring. normally, you would nod to mai wordlessly and stalk off in her direction so you two would spar together. it was the one thing you guys were good at doing together, maybe just because it was a way for you to get your anger out on each other from all the snide comments and annoyed glares you guys exchanges on the daily.

today, however, you turned to noritoshi and asked him if he would be your partner. when mai glanced in your direction, she couldn’t help but notice the soft smile that graced your face when you asked him, nothing like the stoic one you usually had when you guys partnered up.

why should she care about that? you and noritoshi were a couple of hard asses anyway, so why did it bother her so much if you chose to spar him instead?

she was currently paired with miwa, who seemed to quickly catch on to the quick looks she sent in your direction in between the punches thrown.

“did you get in a fight with them or something?” mai didn’t need to hear your name to know who miwa was asking about.

“something like that.” she caught her breath after dodging a kick at her legs. “apparently i’m too ‘careless’” miwa noted how her punches came with more force when talking about it.

“they probably just want you to stop putting yourself in danger, you know?” as much as miwa loved you guys, it was kind of ridiculous how much obvious stuff she had to say just to egg you guys on to make you realize how in denial you were about your care for each other.

“then they could just tell me that. maybe they should follow their own advice about caring.” she huffed annoyedly, eyes wandering back over to you sparring with noritoshi, seeing how you smiled so kindly at him as you helped him up. her eyes lingered on you for just a moment too long, studying the way all the tension in your face seemed to release, with your eyes growing shinier and the corners of your mouth quirking up without a care in the world.

why didn’t you ever smile at her like that?

your ignoring of her continued for the next few days. mai felt herself grow annoyed, because she had no idea how to get under your skin. she didn’t want to admit that she was bored without the pointless arguments, or baseless insults that you guys shared. now, when she joined you with the rest of your classmates for lunch, it was like she was invisible. instead of criticizing her aim during target practice, you would turn to momo and ask her about the new show she was watching, and it was like mai didn’t even cross your mind.

you couldn’t keep this up forever, surely. even when you weren’t trading insults with each other, it was obvious to anyone else how you would bite back calling out her name in concern when she took a particularly hard hit in training. regardless, you were still far too stubborn to admit how you missed talking to her, even if it was just to lecture her about paying more attention to her surroundings while she rolled her eyes about how you had stopped by the infirmary so late just to say that.

why were you so insistent on preaching to her whenever she went and got herself hurt?

it became rather monotonous for your classmates, watching the both of you glance at the other one with soft eyes when you thought no one else was looking. it was exhausting seeing how you guys grew tense at the mention of the other’s name, trying to pass off your embarrassment for anger.

it had been a few days more of dealing with your stubbornness before you finally managed a break from one another with mai and todo going out for a mission together. you knew them to be somewhat of a chaotic duo together, so you hoped this would work to your advantage in giving you a day of rest from all this pointless drama. you knew it was childish, sulking over problems you had caused entirely on your own, but with the time apart, you couldn’t help but become just a little bit self pitying. it was only natural when you had messed up your chances with the girl you liked because you were too scared to admit your feelings to yourself.

wait, what?

you probably would have sat and soaked up your startling revelation (well, startling to you at least) before you were abruptly interrupted by a knock on the door of your dorm room, followed immediately by a call of your name by miwa. she said something about needing help patching up mai, and you hated yourself for how quickly you sprung up from the spot you had been lounging on your bed. ignoring the strangely knowing look miwa gave you, you picked up your pace to the infirmary, feeling much more limber in your lounge clothes. it was hard not to notice the contrast between the last time you spoke in the infirmary when you swung open the door without even a knock, your eyes flooded with concern.

before mai even had a chance to process your disheveled state from running all the way to the infirmary, you spoke to her for the first time in a week.

“i’m sorry.” your voice was breathless as you leaned against the doorframe.

instead of pointing out the obvious fact that you had suddenly decided to speak to her again, she just adjusted herself so she sat up in the stiff infirmary bed, choosing to point out another obvious fact. “you know it wasn’t your fault i got hurt.” her words made you feel like a dunce, but her tone was earnest, genuine.

“but maybe if i hadn’t been ignoring you i could’ve been there to help you out.” made your way towards her so you sat at the edge of the bed, grabbing a small roll of bandages and leaning down slightly to observe where any injuries remained. “i should’ve been there to help you out.”

she raised an eyebrow. “i don’t need you to protect me.”

“i know that,” until then, you had your eyes trained on the papery sheets adorning the bed, but when you met her eyes, she could see the heartfelt look in your eyes “, but i want you to be able to rely on me.”

you broke eye contact momentarily, reaching for her slightly bloodied hand to wrap, resting it loosely in yours. your fingers settled around her palm so gently as you wrapped the bandages, she noted. it became difficult for you to stay focused with how her eyes watched you so intently.

was she smiling?

“quit beating yourself up over stuff like that.” her voice was hardly above a whisper as she leaned forward, using her good hand to brush away some stray hairs that had fallen in your face. “whenever you’re not there to protect me, you’re always the first one to ask what happened, the first one to come running with bandages, the first one to tell me to take care of myself.”

then she gave you that knowing look. the same one miwa had given you when you rushed to the infirmary, the one noritoshi had given you when you glanced her way during sparring, hell now that you thought of it, the same one todo had given you when he and mai had been paired up for a mission. the once small and nearly undetectable smile gracing her features grew into what was the closest thing you had ever seen to a grin from her. had her face been this close to yours the whole time?

“because i just drive you crazy, don’t i?” her eyes were half lidded as they stared deeply into yours. you couldn’t even be brought to deny her teasing, just nodding meekly at her announcement.

she leaned in close to you, if she just tilted her head, you guys could’ve been kissing.

“that’s good you know.” her voice was so quiet that you were sure had you been any further away, you’d never have heard it. “since i’d be lying if i said i didn’t miss you and that stick up your ass when you were avoiding me.”

you chuckled quietly, tilting your head down so it rested on her shoulder as you did, causing her to let out a soft laugh herself.

“you kind of scare the shit out of me sometimes mai.” you lift your head back up to look her straight in the eye. “but i think i’d lose it if i spent any longer pretending to hate you.”

it’s just for a split second, but in that split second you felt as if you two are the only people in the world. you barely even had to move before your lips brushed up against hers. it’s almost timid, the way you kiss her, as if she’s made of glass. despite your delicacy with her, she’s quick to lean in, as if she’s chasing the feeling of your lips on hers. her bandaged hand that still rests in yours squeezes your hand tightly in reassurance. when she pulls away breathlessly, her cheeks are flushed pink and her face is painted with a smile that you can’t help but swell with pride from knowing you’re the reason it happened.

that same knowing look is back on your classmates’ faces later that same day as they note you and mai exchanging wide smiles they had never seen from either of you as you made your way through the halls of school.

#zenin mai x reader #mai zenin x reader #mai zenin #zenin mai #mai zenin x you #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk headcanons #jjk imagines #mai zenin imagine

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mammonshuman92 · 3 years

Text

- Watched -

Mammon & GN!MC

** TW: Stalking, cussing, religion (ish? I guess?)

| part two | | part three |

It’s been nearly 6 months since you left the Devildom. You picked up where you had left off in the human world: college, work, home, repeat. Sure, you missed your family while you were away, but now your heart aches almost constantly for the new family you loved so much, that you had to leave behind. (Not that you really had a choice in the matter.)

As much as it hurt to leave the brothers, Diavolo was right. Establishing harmony and unity with the three realms won’t go over too well if one of the human representatives doesn’t go back to the human world, now will it? Still, it sucks. Life is so boring without all of them.

And quiet.

It’s not like you don’t talk though. Yeah, Diavolo has that rule in place where they have to take turns talking to you because “human’s lives are short” and they were “taking up too much of your time”, but that’s not really going to stop them, is it?

Well kinda, actually.

You can’t really argue with a direct order from the demon lord, after all.

Is it Asmo's day to call? You thought to yourself, trying to remember (not that you ever could) the schedule Lucifer came up with. Your own schedule was hard enough to remember.

You had been picking up extra shifts at work and staying late to study at school when you could. Finding any reason to stay busy or get out of the house. The deafening silence was too much to bear.

"I wonder when I can go visit? I should call Diavolo.." you said to yourself quietly.

You were walking home from your shift at the coffee shop near campus. The sun was just starting to set and the air was slightly crisp, causing you to pull your jacket a little tighter.

If it weren't for the brilliant pinks and warm oranges cast on the sky by the setting sun, it would've felt like a regular night in the Devildom. Memories of your last few days spent there came flooding back, bringing the sadness along with them.

In just one year, you had gotten so close to everyone, but you had gotten especially close to Mammon. He was responsible for you in the beginning of course, but the connection was undeniable (no matter how much he did deny it). He was a total simp for you, and you for him. It was rather cringey to everyone else. He could be a handful at times, but that tsundere really is a great boyfriend. Leaving him behind was... well, there's no words for it.

Rounding the corner, you could see your house perfectly. Now that the sun had gone down a bit more, it was getting darker and you were suddenly thankful that you remembered to turn on the porch light before you left.

You pulled your keys from your jacket pocket while climbing the few steps to your front door, and something caught your eye. Your stomach dropped.

Not again..

You plucked the folded piece of paper that was stuck in the screen door and quickly made your way inside, locking the door behind you.With a heavy sigh, you tossed your keys on the table by the door and dropped your bag on the floor beside you. You immediately went to shower and change not giving the paper a second thought.

Not everyone in the human world agreed with the Devildom exchange student program. After you and Solomon had arrived in the Devildom, there were numerous protests by a group much like the Westboro lunatics. They were without a doubt against the program and called for it’s immediate termination. Thankfully, their personal hatred was no match for the opportunity for the realms to find peace.

When you had returned, you noticed people whispering about you, calling you names and giving you dirty looks. You've even received quite a few pieces of hate mail. Granted, the people opposed to the program were very small in numbers, even if it didn’t seem that way. It didn't bother you though. Demons ended up being some of the most important people to you. Not to mention you were kinda in love with one of them. People could say what they wanted about the Devildom and about you, their words didn't bother you.

You were still towel drying your hair when your phone rang. Tossing the towel, you rushed to the living room to fish it out of your bag, Asmo's face popping up on the caller ID. You were right, it was Asmo’s night. You were secretly hoping it was a certain greedy demon’s turn to call (not that he doesn’t text you almost constantly.)

Asmo was the same as usual. Talking animatedly about this and that, gushing over new beauty products and outfits, filling you in on all the gossip you were missing. While he was rambling, your eyes fell onto the paper that was in your door. Might as well look at the newest piece of hate mail, right?

You began unfolding the paper, quickly giving Asmo an “omg!” about the gossip he was dishing (even though you hadn’t been paying attention.)

Upon seeing the contents, all the color drained from your face. You were sure your heart sank into your stomach, but you could hear the rapid beating in your ears. You suddenly felt hot, and the air around you seemed thick.

Then the adrenaline kicked in.

With shaky hands, you quickly checked the front door making sure it was locked, and headed to the back door to do the same. You rushed around checking the windows and pulling all the curtains closed. Everything seemed fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Still, that didn’t settle your nerves any.

“MC, dear? Did you hear me?” The sound of Asmo’s voice brought you out of your frantic state.

“Huh? S-sorry Asmo. I guess I s-spaced out.” You tried your best to keep your tone normal and steady your breathing, as to not alert him to anything. You really should give him more credit, though.

“MC? Is everything alright?” His tone was different, no longer playful and flirty. You could hear the concern.

Shit.

“Yeah, I’m fine. More hate mail is all. No biggie.” You lied. Maybe he would believe it..

There was a pause on his end, “You’re STILL getting it? Don’t they have anything better to do?” Good, he bought it. For now, anyway.

After about 10 more minutes Asmo said his goodbyes, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

This piece hate mail turned out to be something much worse than the run of the mill stuff you usually received. Inside there were pictures. Of you. At work, at school, the grocery store, ...outside your house. There was also a newspaper clipping that had a picture of you and your family, from when your parents first opened their bakery a few years back. There were red ‘Xs’ marked through everyone’s faces...

The only words scrawled inside read, “I’ve been watching you. You will pay for what you’ve done, whore. And don’t even think about telling your demon fuck buddies. I know everything about you and your family. It’d be a shame if anything happened to poor old Mom and Dad because their child is an unholy slut.”

You read it over and over, tears streaking your cheeks. Hate mail was nothing new, but now this? A stalker?

Maybe I’m just over thinking it. The other hate mail was spicy too. But these pictures... There is NO way I’m over thinking this..

“Regardless, I can’t tell the brothers.” You shuddered at what their reaction would be like. It would definitely make all of Diavolo’s hard work on the exchange program obsolete. It wouldn’t be good for any of the three realms. There was still a long way to go, but the program was a giant step in the right direction to obtaining peace and understanding. If dealing with some backlash and hate mail could help get closer to that goal, then for the sake of the greater could, you could handle it.

“For now, I will bear this burden myself.”

- {3 weeks later} -

“Are you okay?”

The simple question nearly made you squeak and nearly jump out of your skin. You turn and meet the worried gaze of your lab partner. You weren’t super close with her, so you knew your current state had to be bad if she was picking up on it.

God, do I really look that bad? You got a good look at yourself this morning, and yeah, you absolutely look that bad. But then again, you haven’t really slept in a few weeks. You had gigantic purple eye bags, your hair looked like a family of birds took up residence in it. Your skin was pale and lifeless, and you began skin picking at your nails due to the anxiety. You’d even lost about twenty pounds.

“Sorry, I guess I was spacing out.”

“It’s alright. It’s just- no offense, but you look awful. Have you been sleeping?” She asked, eyes scanning your face.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Promise.” You lied. She nodded and gave you a weak smile, dropping the subject for now.

You hadn’t really been paying attention to class today. Well, for the last several days, really. You’ve been putting in less effort for a lot of things lately. You’ve been slacking off bad at school and barely keeping up at work. Not to mention you never sleep anymore. How can you though?

You left class early and although it was still early in the day, you decided to skip the rest of your lectures for the day. You’ve always been a fantastic student, so taking a day off wouldn’t really hurt anything. And seeing as today was Thursday, you didn’t even have work today. Same as every week.

Upon arriving home, you were relieved to see that there weren’t any notes left for you. Yet, anyway.

Ever since the first letter a few weeks ago, they’ve been showing up constantly. Only a few times the first week or so, but now you get at least one every single day. They’re also increasing in severity. The sender seems to be becoming more and more unhinged with every passing day.

“Dirty demon whore!!”

“You’re a HUMAN!! How dare you taint your body with demons!”

“I will cleanse you and make you pure again.”

There was so, so much more. All of it growing more and more explicit with each letter.

The whole thing was taking a huge tool on you, but what could you do? Your family’s safety was on the line. You so badly wanted to tell Mammon of even the cops, but you couldn’t live with yourself if anything bad were to happen. Whatever this psycho had planned, you would gladly put yourself in the line of fire to save those closest to you.

The whole situation has also affected your relationship with Mammon and the rest of the brothers as well. At first, you tried to hide what was happening, but they started getting suspicious and asking questions. Always wondering why you sounded so tired and why you kept cutting their phone calls super short. You always rejected their face time requests, knowing that your drastic change in appearance would be alarming and alert them that something was wrong. Lately, you’ve barely talked to any of them. Especially Mammon. He’d be the first to figure out something was wrong with you and come here ready to fight.

That honestly didn’t sound too bad. You wanted nothing more than for him to hold you while you ugly cried. Breathing in his scent while he rubbed soothing circles on your back.

Your heart started to ache.

When you got home you decided to take a nice, hot shower to hopefully help ease some of your tension and possibly begin to get a handle on your quickly deteriorating self care status.

Once you felt somewhat normal again, you put on your comfiest pj’s (which included one of Mammon’s shirts) and plopped yourself on your bed in the fetal position. It was the only thing that kinda helped ease a tiny bit of the feeling that everything was spiraling out of control. The warm scent of your most favorite demon helped calm you.

*bzzz* *bzzz* *bzzz*

Damn. I almost fell asleep..

You sat up, rubbing your eyes and reached for your D.D.D. on your nightstand. The called ID made your heart rate accelerate and your palms sweaty.

It’s him.

“Mammon..? I thought it was Beel’s turn to call?”

“I don’t care about Lucifer’s stupid schedule. I need to talk to ya.” His tone made him sound like he was on edge.

“Oh, ok. What’s up?”

He scoffed, “Really? You’ve barely messaged me back in three days. The last time I called, ya hung up after five minutes.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy.” Every lie helps break your heart just a little more.

“You’ve never been too busy before. Besides, shouldn’t ya be in a class right now or somethin’? It ain’t even noon.”

“I left class early and I’m skipping the rest of the day.” You explained.

“..Hmm.” He replied, you could detect suspicion in his response.

It was quiet on his end for a moment.

“MC?”

“Yeah?”

“..Do ya got another boyfriend? Cause The Great Mammon is definitely better! And-and, I’ll kick their ass!”

“What? Mammon, no. One boyfriend is almost more than I can handle.”

“Wha- hey!”

For the first time in who knows when, you actually giggled. It felt so good.

“So, you swear nothin’ is wrong? You’ve been actin’ so weird.” His voice was heavy with concern.

“Yeah, I swear.” Lie.

As good as it felt to talk to him, you needed to end the call before he ended up dragging the truth out of you. If any one could figure out what was wrong with you, it’d be him. The two of you had spent so much time together, that you can practically read each other like a book.

“I gotta go, ok? I have work later and I need to get ready.” Lie. But, you needed to get off the phone with him before he suspects anything.

“Yeah, sure.” He sounded so defeated. You could almost hear him pouting.

After a quicker goodbye than you usually have when getting off the phone with Mammon, you fell back onto your bed with a heavy sigh.

That was a little rough, but he seemed to believe it. I hope this will all be over soon.

With that, you quickly fell asleep, lulled by the memory of your demon’s voice. Although you wouldn’t sleep long, at least you got to fall asleep to the thought of him.

*bzzz* *bzzz* *bzzz*

Geez, are ya gonna answer or not? Ya always pick up on the second ring when I call ya.., Mammon thought.

Finally, on the sixth ring, “Mammon..? I thought it was Beel’s turn to call?”

Man, hearing your voice is like music.

“I don’t care about Lucifer’s stupid schedule. I need to talk to ya.” His tone made him sound a little rougher than intended, but it was all the same. He needed to hear you voice.

“Oh, ok. What’s up?”

He scoffed, “Really? You’ve barely messaged me back in three days. The last time I called, ya hung up after five minutes.”

I miss ya like crazy. Ya keep avoiding me..

“Oh. I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy.”

Huh? But, MC is always busy doing somethin’ and it never stopped em’ before..

He started getting an uneasy feeling deep in his stomach. He could tell something was off, but he just didn’t know what it was.

Is it ...someone else? Nah, MC wouldn’t do that. ...Right??

“You’ve never been too busy before. Besides, shouldn’t ya be in a class right now or somethin’? It ain’t even noon.” He didn’t try to hide the pout, that he knew you could hear, in his voice. His own thoughts were beginning to hurt his feelings.

“I left class early and I’m skipping the rest of the day.” MC explained.

“..Hmm.” He hummed. Thoughts started swirling around in his head.

MC never skips school, not even at RAD. Somethin’ is definitely going on. And what’s with the short answers? MC always talks like crazy. Maybe they’re mad at me?

It was quiet for a moment while he tried to sort through his thoughts.

“MC?” He asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah?”

“..D-do ya got another boyfriend? Cause The Great Mammon is definitely better! And-and, I’ll kick their ass!”

“What? Mammon, no. One boyfriend is almost more than I can handle.”

“Wha- hey!” You giggled at his response. It was small, but he heard it. It made his heart swim.

All joking aside, he did believe you. Something was definitely not right with you though.

“So, you swear nothin’ is wrong? You’ve been actin’ so weird.” His voice was heavy with concern.

“Yeah, I swear.” Those three words caused his heart to sink.

That was a lie.. MC only says ‘I swear’ while tryin’ to act like somethin’ ain’t wrong..

He pushed his thoughts aside for the time being and continued the conversation. It only lasted a few more minutes before you started saying your goodbyes. Again, cutting the call short.

“I gotta go, ok? I have work later and I need to get ready.”

Hmm. Why does that seem weird?

“Yeah, sure.” He sounded so defeated.

There was, without a doubt in his mind, something going on. Something that would make you lie to him..

One way or another, he was going to find out.

“Mammon? Are you alright?”

Mammon was sprawled out on the couch in the common room. After talking to you, he was lost in his thoughts and feeling rather down. Beel passed by the common room on his was back from the kitchen when he saw his older brother. Noticing that he looked sad, Beel went to investigate.

Mammon looked up to meet Bee’s concerned gaze and with a sigh, he sat up.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Mammon said, as he stood up to leave. Beel could tell he was obviously lying, but decided not to press the issue.

Mammon stopped a few paces away from Beel, and turned back around to face him.

“Hey, Beel. Was MC actin’, I don’t know, “off”, the last time ya talked to em’?” He asked the sixth born, thinking maybe you had accidentally let something slip.

Beel’s face seemed to twist up a little bit, and he nodded.

“Yeah, kind of. MC used to sound excited when I called, but now they hardly talk at all. And they used to send me pictures of the food they were eating and new recipes, at least twice a day, but it’s been about two weeks since the last one they sent.” He explained, sadness in his voice. While in the Devildom, you were his favorite person to eat with.

Mammon nodded at his brother, getting lost in his thoughts again.

So, it’s not just me. MC is actin’ strange with Beel too..

Neither of them had paid been paying enough attention to see Asmo enter the room.

“Mammon, there you are. I’m going out, and I need my new bag from Majolish. The one I let you borrow. And i swear, if you sold it-” Asmo stopped mid sentence when he noticed the sad state two of his brothers.

“Is it about MC?” He asked, nonchalaunt.

Mammon’s head snapped toward his brother.

“What do you mean? Did they say somethin’ to ya?” Mammon asked quickly, taking a few steps closer to his brother.

MC and Asmo always gossip with each other, so maybe they’d tell him somethin’..

“Calm down. MC really hasn’t talked to me much in the last month. I’m so hurt! Who else am I going to talk beauty products with? Lucifer? Goodness, no.”

“Asmo!” Mammon said loudly, trying to get the fifth born back on track.

“Oh, right. Let’s see.” He put a finger to his chin and thought about it. “Hmm. The only thing I can think of was during the last normal conversation I had with them. They said something about receiving a piece of hate mail. They said it was no big deal, but I distinctly remember MC seemed flustered by it. Which I thought was weird, considering it’s definitely not the first one they’d received..” Asmo explained.

Hate mail? MC has only mentioned it to me a couple times. Do they really get it that often..?

“How long ago was that?” Mammon asked. He felt like he was on the brink of something. Just a few more puzzle pieces..

“Hmm, it was right before MC started acting distant toward me. So, about three or four weeks, maybe.” Asmo explained. That’s around the time you had started acting weird with Mammon too.

“So, maybe something happened to MC.” Beel suggested.

“No, MC would tell us. ..Right?” Asmo questioned.

Mammon was so confused.

What is goin’ on with you, MC?

After talking with his brothers, Mammon holed himself up in his room. He didn’t really want to be around anyone at the moment. His thoughts were driving him crazy and giving him a headache. What was he not seeing? What piece of the puzzle was he missing?

He started going over your last conversation again, for the millionth time, looking for any kind of clue. But, you seemed normal. Well, your new normal, anyway. Distant, short answers, not giving too much to the conversation. What were you hiding?

It was something about the end of your conversation, but what was it?

He remembered your small giggle. The memory caused a smile to break out across his face. It gave him a tiny bit of hope that you were still there. That you still loved him. That whatever was troubling you, wasn’t making you forget them completely.

It was after that though. You had said “I swear”, which was a red flag, considering you only say it when you’re trying to convince him you’re ok when you’re really not.

He sighed, and rolled over on his bed. He looked at the alarm clock on his night stand, numbers glowing an angry red.

MC is probably at work right now..

Something caught his eye.

Today is Thursday... MC never works on Thursday. I guess the schedule coulda changed. No, cause MC specifically requested to always have that day off for some reason. Delivery day at their family’s bakery, I think. ...MC lied, again..

Then it hit him.

The small little lies. Avoiding all of them, even him for weeks now. Barely talking when you do answer the phone. The way you always sounded so tired and out of it.

It had something to do with what Asmo said about the hate mail.

“Hmm. The only thing I can think of was during the last normal conversation I had with them. They said something about receiving a piece of hate mail. They said it was no big deal, but I distinctly remember MC seemed flustered by it. Which I thought was weird, considering it’s definitely not the first one they’d received..”

Mammon didn’t even know that you’d been receiving that much hate mail. Sure, you’d told him about it a couple times, but he didn’t think it was that bad. Maybe it was actually pretty serious. Is that why you’d been so distant.

Mammon got up from his bed, and began pacing around the room. He almost had it figured out, he could feel it.

Asmo said MC seemed flustered, so it had to have somethin’ to do with the hate mail they received that day, since after that is when MC started actin’ weird.What if it’s somethin’ bad. Like, bad bad.

He stopped pacing.

The thought of MC being in danger was...

Mammon grabbed his jacket, where it was thrown onto the pool table and left his room in a hurry. He was on his way to Lucifer’s study, mentally preparing himself on the way. He was sure he knew what his brother’s answer would be, but he wasn’t going to just sit here. He needed to know that you were, in fact alright, with his own eyes.

I’m going to the human world. Whether Lucifer allows it or not.

| part two | | part three |

#obey me shall we date #obey me mammon #obey me #mammon x mc

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uswntxfootball · 4 years

Text

all smiles here (jackie groenen x photographer!reader)

focusing on your new job turns out to be a hundred times harder after seeing the smiley dutch midfielder..

word count: 2343 ish

——

today was the day.

here you were, 22, fresh out of college and about to step foot onto the dutch training pitch for the first time and start your new job.

last night you had spent hours fretting over tiny details, making sure your cameras were charged and ready, your lenses were wiped clean, and that everything was nice and tidy.

you had planned to wake up extra early, making sure you had time to get everything situated and set before practice began.

that was the plan.

that’s.. unfortunately not what happened.

in your excitement, you had forgotten to set an alarm, which led to your current predicament, biking as fast as you can, racing through the dutch streets.

you glance down at your watch, narrowly missing a parked car as you do so.

you arrive at 7:58, just in the nick of time.

seeing that the team was already out stretching, you throw your bike down with a crash and run onto the field.

the crash of your bike hitting the pavement caused a few heads to turn your way, with a certain number 14 taking particular interest in your entrance.

blind to the commotion you caused, you laid your camera bag gently down along the side of the field (amongst the other photographers), then bend over unceremoniously, trying hard to catch your breath.

considering you had biked 5 miles in 10 minutes, you were spent, forgetting all your excitement in the process.

when your heart rate had somewhat slowed, you began setting up your equipment, and quickly the nerves and excitement arose once again.

you picked up your camera and took a photo of the closest player to test lighting (that player being sari van veenendaal), all the while internally screaming that that was the fifa 2019 best goalkeeper while doing so.

disregarding how much of a mess your morning was, the next hour went splendidly.

you managed to get a few shots of miedema with gorgeous lighting, photos that your manager undoubtedly would want to publish later on.

few photos were “unusable” (you were pretty damn good at your craft), and your camera roll was soon flooded with a wide variety of individual and group pictures.

at this point you had almost gotten all the players individually, your task being to get each of them by the end of practice, which was coming up shortly.

you snapped a few pictures of wilms, grinning widely when you see how well they turned out.

scanning quickly through the list of players, you sigh with relief when you realize you only have one more player to take photos of, #14.

you scan the field with your camera quickly and your breath promptly catches in your throat.

jackie was laughing at something daan was saying, her smile gorgeously on display.

you couldn’t help but stare, your hand lowering the camera as you forget the task at hand.

but how could anyone blame you?

she was, without a doubt one of the most gorgeous people you had ever seen.

her gaze meets yours suddenly, you let out a squeak of surprise in response and fumble your camera, breaking eye contact as you lunge forward to catch it.

you let out a sigh of relief when you grasp it, cheeks blood red at your actions, the older photographer next to you letting out a chuckle as he shook his head.

“kid you gotta be more careful.”

you nodded and smiled at him kindly, before shaking your head quickly and resuming to the task at hand.

with the ten minutes before the end of practice, you took, in total, one photo of jackie.

this was a disaster.

you just kept getting lost staring at her, this time through the lens of your camera, so starstruck that you forgot to actually take pictures.

you let out a sigh as you began thinking of an excuse for your boss later.

walking into the locker room, jackie rolled her eyes at jill’s words.

“but did you see her jacks? that new camera girl is..” jill letting out a low whistle to finish her statement.

“i mean i’m taken but i have to agree she is pretty cute” daan said, popping into the conversation.

soon whole the locker room began chatting about this “new camera girl”, and jackie couldn’t help but blush.

she had to agree with everyone, you were absolutely adorable, and watching you almost drop your camera upon seeing her only solidified that.

jackie was brought out of her thoughts by jill who, very loudly, pointed at her and said:

“oh. my. god. you like her.”

jackie swatted jill’s hand away.

“shut up no i don’t.”

“oh my god she’s blushing she totally does,” daan squealed.

the locker room was soon buzzing with excitement over jackie’s new crush, filling the air with:

a lot of “omg jackie!”

and

even more “ask her out!!”

with jackie of course very adamantly denying such a proposition.

even through all of the teasing, jackie couldn’t help but hope that she would see you again tomorrow.

you arrived earlier the following day, much much earlier, so much so that no other photographers had arrived yet.

you set your bike nicely against the rack this time, taking your time to admire the nice day as you lay your bag along the edge of the field.

you take a quick look at your watch, 7:17, and upon seeing that no one was around, picked up a soccer ball you found in the corner of the field.

having played a little bit of high school and college soccer, you juggled the ball around a little bit and then attempted to score from midfield.

you hit the ball right into the corner of the net on your second try, jumping up in excitement, when you hear someone speak behind you.

“for a sports photographer, that wasn’t all that bad.”

you turn around abruptly and let out a small squeak of surprise when you’re greeted by the very girl who had enchanted you the day before.

she lets out a dazzling grin before putting out her hand and saying:

“hi i’m jackie.”

“i- uhm y/n” you mumble, eliciting a giggle from the dutch girl before you.

you wipe your palms against your jeans quickly and take her hand, trying to desperately ignore the sparks that shot up your arm from the contact.

an awkward silence followed for the next few seconds, until jackie spoke.

“so, y/n, do you want to kick a ball around with me before people get here?”

“i’m, uh i’m not that good i mean i played a little in high school and college but like just for rec teams and i mean you’re on the national level so like i’m i don’t know i should probably just stick to photography i hope i didn’t offend you i’m just not that great and i yeah.”

you stop your rambling and blush, hoping she can decipher your message through your jumble of words.

jackie just lets out a laugh and your heart melts a little at the sound.

“i can take a few pictures of you though if you’d like?” you offer, hoping to spend a little bit more time with the midfielder.

“i would love that.” jackie says, letting out an even larger smile if possible.

for the next fifteen minutes you took dozens of photos of jackie, all the while learning about her life in manchester and belgium, how she broke a bike on the way to practice once, her dogs, and other snippets of her life.

you honestly couldn’t believe that this girl, this incredibly attractive and funny and just stupidly gorgeous girl was talking to you.

it was 7:50 when the other players arrived, jill letting out a whistle and yell when she saw who was already on the pitch.

“get it jackie!”

the other players cheered as well, letting out wolf whistles when they saw the two of you.

jackie got up but before she left she turned and gave you a hug then saying:

“sorry about them. they’re quite an obnoxious bunch.”

you let out a laugh and the two of you parted ways as practice was about to begin, your heart beating so fast you were afraid it would burst.

“y/n.”

your boss let out a sigh as he took his glasses off.

“why are there 864 photos of jackie groenen in your camera roll?”

“i- i dont know” you stammer.

“this isn’t what i meant when i said you took too little of her yesterday.”

you flushed a deeper shade of red in utter embarrassment.

if your conversation with your boss was any indicator, practice was a disaster.

it wasn’t the players or practice itself.

it was you. your gay mess of a self.

but you just couldn’t help but trail the midfielder for the entire practice, your lens (and eyes) never leaving her.

it was only at the end of practice when you looked through your camera roll when you’d truly realized just how many photos you had taken of her.

each and every page filled with pictures of the number 14, her smile as bright as the day.

in your defense, you had taken quite a few fantastic photos of her, though there was one that was your favorite in particular, with the sun shining at the midfielder at just the right angle, illuminating her eyes and leaving her smile with its signature glow.

and of course that was the photo that caught your boss’s eye, despite his disappointment of today’s “turnout”.

and of course he wanted to publish it immediately.

and of course jackie saw it. and posted it. and tagged you in it.

where did she even get your handle from?

it was sort of an unspoken agreement between the two of you, with both arriving early each practice to spend time with one another.

each time there’s jackie, always smiling and always gorgeous, and each time there’s you, always bumbling and always blushing and always tripping over your words.

and occasionally your feet.

but jackie only saw it as endearing, and continued to talk to you even when you were making a fool out of yourself.

eventually came the time for the netherland’s first matchup against a team, that team being estonia for the euro qualifiers.

you were brimming with the excitement at attending your first match as a photographer, and you arrived extra early match day to set up and get a good spot on the field.

“well if it isn’t my favorite photographer.”

you spun around quickly to spot jackie in her full kit, a blush promptly forming on your cheeks and your heart skipping a beat upon seeing her.

somehow you managed to reply:

“well if it isn’t my favorite player.”

this was your first time saying something that remotely resembled flirting with her, clearly catching the midfielder in surprise, as her face flushed a bright red a second later.

“i’m offended. i thought i was your favorite player.” daan said, appearing behind jackie, who stood frozen.

you rolled your eyes.

“hate to break up the love fest though, but we’ve got a game to play.” daan said, tugging on the arm of an even redder jackie groenen.

after they left, you continued setting up your equipment, checking lighting and just making sure everything was all set and ready for the game to start.

and boy was it a game.

in short,

the netherlands absolutely destroyed estonia.

in a huge 7-0 victory for the netherlands, there were an abundance of great photo opportunities, and you got them all.

goal scoring shots and celebration shots, everything.

you however, did let out two very loud cheers when jackie scored, once in the 26th minute and again when she completed her brace.

you had forgotten how empty the stadium was in your excitement.

each time you shouted the dutch girl, blushed, met your eyes and grinned before being pulled away by a teammate, who said something that sounded a lot like:

“your girlfriend’s here cheering for you.”

but in general,

you had expected the dutch to win.

you had expected daan, jackie, sherida, aniek, and katja to score as much and as well as they did.

you had even expected that you would embarrass yourself in some way during the match.

what you didn’t expect however, was for jackie groenen to come running at you after the match.

you were packing up your equipment when you saw the dutch girl approaching, and you opened your mouth to congratulate her on the brace and win.

but before you could get a word out,

she pulled you in by the camera straps around your neck and kissed you.

you stood, frozen, as if you couldn’t believe what was happening (because you really couldn’t).

jackie had started to realize you weren’t reciprocating and began to pull back when you came to your senses.

you kissed her back, hands moving to her waist to steady the two of you.

it was everything you wanted a first kiss to be, passion fueled and full of sparks, her hands moving from your chest to cup your cheek.

jackie was the one who pulled away first, a smile plastered on her face much like the one that had drawn you to her that very first day at practice.

you pulled her in to kiss her again, forgetting that your camera was still looped in front of your chest, only noticing it when it was in the way of getting her closer to you.

you pull back with an annoyed huff and gently take the camera off, turning to drop it on the bench behind you.

“go out with me sometime” you say when you turn around again.

jackie’s face just splits into a sparkling smile.

“i thought you’d never ask.”

#jackie groenen #jackie groenen x reader #jackie groenen imagine #woso imagine #woso imagines #uswnt imagine #muwfc imagine #nedwnt x reader #uswnt x reader #muwfc x reader #nedwnt imagine

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megalony · 3 years

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Teacher’s Pet- Part 18

Here is the latest part of my dad! Ben Hardy series, I know my updates are staggered and slow at the moment but I love this series and am trying to keep updating it when I can. Feedback is always lovely to have.

Taglist: @lunaticspoem @butlegendsneverdie @langdonzvoid @jennyggggrrr @rogermeddow @radiob-l-a-hblah @rogertaylorsbitontheside @chlobo6 @rogertaylors-lipgloss @sj-thefan @omgitsearly @luckytrashgooprebel @scarsout @deaky-with-a-c @killer-queen-ofrhye @bluutac @vousmemanqueez @jonesyaddiction @rogahs-drowse @milanosaurus @httpfandxms @saint-hardy @7-seas-of-fat-bottomed-girls @mrsalwayswritex @rogerina-owns-me @hellsdragon @im-an-adult-ish @crazylittlethingg @allauraleigh

Series taglist: @im-an-adult-ish @gwilymleeisbae @k-k0129 @haileymorelikestupid @glittrixvibe @youngpastafanmug @ultraviolencezs @kdatthecastle @darlindolan

Series masterlist

Summary: (Y/n) teaches at the school Ben’s boys go to and they soon start a relationship. But they have their ups and downs with the problems Ben faces with his boys and how quickly the relationship progresses.

Enjoy.

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"What the fuck happened?!" Ben's voice echoed around the room the moment he ran in and slammed the bedroom door shut behind him. It felt like the whole room was shaking from his presence that was definitely unnerving to everyone in the house.

His wild eyes scanned around the room, taking in the situation that had been playing on his mind from the moment he got the phone call from Gwilym. He had heard (Y/n)'s agonised sobs down the phone and Gwilym's panicked voice which was a tone Ben never normally heard from his friend. He had barely managed to tell his colleague that he had to leave for an emergency before he had made his way to his car and drove home quicker than he should have.

All the drive back Ben had been praying that this wasn't as bad as it clearly was. He had hoped that (Y/n)'s water hadn't broken and that when he got here she would be calmer and say that she wasn't in as much pain anymore. Or that he could take her to hospital and find out that this wasn't serious and they weren't going to be going into labour eight weeks early.

Ben went down on his knees beside the rocking chair (Y/n) was hunched over in. He scanned his eyes over her, taking in her state that was very worrying to him right now. (Y/n)'s hair was falling out of her ponytail and sticking to her forehead as her skin was prickling with sweat. Her eyes were coming in and out of focus rather a lot and her breathing was hard and laboured in a way Ben had heard many times before. But it was the way she was cradling her stomach that was making his heart clench because he could see how much pain she was in.

"She tripped and blacked out for a few seconds, I think she landed on her stomach but her water's definitely broken and I called the hospital, they said she has to go in straight away." The panic in Gwilym's voice matched the frantic look in his eyes that were darting between Ben, (Y/n) and his phone that was clutched tightly in his hand.

The moment Ben hung up on him Gwilym had rang the hospital to get advice and they were very clear that (Y/n) had to be brought in and assessed straight away. The fact her water had broken didn't definitely mean she was in labour but this was very early to be happening and her water breaking could mean (Y/n) could get an infection. And the added fact she had hurt her stomach meant the baby could be in distress or harmed and that could push labour into happening.

"How badly did you hurt yourself?" Ben's eyes darted back to look at (Y/n) and his voice was a bit softer around the edges. He didn't want her to think he was angry at her in any way but when he panicked like this he got angry and he couldn't help it.

(Y/n) could feel her stomach tensing and her chest quaking as she slowly straightened up so she could pull up her shirt to let Ben see the bruising that was starting to form.

Ben shuffled round so he was in front of (Y/n) rather than at her side but his hands started to shake when he lightly placed them against her stomach. Her skin was very dark red with a tinge of purple adding into the mix and Ben was sure it felt like she was starting to get some swelling. But when his palm pressed a little harder against her stomach (Y/n) winced at the same time Ben felt the baby moving which seemed to make (Y/n)'s pain escalate even more.

"Shit, baby..."

"I'm s-sorry-"

"No! Don't you even say that, this isn't your fault. We're gonna get you help, let's get you in the car and I'll take you to hospital now. Gwil, could you wait with the boys for a bit until I can get my mum to come stay with them? James will be back soon."

Ben ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling the strands and pushing them further back on his head as he tried to think.

James was due home at any time now and someone had to be here when he got back and none of the boys could be left alone. Ben would much rather have Gwilym coming to the hospital with them but he needed someone here with the boys. His mother would have no problem coming to look after them, especially when Ben told her the situation and that she may have to have them overnight if (Y/n) really was going to go into labour. But for now Gwilym was the only person at hand that could look after the boys for them.

"Yeah, yeah that's fine. Right let's get you up then." Gwilym's voice shook as he spoke but he was trying his best to remain calm. He was good with Carter and was fine with settling him because it was very clear that once Carter realised he couldn't go with his parents to hospital he was going to have some sort of meltdown. He was good with Finn who would be panicking and James was fine with Gwilym so it was the best option right now. There was no way Ben could stay home with the boys and let Gwilym take (Y/n) because if (Y/n) went into labour Ben had to be there.

(Y/n) tried to take in a deep breath but it was hard when all she wanted to do was take quick, shallow breaths to get more oxygen round her system. Her watering eyes darted between Ben and Gwilym who both leaned down, ready to try and get her onto her feet.

Gwilym and Ben took one of her hands each and rested their other arms around her waist to support her weight between them, knowing she wouldn't have the strength to stand on her own. They took things slowly, gently pulling (Y/n) up between them but it was clear the moment her left foot was on the ground it was too painful to stand on from how she landed when she fell.

"You okay baby?" Ben leaned his head down to look at (Y/n) properly, knowing she was in a lot of pain with how much pressure she was applying to his hand and how she couldn't even stand up straight. (Y/n) managed to nod her head, biting her lips so hard that she could feel blood welling up in her mouth. "Let's get you to the car."

Gwilym ran his hand up and down (Y/n)'s back as Ben took most of her weight and the three of them slowly started shuffling out of the room. They had all been friends for a long time but Gwilym had never seen (Y/n) in pain and distress like this before and the most panicked he had ever seen Ben was when things took a bad turn with Lucy. This wasn't the kind of situation any of them wanted to be in, when the baby was born it was meant to be surprising but happy and a precious moment. It wasn't supposed to be frightening and catastrohpic with the worry of their baby not being okay.

"I need to s-sit down." (Y/n) buried her face into Ben's chest, tightening her hand around his own as she couldn't surpress a groan from leaving her lips. She couldn't make it down the stairs without stopping and sitting down first because the pain was becoming distressing.

Ben nodded his head, looking to Gwilym before he moved round in front of (Y/n) and went down onto the next step of the stairs. He moved his arms so he was holding (Y/n)'s waist as Gwilym stood behind her keeping her steady and upright before they both helped her to sit down. (Y/n)'s hands dug tightly into Ben's arms as she started to shake the moment she was sat down. The pain started to bolt up her spine and course through her stomach the moment she was sat down but it still felt better than when she was moving.

"I don't want to do this, Ben... w-what if she's not okay?" (Y/n)'s voice trembled and she could barely see Ben through the tears flooding her eyes but she couldn't help the way she was thinking and feeling.

They were nearly two months early, (Y/n) couldn't have their girl now something could go wrong, she would be too small and under-developed. (Y/n) had to wait a few more weeks to make sure their girl would be okay, the hospital would have to delay labour so that everything would be alright.

"She's a Jones, she'll be just fine baby. Both Carter and Finn were born early and they're perfect and she'll be looked after if we do have her now but we don't know if that's gonna happen."

Ben remembered clearly when he'd had all of his boys and it had only been James who was past his due date which had upset Ellie who had been uncomfortable and in pain, wanting the pregnancy to end. Carter had been two weeks early and Finn had been almost four weeks early which had scared everyone. But Finn had only needed to be in ICU for a week and he had no problems before or after that point unlike what they had thought.

"Are you ready to get up?" Gwilym rubbed his hand over (Y/n)'s shoulder, trying to force a smile when she nodded in response.

Ben stayed in front of her, moving down the stairs a bit ahead so he could keep hold of (Y/n) and guide her. Especially in case she tripped or had to sit down then he was there to catch her or help ease her to sit down and Gwilym was behind her so she couldn't fall or hurt herself.

"Alright baby, let's get you to hospital."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is she okay?" (Y/n) sunk her teeth into the skin of her thumb that was pressed between her lips as her eyes switched between focusing on the monitor and the midwife stood next to her. The moment Ben had brought her to A&E someone had come to their rescue and brought them straight through to an examination room.

The nurse they saw had confirmed that (Y/n)'s water had broken, her pulse was very high and she seemed to be going into labour. The next step was to get her into a room and do further tests to see what could be done.

The best outcome the couple were hoping for was that labour could be prevented, but the worst outcome was that labour happened now. They had been told that if the baby didn't seem too distressed and if there were no problems or complications then (Y/n) could be given medication to try and prevent labour from happening and they could wait and see if it stopped. But if any problems were there or there were issues with the baby then either labour would have to happen or a C-section might be needed if it was severe.

Blood tests had been taken, (Y/n) was on an ECG to monitor her pulse and now they were having a scan to check everything with the baby. But (Y/n) couldn't be given any pain medication until all the tests and checks had been completed.

"Well, I can't see any damage done by your fall, the placenta is in tact and hasn't moved and your baby's head isn't lower down meaning she isn't ready to be born just yet."

"So you can prevent labour?" There was a tiny glimmer of hope in Ben's voice as he clasped (Y/n)'s hand in both of his, pressing his lips to her knuckles.

"Her heartbeat is rather high which is what we'd expect after a fall which has caused her some distress but she is relatively fine. But I'd like to wait a few hours before giving you the medication to prevent labour. You've lost a lot of amniotic fluid which will distress her even more, once her heartbeat calms down and we're sure she's stable I think in two or three hours you can have the injection and then we can keep you in for monitoring."

"But her water broke, won't waiting mean we could go into labour?"

"We see this a lot, (Y/n)'s water broke because of the fall, it means her body isn't prepared for labour and the loss of fluid doesn't mean she is in labour yet and she hasn't even started to become dilated which is a very good sign. We can give you some painkillers and the wait will help the baby settle down and then the medication will stop any contractions from happening so labour won't occur. The only problem we will face is keeping you stable for the next few days or weeks with the fluid you've lost. But let's just see how you go with the wait for now."

"Okay, thank you."

When (Y/n) turned to look at Ben he could see the hope sparkling in her eyes as she tightened her hand around his own.

Her body wasn't ready for labour yet and if she got the medication to prevent labour it would stop any contractions and her body would calm down and continue to look after the baby instead of trying to evict her. As long as (Y/n) and the baby calmed down and continued to be stable then everything would swing in their favour.

If it did work, (Y/n) would just have to be very careful and be on bed rest because the lack of ambiotic fluid would make the baby unsettled and also push her body into going into labour.

But right now it was just a waiting game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay (Y/n), how are we doing?" Josey walked back into the room, checking her watch before she looked at the couple in front of her with a kind, comforting smile. She had left (Y/n) and Ben for two hours after giving (Y/n) some painkillers and it was time to check on her and the baby and decide what the next step was going to be.

"I feel a bit dizzy but I'm okay."

(Y/n) could feel a headache slowly starting to form behind her eyes and her head was becoming a bit fuzzy and lightheaded but she couldn't tell whether it was from the fall and stress of the day or the medication they had put her on. Either way, the striking pain in her stomach had gone and the baby wasn't wriggling half as much as she had been which she had been told would be a good sign if she settled down.

"That could be the medication but I'll run a few checks just to be safe, but right now let's see how your little lady is getting on."

Ben slowly tangled his fingers with (Y/n)'s as he turned to look at the monitor when Josey set it up. He had been sat on the edge of the bed with (Y/n) for the last half an hour after ringing both his mother, (Y/n)'s mother and then Gwilym to inform them all of what was happening. It looked like for the next day or two Ben was going to be here with (Y/n) and either way she would be in hospital for up to a week at this rate. The boys were going to have to switch between staying at their grandma's house and seeing Ben when he left the hospital for a few hours.

"Has her heartbeat levelled out?" Ben smoothed him thumb over the back of (Y/n)'s hand, smiling at the image on screen of their baby girl.

"I... I'm afraid her heartbeat has increased, it's much higher than it should be and in this situation that is a bad sign."

"C-can't we wait a little longer, see if she settles? Couldn't the medication settle her if I'm not at risk of going into labour anymore?"

"Giving you the medication isn't safe when she's clearly distressed, it could make her state worse. I can't give you any stabalising medication for her either because it's too dangerous and it could case her heartbeat to become too low. (Y/n), the best and only option I think we have right now is to start labour for you. If we wait you are at risk of getting an infection and she's clearly distressed, the lack of fluid will make that worse."

"No... no I can't have her now." (Y/n) shook her head as her lips wobbled even though she tried her best to stop herself from crying but it didn't work.

Her hands started to shake causing Ben to grip her hand tighter in his own as his other hand scratched at his jaw in a harsh motion (Y/n) knew was to try and calm himself down. They had been praying that they could hold off on labour and wait a few days, possibly even a week or more to give their girl her best chance. Being born now wasn't going to help her.

"Your lack of fluid and how distressed she is means you will go into labour within the next day or two but waiting is too risky with her state. I'm going to check and see if you're starting to dilate or not and if not, I'll set everything up to start labour. A natural birth is the best option for you both but it has to start now for both of your sakes."

Josey waited a moment for (Y/n) and Ben to both nod and agree with what she was saying before she busied herself writing a few notes and putting on her gloves before she sat down on the edge of the bed. A sympathetic, sorrowful look came onto her features showing she knew and understood how bad this news was for them but it was their only option.

But the moment Josey moved the cover draped over (Y/n)'s legs, her chest tightened and her eyes darted to look at Ben.

"(Y/n), the dizziness you're having is because you're starting to haemorrhage... you seem to be starting to dilate which is good it means I don't have to start labour for you. I'm going to give you some clotting medication and get a doctor to check you over and stay to assist during labour."

Ben turned his head so he could look between (Y/n)'s legs, torn in two minds because the blood loss didn't seem to be major but any blood loss at this stage wasn't a good thing.

This wasn't going to go smoothly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay (Y/n), the legs are born, a few more big pushes and she'll be here." Josey's voice was encouraging and calm but it didn't make (Y/n) feel much better.

Her lower body had gone numb hours ago, her thighs were burning especially since she was sitting on the very edge of the bed with her legs dangling off the edge and her back was pressed into Ben's chest. He was holding onto her like he was afraid she was going to fall forward into Josey who was kneeling in front of them both. It hadn't taken very long for the doctor to sadly tell them that their girl was going to be born breach and that made labour a bit harder. Sitting up in this position was the easiest way to help their girl be born.

Ben pressed his lips to the side of (Y/n)'s head, noticing how her skin was burning up like she was on fire. Josey and a doctor had been here with them for the last seven hours and another midwife had just entered the room ready to help when the baby was born.

They were predicting with how premature she was that she would have to be taken straight down to ICU when she was born.

"Shoulders are born, one more big push for her head (Y/n). We're almost there, just keep doing little breaths for me now."

(Y/n) nodded before she pressed her chin into her chest, biting down on her lip as she let out a scream with the last push. She could tell the exact moment their girl was born, it felt like a sudden weight was dropped from her stomach that seemed to pull her insides down with it. She leaned her head back onto Ben's shoulder, trying to catch her breaths back but it felt like her lungs were collapsing and her insides and stomach were shrivelling up into nothing.

"I-is s... she okay?" (Y/n)'s voice trembled almost as much as her body was shaking from the shock of what she had just done and gone through. It felt like her body was being shaken back and forth like someone was trying to wake her up or violently gain her attention.

But it was clear Ben had dealt with this kind of situation before with the way he started humming in her ear to try and ground her and give her something to focus on. He kept his arms lightly yet firmly wrapped around her middle with his fingers gliding up and down her arm like feathers tickling her skin. He had to keep her calm and try to give her something to focus on so she could forget about the pain and the shock and so she didn't pass out like he was afraid she was going to.

(Y/n) could barely manage to get her eyes to focus enough to look down in front of her legs to see Josey. Her gaze loosely followed Josey's arms passing their baby girl over to the doctor who gave the couple a calming smile before he set to work on their girl.

Her skin was a mix of very light pink and pale grey underneath the blood and fluids coating her fragile body. And her lips were light blue with hints of grey dabbed in between showing she wasn't breathing and didn't have much oxygen in her system. Ben hated how she looked so limp and lifeless in the doctor's arms, she looked like she was made out of jelly and about to flop and fall out of place at any moment.

Even though Josey was trying to focus on (Y/n) and delivering the placenta, her eyes kept flitting back to glance at the doctor to check on the baby.

Ben watched intently as the doctor placed a small tube down his baby girl's throat after checking her pulse which clearly had to be there. Almost instantly, a murky brown, cloggy fluid started to fill the tube and splutter from the newborn's lips. The doctor turned the newborn onto her side before he removed the tube and started rubbing his hand up and down her back to try and clear the fluid from her lungs. But the noise the baby made was something that made Ben shiver and caused (Y/n) to moan in agony.

It sounded like she was drowning.

She was trying to form her first cry, the first sound of her new life but all that came out was a strangled, croaky noise mixed with the spluttering of the fluids leaving her pale lips.

"Lisa, take her down to ICU get her stabalised and cleaned up please." Doctor Mills turned his attention to the other midwife who was on standby to help when the baby was born. She nodded instantly, watching him place the baby into the incubator and fill out a quick form before motioning for her to take the newborn out of the room.

"Ben...?" (Y/n) turned her head a little so she could look up at him, her eyes pleading for him to find out what was happening.

"(Y/n), your baby's okay but she has to go to the intensive care unit straight away. She's tried to breathe whilst still in the womb and inhaled fluids and she's going into a state of shock. Once the nurses have managed to stabalise her and clear her lungs they can get her washed and you can go and see her, the important thing right now is that she's being cared for and now we need to help you."

Doctor Mills was caring and kept his words slow because he could see (Y/n)'s attention was dithering because of the state of shock she was in. But when he knew she understood and accepted what he was saying, he smiled before he looked down at Josey to know (Y/n)'s progress.

"(Y/n), I need you to push again for me, the placenta is nearly delivered then we can get you sorted and settled down, okay?"

(Y/n) nodded but she could barely feel herself pushing before Josey said the placenta was suddenly delivered and she could relax. All (Y/n) wanted to do was lay down and collapse into a state of sleep with Ben at her side but the thought of their baby was preventing her from sleeping. She wanted to see and hold their baby and make sure she was okay. (Y/n) couldn't sleep in case something happened and no one told her. She had to be awake for any news about her baby.

"What's wrong?" Ben looked over at Josey when he could see the worry in her eyes and the metal dish in her hands containing the placenta.

"(Y/n)'s got a retained placenta, it's broken and some of it is still in the womb."

"Okay honey, we need to lay you on your side and give you some medicine to start some more contractions, that placenta piece has to come away quickly." The doctor's voice was calm as was the look in his eyes but Ben knew his words showed that this wasn't the best situation. If the retained piece of placenta stayed in the womb for too long (Y/n) could get an infection and she had already been prone to infections from losing the amniotic fluid before having contractions.

Doctor Mills helped Ben to shuffle off the bed and then move (Y/n) around. They gently turned her before slowly shuffling her further up the bed until her head reached the pillow. Both men carefully held onto (Y/n) and turned her onto her left side so she was facing Ben to help with her blood flow before Doctor Mills moved her legs. Josey got the medication ready and injected it into her stomach ready to start a few more contractions.

(Y/n) didn't hold the strength to keep her eyes open anymore so she just let them close, she could feel her head sinking into the pillow that was making her already fuzzy head feel like it was floating on air.

She could feel Ben's hand tightly holding her own and when a contraction started she could do nothing but moan and squirm, her muscles were pushing and contracting on demand without her having to concentrate anymore. Everything was spinning, (Y/n) just wanted Ben to lie down with her so she could go to sleep and wake up to have this all be some kind of warped nightmare that ended.

"Okay (Y/n), the placenta's delivered now- doctor she's haemorrhaging again."

The moment Josey took the last piece of the placenta and placed it in the dish beside her, it was as if a tap had been switched on and the bedsheets started to turn red instead of white.

"Post-natal haemorrhage in room four, assistance please. Right, (Y/n) honey you just relax now, we'll get you fixed up so you and your partner can rest." Doctor Mills rubbed (Y/n)'s shoulder for a moment to try and calm her down as a team came into the room.

Ben dug his nails into the back of his head, stretching his arms behind him as he backed up against the wall when kindly gestured to move out the way. He watched the five doctors and nurses flutter around (Y/n), seeing them attach an oxygen tube under her nose and around her ears. One nurse started to gently massage her stomach to try and stop the bleeding as doctor Mills gave (Y/n) another injection into her thigh. And another nurse started moving the sheets from beneath (Y/n) to swap them out as Josey started to clean (Y/n) up and check if she needed stitches or not.

Doctor Mills slipped his arms under (Y/n) enough to lean her up so she could throw up into a bowl when she made a slow, weak movement to signal she was going to be sick. Ben also noticed a nurse upping the dosage of painkillers in (Y/n)'s drip to help calm her down and take away any shock and pain she was going through.

It took about ten minutes of getting her meds sorted, making sure she was breathing enough and finding blankets and heat pads before the panic in the room seemed to die down enough for Ben to stop having a panic attack in the corner. He watched them put (Y/n) onto an IV drip and a blood transfusion, keep her laying on her side and check her heartbeat and her oxygen levels before everyone slowly left the room seeing that she was stable now.

Doctor Mills approached Ben when he was certain (Y/n) was out of immediate danger and was now calm and settled.

"Are you okay?"

"Hmm, is (Y/n) gonna be okay?"

"She's lost some blood but the transfusion will help with that and it will stop her from going into shock and she will be happy to know she doesn't need stitches. She needs rest and monitoring but she will be fine. I'm going to go and check on your baby and when she's also stable, I will find you so you can see her."

(Y/n) didn't look alright to Ben, she was too pale, hooked up to too many drips and machines and she was passed out but as long as she was going to be okay then Ben would stop panicking.

He just wanted his girls to be okay.

#ben hardy #ben x reader #ben hardy imagine #dad! ben #pregnant! reader #gwilym lee #gwilym imagine #imagine #BoRhap

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onionsoop · 3 years

Text

Regrets /// Oikawa x nb!reader

Summary: After the last day of school you go over to Oikawa's house and start to talk about all the things you regretted not doing in high school. During that time though you confess to him after he pesters you about who you were interested in.

Length: 2.1k

Tags: Fluff, Childhood Friends, Kissing

Author's Note: Heyo, this is just some silly Oikawa fluff I decided to write cause I wasn't really in the mood to write smut these past few weeks. I might add more parts to this, but for now I'm working on Part 2 to the Nanami fic. Anyways, sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes and enjoy :)

The clink of ice in a glass sounded from the other room. You let out a long sigh, closing your eyes, letting the buzzing from the cicadas outside fill your mind. Warm sunlight beamed in from the sliding glass door, lighting up his bedroom and falling across your legs.

It was the last day of the school year. The last day of school before you headed off to college. It had been a long and twelve years, filled with some of the hardest work you had ever done, but now that it was over you felt was a slight sadness. Thinking about what you had ahead of you felt overwhelming and you just wanted to spend your time enjoying this last summer break to its fullest.

The sound of footsteps approaching from the kitchen made you open your eyes, turning your head to look at him as he entered the room. Casual as ever, Oikawa entered the room holding two full glasses of lemonade and smiling at you. Oikawa, your neighbor and childhood friend since you were seven-- looking at him now felt no different than it had when you first met. Despite the fact that he had grown twice as tall and now had his hair styled in those perfect waves the cocky look on his face had remained the same. You followed his movements with your eyes as he set one of the glasses down next to you on the floor before sitting down with a heavy sigh, admiring the way the muscles under his shirt moved.

“So, how long until you leave?” he asked, staring out the window into the garden in front of you.

“Two months. I’m leaving for Tokyo a month early to get set up,” you said dismally. Thinking about how little time you had left made a shiver run up your spine. It felt like there was a foot on your back pushing you to move on while you still held on to the last scraps of your childhood.

“Any closer to deciding on what you’re going to do?” you asked, shifting your eyes over to look at him. He was sprawled out on the floor, back resting against the side of the bed and lemonade glass in hand, slowly swirling the liquid inside. He shook his head, a slight, sad smile forming on his lips in response. Both of you felt the same way about high school ending-- you knew it was unavoidable but neither one of you liked the implications it held and the future it brought.

“Did you make sure to pick up all your equipment? You know Matsukawa was annoyed last year when you forgot your uniform,” you said, nudging his shoulder, trying to liven up the conversation. His eyes flicked over to you, giving you a fake exasperated look that contrasted the smile on his face.

“Of course, of course, Iwaizumi pestered me about it endlessly, there was no way I could forget,” he said, nudging you back a little harder.

“Say, why didn’t you ever join the team? You were always so invested in all of my games and practices.” You fixed your gaze back on the garden in front of you, feeling the jovial mood in the conversation seep out of the atmosphere as memories of things you missed out on flooded into your mind.

“I’m not sure,” you said truthfully, “I guess I was just too busy. I wish I had.” Oikawa nodded, letting out an “mmm” in response.

“Well, it doesn’t matter too much, I’m sure you’ll have a chance in college,”

“Probably, doesn’t feel the same though. I know it stupid but it feels like high school is the time when you’re supposed to do things like that. Makes it seem like I missed a lot of opportunities,” you said quietly, sadness seeping into your tone.

“I doubt that, you were always a hardworking student so if anything you just prepared yourself more for the future. Things like clubs aren’t important,” Oikawa said, trying to lighten the mood. Even though he was usually able to distract you and cheer you up, you still felt the weight of your future still pressing on your emotions.

“I feel so left behind though, like I don’t have these core experiences that everyone else does,”

“I don’t think volleyball is that much of a core experience-”

“It’s not just that, there’s lots of stuff-- I was never in any clubs, I never made that cliche friend group you’re supposed to have, I’ve never even had a first kiss! Do you know how embarrassing that’ll be for me to go into college without even a first kiss?” you exclaimed a little louder than you wanted to. Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes but you quickly forced them away, returning to your depressed composure. There was no reason to get so emotional. You glanced over at Oikawa who had a surprised but concerned look on his face.

“I… I don’t know, I think this is all just weighing on me cause school just ended. I guess I don’t feel prepared,”

“It’s alright, I understand. I’m sure everything will get better in the next few months though.”

“Yeah, probably... I just wish I could go back and redo things, I feel so much regret…” you said, staring down at your drink, watching the condensation drip down the sides. You felt a little guilty putting this all on Oikawa, but you couldn’t quite shove away the depressing feeling that clung to you. There was an awkward pause and you felt Oikawa shift beside you.

“What would you go back and change?” he asked tentatively, meeting your eyes. You opened your mouth to answer but stopped when you realized you weren’t quite sure. You had never really thought about what exactly you would go and change, it felt like there was never really any point.

“I’m not exactly sure. I guess for starters I would go and join the volleyball team, then maybe try and connect with people more often. I was pretty standoff-ish most of the time wasn’t I,” you said, earning a chuckle from Oikawa.

“Makes sense, what would you do about that first kiss situation though? You seemed pretty distressed about that,” he said, a slight smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. You let out a small laugh, rolling your eyes and feeling heat rush to your cheeks. Out of all the things you felt you missed out on, that was the one you had actually given some thought to.

Over the four years you were in high school, you had multiple crushes on different people, but had never really been able to connect with them. At the current moment though the only one you remembered was the way you had liked Oikawa ever since elementary school. You had tried to build up the courage to confess to him back then, but once middle school hit and he got a girlfriend you buried your feelings as much as possible.

“I-I’m honestly not sure. There were a couple people I was interested in but I’m not sure anything would have ever really worked out with them.” You averted your gaze from him, trying to hide the blush forming on your cheeks, making you miss the intensity in his eyes as he asked you the next question.

‘Oh? Like who? Anyone I know?” he said, leaning forwards with a teasing grin on his face.

“I- I don’t think so, it wasn’t really anyone ever well known,” you said a bit too quickly, trying to blow it off with a slight laugh. You thought about all the times you had wanted to tell him about how you felt. You knew you had wanted to for so long, but was it even a good idea?

“Aw c’mon, can I at least get some names? You shouldn’t hold back information like this from your best friend Y/N,”

“I-... um-...” You couldn’t think of anything to say. The name of every guy you had ever known vanished from your head and the only one left was Oikawa’s. Your mind raced to try and think of something to say but nothing came to you. The room suddenly felt too hot and the noise from outside buzzed in your ears, distracting you from thinking properly.

“I-It’s a secret,” you said, regretting the excuse as soon as it came out of your mouth. Oikawa’s smile quickly dropped to be replaced with an expression that said “seriously?”

“We’re not even in school anymore, how can it be a secret?”

“It- It just is. I don’t want you to know, it’s embarrassing,” you said, becoming more aware of the hole you were digging yourself. There was no way you’d be able to lie your way out of this. The blush on your cheeks had transformed into a crimson shade that ran all the way up to your ears, showing that the words you said were lame excuses if it wasn’t already apparent.

“Come onnnn, it can’t be that bad, just tell me,” he said, poking you in the arm. Oikawa’s prying was becoming harder and harder to manage as you scrambled to find a way out of it. Your mind was barely working and had formed into a mess of pure panic. You wanted to give up and just tell him, but your mind was jumping from pros and cons too quickly for you to choose. You felt your breath hitch in your throat as you tried to answer.

“W-Well… it’s you.”

It felt like everything in the room stilled as soon as you spoke. The panic you felt before almost seemed to enhance and you felt a feeling of regret slam into you. What were you thinking? Your eyes flicked to Oikawa who was staring at you wide-eyed with his lips slightly parted in shock. Your lower lip began to tremble and your palms felt too sweaty where they were in your lap. Every atom in you felt the urge to run, but you were frozen in place. Fuck.

“W-What?” he said, finally breaking the silence.

“I-I’m sorry, pretend I didn’t say anything,” you blurted out, whipping your head back to face the garden. You started staring intently at a bush outside to try and concentrate on anything but the rising fear in your throat.

“You like me?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“I-I don’t know, I didn’t think you would reciprocate. W-Which it’s okay if you don’t...” you said, slowly shifting your gaze back to him, searching for any emotion on his face besides the intense stare he was giving you. You felt like your heart was about to pound out of your chest. Finally telling all of him this wasn’t as relieving as you thought it would be. Instead of feeling like a weight was lifted off your chest, being in this limbo had caused you to feel even more crushed by your decision. You closed your eyes and took a shaky breath, trying to calm down.

Faster than you could process, you felt his hand reach up to cup your cheek and his lips press up against yours. Your eyes shot open and you scrambled backwards, pulling away from the kiss.

“W-What are you doing?” you said, eyes wide and staring at Oikawa who was inches from your face.

“I-I’m sorry, I like you too, I thought it would be okay-” You didn’t let him finish his sentence as you slammed your lips back into his. Finally, you felt that wave of relief wash over you. Happiness swelled in your mind. You had to concentrate on keeping the corners of your lips from forcing your mouth into a smile. Your first kiss. Right then and there. It was all you could have ever hoped for and with the guy you had always dreamed it would be with.

You felt Oikawa’s arm move from its place on your cheek to reach around your back. He pulled you closer to him and you wrapped your arms around his neck, feeling his soft hair brush against your fingers. You melted into the kiss, savoring the warmth of his lips against yours.

He pulled back looking into your eyes as you let out an unsteady breath before smiling up at him. You could feel almost every part of you shaking from the adrenaline. You were lightheaded and found it hard to breathe, but you felt like you couldn’t be happier at that moment.

“So… would you like to be my significant other?” he asked, rubbing you back with his thumb.

“Yeah- yes please.” You beamed up at him, letting out a small laugh.

“You sure were surprised at that kiss, huh,” he said, a smirk coming across his features.

“Shut up!”

You gave him a slight push, both of you laughing as he held you in his arms, relishing the feeling of finally being with him.

#fluff #oikawa #oikawa x reader #haikyuu!!#oikawa x you #nb!reader #haikyuu fanfic #oikawa fic #oikawa tooru

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dvixiecups · 3 years

Text

"Why are we doing this again?" Ranpo whined from his nest in the back seat, his cheeks stuffed with food.

"Boss asked us to attend this meeting while he went to a more important one," Jun'ichirou explained for quite possibly the 20th time since they had been in the car.

"You can just ignore him, you know," Akiko reminded, also for the 20th time.

"As much as I like our little routine, I'm bored!" Ranpo annouced, throwing a balled up chip bag to the front seat.

Akiko slammed it down with her gloved hand, the car swerving as she took her attention from the road. Jun'ichirou lunged for the wheel in a desperate attempt to steady the car while Akiko turned around to address Ranpo face to face. Fortunately, they were on a desolate straight stretch of the highway, perfect for in-car-disputes.

"I can't sit here for another 5 hours listening to you complain!" She picked up the pile of trash on the dashboard, ignoring Jun'ichirou's reach, "Do you know how fucking difficult it is to drive and deal with this?"

Anger didn't reach her tone, it was a petty thing to be mad about and the only real reason she was persuing it was out of boredom. Driving on a plain road in a plain car listening to plain people was not her ideal Saturday, and the sheer plainess of it all was causing her to doze off every so often.

"Do you know how hard it is to sit here and do nothing? I'm practically falling asleep! And your driving is awful, you're gonna make me throw up all my snacks," a hint of sincerity touched his tone, he was bored and he did also feel quite nauseous, but Akiko was actually a surprisingly good driver.

"Fine then."

Akiko nudged her passengers hands off the wheel, sharply turning the car onto the shoulder while slamming down onto the brake.

Ranpo, who had been unbuckled, flew out of his seat, face smashing against the back of Jun'ichirou's chair.

"You drive," Akiko challenged, stepping out of the car and walking around to open Ranpo's door.

Pulling himself off the floor infront of the seat, Ranpo agreed to the challenge presented. He had run out of snacks which left the detective nothing to distract himself from the soft vibrations of the car and the dizzying blur of the outside world.

Once everyone was settled in their new seats, Akiko horizontal across the backseat with her arms as pillows already falling asleep and Ranpo adjusting the seat for his height, the gang took off.

"I didn't know you could drive," Jun'ichirou commented, genuinly surprised at the smooth ride.

"Neither did I," Ranpo laughed.

Jun'ichirou's eyes widened in fear as he turned to assess Ranpo's smiling face for any sign of a joke. There was none.

"You do have your liscense, right?"

Ranpo didn't respond, just kept smiling. Anxiety pulling at him, Jun'ichirou sank down in the car seat, suddenly regretting having agreed to attend this meeting. In response to this, Ranpo turned up the radio and rolled down the front two windows.

"Now this!" He shouted over the wind, "Is a car ride."

The fresh air billowing in and harmony's filling the car distracted Ranpo from the sour feeling in his stomach. It was truly nice, the sweet air danced around the car, whipping through Ranpo's hair and taking his hat to the back seat. Plastic rustled around the car as the air threatened to take the trash out the window, leaving the passengers to scramble to stuff all the wrappers into one shopping bag.

Once all that was finished, a distinct calm fell over the car, blanketing the trio in a comfortable stillness, the sound of wind and the radio blending in with the background as if they had always been there and always will be. Everyone appreciated this environment, everyone but Ranpo.

With nothing to distract himself but the winding stretch of road ahead, he began to feel his nausea swell. His smile quickly fade, though the attitude change went unnoticed by the two napping people in the car. Ranpo wanted to wake them up and ask them what to do, but fear glued his lips together. White knuckles gripped the steering wheel as the detective tried to think of a plan to dull the awful sharp feeling in his gut.

His best option, he decided, was to pull over. But where? They were driving along a cliffside, one side a towering rock and the other a steep drop. So that was a no. His other option was to stop in the middle of the road. But that wasn't possible. Two cars where on lined up behind the three, and judging by how close they were to Ranpo's vehicle, they would not appreciate a sudden stop. Which brings him to his third option. Open his mouth and ask for help. If he manages to say it quick enough then maybe his co-workers could do something about it.

But he couldn't waste his breath on trying to get them awake, and the road was too treacherous from him to safely shake Jun'ichirou awake. So he decided to blast the radio.

This worked very well, both passengers awoke with a startle, eyes searching for danger and relaxing when they found none. Satisfied with himself, Ranpo turned down the volume.

"What's going on?" Akiko questioned, poking her head between the two front seats.

"I don't feel good," Ranpo pouted, his shoulder's rising with a hiccup to punctuate his statement.

"Are you bored?" Jun'ichirou asked.

"No!" Ranpo's voice ended with a high pitched whine, "I feel like how I did when we ate at that one place."

Despite his intense vagueness, Akiko knew what he was talking about. Her eyes widened in realization as her hands scrambled for the shopping bag from earlier.

"How long have you felt like this? Will you be fine until we can pull over," Jun'ichirou wondered, his hands also searching for the shopping bag.

Ranpo didn't open his mouth, he couldn't anymore.

"Found it!" Akiko announced, dumping all the trash out of the plastic grocery bag before tossing it onto Ranpo's lap.

"What's he supposed to do with that? He's driving!"

"Then hold it for him! Unless you wanna clean up after him."

Out of the two options Akiko had presented him, Jun'ichirou opted for the latter. It was difficult to properly grab and open the bag when given the obstacles of Ranpo's arms and his absurd sleeves, but after twenty-ish seconds the mouth of the bag was under Ranpo's chin.

"I can't hold this position for long," Jun'ichirou informed.

"Give him a break! This isn't the most comfortable thing for him either," Akiko defended.

Just as Ranpo's chest clenched with a gag, the road opened up to allow for a passing lane. The cars following behind quickly sped ahead and Ranpo slammed on the brakes.

"You can't just stop in the middle of the road!" Jun'ichirou gasped, his arms coming back to his side.

"There's a passing lane, plus this is an emergency."

Ranpo ignored their conversation as he flung open the car door and leaned over as far as his seatbelt would allow. Akiko unbuckled aswell, reaching her hand around to rub the detectives back.

Gags mercilessly took over Ranpo's body, the mixture of sweets in his stomach swirling with a sour anger. He let out a low moan, the faint taste of sugar coating the coppery saliva which flooded his mouth. Spitting out the disgusting liquid, Ranpo began to feel heat rise up his throat. His hands struggled to unclip his seatbelt to allow him freedom from the suffocating vehicle.

Once outside, he braced himself agaisnt the open door, bent over at the waist and spitting out saliva as it formed.

One final gag sent an explosion of butterflies into his ribcage and an explosion of half digested sweets from his mouth. Jun'ichirou groaned from his position and turned away from the sight as Ranpo gagged once more, bringing up an even bigger wave.

Tears sprang to his eyes as exertion drained his body. After one final wave, thinner than the second but thicker than the first, Ranpo sank back into the car. Sniffing, he wiped his face with his sleeve before curling up on the seat.

"I don't feel good," he stated, face buried in his knees.

"Ohh, I'm sorry," Akiko comforted, brushing her finger's through Ranpo's hair as sympathy heavily laced her tone.

Ranpo's back shaked as he queitly cried, the pain in his stomach suddenly becoming too much for him. Dissatisfied with her position, Akiko stepped out of the car and stood next to the drivers seat, being careful to avoid the mess on the floor.

Leaning in, she softly wrapped her arms around Ranpo, her hand rubbing up and down his side.

"Do you want to go in the backseat now?" She asked after a minute.

Ranpo nodded, allowing himself to be led out of the car. Vertigo slammed against him quickly as the sun rushed into his eyes. Doubling over, he gagged up a mouthful of sick, prompting Akiko to rub his back.

"Should we turn around?" Jun'ichirou asked, concern tainting his tone.

"We can't, we're more than halfway there. We'll just need to find a hotel or someplace we can leave him while us two attend."

Jun'ichirou nodded, "I can drive the rest of the way if you wanna sit back there with him."

Akiko smiled softly and gave a nod of her own, guiding Ranpo into the backseat before sliding in after him.

"Watch your step," she advised as Jun'ichirou stepped around the car.

"Let's hope this isn't something that will last a while," he thought out loud, handing the plastic bag in the front seat back to Akiko.

#tw: vomit #sick ranpo edogawa #vomit tw #bungou stray dogs sickfic

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sherlocksvirginity · 3 years

Text

Fun fact, this is an unposted story I have on wattpad.

“Understand the plan?”

"Yes."

I was making my way out to this so called

John Nelson. According to the person who wanted him dead, he had threatened them and killed their family.

I was sitting on the roof when I found him. Jet black hair with a tad bit of waves, a long curvy nose, and not that tall. I got my dagger ready.

He was in the middle of an alleyway. I jumped down right behind him, he quickly turned around because of the noise. I ran around him standing behind him, and stabbed him in the back were it was most fatal, yet not enough to kill him in an instance. I didn't intend to kill him just yet. I laid him down on the floor and sat on top of him to do my signature. I carved a big grin onto his face, making his scream into small gurgles as he was slowly drowning in his own crimson liquid. The transparent tears spilling from his dark brown eyes. I slowly slid his throat making it as painful as possible. I raised myself from him, leaving him to die of blood lost.

The beautiful crimson liquid was pooling up underneath him. It was beautiful, chaotic. A big grin started to form on my own face.

I quickly jumped on the same roof once again and ran to the motel I was staying at. Once I made it to my room I went to take a shower. I changed into a hoodie and a pair of tight black jeans. I picked up my old clothes and threw them onto the fireplace outside. The fire rose and was crackling. It was nice and hot.

As it was burned I turned of the fire and went back inside and sat on my bed. Memories from my past came flooding out of nowhere.

~flashback~

I was running away from my abusive mother. I was 15. She had a silver blade in hand. I knew if she caught me, I'd be done for good. I ran into a forest. She was nowhere to be seen. I fell to my knees out of breath.

Someone walked over to me. It was the silhouette of a tall buff person. I was crawling backwards away from the person. I bumped into a tree. The tall person, who looked like a man in his mid 20's, came close. He sat down on his knees besides me and placed his hand on my cheek. He dried away a tear that had escaped.

"Come with me. I can help you." He said standing up and holding a hand out to help me up. I looked at him and took his hand. He was my only hope.

We came to a weird looking building. It was grey and had some tall windows. He dragged me inside through a door. "Let me show you to your room." He said dragging me further inside. We came to some cells. I saw a guy with brown hair to his shoulders. He had a metal arm.

"What happened to him?" I asked pointing at the guy. "Nothing you need to worry about." The man answered. I looked at the guy with the metal arm. He looked back at me. He looked broken. He smiled at me and I smiled back.

~end of flashback~

That was 10 years ago. Tears started forming in my eyes. I quickly dried them away. 'Stop crying. You're weak!' I told myself.

~new flashback~

I was 18. I was sat in an uncomfortable chair. They had put some weird machine on my face. I looked up at the man who saved me. He was smirking. They put something in my mouth and then turned the machine on. I was screaming, loudly. I looked around to see them all not caring one bit.

As it came to an end I was sweating like crazy. They dragged me up and into my cell. It was right besides the guy I first saw when I arrived. "Are you okay?" He asked. "I've had better day's." I answered. He chuckled a bit at my response. "I'm sorry you have to go through this." He said a bit after. "It's aight." I answered not really wanting to talk anymore. "Anyways Y/n, when's your birthday? I don't remember asking you that." He asked. "It's the y/b/d" i answered. "I'm going to try to sleep. Goodnight Bucks." "Night n/n." He said.

~end of flashback~

Tears was now flooding out. I laid down on my bed, curled into a ball. The pain was to much to handle.

As I was in my moment, my phone started ringing. I looked over at it to see who it was. Tony. I let out a groan of irritation, debating wether or not to answer. I decided to just let it ring and not answer.

After Tony called for the fifth time I decide to answer. "No." Was all I said as the phone was placed on my ear. "You Sound happy." He said sarcastically. "I bet." I answered. "When are you coming home?" He asked. "Tomorrow." I answered. "Great. I'll have everything ready then." He said. "Oh and Y/n?" He said. "Yeah?" I answered. "Pepper is going to be there." He said right before ending the call. I let out a groan of annoyance. I honestly hated Pepper so much.

I laid my phone down again but I got one more call. This time from an unknown number. I answered and before I could say anything I heard a familiar voice. "N/n?" Bucky said. "Bucks?" I answered surprised. "Oh good it is you." He said. "Tony said you'd be home tomorrow?" He asked. "Yes. We honestly need to have a talk. I've missed you like crazy." I said. "I've missed you too doll. Sorry for calling so late, I was worried and saw your name on Tony's phone so I decided to give the number a call. Anyways you sound tired, night N/n" he said. "Night Bucks." I answered ending the call.

I laid the phone down on my nightstand and laid my head on my pillow. Sleep quickly took over me. It was a restless sleep.

I woke up the next day to a message from Tony.

"Share your location."

"Aight gimme a sec."

I quickly shared my location. I walked over to my closet and changed into a grey turtleneck with an oversized t-shirt over it, a pair of lose fit ripped jeans with fishnet underneath.

"Happy will be there in 16 minutes."

I quickly packed the rest of my stuff and sat back down on my bed, waiting for Happy to pick me up. I heard a car honk so I walked outside to see a black Audi. Happy crawled out the door and opened a door for me to get in. He grabbed my bag and put it in the trunk.

"So how is everything at home?" I asked Happy. "We've got new members." He answered shortly. "Can you tell me their names or?" I asked. "You can call-" he was cut of by my phone ringing.

"Hey Tony." I said. "Hey, what is your go to color?" Tony asked. "Uhm ivy- or forest green. Why?" I asked. "Great thanks. Bye Sparrow." He said and ended the call.

I looked back up to Happy. "So why does he call you Sparrow?" He asked. "It's a Pirates of the Caribbean reference." I answered. "Which is?" He asked confused. "My favorite movie of course." I answered acting offended. "Okay, but why Sparrow?" He asked again. "Because I'm a lot like Captain Jack Sparrow apparently." I answered.

I arrived at the avengers compound. Happy took my baggage and I walked through the door. "GOAT MAN!!" I yelled. "SPARROW!!" Tony answered. I walked up to him and gave him a quick hug. He was about the same height as me. When, of course, he wasn't wearing his platforms.

"N/n?!" I heard Bucky's voice. "Bucks?" I looked over to were to voice came from. Bucky was standing in the doorway. I ran over and gave him a hug. My arms wrapped around his neck. He wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up so I wrapped my legs around his waist. He buried his nose into my shoulder. "I haven't seen you in four years, N/n." He whispered. "Well I'm here now." I answered. My right hand went up to his scalp and started playing with his hair.

He let me down again and rustled my hair. I jokingly slapped his hand away which got him to chuckle. Tony walked over to us and placed his hand on my lower back and lead me up to the living room. "So any plans?" I asked. "Nope." Tony answered popping the 'P'. I looked around to see Pepper, Steve, Thor, Natasha, Clint, Bruce and some new faces.

"Everyone!" Tony said gaining the attention of yeah everyone. "This here is the amazing Sparrow!" He said with a big grin and his right arm wrapped around my waist. Pepper was staring at me with a death glare. "Or just Y/n." I said. Nat walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck in a tight hug. "Do you know how irresponsible and irritating our buys have been while you where gone?" She joked. "Oh I'm to scared to even think about it, honestly." I answered.

My eyes shifted over all the new faces. "So who are y'all?" I asked. Nat moved to my side, her arm resting on my right shoulder. "The new recruits. That over there is Wanda." She said pointing to a beautiful lady with brown-ish/red-ish hair who waved and smiled. "That over there is Sam." Nat said pointing to a man with a goatee and extremely short black hair. He gave a smile and continued his conversation with Steve and Bucky. "That over there is Doctor Strange." She said pointing at a guy with goatee and brown-ish black-ish hair with a grey stripe on each side of his head. His cloak detached from his shoulders and flew over to me. "So does everyone just have a goatee now?" I asked more myself then anyone, but Nat still chuckled at it.

"Hello there." I smiled at the Cloak. It wrapped itself around me which got me too chuckle. "I need you too teach me how you did that." Tony mumbled. "You better get back to your master." I whispered to the cloak. It didn't budge. "Levi."the Doctor said. The cloak removed it self from me and flew back over to it's master.

Natasha introduced me to the rest of the team. "I'm hungry." I said walking out to the kitchen. I heard footsteps following me. I got to the counter and grabbed an apple. I turned around and saw Thor. "Hey, point break." I joked. He didn't answer but wrapped me in a tight hug. "I have missed you, Sparrow." He said. "I've missed you too." I said patting his back. He released me from the hug and walked over to find the pop tarts. "Thor they are in there." I said pointing at the cabinet furthest up.

He lifted me up by my waist so I could grab them. "Here." I said handing him the pop tarts. "Thank you lady Y/n." He said releasing me from his grip. "Don't sweat it." I answered walking out to the living room with an apple in hand.

I sat down on the couch between the Doctor and Bucky. "Hey, N/n." Bucky said. "Hello, Bucks." I answered. "Did you find out more about the so called powers?" He asked. "Uh-huh. I found out I can bend fire to my own will. And of course I'm able to form fire in my palm." I said. "So, what they gave you worked?" He asked. "Who gave you?" The Doctor asked. "Hydra." I mumbled. I let my head fall so I was looking down on my hands that was laying in my lap.

Everyone except for me was talking and having fun. I felt something on my chin. The cloak. It lifted my chin and caressed my cheek as a way of cheering me up. Which worked, I chuckled a bit at it which got The Doctor to look at me and smile. "I swear it normally doesn't do that." He said. "Don't worry, doctor." I answered. "Stephen." He corrected which got me to look at him. "Huh?" I asked confused. "My name's Stephen Strange." He explained.

"Y/n, Y/n Y/l/n." I answered. "That's a lovely name." He said with a smile. "Thank you." I said trying to hide a smile.

I had used most of the time talking with Bucky and Stephen. We had all eaten Pizza for dinner and it was now 9 PM. "Lady Y/n, can you follow me?" Thor said. "Of course." I answered standing up. He lead me upstairs to his room. "You can sit there, I forgot something downstairs." He said hurrying out the door. I walked over and sat on his bed.

I took my phone out and saw I had a text from Bucky.

"You good?" -BB

"Yeah, is Thor with you?"

"Yeah?" -BB

"Oh Bloody hell."

"What? You need me to come?" -BB

"Nah It's good. Bye."

"Bye N/n." -BB

I felt the bed bend down. "Hello Sparrow." I heard Loki's voice. "Hello Softy." I said. "I'm not soft." He said stern. "Oh yeah?" I joked. "What do you need anyways?" I asked. "I need to join the team." He said which got me to laugh. "Are you fucking serious?" I asked looking him straight in the eyes. "No, he's a fictional character so it's quite hard to do so. But yes I want to join the Avengers." He said. "You've read to much Harry Potter." I answered. "You were the one to recommend it, Darling." He said with smirk.

"You know, if you wanna join the Avengers, you'd have to start acting nice towards them." I said. "Yes, yes I know." He said rolling his eyes. I punched him lightly on his shoulder. I looked down his wrist to see a small spot on his sleeve slowly growing bigger and darker.

I grabbed his wrist and held it in my lap. "You haven't?..." I asked. "No." He said shortly trying to get his hand out of my grip, but I didn't let go. I moved his sleeve upwards and saw fresh cuts. I looked up in his eyes to see tears rolling down his cheeks. I dragged him into my room and into my bathroom.

"Friday?" I said. "Yes miss?" A female robotic voice answered. "Where's the first aid kit?" I asked. "In the far left cabinet miss." She answered. "Thanks." I said finding the first aid kit. "You're welcome miss." She said.

"Let me take care of that." I said, more of a demand than anything. "It's okay, really." He said. "No, Loki." I said, my voice stern which got him

To flinch. I opened the kit. "This might hurt a little." I said looking him in his eyes. Tears was still rolling down his cheeks. I cleaned up his cuts and wrapped it in bandages. "Can I?" I asked pointing to his sleeve on his other arm.

He didn't answer but he took of his shirt and I saw all kind of different scars. Some old, some rather fresh. "Loki, why in the nine realms would you ever do that." I mumbled wrapping my arms around his neck in a tight hug. "I'm sorry." He mumbled into the crook of my neck. He wrapped his arms around my waist.

I let go of him and led him to my bed. "You can change into something more comfortable and sleep in my bed for tonight." I said. I turned around and walked towards the door. "Stay." He said. "Please." He mumbled. I turned back around and saw he was already changed into a dark green hoodie it was almost black and a pair of matching sweatpants.

"I'm gonna go grab something to drink first." I said turning back around and opening the door. "May I come with you?" He asked. "Yeah, but you better be quick." I said walking out the door. I heard him run after me. We both walked down to the kitchen. I grabbed an energy drink from the fridge when I heard a voice. "You really shouldn't be drinking those." Stephen spoke. "Yeah well, you only live once and it's not like We're gonna make it out alive anyways." I said opening the can and taking a huge slurp.

"Night, Doctor." I said rustling his hair with my right hand and walking away with Loki by my side. We got to my room and Loki sat on my bed. "Goodnight Loki." I said. "Where are you going to be sleeping ?" He asked. "Don't worry." I said going to my bathroom to shower. I quickly changed into a hoodie and sweatpants and walked back out into my room.

I saw Loki already sleeping on my bed, but he was twisting and turning. "Loki? You good?" I asked. I walked closer to him and shook him to make him wake up. "Loki." I said. He sat up quickly. Tears was threatening to spill.

"Lo-" I was caught of by him wrapping his arms around me for comfort. He pulled me down onto the bed, making me lay on top of him. I got out of his grip and sat on the bed with him. My back resting on the headboard. I looked at him and saw tears rolling down his pale cheeks. "Come here." I whispered. He moved himself so his head was in my lap. I started playing with his hair which got him to close his eyes. "Go back to sleep. I'll stay right here with you." I whispered leaning down to kiss his forehead.

Sleep quickly took over him again. I took my phone out of my pocket to see a text from Tony.

"Friday said you where looking for the first aid kit, everything alright?" -TS

"Yeah, just wanted to make sure I knew where it was."

"Well then. You coming back down? You kinda just disappeared." -TS

"Nah I'm going to bed, night T."

"Night Sparrow." -TS

I laid my phone back onto the nightstand and started playing with a small fire in my hand.

Tony's POV

I was sitting in my work space. I put my phone back into my pocket and saw Pepper looking nervously at me. "What? Is something on my face?" I said. "No, you look nervous. Everything alright?" She asked. "Yeah, can you leave." I said, not really a question more of a demand. She gave a questioning look but left not long after.

"Friday, you up?" I asked. "For you sir? Always." Friday answered. "Great, can you get the Manchurian Candidate down here? It's important." I said. "He is on his way down sir." She said. "Great." I mumbled.

"What's so important, Stark?" Bucky said. "Sparrow is. She asked Friday where the first aid kit was, when she first arrived there was no sign of either cuts nor bruises." I explained. "She probably burned herself?" He said, I looked him in the eyes and moved close to him. "You don't even believe that yourself." I said. "Well she wouldn't intentionally hurt herself, at least not with out a good reason." He said. "Your so helpful." I said sarcastically. "You where the one to bring me down here." He said. "Just leave." I said pointing to the door.

Y/n's POV

I was still awake, it was now 12 AM. I had made it my mission to stay awake until Loki awakens again. His head was still in my lap as I was playing with his hair. I had made three small braids here and there.

"Friday, you up?" I whispered. "Yes miss." She answered. "Great. Is anyone in the house still up?" I asked. "Yes, Mr. Stark and Dr. Strange." She answered. "Can you deliver a message to Stephen?" I asked. "Of course miss." She answered. "Ah great. Tell him to meet me on the roof at 1.30 AM." I demanded. "Yes miss." She answered.

It was now 1.28 AM. I made my way to the roof to see the doctor already sitting there. He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, a black cardigan and a grey tee. "Hey, Stephen." I said walking to sit besides him. "Hi, Sparrow." He answered. "You wanted to meet me? Everything alright?" He asked. "Yeah, I just didn't want to sleep." I answered. "Why?" He asked. "Didn't feel like it." I answered looking up on the stars. I laid down on my back to get a better look. Stephen laid down as well.

"So you dragged me out of my bed to look at the stars?" He asked. "Yep. It gets boring after doing it for 10 years alone." I mumbled. "10 years." He repeated under his breath. He turned around to look at me. "How much do you normally sleep?" He asked. "Normally? Well about 30 minutes a day. Although I did sleep for 2 hours yesterday." I explained. "And the reason for that being?" He asked. "I just don't like it. Anything could happen whilst one is sleeping." I explained. "So you're scared of dying?" He asked. "Well-uh, no not exactly. I'm more scared of what's to come if I don't die, you know? Like-uh if I was to be taken away and tortured once more." I muttered. I knew I had already over shared to him. He already knew more about me than Tony, or Loki for that matter. I knew what it would end up leading to.

"Well I wouldn't let that happen to you." Stephen said. I turned around to look at him, his eyes was closed. "It's not that easy." I said. I laid back down and closed my eyes, enjoying the presence of the doctor. I felt a hand in mine. I opened my eyes and saw Stephen was sitting up. I sat up as well. "I promise you, I will protect you, no matter what happens." He said. His left hand reaching up to cup my cheek. My right hand comfortably sitting on his as I trace is his old scars. "From the car crash, right?" I asked. "Yeah. I suppose since you just opened up to me I should do the same to you." He said.

"As you know I was in that crash. I really thought that, that would be the end of me, that I either would end it myself or that I'd slowly die, out of old age, not having lived one bit." He explained looking down at his hands as I was tracing his scars. "I traveled to this place in Nepal, Kathmandu called Kamartaj. I met the ancient one, Mordo and Wong. I quickly became master of the mystic arts." He explained. "The Ancient one is dead, correct?" I asked. "Yes, her student, or used to be her student, killed her. Anyways, so I fought this dark entity called dormmamu. After that, Mordo decided he no longer wanted to be part of it, so he left." He continued.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." I mumbled. He moved his hands up to cup my face again. "It's a part of life. You gain, and you lose." He said. His eyes was bloodshot and tears was building up in his eyes. He tried blinking them away but they fell. I moved my hands up to his cheeks and wiped the transparent tears away with my thumbs which got him to chuckle. "Thank you." I muttered wrapping my arms around his neck in a hug. "For what?" He asked confused. "For telling me that, for opening up to me, for trusting me." I mumbled, my head buried in his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me onto his lap so we could stay closer. "Your welcome." He answered.

His right hand was on the back of my head, playing with my hair, whilst his left arm was wrapped tightly around my waist. I've only ever met 3 people who could make me feel that safe, 2 of them are my best friends, Bucky and Loki. The other one used to be my dad, before he died. I had failed to safe him from my mom.

~flashback~

I was cowering in a corner as my dad was trying to get my mom to cool down. She held a knife in her hand, threatening to kill him. Tears was flooding out as I tried to calm myself.

After some time, she backed away and looked down on the ground, only to raise the knife and stab him. Right in his heart. Tears was flooding even more. She walked over to me, knife in hand. I jumped up and ran out of the door.

That was the day that, that guy had supposedly "saved" me.

~end of flashback~

Now it was my turn to cry. I sniffed a bit and felt Stephen tighten his grip and rocking back and forth to calm me down. "What's wrong?" He asked. I didn't answer I just tightened my grip around him like I was afraid of loosing him as well. Which I was.

I had been crying in his arms for what felt like an eternity when I finally let go of him. Not completely though, I was still sitting on top of him. I turned around so my back was pressed against his chest. He had his arms wrapped around my waist. I let my head fall onto his chest as I continued to look at the stars.

"Y/n?" Stephen said, "Y/n you're ice cold. Let's get you back inside." I let out a groan as an answer so he lifted me up bridal style which got me to laugh. I let my head fall onto his chest once more and relax by his touch. He sat me down at my door. "Goodnight, Doc." I said rustling his hair. "Goodnight, Sparrow." He answered giving me a hug. I hugged him back not wanting to let go, yet I knew I had to so he could sleep.

I opened my door and saw Loki still fast asleep on my bed. "Bye Stephen." I said smiling. "Bye." He said smiling back. I opened my phone and saw the time. 4 AM. I walked over to my bed and laid down. I tried to stay awake but Loki wrapped his arm around my waist dragging me into him, his face buried in the crook of my neck. I placed my hand on his chest trying to get out of his grasp but to no avail. I looked up at his face too see a smirk. "Twat." I mumbled as sleep took over me.

I woke up at 5 AM. I quickly changed into my suit (you’ll have to decide on that one). I looked back towards the bed to see Loki still sleeping. I quickly put on a black and silver full face skull mask and a pair of leather gloves so no one could recognize me, Stuffed 2 daggers in my pocket and a hand gun to make sure I'd leave no witnesses. I opened my window and quickly jumped out, landing on the streets underneath. I quickly ran to where I knew a small group of teenagers where gathered, smoking weed and drinking.

I got to the alleyway they were gathered at. "Heya, boys!" I said, my voice a tad bit higher than normal. "Yooo cool mask dude." One of them said. "Ayyyy, Thanks dude." I answered. "Can we help you?" A guy, who looked more sober, asked. "Actually, yes-uh. Can you guys tell me where I can find Red Wolf?" I said. "Yeah dude, right in that building." The first guy said. "Thank youuuu." I said waving at them and walking into the building.

I opened the door, there was a lot of security but surprisingly they all let me through. I got to their so called office and walked in. "Hey giiiiiirlyyyy." I said with an irritatingly high pitched voice. "Basil, you're late." A male voice said. "You need some training with those manners, love. Anywaaaayyyys you're always so boooooring with your 'knowing when stuff happens' shit." I said rolling my eyes, "although I suppose-uh you know why I'm here, don't ya?" I said not really a question.

"I do indeed." He said. "Great!" I said my voice higher again. "I would recommend-uh, you know, not screaming." I slowly made my way over to his chair. He turned his chair around looking at me. He was wearing a red full face wolf mask. I sat on his lap and removed his mask to see a handsome young man. Probably in his late 20's. With dark brown hair, neatly combed back. "Remove your mask. It'd only be fair." He whispered. I did as told and let my hair fall into my face. "Sparrow?" He asked confused. "Wrong." I said stabbing him in his heart. I quickly pulled my mask back on and carved a smile on his face. I picked up my daggers and dried them off in his black tee.

I jumped out of the window and fell about 3 stories down before landing in the alleyway with the junkies. "Thanks for your help boys." I said waving at them before running away. I quickly made my way to a public washroom and changed into a pair of running pants and a sports tee. I put the other clothes into a bag that was laying on the ground. I made my way back to the tower and walked inside. I looked over at the clock on the wall. It was 7 AM and no one was awake.

I made my way up to my room. I opened the door silently, to see Loki pacing back and forth. "Whataya doin'?" I asked placing the bag down on the floor and crossing my arms over my chest. He quickly wrapped me in a hug but didn't answer. I wrapped my arms around him as well. He let me go again and sat down on my bed. "You didn't answer my question." I said. "Uh yeah, it was nothing." He mumbled. "Didn't really look like nothing." I answered. "How are your arms?" I asked. "Better." He answered not sounding to convincing.

"Loki I swear..." I didn't end my sentence. "I haven't done it." He said. "Show me then." I said crossing my arms once more. He hesitated but pulled his sleeves up tell reveal even more cuts than yesterday. "Oh fuck." I mumbled under my breath. I sat down besides him and wrapped him in a hug. "I'm so sorry." He mumbled into my shoulder. "It's alright. We'll go through this together." I assured him. He tightened his grip around me. I moved my hand up to his hair and started playing with it.

"I really am sorry." He mumbled. "Hey, it's okay. I won't let you fight this battle alone." I whispered. I heard a knock on my door. "Hey, N/n. We need you downstairs." I heard Buckys voice. "Gimme a sec." I answered. "Come with me." I said standing up and holding a hand out for Loki to take. He took it and we quickly went downstairs into the meeting room. "Hey." Bucky said wrapping me in a big hug. "Mornin', Bucks." I mumbled into his shirt. He let go of me again and I walked to the back with Loki on my left and Stephen on my right.

Tony was standing in the front with Fury. "We have received information of a possible threat. We, at the moment, are not sure who or where they might be, nor do we have any information about them." He said. I knew this was about me. I don't know how I knew, I just did. I started getting nervous which Stephen apparently could see. He grabbed my right hand and I started concentrating on his scars and following them with my pointer finger. It got me to relax, but I couldn't concentrate on what fury was saying.

As soon as the meeting was over Stephen dragged me out of the room and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. "Shhhh it's alright." He whispered. I knew it wasn't alright. I knew that this would be the end. How was I even going to explain what I've done. I felt my legs go numb as all of the stress was gaining in on me. Stephen picked me up bridal style and sat me down on the couch in the living room. His cloak detached from his shoulders and wrapped itself around me. "Tea?" He asked. I only nodded in response. He made a cup of tea appear in my hand. "Thank you." I mumbled. He picked up the remote and sat down besides me. His cloak scooted me closer to Stephen which got him to chuckle before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I drank a quick slurp of tea before placing it on the table. I sat back down and placed my head on his shoulder.

After we had been watching TV for a bit I started getting tired and laid down on the couch with my head on his thigh, using it as a pillow. I let out a yawn and let sleep take over me.

I woke up again, everything was dark. I heard a soft snoring. I Lit up a small flame in my hand and saw I was laying in a bed, with Stephen sleeping in a chair not that far away. I found my phone on the nightstand and saw the time. 12 AM. Fuck, I've slept the entire day. I had a few messages from my friends.

"Hey, Stephen said he'd take care of you. Text me when you can." NR

"Text me as soon as possible." TS

"Where are you?" BB

I laid my phone back down and sat up. Resting against the headboard. The snoring came to a stop and I looked up at Stephen again. "Stephen?" I asked. "Mmmm-yeah." He said in a raspy voice. "How long have I been asleep?" I asked. "All day." He mumbled. "All day." I whispered under my breath. "I'm sorry for making you sleep in the chair." I mumbled. "I choose it myself. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable for when you woke up." He said walking over to me and sitting down on the side of the bed. He turned on the light on the nightstand.

He grabbed my right hand. "How are you feeling?" He asked. That was when I realized I had a headache that probably could kill. "I've been through worse." I joked. He was caressing my hand while looking at me. "Have they found out more of that person?" I asked. "Nothing more than it's a girl." He answered. "Okay." I mumbled. I looked down in my lap. "Is everything alright?" He asked. When I didn't answer he cupped my cheek to get me to look at him. "Yeah, I'm just-uh nervous. That's all." I mumbled. "For what?" He asked. "Well, what if she's going to hurt us, or you for that matter." I lied. Tears building up in my eyes.

"I won't let that happen, sweetheart, I already made a promise. I don't break promises." He said. Hearing him call me sweetheart made me break as tears finally spilled. "I'm so sorry." I mumbled, my legs moving up to my chest and my arms wrapped around them. He moved himself in front of me and made my legs lay down again so he could look me in the eyes. "You have beautiful eyes." He complimented with a smile. He cupped my cheeks again and dried away the tears. He wrapped me in his arms and kissed my forehead.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." he said. "That's the thing, Stephen. I do. I have a lot." I mumbled. He released me from the hug, his hands on my shoulders while looking at me confused. I knew he wanted to ask questions but he held it back, knowing I wouldn't answer. "If it's about your past, just know, I don care. You have shown me the real you, and I won't leave you now at your most vulnerable time in life. Do you understand?" He said. "Savvy." I confirmed. "Good. Now come here." He said. I moved closer to him. He lifted me onto his lap and engulfed me in a hug.

We used the rest of the night to talk about weird stuff that had happened throughout Stephens time as the sorcerer supreme. He had gotten my mind off of the threat upon my life and freedom. "So you're telling me, you really just beat Dormmamu by irritating it?" I asked, trying to stifle a laugh. "Yeah, and the worst thing is, it worked." Stephen answered laughing a bit. I couldn't hold my laughter back anymore and ended up falling of the bed, but the cloak caught me before I landed.

The sun had rose and was shining through the window to Stephens bedroom. After talking for a bit more, Stephen got a message. "Oh it's from Stark." He said. "Is everything alright?" I asked. "Yeah, there's a mission. The whole team is needed, including you and Loki." He explained. "Are you sure? I don't know if I have enough control over my powers." I muttered. "I believe in you. Now come." He said. "Shouldn't we change first?" I asked. "Oh yeah." He said snapping his fingers. I was changed into a pair of black riding pants, black leather riding boots, a dark green turtleneck and a black AC/DC tee to top it all of. "Why the riding pants?" I asked. "Come and you'll see." He said grabbing my hand and dragging me outside.

Out of nowhere a black horse showed up. It was about 1.70 CM tall and was all saddled up with English equipment. "Wow." I breathed out. Stephen handed me a black helmet that I quickly putted on. I quickly jumped on the horse and Stephen created a portal to the place we where fighting at. I put my earpiece in. "So what are we against?" I asked. "Some weird Alien from space." Nat answered. "Since when did you learn to ride?!" Tony and Bucky asked. "When I was a kid, dumb arse." I answered. "Ready Stephen?" I asked. "Always." He answered. He flew up into the air and lead the way to the alien. I quickly rode after him.

The battle had ended and I was riding around looking for Stephen. "Anyone seen the Wizard?" I asked. "I prefer master of the mystic arts or sorcerer supreme." I heard Stephens voice in the head coms. "Where are you?" I asked. "On my way." He answered. "Y/n, I need a lift. I'm behind the mountain." Nat said. "I'll be there in a sec." I answered.

I rode over behind the mountain in a fresh canter, getting ready to bend down and grab Nat. I grabbed her and pulled her up on my horse, sitting her in front of me. "I've honestly always wanted to do that." I joked.

"Everyone ready to go home?" Steve asked. "Yeah." We all answered. I stopped the horse in front of the quinjet. "You coming?" I asked Stephen. "Uh, no. Can you stay back with me?" He asked. "Sure." I answered. I walked up to Loki and gave him a quick hug before moving to Bucky and gave him a hug then Tony.

The rest of the avengers left as Stephen and I was walking around. Him on my right and my horse on the left. "Everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Cool cool."

There was an awkward silence before Stephen spoke up. "You were good on the mission, but I think you need more training."

"What do you mean?"

"You could move in with me at the sanctum so I can train you."

"I don't know about that."

What about Loki, he needs me now more than ever. "It was of course just an idea." Stephen said after a pause. "I mean... I would absolutely love to, but..." I trailed of. He stopped walking so I stopped as well.

He placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me to the side so I was looking at him. Out of nowhere it started raining, like a lot. I started shivering and the cloak detached it self from Stephen and wrapped around me. "Wow, it really prefers you over me." Stephen joked which got me to laugh. "Let's get you back to the tower." He said. He quickly made a portal to my room in the avengers tower. "Thank you." I mumbled

"Stay here I'll be back in a bit." He said walking back through the portal and grabbed my horse then the portal closed and I was alone in my room with the cloak wrapped around me. I walked to my bathroom to take a shower. The cloak detached from my shoulders and I stripped down. When I finished in the shower the cloak was holding a towel for me. "Thank you." I said grabbing it. I dried myself and saw clothes laying on the counter of my sink. I quickly put the clothes on, it was a plain dark red hoodie that was too big and a pair of black shorts.

I walked out to my room and threw myself on the bed, to lazy to do anything else. Then there was a knock on the door. "Sparrow?" I heard Stephens voice. "Come in." I answered. "Someone's tired." He laughed. "Shut it." I grumbled. "Where did you get my hoodie?" He asked. "The cloak." I mumbled. He laughed a bit before sitting on the bed besides me. "I had a talk with Tony about the mystery girl." He said, gaining my attention.

"What?"

"Yeah, they've found clear pictures of her, but none where we can see her face. She seems to always be wearing a mask."

"Do you know where she lives?"

"No, but we know a motel she staid at a few days ago. The same you staid at."

Oh god. They are so close to finding out it's me.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Yeah."

He put his hand on my cheek caressing it lightly. I sat up and looked at him, my sight switching from his eyes to his lips. What would happen if I kissed him? Would he be mad, or kiss me back? I looked in his eyes and saw him studying my face before slowly leaning in. I leaned in as well, my right hand moving behind his head. Our lips met in a passionate kiss. My fingers interweaving in his hair. I heard him let out a groan before his tongue moved to my lower lip, asking for permission. I opened my mouth and felt his tongue exploring my mouth.

His right hand moved up to the back of my head and his left down to my hips. He pressed me more into him making all space between us disappear. He leaned into me making me fall backwards onto the bed again. He stayed sitting up to breath before smashing his lips back down onto mine. His hands exploring my body. My right hand was still on the back of his head, playing with his hair, whilst my left hand was exploring his perfectly formed abs. My legs was in between his as he was on top of me. He moved his right hand down to my thigh and gave it a squeeze gaining a moan from me.

He moved his head down to my ear. "I didn't know I had such effects on you." He whispered in his deep voice. A shiver came across my body. "Such a good girl." He whispered. I cupped his cheeks making him look me in the eyes again. I moved my head up slamming my lips on his this time. I heard a small groan from him. I quickly flipped us around. I was now sitting on him feeling his hard member between all the layers. I moved my head to his collarbone and started sucking, giving him a hickey and gaining a moan. I moved up to his ear. "Oh, all the things I could do to you." I whispered. He flipped us around again and moved his head to my ear. "Why don't you be a good girl and do as I say." He whispered.

"Ms. Y/l/n, there is an emergency meeting." Friday said. Stephen gave a grunt before giving my lips a quick peck. "We'll be there in a minute." I answered. I quickly put my hair in a high ponytail and we both made our way to the meeting. We both moved to the back waiting for fury to speak up.

"I'm just going to get right to it. We have found out who the so called mystery girl is, and we know she can hear me right this second. You have the chance to tell the team before I do it." Fury explained. I looked at Stephen, then Bucky, then Loki, then Nat. They were all surprised. I was about to step forward before he spoke again. "Ms. Sparrow, I would like for you to come up here." I looked at Stephen and he grabbed my hand giving it a squeeze before pushing me forward.

Everyone was looking at me surprised. I knew this day was coming, but this soon? "You have worked hard to get to where you are now, I give you the opportunity to tell them who it is." Fury said. "agent Sharon Carter" he whispered in my ear. "The so called mystery girl is agent Sharon Carter." I announced. I was honestly as surprised as the rest, just not for the same reason. They really thought it was Sharon.

I moved back to Stephen and he grabbed my hand letting me trace his scars. As the meeting ended Bucky, Steve, Sam and Nat gathered in the living room. "Hey, Sparrow." Nat called.

"Yes, Tasha?"

"Movie night tonight, all the avengers, at 9."

"We'll be there."

"Good."

Then someone grabbed me and turned me around. "Bucks." I said giving him a giant hug. "You did amazing today, I'm proud." He whispered as his head was buried in the crook of my neck. "I know I did, but thanks. You weren't to bad yourself." I joked. We let go of each other and went our separate ways. I made my way back over to Stephen. "Sooooo, are you...." he cut himself off. "What?" I asked confused. "Sleep-ing to-geth-er, sorry I thought I made that quite clear." He explained. I looked up at Stephen with a big grin. "What?" He asked, this time he was confused. I let out a laugh. I dragged Stephen up to my room.

We entered my room and sat down on the bed. "Mind telling me that... thing, now?" He asked

"Bucky's gay."

"Wait... seriously?"

"Uh-huh. How did you not notice that?"

"I just, I thought... yeah I don't know what I thought."

"The great Sorcerer Supreme didn't know something."

"Oh shut it."

We were talking for a bit when Friday spoke up "Ms. Y/l/n, The movie night will start in: 30 minutes." "Thanks Friday." I answered.

I grabbed Stephens hand and dragged him with me down to the living room. The sofa was occupied so Stephen sat down on a black bean bag. "Is that seat taken?" I said pointing to his lap.

"That's my lap?"

"Yeah?"

He chuckled a bit before patting his lap, signaling me to sit. I sat down and his arms immediately snaked around my waist. "Alright girls-" Nat started "-We've picked out 3 different movies. so it's either Pirates of the Caribbean: dead mans chest, Die hard or the shining."

"Let's watch the shining." I said. About everyone agreed. "The shining it is then." Nat said. She put on the movie and sat back down. I was moving a lot trying to get comfortable when Stephen tightened his grip and whispered in my ear: "be a good girl and sit still." I immediately froze. "Good." He said and teleported a bowl of popcorn to everyone in the room. "Thanks." They said in sync which got Stephen to chuckle. Through out the move he gave me small kisses on the neck.

Stephens POV

As the movie came to an end I realized that Y/n was fast asleep. Her head resting on my chest with her right hand. "Is she asleep?!" Nat whisper yelled. "Yeah?" I said confused. "Wait, she fell asleep?" Tony asked. "But she never sleeps?" Thor said confused. "She always sleeps when I'm around?" I said.

I picked her up and was holding her bridal style. "I'll go put her to bed." I explained walking off. I sat her down on the bed and pulled the covers over her before kissing the top of her head and making a portal to go home.

Your POV

I was stumbling away from a crime scene I had made. The avengers were after me. I was throwing fire everywhere trying to get them to stay away. My leg was most likely broken. Blood was running down from my forehead. Every step I took felt like stepping on a thousand needles. Out of nowhere a portal was created and out of it came Stephen Strange.

I looked into his eyes before falling down onto my knees, surrendering. I was looking down to the ground when I felt something whip me.

Then I woke up. Gasping for air like I had never breathed before. I was alone in my bed. My nerves was all over the place. I looked at my phone to see the time: 1 AM. I jumped out of bed quickly getting control over the situation. I changed into my so called villain suit and grabbed my weapons before running out of the building.

I made my way to the local drug store. It was still open. Inside the shop was standing a worker and 4 peasants. I knocked out the worker before making my way to each individual person, knocking them all out as well. I tied them all up and locked all doors making sure only I could get out. I sat the building on fire and walked out of there. As I was standing in front of the store with my back turned to it, it exploded. I chuckled a bit before turning to the left to walk back to the tower.

Then I heard a repulser charging. "Hello, Tony." I said with a high pitched voice.

"Tell me who you are, and we- yeah no we'll still hurt you."

"You know, love, you should watch out for who you go for." I started heating his suit up.

"Lucky for you, I'm not alone."

Just as he said that the rest of the team came and surrounded me. "Wow you're all here. I'm so happy to see you." I said sarcastically. "Natasha, Clint, Steve, Bucky, Loki, Thor, Wanda, Rodey, pissant." I laughed a bit. "Wow, even Stephen and the arachnid. Or should I say Peter?"

"How do you know my name?" Peter asked.

"Oh sorry, I meant Spider-child."

"It's Spider-man. Is it really that hard?"

Everyone had their weapons pointed at me except Stephen and Loki. My eyes shifted between them wondering why. "Anyways. I really don't have time for this." I said walking towards them both. I walked between them and patted their back. Stephen quickly grabbed my wrist and whispered to me: "177 a bleaker street. 20 minutes." Then he let me go and I ran of into the darkness.

I had made my way to the address and was walking around inside. It looked to be the Sanctum Sanctorum. The place Stephen had told stories about.

I got to what looked like the library and was immediately engulfed in a tight hug by the Cloak of levitation, or as I like to call it Levi. I was laughing a bit before I heard someone clear their throat. I looked up and saw Stephen. "I thought it was you." He mumbled.

"What?"

"Look, Sparrow. Everyone is after you so I would recommend you stay here with Wong and I"

"No one other than you knows my identity." I quickly removed my mask.

"Loki does. Then Wanda will read his mind and tell the rest of the team. We can't risk that."

I looked him straight in the eyes and the cloak flew over to it's master. I looked back to the ground considering what may happen if I didn't stay with him. "Look. I know this is hard for you, but I don't want to see you hurt so please just stay with us. At least until I've figured something out." Stephen said. I looked back in his eyes and nodded a yes. "Great. Follow me I'll show you to your room." He said walking out the door.

I quickly followed him and was lead to a bedroom. It had a queen sized bed, a closet and a desk with a chair. "Theres a bathroom in there." He said pointing to a door on the left side of the room. He looked back at me and I gave a nod as a thanks.

I walked over and sat on the bed and looked around studying the room. "Do whatever and get some sleep." He said turning around and walked out the door. I opened my mouth to say something but no words came out. I looked over on the desk and noticed some clothes laying there. I walked over and grabbed them before making my way to the bathroom to shower. It was a pair of black sweatpants and a matching hoodie. Most likely Stephens. As I was done I laid down on the bed and picked up my phone. 25 unread messages. Great. I read those from Nat, Bucky and Loki. The rest I honestly could care less about.

"Hey, we're going out to find The Basil." NR

"Sparrow, please call, we need to talk." LL

"Doll, call me." BB

It was all a mix of messages to get me to call or text them back, but I wasn't going to. I was getting kind of thirsty so I opened the door and made my way down the stairs. I walked around trying to find the kitchen when i heard rustling behind me. I lit a fire in my hand pointing it to whom ever was behind me. "It's just me, sweetheart." Stephen said. I let my hand fall back down. Immediately turning off the fire. "Everything alright?" He asked. Concern filling his voice. "Yeah just thirsty." I answered. He signaled me to follow him, so I did. He showed me to the kitchen and grabbed a glass.

"What do you want?"

"Just water, please."

He poured a some water up in the glass and handed it to me. "Thanks." I mumbled. I quickly downed it and just awkwardly stood with it before Stephen took it from me and placed it besides the sink. He raised his arms to hug me but I flinched and looked away in shame. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you." He sad with sadness in his voice. "Sorry." I mumbled. He stretched his hand out for me to grab. So I did. His hand was burning hot. "Stephen are you feeling okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, don't worry."

"Do you have any ice or frozen peas or something cold?"

"In the freezer over there."

I walked over and grabbed a bag of peas. Putting a cloth around it. "Sit, please." I said pointing to the dining table. He did and placed his hands on the table. I placed the peas on top of his hands. "Thank you." He said looking at me. I nodded and sat down besides him. "Is this a frequent occurrence?" I asked.

"Sadly yes."

"I'm sorry."

I removed some hair that had fallen down onto his face and kissed him on his forehead. "Earlier, when I went in for a hug. You flinched. Why?" He asked. "Old habit." I mumbled looking down onto my lap where my hands was laying. "Well there most be a reason. Like trauma." He said looking at me. "There really isn't." I said determined not to let anything slip.

We had been sitting there for a few minutes not saying anything. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." Stephen apologized. "Oh no worry's." I said. "Are your hands better?" "Yeah, thanks." He said. I took the peas and placed them back in the freezer and put the cloth on the counter. I walked back over to Stephen and stood besides him before he dragged me down on his lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me tightly. I wrapped my arms around his torso hugging him back. We were sitting like that for a while before he moved my legs around his waist. "Hold on tight." He whispered. I wrapped my arms around his neck looking up at him.

I was about to ask why but he stood up picking me up with him. "I need to get you back to bed." He said. I groaned a bit before burring my head into his chest which got him to chuckle. He laid down on the bed with me on top of him. He started caressing my back while removing a few hairs from my forehead and kissed the top of my head. "Goodnight, sweetheart." He said. "Goodnight, darlin'." I mumbled letting a yawn out right after.

Time skip a week forward.

I woke up to Stephen bursting through my door with the cloak behind him. "Wake up. The sun is up and shining." He said with a cheerful voice. "Okay? What do you want me to do? Photosynthesis?" I asked pissed. I buried my head back into the pillow. "Nope." He said popping the 'p'.

I sat up and leaned my back against the headboard looking straight at Stephen. "Aww come on. I even made breakfast for you." He said trying to make me smile. He handed me a plate of burned eggs and bacon. "I wouldn't consider this edible." I said looking down at the plate. "Well I tried." He said letting out a defeated sigh. I chuckled at him before standing up and making my way out the door. "Come on, I'll make something." I said.

We made our way down to the kitchen, Stephen right behind me. I sat down the plate of... stuff. I turned around to see a butterfly right in front of me. I quickly ran behind Stephen jumping onto his back and holding onto him tightly whilst pointing one of my daggers at the butterfly. "You're scared of butterflies?" He asked jokingly. "It's not funny." I mumbled. Tears was forming in my eyes. I jumped down from his back and he turned around to look at me. Tears was rolling down my cheeks. He looked a bit surprised at first to see me that scared. "I'll take care of it." He said kissing the top of my head and wiping away the tears.

He picked up the butterfly carefully and opened a window to let it out. He turned around towards me again and gave me a hug. "Why butterflies?" He asked after letting go of me. "'Cause they're such beautiful creatures." I said sarcastically. Then a phone started ringing. Stephen took out his phone and looked at it. "Emergency meeting at the tower. Stay here I'll be back as soon as possible." He said grabbing his cloak and out of nowhere changing into his costume. "Bye." I said as he walked through the portal.

I made my way to my room and changed into my suit from last night then I made my way into the library looking for a book that wasn't about the mystic arts. I walked for a bit when I got to a book called hamlet. I grabbed it and sat down on a chair starting to read.

After reading for about an hour I heard a door open and close with a bang. "Stephen?" I called out. I made my way down to the bedrooms and heard a girl chuckle from one of the rooms. I opened the door before knocking knowing well enough that Stephen was in there with a girl. And I was correct. He was with Clea. Making out with her. He quickly removed himself from her and looked at me. "I'm going out for a bit." I said looking into his eyes.

"You can't do that."

"Actually. I can. Have fun."

I looked over at Clea and smiled at her. A smile that could kill. "Nice to see you Clea." I said before making my way down the stairs and into my room. I went out on the streets. I had my phone in my pocket and decided to text Natasha.

"Found out who Basil is?"

"So now you wanna talk?" NR

"Not really. But I don't wanna stay hidden. It's not my thing. The hospital, 15 minutes. Don't be late."

"I'll be there." NR

She really trusts me not to hurt her? I quickly made my way to the hospital and saw my old friend Christine. "Palmer!" I yelled. "Oh my god." She mumbled. She made her way over to me and dragged me into a room. "You're the Basil?!" She whisper yelled.

"Yeah yeah I know, big surprise. Anyways. I need you to get everyone out of here."

"What!?"

"Just do as I say."

"No. Nononono I can't do that."

"You have 5 minutes, love. Just do it."

She ran out of the rooms and told everyone to evacuate. Great my plan should work.

"The rooftop. 4 minutes left."

"On my way." NR

this is the end. Christine entered the room again. "Everyone is out." She said. "Great. Make sure you're far away. I don't want to hurt you." I said giving her a hug. "What do you mean." She asked confused. "This is the end." I said looking into her eyes. "Don't do anything I would do. And especially don't do anything I wouldn't do." I said before running off.

I sat on the edge of the hospital with a cup of earl grey tea. I heard footsteps behind me. "Hello, Nat." I said. "Please sit."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't."

"What now then? Now that we know who you are?"

"Well then I suppose this is the end."

She looked down at me trying to figure out what I meant. I took a sip of tea while looking out over New York. She sat down on my left and grabbed my hand. Interweaving it with hers. "You're not leaving me." She demanded.

"There is no other way."

"But there is! Look at me, I went from Russian assassin to an avenger."

"I'm afraid you can't convince me."

She cupped my right cheek. Turning me so I looked at her. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on my lips. She leaned back away. Tears now rolling down her cheeks. "Please try. For me." She whispered. I sat down my cup and cupped her cheeks wiping away the tears. "I really hate you right now." I sighed. She stood up and moved away from the edge. She stretched her hand out towards me. I took it and she helped me up. "I take that as a yes then?" She asked chuckling a bit. "I suppose it is." I answered. She engulfed me in a hug with her arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her waist. I felt tear drops fall onto my shoulder so I carefully caressed her back trying to comfort her.

"Why did you get them to evacuate the hospital?" Nat asked.

"I was planning on blowing the place up."

"Of course." she said shaking her head a bit while laughing. I wrapped my arm around her waist and we made our way down onto the streets. "So will you be coming back to the tower with me?" She asked.

"No."

"Where are you staying?"

"At a friends."

"You're as bad as a liar as always. I know a place we can stay at."

"We?"

"Yeah, you're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Of course I'm not."

She laughed a bit before pulling out a pair of car keys. She threw them at me and signaled to a black Lamborghini. "You're driving. I need some sleep." She said sitting down in the car. I chuckled a bit sitting down into the car as well. "Address?" I asked. "Already put in. Just follow the GPS." She mumbled slowly falling asleep.

We made our way to a beautiful mansion. I looked over and saw Nat still sleeping. I stepped out of the car and went over to pick her up. She sleepily swung her arm around my neck as I picked her up bridal style. I went up to the door and tried opening it up. It was surprisingly unlocked. It was even bigger inside than outside. I made my way to what looked like the living room and sat down Nat on a big white couch. I sat down on a chair besides the couch. My legs hanging over the arm rest as i looked through my phone.

"Nat has gone missing. We need your help." BB

"I'm not available at the moment."

"N/n, please. This is a life or death situation." BB

"Bye, James."

I laid my phone back down and then sighed heavily. I looked around the living room and noticed a wall full of books. I was debating whether or not to take one. I got a message on my phone that distracted me from my thoughts.

"Where are you?" SS

I was mad at him. I didn't have a reason though. We weren't a thing. I should stop getting my hopes up.

"This is Y/n's auto response AI. She is not available at the moment. If you see fit, please leave a message."

"Please Y/n this is urgent." SS

"Then leave it urgently, Mr. Strange."

I turned of my phone and raised myself from the chair cracking my back a bit. I walked over to the books and grabbed a random one. It's name was: the greatest adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I sat back down on the chair and started reading. It was quite extraordinary and exiting. It was starting to get dark when Nat started waking up. "Afternoon, Sleeping Beauty." I said.

"Afternoon." She muttered. She made her way over to me and sat down on the arm rest. "Come with me." She said grabbing the book and placing it on the coffee table. "Where to?" I asked. "My room. I have some spare clothes you can lend." She explained. I let her drag me to her room. She picked out an ivy green hoodie and a pair of shorts. "Thank you." I said. "I'll go take a shower. Just call for me if there's anything." She said.

I quickly changed and ran back downstairs to grab my book. I got it and ran upstairs and sat down on her bed and started reading. She came out of the shower in a oversized tee and a pair of shorts. "Seriously, reading again?" She asked jokingly.

"It helps distract me."

"I know something else that could distract you."

I looked up from my book to meet Natasha's gaze.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

I chuckled a bit at her before continuing to read. I heard her sigh and then felt her throw herself onto the bed. "What do you want to eat?" She asked. "Not hungry." I quickly answered. "That's not a valid answer." She said. "It's the only one you'll get, love." I said

Natasha's POV

hearing her call me love made me feel some kind of way. "Well then." I said throwing myself of the bed and downstairs to get something for us to eat. I quickly made some Mac 'n cheese. I ran up upstairs with a bowl for each of us. I handed one to her. "I don't like being handed things." She mumbled. "And you've spent to much time with Stark. Now take it and eat." I demanded. She let out a groan and took the bowl.

I turned on the TV and sat on Pirates of the Caribbean: the curse of the black pearl.

"So where have you been staying for the last week?" I asked.

"At the Sanctum."

"Why did you change your mind? Did something happen between you and Strange?"

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"Look, I don't want to talk about. I'm sorry okay. Can't we just watch the movie?"

We finished eating and I grabbed both bowls and went downstairs with them. Thinking about what Stephen could've done.

Natasha's POV

I quickly ran up the stairs and into my room. "He cheated on you?!?!" I yelled.

"No."

"What then?"

"We never were a thing."

I realized I really shouldn't say more. At least not if I wanted to succeed with the plan.

Your POV

I was silently watching the movie when I felt Nat looking at me. "What?" I said looking at her. "Is there something on my face?" I asked. "Yeah, actually there is." She answered. "Wha-" I was cut of by Nat smashing her lips onto mine. I was shocked at first and didn't kiss her back. She removed her lips from mine and looked down. "I'm sorry. I don't kn-" I cut her off by kissing her passionately. She moved forward making me lay down on my back with her on top of me.

I moved my hands around her body, exploring her. She had her right hand cupping my cheek while the other one was holding her up. I moved my right hand down to her thigh and gave it a squeeze gaining a moan from her where I swiftly moved my tongue into her mouth. I moved my hands onto her back pressing her down on me. She was now laying on me completely.

Then there was a phone call. Nat started moving away but I quickly pressed her back onto me and let out a groan of annoyance continuing kissing her. She pressed my shoulders down and raised herself up again. I looked up at her pleadingly. "You should answer that." Nat said. I looked over at my phone to see Stephen calling. I answered it and put the phone up to my ear.

"Yes?"

"Y/n!? Oh thank god you're okay. Where are you? I'll come pick you up."

"Stephen no."

"Please Sparrow."

"No."

I looked over at Nat to see her signaling me to give her the phone, so I did.

Natasha's POV

"She's not available at the moment." I said

"Nat?! Where are you?"

"We were, before you so rudely interrupted us, making out on my bed. Why?"

He didn't answer for a bit. Then he said pleadingly with a shaking voice "can you give her the phone back?"

"No."

"What?"

"Bye bye."

I ended the call and looked at the time: 9 PM. Then I gave Y/n a peck on the lips. She obviously didn't like not getting more so she dragged me down onto her again. I was sitting on her hips while bending down to her lips. She placed her left hand on my hips and her right hand moved slowly up to my cheek. I moved myself a tad bit and accidentally grinded her hips gaining a moan from her.

I did it once more and got another moan. She tightened her grip on my hips which got me to moan. I felt her chest move of laughter under me. I moved away from her to breath a bit. I had a big grin on my face while breathing heavily. She moved her right hand up to my hair to remove some from my face. "You're beautiful." She said while admiring my face. I laid down between her legs, my arms wrapped around her waist while my head was laying on her stomach. She laid her right hand on the back of my head and nuzzled my hair which got me to hum in delight.

"Goodnight." I mumbled. I felt and heard her chuckle before saying "goodnight, love." It was music to my ears to hear har call me pet names.

Your POV

I woke up to my phone exploding with notifications. I felt a pair of arms tightened around my waist and looked down to see Nat laying on my stomach. I was playing with her hair when she started waking up. "Morning, beautiful." I said looking admiring at her. She let out a hum and nuzzled closer to me which got me to chuckle.

"Ugh what the fuck is that sound." She mumbled irritated.

"My phone."

"Shut it off."

"I can't."

"Oh yeah." She answered chuckling a bit. She raised herself from me and sat on the edge of the bed. "I'll go make something to eat. You can take care of... that." She said talking about my phone. I chuckled a bit. She left the room and I went over to pick up the phone. It was all texts from Stephen.

"Y/N PLEASE ANSWER ME!" SS

"Good morning to you too."

"Can I call you?" SS

"No."

"why?" SS

"Don't feel like talking to you."

"What about meeting up? The Starbucks close to the stables?" SS

"I'll think about it."

I put my phone in the pocket in my hoodie and started making my way down the stairs. Just as I came to the last step I heard a loud thud. "Nat?!" I yelled out. I didn't hear an answer so I ran into the kitchen where the thud came from. I saw her sitting down. Her back leaning against the wall. Blood was dripping down her side where a dagger was sitting.

I was panicking even though I've had years of training with stuff like that. "Tell me if the pain worsens." I explained. She nodded a response. I draped her arm over my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around her back to support her over to one of the barstools. I sat her down and looked at the wound. I quickly walked over and washed my hands. I grabbed a cloth and wrapped it around the dagger. Making sure my fingerprints wouldn't get onto it.

"I'll count to three and then I'll rip the dagger out. Okay?" I asked. "Got it." She answered. "1" I said taking a deep breath. I tightened my grip around the dagger, getting ready to take it out. "2" I said quickly ripping it out. "Gah! You fucking bitch!" She yelled. I quickly ripped her shirt over her head and placed it onto the wound. Pressing it onto her tightly. "Hold it here. I'll grab a first-aid kit." I said. I gave her a quick peck on the lips before running over to the kitchen and grabbing a first-aid kit.

I walked over to her sitting the kit down and opening it up. I put on a pair of gloves then I grabbed a needle and thread and quickly got it ready. I placed it back down and took a look at the wound. "No significant injuries other than the gab in your flesh." I mumbled. I kneeled down and grabbed the needle and started sewing her up. As soon as I was done I started cleaning up the left over blood from her skin. I moved back up to a standing position. "There you go, love." I said.

"I didn't know you knew how to do that."

"There's a lot you don't know about me." I answered giving her a peck on the lips. "Let me bandage you up." I quickly grabbed a bandage and wrapped it around her waist. I walked over and removed the gloves, throwing them out. I then washed my hands and made my way back to her.

"Let's get you back to bed. I'll get you something to eat afterwards." I said wrapping her arm around my shoulders and mine around her back. I helped her over to the stairs where I realized I had to carry her. I picked her up bridal style. Making sure not to hurt her in any way. She moved one of her hands to the back of my head and massaged it slightly. I opened the door with a tad bit challenge. I sat her down on the bed and grabbed a new tee for her.

"I'll go get you something to eat and drink and then you can go back to sleep." I said sitting down beside her and removing some of her hair. "Thanks." She mumbled. I chuckled before standing up and walking downstairs. I quickly cleaned up the mess we had made and started making something quick for Nat. I hade made a French toast with a glass of water. I got upstairs again and placed it on the nightstand. She was already sleeping so I decided to take a shower. I did that and changed into a lose fit pair of black ripped jeans with a white and black striped turtleneck and an oversized dark green tee over. I quickly slapped some eyeliner and mascara on and then I did my hair.

Afterwards I texted Stephen.

"20 minutes. Don't be late."

"I'll be there." SS

I quickly wrote on a note to Nat:

I'm at Starbucks. I'll be back in 2 hours. Text me and I'll be back sooner.

Then i jumped out into the car and started driving.

I made my way to the Starbucks near the stables. I walked in and saw Stephen sitting a table, looking out a window. I sat down opposite him and waited for him to begin talking. "Thanks for coming." He said.

"Uh-huh."

He nodded as a response. We sat in an awkward silence before he spoke up again. "I'm sorry for what you saw with me and Clea. I didn't know I meant that much to you." He explained.

"Well you certainly don't anymore." I mumbled.

"You don't mean that."

"Actually I do."

"Sparrow, please. I'm sorry. I really am."

I looked him right in his eyes. I knew he was telling me the truth but I'm over him. We were never a thing so I don't have a reason to be mad at him. "It doesn't matter anymore Vincent." I said. He knew when I used his middle name something was bad. He blinked a few times trying to get the tears away but they fell. The urge to wipe them away was big. I stopped myself from it. I then got a phone call.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey, it's Nat. Come home it's urgent."

"What? Is everything alright?! what happened!?"

"Yes yes just get home."

"Alright see you, love."

"See you, babes."

I ended the call and looked over at Stephen. "Who was that?" He asked. I thought for a bit before saying "my girlfriend. I have to go." I raised myself from the chair and started walking out of the Starbucks. Just as I got out I was hit in the face and knocked out.

I woke up in a dark room tied to a chair. I lighted up a fire in my hand and saw the room was the ones in the tower where we investigated people in. Just as everything clicked, the door opened up and Stephen came running in. The cloak detached from Stephen and wrapped itself around my shoulders and caressed my cheeks. Stephen came and gave me a hug before whispering "it's okay. I'll get you out of here as soon as possible."

He let go and I looked up into his eyes. He sat down on his knees and lifted his hand to my cheek. I flinched and he quickly drew it back. "Sorry." He apologized.

"Can you get these off of me?" I said referring to the handcuffs around my wrist, connecting me to the chair. "No, I need the keys." He answered. I looked down into my lap, letting my head fall. Stephen moved up to hug me again and I rested my head on his chest, letting my tears flood out. He played with my hair making me relax. "Please help me." I whispered in his ear. He let go of me and the door opened. He kissed my forehead and whispered "I will." He backed up and was leaning against the wall. Tony, Agent Coulson, Agent 13, Natasha, Thor, Clint and Steve came through the door. "Hello Sparrow, or is it Basil?" Tony asked.

"Well-uh, you do you, Darlin'." I said with a happy voice. I looked Nat in the eyes and saw a flash of regret, but it quickly disappeared. Sharon moved forward and punched me square in the jaw making me turn my head to the left. I cracked my jaw back in place and started laughing like a maniac. She punched me one the other side which only got me to laugh more.

"For god sake. STOP LAUGHING!!" She yelled punching me thrice. I laughed even louder. She punched me in the nose and I heard a loud crack. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks but I continued to laugh. She was dragged out of the room and everyone except Stephen followed.

As soon as the door was closed he ran over to me and I stopped laughing. He looked at my nose. "It's broken." He mumbled. "Can I?" He asked. "Yes." I answered shortly. He cupped my nose and cracked it back into it's place. I let out a Yelp and tears started to fall once more. He made a first-aid kit appear and quickly cleaned up the blood. "I can't really do more than that at the moment." He whispered wiping away a lose strand of hair and a tear drop.

"Thank you." I mumbled. He cupped my cheeks and kissed me on my forehead again. "I'll get the keys as soon as possible." He said.

"I'm so sorry Stephen. For everything. I-I-I don't know why I- I don't- I just-" I was stumbling over my words. He hushed me and quickly wrapped his arms around me. "I am. I really am sorry." I mumbled into his shoulder. He let go of me and cupped my cheeks, looking into my eyes. I leaned a tad bit forward and so did he. He moved further forward and met me lips in a passionate kiss. I've missed his sweet soft lips on mine. He moved away again. I relaxed as his hands still cupped my cheeks. "I needed that." I whispered. "So did I." He answered with a big grin.

"Wait, weren't you in a relationship?" He asked.

"It didn't work out."

"How so?"

"Meh, Long story."

Then the door bursted open and Loki came running in. "I have the keys." He said. He sat down on his knees and quickly unlocked the handcuffs and I was free to go. I swung my arms around Loki and gave him a tight hug. He gladly returned the hug and nuzzled his head into my shoulder. He released me from the hug and pushed me over to Stephen. "Take care of her and don't come back until I've said otherwise, got it?" Loki instructed. I nodded but Stephen was hesitating. "Stephen please." I begged. He looked down into my pleading eyes and nodded as well.

I gave Loki a quick hug again before walking through the portal which Stephen had made. "Bye Loki." I said. He waved at us and we returned into the sanctum. I immediately fell but Stephen caught me and picked me up bridal style. He carried me to the living room where Clea came running into the room. "Stephen, I'm glad you're home so..." she stopped dead in her tracks. Stephen sat me down and helped me over to the sofa. I sat down and he gave me a kiss on the forehead.

Clea grabbed him and dragged him over to her. "Why is she here?!" She yelled pointing at me. "I could ask you the same." I said rolling my eyes. She walked over to me and kneeled down to my height. "That's right. Kneel for me." I said. She got irritated and punched me in my face. Right in the nose. I started laughing at her petty try to make me respect her. She grabbed my hair and threw me of the couch. I heard Stephen yell for her to stop but she ignored him. Right before I landed on the ground, the cloak caught me. "Thank you." I whispered to the cloak.

She looked at me baffled. "Why is it protecting her?!" Clea yelled. The cloak flew up making me stand straight. Blood was trailing down from my nose. I felt a burning sensation in my chest. I closed my eyes and felt the power surge through my veins to my finger tips. I opened my eyes and saw fire in my hands. I looked over at Stephen to ask for permission to burn a bitch. He looked away and made his way out of the living room to the kitchen. I smirked and looked back to Clea. She looked at me shocked before shaking her head and making her powers appear as a weapon. "This is gonna be easy." I said to myself. "No it won't." She said. I threw a fireball at her throwing her backwards into the wall and making her clothes set on fire.

Stephen stood in the entrance of the living room watching us. I turned of the fire and threw a bunch of smaller fireballs towards her. She dodge the first one but the rest hit her all over her body, setting her on fire again. I flew over and grabbed her throat picking her up with me. "Yippee Kay yay motherfucker." I said throwing her out of a window. The cloak let me sit down on the sofa again and I thanked it. It detached from me and flew over to a corner just floating there. "I've got tea." Stephen said walking over to me and sitting down.

"With milk and honey?" I asked.

"Yep, just the way you like it." He said. "Oh let me take care of your nose first." He sat down both cups of tea and raised his hands around my nose. "This might hurt a bit." He said. He cracked my nose back into place again and started healing my nose. I heard small cracks here and there, and the pain was quite bad but not anything I couldn't handle. He let his hands fall down. I bend forward and grabbed my cup of tea and took a sip. "Thanks." I mumbled.

We had been talking and laughing since the fight. Where I, of course, easily beat Clea. Stephen stopped talking and looked deep into my eyes. I cupped his cheeks and leaned forward to kiss him. Which he gladly returned. It was only a quick peck on the lips.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and made him fall backwards onto the couch with me on top. He let out a chuckle as I nuzzled into his chest.

Weeks went on with days like those. Days were we where cuddled up together, doing nothing. Of course Stephen had to help protect the reality from time to time. But other than that we didn't do anything for nearly 5 weeks. We were also now officially Boyfriend and Girlfriend.

It was the start of a new week when Stephen had been called out for saving our reality. I was chilling on our couch when I heard a loud bang! I looked up and quickly changed into my suit and decided to go investigate. I grabbed my dagger in my right hand and had a ball of fire ready in the other. I got to the front door and saw a group of SHIELD agents. I quickly knocked everyone out except Sharon. I had my dagger pressed against her throat while standing behind her. "How I've missed you, darlin'." I said sarcastically.

"You can't get out of this one, Y/l/n."

"Oh trust me. I can do what I wanna do."

I pushed her away and we started fighting. Since she didn't have anything else than a gun, I quickly gained control. I mean come on. A gun? How petty.

"I'm going to kill you!" Sharon insisted.

"Now now, Sharon, Play nicely."

She got irritated and threw herself against me. I grabbed her by the neck and chocked slammed her down into the floor. I stood up right in front of her and let out a laugh.

"You're a monster!" She yelled.

"Come oooon. What did you expect?" I joked.

Then I heard a repulser charging. "Could you stop doing that?" I said irritated at Tony. "Not really no." Tony answered. I started fighting Tony when a force lifted me off the ground. "Seriously Wanda?" I asked. "Sorry." I heard Wanda answer.

I felt myself slowly loosing control over my mind and body, and then blackness.

I woke up in a cell. It looked like one of them from the tower. Great. Just great. I looked around to find the security cameras. One was in the corner while another was out in the hall. I looked up at the one in my cell. I knew they'd be able to hear me. "When's dinner?" I asked, knowing they'd be pissed. Imagine though? The first thing you're prisoner does is ask for dinner? Not even going to have a panic attack or anything. Like where's the fun in that?

"You won't be getting any." I heard Fury's voice. He moved out from the dark and stood in front of my glass cell.

"Great, don't wanna ruin my diet."

"Y/n. You are currently under maximum security. You won't be able to escape."

"Fine by me."

I laid down in the bed. I looked over at Fury and saw him roll his eyes at me. "Do I get to have visitors?" I asked. "Depends on your behavior." He answered. I heard him leave the prison cells when I didn't answer. I looked back up at the camera and winked at them. How irritated they must be. Love it.

I was laying on the bed when I heard someone running towards my cell. I moved up to a sitting position and saw Loki standing in front of my cell. I jumped up and moved towards the glass to look at him better. He had been fighting to get in here. "Hello there tough guy." I smiled at him.

"Still haven't lost your enthusiasm I see?"

"Nope. Gotta keep a positive mental attitude."

I started pacing around in my cell. My hands behind my back. I felt Loki's presence in my cell. I turned around and saw him standing behind me. I looked into his eyes trying to see if he was an illusion or the real deal. I saw tears forming in his eyes. It was the real deal. I smiled and quickly ran towards him and jumped wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. "I've missed you." I mumbled into the crook of his neck.

He stood awkwardly for a bit before wrapping his arms around my waist and buried his head into the crook of my neck.

"I have missed you as well, darlin'."

He sat down on my bed with me still around him. I removed myself from him and sat down besides him. We started talking and laughing. I've missed Loki so much. We had been talking for what felt like forever when Thor walked over to my cell. He noticed Loki in my cell and shook his head. "Dinner is ready, brother." He said.

"I won't be participating."

"You have to."

"Do not. Now leave."

They were arguing with each other for a while until I decided to say something. "Loki go eat. It's not like I can run off anywhere." I said shooing Loki away. Loki let out a groan of annoyance as he raised himself and teleported out of my cell. I waved goodbye to both brothers and they gladly waved back.

I laid back onto my bed and relaxed. I had been laying in my bed the entire night and it was now approximately around 3 AM. I heard footsteps coming to my cell. It was Loki. He teleported into my cell. I looked up at him and saw he was in his frost giant form. "Nightmare?" I asked. He nodded a yes and I raised myself from the bed and walked over to hug him. I led him to my bed and he sat down. I sat down beside him and he wrapped his arms around me.

I calmed him down by nuzzling his hair. He let go of me and let out a yawn. "Lay down and get some rest." I instructed. He did as told and quickly fell asleep. I sat down on my floor and started meditating like Stephen taught me. If I did it correctly I would be able to get into contact with him.

I felt a connection and tried speaking to him. "Stephen?" I asked.

"Y/n?" He answered.

"I'm in the avengers tower. In the cells."

"I'm coming as soon as possible."

I lost the connection and came back to reality. I laid down on the floor looking up into the ceiling. My mind was empty. I started thinking about when I was a kid and taught myself how to play the guitar. I wonder if I'm still able to play on it. I was awake the rest of the night pondering over weird stuff.

"Good morning." Loki said.

"Morning."

Wait. Loki can teleport stuff. "You can teleport stuff, correct?" I asked.

"Well I suppose so yes."

"Can you teleport a guitar?"

"Well I can give it a try."

And out of nowhere he made a black acoustic guitar appear. "Thanks." I said as he handed it to me. I quickly tuned it and got ready to play feel good inc. by gorrilaz.

As I finished, Loki clapped and cheered me on. I laughed a little at it and Loki started laughing as well.

"Maybe you should've considered becoming a musician instead of a criminal." I heard Tony's voice. I ignored him and started playing random parts from random melodies that I could just about remember. He let out a sigh before saying: "you have a visitor."

"Who is it?" Loki asked.

"The Wizard."

I looked up at Loki and he gave a nod. Then he teleported out beside Tony and they walked away. I heard footsteps coming to my cell again. My back was turned towards the glass as I was playing with a small flame in my hand.

"Hello sweetheart." Stephen spoke. I turned around and saw him standing in my cell with a sad smile. "Hello." I answered looking back down on my hand. I turned of the flame and laid my hand back down on my lap. Stephen sat down in front of me and grabbed my hand placing a small kiss on my knuckles. I smiled a bit at it which only got him to kiss it more. I ended up laughing since his beard was tickling.

He stopped and looked up into my eyes and placed a kiss on my lips. I returned it and he let out a hum of delight. I chuckled at him and wrapped my arms around his neck. We moved away from the kiss and I chuckled a bit to see a big grin on Stephens face. He picked me up and placed me in his lap. I immediately buried my head into the crook of his neck as he massaged my back.

"Step away from the prisoner." You heard fury's voice. You rolled your eyes. tightened your grip around him and wrapped your legs around Stephen. He stood up and let both his arm fall to his side's. I chuckled a bit at it. "Looks as though I don't have much of a choice." Stephen said. He wrapped his arms around me again and let me down. As soon as I stood on the ground I gave him a quick peck on the lips. I looked over at Fury and saw he was standing with someone.

"This right here, is your therapist." Fury said

"No thanks, Nicholas."

"That's not an opportunity."

I looked over at the guy he was standing with. He looked like someone I knew. British. I don't know why but I had a feeling he was British. I looked at him for a bit deducing who and what he was. He looked around 40-ish. No pets. Quite the playboy. Extremely confident. He had black hair. Stubbles for a beard. Black-ish brown-ish eyes. He smiled at me with a toothy grin. White teeth. He was dressed in a black tuxedo. Rich.

"Who may you be?" I asked.

"Why you're therapist of course." He answered. Yep British.

"And what's your name?"

"Lucifer."

I looked at him shocked.

"Last name?"

"Morningstar."

I looked over at Stephen. He wasn't believing him.

"Wait so- so you're telling us that you're the Devil?" Stephen asked.

"I'm afraid so yes." The so called Lucifer answered.

"Why in the nine realms would I want the devil as my therapist?" I asked.

"Y/n just do it." Fury said.

"Nicholas Joseph Fury, if you don't shut the fuck up I will fucking destroy you." I threatened.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Fury answered.

Stephen turned to me and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "You should go talk to him. I'll be here again tomorrow morning." He whispered. His hot breath on my lips. "I don't want to leave you. Not again." I answered. "Then I'll stay the night." He said. I smiled sadly and gave him a peck on the lips and turned back around. "Fine I'll do it." I said.

I was sitting on a couch with the one and only Lucifer bloody Morningstar. AKA The Devil. In front of me.

"Tell me again why the Devil is my therapist?" I asked

"Well I'm a bit more than just you're therapist."

"You do look familiar. Have I threatened you before?"

"No. Quite the opposite actually."

He fired of a toothy smile. I looked at him confused.

"Already forgot all the years down with me and your family?" He asked.

"My family is dead. My mom killed my dad and I killed my mom."

"Why your real family of course!"

I was even more confused now. His smile slowly faded.

"You really don't remember me?" He asked. I shook my head no. He sat down beside me and grabbed my hand. He looked into my eyes. With a blink of the eye his skin turned red. Eyes red as well. I moved my hand up hesitantly. "Can I?" I asked. "Go ahead." He answered. I touched his skin. It was as if it was all burned. "You really are the Devil." I mumbled.

"And you, Dear, is the Devil's daughter." He said with a toothy smile. I shook my head no again and moved away from him. "No. No that's not possible." Tears was forming in my eyes.

"I'm afraid so."

"Nope. Nein. No. Nah. Nej."

He kept on smiling. He pressed his hand firmly onto my forehead and I felt something tinkle. He grabbed his phone to show me what had happened. I looked like him but younger and more feminine. "Still don't believe me?" He asked with a smile. "So, I'm immortal?" I asked. He nodded a yes. "Anything more I need to know?" I asked.

"Well you're half angel, half Devil." He smiled. A knock sounded on the door. "Times up!" Someone yelled. "Till next time." Lucifer said as I walked out the door. The guard, or what ever he was, put handcuffs on me and followed me down to my cell. I was alone once again. I sat down in the middle of my cell and started meditating.

I felt pain grow in my back. It got worse and worse. I heard Bones cracking and it felt like my skin was being ripped open. I let out a pained scream. And then it ended. Just like that. I looked to the side and saw a giant white wing with beautiful white feathers. It looked magnificent. I looked to the other side and there was another wing looking just like the first one. I was low key having a panic attack but I hid it.

The avengers came running to my cell all suited up. I looked at them and crossed my arms over my chest. They looked at me surprised. "What?" I asked.

"Since when could you do that?" Bucky asked. I only shrugged and started pacing my cell. I stopped and looked at them again. I saw Loki and Bucky give a signal to each other. Bucky moved over to Steve and whispered something in his ear. Then Steve moved over to fury and whispered something to him. He gave a signal meaning everyone except Bucky and Loki had to leave.

I felt like a monster. I've always felt like a monster but the fact that I'm not even human just makes it so much worse. I sat down on my floor with my back leaning against a wall. My wings was hidden under my shirt.

Loki and Bucky teleported into my cell and stood in front of me. Loki grabbed my hand and pulled me into a group hug with Bucky. "You don't seriously believe that you are a monster. Do you?" Loki asked. I moved away from them and showed them my "real" form. With wings and all. "I am a monster." I whispered under my breath.

I knew Loki was a frost giant but his form was beautiful. They both dragged me into a group hug again. "Your beautiful, doll." Bucky whispered. "Yes I know. But just not when I'm looking like this." I mumbled back. "You are beautiful, you moron. No matter what." Loki chuckled. I tightened my grip around both of the boys.

We released each other from the hug. The boys sat down on my bed and I sat down in front of the bed. "So how long have you been able to do that?" Loki asked.

"Apparently forever but I don't remember it."

"So you're a demon?" Bucky asked.

"Half. According to the Bible, and all of that, my dad, Lucifer, is a fallen angel so he's technically an angel. So I suspect my mother was a demon."

We had been talking a bit before they had to go for a mission. I was sitting alone in my cell. I just realized I hadn't slept for 4 days straight. I was tired yes but I couldn't sleep. The nightmares were to much. Especially when I'm alone. i really just wanted Stephen. My Stephen.

Oh god he doesnt even know about me being the Devils daughter. how do i tell him? he's gonna hate me. He'll just leave me. I sat down in a corner and let tears flod out into silent sobs. Everything was to much. I'll be alone again. Fighting my own battle completly alone. i curled into a ball with my back still leaning on the wall. how pathetic i am. of course he'd leave me.

I jumped up to a standing position and punched the wall over and over again till my hands were numb and started bleeding. I backed up into a wall and slowly fell to the ground again. Tears slowly falling from my cheeks. It was all to much. My hands were laying limp by my sides.

It was now dark outside and there was blood all over the floor. My wings had came back out and was hiding me from the other people. i heard a portal open and then footsteps. they stopped abrobtebly. i let my wings go back under my shirt and i looked up at Stephen. i offered him a week smile but he didn't return it. He picked me up and laid me on my bed. He started making a spell. most likely to heal my hands.

He was quickly done and looked around my cell to find out what had happened. "what made you so angry, Y/n?" he asked sitting down besides me. i didn't answer and just looked away. i sat up and moved back so i could lean on the wall. he placed his hand on my thigh and looked into my eyes, searching for an answer. i looked back at him and tears started forming in my eyes again. i looked down and felt the tears fall. "i'm a monster." i mumbled under my breath hoping he wouldn't hear me.

"why would you say that?" he asked cupping my cheeks. i looked up at him again and showed him my "real" face. he removed his hands from me and i moved away from him. i let my head fall and go back to normal. tears was falling again. "do you believe me now?" i asked with a shaky voice. "what you look like doesn't make you a monster." he tried to reasure.

"then what does?" i asked looking at him again.

"it's whats inside that makes someone a monster."

"how reasurring."

he looked at me and moved closer to me. He dragged me into a hug and brushed his hand through my hair. "you're out of hydras mind manipulation. therefor you are no monster." he whispered. "i still killed people after that." i answered him, "yeah but they were all criminals." he continued. "Try telling the rest of the world that." I mumbled. He let go of me and looked into my eyes.

"Would you shut it for once and stop thinking about other people's thoughts!?" He raised his voice at me. I flinched and moved away from him. He grabbed my hand and I flinched again.

He took a deep breath and relaxed. He slowly moved his hand to my cheek and dried away a tear I hadn't noticed. He made me look into his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to scare you." He said sincerely.

He raised himself from the bed and made a portal. He went inside and came out shortly after with a cup of tea and a plate of French toast. "Eat. Please." He said handing me the plate.

I quickly ate it all and he looked at me weirdly. "What?" I asked.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"Like three days ago."

I saw his eyes turn dark with anger. "Did they get you something to drink?" He asked. His voice was angry. I looked down and shook my head no. He handed me the cup of tea and then left through a portal again. I sat the stuff aside and decided to lay down and relax but I accidentally fell into a disturbing sleep.

#fiction #marvel #actors #Loki #stephen strange #doctor strange #loki odinson #x y/n #fem reader

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crystalwillow · 4 years

Text

Fixing A Broken Heart

Paring: Ethan x Casey w/ Bryce & Sienna. (a little bit of Bryce x Casey)

Tagging: @eleanorbloom @brycelahelalover

“Casey honey! It’s time to get up and ready for your new school!”

Casey opened her eyes, groaning groggily as she took in the light that flooded into her room through the cracks in her curtains. She yawned as she got up from under the covers, throwing the curtains open before opening her door, finding her mom smiling at her.

“Ready for breakfast honey pie?”

“Yeah.”

She followed her mom to the kitchen as she rubbed sleep from her eyes and took a seat at the table. She took her hair out and threw it back up in a messy bun, so it wasn’t in her face as she ate, smiling at her mom as she placed her favorite pop tarts and a slice of toast on the table in front of her.

“Thanks mom.”

“You’re welcome sweetie.” Her mom smiled as she kissed her forehead. “Now you remember what time the bus leaves, don’t you?”

“I do mum. 8:15am sharp from the stop just down the road.”

“Great! Don’t be late okay?”

“But I thought you were taking me today?”

“Oh Casey. I forgot to tell you last night. I have an interview this morning that starts at the same time as school does for you.”

“Oh...”

“I’m sorry honey. I know that I promised. Why don’t I buy us Chinese tonight as a treat?”

Casey thought her mothers words over for a brief moment, before settling her face into a happier expression.

“Yeah. Okay. You’ll remember the special noodles I like?”

“I could never forget after your freak out when you were 8 years old. You’d never let it go.”

The two shared a chuckle and a hug before Casey’s mom said goodbye and headed out the front door. After finishing her breakfast, Casey placed her plate in the sink and headed upstairs to grab a shower, get dressed and check her bag had everything she would need. At 8:05am she set off to the bus stop just down the road to wait for the bus to school. The ride was bumpy, loud and had an uneasy setting for Casey. Everyone was looking at her as if she was some type of extraterrestrial being. When the bus stopped outside the school stop, she was the last one off. She hugged herself as she walked towards the front doors of the school building. Anxiety and fear eating away at her. Not knowing where to go by herself she wandered the halls until she came across the one door she was looking for. The principal’s office. She knocked politely and waited to be called in.

“Come in!”

Casey opened the door and stuck her head in and met the principal’s face which changed into a friendly smile upon seeing her.

“Ah. You must be new.”

“Y-yes ma’am. My name i-is C-Casey. Va-Valentine.”

“Come in my sweet. There’s no need to be nervous.” The principal smiled at her warmly.

Swallowing harshly, Casey opened the door fully and stepped inside the office, closing the door behind her and sitting opposite the principal as she finished typing some things on her computer. As she waited, Casey looked around the office noting the name plaque on the principals desk. ‘Principal. B. Witherspoon’

Clearing her throat, principal Witherspoon smiled as Casey snapped her attention towards her.

“S-sorry.”

“For?”

“Looking around. I-it was rude of me.”

“Relax darling. It’s okay.” She offered Casey a kind smile which was half returned. After helping Casey sort her schedule, she walked her to her first class, knocking on the door, walking in and smiling at the teacher.

“Sorry for the interruption, Mr. Nelson. I have a new student for you.”

Casey stood behind the principal and nervously gave the teacher a wave.

“Thank you, principal Witherspoon.”

The principal smiled at Casey and gave her shoulder a quick rub. “You’ll be okay. Mr. Nelson is one of the best teachers we have at this school.”

Casey nodded and the principal left the classroom. Mr. Nelson introduced himself to Casey, and pointed her to a seat at the back of the room next to a boy with long-ish brown hair and glasses. His expression stoic, and eyes that were bluer than any ocean she had ever seen in her life so far. She was so mesmerized by the boy that she almost tripped over another students bag.

“Careful!” The boy who she was staring at exclaimed. Narrowly stopping the accident.

“Huh? Oh! Th-thank you.. um..”

“Don’t mention it.”

Casey took her seat and pulled out her notebook and pen. At the front of the class Mr. Nelson had minimized the PowerPoint and was looking at the class.

“Now. We will now take a few minutes to get to know our new classmate.”

“UM.. well uhhhh.” Casey stammered looking for words, and around the room panicked. She knew this would happen a lot to day, but introducing herself always made her nervous. She could feel a panic attack starting to bubble up inside of her, that’s when as if she was in some movie or a story her eyes met the boys ocean blue ones. They were full of kindness and patience as she stared into them, a small smile crept onto her face. As if she was giving him a silent thank you, he gave her a small and subtle nod. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Casey rose to her feet and smiled at the class.

“Well, my name is Casey Valentine. I’ve transferred here from a school in California. Uhhh, I live with my mum and our dog snowball.” At the mention of her dog’s name, her eyes went wide with horror. “Oh no! I forgot to feed snowball!”

Seeing the panic creeping onto her face, Mr. Nelson done his best to calm her down.

“Now it’s okay Casey. He’s going to be okay. It will be okay.”

Casey sat in her seat and slumped over on her desk as she tried to calm herself down. She knew deep down that he would be okay, but right now she feared she’d go home and find him dead. After that the day passed in a blur of introductions and hard work. When she returned home she called out to her mom but got no response. She looked around the whole house but there was no sign of her. Concluding that she was probably shopping, Casey headed to the kitchen, filling snowballs food and water bowls, crouching beside him as he ate the food enthusiastically.

“I’m so sorry I forgot to feed you this morning snow. It was careless of me.”

She stroked his fluffy coat for a few moments then headed to her room and started on her homework. After she had everything at her desk, she went to open her bedroom window and tie back her curtains. Casey was working hard on a math problem when her phone rang, a smile lit up her features when she saw the name of one of her best friends from back in California. She wasted no time in picking up the call, answering excitedly and with a new burst of energy.

“Sienna!”

“CASEY! I, well WE didn’t think you’d pick up.”

“We?”

“mhm! Bryce is here too!”

“Hey Cassie!”

“Hi Brycie!”

“UGHHHH CASEYYYYYYY. You know I don’t like you calling me thaaaattt!”

“But what fun is life if you can’t tease your friends every now and then?”

“... fine. I’ll let it slip this time. But only because I’m missing you”

“Hey! I miss her too you know!”

Casey chuckled as her two friends engaged in a playful fight on the other end of the line. The three chatted for hours as Casey done her homework, upon hearing the front door open and close again, Casey let out a sigh.

“Guys, I should go. I think my mum just come home.”

“AWWW. Do you really have to go?”

“Yes Bryce, I really have to go. But I’ll call you guys again at the weekend.”

“Awww...” Bryce sighed. Casey could practically hear the pout in his voice as Sienna spoke up

“We’ll look forward to your call! It’s not the same hanging out with out you. I hope we can do it again soon.”

“We definitely will you guys. I love you!”

“We love you too Casey!”

After saying a couple more goodbye’s Casey hung up and rushed down the stairs to the kitchen, following the smell of food.

“Mom? ... Mom!”

She ran over to her and hugged her from behind. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, feeling all of the leftover anxiety and fear from the day flood out of her body as she relaxed.

“Oh! Hey honey pie. How was school?” Her mom asked as she hugged Casey back just as tightly.

“It was okay. I had to introduce myself a lot and I was a little bit scared at first. But I met some friendly faces who helped me out, so I didn’t make myself seem like too much of a fool.”

“Aw, my little girl isn’t a fool. She couldn’t be even if she tried. Though she is extremely goofy at times.”

“Mooommmm.”

Her mom laughed and ruffled Casey’s hair playfully.

“Now, can you set the table and I’ll come over to sort out the dinner.”

The two sat at the dinner table together, smiling and laughing as Casey’s mom asked her what her favourite class is so far. She would of course say Mr. Nelson’s class. Of course when she was asked why she gave the obvious answer.

“Mom.. really? You know that I love biology!”

She wasn’t going to let her mom know that there was a cute boy in the class that she was attracted to in some magnetic way. It was similar to how she felt for her friend Bryce. It’s why she enjoyed teasing him so much. But the feeling towards this boy in her new biology class was somehow a stronger version of what she felt for Bryce. Dinner passed by happily and after rinsing the dishes and placing them in the dishwasher, Casey sat on the couch with her mom and they watched a movie together. After that, Casey was ready for bed. So she stood up and stretched out her limbs then smiled at her mom.

“I’m going to head to bed now. I’m exhausted after today.”

“Okay honey. Sleep well, see you tomorrow.”

“Night mom.”

“Goodnight Casey.”

--- That Weekend ---

Casey had just finished helping her mom put the groceries away when her phone pinged.

“Oh, mom. I promised Bryce and Sienna that I’d call this weekend. Is it okay if I go up and?”

“Of course. I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”

Thanking her mom and giving her a quick peck on the cheek, Casey ran upstairs to her bedroom and shut her door behind her. She hung her jacket up and put her shoes away before flopping on the bed on her stomach and sent Sienna a quick text.

Casey: Hey! Do you guys mind if I facetime you instead?

Sienna: We’d love that!

Casey: Cool, just give me a moment, I think snowball is outside my door!

She got up and opened her door, snowball walking in and jumping on her bed, making himself comfortable. Casey cuddled with him as she waited for Sienna to answer the call. After a couple of rings she picked up

“Bryce stop being so vein! It’s your hair! Casey isn’t going to care what you look like!”

“But I care what I look like Si!”

“Boys!” Sienna sighed with an eyeroll and Casey chuckled

“Hey there!”

“Casey! Hey!”

Sienna and Casey spoke between themselves whilst they waited for Bryce to stop messing with his hair. It took about 15 minutes but soon Bryce came into view of the camera, looking glum and annoyed.

“Awww, Brycie what’s wrong?” Casey asked.

“Shut up.” He pouted as he crossed his arms.

“You’re cute when you’re mad.”

There was a silence as Casey realized what she said after she had said it, turning beet red and giving a small and awkward cough, looking at snowball who now wanted to leave the room.

“One second guys. Snowball wants out.”

She got up and opened the door letting her dog go, before shutting it again and laying back on her bed. The awkwardness hung in the air for a little longer after Casey returned to her phone, before the slight tension was broke by Sienna’s dad coming up the stairs, calling out to her.

“Sienna sweetie? Are you up here?”

“In my room dad! I’m talking to Casey with Bryce”

“Ah darling. I’m going away on another long drive. I’ll be gone for about a week.”

“A week?!”

“... I know it’s difficult sweetheart but it’s all to help us out hey?”

Sienna sighs before hugging her dad tight and following him downstairs to say goodbye properly. Leaving Bryce and Casey alone for a few moments.

“Bryce?”

“Yeah?”

“Uh... for what it’s worth. Your bad hair day kind of suits you”

“...I- Thanks.”

They smiled at each other as Sienna came back and sat down. She took her phone from Bryce and smiled at Casey.

“Soooo...”

“So?... what?”

“Are you going to tell me more about this boy in your biology class?”

Casey blushed furiously as Sienna spoke in a teasing tone and Bryce tensed up a bit. Almost as if he was sensing competition. He looked at Sienna and then at the screen where Casey was still blushing brightly.

“Is everything okay with your dad Si?”

“Nu-uhh. We are not changing the subject Casey Valentine!”

“I have a question.” Bryce cut in. “Is he better looking than me?”

“What?”

“ooo, Bryce looking for the juicy gossip!”

Casey sighed and picked at her nails. “If you guys really want to know. Yes, he is cute. And kind. And misunderstood most of the time outside of class because of his brooding exterior but.. I’m his lab partner now and I’ve been getting to know him. He’s nice.”

“Ohmygosh” You like him!”

“No! I do not! I mean maybe I can see him being my first friend here on the East Coast... But other than that.. no!”

Casey blushed again and felt a pang of a feeling similar to guilt in her chest as she looked at Bryce’s expression.

“Bryce? Are you okay?” Casey asked, and Sienna turned to him.

“Do you feel alright? You’ve gone awfully pale...”

“I... I’m fine. I just, remembered that I need to run an errand before it gets too dark.” Bryce said and then left abruptly. Sienna and Casey shared a knowing look of sadness and understanding.

“He likes me as more than a friend, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah... It looks that way.”

Casey was about to speak again when she heard her mom calling up the stairs that dinner was ready. Turning back to the screen after calling back a quick okay, and smiled apologetically at Sienna.

“Sorry. I’ve gotta go. Mom just called for dinner.”

“Okay! Speak soon?”

“Definitely. Oh and Si?”

“Yeah?”

“When you see Bryce next, tell him to uh.. give me a call? I’d like to talk with him one on one.”

“Sure thing Case. Miss and love you!”

“Bye Si! Miss and love you too!”

The two girls waved goodbye to each other then hung up the call, and Casey put her phone to charge before heading downstairs. Her mom smiled at her as she entered the kitchen.

“How was the call with Sienna and Bryce.”

“It was good.” Casey sighed.

“Only good?”

“Well... me and Sienna kinda found out Bryce likes me when I told them about the boy in my bio class. He acted jealous and then made up this excuse about an errand before bolting off. It’s not like I’m even interested in the boy in bio that way. I only know his first name and that he’s passionate about bio like I am.”

Casey’s mom sighed and placed her hands around Casey’s.

“Listen. Boys are just as complex as girls. But you’re too young to be having boy drama Casey Valentine.” She booped her daughters nose and ruffled her hair, earning a small giggle from Casey before they dug into their meal.

After that night, the next few weeks went past in a blur. Casey heard from Sienna frequently but never heard a word from Bryce. Not one text or call for ages. Until one day she finally had enough of his avoidance game. She was at lunch by herself, and knowing he would most likely be in class, she dialed her old schools number. The scowl on her face was unmissable but she kept her tone level as possible as she spoke to the receptionist that answered.

“Hello, Greenfield Middle School. How may I help you?”

“Hi. It’s Casey Valentine. I’m a former student. I um. I would like to get a very angry message to Bryce Lahela in Mrs. Smith’s homeroom. Can somebody please tell him he is a big headed bitch with an overinflated ego, and he needs to just talk to me.”

“Woah. Sweetheart. You were a very sweet student here. Are things okay at your new school?”

“Things here are fine. I just want my friend to stop being mad at me just because he thinks I like another boy. I’ve wanted to talk with him about it for weeks now. But he’s ignoring me and it’s starting to effect my grades.”

“Okay well um.. We’ll get that message to him.”

Just then Casey froze as Ethan sat with her, opening his lunch box and pulling out his sandwich.

“Thank you. And um... I am so sorry for the harsh language.”

“It’s okay Casey. Goodbye now.”

“Bye.”

Sighing she hung up and placed her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her hands as she stared straight ahead. Ethan swallowed his food and took a sip of his drink, looking straight at Casey as he done so. He could practically see the gears in her brain working. “Are you okay?” He asked, but Casey was zoned out and could barely hear him. It wasn’t until the bell rang and brought her back to the present moment that she noticed Ethan was still sitting there. Looking at her as if he was studying a plant or something. “What?” she asked, and Ethan simply shrugged, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“I guess I’ll see you in last period.”

“Uhhhh, right.” Casey tried to smile but it didn’t reach her eyes. It seemed pained and forced. She headed to her math class, trying her best to concentrate but her mind kept coming back to Bryce and figuring out he saw her as more than a friend, and somehow it hurt even more that he was ignoring her. Because deep down, she knew she kinda liked him back. She zoned out as she thought about what it would feel like to have his lips press softly against her own. It wasn’t until she heard the teacher shouting her name that she realized how far she had zoned out. Blushing, she snapped her attention back to the front of the class.

“Yes Miss?”

“What’s the answer to question 8c?”

Casey looked down at her text book and read the question, then set a determined look on her face as she turned her gaze back to the teacher at the front of the class. Giving her best smile, she cleared her throat to speak up.

“Of course Miss.The answer is t-“

But she was cut off by another student blurting out the answer. The teacher looking in their direction visibly annoyed.

“Is that what you were going to say Casey?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Pay attention to my class from now on okay?”

Casey gave a nod and the rest of the day dragged by. Even in last period she didn’t smile or engage with the practical properly. Ethan tried getting her to focus, but she just wasn’t in the mood. There was a point where Mr. Nelson had to send another female student to get her from the bathroom. When she returned, she sat in her seat next to Ethan but kept her head down. She had been crying. The one thing she never done at school, because it made her look ‘weak’ and like a perfect target for the popular people because she’s already showing she’s broken. At the end of the day when the school bell rang. She grabbed her bag, stuffing her things inside and rushed out the door and to the bus stop as fast as possible. When her bus arrived she jumped on and secured a seat at the back. Upon getting home, snowball greeted her at the door, but all she could manage to do was stroke his head as she shut the front door before running to her room, shutting the door behind her with a loud bang. Usually she was sad that her mom’s new job finished late, but today she was thankful. She had so many tears left to get out that she just laid on her bed and let them fall. As she was crying her phone rang, “Not the greatest timing Si.” she muttered as she rolled over and fished through her bag to get it out. Her eyebrows raised a little when she saw Bryce’s name across the screen, yet she didn’t answer because she didn’t need him to hear the brokenness in her voice right now. She left it to ring but suddenly this boy was relentless in his attempts at trying to contact her. She knew she should answer, but she just couldn’t. Crying was all she could do right now.

--- In California ---

“Come on pick up. Please pick up.”

Bryce paced in Sienna’s room as he waited for Casey to answer her phone. Sienna was sitting at her desk doing homework, or at least she was trying. Bryce had been pacing for about 5 minutes when she had finally had enough.

“Bryce could you please just sit down.”

“I can’t Sienna. She’s not answering. What if she’s in danger? What if she’s hurt somewhere. What if she’s... with him...” Bryce said, swallowing hard as he spoke his last words.

“Bryce.” Sienna sighed and got to her feet. “I’m sure she’s fine. She’s probably having dinner or time with her mom. You know she’s three hours ahead of us now.”

“I know it’s just..... I really like her Si and I’m scared I’ve lost her to someone else.”

“Well.. Have you thought about the third possibility here?”

“Third possibility?”

“Yeah. That she’s ignoring you to show you how it’s felt for her these past few weeks. She’s usually so bubbly. But every phone call I’ve had with her recently.. she’s sounded deflated and not like the Casey we know and love so much.”

“Oh God. What if I broke her? She probably hates me now! I should never have stormed off like that when- Oh God.”

Bryce sat on Sienna’s bed, his hands now trembling as he dug his fingers into his hair and pulled. A mix of anger, guilt and sadness in his chest. “GODDAMNIT!” he said harshly through clenched teeth. Sienna sat next to him, placing a comforting hand on his back. In that moment he broke too. He let himself fall into Sienna shoulder as he sobbed. He said some words as he sobbed but she couldn’t make them out. Sienna was stroking Bryce’s arm as her bedroom door opened slowly and her mom popped her head in.

“Si? I heard a shout is everything o- Oh! What’s happened?”

“Just some girl trouble.”

“... This is about Casey isn’t it?”

Sienna looked at her mom shocked for a moment before looking at her sorrowfully and giving a small nod. Her mom came into the room and pulled up a chair near Bryce and Sienna.

“Look. I may be old. But I’ve seen the way you look at that girl Bryce. So what’s happened? Did she reject you? Has she got a boyfriend at her new school? What’s up?”

Bryce hiccupped as he tried to calm himself down to speak but it didn’t work. Every time he got ready to speak, emotion overwhelmed him again.

“Casey is sort of crushing on this boy in her bio class. She won’t openly admit it. But what she has admitted is that she likes Bryce back. Only she’s giving him a taste of his own medicine because the last time they spoke, Bryce got jealous when she told us about this boy and stormed off. He hasn’t tried contacting her until tonight when she’s tried reaching out constantly. The only reason he’s snapped back to reality, is because she called the school office today and asked for a message to be passed on.”

“I see. Well, Bryce, maybe just wait it out? She’ll call you back. I’m sure she’s just a mess at the minute and doesn’t want you to hear her broken. I done a similar thing when I was your ages and had the attention of two very attractive boys.”

“Really? Mom, how come you’ve never told me this?!”

“Because I was saving the story. But it’s how I met your father. I fell in love with him and those boys ran home to nurse their wounded egos after being chewed out by your dad for showing me disrespect by fighting over me.”

Bryce sniffled and sat up straight, looking at Sienna’s mom with bright red circles around his eyes. Sienna handed him a tissue.

“Thanks Si.” He blew his nose and cleared his throat before speaking to Sienna’s mom.

“So what you’re saying is, if I want any chance of dating Casey I have to not fight over her with another guy like she’s a prize?”

“Exactly my sweet. Girls hate being treated like they’re some trophy prize in a race. They just want love, loyalty, respect and to get to know you. The real you that’s inside here.” Sienna’s mom patted her chest over her heart with a kind smile as she looked back at Bryce. “Treat her like the beautiful human she is and never lose track of the fact she’s just that. Human. Not a trophy.”

Bryce sniffled again and gave Sienna’s mom a grateful smile and a small nod.

“Thank you, Mrs. Trinh. I’ll remember that.”

“You better. Otherwise I’ll whoop your ass.”

The three laughed together and shared a hug, Sienna’s mom then leaving and heading back downstairs. Bryce looked at Sienna and gave a shy smile, eyeing the shoulder of her shirt.

“Sorry about soaking your shoulder.”

“It’s okay. You feel better now?”

“Much.” He smiled.

“Then I’m doing my job of being a friend well.”

“Are you kidding Si? You’re the best friend a guy like me could ask for!”

“Aw Bryce! You’ve gone all soft!”

Sienna carried on teasing him for a little while before her mom called them for dinner, and they rushed down the stairs. The aroma’s of another amazing homecooked meal hitting their nostrils before they were even half way to the dining room.

--- Back On The East Coast ---

Hours had passed since Casey had gotten in and cried herself to sleep as she waited for her mom to get home. Ignoring phone calls from Bryce. Since then she had been woken up, had dinner and spent some time with her mom. She now sat in her room at her laptop as she watched some videos on the internet. It was late but she couldn’t sleep. Everything was becoming too much. She paused her video and picked up her phone from her desk, taking it off charge. Her hand shook hesitantly over Bryce’s number before just pressing call. Finding herself immediately pacing the length of her room back and forth until he picked up.

“Casey! I uh mean.. Casey. Hey.”

She wanted to giggle at him. Hearing his voice after so long brought a smile to her face and renewed her energy.

“H-hey Bryce.” She spoke shyly down the phone. “Are you okay?”

“Ye- I- ... No. I’m not. I’m not okay at all.”

“Why? What’s wrong? Did you fail your math test again?”

Bryce let out a small chuckle as a soft smile spread itself on his features. She still had a sense of humor like his Casey always had. ... His Casey. He smiled even more at the thought of calling her that.

“...um Bryce? Are you still there? ... Hello?”

He snapped back to reality and cleared his throat.

“Hi. Yes, I’m still here hon- Casey.”

Damn it Bryce. Control yourself, she’s not your girlfriend yet. Casey smiled and continued talking.

“I’ve missed you Bryce.”

“I.. you have?”

“yes. I’ve hated every part of the last few weeks. At first Ethan helped me out a little. But-”

“Ethan?”

“Oh. Right. I never told you guys his name. The boy from my biology class. His name’s Ethan.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“If it helps. He doesn’t do relationships you know. He doesn’t want the distraction and I don’t even think he likes me back. So you have no competition. If that’s what this has been about.” Casey said and she stopped pacing and sat on her bed.

“Competition? I-, Yeah you’re right. I guess I did see him as competition.”

“Well you can relax. Okay Brycie?”

“Heh. I didn’t notice how much I missed you calling me that until now.”

“Sooo. Are we...”

“Yeah. We’re good.”

“Woop!”

Bryce chuckled at Casey, wishing he could hug her. He let out a long sigh, a clear indication that something was wrong, which immediately made Casey frown.

“What’s wrong, Bryce? Seriously. You’ve never sounded so glum.”

“I’ve never gone so long without being able to give you a hug.”

“... Our hugs. They were never just hugs were they?”

“What do you-”

“Bryce, come on. We’re both smart kids. Those hugs were more to you weren’t they?”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line until Bryce let out another sigh. But this one sounded a little different.

“Yeah... they did. They were um... They were my way of saying that I like you more than you’ll ever know.”

Now it was Casey’s turn to be silent as she processed his words. He sounded so sure. Almost as if he wanted to say a different four letter L word, but wouldn’t. She could understand why. They were still young, how could they know what love actually is? That’s what older generations would say anyway. “You’re only 14, you wouldn’t know the meaning of love if it hit you in the face!” She let out a small laugh at the subtle obscenity of her thoughts, forgetting she was on the phone until she heard Bryce’s hesitant voice again.

“Um, Casey...”

“Ah! Hoooo. Don’t scare me like that!” She whined and Bryce chuckled.

“You zoned out huh?”

“... yeah.”

“Look. When can I see you again. I miss you so much! Sienna does too but-”

“I get it Bryce. You want to hug me again.”

“... yeah. I do.”

“There’s always the summer.”

“But... that’s ages away and I.. Well uh-”

He sounds so shy and different. Maybe his voice has broken a little bit? Casey didn’t know for sure, but his tone did sound a little deeper. They spoke for a little while longer before Casey started yawning, sleep quickly wanting to take over her body.

“Getting tired huh?”

“... mmm, yeah.”

“Then I shall let Sleeping Beauty go and get her Beauty sleep. Even though she looks beautiful with bags under her eyes too.”

“UM. RUDE!”

“Only being truthful...”

They laughed together, the sound genuine and full. Then they said their goodbyes and hung up, both going to bed to get what sleep they could. Glad they had gotten over the bump in their relationship at last.

The months passed by and suddenly spring break had arrived. Casey was waiting out the front of the school for her mom to come and pick her up when a figure stopped beside her. She was watching a video Sienna had sent her of Bryce doing something real goofy, so she didn’t speak or look up to greet whoever it was until the video finished.

“Oh, Ethan. Hi”

“Hey. Uh...”

She could see he was nervous, so she locked and bagged her phone then gave him a friendly smile.

“How can I help? Did I accidently keep your pen again?”

“No. Nothing like that.” He chuckled. Casey froze. It was the first time she had heard him chuckle so genuinely.

“...Oh. so uh, what’s up?”

“This is going to sound so stupid. But um. My dad is going to be working late and I’ve locked myself out of the house. Would it be okay if I uh.. came to yours until he could pick me up? I would ask someone else but you’re actually the only person I consider, a friend.”

Casey looked up as she saw a car, her mom smiled and waved at her through the window. Casey smiled and waved back, then turned her attention back to Ethan.

“Let me just ask my mom. It should be okay, but I wouldn’t want to do anything wrong.”

“Yeah. Sure.” He smiled at her and she walked to the car, opening the trunk and throwing her bag in before opening the passenger side door, sticking her head in.

“Hey mom? Ethan’s locked himself out of his house. Could he come home with us until his dad can pick him up later?”

“Sure honey.”

“Thanks mom.”

She stood up straight and called out to him, he walked over and got in the back as Casey secured her front seat and turned on the radio, singing along to the pop songs all the way home. When they got inside, snowball raced towards Casey almost knocking her over.

“Hey boy!” she exclaimed as she crouched down and ruffled his furry coat as he licked her face. “Oh! I’ve missed you too buddy! Did you have a good day?”

Snowball woofed excitedly and Casey grinned back, pretending to understand, talking back in between each woof. Her mom made her way to the kitchen as Ethan stood by the now closed door awkwardly.

“An adventure?! Into space? ... No way! You’ll have to take me next time. I’d love to see your rocket ship!” She giggled as snowball jumped on her, giving her a hug before walking off to find Casey’s mom. She stood up and turned to Ethan, still smiling.

“Is that-?”

“That’s snowball yeah.”

“He seems very.... Energetic.”

Casey threw her head back a little as she laughed and nodded. “He is. But he’s such a lovely dog.”

She was about to suggest going upstairs when Ethan’s stomach interrupted the unspoken thought as it grumbled loudly.

“Would you like a snack? We have plenty of supplies.”

“Oh. No. I couldn’t take your food. I’m only taking shelter here until I can go home.”

At that moment Ethan’s phone pinged. His face fell as he read the message.

“Ethan.. what is it?”

“My dad.. He um. Won’t be able to get me until the morning. Where am I going to go now?”

“You can stay in our guest room. Or we could have a sleepover in the living room.”

“A sleepover? That’s ridiculous.” He said, trying to hide the tiny smile that was creeping onto his features. He didn’t want to admit he actually liked the idea.

“It’s not. Look, let’s ask mom if you can stay the night and then we can decide on sleeping arrangements.” Casey went to the kitchen in search of her mom.

“Mom?!”

“In here honey pie!”

She followed the sound to the living room and sat next to her mom on the couch, looking at her with a smile.

“What’s up?”

“Could Ethan stay tonight? His dad can’t pick him up until the morning now.”

“Oh honey, of course! We can’t just throw him onto the streets!”

“Thanks mom. If we wanted to. Would it be okay to sleep in here?”

Her mom gave her a smile and squeezed her arm gently. “Of course.”

She hugged her mom and returned to Ethan, a light bouncy energy about her as she smiled from ear to ear. “It’s okay for you to stay. Now let’s get you something to eat.” She said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him to the kitchen as she ignored his protests. “What would you like? Something sweet? Savory?” She turned to him as she closed a cupboard.

“C-could I have a grilled cheese?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

Casey grabbed the bread and made two grilled cheese sandwiches then handed Ethan his.

“Let’s go upstairs!”

“Um. Okay.”

Ethan followed her hesitantly and they enter her room, Casey closing the door behind him.

“Um shouldn’t you-?”

“What? Leave it open? No. My mom trusts me and besides even if we were older, we’re just friends. We wouldn’t be engaging in that kind of activity.” She sat on her bed and patted the spot next to her, gesturing for Ethan to sit down. He hesitated then sat on the floor. Casey gave him a look, but he just shrugged. They ate their food then Casey took the plates to the kitchen and washed them up before returning to her room and climbing back on her bed.

“Are you seriously studying right now?”

“Yes. Studying is imperative if you want good grades and I want good grades so..”

“You can be such a killjoy Ethan.”

He wished he had a witty comment ready to fire at her, but he didn’t so he just smiled before going back to his book. Casey was flipping through TV channels when her phone rang. She looked at the screen and smiled before answering it. Normally she would put it to her ear, but it was a facetime call, so she held it in the air, earning a weird look from Ethan as she pressed accept.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you looking at me like that?”

“I-”

“Casey?” someone said on the call

She shook her head and then smiled at the screen.

“Hey Sienna!”

“Am I still a ghost to you on these things?” Bryce joked as he poked his head in the corner of the screen.

“No Bryce. You’re not. But, if you aren’t on screen when I look, I’m always going to assume that Si is alone.”

Bryce rolled his eyes good naturedly then disappeared again.

“Where are you guys anyway?”

“We’re in Target. We’re choosing snacks for the picnic tomorrow.”

“You guys better not have too much fun without me.”

“How could we? You and Bryce together were the fun.”

“Which means.” Bryce said as he came back into view, arms full of chips and other delicious looking snacks. “We will only ever have half the fun whilst you’re gone.”

Casey smiled at that. She was so thankful for them. Most people would have given up contact like this by now if their friend had moved as far away from them as Casey had from Sienna and Bryce. But almost every day like clockwork, there they were. Calling her, facetiming, being there with jokes and ready to help her study when she needed it. Their bond and friendship was pure and true. It just felt right. Bryce and Casey didn’t know if they were going to try at being more than just friends, but they knew they seriously liked each other, and it showed. In the past few weeks, they had gotten comfortable with sharing light hearted flirty jokes. She was talking to them about what she was probably going to be doing over spring break without them when Ethan waved to get her attention.

“One second guys.”

She kept the camera on herself and looked at Ethan.

“What’s up?”

“I can’t figure out the answer to this math question. Could you help quick?” Ethan asked

Casey smiled and moved from her bed next to Ethan on the floor. Looking at the question.

She looked at the equation but the longer she looked the more stumped she started to feel. She read the full question over and over but the equation that needed to be answered left her at a loss for thought, let alone a loss for words.

“I... I don’t know.”

“Ugh. This is stupid!” Ethan exclaimed and slammed the book shut, taking off his glasses and rubbing his hands over his face.

“Well why don’t you put the books away and come say hi to my friends from my old school?”

“Because they’re exactly that. You’re friends. I don’t do friendships. Well... unless it’s you. Everyone else at school is dumb.”

Casey chuckled at him and shook her head. She’d forgotten her phone was angled at her, meaning Sienna and Bryce could probably see him anyway.

“Is that Ethan?” Sienna said, their attention snapped to Casey’s phone to find Sienna smiling at them. Bryce was doing his best to look friendly, but Casey could see he was kinda jealous that she had another guy friend. Casey smiled at the screen and ruffled Ethan’s hair as she nodded. He scowled at her but she just grinned, it took him a while, but he clicked.

“You done that on purpose!” he exclaimed

“Yup. This is Ethan. The least approachable 14 year old you’ll ever know.”

“I am not unapproachable.”

“Are to.”

“Then why do you approach me?”

“I don’t. If I remember correctly, you’re the one who seeks me out a lunch sometimes. And if we’re ever in the same hall. You come to me.”

“Well yeah. Because we have biology together. If you don’t want a walking partner, I’ll stop.”

“Uh-huh.” She gave him a knowing look and the four carried on talking for another hour before Casey had to hang up and put her phone on charge. They moved to Casey’s bed and put on some medical TV show Ethan liked. He was super engrossed, but Casey felt tired and didn’t want her eyes to strain more than necessary so rolled on her side, facing away from Ethan and closed her eyes. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew her mom was standing in her doorway, calling her name.

“Casey. Casey!”

Casey jolted awake but didn’t sit up fast enough, and ended up rolling off the bed. As she landed the was a yelp of pain and Ethan lent over to look down at her.

“Are you okay?”

“I hit my head.”

“Here.” Ethan held his hand out and helped her up. She laid back on her bed, tears stinging her eyes.

“I’m sorry poppet. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Her mom said, coming in and sitting on the edge of the bed. “I only came to ask what you kids would like for dinner. I’m ordering Indian.”

“Same as always please mom. Chicken Korma, rice and naan. Also extra poppadum’s for snacking on later.”

Ethan looked at her with his mouth agape.

“You do that too?”

“Do what?” Casey asked

“Get poppadum’s for snacking on.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I do that. I thought I was alone.”

“You’re never really alone.”

He smiled before giving Casey’s mom his order and she left to order it. When it arrived they sat around the dining table talking about school, how work went for Casey’s mom, and Ethan told them a bit about what it was like for him growing up on the east coast so far. After dinner, Casey and Ethan moved sleeping supplies to the living room. Casey told spooky stories, and Ethan tried his best to keep a stoic expression at all of them, though internally, he admitted to himself that some of them were scaring the shit out of him.

After that night, Casey and Ethan were inseparable. They done almost everything together. If he wasn’t at Casey’s house to study after school, they were at his. They had started hanging out every lunchtime and despite the weird looks everyone gave them, they smiled and laughed as they carried on with their conversations. When summer break came round, Ethan was at Casey’s to say goodbye as she was going back to California to see Bryce and Sienna for 3 weeks. They were some of the most boring weeks he had experienced in a while. He didn’t notice how happy he was to have her as a friend until she had left. When she came back, she stopped at his house to give him a gift and say hi. Soon the months had turned into years and they were in the last stretch of their senior year. Ethan developed feelings of attraction to Casey as they got older, but had to restrain himself from taking action on them, because on her 15th birthday, she started a relationship with Bryce. They were happy together despite the hardships the distance brought them. They made an effort to see each other in person as much as they could. But by halfway through senior year, Bryce wasn’t feeling as enthusiastic about things as he had been. One day he called Casey. She answered happily but by the end of the call, she couldn’t focus on anything. She laid in the middle of her bed, cuddling a pillow as tears stung her eyes, her heart continued to shatter, and his words echoed in her head.

“Casey... I don’t think this is going to work much longer. We either need to be just friends or just go our own ways.”

She was broken. She really loved Bryce, and he loved her back. At least that’s what she thought. But after that call, doubt after doubt came into her mind. Her tears were hot and stung her eyes. She didn’t leave her room that night and the next few days she completely skipped school. She couldn’t see anyone, and she didn’t want anyone to see her. How could Bryce do this to her? She wanted so badly to ask Sienna if he’d been acting differently at all, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she ignored every message and incoming call she got. The furthest she moved was to use the toilet or get a drink. She hated what she was feeling. She cried, day and night all alone in her room until finally one night when she was in the middle of what felt like her millionth time crying, her door creaked open and a head popped in.

“I’m fine mom. I’ll go back to school Monday, just like I promised.”

“Casey... I’m not your mother.”

She looked at the door and saw Ethan standing there, he had pushed the door wide open and was holding a bag.

“What’s in the bag.”

“Everything needed to help you feel better.”

“I’m not going to feel better Ethan. I’m broken. No tape, bandage, glue or amount of chocolate is going to fix me. I loved.. no I love him.”

Ethan sighed. He’d been talking with Sienna through Pictagram DM’s, and the two were sharing mutual feelings of disgust and horror at the videos and pictures taken secretly that Sienna was sending. He didn’t love Casey anymore. If he ever did at all. He was acting like the perfect stereotypical jock. He’d dumped Casey and gotten together with the bleach blonde barbie looking cheerleader. It was so cliché that it made Ethan sick. She didn’t deserve this kind of treatment. Bryce had sworn to Ethan he would never break Casey’s heart. Yet here she was, in bed, skipping school and looking more disheveled than a well-used mop, crying over a boy who broke her heart and no longer loved her back. Ethan stepped in the room and closed the door, walking over and sitting on her bed next to her.

“You’re right. You’re not going to feel better with just chocolates, a hug or two and cheesy rom-com movies. Not even trash talking him is going to help you fully heal from the pain you’re feeling. But I’m here for you Casey. Always have been. Always will be. Sienna too. She’s planning to come and see you as soon as possible.”

Casey brought her gaze to Ethan’s face and his heart panged in his chest at how red and swollen her eyes were. He controlled the rage he felt inside towards Bryce and smiled at her kindly, she couldn’t manage a smile back, but she did sit up and crawl into his lap. This is what she had needed, hugs from her best friend on the east coast. She had gotten a few from her mom, though they didn’t feel as comfortable as Ethan’s did. He grabbed her blanket and wrapped it round her shoulders before continuing the hug. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he had just given himself the job of fixing a broken heart.

Monday came quicker than Casey would have liked. She pulled herself out of bed and got ready for school, practicing her game face in the mirror but there was no point. She was sad. The kind of sad you can’t hide no matter how much you smile, scowl or keep a neutral expression. Sighing, she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs, opening the front door to head out only to be met with a smiling Ethan.

“Ready?” he asked as she looked at him perplexed

“No.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

He grabbed her hand and together they walked to school. He would have linked their arms but that felt too joyous. It was something they done as they walked along happily before breaking out into a skip. And there was no way he was going to let her stubbornness make them late. Holding her hand felt like the only option left, though as they neared the front of the school, Ethan acted as though he was dragging Casey behind him.

“I really don’t want to be here.” She whined.

Perfect. She was helping his case and unintentionally too. There wouldn’t be gossip and rumors today surrounding Ethan and Casey’s relationship status with each other. The day was tough. Everyone was asking where she had been, if it was true she’d been dumped and if she was with Ethan now or still single. Ethan fielded all the questions like he was her personal press secretary, and protected her like her bodyguard all day. They were sitting together at lunch when a familiar looking bleach blonde caught Ethan’s eye. Halting his conversation with Casey briefly, he looked at his phone. He went onto his messages with Sienna, silently cursing under his breath when his suspicions were ultimately confirmed. He thought she went to the same school as Bryce. He was typing out a message when he heard Casey scoff loudly.

“Ugh. What is she doing here?”

“Who?” Ethan asked, stopping typing for a minute and looking up from his phone.

“Melissia Haywood. I thought I got rid of her when I left Cali.”

“You.. know her?”

“Yeah. She’s the reason I moved here. She bullied me the whole way through school, until one day, I couldn’t take it anymore and made a scene until mom agreed to let me move.”

“Uh.. then I guess you should h-” he was cut off by Melissia’s voice as she stopped in front of Casey “hear it from me.” he mumbled but Casey didn’t hear him finish speaking over the volume of the other girls voice.

“Casey!” she shrilled

“What do you want?” Casey said monotonously as she took a sip of her water.

“Well I came here to say thank you.”

“To whom?”

“To you of course. Silly.”

“Why me?”

“Because you dumped Bryce so he could be happy with me. Finally!”

In that moment everything and everyone else froze around her as she zeroed in on Melissia’s smug face. Every emotion that had started to even out, came flooding back with full force, only this time it felt 100 times more painful. Bryce had dumped her for Melissia? Why the fuck would he do that? He knew what she had done to Casey. He was even there most times to help her back on her feet again. Now he had dumped her and gotten together in a relationship with the bleach blonde whore. She rose to her feet and tackled Melissia to the floor. Punching, kicking, spitting, hair pulling. Anything she could do to hurt Melissia. A crowd was around them instantly, cheering Casey on when they saw that she had the clear advantage. Ethan tried pulling Casey off Melissia, but her legs were hooked around the girl beneath her tight. He got her off finally with the help of a teacher and took her inside to their classroom.

Back in the courtyard Melissia was laying on the ground, bloody, her hair a mess and some bruises already forming on her skin. Teachers worked to disperse the crowd and get them to classrooms. Casey sat in the classroom fuming. You could almost see the steam coming from her ears. Ethan wanted to hug her, but he didn’t want his contact to be unwanted.

“Do you need a hug?”

“No, Ethan. I don’t. I need to punch that whores face in until she can no longer see and needs a thousand surgeries to reconstruct it!”

“Why don’t I just get you a punching bag instead?”

“Is it going to be her face?”

“No... Not exactly. But we could stick a picture of her face on it.”

The anger now left her body and was replaced by hurt as she started crying. Yeah, she needed that hug now. Ethan opened his arms and she ran into them. Locking her hands round his torso and sobbing loudly into his chest.

“WHHYYYYYYYY. WHY WOULD HE DO THIS TO MEEEE?” she cried loudly, gripping onto his jacket tightly. Ethan wanted to tell her it was okay, that everything was going to be fine. But he knew that wouldn’t help Casey right now. All he could do was rub her back soothingly and whisper “I’m here” as they waited for someone to come and get them. They sat waiting and Casey’s cries eventually subsided into hiccups. The room was quiet but then her phone rang. She’d know the number anywhere, it was Bryce. The first time he’d called in a while, but she just ignored it. “Who is it?” Ethan asked when it just kept ringing. “Him.” She snarled, arms crossed and still ignoring the call, but Ethan picked up.

“Casey what the FUCK were yo-”

“No. You listen here you heartbreaking piece of scum! Casey had every right to do what she just done. Do you know how many nights she’s spent crying. Not just to sleep. But EVERY. FUCKING. HOUR. Of the day. Do you know how hurt she is but still can’t bring herself to throw away her Christmas sweater that matched yours. Do you even care that you’ve broken her to the point where she saw that violence was the answer?! Let me answer that for you Bryce Lahela. No. You don’t. because if you did you wouldn’t have broken up with her. You would have loved her for who she is. Like you did in the beginning and your feelings for her would never had changed. But now you’re at the age where all that matters is sex and drinking and partying until late. You no longer care about Casey do you? ... DO YOU!”

“I-”

“You know that Casey doesn’t want to do any of that yet. You know. And instead of respecting that and loving her.. you’d rather break her and date a whore. So have a great life with Melissia, Bryce. Because once she’s done having her fun with you. Cheats and walks out the door. Casey is not going to be there to take you back. Because I won’t let her make that mistake again. So lose this number. Unfollow her accounts. And never, I mean never, bother her again.”

Ethan didn’t even wait for a reply, he just angrily hung up the phone and placed it back on the table. Fury was blazing in his eyes, and for the first time Casey saw it. He was doing this because he loved her. She was in no shape to be jumping into another relationship right now, but she sat staring at him thinking that maybe, one day. Maybe she could ask Ethan to go on a date.

After the incident, the rest of school passed by in a blur and soon they had graduated. It was hard for Casey, but Ethan was there everyday with whatever it was she needed. Hugs, pizza rolls, trash talking sessions, help with catching up or homework. And it all paid off when they stood on their school field in their graduation gowns and caps. That night Ethan and his dad were at Casey’s for dinner. The mood was bright and cheerful, Ethan smiled at Casey as she was smiling her first genuine smile in months.

“I can’t believe I done it!” she exclaimed as she gave her mom a hug.

“I can. I always believed you would.” Ethan smiled.

“Aw, thanks.” Casey blushed.

“So, what are you kiddo’s doing during your gap year?” Ethan’s dad asked

“Well, we done a lot of talking and deciding and then rethinking that decision. But.. we’ve decided to go backpacking around Europe.” Casey explained as she looked at Ethan who nodded enthusiastically.

“We still want to be doctors, but we thought that a break would be good to reset the mood. And give Casey time to heal as best as she can from what’s happened.”

Casey’s mom smiled at the two. “Promise me you’ll look after my little girl.”

“Of course, Ms. Valentine, I’ll always look after her. For the rest of her life. She’s stuck with me, whether she likes it or not.” Casey scrunched up her nose as Ethan ruffled her hair with a low chuckle.

“Get oooofffff.” She whined as she pushed his arm away.

They all enjoyed a buffet style dinner that night and Ethan said goodbye to his dad, deciding to stay the night with Casey in the living room. After they had showered and gotten ready for bed, They settled down on the inflatable air beds and Casey laughed.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m just remembering the first night we done this. You seemed so uneasy, but now look at you. Asking to stay the night and saying goodbye to your dad like a big boy.”

“I am a big boy Case. I just graduated senior year, in case you didn’t notice.”

The two laughed together as the TV spoke quietly in the background. The laughing subsided and they looked at each other. There was something dancing in Ethan’s eyes. It almost seemed as though he had a question, but was afraid to ask it.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Casey asked

“Hrm?” Ethan hummed, turning his attention back to Casey

“You look troubled.”

Ethan sighed heavily. “I just keep thinking about how I wish you didn’t have to go through something so scummy. And how I wish I knew how long it was going to take for the healing process to work because I just..”

“You, what?... Ethan.”

“I want to take you on a date. I wish I could just ask you to be my girlfriend because I want to love you so bad.”

“Ethan, I...”

“No. It’s okay. I just needed to say how I feel.”

“How about tomorrow?”

“What?”

“A date. Tomorrow. Me, you, something lowkey.”

“...Seriously? Are you being serious?” Ethan smiled brightly as he sat up looking at Casey.

“Yeah. After all. You’ve been doing a great job at fixing my broken heart, I wouldn’t want you to stop and.... I sort of like you too.”

Ethan let out a little scream and rolled onto the floor, crawling over to Casey and hugging her.

“You have no idea how happy I feel right now.”

“I may not. But I can see it on your face.”

“Can I give you a kiss?”

Casey thought for a moment. Was she ready for something like that again? After a while she came to a conclusion.

“Sure. But just a peck.”

Ethan smiled at her and pecked her lips. “You don’t have to say it yet Case, but I love you, and I’m never going to stop fixing your broken heart. Even when it’s not broken anymore.”

#choices stories you play #pixelberry studios #playchoices #pixelberry open heart #dr sienna trinh #dr bryce lahela #dr ethan ramsey #ethan x casey #bryce x casey #sienna trinh #bryce lahela #ethan ramsey #bryce lahela fanfiction #ethan ramsey fanfiction #open heart fanfiction #choices fanfiction

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bangtan-madi · 4 years

Text

All Of Our Lifetimes — Five: Requiem

Pairing — Taehyung x Reader

Tags — boyfriend!Taehyung, husband!Taehyung reincarnation au, lovers to strangers and to lovers again, established relationship, implied soulmate au

Genre — fluff, angst, crime (ish)

Word Count — 2.5k

Summary — Does love ever truly end, or does it simply take another form in a new life? The cycle is like clockwork: your lives end and you’re reborn again. You’ve lived it over and over. Each cycle, one of you loses your memories and is tragically unaware until the other finds and awakens their lover. After all these eons, all these lifetimes, is it possible to find each other again—even when neither of you awakens with your memories?

Part — 5 / 15

Warnings — language

A/N — Taglist is open! Comment, message, or ask and I’ll add you to the roster :) (Also I’m a freakin’ moron and forgot to post on Wednesday night like usual, which was yesterday. So enjoy this late chapter lol!)

Previous — Next

The first person you text is Namjoon. To you, he was the obvious choice. Friendly, open, and the first of the members to accept you into their enclave. It wasn't anything in particular, just saying hi and reminding him of who you are and that you were looking forward to tomorrow.

Not two minutes later, he replies and invites you to join a group chat he'd just created for you and all seven members.

"This way, we can all keep in touch!" he says. "DMs are fine, of course, but if we all wanna get to know each other, group chats can be a lot of fun."

He wasn't wrong. The remainder of Sunday evening is spent texting the members. On the way home, while you cook a quick dinner, and when you're relaxing before bed. They're flooding your messages with all kinds of hilarity. Jungkook and Hoseok are a fan of memes, while Yoongi seems to prefer the straightforward communication that gifs provide. Jimin and Namjoon adore emojis, and Jin sticks to his usual bad dad jokes. Taehyung replies to a question every now and then, but for the most part, he's absent from the conversation.

"You're awfully quiet, Taehyung-ssi," Jimin teases half-way through a conversation on whether or not mint ice cream is edible.

"I'm working, but you guys are blowing up my phone so it's hard to concentrate."

A sigh slips out as you reply, "You can put your phone on vibrate, Taehyung. Really, we won't mind. Or at least I certainly won't."

His response is speedy. "Okay. I'll talk to you all tomorrow."

Namjoon sends you a private message. "Don't let him bother you. He can get like this when he's focused. He doesn't do well with things distracting him."

"Yeah...you're probably right."

"Oh, I definitely am!"

"Hey, thank you again for everything. Except for Kim Taehyung, I really feel at ease with everyone. I feel like we're going to get along great at the set tomorrow."

"My pleasure, [Y/n]. I really wanted to avoid you feeling like more of an outsider than you probably already do. Being in a new country, even if you speak the language, can be scary. I've been to enough of them to know that there's no place like home...but maybe we can make it a bit easier."

A smile spreads across your face at his genuine spirit and pure kindness. "You have, big time! Each of you is really fun to be around. Honestly? I can't wait for 'Run' tomorrow! Can I ask where we're going? I didn't see a production report yet, and Director Hyeon hasn't responded to my email."

"We'll probably knock out a few episodes in one night, and I think we're closing down the Seoul Museum of Art. They're going to close a bit early so we can have it to ourselves. The games we have planned will happen there!"

You turn your eyes away from your cell phone at the mention of the museum. Recalling what happened over the weekend, returning to that place doesn't seem like a terrific idea. But then again, if you are there with Taehyung, maybe the two of you can finally talk about what you see in your dreams.

Maybe, just maybe, you can get those answers.

Your resolve strengthens a little bit, and a new message comes through, one not from the group chat or Namjoon. You click out of your conversation with the leader and check the notification.

"Who are you?"

The question is blunt and straightforward, coming from the second-youngest member via a private chat. You open the message, and your fingers hover above the keyboard for a few moments.

"Hi Taehyung. What do you mean?"

"I know we've met before. I can't remember where."

You bite your lip at his statement. So you were right; he does have some sort of familiarity with you, too. Now, to figure out just how much.

"Have you been to a concert before? Or a fan-sign? Maybe you worked on the set of Hwarang?"

"None of those. I actually didn't listen to much of your music before recently, and I've never been to a concert or fan-sign. And I've never worked on any set before."

"You weren't a fan of BTS? Even though you applied to Big Hit?"

"Nope. Actually, my roommate Milo was the Bangtan superfan. I heard of you guys through her, and then of Big Hit. I applied because I wanted to live in Seoul. It's been my dream all my life. Big Hit just happened to have the job I wanted in the ideal location. Call it fate, I guess."

A half-truth, but it will have to do for now.

"I know. I remember. Your gut feeling."

You pause, your fingers halting mid-type. How did he already know about that? You hadn't mentioned it in either the group chat or in the earlier conversation. In fact, the only person you'd mentioned the gut feeling about Seoul to was—

"I have to go, sorry. I'll see you at the museum tomorrow. I think you know the way."

The museum looks almost spooky after the sun begins to set over the buildings that touch the sky. Downtown Seoul is as beautiful as ever as the bright oranges and pastel pinks bathe the exteriors of each in brilliant colors. If it weren't for the thirty or so Big Hit employees rushing about, you might've stood at the entrance for much longer than thirty seconds.

But the moment you're on-scene, you go to work. One of the producers flags you down, offers a brief introduction, and tells you where to hide the English words.

"Have you seen what we did a few episodes back, eighty-seven and eighty-eight?" he asks, shoving a stack of stickers into your hands. "When we put Hangul all over the Oil Tank Culture Park?"

You shake your head, offering a sheepish smile. "I haven't...exactly watched too much 'Run.'"

The producer waves it off. "Just run around the building and stick these wherever you think seven boys may or may not find them. Feel free to go crazy. We have fifteen minutes to get everything set before filming starts. The boys should be here soon. So, go! Once you're done, come back here. While they're running around, you can help me with the grading system."

"Grading system?"

"They're going to make sentences with the words they find. Since you know English the best, you can award points to each word based on difficulty in using."

A smile spreads across your face. "Got it! Sounds fun."

You speed off into the museum, weaving past the sound and lighting crew that are attempting to set up. Several of the museum staff have also stayed behind to give guidance, and you're relieved that the boys and company have the entire building to themselves. This wouldn't be possible during daytime hours when the public is here.

You begin sticking several dozen stickers along the walls, on the frames of pieces of art, on the marble floor. Basically, anywhere you can reach. You cover the Van Gogh exhibit with difficult words like "effervescence" and "halcyon," along with colorful words like "lilac" and "vermilion."

The further into the building you move, the fewer and fewer people you see. Once you've passed the room of modern art and approach the Winged Victory of Samothrace, there's no one in sight. Down to your last few words, you slip into the dimmed hallway and turn the corner.

Winged Victory is just as you remember. Tall and beautiful and haunting. The statue is still so familiar to you. Looking at the base, you can almost see the body of the woman from your dream. Right before you and Taehyung started running for your lives, this was where a murder occurred.

You flinch at the memory of the blood, but something else inside you is pulling you out of the room and towards the fountain. Last time you saw it, you ran from the room and left the friendly acquaintance behind. Part of you wonders what he must've thought. Surely, you looked like you'd seen a ghost.

But you might as well have.

Your feet tip-toe on the marble. The boys have most certainly arrived, and the filming has started from the sound of it. Their crazed and excited laughter fills the echo-y halls. Seeing as there aren't any stickers this far into the museum, you take your chances and continue moving deeper in. The producer could wait just a few more minutes, couldn't he?

The last of the sunlight ricochets across each panel of glass in the dome ceiling, greeting you with shards of light skewed in every direction. Like fireflies dancing together, they bring an almost magical aura to the open space, one very different from the horrors of your nightmares. The columns are made of ever-moving fire, and the fountain is made of glittery stars.

As you stand in the doorway, your throat drys and tightens. Seeing this place again, no matter how different, brings back the memories you can't explain. Are they even memories? Surely, that has to be what they are. But from when or from whom, you can't explain. They're a requiem for someone you hardly know.

Does Taehyung know the answers? Does he know more than you about this event you keep playing over and over in your mind? He's been in your dreams ever since you were a child, as a version much older than you were then and even older than you are now. Who has just one dream their whole lives, unless the explanation is that he has that dream, too?

You shake your head at the absurdity of it all. "What am I doing here?" you murmur, running your hand through your hair.

"Are you okay?"

The deep voice behind you causes you to jump and spin, eyes wide as you spot a familiar face at the entrance to the fountain. Taehyung stands with his hands in the pockets of his pants, his head tilted as he observes you.

"Holy shit, don't sneak up on people!"

The brunet smirks a little and shrugs. "Didn't mean to, sorry. You were staring off into space and didn't even hear me walk down the hallway. And it's hard to be quiet on marble floors."

"God, sorry, I didn't mean to snap." You run your hands over your face. "This museum has...some strange memories for me. I thought coming back here would help, but I think I've made it worse."

"How do you mean? I thought you hadn't been to Seoul before?"

"I haven't. It's complicated." Your eyes flicker to the corridor behind him. "Where's your cameraman?"

"I ditched him, told him I was running off to the restroom. But I didn't see you anywhere, so I figured you'd be back here."

Eyebrows pulling together, you reply, "How'd you figure that?"

"Well, you seemed really freaked out last weekend. You ran out of here like a ghost was chasing you. I was honestly worried until I saw you at Big Hit the next day, and you seemed fine, so..."

He trails off, and the realization of his words hits you. "Wait...shit, were you the one I was talking to both times I visited here this week? The one in the hoodie and mask?"

Taehyung nods, though there's a tiny line between his brows that shows he's as confused as you are. "Yes? I thought you knew that from day one, when you spoke to me at the Van Gogh exhibit."

Shaking your head fervently, you spout, "No! Not at all. I had no idea, honest to god. I just thought you were shy or introverted or maybe had a tough time talking to girls. I never, ever thought you were..." You gesture to all of him.

His brown eyes widen as he steps closer and out of the doorway. "Wait, really? You had no idea."

"None!"

He chuckles softly, turning to gaze at the fountain as the sunlight fades to soft blues of night. "I'd assumed you knew who I was. You were so open and friendly to a perfect stranger. I thought you'd recognized me."

"Not at all," you retort. "I was being nice and friendly because there was something about you that was so damn familiar. Kind of like this whole place, actually. I don't know. I can't explain it."

Taehyung nods and runs a hand through his curly locks. "I won't lie, there's something off about this place for me, too." He shifts his attention from the fountain to you. "You weren't lying about anything you said before, were you? About you being called to Seoul and not knowing why?"

You lock eyes with him as you reply, "I promise, everything I said was true."

"Then why did you run away?"

A heavy sigh slips out, and you sit down on the water fountain's edge. Looking into the water to your side, you run various ways to go about this disclosure. Blunt truth? A comforting lie? A bit of both?

"[Y/n]?"

"I've had this...nightmare, ever since I was a little girl. Ever since I could remember. It's always the same. I'm running for my life with someone I know that I care deeply about. We're trying to escape a murderer who's closing in behind us. He's just slaughtered one of our friends and he's coming for us."

You pause to take a breath, and Taehyung takes that pause to sit beside you. He doesn't say a word, only waist patiently for you to continue.

"We're eventually trapped. The man with me tells me to run while he distracts the murderer. Of course, I don't listen. There's a fight. We're both injured. And we both die."

There's a pregnant pause in the air before Taehyung hangs his head and murmurs, "That sounds horrible."

"I haven't told you everything," you reply. "I'm afraid I shouldn't...but what the hell." You gesture to the space around you. "In my dream, the entire thing is set here, in the Seoul Museum of Art. Our friend was killed at the base of Winged Victory. The fight happens among these columns. And the man and I, we die in this very fountain, bleeding out from gunshot wounds."

You turn to face the man beside you, seeing his eyes shift from his feet to yours as his head tilts slightly. "And every time, it's the same three people besides me. The same woman at the base of Winged Victory, the same murderer with a gun, the same man that this nightmare-version of me loves. I have no idea who the first two are..."

In your hesitation, Taehyung says, "But you know the last one."

Nodding, your knuckles turn white as you drip your knees. Here it goes. All or nothing. No turning back now.

"I do. He's—"

"—Me."

Taglist — @just-call-me-trash-can, @jaienn

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tartagilicious · 4 years

Text

when we die, where do we go? [gavin]

+ this fic is for an anon that wanted an angsty Gavin fic, and also @queenvking and their request of a halloween karma inspired imagine! They don’t really figure out what Gavin’s circumstances are, but his shift still plays a big part! In addition, it was inspired by this call, gained from the evolution of Gavin’s card ‘fierce battle’. And because i took so long to write this, it’s also a semi-christmas themed one too~

→ pairing | gavin x reader (mlqc)

→ genre |vampire!au, angst w/ happy ending (ish 😳), someone’s heart is broken the usual, the mc actually trying to put her emotions aside for once in her goddamn life

→ word count | 8294 (22 pages of blood sweat and tears with a 30 minute-average reading time lol)

→ song rec | talking to the moon by bruno mars

→ note | it’s your local gavin stan here again with some hearty angst 🤠 also, originally gavin was supposed to die and then come back as a vampire (ikevamp style), but then I changed it to a coma because i’m a baby. and to make it better I did absolutely zero editing because I’ve been writing this for 2 months and just didn’t want to look at this doc any longer!! so, I’m sorry if there are any mistakes or inconsistencies~

“What are you up to?”

Gavin’s voice comes through the speaker with pressed difficulty, but his words still send relief flooding through you. From the moment you pick up the call, it marks almost a week since you’ve said even a word to him. He had left quite suddenly then, after all, and only with a vague warning that he could possibly be gone for longer than usual.

“Gavin! You finally called! Is the mission over?” You can barely describe the emotions in your chest upon hearing your boyfriend’s voice again, your smile widening as you hear him chuckle on the other end.

“It’s over.” His laugh morphs into something greater frighteningly quickly, as if he’s sighing, or even groaning.

Your brows go taut as your smile begins to falters. “You sound kind of off…”

“It’s just because I’m coming off a mission.” There’s still at least a smile hiding in his voice, but it does little to ease your arising gut feeling. “I’m tired.”

“...Am I the first person you called?”

“It’s getting really late, you’re probably anxious. So I thought, I’d call you to-”

Gavin’s voice cuts off over the line with a sharp static noise that indicates a harsh cough. The reception is bad enough that the already unclear audio is painfully fuzzy, and the combined roadblocks have worry settling deep in your stomach before you can catch it.

You bite your lip. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

His gentle laugh is tired, but portrays all the emotions he can’t voice just yet. “I’m fine. Just a little tired. Really wanna sleep all of the sudden.”

“If you’re tired, tell me where you are and I can go there right away.” You say, your worries suddenly besting you before you can even think about the words that escape your mouth.

“No, dummy.” He laughs with a familiar adoration lining the gentle sound. “It’s classified, I can’t tell you where.”

Your expression twists slightly, worry settling firmly within your chest again. “..What are you going to do?”

“My partner is close. Relax. So just, talk with me awhile. I wanna hear your voice.”

“O-ok,” Your voice falters slightly, and you try your best to cover it with a cough. “What do you want to talk about?”

The line goes quiet for a few moments, but the stillness carries a silent meaning you aren’t yet sure that you want to decipher. There’s something you aren’t picking up, you’re sure, but you have nothing but the worry of a concerned girlfriend to back your thoughts up. You quickly tell yourself it’s only natural to be nervous for Gavin, so it’s completely possible you’re just imagining things after all.

“I was wondering, are you worried about me?” He asks, earning a small and very stupefied quirk of your brow.

“On a dangerous mission like this?” You whisper, sighing softly before continuing, “Of course.”

“You know…” He pauses, the faintest sound of a grunt filling the speaker before he continues. “Ah — forget it.”

“…Forget what? Why do you always stop halfway through? Don’t you know that worries me even more?”

A moment of silence ensures before he begins again, more hesitantly. You strain your ears trying to decipher if it’s for you or for himself, but begrudgingly give up when his voice returns to normal.

“This is the first time I actually… got afraid. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? When a bullet whizzed by my ear, all I could think of was... I haven’t returned your calls yet.”

Tears pool at your lash at your boyfriend’s confession. “Oh, Gavin…”

“Are you crying..? Don’t cry. I’ll be back soon.”

You wipe away your warm tears before they can fall, but they still peek through in your voice as you say, “I’ll be waiting. We’ve still got a lot of things to do together.”

“I’ll take you to the movies, or maybe even karaoke.” He pushes out a strained snicker, admitting more of his condition than he has since you picked up the call. “I bet you’re dying to find out how tone deaf I am.”

You laugh along through your tears. “Nonsense! You’re obviously a good singer!”

Gavin is silent yet again for a few painstaking moments before he begins to whisper, his voice cracking slightly under change as he says your name. “___, I might not say it often, but I just want you to know that you matter so much to me. I’m so glad to have met you again. ``I love you.”

Looking back on that call, you don’t know why you refused to believe what you already knew was true. Maybe if you had, things would have gone differently. But even in the end, it seems that he was only trying to keep you from worrying, granted that this time, it may have almost cost him his life in return.

Gavin goes quiet a mere few minutes later, his phone slipping straight out of his hands to hit the ground hard. And yet, even as you already know what’s probably become of him by then, you still can’t bring yourself to hang up. His shallow breaths have almost completely ceased, and there’s barely an intelligible sound coming from the other side of the line save for the quiet echo of the blowing wind.

You let out a shaky breath as you continue to strain your ear for even the littlest signs of life, but can’t even find relief in his slight breath in and out.

He’s close to death and it kills you that you can’t do anything about it.

You soon hear footsteps rushing over on his side, and quite suddenly, you’re put to the ear of Gavin’s partner and good friend, Eli. You’d only met him briefly before, having barely managed to share even a single conversation back then because of your business with the STF. And because Gavin has never particularly been one to put you in any unnecessary danger, that was the last time you talked to him.

It’s depressing that your second meeting has to be in such gruesome circumstances.

“Sir, it’s still on.”

A voice you don’t recognise says these words faintly, and after a few seconds of radio silence, they wordlessly pick Gavin’s phone up and hand it over to Eli.

Eli mumbles briefly and unidentifiably before putting his mouth to the phone’s speaker

“___. I probably shouldn’t have expected anyone else but you to be the person he’d call in a time like this.”

You appreciate his attempt to lighten the atmosphere, but that’s far from what you need right now. You just go quiet in response, trying your best to gather yourself before speaking. “...Is this Eli?”

“It is.” You hear him swallow tighty as shuffling presumes in the background. “I’m so sorry, ___.”

Nothing but meaningless background noises fill the room, and your attention mixes with it. You can’t help but zone out of Eli’s consoling words and rather go to focus intently on keeping your sporadic heartbeat still.

“Please help him, Eli. He’s still alive, I know --”

“Ok.” He interrupts, inferably for your sake as words freeze in your throat. “I’ll try my best, ___.”

Your breathing is laboured and tears are streaming down your cheeks, but you don’t dare to try and stop them altogether. There’s only one thing — one person — that could manage to make you feel better right now, and that’s hardly yourself.

But for the time being, it’s impossible.

Gavin’s unit almost immediately decides to bring him into intensive care for fear of the possibility of his evol losing control under his fragile state of comatose. It’s rare for such things to occur in those stages, but everyone is in a silent agreement that it isn’t necessarily wrong to take precautions; especially since Gavin isn’t exactly typical. After all, his long years of being an evol agent have made his powers finely developed and too powerful to run freely when he’s in no place to control them.

You’re allowed to see him again around a week later.

You’d been given no specific date for the event upon your chat with Eli that day, but the time still comes faster than you thought it would. The organisation is a complicated web that you still don’t completely understand, so for all you know, those complications could have very well taken much longer.

Eli is the first to greet you when you go to the STF that day, and only silently leads you to the medical ward Gavin is being supervised in. There isn’t much for him to say, but it’s not like you necessarily have the capacity to ask about the details of your boyfriend’s death yet anyway.

“Be careful with him, okay? I know it’s a given, but we’re trying to make sure he’s stable before we make any other moves. So, just make sure not to touch the equipment.”

You give him your best smile in response. “Okay, I won’t. Thank you for everything.”

He nods, opting to give you some space as he retreats in the opposite direction. You aren’t sure that it would matter either way, though, as you stand there long after Eli had rounded the corner. It’s not like you can help your hesitation — your fear — but you still feel tense ignoring the very thing you’ve been pining after for days when it’s right in front of you.

You have no idea what to expect beyond that door.

Are his signs of stupor visible even after such a short amount of time? You hope to god that isn’t the case, praying that you’ll be able to look at your boyfriend again as someone who only looks as though they’re in a deeper sleep than usual.

But you’re afraid that you’ll open the door and find his body to be like the movies: pale, cold, and utterly lifeless without a shadow of a doubt. This the real world — your prayers certainly don’t have to be answered, and your fears won’t always be catered to. That’s what scares you the most.

And the very moment you finally gather enough courage to grip the door handle with your clammy palms and push it open, you know the world is too unforgiving.

The steady beeping from the heart monitor is barely noticeable over the heavy silence of the room, only a select few devices working actively to keep your lover alive. He is indefinitely stuck in a place of stagnicity, but there’s not even so much as an audible sound from the unit to tell you so. There’s only a slight buzz from the machinery aiding him, because sadly, there is so little left of Gavin to aid.

Your footsteps are heavy and rushed as you make your way over to him, but you still hesitate to touch him for a few fleeting moments. His skin is indeed frigid on the eye, yet it feels much colder to your warm touch.

Gripping his hand tightly as tears threaten to spill, you reach out to gingerly brush the bangs out of his eyes. You find that usually, due to the stress of his never-ending list of responsibilities, Gavin’s brows are usually slightly pinched. And yet, he looks uncharacteristically calm in the absence of consciousness.

You sweep a thumb lightly over his brow, swallowing harshly as you breathe back hot tears.

Gavin’s lying in front of you once again, yet, you still felt helpless. That didn’t change — it never had.

He’s alive in your memory, taking leaps and bounds into the past that only pushes the despair deeper into your stomach. You touch over every aspect of him in your head: every time he protected you, every time he sacrificed something for you, every time he kissed you—

It takes a lot to shake away the memories as your tears finally begin to spill.

You would do anything to rewind time. Anything to see him smile again, anything to have him next to you, alive and well again. Because that night he had called you, he was right: there really was so much you hadn’t experienced together.

Your eyes flit up to his face again, and you bite your quivering lip hard. The sobs that leave you aren’t languid nor graceful, and rather show the depth of your grief much better than any action does.

The reality of the situation is harsh, and unlike the movies, it doesn’t help you grow; it’s not a moment of staggering realisation. Instead, it’s despair clawing at your chest like a caged animal, and your headache blooming into a thorny flower that can hardly be called touching.

“Gavin,” You whisper this gently, your hand falling down to his cheek to tenderly brush your fingers over his cold skin. Placing a final kiss on your forehead with blurry eyes, you whisper to him.

“I love you.”

When we die, where do we go?

It’s certainly an abstract thought, one you’re not even quite sure you want to delve into, but continue to anyway upon the striking memory of Gavin’s cold skin under your fingertips. Though there’s hope for him to wake, of course, the awful possibility of death still looms over your head as a constant grim reminder.

Some describe the place after death as a paradise, where you’re gifted a golden halo and luxuries on the condition you lived an innocent life. While on the complete opposite side, it’s depicted as an inhumane switch over to a ghastly figure: ghosts, demons, put it how you will, all are perceived the same.

But you don’t want to think about what you believe, because to you, there’s no reason to.

Months go by where your angel is still absent, stuck in the dreadful place beyond life and yet still below complete death. His indefinite state of stagnicity continues to keep him well under surveillance at that time by not only the STF but also yourself -- all in hopes of a miracle bringing him back to you all.

His evol aiding him, his body finally healing, even a deity in the sky deciding that they’d made the wrong choice in taking him away: every single possibility is counted by you. And foolishly, it gives you hope.

To lean on the power of prayer alone is half witted and you’ve been made aware of that many times, but sadly, it’s the only chance you have, so you won’t let it slip through your fingers for small reasons like that.

You’ve been through so much with Gavin — from the time you’d reconnected to the last day you’d talked to him, you would take little of it back. He’s your partner partner in life that you feel proud to stand beside, and maybe it’s selfish, but you wish for his return more than anything else in the world.

Only, you know that you’ll have to prepare for the inevitable fate of the world turning a blind eye to your wishes once again.

It’s hard to continue on when such a huge piece of your life is suddenly missing, and in those months, you find yourself struggling more than you thought possible. But you’re grateful for the people that have chosen to stay by your side throughout the hard times, even if someone in particular was largely unprecedented.

But Victor’s help still means a lot to you.

In a way, he doesn’t change much from his usual self. He softens under your difficulties still, but continues to be his usual demanding and headstrong self for as long as it’s good for him. Yet Victor’s normally irritating traits are still surprisingly easy to repurpose to get you back on your feet, and they effectively act as a healthy buffer between you and reality for as long as he’ll allow it.

And with his help, you find yourself slowly clawing your way out of the hole you’ve been buried in for months. Slowly but surely, every hand he offers you eases you out of your pain with more success each time.

Winter rolls around and you’re feeling the best you have in a long time. Granted, it’s not amazing, but it’s still progress. You’re noticeably healthier, looser, even — and yet you still can’t help but hide the sadness and regret you feel. Because no matter what, you know that the one who’s given you so much will never live up to the person you’ve lost.

The upcoming holiday season is only another reminder of that, your nerves spiking at the thought of your first Christmas without Gavin. Though Victor is there to help, of course, you’re afraid that you’ll end up taking the change too hard.

After all, your hope for Gavin to wake is just as bright as the day you had shared that short call with him, but even more so now upon the timing. Because along with the season, it’s also been almost an entire year since then. Your longing for your boyfriend’s healing is stronger than ever as a result, and even beside others, you find yourself to be as lonely as can be without him.

Being healthier, being happier on the outside, all of it only hides what you can’t help but feel on the inside. The depressing situation leaves a bitter taste on your tongue that only grows with each passing day — and your grief turns into a monster you find yourself battling every single day.

Truly, you continue to believe that you’re at your limit every single day.

But then something changes. Something in the heavens, something in the deity that you’d pictured giving Gavin everything he wanted in the afterlife, something in fate. And slowly, the course of life starts to change, too.

The days have always tended to go by faster when you’re afraid of something. You’ve known that for a long time after being nervous for school presentations, job interviews, and even plain-old events throughout the years. But you think that nothing you’ve ever been through compares to now, when Christmas is suddenly only a few days away and there’s not even a single word from Eli on Gavin’s condition changing.

The sight of festivities is enough to make you nauseous with so much as even a glance. Yet still, that doesn’t stop your oh-so gracious caregiver from decorating his house on his own, stringing every light and hanging every ornament by his hands alone.

Tapping your fingers on the mahogany of Victor’s dining table one night he invites you over, you’re quickly broken out of your thoughts by a loud sigh.

“You know, you’re going to wear a hole in the table if you keep doing that, and it’s coming right out of your paycheck.”

Maybe you would have normally laughed, but his joke only harmlessly bounces off of you as you retract your hand and let it fall to your lap. “Oh. Sorry.”

SIlence ensues before Victor sighs again.

“...Is there something wrong, ___?”

His voice is a gentler one, the same he’d used when he’d found you trying to piece a glass back together with bloody hands all that time ago. It’s the voice that once gave you comfort, but now only offers guilt.

Your eyes shoot over to where he’s sitting on the couch across the room, slowly taking in the way he’s shut his laptop and now directs his full attention to you.

“It’s almost Christmas.” You say vaguely, forcing a smile as Victor’s brows go slightly taut. Thankfully, you don’t have to explain any more than that.

“I’m sorry, ___. It’ll be hard, but I know you can get through it.”

“Maybe,” You pick up your head as your smile drops. “But that’s not what I want to hear anymore.”

Victor returns your gaze, and under that action, you helplessly avert your eyes. Even with his limitless kindness over the past few months, you still can’t help the inexplicable wall between the two of you. Maybe it’s your own fault, or maybe it’s just a difference in viewpoints -- but whatever the case, your methods of fixation almost always seem to differ.

His voice goes uncharacteristically soft as he busies his hands with the computer sitting in his lap. “I’m sorry that I can’t help you as much. If there’s anything else I can do—“

He trails off when you blink in response, your adam’s apple bobbing as you fold your arms on the table in front of you.

“No, whatever I do in this situation is up to me. I’m grateful for your help, but you have nothing to do with what happens to me.” You sigh. “I can’t rely on you forever.”

You can’t see his eyes, but in a fleeting moment you do, you swear that they almost beg for your opinion to differ. It’s a kind gesture, you think, yet it’s unfortunately not something that’s very realistic.

Victor doesn’t push it, just standing up and nonchalantly walking past you to the sink. He’s never been very persistent to you, and though that might’ve bothered you before, you’ve never been happier about his weird quirk than you have in that moment.

“Dummy,” he mumbles, his quiet words lost to you above the sound of the faucet running. You sit there in comfortable silence as he washes off his dish, and almost jerk in surprise when he starts speaking again a few minutes later.

“Celebrate Christmas with me this year.”

It’s blunt, and the wording doesn’t make it sound like an offer as much as it does a demand. But only because you’ve come to know Victor, you know his words are as genuine as they come.

“...I couldn’t impose on something like that.” You shake your head.

“You wouldn’t be imposing on anything,” He says, reaching casually for the towel next to him as he dries his plate off. “I have a function to go to that day, and though I was originally going to go alone, I thought it sounded like something you might like.”

You process his words for a few moments. He thought it sounded like something I’d like? Is Victor not feeling well?

“Are you sure…?”

“If I wasn’t sure, would I have asked?”

Ah, there he is.

The days after that seem to tick down faster and faster until before you know it, you’re waking up alone in bed on Christmas morning with an entirely new sensation running through your chest. As you force your eyes open to meet the forenoon sun, the change in atmosphere the occasion has warranted suddenly makes you hyper-aware of the empty space next to you.

Sorry Victor, you think tiredly, but now begins the start of what will probably be the most awful day ever.

You drag yourself out of bed after a few minutes and walk through your sparsely decorated apartment to the kitchen in favour of caffeine over anything else. But unfortunately, even when partaking in such a mundane action, Gavin manages to be everywhere. The hand you reach blindly into the cabinet comes out with a pretty cerulean mug -- only one of the many things he had gifted you last christmas.

The mug almost seems to mock you in your hand, but you mentally push it away and just put it beneath the coffee machine’s filter without another thought. You’ve gotten horridly good at ignoring your emotions over the period of time you’ve been left alone, and though you’re certain it’s not a good thing, at times it proves to be one of your greatest assets.

Because the more you can ignore the sinking feeling in your chest, the more you’re used to being without it.

You know undoubtedly that Christmas morning for most is a happy occasion -- children rush downstairs to a heartily decorated tree with their parents in wait, screams of delight from people of all ages when receiving a desired gift, and especially gatherings for family, friends, and lovers alike. But for the first time, Christmas means something horribly new to you.

Sipping your coffee and trying your best to ignore the scorching feeling of it, you sit on your couch and imagine yourself sinking back into the cushions. Maybe if you did, the day would pass by unnoticed. But then again, that would also mean that you would miss Victor’s invitation, and you were admittedly curious of the man’s vague offer.

Along with the upcoming holidays, a large part of your attention in the past weeks has been on what Victor said that night at his house. He had refused to tell you specifically what it was, only choosing to disclose that it seemed like something you would like and dismissing the conversation from there. It was a very characteristic thing of him to do -- and if you weren’t already up to your knees in his antics, maybe you would have dived a bit deeper into it.

You sigh out a breath of warm air at the thought, the coffee’s previously sweet aroma coming out half-baked. But the strange smell doesn’t even so much as vex you anymore as you cradle the warm mug between your knees, pulling your phone out of your pyjama pocket in hopes to distract yourself in the few hours you have until Victor comes around.

“You’ll be cold if you only wear that. Put on a hat or a scarf, if you have one.”

You shake your head and put on a smile as you shrug on your jacket later in the day. “No, I don’t need to. I’m used to the cold, don't worry.”

A small sound of discontent escapes Victor’s lips.

“You know, it doesn’t matter how used to it you think you are,” He says firmly, his hands instinctively going up to grip the lapels of his own coat. “You’re still going to be cold where we’re headed.”

You give him a suspicious look as you reach for a hat hanging on the hook by the door in your apartment, not breaking eye contact even as you pull it over your head as far as it can go.

When your eyes are momentarily covered, you swear you hear him chuckle.

“Is this good?” You ask.

“No, too much,” he mumbles, not caring to hide the laughter lining his voice as he reaches out and softly tugs it above your eyes.

The moment the soft fabric comes up into its rightful place, you’re met with Victor’s eyes awfully close to your own. And though you can’t fight the embarrassing heat that rushes to your cheeks, you just smile as if unaware of it.

“Fine, Mr I Know Everything, is that suitable for you?”

Something begins to shift in his eyes. but it’s barely for even a second, so you have a hard time catching it before it goes away again.

“You can let yourself think that,” he answers vaguely, a small smile curving on his lips as he turns back towards the door. “But we’ll know for sure later.”

You swallow back any thoughts daring to jump out and just nod, plastering on the same smile that you’ve been refining for months.

“I swear I won’t be cold! Now let’s go, we’ll be late if we don’t leave now.”

Going ahead of him to reopen your apartment’s door, you take a quick look behind you again and usher him forwards. Victor gives you a slightly scrutinising look, but well accustomed to it, you only stare back as he ignores you and goes past you.

Where you’re going -- the very place he’d so dutifully refused to tell you -- is a mystery to you up until the moment he gets started on the route.

“Wait, you’re taking me there?” You blurt out as soon as you put what you think are the pieces together, looking over at him from the passenger seat. Victor gives no response but the slight twitch of his lips, but that’s answer enough for you.

LFG is almost notorious for hosting elaborate Christmas parties each year: events that are raved about by the men and the women who attend, though still second only to the CEO’s judgment. You don’t know the specifics, but Victor has never particularly seemed to enjoy the holiday season, even when you tended to be more enthusiastic about it in the past.

But even if the yearly Christmas event had been one of your guesses when Victor originally mentioned his offer back then, it was still impossible to guess any further as the event tends to vary drastically per year. And since that’s still the best your guess can do, you opt to stare out the window and try to clear your head instead. Because right now, at least you’re in a suitable headspace to distract yourself from strong sense of loneliness that’s taken great care in hiding itself.

Gavin has been off your mind since this morning, but you know that the sensation will be short-lived. It always is.

Victor catches your attention again by turning the key in the ignition, effectively tearing you away from your thoughts as you go to look out the window. And you can’t help your jaw dropping at the sight in front of you.

This year, LFG has revamped the entire park to look like some kind of winter wonderland. Festive decorations make the scene merry, booths look like they’re filled to the brim with goods, and not to mention the main feature -- the beautiful frozen lake designated specifically for ice-skating. It’s wonderful, and for a few moments, an overwhelming sense of joy comes over you.

“Victor!” The pitch of your voice goes slightly higher when you turn around to look at him. “Your company did all this?”

Victor only stares at you for a few moments, as if not anticipating your reaction, and just chuckles.

“Of course, dummy. Who else would’ve?”

You ignore his snide comment and turn towards the window again, sighing slowly in relief as you take in the scenery yet again. You thought that having a good time today would be impossible, but now looking at everything from a different perspective, you think that maybe it’s your duty to have as much fun as you usually do -- if not for yourself, for Gavin.

“Are you ready or what?”

“Yes!”

On Victor’s cue, you get out of the car and walk ahead of him, peering inside booths and sizing everything up as you go. Just as you first predicted, the booths are overflowing with everything ranging from traditional ornaments to steaming baked goods, only, they seem to have everything in between in addition.

“You really prepared this well,” You say, phrasing it as a compliment as you lean slightly in front of a booth to pick up a small stuffed polar bear. “Everything is so nice.”

He’s quiet from behind you, but you can almost see his small content nod in your mind’s eye.

“Good. See anything you like? Consider it a present.”

You whip around at his offer, brow quirked.

“And it won’t come out of my wage this time?”

His mouth curls up, his expression almost sour. “What do you mean this time? You think I’d do that? Or in case you didn’t realise, it’s Christmas, ___.

“I know, I’m sorry!” You can’t help but laugh at his reaction. “It was only a joke.”

Victor grumbles about it but doesn’t look unhappy.

“But, Victor, I think I know what I want.” You say, gripping the little polar bear in your hands and turning around to him. His eyes don’t meet the stuffed toy right away, but when they do, he doesn’t look very surprised.

“Are you sure?” He asks. “It’s only been a few minutes.”

You nod, looking down into the toy’s familiarly amber eyes with a small smile twitching on your lips.

“I’m sure.”

You hand it over to Victor, but as the cashier notices him walking up, she freezes. Her face heats up as recognition flashes through her eyes, but he promptly ignores her and goes to reach into his coat pocket.

“Sir,” She sputters, shaking her head as a nervous laugh escapes her throat. “There’s no need for you to pay.”

He ignores her yet again, pulling out a leather-bound wallet.

“No matter who I am,” He begins, his voice dropping into a brusque tone. It’s oddly chilly compared to his voice only moments before, but why, you don’t know and don’t ask. “It’s irresponsible to assume I don’t have to pay.”

Her face gets redder as the presumably kind thing to do blows up in her face. And after she apologises, they continue the process in painful silence that’s hurtful to even you, someone who’s not inherently in the conversation.

“Thank you for the offer,” You say this from beside Victor, smiling in what you hope is reassurance. “It wasn’t wrong of you to do that, and I appreciate your thought a lot.”

The young woman seems grateful for your interruption, and nods before bowing her head slightly. But, you don’t catch the curious look in Victor’s eyes as she says, “Please have a good rest of your night.”

Victor leads you away from the booth in what would look like a normal saunter to any onlookers, but knowing him as you do, you see the things no one else does. It’s definitely not something you see from him often, but that only means that you have the sight of it deeper engraved in your memory:

Something has just surprised him.

“Victor?” You reach over and put a hand on his arm as you walk, quirking a brow when he looks over at you with a slightly conflicted gaze. “Are you okay?”

You both stop near the middle of the makeshift square, and seeing your expression clearly under the lights now, Victor only sighs.

“I’m fine.”

And that’s about all you get out of him, but you know not to push it any further.

Soon enough, his mood swings are the least of your concern anyway. Because as you go around with the bag over your arm for the rest of the night, you feel a sudden yet horrible sense of nostalgia washing over you. It’s the same issue every year during the holidays, good memories calling up deja vu that still lead forth fulfilling nights, but this year, it’s different.

Your nostalgia is a constant cycle instead of a straight feeling, wherein the twisting memories are replaced by sadness further on. But for what feels like the first time, that same melancholic feeling is being accompanied by an out of place rush of happiness.

And for the first time, genuinely, since you were told that Gavin might not wake, you feel happy.

You feel nothing but triumph as Victor is dumbfounded by your laugh, like the sound itself is foreign to him. You enjoy things that you couldn’t before because of pressing memories, and like that you’re able to see everything with a clearer gaze again. You don’t have such a foreboding force crushing down on you, and it feels amazing to live without as much grief, even if it might only be for one night.

But then, going later and later into the night and finally having to acknowledge that it’s all good as over -- well, that’s a different story. There’s the same kind of purpose in each step that you’d been gifted hours before, but they come with less strength now. They’re dull, almost as if because the night is coming to an end, the effects of everything are suddenly beginning to wear off, too.

It’s a shame, you think, because you really could get used to a feeling like that.

You and Victor are some of the only people left in the park when you look at your watch, but you don’t mind much. Actually, even if you have to be here alone, you’d probably still choose to stay a bit longer. Because, maybe it’s selfish, but you don’t want to be sad again.

Surprise jolts through you as a hand comes down to land on your shoulder, effectively breaking your thoughts,but you relax again when your eyes shoot up to meet Victor’s.

“Stay here for a minute. I have to discuss something with a park manager.”

Not able to find the words to respond, you just nod.

And soon enough, you’re alone just as you wished. It’s not exactly what you’d imagined, and if anything, you only feel desolate standing in what’s supposed to be such a happy place by yourself.

Quite fed up with all the twists and turns the emotions in your chest are doing in those moments, you stuff your frozen hands into your coat pocket with enough force to send a small shiver through you. But while doing so, you remember your phone, still remaining dutifully in the same pocket you’d put it in at the beginning of the day. The surface is fairly cold, having been off for so long, but you still feel some sort of silly peace when the screen flashes to tell you it’s powering on again anyway.

You lose that sense fairly quickly.

The phone screen turns on almost immediately, signified with a small vibrate at the palm of your hand. And when it does, you’re met with a sight you never thought you’d see. The lock-screen, which would normally be a cute picture you’d taken while in the mediterranean with Gavin, was now completely covered by a mass of missed calls and texts from Eli.

Your breath freezes in your throat as your eyes take in the contents of the screen, and for a moment, it seems like all of your senses are gone. You want to assume the best, you want to assume the worst -- but at the least, you want to assume that everything is okay. It’s only been a couple hours since everything was made, and you hold on tightly to the belief that whatever happened, Eli handled it.

With trembling fingers and an equally trembling heart, you call him back.

“___!”

He picks up on the first ring, and you feel horrible immediately thinking that you have to prepare yourself for the worst. You’ve only been conditioned to feel that way, after all, and it’s admittedly a hard habit to break.

“Is everything okay?” You ask, a little more frantically than you’d meant to. “My phone’s been off all day.”

Eli only sends a breathy laugh coming through the speaker, leaving your nerves to hang for a few more seconds before delivering the final blow.

“___, I’ve never believed in Christmas miracles, but he’s awake. Gavin’s really back for real this time.”

Your heart stops.

Turning the words over and over in your head, you can’t help but feel surprised when you come up without a single clear explanation. There’s an indescribable type of joy that clouds your thoughts, but even so, you still know bright as day -- your prayers, albeit late, have finally been answered.

“...Are you okay?”

You snap out of the haze you’re in to Eli’s curious voice over the speaker, and quickly apologise as you wipe the tears from your eyes.

“I’m fine.” You croak, sniffing as you try and wipe the embarrassed tint from your cheeks. “Thank you so much, Eli. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Able to hear the man’s bashfulness in his response, you find it hard to hold back a smile.

“Would it be okay for me to come and see him? I know there’s probably still complications--”

Eli interrupts you before you can so much as get the meat of your sentence out. “No, yes! Please do! The guy’s been asking about you since the moment he could form complete sentences!”

You pull your lips together in an attempt to stop the noise raising in your throat, although it doesn’t work very well. So, you just nod and nod silently in hopes that will convey your emotion enough, and then inevitably realise how much of an extreme sport it is to keep from crying when you really, really want to.

“___?”

Another voice calls your name from behind you, effectively startling you out of your thoughts. So, you quickly finish your conversation with Eli and try to at least make yourself presentable before turning around.

Once you do, you’re met with Victor, who stands there patiently with his arms crossed over his chest. But his calm expression melts into one of confusion once he glimpses at your face.

“Are you okay?” He quickly walks over to you as you curse yourself inside your head for not doing a better job of cleaning up. “Why are you crying?”

You stumble over your words, looking up at him with teary eyes and a wide smile you can’t seem to wipe off your face. “Victor--”

He puts a hand on your shoulder, still hesitating slightly after all these months.

“Yes?” He whispers quietly, prompting you on.

“He’s finally awake.” You laugh through tears, sniffing as you wipe your eyes. “Gavin’s finally awake.”

You feel as if he’s happy for you, but because of your hands obstructing your eyes, you don’t see the depressingly blank look on his face.

But, he thinks, maybe it’s better that she doesn’t.

“If he’s awake,” Victor hesitates again before taking his hand off your shoulder and stepping past you. “Then let’s go. I’ll bring you home so you can change and go wherever you need to.”

Nodding gratefully, you go after him and decide that you’re ready to face whatever comes your way from then on.

“Thank you so much, Victor. For everything” You offer a smile to him as you walk back to his car, but yet again, don’t notice the pain in eyes as he smiles back.

“Anything.”

Eli runs up to you the moment you set foot in the STF around an hour later. A healthy time, you think, but not nearly quick enough for your racing thoughts.

Things like ‘what if something happens before I can get there?’ or ‘what if he goes under again while I’m stuck in traffic?’ rush through your head, but luckily, Eli’s there to cajole you otherwise.

“How is he?”

You ask this tentatively as Eli punches in a passcode for the medical ward. He doesn’t so much as look up from what he’s doing, but you still see his eyes soften with your words.

“He’s fine, apart from the obvious.” Eli laughs at his own dry joke, and “It’s just strange, how he’s awake all of the sudden. I guess I’m not really supposed to be talking about it, but it’s only you.”

You try to push him along with your eyes, and catching your gaze, he does.

“When he woke up…” Eli trails off as his finger hovers in the air, as if just over the last needed number in the keypad. “His injuries were almost completely healed.”

Your brows knit. “What? Healed?”

Eli shakes his head as the door gives an affirmative beep and slides open.

“Yeah. It’s weird, isn’t it? He was still wrapped up in those awful bandages and hanging onto life support a few days ago, and now he’s awake with barely any side effects.”

You don’t know whether to be curious or concerned at the information.

“What side effects does he have, then?”

Assuming the worst, you can’t help but be surprised when Eli just shrugs, talking as he turns a corner. You follow in haste, but are stopped almost as quickly at the sight in front of you.

It’s not like you haven’t been in the medical ward before, but the sight of various officers unconscious makes you slightly sick to your stomach. Some are having their last days, some their worst -- it all stirs something in you. You can only be glad your boyfriend isn’t one of them.

“He’s a little drowsy, so we can’t get much more than that.” Eli gets your attention again, to where you realise that he stopped to wait for you. “But for right now, it’s only a matter of expecting the worst so nothing else happens.”

Quickly apologising, you pick up walking next to him again, where he calmly and understandingly resumes.

“Whether it has something to do with his evol or another thing entirely, at least he’s making progress.” He muses, his lips twisting slightly in thought.

You can only nod in silent agreement.

Something doesn’t sound right to you, but it wouldn’t do any good to point out what everyone already knows. Gavin is awake, and maybe Eli’s right: perhaps that’s all that should matter for now.

Eli stops before you even realise it, and in mere moments, you’re staring up at the door to the very room that months ago you never wanted to set foot in again. But noticing your repetitious reluctance, Eli vouches to say one last thing before walking off.

“He’s been really stressed out, asking if you were okay like that. Treat him well, ___.”

Your insides melt at his soft words, and with tears blooming, you nod and turn back to the door. You’re alone in the hall again, almost as if you had travelled back 8 months in time, but this time it’s different. You’re here to see your lover alive.

So, for a change, you push the door open without a second thought.

“Be careful when eating, it seems your teeth have shifted a bit more.” A nurse chastises Gavin while she replaces an IV. “We don’t want any long-term side effects.”

You try not to draw attention to yourself, but the natural human instinct for eyes to be drawn towards motion sells you out first.

Gavin is frozen where he sits, but the nurse standing above him only sends you a patient smile. She’s an older woman close to what looks like salt and pepper hair, with faint lines decorating her face to show years of passing emotions.

The nurse hums. “Miss ___? I was told to wait for someone.”

You can only nod, forcing your eyes away from Gavin to acknowledge the woman for even just a second.

She gives you a once-over and smiles again, as if silently sharing a secret with you. But, you’re not nearly paying enough attention to give it much thought. Still, you hope it’s in good graces as she whispers her wishes for you to have a good holiday when walking past you to the door.

“...Gavin?”

You can only force out his name as the door clicks shut behind you.

“___.”

He sounds breathless, almost yearning, and the sound of his voice alone brings lost tears crashing over your cheeks.

Gavin isn’t one to show many emotions unabashed, but in that moment, you swear he doesn’t hold anything back any longer. Unsaid words flood from his eyes just as easily as tears come from yours, and in a moment, you’re next to him again.

Touching him again is rejuvenating.

It feels silly to think, but you swear that you can feel everything falling back into place again when he wraps his arms around your waist. It’s as if his touch is somehow forcing bad memories away: the bad memories of crying yourself to sleep; the bad memories of missing him so badly that your chest would hurt; and the horrible sinking realisation that you might not ever see him breathing again -- it all pacifies when you felt his breath on your skin.

“Are you okay?” He asks this softly, his voice slightly muffled by your jacket. You can’t do anything but shake your head.

“Always worrying about me,” You try to click your tongue through your whispers, although the action is just sad. “Even until what I thought was the end. Worry about yourself first, would you?”

It should be a joke, but neither of you laugh. He only sighs into your chest in a silent apology as you pull him closer, and you try to find pride in the possibility that just maybe, you’re giving him the same feeling he’s giving you.

“What about you?” Your teary mumble is lost along with your fingers in the tendrils of his hair, but the words still manage to reach him perfectly anyway. “Eli told me that you’re quite the superhuman.”

He doesn’t answer you with words, only nodding in confirmation. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want to talk about it, but even if that is the case, you still understand. It’s likely that he knows just as much as everyone else does about his condition, but that doesn’t make it any less of a touchy subject.

“I hope everything is cleared up soon.” You say this softly in retraction. “It might be selfish, but I really, really want you to come back.”

“It’s not selfish,” You can feel his quiet laugh as he speaks, and it’s almost as if the heavy atmosphere from only a few seconds ago dissipated with his smile alone. “I missed you, a lot more than I should have been able to while I was like that.”

You finally pull back to look him in the eye, and he takes your hand in his with a such a swift motion that it shouldn’t even be possible for a man that was on the brink of death not even days ago.

But you don’t dwell on it. You don’t want to dwell on it. It might be strange, supernatural, even, but all that matters to you in that moment is that your lover is finally awake in your arms again.

And you hope with all your heart that it will stay that way.

#mr love queen's choice #mlqc #mlqc gavin #mr love gavin #mlqc x reader #mr love queen’s choice x reader #mr love fanfic #mlqc fanfic #mr love #mr love x reader #mlqc gavin x reader #mr love queen’s choice gavin #mlqc memes #incorrect mlqc #incorrect mlqc quotes #my writing #I already know this isn’t going to get many notes and that makes me sad 😔#but I like the end result anyway so I guess it doesn’t matter

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rae-gar-targaryen · 5 years

Text

of retro-tech and rhapsody [p.p.]

A/N: This is my entry for @starksparker Summer Writing Challenge! Thank you for letting me do this, Kaylee!

Takes place while Peter and the gang are still at school. I’m ignoring “Endgame” and “Far From Home,” so it’s spoiler-free! Includes references to Peter’s Civil War-era scrounging.

Prompt: “For someone so smart, you’re an idiot.”

Pairing: Peter Parker x fem!Reader (I kept her vague enough, sans references to a few hobbies and musical taste).

Warnings: Language. Jumpy plot? So much awkward cotton-candy fluff you may just rot your teeth. Sorry.

Word Count: 3.4k of baked good simile, teenage awkwardness, and musical snobbery.

Summary: Dumpster diving wasn’t a good look for most boys. Most of them. But then again, most boys didn’t make you a good, old-fashioned loverboy mixtape.

**NOT MY GIF!**

–

Okay, so. Here’s the deal: You most certainly were not the type to gossip. You really weren’t. The clique-ish chatter of your classmates and passersby floating through your ears like the twittering of so many small birds, muffled like cotton balls in your ears.

It’s not that you were a bad listener. Nah. You actually considered yourself a good listener. You just weren’t that interested in the conversational equivalent of small-dick-energy. Small minds discuss people, so they say…

Besides, rumors were pernicious. Especially those perpetrated by bored teenagers, the girls’ perfectly-filed nails so much like demon’s talons, the boys’ whispering and snickering like the hissing of snakes. All attempting to perforate your uninterested sensibilities.

Whatever. Whatever the topic was today, you just weren’t interested. Until–

“I heard Flash threw him in. What other reason would he smell like a dumpster?”

“Maybe he just doesn’t, ya know, shower?”

“No way. Flash can’t toss him in alone. He’d need help. Besides, I think he went in there, like, voluntarily.”

“He doesn’t smell. You just saw him coming out of the alley.”

“Ew. You mean to tell me that Peter Parker is a– a dumpster-diver?”

The mention of Peter’s name caught your interest. Peter was a tech-type with a seemingly contradictory creative streak. You had often wondered where he had picked up the old school gadgets he sometimes had tucked under his arm as he hurried to and from the science lab or the A.V. room, Ned Leeds in tow, talking a mile a minute about – some thing or another.

You were almost certain the term “motor mouth” was coined with Peter in mind.

You turned your head to hear who was talking, only to be met with a table full of Flash Thompson’s hangers-on.

Of course. Flash Thomson’s weird hate-boner for Peter Parker was well known among your class. And probably the teachers, too.

You didn’t understand. What was to dislike about Peter Parker? He was perfectly sweet, sweetly smart, smartly perfect.

Okay, maybe you had a little thing for Peter Parker. But only just a little. You had, what? Two classes together?

Besides, you were too busy for boys. It’s 2k19, for God’s sake. You had soccer, studying for the SATs, you helped out your parents. You liked to read. It’s not that you weren’t interested in the pursuit of a certain sweet, stuttering boy with coffee curls and eyes flecked with gold.

Dear god. When did you become a poet? Scratch that. When did you become a terrible poet?? Be still your heart, Keats.

Rolling your eyes, you smacked your empty lunch tray for good measure as you got up, catching the attention of some of Flash’s “Mob.”

“Maybe you should chill on being trash who trash-talks? You sure you don’t belong in the dumpster?” You replied primly. Not chancing a glance back, or waiting for a snarky response, you turned, dropping your tray in the designated area and walked out.

Mic drop, assholes.

—

Peter stared after you from his corner table, basking in the glory of your grand exit. He didn’t hear what you had said. But judging by the disbelieving stares that followed you, it must’ve been good. Flash’s hangers-on looked after you, a few then turning their attention to Peter’s table before going back to their lunch, mouths agape.

Um, what?

Peter had no clue what that could have been about. Whatever it was, he was almost certain he didn’t want to know. Unless– unless it had to do with you. Then he almost certainly did want to know.

He would crawl over glass if it meant learning more about you.

Okay, maybe not glass. He did get beat up on the regular, and even super-fast healing and super strength didn’t mean that the sensations that came from small-time ass kickings was enjoyable.

Mr. Stark told him that finding the girl he liked would hit him like, what was it? Oh, yeah …

“A punch to the gut, Pete. You’ll never see it coming. Not even with that little, uhhhh, tingly little super-sense you’ve got goin’ on.”

Punch to the gut indeed. Just the sight of you was enough to make Peter stammer, even moreso than usual. Sweat a bit more than usual. Especially today, what with his latest acquisition burning a proverbial hole in his backpack.

His morning excursion had yielded a perfectly good Walkman. Who would toss that in the dumpster? A little fine-tuning and it should be good to go. He’d been acquiring retro stereo equipment for some time. A little trip to the junk store for a blank cassette, and he was home free.

His heart sang at the cleverness of his plan. Burning you an old-school mixtape seemed like the perfect way to tell you how he felt. How he’d been feeling since ninth grade bio, making a gradual mental catalogue of your band shirts. Of the books you thumbed through while waiting for class to start.

Yeah, he knew exactly what was going on that tape.

“Hey, loser.” Peter whipped his head at the dead-pan to the left, meeting MJ’s shrewd eyes and perpetually downturned mouth from her corner of the table. “What’s up with your stupid moon-face?”

“Uh, what?”

“If you stared any harder at her, you may burn a hole.”

“I don’t — who? Stared at who?” Peter panicked. Surely MJ couldn’t know. If MJ knew, did that mean he was being obvious? Oh, crap.

“For someone so smart, you’re an idiot. Lucky for you, I’m not. Just say something. She’s super nice, you know. She’d talk to you.”

“Thanks, MJ. I think?” Peter’s brow furrowed at the minor insult, which stung less considering it was wrapped in the warm velvet of MJ’s hyper-observant encouragement.

Just talk to her. Like it was so easy.

If he played his cards right, he’d let the tape do the talking. Peter loved it when a plan came together. Take down the bad guys, take down his homework, take down this special project, get the girl.

—

“Decisions, decisions, all of them wrong,” you hummed to yourself, perusing the sweet offerings through the bakery’s glass dessert case.

You stood under the ambient lighting in your favorite bakery. Post-practice you didn’t smell the best, but you’d put in work. You deserved a treat. RIP to the people behind you in line.

“I hear the chocolate chip cookies here are the best.”

You whipped around, only to be met with the cocoa-honey eyes of none other than Peter Parker. A true confectionary masterpiece. Suddenly, the items behind the case seemed less sweet by comparison. And–wait, was Peter Parker actually talking to you about something that wasn’t last night’s reading?

“Um, thanks for the tip!” You cursed yourself for your filler-word of choice. Um, um, um. You cursed yourself again for wearing your sweaty practice gear and grass-stained socks. Of all the times to run into him. “Yeah– I’m more of a lemon bar kinda girl.”

Shit. Why did you say that?

Peter just looked at you.

“Oh.”

Did he look— crestfallen? Did you offend Peter Parker? Shit, shit.

“What I mean is, I’ll go with your recommendation, but the cookies here are huge. Split it with me?” You offered.

Peter’s head whipped back up, his eyes cola swirls of excitement. His mouth split into a toothy grin.

Dear God. What you wouldn’t given to be the cause of that smile forever.

Was Peter always literal sunshine?

You paid for the cookie, breaking off a half and offering him the half in the bag. As you sank your teeth into a mouth full of cookie, the melted chocolate flooding your tongue, you asked, albeit not too politely, given that your mouth was full–

“So, what are you doing over on this side of town? Don’t you usually go the other way?”

Peter blinked.

Nice one. Now he’s gonna think you’re a creep that, like, watches him leave? God fucking–

“Oh, just running an errand for Mr. Stark. I saw you through the window and thought I’d come say hey!” Peter chirped.

Ah. The Stark Internship. Of course. Peter probably thought you were the biggest idiot for forgetting. Everyone knew he had the Internship after school. Mercifully, Peter either didn’t notice your slight, or he didn’t care.

“What are you listening to?” Peter gestured at the earbuds poking out of the collar of your practice jersey.

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” you shrugged. “Wanna listen?”

Peter nodded, vehemently. You slipped the buds from the bottom of your shirt, handing one to Peter, the opening piano keys trilling into your ears. Your eyes met Peter’s, and you felt your mouth form a little tip-lipped grin.

The two of you stayed that way for the duration of the song, munching on your respective cookie halves. You wondered if there had ever been a more perfect moment in all of history? Sure, this was a little rom-com for anyone’s taste, but, hey.

You would crawl over glass if it meant you got to listen to Queen while basking in the literal warmth of Peter Parker for eternity.

The song ended, breaking your Freddie Mercury and chocolate-induced haze. Shit. The Stark errand.

You decided to cut the string and let Peter escape this little interaction. You tugged the earbuds, effectively popping the one out of Peter’s ear.

“I’m so sorry, Peter. I’ll let you get back to it! Don’t want to keep Iron Man waiting,” you said. “Thanks for the tip, by the way. This cookie is, like, magic.”

Peter nodded, shuffling his feet a bit. He gave you a wave and bit out a truncated goodbye, shoving his mouth full of the remainder of the cookie as he exited the shop.

What in the literal fuck. No, not literal. Don’t go there. Did you just share baked goods and an actual conversation with Peter? Did you share headphones with Peter? What is happening today?

If your heart beat any faster, it’d be doing the Roger Taylor drum solo to “Keep Yourself Alive.” If your blood could sing, it would be thrumming a trilled little thrill of your sweet, sugary little interlude.

—

Peter blew back into his apartment like a hurricane, buzzing with whatever that was.

What had compelled him to speak up? He saw you standing there, looking a literal glowing angel in school colors and pulled-back hair, complete with beautiful post-exercise flush. And he just— he had to say something, MJ’s words ringing in his head. “She’d talk to you.”

Peter pulled the refurbished Walkman out of his bag, along with a packet of cassette tapes colored neon pink.

If he was giving you a little retro tech present, he was going full-stop, the neon piece of plastic screaming 1980s, screaming you.

Fitting the blank cassette into the stereo, he hit “Record.”

The following day, Peter hustled into school at a time that was, in his humble opinion, way, way too early, meeting Ned in the hallway.

“Okay, guy in the chair. Did you figure out which locker is hers?” Peter asked.”

“You know I did.” Ned pressed a slip of paper into Peter’s palm.

Glancing quickly at the little shred, Peter stuffed it into his back pocket and jogged down the hallway, jimmying the lock on the locker in question until it gave way under his super-strength. As if it would catch fire at any second, Peter tossed the Walkman and tape into the locker, slamming the door shut and taking off down the hallway as quickly as he could, Ned at his heels.

“Smooth, Spider-boy. Smooth,” Ned laughed.

—

Peter was going to die.

Days went by. Literal days. Those pressed on into a week, and then two. Peter had heard nothing since dropping the tape in your locker. God, this was a mistake. He’s made a huge mistake. A huge, tiny mistake.

His self-doubt crept in like so many webs, suffocating his better sensibilities. Not that he’d tangled himself in his own webs before. Come on!

—Okay, it was ONE TIME. And he’d had time to think about his carelessness while waiting for the webs to dissolve.

But this was different. He was drowning in his uncertainty. Maybe he’d misread that day at the bakery. Maybe you were just being nice. Peter knew he wasn’t entitled to your attention after once interaction. He wasn’t that much of a hyper-masculine dick.

Oh, shit.

—

“Yo!”

You turned, eyes landing on your teammate, Jessica Porter.

“Jess. What’s up?”

“Hey, I found this in my locker a while ago. I meant to give it to you sooner, but, well–” Jess reached into her bag, pulling out a rectangular hunk of plastic affixed to 1980s-esque headphones. “Your name’s on the sticky note, and on the tape inside. I don’t know how it got to me, but it’s clearly meant for you.”

You took the Walkman from her hands, turning it over. No “From” on the sticky note to indicate who had gifted you this little vintage gem. Affixed to the back with some Scotch tape was the plastic holder for the cassette, the jacket within scrawled with writing that you just couldn’t place.

“Uh, thanks, Jess. See you at practice?” You walked away, your brow furrowed, your mind moving at a mile a minute.

After school, you slumped onto your bed. You popped the tape off the back of the Walkman, freeing the case.

As you slipped the jacket out of the case, you hit “Play” on the Walkman, the keyed-up opening to Jukebox the Ghost’s “Everybody’s Lonely” meeting your ears.

You perused the scrawled writing on the jacket– it was a track list. Next to each track was a little handwritten note jammed into each line.

1. “Everybody’s Lonely”– Jukebox the Ghost. Because every song is about love. And because you like Queen.

2. “Radio Gaga”– Queen. Ditto.

Your heart stopped. No, seriously, should you call 911? This couldn’t be – could it? Did Peter Parker make you an actual mixtape?? Had you hit your head today at practice, or something? The stars in your eyes and little bursts like so many Pop Rocks in your belly were so like happy little interpretations of your veritable disbelief.

You had shared a Queen song and a sweet moment with Peter two weeks ago. Since then? Radio silence. But now? Radio Ga Ga. This had to be from him, right? Your eyes continued down the list.

6. “Hong Kong Garden”– Siouxsie and the Banshees. I’d reap the field of rice and reeds if it meant an afternoon with you.

7. “Humbug Mountain Song” – Fruit Bats. My heart thrums like a shitty hipster banjo solo.

8. “Left Hand Free” – Alt J. You looked so cute in your tour shirt Sophomore year.

9. “Cover Your Tracks” – A Boy and His Kite. Heart, cover your tracks, the blood that you spill will wash what you lack.

The last song on the list, replete with a mix of everything from Bowie to Fleet Foxes, was—

14. “Given the Chance”– The Kite String Tangle. The note?

“Given the chance, I’d go for it. One step at a time. Will you give me a chance?”

It was then you knew. Peter Parker was pure happiness. A zipping burst of citrus on your tongue with a zing that shot straight to your heart. A powdered sugar kiss-and-touch. Syrupy warmth enveloping your spirits. This gesture was beyond— well, anything. Your heart felt like so many folded paper birds, fluttering and faint, but solidified with purpose.

You had words for Peter Parker.

—

The next day you strode into school with purpose, only to be met with coffee curls awaiting you. Pacing at your locker was none other than Peter Parker. And he looked — panicked??

Before you could even say a word, Peter opened his mouth, a jumble of words flying out faster than his lips could form the words.

“I am so, so sorry. I messed up…”

I messed up.

Your heart plummeted. Was the tape for someone else? Before you could press, Peter continued, “I– I made you a mixtape. Y-you know, like, an actual mixtape. On a cassette and everything. The only problem is–” He hung his head. “I put it in your locker. Well, not your locker, obviously– I thought it was your locker. 1127? I put it in 1172.” He let out a huff of air at his rushed confession, refusing to meet your eyes, cheeks burning. “I’m sorry.”

You blinked.

“You’re sorry?!”

Peter looked up at you, quickly, flinching, expecting a tongue-lashing after your outburst. To his surprise, you just laughed. He blinked. Had he misread this so badly?

“Jessica Porter has locker 1172,” you explained. Peter continued staring at you, blankly. What did Jessica Porter have to do with anything?

“Jessica Porter and I have chem together. We’re on the soccer team. She’s super cool,” You explained. Peter remained unmoving, desperate to hear the point and why his apparent faux-paus was so funny to you.

“Don’t leave me in suspense, here. Because, I’m like.. really, REALLY sorry,” Peter pressed.

“The point is,” you slung your bag forward and over your shoulder, ripping the zipper open and withdrawing the Walkman. Neon pink cassette tape visible like a flash through the little plastic window. “I got your mix. Jess gave it to me. She thought it was cute, by the way. Sure you didn’t really mean to give it to her?” you teased.

“O-oh. Cool, uh, but did you think it was cute?”

“Peter,” you sighed. “For someone so smart, you’re an idiot–”

“MJ said the same thing…”

“– It wasn’t cute, Peter.”

His eyes got even wider if possible, the sting of rejection starting to set in– could he possibly have misread the situation so badly? What about your little date? Was it a date? Listening to Queen and eating cookies that day at the bakery? How had MJ steered him so wrong?

He had done so well on the reading comprehension portion of his PSAT. But reading paragraphs about the migratory pattern of geese was very, very different from reading between the lines when it came to girls his own age. Any girls, really– he had to stop himself. Maybe they were right, maybe he was an idiot–

“Peter, this is MORE than cute. This is the sweetest, nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I love it. Your taste in music, you… you get me,” you explained, pressing your hand into Peter’s, pressing the point. He could feel the touch, tingly sensations running through his palm, up his arm, and he swore, straight into his heart.

Peter changed a glance at you through his lashes, lips splitting into a toothy, Peter Parker grin.

You hoped he’d only smile at you like that forever. He truly was like the sun, bright and warming the coldest parts of you with the greatest of ease. Filling any hollowness with golden light. His bright eyes sparkled, permanently etched within the golden hour and you swore you forgot how to breathe.

“Really?”

“I’d give you a chance, Pete. As many as you wanted.”

Before he could respond, you leaned forward, quickly pressing your lips to Peter’s. It lasted a brief second – a dusting of sugar atop something crisp, sweet and citrusy– before pulling back. Sweet, but all too short, panic splicing through your moment of confectionery bliss that was kissing Peter Parker.

“Sorry, sorry, Peter. I’m sorry. Was that too forward?? I–”

You were cut off by Peter, lips firmly meeting yours. Peter’s hands cupped your cheeks, thumbs tracing over the peaks of your cheekbones. Any trace of awkwardness gone, Peter slid his hands from your cheeks — back, back, back— to run his fingers through the hair at the nape of your neck, resting there. The tilt of his lips followed yours, sweet cinnamon heat – persistently welcome and welcomingly persistent. The golden hour indeed.

Breathless– you were breathless. Could Peter Parker kiss like this always? You wished he would. Look at you, smile at you, kiss you – always. But, um, not with anyone else. Decidedly not. Just you, you hoped. The ebbs and flows of your personhood, the sweet contrast of your personalities, like a discord of so many notes coming together into one cohesive piece. This….

This? This was what rhapsody was. You were just sure of it.

—

So that’s it. I do have a complete playlist made for this story, if anyone is interested, I can send you the link.

Tagging: @starksparker @nappingtopknot @ayeayecaptaingally @andallthatmishigas @ymeradonnadx @hey-its-grey

Special s/o to @tigerlilynoh!

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