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#thank god my appeal to not be kicked out went through
andromedaexists · 11 months
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my application for graduation was just approved i'm going to cry
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pb-dot · 2 months
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This latest Adventuring Party really drove home my favorite aspect of Brennan's DMing style. He genuinely loves seeing his players succeed, even against odds he considered to be nigh insurmountable.
Let's take the Last Stand as an example. Now, Brennan made no secret out of the Last Stand encounter being very hard, and for people who do not play D&D it may even seem like he overhyped it, but from a mechanics standpoint, the CR, functionally the difficulty rating of this battle royale was sky-high. Yeah, none of the Bad Kids went down, but that is entirely thanks to a combination of excellent strategic play from the Intrepid Heroes and some choice luck.
To mention some of the game changer moves, the Scatter spell really re-defined the battlefield more favorably for the Bad Kids, the disguise self was a value proposition because it split the flying monsters, which was the greatest threat to the proctor by far, in two, functionally halving the threat to the squishy normie, not to mention dealing with the mega-mosquitos in combo with Spirit Guardians. Those little flying bastards would have been such a pain in the ass if Fig didn't bug zapper them to kingdom come. And the bless. Dear god, the Bless saved so many asses in this encounter.
This isn't to say magic was the only thing that defined the battlefield. The single-target damage dealers did some truly astounding numbers and managed their attention and abilities shockingly well. Yeah, Gorgug crit like a madman, but he also tanked like three or four non-barb PCs worth of effective HP damage without going down even once. If he had failed his saves and gotten eaten by the Purple Worm things would have gotten nasty for him, but again, the touch of luck (and bless) saw him through.
So, this is all to say that this was an encounter meant to kick the players' ass. Not an unwinnable one, evidently, but this was supposed to be a considerably worse experience even without getting into the non dice-roll exam questions. And how does Brennan react when the Intrepid Heroes put their game face all the way on, get really smart with their level 1 spell slots, and dismantle the whole thing? He's overjoyed, he's cheering for his strange adventure children, and we're cheering with him because frankly it's rad as hell.
This illustrates one nuance I feel sometimes gets glossed over about the DM-player relationship. A lot of people have talked about how Junior Year is the "Revenge of Brennan" or what have you, and I feel that kind of misses the central appeal of DMing and Brennan's style in D20 in particular. Yes, Mr Mulligan enjoys playing the heel on occasion. It's good fun to play the personification of everything going wrong and the inherent shittiness of the world, but like the wrestler heels, all that wicked charisma is meant to do one thing, and that is build up the faces, or the players in this case.
Now, the ghost of Gary Gygax may come after me for this, but I firmly believe it's not the DMs job to kill the player characters, or even to inconvenience or torment them. A good DM's job is to make it seem like they're going to kill the player characters, as to provide an environment for the players to succeed, a challenge for them to overcome. It's all one big improv exercise (or kink scene if you prefer to view it that way), where the DM derives their (near)absolute authority over the world the PCs inhabit from the shared understanding that they're going to show the players a spectacular, if not on occasion harrowing, time.
This is Brennan's biggest strength as a DM I think. He genuinely wants to make a spectacular time for his friends, and he understands that to do that he must on occasion be the monster they oppose, and on occasion he must be their breathless cheerleader. On occasion, one imagines, he must also be both.
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dontfeeltoohot · 1 year
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hey i’ve been on SUCH a house kick lately!! would you mind writing something with chase + allergies if possible? ty so much in advance & i really hope you have a great day/night and that you’re taking care of yourself!!
I have too! It had been a few months since I rewatched so I started again. I went to s4 first whoops lol, but am on s5 right now and ugh Chase with his longest hair is so 😍
Set during season 4 (which gets so little love bc he’s in it the least amount of time through out the series), when House is determining a new team. It’s basically just a rewrite of a scene in episode 3! Enjoy!
(And thank you! I hope you’re doing well too Sunday!!)
XXX
As Amber is talking to him; wanting him to help her run tests even though she’s been technically fired, the air around the two doctors becomes heavy with whatever perfume the woman is wearing. It’s decidedly floral and strong, strong enough that Chase wrinkles his nose, the scent making his eyes water.
“You’d have to run a blood test for anti-centromere antibodies,” he points out, rubbing his knuckles against his nose, watching the blonde with curiosity.
“Would you mind running the labs.”
Ha. She thought he’d be that easy.
Wrong.
“You can’t.”
“Well I can, but…”
“No, I was makihhng a statement,” Chase shakes his head, a buzz making itself known in his sinuses. “You’ve been fired, so you no longer have lab privileges-“ he breaks off to sniffle, nostrils twitching at the suffocating perfume in the air.
“You’re coming here to con a favor to sahhve y-you’re job,” he rubs at his right eye, sniffling again. “Sorry, I’m not working for him anymore, but he can still make my life miserable.”
Turning quickly, he tries his hardest to move away, both from the doctor and her perfume, the itchy feeling in his head still growing. He does, he gets four steps down the hallway when Amber speaks up.
“You have a chance to make his life miserable.”
Damn it. He can’t help but turn around, jumping slightly at how close she is.
“I’m insulted. You conned Cameron by appealing to her humanity.”
As he speaks, his nostrils twitch again, and he can feel the need to sneeze growing stronger. He presses his knuckles to his nose, trying to put off the inevitable.
“I told her what she wanted to hear.”
“Ahhhnd you t-told me what you thought I wanted to h-hear…” he trails off, eyes unfocusing and brows knitting together as the feeling crests.
“hh-IhGKtsch!! eihHtCHuh! snf! heh-iiKTSchUH!”
Chase manages to grab the neck of his white undershirt and pull it up while angling his head down enough to aim the half-stifled sneezes against his chest. They don’t do much to help the overwhelming ticklish feeling now crawling in his sinuses, but it feels good to get at the feeling even a little. He sniffles again and straightens back up, fixing his blonde hair that’s flopped into his face.
“Bless you.”
Chase shrugs in acknowledgement and then looks her up and down.
“I cannot believe he f-fired…” he stutters, turning to the side to yet again snap his face under his scrubs and shirt.
“hehIKStCHuh! iiGKshhuh! huh’IKXSHuh! God, s-sorry…” the sniffle he gives is wet and makes the other doctor grimace, though he doesn’t blame her.
Face itchy and eyes watery, Chase scrubs at his face until his still twitching nose is pink and his eyelashes are wet.
“Go draw his blood, meet you in the lab when i’mb done here.”
They look at each other a moment and then she nods, a devious smile replacing her slight pout.
“Maybe pop a pill before we’re in close proximity of each other again, House will know.”
“Or maybe you should wipe some of your god awful perfume off- hih’tschh’uh!”
The sneeze sneaks up on him and he barely has time to turn away, sneezing freely into the air and wrinkling his nose. Gross.
“Is this why Cameron smells like coconut and not flowers like I expected?”
“Go draw the damn blood.”
The woman walks away and Chase heads to the surgeons lounge to find his bag and down some Benadryl, blowing his nose and splashing cold water in his face before begrudgingly going to help the woman he secretly hopes House hires. She gets things done that’s for sure.
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freudianslumber · 1 year
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Today, Tomorrow and Forever
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Summary:  Angel Elvis went through Hell when being falsely accused of betraying God.  Eventually found true love with LAPD narcotics officer B.B. King.
Chapter 3 Escape from Abyss
Pairing: Red West x Elvis Presley (m/m), Sonny West x Elvis Presley (m/m)
Word count:  2k
Warning: 18+, Sexual abuse, Rape, Drugging, Blood and Injury
Elvis' own shock was at least equal or worse than his molester.  "R- Red?? You are a demon?!!" His voice was filled with disbelief.  Red sat up, although his one hand continued to thrust in and out of Elvis' behind as if he couldn't stop: "What do ya expect?? Sonny and I ran from Heaven soon after your trial.  We could sense they no longer trusted us once you tried to tell on us.  So we joined the dark army here, it was just that easy!  I was never that impressed with that stuck-up sob up there anyway, so here I am! My name is even Red, it's all meant to be!  Wanna join us??"  His laugh sent a chill down Elvis' spine.  Tears welled up in his eyes as Elvis tried to plead with him and appeal to his conscience: "Red, how can you do this to me?!  We grew up together!  Please let me go, I'm not a threat to you anymore since my wings are gone and I've lost all my power as an angel."  A vile expression came over Red's demon face: "Why not, Elvis??  You are weak, too easily hindered by your soft heart.  That's why you are so easily trapped and defiled by everyone else! I always hated you, you and your loving generosity!  All the angel women lusted after you, even I lusted after you!"  He suddenly made a fist out of his hand and fisted Elvis all the way, the pain broke through all the aphrodisiac and sedatives and shot through the angel's body like electricity.  His scream was quickly silenced by a gag ball however, while Red brought a hand around Elvis' neck and started to cut off his air supply there.  The rhythmic fisting of Elvis from down below coupled with choking around his elegant neck rapidly sent the drugged subject over the edge, Red added insult to injury by wrapping his mouth around Elvis as he came with barely more than a dry orgasm.  As his eyes began to lose focus, Red continued to grope around him and milked every last drop out of him.  When Red finally let go, Elvis was reduced to a whimpering mess laying beneath him, still with a chemically-induced painful erection, shaking all over from overstimulation.  Red grabbed Elvis' face, took out his gag and admired his perfect features: "That's my baby!  Too bad we can't disfigure you.  You are reserved for the supreme master.  Don't blame us, we are only conditioning you for the real deal!  Just so you know, Colonel and Dr. Nick have force fed you nutrition through a nasogastric tube, so you can never starve yourself.  They also kept you in a continuous drug haze while dozens of us have had the pleasure to take you multiple rounds a day!"  "And do you have any idea how many days you've been out??" Red's sadistic laughter suddenly got cut off and it was followed by a heavy thud on the ground.
Less than a minute later Elvis ripped out his IV and sat up from the counter.  His head spun so bad from sitting up rapidly he almost fell back down right away.  Moving slower, Elvis tentatively stood up, then went over to the unconscious demon who had been knocked out cold from an unexpected kick to the back of his head.  Elvis was so thankful he practiced karate while in Heaven and retained his deft aim and precise technique despite compromised strength currently.  He made a quick job of tying Red up behind his back and then to the counter, not forgetting to utilize the gag ball on the demon as well.  These tools of torture and bondage that had been used on him were scattered around conveniently due to the arrogance of Red and his evil compatriots.  Their vigilance had all but disappeared after days and nights of sex parties without seeing signs of resistance from their almost comatose victim.  Ironically Elvis would never have gotten awake and alert enough to make the surprise strike if he had not been shocked out of sedation by Red's fisting.  He wrapped his naked form in the black cloak Red had left on the floor, squeezed into his boots though it was a little too tight, and found a bunch of keys hanging from the demon's belt.  The demon started to wake up as he made a groan against the gag, Elvis hurried to try the keys on the iron gate to his cell.  As Red began to make louder strained struggling noises, Elvis finally stumbled upon the right key.  The gate opened with a small creak, Elvis remembered to smear some dirt on his face to obscure his pale skin before slipping out into the corridor.
The outside appeared to be a maze of interconnecting dimly lit corridors with no indication of where they led to and danger lurking around each corner.  Elvis already had a few close calls when small teams of demon guards passed by not far away, his heart fluttering wildly while hiding the best he could in the shadows.  Distant echoes of screams and monstrous howls could be heard once in a while, no doubt emanating from other torture chambers and such.  Elvis was growing more desperate by the minute as his body started to feel the full effect of his accumulated injuries while the analgesics and the tranquilizers he had been on wore off.   His gait increasingly more unsteady and antalgic from the right ankle fracture he had suffered at the hand of the Colonel, the back pain was searing, not to mention the throbbing cramps in his lower abdomen and the raw and jabbing sensation in his more private regions.  He was panting and sweating profusely while trying to lumbar along without direction when a loud alarm went off.  The hallway lit up in an instant and shouts could be heard as some demons appeared at the end of the corridor and began to rush toward Elvis.  The battered angel panicked and started to turn random corners and ran away instinctively from the noise and the pursuit.  Things got even worse as he was struck by several arrows on his leg and waist.  His body was on the verge of finally giving out when a hand suddenly covered his nose and mouth while he was pulled into a hidden room.
Elvis was at his wit's end.  His head was pounding, seeing stars in front of his eyes as he struggled to breathe while being smothered by the hand.  An arm that felt like it was made out of steel kept him firmly in place despite all the bucking and kicking.  His thrashing finally stopped when a familiar voice called out: "Stop!! Elvis, it's me, Sonny!"  He was then released from the iron grip and turned around to face another childhood friend turned demon.  "Sonny, " Elvis wheezed out, "let me go! I beg of you! I'd rather die a thousand deaths than to be the Devil's plaything!".  "Shh..." Sonny put a finger over his mouth to shush him.  "They are hunting for you outside.  You can never make it out on your own, I'm your best chance!"  He pulled Elvis to sit on a chair in what looked like his private living quarter.  Sonny handed Elvis a small glass of water which he immediately gulped down: "I know where the exit is but we need to hurry and get you patched up before we make a run for it."  Sonny brought over some supplies including gauzes, rubbing alcohol and tape.  His hand moved to pull back Elvis' cloak to inspect his latest wounds when Elvis grabbed it, looking up with suspicion: "Why are you helping me?"
"Why?" Sonny made an awkward laugh before withdrawing his hand.  He sighed, paused a minute, took a deep breath, "Because I feel guilty, alright?  I had harbored feelings for you for so long but we were never more than just friends.  I was already feeling guilty when Red and I had to accuse you falsely to save ourselves.  I did not really want to defect to Hell, but did it out of fear to be found out and banished like you."  He ran a hand through his own hair, clenched his jaw, then admitted: "Yeah I violated you like everyone else when you were out.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity.  I got lost in my want, and it fulfilled all my fantasies.  I felt so good inside of you..."  His voice shook slightly, and he closed his eyes for a second, as if to relive those moments in his mind, then opened them and continued: "but I couldn't live with myself afterwards.  Whatever was left of my conscience was eating me alive!! I remembered all the times we had fun as kids, how kind and selfless you always were, and just can't bring myself to accept the fact that all your suffering was because of me!" 
Sonny walked over and sat down in a chair next to Elvis, finally looking him in the eyes: "I don't expect you to forgive me, but for old time sakes let me do what I can to help you.  You don't belong in this literal hellhole".  "Sonny...", Elvis started but his voice trailed off.  He knew Devil himself had his eyes set on him, so Sonny was risking his own life to defy Devil's orders and help him escape.  Elvis responded with a silent nod and opened his cloak to reveal his fresh wounds.          
With Sonny's help, Elvis got his new wounds cleaned and dressed up after three arrows were pulled out of his body.  The one near his waist on the right side was quite deep and affected his breathing.  Even after it was removed, there was a sharp stabbing pain in the right chest whenever he took a deep breath.  The other two arrows were taken out without incidence from the back of his left thigh. Sonny then gave Elvis something to wear underneath the cloak, a standard elastic black bodysuit which covered him from neck to toe.  Elvis took a quick sponge bath due to his many wounds and then changed into the bodysuit and a pair of more comfortable boots.  He then had a light meal, took a couple of pain pills, packed a small canteen of water and a bag of nuts before they went on their way.  
Their ensuing journey was surprisingly uneventful, testament to Sonny's foresight and skills as a guide.  Most of the challenges came from Elvis' physical limitations, as his body kept weighing him down with all this exertion.  After what felt like forever, they came to a large cave with loud sounds of howling wind.  A whirlwind in the middle of this cave shot up through a large opening in the ceiling. Through the opening Elvis got a small peak at the starry night sky.  "This is it! The gateway to the outside world." Sonny exclaimed.  "Demons rarely go above ground, just like angels seldom descend from Heaven.  You are entering the realm of humans, they have their own rules and laws.  You are on your own from this point on!"  Still trying to let the idea sink in that he was about to escape from Hell, Elvis's eyes welled up with tears as he blurted out: "Thank you Sonny, you don't know how grateful I am..."  Sonny's demon eyes teared up a little too: "Don't be.  Just take care of yourself, there are a lot of deceitful humans out there..."  With those parting words, Sonny pushed Elvis into the whirlwind and watched him disappear above ground.
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shallowrambles · 1 year
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Dear diary, notes for tomorrow - interesting things to think about />>
When Cas found out his superiors were letting the seals fall, there are immediate implcations for the Dean mission in Hell being purposely botched; i.e. potentially, angels put forth bad intel to ground soldiers; potentially, did someone let the first blood get shed for The prized Destiny fight?
Need to rewatch and pay attention to if angels submitted to the prize fight idea before Dean shed blood, or simply went along with it after that fact. Michael sounded very convinced that the fight had to happen if I recall...
Either way, Cas might be suspicious they were letting it happen all along. It motivated him enough to determine that the angelic war was a war of aggression and manipulation on humans, and that in turn motivated him to break rank and try to get a message to the humans. That's a full on moral injury; "my cause is corrupt; my superiors are acting wrongly" injury
Then he got tortured. :(
////
And later in Chuck's house>>> Raphael killing Cas = personal betrayal to him? He knew he would die but maybe he was surprised a little bit, hurt, even (vengeful?) Could this have set up a personal thing with Raphael. It seemed personal in 5x03. I like the idea of Cas being closer to Raphael and it representing a more hurtful breach. (i don't think it's a new idea in fandom; i just like it)
////
Why was Raphael so demoralized. "We just want it to be over." Why so despondant, nihilistic, depressed?" Why was he so rearin' to pick up the apocalypse again? Is he just nihilistic? Similar to AU Michael? Or lost without his brothers. It's a life without meaning, immortality without reprieve...
Metatron changes only when he almost dies, right before he meets up with Chuck. It was the almost-dying, mercy, and miracle of being alive that renewed him to the point he stood up to Chuck.
////
After the end of season 5, Cas went to Heaven to be like a "sheriff." That looked callous to Dean BUT Cas was concerned about the chaos...worried
He snapped into mission mode immediately but kept the details mostly private.
He then became ashamed of the angels for wanting to go after the humans again. Frustrated.
////
And due to what he went through in seasons 4-5, he's got that weighty moral injury telling his brain to be mistrustful of superiors and angels. Of course, he's feeling like he is partially home, and partially in enemy territory. Of course that sets him up to distrust his angelic soldiers, even the ones going up against Raphael with him!
The fallout of this is why Cas needs constant reassurance from his soldiers, and it's why he needs allegiance to feel comfortable.
His "family" operated in this all-or-nothing fashion. To Cas, this is what support looks like. To Cas, this is the type of power his distant father wielded. Loving punishment. Ruthlessness punctuated with gentleness.
////
And I think about this one a lot:
Would he have started a civil war without Crowley or submitted to / died heroically against Raphael?
CROWLEY What are you planning to do about Raphael?
CASTIEL What can I do besides submit or die?
CROWLEY Submit or die? What are you, French? How about resist?
CASTIEL I'm not strong enough, and you know it.
CROWLEY Ah, not on your own, you're not. But you're not on your own, are you? There's a lot of angels swooning over you. "God's favorite." Buddy boy, you've got what they call sex appeal.
CASTIEL Thank you. Get to the point.
CROWLEY Angels need leaders, so be one. Gather your army and kick the candy out of each and every angel that shows up for Raphael.
CASTIEL Are you proposing that I start a civil war in heaven?
CROWLEY Ding! Ding! Ding! Tell him what he's won, Vanna.
///
CASTIEL This is pointless. Your plan would take months, and I need help now.
///
CROWLEY Everything you've worked for -- everything that Sam and Dean have worked for -- gone. You can save us, Castiel. God chose you to save us. And I think...Deep down...You know that.
CASTIEL I wish I could say I was clean of pride at that moment...
INT. KEN LAY'S HEAVEN
CASTIEL Or the next. (Castiel uses the power of the souls to remove Raphael from the room.) There will be no Apocalypse. And let it be known -- you're either with Raphael or you're with me. And so went the long road of good intentions...The road that brought me here.
///
Cas's inability to trust his own rebel angels is interesting, but it does make sense and it results in a sort of wild, tragic (and often well founded) paranoia.
I just. Hmmmmm these problems existed in Cas way, way before The Winchesters. He's a morally injured soldier at this point, and it shows.
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sserpente · 3 years
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A/N: That Hyundai ad hit different. *chuckles*
Words: 3097 Warnings: kidnapping, hostage
New York smelled pretty bad, come to think of it. You had almost forgotten the hustle and bustle of this huge city that never slept and if there was one thing you had not been missing at all after spending a few months in Morocco for work, it was the constant traffic jams.
It was hot, unbearably so. You’d been a sweating mess ever since your cab driver had picked you up at the airport and the fact that the air conditioning in the cab was broken didn’t exactly help with that. Your thighs stuck to the leather of the backseat, your forehead glistening and your make-up… well, it used to be make-up.
The cab driver seemed nice, at least and since the long snake made entirely of cars had not moved for at least an hour now, he had offered to park on the side of the road and get you both a bottle of water. Ironically, you were only a few yards away from Stark Tower.
Perhaps you shouldn’t complain about the traffic jam. Half of the city was a mess after the atrocious battle you had been fortunate enough only to have witnessed on the news on the plane. You could only hope that your tiny studio flat was still intact and quite frankly, it was short of a miracle that a cab service had actually agreed on picking you up so shortly after an almost-war—not to mention that the plane had actually landed.
You sighed, brushing a strand of hair sticking to your cheek out of your face. You were unbelievably tired—even more so knowing that you had dodged a catastrophe that would go down in history all thanks to work. Your eyes fell shut and you leaned against the car window when suddenly, the driver’s door was all but yanked open and someone who certainly did not resemble your cab driver, started the car and clutched at the steering wheel as if his life depended on it.
Your lips parted. Shackles and a muzzle, along with a blue glowing cube landed on the passenger seat with a loud clatter, followed by an annoyed groan. It was him. The man who had attempted to take over the entire planet only moments ago, he was here in this car and he was currently kidnapping you with it.
A scream escaped your lips, a mixture of shock and fear spreading in your body and fuelling the rising amount of adrenaline. It was only then the God of Mischief glanced at the rear-view mirror and spotted you there panicking—but by then, he had already stirred the car back on the road, straight towards the traffic jam.
“You… you are… Let me out! Let me out at once!” You screeched, the heat around you—along with your miserable appearance—all but forgotten. Loki rolled his eyes. Great. Another mortal.
“I am not stopping this car,” was all he said. Your eyes widened in utter shock.
“Then don’t! Fuck!” Danger was radiating off of this man like heat from an active volcano; so if necessary, you would jump out of the moving car as well. Biting your lower lip and wondering if you should go through with this risky stunt at the speed he was going, the wheels squeaking over the asphalt with every abrupt turn he took, or if that would be a suicide mission. It was probably the latter, and when you reached for the handle of the back door, it took the God of Mischief only a mere second to lock it, trapping you inside.
“Let me out! Let me out!”
“You’ll kill yourself.” Loki spat. You did not miss the patronising tone in his voice—stupid. He believed you stupid.
“And if I stay in here with you I won’t?” You retorted hysterically. And it was justified, really—for when your gaze drifted back to the road ahead of you, you could see him racing straight towards a long line of cars waiting for the traffic to clear up.
“Watch out! The other cars, watch out! Oh my God…” You screamed, squeezing your eyes shut and covering your face with your arms but the imminent crash never came. When you opened your eyes again, Loki had all but moved through the other cars as if by magic. God, what was this, Harry Potter?
With your heart in your mouth, you brought your trembling hands to your thighs and pressed down on them in a desperate attempt to fight off the panic attack rising within you like the forthcoming eruption of a volcano.
But even when you reached the suburbs, ironically moved closer to your home, and the car finally slowed down to a reasonable speed, making you wonder how a god from another realm knew how to drive a car in the first place, your dread kept growing steadily. What would happen once Loki decided he had reached his destination? What would he do with you? Would you end up as another casualty? You’d know where he was, after all, and only God knew how he had managed to escape after the Avengers reported his capture—not to mention that he was in the possession of that mysterious blue cube you were certain bore even more chaos and destruction in the wrong hands.
“I take it this vehicle is supposed to be a means of transport in exchange for payment?” He suddenly said.
“What?” You gaped at him, swallowing. “Yes! I mean, yes, it’s a taxi. That’s… I was…”
“Where do you live?”
“Excuse me? What, are you going to drop me off and expect me to tip you?”
Loki smirked. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why but he did like your feistiness. “I need a place to hide.”
“What… no! No! I am not giving shelter to a criminal!” You snarled, swallowing your fear of him—and then you made the mistake of peeking at the navigation system the taxi driver had set up next to the steering wheel, with your address on bright display to show Loki exactly where he’d have to go.
The God of Mischief tilted his head. “You don’t have much choice in the matter, my dear.”
You took a deep shaky breath, digging your nails into the backseat. If your lower lip was trembling, you didn’t notice. “P-please… please just let me go. I promise I won’t tell anyone where you are or where you went. Please.”
“I am not going to kill you if that is what you are worried about.” He replied after a long pause. When you said nothing, too stunned and scared to come up with another snarky comment, silence spread in the car like wildfire.
Hugging your knees to your chest, you closed your eyes, hoping that this was a bad joke, a terrible nightmare and any moment now, you would wake up safely on the plane, yet to land in half-destroyed New York City—but the end of slumber never came. You were wide awake; even more so when, after what felt like hours, Loki finally stopped the car. Of course, you had not noticed him observing you repeatedly through the rear-view mirror, almost as if to check if you were still alive.
Your eyes met and then, finally, he unlocked the doors. Only now, you did not move an inch. You had no idea what to expect if you stepped out of this car.
Naturally, Loki disagreed with your cautious decision. He yanked the car door open when he saw you frozen in place, grabbing your upper arm so fast you didn’t even have a chance to react, and all of a sudden, seeing the entrance door of the apartment building you lived in did not at all look as appealing as it had at the airport anymore.
His grip around your arm was firm but when you whined in pain, the God of Mischief actually softened it—if only a little, barely noticeable.
“Unlock the door, my dear, will you?” He inquired, smiling sweetly at you. Right beneath the surface, you could hear that there would be dire consequences if you failed to comply.
Surely at this point, he could hear your rapid heartbeat. Shaking, you fumbled for the keys in your bag until they were jingling in your palms all the while Loki watched you like a hawk. You had dismissed calling the police on your phone in the car already—for now.
Fuck, you had been kidnapped. You were about to be held hostage in your own flat, or… or… was he just going to enter and kick you out? Had he been lying about not killing you? Would he fling a dagger at you any moment now like you had seen him do on TV?
Loki followed you when you approached the door and unlocked it clumsily. One floor up and to the left. For just a brief moment, you wondered what would happen if you started screaming bloody murder, alerting your neighbours but even when you opened your mouth to attempt it, not a single sound would escape your lips.
Even a little further out and farther away from the centre of New York City, rent prices were horrendous. Your salary was not bad but your apartment was no more than a small studio equipped with a humble kitchen, a separate bathroom with a tiny shower and lastly, your double bed in the centre of the room, posing as your sofa during the day.
Loki looked around unimpressed when he entered. “Well… it will do.”
“N-now what?” You choked out.
Loki raised his eyebrows, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Pretend I’m not even here.”
Right—because that was going to be so easy. He sighed and rolled his eyes when you only stared at him in horror.
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
“W-would you? You tried to subjugate our planet like ten minutes ago!”
“And for good reason too. This realm is lawless, your people slaughter each other day in and out and you feel threatened by me? I would have given you a new purpose.”
He had a point… but… “And what is that so-called purpose? Slavery?” Loki’s expression darkened, making you flinch back.
“S-sorry… I’ll… I’ll be i-in the bathroom taking a shower. Please just… I mean… whatever.” Would he stop you? Hesitating, you made your way to the bathroom, waiting for him to yank you back, press you against the wall and threaten you? Threaten you with what, exactly? Could you trust that he wouldn’t kill you? Loki felt like a ticking time bomb in your flat.
But a painful yank never came and when you locked the bathroom door behind you, you exhaled. Inhaled, exhaled, inhaled, exhaled, trying to process the fact you had a war criminal in your home.
Once you had gathered enough energy to do what you had come to the bathroom for and, an hour later, returned to the main room, Loki was sitting on your bed cross-legged, the Tesseract right before him, glowing away.
“I roamed your ‘kitchen’”, he said without glancing up to meet your eyes, “Do you have anything edible at all?”
“I was away for a whole month.” You argued. “I haven’t done any shopping yet because I was kidnapped by a space Viking.”
Loki smirked. Amused, he finally looked up. “Well, perhaps I should take you back to Asgard with me then. I could use a diligent little servant.”
Your reaction did not disappoint him. Chuckling to himself, he slid off the bed more elegantly than you could ever muster, the Tesseract disappearing into nothingness.
“What I am trying to say is that even gods need to eat and I am, quite frankly, starving.”
“That sounds like a you-problem.” You grumbled. And then, as if on cue, your stomach growled. Damn it.
“Fine. I’ll order some pizza.”
-
Loki had all but watched you like a hawk upon calling the local pizza place. Everything inside of you had screamed to let them know about your predicament, to beg them to call the police and send them to you instead of the pizza.
But as soon as the food was delivered, the mood in your apartment changed so rapidly it left you wondering if the only reason for Loki’s world domination attempt had been his hunger. The man devoured a family-sized pizza in but what felt like two minutes and, upon realising you were done with yours, leaving three pieces in the box, he devoured those as well. And never before had you seen someone eat pizza so gracefully.
It didn’t exactly make it feel like you had been kidnapped anymore. Perhaps… perhaps he hadn’t been lying about not wanting to kill you after all. Perhaps he wasn’t as evil as you… no, stop. He had literally just tried to take over the planet!
“What are you pondering on, little mortal?”
You shivered, the nickname affecting you in a way it truly shouldn’t, especially after he had lost his armour and magically exchanged it for more casual clothes—they still looked like they were from a different time period altogether but it wasn’t nearly as intimidating as before.
“W-why did you really do it?” You found yourself asking. It was a risk—but you were feeling braver now that your stomach was full even though part of you was surprised you had managed to eat at all.
“What?”
“Why did you really try to take over the planet? Did you… do you really want to enslave us all?”
“A lack of freedom does not equal slavery. It offers protection from failure and bad choices.” He said. You frowned.
“You truly believe that?”
“You fight wars over opinions, religions and race among your own species. Your choices are suffocating the whole of Midgard. I would have changed that.”
“You can’t be serious.”
You looked down, reaching for the sweet treat that had come with your pizza to stop your fingers from trembling.
“What is that?”
“Oh, uh… those are marshmallows. This pizza place always packs them with your order, don’t ask me why.”
“What’s that?” He repeated, frowning at the plastic wrapper.
“It’s candy…”
“Well, it doesn’t look very natural.”
Woah. How had this conversation just gone from “humans should not have freedom of choice” to “marshmallows look unhealthy”?
“They’re… I mean they’re not. They’re made of pure sugar and artificial flavouring.”
“Then why do you eat them?”
“Because… because they taste good?”
Loki gave you a taunting look. See? It said. This is what I meant.
But when you opened the package and handed it to him, he took one out nonetheless. It looked tiny between his long fingers—as tiny as you must have looked next to him.
You gulped when it disappeared between his lips. When you reached out to take the package back, he snatched it away from you.
“They are quite delicious, actually.” Your jaw dropped when he popped them all into his mouth at once, winking at you. Not quite sure how to react to this, you averted your gaze, taking a feigned interest in your digital alarm clock on the nightstand instead.
It was only 5 PM but you were positively ready to pass out. Where would you even sleep tonight? Where would he sleep? Would he even sleep?
“You are tired.” He suddenly stated as if on cue. He couldn’t read your mind… right? He did have that weird cube of his, after all.
“Well, yeah… I got kidnapped, experienced a live remake of ‘Fast and Furious’ and I have a criminal in my flat.”
“I only understood half of what you just said but I can ensure you that I will not harm you when you sleep.” There it was again, that frown that almost made it look like he was offended. As if the very circumstance of him hurting an innocent for no reason other than malice insulted him.
“So by all means, retire to bed.” He went on, gesturing to the bed and eventually, standing up to make space for you. The pizza boxes disappeared in but a green shimmer of light and you watched Loki, albeit still suspicious, heading over to the small kitchen table. To be quite frank, it was the last thing you remembered.
-
Loki was gone, no trace of him left. It was as if he had never even been here. It was already past noon—the exhaustion from your flight as well as the racy car drive and last but not least, your shining time as a hostage had worn you out to the point you didn’t even remember falling asleep anymore.
You only realised now that it was your doorbell that had woken you up. Jumping out of bed and moaning when your vision turned black for a moment, you headed over to your speaker and pressed the button. Perhaps it was Loki. Perhaps he had locked himself out but then again… would he not be able to magic himself back in? Why had he insisted on you unlocking the door yesterday in the first place? You shook your head.
“Hello?”
“Hi. This is Henry, I’ve got your delivery.” A boyish voice responded.
“W-what delivery? I didn’t order anything.”
“You did, ma’am, would you come open the door, please?”
You sighed. “Fine, I’ll be down in a second.”
You had fallen asleep in your clothes from last night, so one quick glance in the mirror was all you had before you headed back down and opened the main entrance door.
The delivery boy was holding both your suitcase and a jumbo-size package of marshmallows in his hands. Big marshmallows—the bonfire kind, to be precise.
“Who…” But you knew. You knew the moment you made the connection and knew the moment you looked straight into Henry’s eyes and noticed them glowing unnaturally blue when he handed the items to you.
It had not been a dream then. Loki had really been here. You had been eating pizza with the God of Mischief and now… the gesture was almost sweet. Was that his way of saying thank you? For what? You hadn’t exactly done much except for trembling in fear.
“He instructed me to tell you that you will meet again soon.” Henry announced and then, before you even had a chance to respond, he turned on his heel, hopped back into the delivery van parked in front of the building and left. You only realised now that the Hyundai taxi was gone too.
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eri-cheri · 3 years
Text
Now that we have reached the last chapter of the year. It is time to do a 2020 roll call of what I like to call, “State of the Shippers”:
1. IzuOcha. Status: Placated.
-IzuOcha’s could celebrate several cute tidbits throughout the year. Mini moments as they say.
Anime Highlights: The OVA’s came in clutch with moments for shippers all around and IzuOcha is no exception. We got a cute tidbit where Izuku and Ochako bumped into each other and were flustered.
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Manga Highlights: Christmas kept on giving to this fandom as the AM doll Izuku gave Ochako made many appearances. A cute fist bump between the two was also exchanged and Mina was right there bouncing with y’all.
Heroes Rising: Izuku super man carried Ochako to safety. And was Angy she was injured. Fans could enjoy the small Lois Lane moment.
Troubling Signs?: Ochako said “I would like to be excluded from this narrative” when it comes to her feelings for Deku. She’s a hero damnit! So if they are in for something, probably won’t be while they are still in school.
II. DabiHawks. Status: Yikes.
- Dabi and Hawk’s very public breakup set this fandom in disarray but also kind of disayay?
Anime Highlights: None yet. This fandom was cruelly cock blocked by Bones. Sorry DabiHawks stans.
Manga Highlights: Where to begin, my goodness. With these fans, I guess the good and the bad is a plus in this homoerotic double agent relationship. We have the notion that Dabi may have known Hawks when they were kids, which may be a positive? Hori sure loves his childhood friends. Other than that. The GIRLS WERE FIGHTIN’. Hawks is now permanently scarred by Dabi and I don’t think it was kinky folks. Tokoyami inserted himself in the middle to White Knight Hawks, Dabi broke up with him via YT expose and overall, shippers could anguish in the absolute MESS that this ship endured this year. But I’m sure that’s part of the appeal. So...yay?
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Heroes Rising: They were both in it.
Troubling Signs?: The entire relationship is a troubling sign which again, is part of the appeal. Maybe Hawks will cuddle up with Dabi’s father after the war. That’s troubling! Speaking of...
III. EndHawks. Status: Yearning and Burning.
-If there’s one thing Endeavor couldn’t stop worrying about, it was his hot (in more ways than one) new side piece who probably should have looked at the fine print when signing a contract to be a recurring guest star on “Keeping up with the Todoroki’s”.
Anime Highlights: A fateful meeting finally in high definition for all our eyes to see! Hawks’s unwavering support of his biggest hero was endearing to watch and their shenanigans together spurred the anime onlies to finally jump on the biggest May-December ship in the series.
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Manga Highlights: Endeavor’s admiration and concern for Hawks seeped through the pages as we entered our most exciting arc in the manga yet. Fate split these two up yet entwined their downfall together. And that Fate’s name was Dabi...or should I say ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️ or should I just say Touya!
Heroes Rising: “Don’t bite my head off, Endeavor.” Geez, can you flirt a little less loud Hawks?
Troubling Signs?: They say never meet your heroes and Hawks is in for a rude awakening. We shall see just how deep his admiration runs or if Endeavor’s past will split our dynamic duo up for good.
IV: TodoDeku. Status: “Precious”
-Shoto’s “Midoriya is in Danger” radar was highlighted in both manga and anime. 4th User’s quirk, who?
Anime Highlights: “Midoriya hasn’t returned yet.” “Where’s Midoriya?” “Midoriya! Grab my hand!” “Have some of my Soba Midoriya.” Shoto gets it. His emotional support friend is a danger magnet. TodoDeku’s also enjoyed tiny tidbits in the OVA such as a hand grabbing scene. Gotta hold tight to those crumbs.
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Manga Highlights: Two Words. “Precious Friend.” Deku comes in w/o arms or legs fighting for Shoto and Shoto’s honor. These two spent the entire year worried sick about each other, and going against all odds to save each other. Precious Friends indeed. TDDK fans ate.
Heroes Rising: Shoto kicks some dog ass and then faints thinking of Deku (and Bakugo but shh. Let the shippers rejoice.) On the bright side, we have a 3rd movie coming featuring “The Three Musketeers” so shippers of TdDk can HOLD TIGHT to what’s to come.
Troubling Signs?: Shoto still doesn’t know about OFA and he’s gonna have LOTS of questions after this arc. Will Deku finally tell him? If not, it could make or break the ship.
V. TodoBaku. Status: “Shining through the city with a little funk and soul.”
-Who knew the greatest comedy duo we needed was Shoto and his hot headed “friend” or not friend? It still remains unclear to Shoto. Regardless, these two had a fun year.
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Anime Highlights: “I wanna see your cute face”, disco dancing, and more fun in the provisional license training. Plus the OVA added some cute moments between the two such as Bakugo staying behind to save Todoroki during a dangerous excercise and his adorable plan neatly animated for us. I’d say TodoBaku’s really were resurgent and energized this year!
Manga Highlights: Shoto, that is not how you properly Catch a Kacchan, I’m sorry. But at least you did it you mad lad. As with Deku, Shoto spent the year worried sick about Bakugo. While the anime let us have our fun, these two were suffering in the manga.
Heroes Rising: Again, Shoto put a dog down and then fainted with Bakugo on his mind (and Deku but we ignore that. Shush.) TodoBaku’s have the 3rd movie to look forward to which is bound to have some amazing content!
Troubling Signs?: They have a lot of trauma to deal with. And a lot of Deku to worry about. I also imagine Shoto will be hurt about being left out of the OFA secret. We shall see what 2021 has to offer.
VI. KiriMina. Status: Unbreakable.
-Changing your hairstyle to match the gal who inspired you in middle school? Sorry y’all but if Mina were a guy, I’d say that’s gay af.
Anime Highlights: We got that backstory Bois. Red Riot’s origin might as well make him be called Pink Riot. Again with Hori and the childhood friends though I wouldn’t exactly call them friends. They just went to the same middle school but Kirishima was highly influenced by Mina’s Chivalrous spirit! A ship is born!
Manga Highlights: The influence is mutual! Mina creates a move based on Kirishima’s unbreakable and we all let out a collective “awwww”. Also in the war arc, we got Kirishima making sure Mina’s chivalrous spirit shines through right into Gigantomachia’s mouth! KiriMina may just be the unsung MVP’s of this arc.
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Heroes Rising: They were in it.
Troubling Signs?: I can’t think of a single one. KiriMina’s can enjoy a peaceful sailing.
VII: KiriBaku. Status: Crumb Collectors.
-2020 was an uneventful year for KiriBaku but Bones made sure there were crumbs aplenty! Thank God for OVA’s!
Anime Highlights: KiriBaku’s did thrive in one episode! Kirishima reflects on the sludge incident and evolves his quirk based on inspiring words from Bakugo! Hooray! KiriBaku’s can thrive in their blossoming friendship. The OVA also has Kirishima (and Kaminari but shh) once again following Bakugo’s lead when it comes to the training excercise. How can you not? He’s so manly!
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Manga Highlights: Not gonna lie. There is nothing much here this year. I did find a teeny tiny flake in Aizawa’s flashback. Kirishima and Bakugo are sitting next to each other. Oh! And at the hot pot gathering, Bakugo sits next to Kirishima! Eat your crumbs KiriBaku’s! There’s always next year!
Heroes Rising: Kirishima hangs with a lazy Bakugo and delivers the most hilarious line in the whole movie. “Silly Bakugo, there won’t be villains here!” Hahah... Silly Bakugo. Oh you~ KiriBaku’s can inhale the fact that those two sure love to hover around each other!
Troubling Signs?: With great crumbs come little responsiblity. No trouble if there’s no content! 🤔
VIII: KamiJirou. Status: Singing their hearts out 🎶
-If there’s any ship that’s coming close to canonization, I think this is it, folks! “Think of the person most important to you!” Can’t argue with Midnight!
Anime Highlights: Kaminari does non stop encouraging of Jirou and her hobbies! He works super hard to learn guitar for her sake! We love a king who can encourage his queen!
Manga Highlights: Kaminari thinks of the most important person to him and surprise! It’s Jirou! All of the feels can commence.
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Heroes Rising: They were in it!
Troubling Signs?: Kaminari does love his women. And men. Kaminari overall is a huge flirt. But Jirou appears to have his heart strings. ❤️
IX: BakuDeku. Status: Rising. 👑
-Alternative Statuses include Winning, Thriving, Soaring. It’s just been non stop content this year. 2020 is truly the year for BakuDeku. The shippers can rejoice.
Anime Highlights: Three words. Be. My. Cane. The OVA’s helped fan the flames of the BkDk hearts with a surprise! Deku tops! Not only that, we got a lovely shoulder tap of encouragement in the canon material. While in season 4, Deku’s primary focus was Eri. Bakugo and Deku still had their moments to be hella gay.
Manga Highlights: Where do I even begin? I guess we’ll just cut to the chase with Bakugo Katsuki: Rising. We finally saw Bakugo’s true feelings manifest for Deku and if getting stabbed for him isn’t the ultimate showing of love, then idk what is. BakuDeku’s rounded out the year with the Volume 29 cover AND the volume 29 cover drafts to eat at our heart strings. Overall, their relationship got the spotlight in the manga this year. And we’re bound to start 2021 with a dramatic confrontation. Hand holding seems to be the key with these two and it didn’t stop with Heroes Rising...speaking of.
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Heroes Rising: The entire movie. Like....yeah. That’s it. [OP, your bias is showing. You have to be SPECIFIC.] {But random criticizer in my head, if I lay out the entire plot of the movie, my post will be too long} [OP....] UGHHHH Okay okay. The POPSICLE MELTING. THE HAND HOLDING. THE CHARACTER DESIGNS OF WHAT MIGHT AS WELL BE THEIR LOVE CHILDREN. Did I mention? “It’s fine if it’s you?” CAUSE YEAH. Oh and All Might randomly officiating their wedding in their heads like idk. Isn’t it just simpler if I say the whole movie??!
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Troubling Signs?: Well these two’s relationship is extremely delicate and while it has non stop soared this year, Deku might not take too kindly to Bakugo almost dying for him. Will they stop pushing each other away? Time will tell.
That’s all for this year folks! Happy Shipping and good luck to everyone next year!
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luvvewan · 3 years
Note
promptsssssss!!!
13: “Just listen to the sound of my voice.” 🥺🙏❤️
Thank you for the prompt, @sanerontheinside ! I went full Obi-whump, so I hope you like it.
The healer crouched at the edge of the bunk and took Obi-Wan’s bare feet in his hands.
Obi-Wan cried out, trying to pull away from the touch, twisting in the blankets.
“Caht, nah.” The elderly man, Hagit, said softly. He glanced up at Qui-Gon. “Numo.”
Qui-Gon had garnered only a handful of words in the native tongue, but he didn’t need to know what the healer said; he could see it in his eyes. Pity. For Obi-Wan, yes. But also for him? Fear lodged in his throat.
“Evvi, eh. Uh…here. Boy…numo.” Hagit motioned to Obi-Wan’s foot.
“Keep him still, Master Jedi, please.” Evvi, their young interpreter and Hagit’s grand-niece, translated. “He sees the spine in the left heel.”
Qui-Gon suppressed a shudder and turned away, leaning over his insensate student. Obi-Wan’s face was covered in sweat, eyes half-lidded, lips cracked and quivering. His Learner’s braid had plastered itself to Obi-Wan’s pale neck and chest. Qui-Gon smoothed it carefully between his fingers. “You are doing very well, Padawan. Just stay still. I know it’s difficult but you must not move,” he used a gentle voice better suited for younglings, despite the fact Obi-Wan was twenty three years old and a newly senior apprentice.
He watched Obi-Wan try to look at him, but another wave of pain erupted through their connection in the Force, and his eyes rolled back. Qui-Gon absorbed what he could, wanting to take it all, though even the echoes of Obi-Wan’s agony were enough to make him briefly light-headed.
He noticed Hagit was speaking again, a distant noise. Evvi said something back to him, then Qui-Gon heard several small, hesitant steps. A hand touched his arm.
“I’m sorry, Master Jedi. Removal is very painful and delicate. He does not want the spine to break apart while still in the foot. It will release more poison.” Evvi explained. “Can you hold him down?”
Obi-Wan was more powerful than his small frame would suggest. The pain and delirium made him combative, and when Qui-Gon gripped his arms he thrashed and snarled. He had never seen Obi-Wan, obedient and self-possessed Obi-Wan, untethered this way. Fingernails raked down his forearm, tore at his robe sleeves.
Sedation was not possible. The medical supplies were limited anyway. They were lucky to have Hagit, who was old enough to remember when the stone-fish were plentiful, before a plague wiped them out. Now it was exceedingly rare to catch a stone-fish on the shore, due to both its near-extinction and impressive camouflage. Obi-Wan had accompanied some of the village’s children to the water, or really they had accompanied him, starry-eyed at the presence of an offworlder, a Jedi. He had been stepping along a path of craggy rocks leading to the ocean when his foot landed on a stone-fish, its spiny, algae-crusted body hidden amongst the rocks and sand.
The pain had been immediate. The children had run, screaming, for help. By the time Qui-Gon found him, Obi-Wan was screaming too.
Other villagers had come. Among them was Hagit, helped along by Evvi at his elbow, his grey eyes milky and grave. Obi-Wan was administered a general anti-venom there on the beach, already overwhelmed by the agony that radiated from his foot through his entire body.
Evvi had told Qui-Gon the poison was brutal and quick. It was not always fatal, but it triggered something nearly as cruel: most victims were gripped by an unbearable sense of dread, demanding to be killed before the poison could fully take them.
From his admittedly foggy calculations, it had been close to an hour since Obi-Wan was attacked. Qui-Gon’s stomach lurched. He did not look behind him, where he knew Hagit was hovering at the wound site, arthritic hands shaking, preparing to perform a task of great precision.
“Still, Master Jedi. He must be still.”
He brought the Force to bear down on his Padawan while using his own brute strength to pin Obi-Wan’s wrists back onto the bunk. Obi-Wan whimpered and moaned, whipping his head to the side. Tears streamed freely down his face, snot and sweat dripping from his nose.
“Help!” He kicked his legs, trying to free himself from the healer’s grasp.
Hagit made a sharp noise under his breath, likely a swear.
“Obi-Wan, listen to me! We’re trying to help you!” He barked hoarsely, wiping sweat from his own brow before straddling his Padawan and laying over top of him, using his weight to hold him down. Their heads were pressed together and Obi-Wan wept and keened in his ear.
Qui-Gon’s heart found new ways to break. The Force was overrun with panic and hopelessness. Obi-Wan twitched and fought under him, desperate to get freed. Qui-Gon tried to use a sleep suggestion but his Padawan’s aura was clouded, elusive.
And time was draining away. He imagined the spine lodged in Obi-Wan’s tender heel, the poison seeping into his blood and causing more damage. “Just…breathe with me, Padawan, alright? There is no pain, there is the Force.”
“I can’t.” Obi-Wan whimpered.
He turned his head and pressed a kiss to Obi-Wan’s temple. “Leave it to me, then. Trust in me, young one. Whatever else is happening…it doesn’t matter. Just listen to the sound of my voice.”
He knew it was a risk, to appeal to the dutiful instinct in Obi-Wan that very well might be overridden by poison-fueled anxiety. But what else could he do? Hold his delirious student down with every last bit of strength he possessed, and possibly break his bones in the process?
Obi-Wan bucked against him, sniffling and gasping. “It won’t stop it won’t stop oh gods…”
“Shhh,” Qui-Gon smoothed his damp hair. “You are so far away from that, aren’t you? Safe with me. Safe and very tired. Only you and only me, far away.”
Nerveless fingers clutched at him. “M-Make it stop make it stop I can’t—“
“Of course I will. Hold onto me and keep your legs very still. You can do that, I know you can. Put your arms around me and hold on, as tight as you can.” Qui-Gon blinked back the sweat pouring into his eyes, body vibrating with hope and dread as Obi-Wan slowly obeyed. “That’s it. Now I want you to keep the rest of your body very, very still, Padawan. Do you understand?”
Obi-Wan heaved an exhausted sob, but nodded. His arms gripped around Qui-Gon’s back while his legs gradually relaxed on the bunk.
Hagit murmured to himself. Evvi touched Qui-Gon’s leg.
In the stuffy little room, everyone tacitly understood what would happen next.
Qui-Gon felt Obi-Wan begin to tense. “Far away,” he continued, as if there had been no interruption. “We can go anywhere, can’t we? We’ve been to so many places together.”
“Nuh, Evvi.”
“Uncle says now, Master Jedi.”
Qui-Gon closed his eyes and released his fear to the Force. “Where do you want to go, Obi-Wan? I remember you enjoying Alderaan, with all the beautiful trees. The people there were so kind, weren’t they?” He did his best not to think of the fragile procedure happening inches away. His muscles shook, ready to react if necessary. He knew once Hagit began removing the spine it could not be halted. “I can’t remember…did we visit in the summer or winter?”
Obi-Wan was holding onto him for dear life, strangled moans catching in his throat.
My brave boy, Qui-Gon thought to himself. The pain was unreal. He couldn’t begin to comprehend what it felt like for Obi-Wan.
“Kill me Master Master oh Force I can’t…”
Qui-Gon squeezed him close. He thought of what Evvi had said--the poor victims who begged for death. He had not thought Obi-Wan would reach that point. But even the Force could not insulate the young man from such all-encompassing agony.
Obi-Wan wept openly against Qui-Gon’s neck. “Master, Qui-Gon...it’s moving..what….what is it doing..?”
“Don’t move,” Qui-Gon warned. “Do you want to go to Alderaan? Or someplace else? Someplace warm?”
They had just finished an extended mission on a frigid planet, yet Obi-Wan shook his head. “N-No deserts.”
Qui-Gon chuckled. Obi-Wan sunburned easily, returning from desert assignments with pink cheeks and ears. “Of course not. No, someplace cool enough to sleep out under the stars. Kodasta, perhaps? Remember how the stars seemed so close, as if we could nearly touch them?”
Obi-Wan clutched at the robe on Qui-Gon’s back. “Y-Yes…ahhh…”
“What was the constellation you saw? I can’t remember. It was quite rare, wasn’t it? I’m never any good at that but you spotted it right away. What was it called?”
“…Th-The El…usive Mage.”
“Oh yes. That was it.”
Obi-Wan moaned into Qui-Gon’s shoulder.
Qui-Gon held him steady. The pain was beyond excruciating and Qui-Gon could only feel the edge of it; Obi-Wan had long since given up any attempts at shielding from him. It was a testament to Obi-Wan’s endurance that he had not passed out.
“Nearly done,” Evvi said.
Thank the Force. “You’re doing so well, Padawan,” Qui-Gon praised him quietly. “Keep right here with me, can you see the Mage? Close your eyes and see if it’s there.”
“M-Master…”
“I know. But we are so far away from that, aren’t we? Among the stars on Kodasta. I see them when I close my eyes. Close your eyes and you’ll see them too. No, no, you can’t twitch like that. Squeeze me instead. That’s better. Now look for the Mage with me. Help me see it.”
“Ugh…” Obi-Wan groaned and panted. “Mmmmph…”
Qui-Gon could not let their progress unravel, not now. “Is it there, towards the left?”
For several strained seconds, Obi-Wan made harsh, pained sounds and struggled for breath. Then, finally: “Y-Yes. You have to…un…ah…unfocus your eyes to see. Look for the hat f-first.”
Qui-Gon smiled, blinking back the tears gathering in his eyes. “Ah, of course.”
“It’s out, Master Jedi.”
“I see it now, Obi-Wan. It’s beautiful.”
His Padawan sagged under him, unconscious.
Qui-Gon went to the shore and walked along the rock paths, fingers hooked in his belt. The stone-fish had been immediately killed, its remaining spines safely collected and the rest of it burned by a few of the villagers. Evvi told him some of the men searched the beach until dawn, out of caution.
They had not come across a single other stone-fish. Obi-Wan’s foot had apparently found the only specimen on the entire beach.
But then, Obi-Wan had always been blessed with a particular sort of luck.
He came to the place where Obi-Wan was stung. Specks of blood stained the rocks there. His instinct was to throw them into the ocean.
Instead, Qui-Gon left everything as it was, sea spray misting his cheeks as he turned back towards the village.
When he returned to the little cottage, Hagit was sitting at a sun-bleached wooden table in the kitchen. The red-tinged spine, still full of venom, was sealed in a plastibag and held loosely in his liver-spotted hands.
Hagit looked up at Qui-Gon. He was quite old, skin sagging and eyes permanently wet.
“Boy…yes.” Hagit nodded firmly at him.
Qui-Gon found it difficult to swallow. He bowed before the healer. “Graz-ta,” he said. Thank you.
Obi-Wan was curled up on the bunk. A heavy blanket was wrapped around him, his bandaged foot sticking out from the bottom. Though he had improved since the day before, his face still looked drained of its color.
Qui-Gon glanced around the quiet, dark room. He noticed Obi-Wan’s clothes and boots tucked under a chair. Evvi had done it, probably, but it was still a familiar sight, reminding him of how Obi-Wan tended to neatly fold his tunics, no matter where they found themselves. His heart tightened; he let it pass. He knew he would feel this way after such a close call. Small, tender things about Obi-Wan were going to strike him at odd times—he knew that, unfortunately, from experience.
Like the way he would hold his braid between his fingers when he slept. Qui-Gon could not recall Feemor or Xanatos ever doing that.
He sat on the bunk beside Obi-Wan and listened to the quaint sounds of life beyond the door. He appreciated the borrowed sense of domesticity that came with staying in family houses: home cooking, careworn sheets, a calmness and mildness in the Force. He wished they could stay here until Obi-Wan fully recovered from his ordeal, but the Council had already sent them their next assignment.
Qui-Gon brushed his fingers against Obi-Wan’s forehead. Glassy grey eyes fluttered open.
“Only a slight fever now,” Qui-Gon told him.
Obi-Wan kept his braid laced between his fingers. He looked swallowed up by the thick weave of the blanket and the night shirt that was several sizes too big. Or was it simply the absence of Jedi trappings that made it more obvious that he was young, human and fragile? “Well,” he croaked, voice ruined from prolonged screaming followed by prolonged silence, “I didn’t die.”
Qui-Gon tried to laugh, but it came out as an awkward huff. He touched Obi-Wan’s cheek. “No. You seem very much alive to me.”
Obi-Wan smiled, his eyes already drifting closed. “I didn’t sense it. The…ah…thing.”
“Neither did I,” Qui-Gon admitted, gazing out the window above Obi-Wan’s head. The villagers had searched the beach, but who could search all of the sea? He began to think of other dangers on other worlds, the unnamed masses of threats that awaited Obi-Wan in his life, on their next mission, even tomorrow. “If we could sense everything, our lives would be much easier.”
“Mmmhmmm. Less interesting?”
“I’m slipping. You’re guessing my lessons before I can give them.”
“Mm, but I can…always sense you, Master.” Obi-Wan mumbled. He would be asleep soon.
Qui-Gon leaned forward until their foreheads touched. “May the Force be with you, my Padawan.”
They rarely dreamed together, but that night they did, climbing through constellations in the dark sky, safely above the sea.
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beyondspaceandstars · 3 years
Note
Hey!
Feel free to ignore this if this isn’t appealing to you, but honestly I’m simping over Carol Denvers and could really go for some steamy fluff with her x reader.
Maybe just a dinner date gone dirty talk? Do whatever you want with this! :) Have a great day.
Completely Yours
Relationship: Carol Danvers x Reader
Warnings: Steamy, but not smutty
Word Count: 1.8k
A/N: amazingly, I actually already had a piece I wrote last year that kind of falls into these suggestions! i tweaked the ending a bit from my original writing to hopefully make it more on the steamy side. and there's an element of jealousy/protective Carol. So, I hope this works okay! I immediately thought of it after reading your request :) Also I absolutely love Carol, one of my favorite MCU characters <3 I have a few pieces already written for her but only published on ao3 (and a previous writing blog)
Masterlist
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
You stared at your lipstick collection, completely baffled by the choices. Was the red lip too bold for your lacy black dress? But was the pink lip too simple? Maybe the dress was the problem…
"Stop it," you mumbled to yourself and grabbed the wine red lipstick. You were nearly humored with your brain’s antics. There shouldn’t be anything to overthink given the fact you’ve been on countless dates with Carol. Heck, you don’t even remember being this nervous for your very first date, but, perhaps, the fact this was an anniversary date was maybe getting to you a bit.
You two were two years into the relationship but you still wanted to give it your all especially on such an occasion. You both had been so busy with one thing or another for your first anniversary so there was a lingering duty to make it up — and that’s exactly why the glam had to be perfect, no matter how many times Carol insisted you were gorgeous without it.
A knock came from the bathroom door as you were finishing with the lipstick.
"Babe," Carol called out. "Almost ready?"
You gave your hair a quick glance over and exited the bathroom. You were greeted by your stunning girlfriend all dolled up and looking as lovely as ever.
"All good," you smiled, shamelessly eyeing her.
She gave a knowing smirk, "You look so beautiful."
"Maybe we both clean up well," you teased, shrugging.
Your girlfriend just rolled her eyes at your antics and motioned towards the front door. You grabbed your purse and started heading ahead of Carol. But being the cheeky girlfriend she is, she couldn’t let you get far without giving a teasing tap on your behind. Now it was your turn to shoot her the eye roll which she just laughed away, following you out the door.
***
The restaurant was a busy scene tonight and upon noticing the patrons and their seemingly wandering eyes, Carol was on you in full protective mode. This could’ve been expected no matter where you two had gone and you’ve had to come to terms with that. Carol was quite the protective type and typically you adored it but honestly, it wasn’t necessary in your eyes. There wasn’t a thing — or person — in the world that could whisk you away from your love.
Choosing to ignore her change in demeanor, you pushed through the crowd to the hostess table.
"Thank gosh we made reservations," you said as the hostess left to check on the table.
But your girlfriend didn’t quite hear you. She gave a hum in response while fixated on something at the bar in the corner of the restaurant. You tried figuring out what held her attention but couldn’t pick anything out. Maybe she thought she saw someone she knew? But you dismissed it as you saw the hostess motioning you to follow her to your reserved table.
The two of you settled in and started flipping through the menu. Carol seemed to be occupied by the food selection, which gave you some sense of relief. Fingers crossed whatever had her captivated before had vanished. At one point she even grabbed your hand for a bit, running her thumb on the back of it lovingly as you two browsed.
It wasn’t until the waiter came by for the drink order that you realized she had her guards up the entire time.
"What can I get you two to drink?" The waiter asked.
"Glass of Pinot Grigio for me," you said, turning back to the food items.
When you didn’t hear Carol’s lovely voice responding with her drink order, you glanced up to find her still staring behind you.
"Um, could you give us a second?" You asked the waiter. They just gave a polite smile and headed towards the kitchen.
You sighed, slamming your menu on the table. That got your girlfriend’s attention.
"Carol, what is going on? Is there a galactic threat behind me or something?"
"Honey, no," Carol sighed. "It’s just… This guy at the bar keeps looking at you."
Your jaw dropped. "That’s what this is about? You’re gonna be distracted our entire anniversary dinner because you think some guy is looking at me?"
Carol’s once rigid expression quickly turned soft at your tone. She grabbed your hand across the table, trying to soothe your rising anger. Shaking her head, she said, "No, babe, that’s ridiculous of me."
You put your other hand on hers, nodding. "It is ridiculous. There is nothing worth ruining this night over, okay? You’ve got me, baby, I’m not going anywhere."
"Forever?" She smirked.
"Forever," you mumbled as you leaned across the table to give her a kiss which she happily leaned into.
***
The dinner went very well after Carol calmed down. Drinks helping to ease any worry. You two flirted and giggled as if it was the first all over again and, boy, did it feel magical. Pasta was eaten, wine was sipped… and even kisses were stolen like lovestruck school girls. The man at the bar had been completely forgotten by both of you.
After you two finished your dessert (with a side of Carol’s cheeky comments about dessert after the dessert), you had to run to the restroom. Carol nodded and said she’d wait for you at the front of the restaurant.
With a quick kiss, you departed from the table. In the restroom, you did some make-up retouch up. The night was just heating up in your eyes and you still wanted to look like an absolute dream for your woman — not to mention you were quite antsy from the constant teasing.
After a quick powder and recollecting your items, you reemerged from the restroom. You were fumbling for your phone in your purse, making your way to the restaurant exit, when you slammed into something hard.
A bit dazed, you look up expecting a sudden wall or pole, but instead you were met by some handsome, well-dressed man uncomfortably close. He was smirking down at you, making your cheeks burn in embarrassment.
"Sorry, sir. I wasn’t looking where I was going." You said, giving your fakest, most polite smile.
Apparently, it worked too well because the man’s smirk turned into a smile with his eyes curiously watching you.
"Trust me, sweetheart, it’s all good."
The pet name made your stomach turn, red flags waving. You let out a breathy laugh and tried stepping around him, but he blocked your attempt.
"Sir, I have someone waiting-,"
"Oh, the girl you were with?" He asked. You gulped realizing this wasn’t any man, this was the man Carol had been nervous about. You really didn’t think there was any man staring at you and that it was just Carol's paranoia kicking in. But no, your girlfriend had been rightfully cautious and you were kicking yourself for being doubtful.
"Sir, really-,"
"I think your friend wouldn’t mind waiting," he said, not only cutting you off but blocking you again with his broad body, his hand coming near your side as if trapping you.
"She’s my girlfriend," you snapped back, blood boiling at his game. "So, I’m not interested."
"Oh, a girlfriend! That could make this a lot more interesting-"
"Hey!" A voice boomed from the dining room entrance. All heads turned towards your clearly pissed-off girlfriend, heels hot marching towards you. She was steaming — well, maybe nearly glowing — with anger. "Get away from her."
"Ah, it’s the girlfriend-,"
"You’re damn right it’s the girlfriend," Carol snapped, eyeing him quite intensely. You knew there wasn’t much stopping her from taking him down this second. "And now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to take my girl home."
She didn’t even let him get in another syllable before grabbing your hand and leading you to the exit. Patrons eyes were still focused on the rampage occurring but you were way too focused on your girlfriend. You weren’t sure you had ever personally witnessed this side of her. Sure, you two had arguments before, but this was… A lot. She was scared, angry, frustrated… A bottle waiting to explode.
When you two made it back to the car, you went to console Carol but she never gave you a chance. Within seconds you were pressed against the passenger side door, her lips hot and ferocious against yours. She moved with such anger, such passion, you almost let yourself get lost in it but you knew it wouldn’t solve anything like talking would.
"Honey," you gasped for air, pushing Carol gently off of you. You cupped her face with shaking hands. "Hey, I’m sorry."
"No, it’s just…" She pulled away, arms flailing in defeat. "I knew it! I knew that asshole would… God! Why do you have to be so beautiful?"
You sighed, your gaze drifting to your hands, picking at your nude nail polish. "I really didn’t think there was anyone looking at me."
"You innocent, gorgeous woman," Carol chuckled in disbelief. "I feel like I’m always shooing men away from you."
"It shouldn’t matter," you said, grabbing your girlfriend’s nervous hands. "I’m yours, honey. I am yours."
Carol hummed in appreciation and moved closer to you. "Mine?"
You nodded, watching her go from frazzled to lusting. She closed the gap, nearly towering over you as you leaned against the car. Her sweet, strong face was barely illuminated by the streetlights but you saw the love come back to her eyes.
"Really mine?" She asked again as she effortlessly dipped her head and started kissing up your neck. Her hand began making its way down your side, past your hips, where it began caressing the inside of your thigh.
"Yes, Carol, yes!" You giggled, squirming under her actions.
Her kisses made their way up to your face. She whispered so lovingly in your ear, "Maybe, we should get home, then, and you could show me." She paused. "Because I'm definitely itching to show you just how much you mean to me, baby. You wouldn't believe the ideas running through my head."
Briefly, her fingers lingered over your clothed core. You sighed.
"Maybe we should just find somewhere private around here?" you whispered back, motioning towards the backseat door. "I don’t know if I can wait."
And that was very much true. You could already feel yourself soaking through the material of your panties.
"You little minx," your girlfriend laughed, placing a needy kiss on your lips, her thigh subtly grinding into you. "You’re going to kill me one day."
You moaned, pressing yourself against her, your body burning with need. "Not if you kill me first."
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ilguna · 3 years
Note
If you're still accepting requests for your blurb weekend, could I request Johanna Mason x gn reader with the song No More Heroes by Westlife. Thanks in advance.
☼ water (Johanna Mason) ☼
Tumblr media
warnings; swearing, ptsd, torture mention.
wc; 1.4k
When Plutarch had come to your room this morning, asking if you were willing to go and join Katniss and Finnick on the march to the Capitol, you told him that you’d have to clear it with Johanna first. The two of you are in different places right now, she’s just come back from the Capitol, and you’ve been waiting here anxiously for her return.
It’s been a few days since she got here, and she doesn’t look like she did at all before she had gone inside of the arena. Your Johanna was whole then, she looked and acted like herself despite the fear that was very obviously seizing her body at the thought of going back inside of the arena.
Now, she’s only a portion of that person. She’s been beaten and bruised by the people inside of the Capitol. They starved her, shaved her head, and did things to her that she refuses to speak about above a whisper. Seeing her like this, broken spirit and all, you can’t leave her behind without a thought from her.
So, you waited until she woke up in the hospital, and went to visit her yourself, before Plutarch had the chance to propose the idea to her, or convince her to let you go without a second thought going through. You think he’d be able to do it, she’s been exhausted, barely able to sleep without you at her side.
You’ve begged the nurses and doctors until you were blue in the face, and they say that the attachment needs to be put on a halt for a small amount of time so that Johanna can heal in peace. They think you’re stressing her out, but you think that it’s the opposite. Your request to talk to President Coin fell on deaf ears, and you haven’t been able to appeal to the nurses since.
Johanna’s normally warm skin is now cold and pale, staring at you with bloodshot, purple eyes. Her state doesn’t stop her from giving you the widest grin possible, hand reaching for yours. You don’t deprive her of this, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand before taking a seat in the chair next to her bed.
The nurses won’t let you sleep in the chair, or on the floor. God forbid you ask to sleep in her hospital bed, because you’re sure that will be the final straw that gets you kicked out for good. You should’ve asked Plutarch directly if you could talk to Coin in the meantime while you wait for Johanna to wake. Maybe then you could’ve had some sort of breakthrough.
It’s weird being here in District Thirteen. In Seven, authority wasn’t as strict, the mayor was lenient and he couldn’t care what anyone did, as long as it didn’t draw attention to the way he controlled the district. Here, everything is under a strict hand, to the point you can’t even be at the bed of your loved one when they need you the most.
“Hey,” you smile, squeezing her hand, “You look like a ray of sunshine.”
She rolls her eyes, “Haha. Have you killed any of the nurses yet?”
“I’m still planning.” you laugh, “I have something to ask you.”
Her face smooths out, watching you carefully, “What happened?”
“Plutarch came to my room this morning. He told me that Katniss snuck onto a hovercraft to District Two to join the army that’s going to the Capitol. He also said that Finnick will be joining her this afternoon, and asked if I wanted to go too.” you trace shapes on the back of her hand.
“Do you want to go?” she asks, “You know you don’t need my permission.”
“I was thinking about helping, yes. I’m sure that they’ll appreciate another victor as backup. I was going to ask if you would come with me.”
The idea is a little bit ridiculous. Johanna just survived another Hunger Games, and she survived torture in the Capitol. If she agrees to go with you, then she semi-agrees to go back to the place she escapes. The chance of getting caught on the way there is a scary thought, because they could always resume what they had been doing earlier. Or worse, kill either of you.
Johanna isn’t immobile, though. She can stand on her own feet and move around just fine. It’s whether or not she wants to go, is the question. If she wants to be included in the propaganda that will be filmed of Katniss.
“What’s the catch?” she asks.
“We have to pass a physical.”
“Well, I guess I’m already out then.” She rests her head against the pillow.
“No, not entirely. Plutarch told me that it’s stuff that includes fighting. The same training they give to their fighters to ensure that they’re good.”
She snorts, “The rebels, you mean.”
You nod, waiting for her to have a real answer.
She lets out a sigh, “When do we start?”
The answer was immediately, you just had to deliver the word to Plutarch that he doesn’t have one person that’s willing to sign their death order, but two. He was surprised that Johanna had agreed to it, so she went ahead and told him that it wasn’t for them. She could care less about them and their agenda, it was for you.
It started out pretty easy, doing all the basic stuff. Johanna could still wield an axe and take down dummies like first nature. You were gliding along too, almost happy to have a weapon back in your hand. It wasn’t until they moved on to the next phase, did you realize that it wasn’t going to work. You weren’t going to the Capitol after all.
They wanted to test out swimming skills before they bothered to move onto brief gun training--brief because apparently had the technique perfected to the very last detail. The swimming part was easy for you, even if you were wearing armour and heavy boots. You made it across the pool, it was up to Johanna to do the same.
A determined look settles on her face, preparing her body to dive in. It reminds you of the beginning of the seventy-fifth games, as nearly all the victors had prepared to jump into the water to go to the cornucopia. Only, this time it’s less horrifying because she’s not trapped in a death dome. This time, you can save her if you have to.
She dives, body being submerged beneath the water. She’s nothing but a weird shape beneath the splashing waves. At first, it seems as if she’s swimming your way, until you realize that she’s flailing underwater. She’s not making any effort to come to you, she’s sinking.
A strangled shout leaves you as you rush to the side of the pool, not wanting to jump inside if you don’t have to. You’ve seen kids drown before, watched as adults went to save them only to be dragged under by said kid. It’s a fight or flight response, exactly why it’s encouraged to use any nearby object before deciding to save them yourself.
You plunge your hand into the water, hand open in her direction. You can feel her grip on your wrist, tight enough to dig her nails into your skin. You yank, letting her correct her path so she doesn’t slam her head into the concrete on the way up. She’s soaked, clothes gushing water.
She’s gasping, a tight grip on your arms to keep you from letting go. There’s waves of shudders working through her body, eyes wide as she stares straight ahead at nothing in particular. You pull her closer, hugging her as tight as possible to tell her that you’re right here.
The people evaluating the two of you are suddenly coming over, jackets and blankets and free hands to undo her gear. The second that she swats one of them away, you work to make sure that the rest get the message across. She doesn’t need them, she needs you. They’re overwhelming her.
“It’s okay,” you tell her, peppering kisses along her jaw, “I’ve got you.”
She heaves a sob, sucking in air through her nose, “You don’t have to stay. You can go to the Capitol.”
“I can’t do that,” you tell her, “I can’t leave you here alone.”
“I’m telling you to go.”
“What kind of partner would I be if I listened to you?” you ask her, slowly unbuckling and pulling the armor off of her, “I’m not going anywhere.”
--
i hope this is what you were looking for :)
this was part of my shine, dream, smile weekend!
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fruitcoops · 3 years
Note
would you potentially write sirius wearing remus’ jersey? 👀 (i love your writing btw!!)
I sure can! I really hope Haz writes this in Vaincre, but for now, this is my take on it. Coops credit goes to @lumosinlove!
TW for smut and mild overstimulation
Remus heard footsteps approach from the hall and closed his eyes with a sigh. Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it—
“Y’know, I don’t think Earth should qualify as a planet.”
“Fuck you,” he fired back, though it came out as little more than an incomprehensible slur around the hunk of plastic in his mouth.
“Really, I do,” Sirius continued. Remus took a deep breath through his nose and did his goddamn best not to bite through the still-soft mouthguard as it molded to his teeth. “Other planets don’t have life on them. We’re the only one. That makes us an outlier.”
“As soon as this thing comes out, I’m gonna kick your ass.”
“Kinky. Anyway, have I told you about that article I read that talked about the moon landing?” Through the blood pounding in his ears, Remus heard the clink of a water glass being taken down from the cupboard. “Turns out the whole thing is a hoax.”
Remus dug his phone out of his pants and furiously typed out a message, cursing every higher power that he got stuck with that idiot as his husband. Damn you for being pretty. “Read,” he ordered, closing his eyes and holding it over his shoulder.
“I’m illiterate.”
“I detest you.”
“What was that? Sorry, I’m having some trouble understanding you.”
“Sirius fucking Black—”
Remus’ mumbled retaliation cut off abruptly with a soft huh as he whipped around, and his jaw fell open. Sirius smiled, easy as you please, leaning his elbows on the counter. “Yes?”
“Oh, fuck,” Remus whimpered around his mouthguard. A sly grin curled the edges of Sirius’ perfect lips upward; he quirked an eyebrow and turned in a slow circle.
“Fits better than I thought it would,” he remarked as Remus whined, desperately checking the timer on his phone. Two minutes and seventeen seconds. Shit. The golden number 6 on the back caught the light of their kitchen like a beacon—a sexy, sexy beacon that beckoned toward every atom in Remus’ body while he tried not to drool on himself. “Mine was a bit big on you, non?”
“Baby, c’mon. C’mon, don’t do this.”
“Should I take it off?”
“No!” Remus blurted, nearly spitting the mouthguard out in his hurry. Sirius shot him a teasing look and sauntered over, then braced his hands—his fucking hands, Remus was so gone for that irritating bastard—on the back of the couch and leaned over until their noses nearly touched.
“What?” he asked, quiet and yet low as thunder. “Cat got your tongue, Loops?”
Remus couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sharp peak of his collarbone beneath a drape of red-and-gold fabric; he couldn’t wait to get his teeth on it. His hands only shook a little as he reached up and rolled the hem between his fingertips, sliding his palms up to the strong planes of Sirius’ chest, hidden by his jersey. A meteor could strike the earth, and Remus would die happy for having seen his name and number emblazoned on the most beautiful man alive.
“Are you going to take it off?”
Remus shook his head without looking up and skimmed a thumb over Sirius’ nipple, feeling a thrill race through him when his breath caught. “Gotcha.”
“Bummer about the mouthguard,” Sirius panted. “If you didn’t leave it to the last second, you could already have that pretty mouth on me.”
As if on cue, the timer went off. Sirius’ face went slack in surprise. Remus grinned, and carefully popped the mouthguard out, laying it in its case before yanking Sirius into his lap. “You were saying?”
“I will admit, I thought that would take longer to set.”
“So you decided to torture me?” Remus guided him down to his neck and felt Sirius shudder.
“I always torture you on mouthguard Fridays.”
He hummed, opening a new package as quietly as he could. “I think I found a solution.”
“Seeing me in your jersey?”
“No. This.” Ignoring the confused noise Sirius made when he leaned back, he slid the new mouthguard mold between his teeth with a sugar-sweet smile, making sure to highlight his dimple. “You look gorgeous. You’ll be sorry for it, though.”
Sirius’ brows pitched and he mumbled a word that might have been ‘kisses’ if his mouth wasn’t otherwise occupied.
“You’ll get kisses eventually. That thing’ll be done in ten minutes, and it better be perfect.”
Without giving him a chance to appeal his case, Remus pushed him flat onto the couch, set the timer, and settled between his thighs with a tight grip on his narrow hips. The first touch of his tongue to the outline of Sirius’ dick drew a deep groan from him; he saw Sirius’ next tighten and reached up to grab him by the jaw.
“What did I say?” he asked patiently as Sirius squirmed under him. The tension released, and he smiled, placing a kiss to the side of his mouth as he rubbed his palm along Sirius’ shaft. “Je t’ai, mon amour. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
In a moment of shocking foresight (which Remus was eternally grateful for), Sirius had chosen to wander about in just the jersey and his underwear. The fabric was already sticky when his breath fanned hot over it—Sirius closed his eyes with a soft sound and reached back for the armrest.
“Harlot,” Remus teased as he ran his hand along his inner thighs. Sirius huffed a laugh, but it quickly transformed into a moan as Remus pulled his boxers away and took as much of him into his mouth as he could.
“Oh, god,” Sirius said, clearly winded as one knee knocking against Remus’ ribs while his lower back arched. “Please, please, ngh—”
Remus pulled away with a sigh and took his jaw again, giving it a little shake. “Sirius. Don’t clench your teeth.”
A shaky sound slipped through; he stared up at Remus in a silent plea, but managed to relax.
“You have eight minutes left.” Remus rubbed his thumb in small circles over the head of his dick and watched his eyes flutter shut for a moment. “Count if you want, but that should be good enough for you to wear.”
Sirius nodded, his breaths coming harder as if he had just run a race. Under his palm, Remus could feel his heartbeat pounding in his broad chest—he smoothed the jersey down, then scooted back to resume pulling Sirius apart thread by thread. He had felt that exact fabric almost every day for months and rarely found anything attractive about it, but on Sirius it was astonishing how fast his whole body lit up in response. He wanted to see him wear it and nothing else.
He pulled off with a soft laugh when Sirius put his forearm over his mouth. His thighs were trembling on either side of Remus. “Oh, baby, is that hard for you?”
A keening noise was his only response.
Remus kept a tight grip on the base of his shaft, sliding his thumb along the underside as he swallowed Sirius down and nipped kisses along his sensitive hips. “Relax, I’ll take care of you.”
He grinned to himself as a shudder rocked through Sirius’ whole body and more precome dripped over his lower lip. The clock on his phone read three minutes. Plenty of time to take him apart, Remus thought, slipping two fingers into Sirius’ mouth to stop him from biting down. He made a muffled noise of protest, but it was weak, and within moments he was putty once again.
“I don’t think it really matters which skate you put on first,” he said casually, bracing an arm over Sirius’ lower belly as his hips jerked. “And at the end of the day, superstitions are bullshit.”
Sirius’ eyes flared open in disbelief; he tried to retort, but the mouthguard and Remus’ fingers made him incomprehensible.
“Sorry, I’m having some trouble understanding you,” Remus mimicked. Sirius’ chest buzzed with an angry sound, but he just smiled and licked a long stripe up his length, laving his tongue against the spot just beneath the head. “And you know what?”
“Hmm?” Sirius managed, clearly frustrated as his hands flexed.
Remus pulled back and leaned over him. The contrast between the warm colors of his jersey and the quicksilver of Sirius’ eyes drove him wild, and he closed his eyes as he bent down until his lips just brushed the shell of Sirius’ ear. “Sometimes, if it was a really long day and I was tired and ready to go home…”
Sirius made a questioning noise and Remus bit down on the hinge of his jaw.
“I would sharpen your right skate before your left.”
Sirius froze. Remus sat back up with a smug look and took his thoroughly slicked fingers out; from the expression on Sirius’ face, he may as well have told him he burned down the rink. The slack-jawed horror dissolved into pure indignance in half a second. “You mother—”
For the second time in about fifteen seconds, Sirius was lost for words. He replaced them with a yelp that Remus prayed the neighbors wouldn’t hear, rolling his hips back onto the finger that crooked upward in a practiced movement. The mouthguard may have muffled his words, but it did nothing to stop him from moaning.
Remus redoubled his efforts as the clock ticked down the final minute—he had plans for later, but they would only work if Sirius was properly handled first. He finally fell silent, reduced to gasping and writhing as Remus worked two fingers inside of him and kept up so much suction his own jaw was beginning to ache. Finally, with a desperate little sound and a harsh grip on the couch cushion, Sirius shook to pieces, his stomach jolting as Remus stroked the underside of his thigh in soothing motions.
The timer went off a few seconds later, and he carefully pulled the plastic out of Sirius’ mouth. There were a few dents from his lower teeth and the back was decently mangled, but overall…
“Huh. Not bad,” he said, setting it on the coffee table. Sirius blinked slowly at him, his mouth still open and his pupils blown wide as he tried to catch his breath. “Alright, up.”
Sirius silently shook his head, never taking his eyes off Remus’ face.
“Yep, c’mon. You’re still wearing my jersey, and I need to thank you for it.”
A quiet puff of air left his lungs as his dick twitched. “I c—I can’t.”
Remus sighed through his nose and stood, then hoisted Sirius into a bridal hold and headed toward the stairs. “It’s a good thing I’m strong enough to do this, or else you’d have to get yourself upstairs all by yourself.”
“Re?”
He maneuvered so Sirius’ feet wouldn’t smack into the banister and smiled when a kiss brushed against his cheekbone. “Yes?”
“You were kidding about the skate thing, right?”
“Depends.” He nudged the bedroom door open with his hip. “Were you kidding about the moon?”
Sirius’ shoulders shook with laughter as Remus set him down on the bed and settled on top of him, bracketing his face and waist. His hands were warm and broad on his cheeks, pulling him down for a kiss at long last. Remus hummed into it; his insides turned to happy mush, and he began running his palms along the outside of Sirius’ bare thighs.
“You look fucking amazing in my jersey, love,” he murmured.
“I know.”
“Cocky bastard.”
“You say that like you didn’t already know.”
Remus kissed the smile off his face, lacing their fingers and pressing them down over Sirius’ head—he stretched his back like a contented cat before shifting until he was comfortable. “I still think about that night, you know.”
“Well, yeah, we won the Cup.”
“I think about the way you let me push you against the door,” he continued, paying Sirius no attention as he mapped each curve and angle of his neck. After over a year of practice, he knew the best spots by heart. “And the way you looked at me when you saw what I was wearing. And when you held me like you were going to break if I stopped moving. I wish you could’ve seen your face when I begged you to let me come again. Remember that?”
The room was quiet for a moment, save for Sirius’ shallow breaths and the rustle of the sheets as he squirmed.
Remus pulled back from his neck and ran a thumb over his wet lower lip. “Hey. Answer me.”
“Yeah, I remember,” Sirius said on the tail end of a slow exhale. “Fuck. You can’t just say things like that.”
“You kept your hand right here,” he said, pressing down on Sirius’ chest with just enough force to feel his lungs hitch. “I might not have a badge, but I’ll figure something out. I think I understand why you like it when I wear yours so much.”
“Every time you wear it, we fuck, and it’s always mind-blowing. There’s no way I’ll be able to see it on you outside of bed.”
“I have the sneaking suspicion we’re on the same page with that.” He took the backs of Sirius’ knees in his hands and pushed until they almost touched his chest. “Hold.”
Through the grace of God, the lube was easy to find. Remus really didn’t know what he would have done if it wasn’t—he might have been confident on the outside, but his fine motor skills were sorely lacking and his brain was playing a loop of sexy boyfriend jersey sexy boyfriend jersey that he couldn’t even dream of stopping. Sirius made a series of cut-off keening noises as he opened him up, and Remus wanted to memorize the look on his face.
“Deep breaths, baby,” he soothed, resting a hand over Sirius’ heart when his legs began to shake. “I’ll take care of you.”
“Oh, god,” Sirius choked out, leaning his head back into the pillows. “Re, please—”
“Shh.” Remus moved his free hand up to hold one index finger over Sirius’ lips while the other pushed and pressed inside of him, skimming over his prostate in a random pattern that drew harsh exhales each time.
“I can’t,” Sirius whined. “Mon amour, I can’t.”
“You don’t need to do anything but hold.” Small white spots were appearing on Sirius’ knuckles as he clutched at his thighs; his dick was already starting to drip again. Remus slid into him and stifled a moan into his own shoulder, though he really didn’t have to worry—Sirius’ short cry would have covered any other sound easily. “There you go, nice and easy.”
Sirius blubbered out a string of incoherent words as Remus began to move and the mattress began to creak, but he was far too preoccupied with the way his jersey shone in the light of their bedroom and stood stark against the sheets in a blaze of red. Sirius’ smooth skin, so warm and flushed under his touch, blended almost seamlessly with the golden edges until Remus couldn’t think to do anything but lean down and kiss him. He responded eagerly, craning his neck for a better angle and pulling Remus’ lower lip between his teeth with a breathless moan. Once, he tried to let go of his leg and bring him closer, but Remus calmly took his hand and guided it back to the proper place without breaking stride.
“I need—I need—mon dieu, merde—need you, please,” Sirius panted, squeezing his eyes shut with a wavering moan.
“Je t’ai,” Remus repeated as he sucked a mark on the junction of his neck. Sirius’ whole left side went limp at the feeling. “I’ve got you. Christ, Sirius, you look incredible.”
A gasp left his kiss-swollen lips as he looked up at Remus. “I don’t think I can come again, Re, please—”
“You can. Color?”
“Vert, green, but—” He bit down on his lower lip as Remus held his waist in a firm grip. “I really don’t think I can.”
“I think you can,” Remus said, combing his fingers through the top of Sirius’ hair and giving it a tug. His whole abdomen tightened and his knees knocked together; it took Remus several seconds to get his breath back to the point where he wasn’t about to come on the spot. “I’m taking care of you right now, remember? If I say you can, you can.”
Sirius’ gaze was bright and untethered as he gulped—Remus gave his hair another pull, harder, and he shivered. More precome painted his stomach and darkened the hem of the jersey. His vocabulary seemed to be reduced to oh, fuck on repeat, growing slightly higher in pitch each time until he was just whimpering. “Re—Re, now—”
Remus caught his mouth in a slow, gentle kiss and wrapped a hand around him, not changing his pace until Sirius crumbled into a puddle of bliss and his shins connected with Remus’ ribs. He buried his face in Sirius’ sweaty neck with a sharp gasp and followed him over the edge mere moments later; he didn’t even try to catch himself as his knees slipped on the sheets and brought him down to lay across Sirius’ chest.
For a few seconds, all he could hear was their breaths and heartbeats. Part of him was tempted to doze off right there, but he rallied the last of his energy and peeled Sirius’ hands off his legs, pulling them down and out so they wouldn’t cramp. Sirius was staring at the ceiling in a daze; the jersey was rumpled and rucked up around his ribs, and Remus slid that down as well.
“Baby?” he said, kissing each of his cheeks. “Are you okay?”
“What?” Sirius’ voice cracked and he bit back a laugh.
“Ça va?”
“Mmm. Très bien.” His arms were little more than noodles as he wrapped them around Remus’ shoulders.
“Come on,” he said after a bit, disentangling himself despite Sirius’ grumbling. “You did so well, but we still have to clean up. You can be the little spoon, if you give me a hand.”
“You’ll have to carry me.”
“No,” Remus laughed. “I barely hold myself up, are you kidding?”
Sirius cracked one sleepy eye open, then narrowed it. “Depends. Were you kidding about my skates?”
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xsugarysweetsx · 3 years
Note
hehe the way I smiled when I saw that your requests r open!!Thank you😗
May I request Cherry X Reader where they r in an arranged marriage. Like maybe the reader is from a traditional family and she agrees to it anyway since she loves her parents but is low-key scared of being his wife/a mother. They have a rocky start but end up falling in love. Maybe one day cherry takes her to S to see him race and meet the gang and she loves it. You can make it spicy at the end if you like 👀
idk why but I always think about this when I see him and also braiding his hair coz it's so much prettier than mine 😒💖
A/N:I don’t understand how a man can be so beautiful// much longer than I expected it to be....
Please enjoy~🍰
Warnings; Some mention of smut; Nothing too detailed, but it’s there
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“Come here your kimono isn’t tight enough“ your mother said as she went behind you to tighten it even more than before 
“Mom! I can’t breath if it’s this tight!“ you said almost wheezing for air.
“You have to make sure your waist looks small and appealing” she said, even though, looks are not everything in a relationship. As much as you didn’t want to, you had to look your best today, it was important. You were going to meet the man you were to marry. You were part of an important family in Japan, and of course your family was very traditional. This only meant you were already expecting an arranged marriage.  
 Today you were meeting with him for the first time. From what you heard, he was a successful calligrapher, and popular with women. You didn't quite know how to feel with that, but this was your future. Most people wouldn't agree with arranged marriages but, you love your parents and this is what they wanted.
They told you that he was a gentleman, and very respectful. Well your hopes were up now, hopefully you’re not disappointed. Could you possibly end up in a good marriage? walking into the home you were greeted not by someone work there, but by a voice.
“Welcome, master Kaoru is waiting for you in the meeting room.“ for someone who is traditional he sure had a good AI system. Walking off to the right your father opens the sliding door and there he was. A young man with long pink hair and glasses, he wore traditional clothing and seemed very proper.
“Mr & Mrs Y/L/N, welcome please take a seat.” Not a hint of emotion on his face.
He was stoic but not cold. He poured you all some tea and your parents begin to discuss the marriage. Now that you say there and listened to everything, it really started sinking in. You were getting married to a complete stranger. You didn’t know the first thing about marriage! Or being a wife! Oh gods.....what if they expected children??
A million things were flooding your mind, you felt so lost. In all honesty, you were scared of what was to come..
“Y/N..” you were brought out of your thoughts by your mother gently shaking your shoulder “are you alright? You look sick”
“O-oh, yes I’m fine!“ you assure her swallowing the lump in your throat
“If you say so, we need you and Mr.Sakurayashiki to sign the papers as well. In 2 weeks time there will be a wedding ceremony but for now, we must fill out the papers.“ you watch Kaoru take the pen read the line and signs his name next was your turn.
He hands you the paper and pen, you bite your bottom lip as you read ‘spouse sign here’. You let out a shaky breath as the ink forms your name on the paper. After some more discussions on the wedding it was your time to leave. You all thanked him for tea and his time. Before you walked out the door he asked t speak with you for a moment, making your heart drop. You parents wait outside as you have a word with the pink haired man.
“Y/N, I just want you to relax, I noticed you were nervous before and you should know I won’t mistreat you and will try to be a proper spouse“ 
“Oh, uhm thank you Mr-“
He interrupts you “Please call me Kaoru“
<><><><>
Just as planned the wedding happened 2 weeks from then. You couldn’t stop blushing that day, from anxiety, to shyness, to even Kaoru. He looked very handsome that day, and he was just as much as gentleman. The ceremony was calm and heartfelt, friends and family gathered to witness your union. He saw you were very nervous that day so, instead of a general kiss he gave you a quick peck.
Only for you to duck you flustered face, he found it quite cute actually. He thought you looked beautiful that day in traditional wedding attire. He took mental note son how you were as a person. Although you seemed somewhat intimidated, you were considerate and kind. You helped people who needed it, and you put others before yourself. He just hoped this marriage will have a good outcome.
———
“We don’t have to do this” he simply said beginning to disrobe
“But-“ usually it was on the first night of the wedding when. It should happen
“If we get to that stage in our relationship, then you can tell me. You don’t have to force yourself. I can leave the room until you’re done getting changed” he left the room so that you can change. You take a moment to assess the situation, and you smile to yourself
“How considerate...“ you think to yourself. after changing, you both ordered room service and have dinner for the night. He was nice to talk to, it had some interesting topics to share with you. Even his calligraphy job seemed interesting. He offered to take a different room while you slept in this one's may be comfortable, but you said it was okay and you were fine with sharing a bed.
he's not like most men I hear about an arranged marriages. He's not forcing you to do anything, he's asking if I'm comfortable with everything. All the stories really kind of scared me into this, maybe it won't be so bad....maybe....
<><><><>
“Y/N, get dressed we’re going out tonight“ he says coming to you and kisses your cheek. It has been about 11 months, almost a year, since you married and it has been better than you thought. of course you had fears of Nami and expectations of a “good wife”. He made sure to tell you how much of a good job you were doing, even if you didn't do much. He thought you were perfect the way you are. He also believe that he could trust you enough to share secret with you--he was taking you to “S”
Usually you both go to events together, especially ones that associated with his work. But tonight was different he had different attire on. He wore his hair in a ponytail, no glasses and a mask covering the bottom portion of his face.
“Where are we going? A costume party?“ you joke 
“After seeing one person you mat think that“ he said but was still serious about you getting ready ““make sure you dress comfortably you don't need to wear kimono for this.” he gave you more detail “Now listen to me, where we are going you cannot speak of after. Not to me, nor to your parents or anyone else if they know about it.“
“Huh? Are we joining some secret society?“ you giggle coming back out in some jeans and a t shirt with a sweater. 
“In a way, let’s go.“ if you thought tonight was strange you only got stranger, you would expect a person like him to have a motorcycle. Or to be carrying a skateboard for that matter, just who was this person and was he really your husband. Holding on to him you take off into the dead of night. eventually make it to the gate where he showed an s-shaped sticker and was granted entry. There multiple women started to scream 
“Cherry!!”  “Master Cherry!!” Were they referring to Kaoru?
“Yo Cherry, ya made it- and you finally brought a girl with ya. It’s about time” a tall muscular man with green hair said patting Kaoru on the back roughly. Next came a man with dramatic makeup and a cape. Two boys who seemed to ebe in high school, one with red hair and the other with blue. Finally a much younger looking boy with a cat hoodie. Huh, interesting crowd...
“Get off me!“ he said kicking him in the ass “This is Y/N, she’s my wife“ he said standing next to you and all their jaws drop
“Cherry is married?!“
“Huh, she’s pretty quiet compared to these girls...it’s kinda nice“
“Damn, and to think you could have gotten anyone but got married.“ Kaoru seemed very annoyed at this point 
���Yes I am married, she’s better than the screaming women here, and I will not toy with women like you do!!“ he answered all their questions in one go “Y/N, this is a place where skateboarders come to race, it’s called ‘S’, these are JOE, MIYA, Reki, Langa, and SHADOW“
“H-hello..“ you wave to the small group and they waved back 
“Y/N, do you mind stay here with Reki and Langa? I need to race and I’ll be back“ he asked laying hand to the top of your head and you nod. He leans down and places his covered lips to your forehead. He then picked up his board, it was black with some purple lining and goes to the start. 
There he and JOE get ready to race as a traffic light counts their start. After it turns green they were off like rockets. It was still a lot to swallow...how he kind of had a double life and you were just now finding out about it. It was a bit overwhelming when you really watched him go. The way he picked up speed and rounded corners, made you hold your breath and gasp with each trick he did. 
When they approach the finish line he had won and the crowd was chanting his name. They both made their way back bickering about who was the best skater, when they were both equally amazing. Crowds joined around them but you just stayed behind still processing everything. It wasn’t a bad thing, but you were just wondering so many thing. Cherry pushes his way through the crowd and to your side lifting your head without warning captures your lips in a kiss. 
This was the most intimate you had been with him, and in public! The crowd went quiet and some of the girls there complained or whined about not being in your place. After he pulls away he whispered to you
“Let’s go home...“ and you were on your way back to the comfort of your home. That night he had made love to you for the first time ever. It was passionate, and steamy, and full of love. He was your first ever so he made sure to go slow for you. Everything about it just felt so good, the way he held and kissed you. He handled you like glass but did not fail to meet your pleasure.
That night was when you opened up about your fears of being his wife
“..and seeing how amazing you were tonight only made me more aware of who you were. I just...hope I can live up to your standards as a wife, and don’t get me started on children. Imagine having a plain mother“ you vented to him as he held you close 
“Don’t say that,“ he snapped back “You’re an incredible wife and you’d be an even better mother one day. When I heard about the arrangement I was honestly nervous. And the day I saw you only raised my anxiety, I thought you were stunning, and your shyness only made you cuter“ he admits with a chuckle 
“I guess....we’re both nervous wrecks who married each other then?“ you giggle looking up at him as your head lays on his chest 
“You’re my nervous wreck“ he said poking your nose with his finger “...I have something else to tell you...“
“What’s that?“ you ask. He cranes his head down toward you 
“...I love you“ he whispered as he catches you lips in a kiss
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I hope this was okay!❤️
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favoniuscodex · 3 years
Text
the art of modernity [ chapter two ]
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chapter two - instant oatmeal pairing: xiao x gn!reader warnings: canon-typical violence mention, nothing that hasn't already been done in this series. words: ~2.6k words fic masterlist [ prev ] - [ next (tba) ] chapter summary: under yanfei's watchful eye, you sign a contract with xiao for him to stay with you. he's not very pleasant, but you realize you know exactly how to change that. a/n: which means next chapter kicks off the fluff. let's gooo this is our last hard exposition chapter. thank u to everyone's interest so far!
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you wake with a jolt.
empty bed? check. still alive? check. no adeptus hovering over you like edward from twilight? check. aches and bruises from yesterday? ... unfortunately, check.
as you sit up, your muscles scream at you to lay back down, yet your mind tells you to go, go, go and find the adeptus before he can kill you. it takes a moment of regulated breathing to actually remember what happened yesterday after the group of five-turned-six of you left jueyun karst.
one: xiao accompanied you back. with only five seats in the car, yanfei ended up sitting smushed between kaeya and xiao. she hadn't complained and the uncomfortable trip back for her served as a minor revenge for her not revealing her (partial) adepti ancestry. you had been slotted in the front passenger seat, next to keqing, who gripped the steering wheel so hard that you feared she would rip it off. the drive back was in silence. childe made a joke at one point. kaeya had laughed, then remembered where the two of them were. nobody laughed after that.
two: yanfei and xiao had dragged you to your apartment. keqing, kaeya, and childe were far too enthusiastic to let the three of you go, yet you couldn't blame them. yanfei had a bounce in her step, while xiao looked as if he was being walked to a morgue, all while looking vaguely nauseous. you had wondered if that was his first time ever in a car.
three: yanfei drafted a contract. thousands of years of experience practicing law (a fact you had learned unwillingly and uncomfortably as yanfei rambled on to fill the awkward silence between the three of you) led to yanfei taking less than an hour to draft an entire forty page document on an agreement of a "truce" between you and xiao, along with adding details of how she would pay you for xiao to stay with you in your apartment and how xiao would be forced to cooperate with any potential mythological studies you might enact.
four: you deeply offended the adepti... or something. you weren't really quite sure what you said wrong, but apparently "yanfei, this contract means nothing if i wake up with a blade in my throat because xiao decides he doesn't like the 'vibes' i quite literally cannot control." was not an appropriate thing to say. yanfei had giggled, yet xiao had looked as if you had slapped him across the face. he muttered something under his breath about how mortals could never truly comprehend the importance of the work of the god of contracts (who had died over a thousand years ago, might you add). yet, he signed his portion of the contract nonetheless and you followed suit.
five: yanfei had left you alone in the apartment with xiao. xiao introduced himself, as if you hadn't been the one to accidentally summon him in the first place and as if he hadn't been the one to threaten to kill you. his words were forced, awkward, and gruff, as if he wasn't quite sure how to address you. in order to spare the two of you from the ugly bonds of small talk, xiao had retired to the cramped small bedroom you had been trying to rent out to someone for months.
six: you went into your bedroom. you went to sleep.
which, inconveniently, leads to now. the yaksha upheld his end of the bargain. he slept..? do adepti sleep? you aren't quite sure and old scholars aren't exactly the type to describe sleeping patterns of the supposed-mythological adepti in detail, yet you figure that you'll find out soon enough one of these days, now that one is living with you.
archons. that fact had yet to fully sink in too. maybe one day, you would finally feel ecstatic over proving a myth to be real and having it choose to dwell in your apartment for some reason. maybe you would also be overjoyed that you were a descendant of a god, even if many generations separated your bloodline that has long since been diluted by humanity. but for today, you could not worry about such things. the adventurer in you had been humbled yesterday. now, you just have to face the music.
if only yanfei had revealed she was half-adeptus sooner, maybe you wouldn't have to worry about xiao deciding he's had enough of the weird energies you inadvertently give off and attacking you. but for now, you check your phone for the time and any notifications, then stumble out of bed and into the kitchen.
in the kitchen, a broad open concept with the living room, you spot xiao sitting at the counter of the island. his brow is furrowed and he noticeably perks up at your entrance, as if he was almost excited to see you. before you can get your hopes up, your stomach growls and you figure xiao is likely in the same boat.
"your home is filled with... strange contraptions," xiao says. "it appears you mortals have progressed at an unexpected rate."
this adeptus is far too chatty for what the microwave says is 8:32 a.m. on a saturday morning. yet, it does not appear to come easily from him. his words are slow and you have no doubt that he is weary of you and your intentions.
"yeah, it's called technology. we can heat up food without lighting a fire, store food in portable cold temperatures, and blow wind around using automated fans. yet, it's all powered by electricity," you explain sleepily, not sure if your words make sense. the small huff of acknowledgement that the adeptus lets out is more than enough to know that your words at least make some sense. either that or he's trying to appease you, but based off what little you know of xiao, he doesn't quite seem like the type.
"you mortals appear to focus on convenience rather than necessity," xiao grumbles after some thought. was he always going to be this... haughty? sure, adepti are immortals in comparison to humanity, but that doesn't make them superior. their time of rule has long since passed, so why does xiao still hold a guarded sense of righteousness over you? whatever. if you are part-god like yanfei says, it's not like he has any reason to be gloating over you anyways... right? despite your research into liyuean mythology, there's not quite much to go off of on partial-adeptus and partial-god relations in comparison to full deities.
but either way, this was the modern day and the adepti sat in their abodes rather than helping humanity, so out of spite, you grab a packet of oatmeal from the cabinet before sliding it his way.
"make the oatmeal yourself, then," you say evenly, trying to leave snippiness out of your tone. it doesn't work well, judging on the way xiao's brow furrows in irritation. nonetheless, xiao pinches the paper packet between two fingers as he reads the label.
"i am not a fan of oatmeal," he decides after a few seconds, dropping the packet back onto the island countertop. even in your tired state, you can still call his bluff. oatmeal didn't just come around yesterday. it's not like you're throwing a processed big mac at his face and expecting him to come to terms with it.
"what food do you like, then?" you ask, curiosity genuinely piqued. even if you thought he was bluffing, this was a way to learn about the appetites of the adepti and how they differed from humans. this was information that had yet to be recorded and it was information from a primary source. dietary information could be used to better understand offerings placed upon adepti alters by ancient liyueans and-
"almond tofu," xiao states plainly. "and mint jelly."
you stare at him. you blink. you blink once more. despite your silence as you mull over his confession, you cannot bring yourself to actually think about your words before you say them. therefore, you ask xiao a question.
"wait, do adepti prefer soft foods due to their teeth or digestive system or something? does taking on a human-esque form not provide you with the same eating capabilities as humanity? because-" you trail off on seeing his slightly irritated expression. oh.
"you truly consider adepti not being able to able to consume mortal foods a possibility? do you have no respect for the adepti?" xiao seethes, amber eyes narrowing as he glares at you.
oh. right. respect. hm. xiao being born in a time where respect towards members of a higher social hierarchy has altered how he views the two of your interactions, yet increasing interconnectedness amongst humans through technology and the collapse of social divisions has led to current-day humans viewing all as equals and addressing them as such, besides the given familial hierarchies. but xiao is not family to you. he is no greater than a stranger in your eyes, yet there is a stark contrast in how he views himself compared to you.
in this moment, you realize you have made an error. you view xiao as a potential friend, while xiao views you as no more than a subject of the long-since-dead rex lapis. he is one of rex lapis' closest comrades, while you likely never would have set eyes on the god apart from the rite of descension if you had lived in the same time period as him.
yet, you're not really sure how to address xiao with the level of respect he desires. after all, you're rather... unrefined. sure, you could use what little formalities the language provides such as sir or o holy adeptus xiao, of which thine hast protected liyue for many millennia, yet neither seem too appealing. he's your roommate, it's not like you're approaching the altar to worship him. you're approaching your kitchen. your name is on the lease after all.
so, you take a step back, fold your arms over your chest, and lean your back against the cool metal of your refrigerator. you were in no mood to pick a fight, but if asking the adeptus basic questions would get him this riled up, you would seek to terminate your living situation as soon as possible. he at least had to attempt to be pleasant, even if you had a tendency to overstep the supposed boundaries of him that absolutely perplexed you.
"adeptus xiao," you begin. your tone is even and xiao looks almost curious at your sudden, cool tone. "do you view yourself as above me?"
"the adepti are far stronger than mortals, thus it is a part of our duties under our contracts signed with rex lapis to help protect humanity," xiao says. his tone is slightly harsh and yet his evasive words are enough to give you your answer.
"as an adeptus once under rex lapis, you are thus beholden to any contract you sign? as like a... duty thing of sorts," you ask and xiao nods in agreement. you let out a slight sigh as you collect your thoughts.
it is time to channel your inner yanfei. you blink and plaster a polite, small smile on your face. that's what yanfei does in the court room, right? in her delivery of information, she must seem firm but pleasant enough to want to listen to, in order to convince the jury. but you are no yanfei and you have no jury. instead, you just have a several-thousand-year-old partial deity sitting in your kitchen with a packet of instant oatmeal in front of him. yet, for your own sanity, you must try.
"i am... unsure as to why you wanted to live with me. you do not seem like the city type nor the type to want to associate with humans, but we all have our secrets, i guess. nonetheless, you agreed to sign the contract, which means you are thereby subject to its terms, right?" you ask and xiao gives a rough nod in return.
"the contract does not say that i cannot admonish your... impudent questions," xiao states and you feel like a snezhnayan ice fisher who has just gotten a bite on their line. you bite back a giddy smile at luring xiao directly into your trap.
"correct, but you are subject to participating in my studies of the adepti, provided that they do not bring you psychological or bodily harm," you say and xiao suddenly looks wary at whatever this conversation might be leading to.
"i suppose," xiao says, revealing his uncertainty. "that the contract does enlist those terms."
"well then, adeptus xiao. i have decided upon our newest study," you say and, despite how hard you try to hold it back, a grin spreads across your face. the adeptus sits up a bit straighter at your words, yet remains silent as he waits for you to continue.
"our first study of the adepti will consist of only you. i do not need for you to request of the assistance of anyone else, unless if you need it. but, i'll be trying to figure out one thing!" you say and xiao looks annoyed as to how you keep dragging this out, so you decide to cut it short before he can snap at you once more. "for our first study, we'll be focusing on what it will be like for an adepti to live amongst mortality and live a typical mortal life."
xiao stares at you. if he's furious, he hides it behind his expressionless face. for once, his typical scowl isn't there, yet you feel almost reassured at his seething reaction. sure, he might be angry, but he respects his previous master too much to defy the bounds of the contract this early, right? your suspicions are confirmed as he exhales sharply, followed by a tight nod.
"you wish for me to live as a human?" xiao questions and you nod enthusiastically, taking a step forward and resting your hands on the opposite side of the kitchen island from him. you careen forward and stare directly into the amber eyes belonging to the adeptus that nearly killed you yesterday. adrenaline rushes through your blood as you realize exactly what xiao signed himself up for.
xiao has inadvertently wrapped himself around your finger and you're determined to make his stay an enjoyable one, even if he loathes the idea at the moment.
"exactly! you don't have to take a mortal form or anything, i'm just interested in seeing as to how you would adjust through going through the typical mortal routine. as for me, i'll be your tour guide through all of this, so don't worry!" you say. your words provide him little relief and xiao stares at you cooly.
"fine. i will participate in your... research," xiao confirms reluctantly after a few moments of silence and you have to bite back an excited squeal. getting to show an adeptus everything humanity has to offer? the excitement nearly overwhelms you, but you have to squash your excitement to focus on the situation at hand.
"alright then. for our first task, i'll show you how to make instant oatmeal! but, there's more than just that flavor," you state, gliding over to the cabinets and pulling out the box. you hastily slap it on the table and push it gently over to him. "take your pick!"
xiao eyes the box uneasily.
yeah, this is good enough revenge for nearly killing me, right?
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whereisten · 4 years
Text
The New Kid
A Mark fic that’s part of our Halloween Series!
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Summary: the new kid in town is nerdy, quiet, and cute. The two of you grow close, but could he be hiding a secret that might put your life in danger?
Pairing: Spider-Man!Mark x female reader (Mary Jane?)
Other Characters: best friend!Haechan, Ex-Boyfriend!Jeno, Villain!Taeyong
Genre: Superhero! Sci-fi, fluff (enemies? more like awkward classmates to lovers), some angst and violence, comedy, a little suggestive?
Warnings: a little cursing, minor mentions of verbal abuse, gun usage, some violent acts, blackmail, hostage situation
Word Count: 10K
(A/N: alright well..this shouldn’t have been this long but I had a lot of fun with this one so I hope you enjoy it😂, Spider-Man Mark is just so adorable my heartssnsjksjsjksk. Also..barely proofread, so mistakes, I know they’re there, but I pretend I do not see them😌)
—————
“Good morning class! Everyone please welcome our new student, Mark Lee!”
Your teacher held her arm out as she welcomed Mark in your Chemistry class.
Your head snaps up from your notebook. 
A boy with round eyes and short brown wavy hair walks in.
“Hi..” he gives a thin smile and a small wave.
Your first thought is of how adorable he is. Your second thought is of how he looks nervous to enter a new school just a month after the year has started.
The class is silent with the exception of a few sniffles and music blasting through headphones.
Please don’t sit here, please don’t sit here. 
You didn’t really have anything against him, you just loved having a table all to yourself.
“Please..sit beside y/n, for now.”
Damn it. 
Mark pulled the chair out and sat beside you.
“...hi.” He said as he placed his backpack down.
“Hi.” You raise your eyebrows and open your notebook.
You just had to sit next to the awkward new kid. Perfect.
———
[Two Weeks Later]
You and Mark worked on your first project together. You had to come up with a presentation for the fall science fair, so you had to work well together.
“It’s a chance for you guys to get to know each other and build yourselves!” Your teacher said excitedly but the truth was that you weren’t thrilled to be working with anyone.
You rolled your eyes and turned to Mark.
“Alright..where do we start?”
“Well, the instructions say to combine water and salt first, so I guess we’ll start there.” Mark puts his round glasses on and smiles at you, but you frown.
“Okay, you’re the nerd so..” you raise your brows.
Mark chuckled. “We barely know each other.”
“Come on, who in the world wears glasses like that, You look like Harry Potter.” 
“I love that movie, is that a bad thing?” Mark asked with genuine confusion.
“Harry Potter is great and all, but what horror movies do you like?” You started to doodle in your notebook.
You loved horror movies, you loved autumn and everything dark and dreary about it.
“Hmmm..I don’t watch horror movies..”
You gasp and drop your pen. “You don’t..watch horror movies?” Your eyes widened like you had been hurt deeply by his lack of taste.
He returned the same look of shock. “They’re not my thing.”
“Aish..what a loser..” you say under your breath.
You turned back to your notebook and continued to doodle.
“So where are you from anyway, Potter?”
“I’m from Toronto.”
“I see, and this little town looked appealing to your parents, didn’t it?”
He nods and looks at the side of your face, noting how under your bleak persona and poor attitude, was a pretty face and gentle touch. He could tell from the way you delicately drew in your book.
His senses also picked up on your relaxed blood pressure and steady breathing.
He saw every pore and heard every breath you took, your lashes looked extremely long as well, bringing about a dazzling gorgeousness to your eyes.
The very surface of your round lips was soft and plump, there was a shade new to him that rested at the center.
“Mark?” You turned to him.
He quickly looked away and shifted in his chair.
“Y-yeah..I’m living with my aunt here..my parents passed away a while ago.”
“Oh..I’m sorry..” you looked down at the table.
“Hey. You don’t have to feel bad about it..”
Mark smiled softly as he heard your heart rate speed up from nervousness.
“Mark..I-“ the bell rang and you thanked the heavens for it.
Mark turned and grabbed his bag before you could say anything else. “Well, I’ll catch ya later.”
“‘CaTcH yA LAtEr’” you mocked him to lighten the mood. “Yeah, Potter, I guess we’ll work more next time..”
He laughed.
His eyes became small lines and his cheeks puffed up, he was adorable, like a kid in a candy store.
You turned away before your face became hot.
———
[1 Month Later]
“The new kid is kinda cute..” Haechan took a sip of his juice while the two of you ate lunch.
“God, I wish I was in your class, do you think the counselor will change my class schedule now if I come up with a dumb excuse?”
You rolled your eyes. “Nah, I don’t think she will, and even if she did, why would you want to be in a class with that nerd?”
Mark was sitting by himself at a table in the corner, he was reading a book while chewing chicken tenders.
Haechan pouted. “But just look at him..I bet he’s the best kisser, do you see those lips?”
“Ew Haechan! He’s my partner in class, I don’t want to think about his lips!” You gagged and started to peel your banana.
Mark could hear you, he could hear everyone’s conversations in the cafeteria for little did you know of his secret.
“So you’re telling me you wouldn’t give him a chance, even though you gave a notorious school douchebag named Jeno one?” Haechan glared at you.
You kicked his shin under the table. “We don’t say that name here anymore.”
Haechan hissed. “You’re closer than I’ll ever be to that cutie..you better take advantage of that, I bet he’s super nice too.” He rested his chin in his hands as he swooned over Mark.
You rolled your eyes then locked eye contact with Mark just as you stuffed the banana into your mouth. You were frozen. The banana was about halfway in and Mark never let your eyes go.
You chomped on it and looked away.
Mark giggled and went back to reading his book.
“You open your mouth pretty wide for a girl that doesn’t know how to use it..” Jeno snickered as he walked by your table.
Your mouth was full so you couldn’t come up with a quick comeback, but luckily, that’s what Haechan was there for.
“Oh, shut up, big head. Like you could fill anyone’s mouth with that chicken nugget of a wee wee!”
You nearly choked and covered your mouth as you laughed.
Mark, who was over 30 feet away, laughed too.
Jeno quickly turned around to walk back to your table, but ended up colliding into Taeyong, the scary and filthy rich senior that everyone stayed away from.
Him and his posse, complete with Yuta and Johnny, were tall seniors that gave everyone death glares. Even the teachers weren’t safe. Taeyong’s father was the wealthiest man in town, he was a kingpin so he possessed a lot of power.
Jeno raised his hands. “Whoa, bro, I’m sorry.”
Taeyong steadied himself and pulled his hands out of his pockets. The entire cafeteria froze, you all had never seen anyone get in their way. Taeyong walked around in black clothing and never took his hands out of his pockets for it ruined his nonchalant attitude.
The black haired boy crossed his arms and stepped towards Jeno.
“If I were in the mood..I’d tell you to get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness..” his intense gaze made Jeno tremble. Hell, even you swallowed hard from fear.
“I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
Taeyong’s mouth tilted into a smile, he rubbed his thumb along the side of Jeno’s face. Johnny and Yuta stood behind him while they smirked and chuckled at Jeno’s subordinance.
“I know it won’t.”
He walked away and out of the cafeteria.
Jeno scurried back to his group of friends while the rest of the students resumed their lunch. 
Mark didn’t like the sound of this guy. He knew who his father was and he knew that he would be the only that could stop him and save the innocent lives threatened by him.
Later that day, you were getting ready to leave school when Haechan popped up behind your locker as you closed it.
“Shit!” You jumped when he popped up.
He cackled. “You know, for someone that watches a lot of horror films, you sure do get scared pretty easily.”
You huffed and swung your backpack over your shoulder. You didn’t notice Mark behind you and your bag nearly smacked him in the face, but thanks to his senses, he ducked quickly.
“Y/n!” Haechan saw Mark behind you.
“What?” You said as you turned.
Mark was there behind you, squatting below you awkwardly and looking up at your face.
You furrowed your brows. “What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get a peak of something down there?”
Mark shot up straight and shook his head. 
“N-no, no I’m sorry I was just..I know we are a little behind..but I was wondering if you wanted to work on the project together after..school, or-or something..” he looked nervous to talk to you. He kept looking to the side to dodge your eyes.
“I can’t today..I’m-“
Haechan butt in excitedly. “Oh! That works perfectly! Y/n, I was actually coming to tell you that I can’t go to the movies tonight! I have to do some extra work with my partner too! We can all study at Starbucks!” 
You turned to him and glared. ‘What the hell’ you mouthed.
His eyes grew. ‘Just say yes’ he mouthed while nodding towards Mark.
Mark still looked to the side.
“Fine..meet us at the Starbucks on 10th at 5..loser.” You gripped the strap of your bag while walking away.
Mark chuckled at the nickname you gave him. He thought you were different, cute, but different.
At Starbucks, Mark was there before you were and ordered coffee for you.
“For me?” Your eyes widened.
Mark nodded and smiled widely. “Yeah! I don’t know if you like cream or sugar, so I got it black but everything is over there if you-“
You giggled and Mark swore he saw heaven when you smiled. “I know how it works, Mark, thank you for this.”
You rarely said his name, but he felt weak when you did.
Haechan and his lab partner joined the two of you. You did some more research for your project and talked about it while Mark jotted down important notes.
Haechan and his partner, Renjun, were supposed to be doing the same thing, but Haechan was too busy staring at Mark’s eyes.
“Haechan..Haechan!” Renjun tapped his hand.
They continued to work and as everyone got more tired, you noticed that Mark wasn’t jotting down notes like he did in the beginning. He was watching you talk, he liked watching your lips move and hearing your soothing voice. His eyes were locked on your face; it made your heart tremble.
“Mark?” You raised your brows and bit your bottom lip. 
“Yeah..yeah!” He shook his head to come out of his daze.
“Did you catch anything I said? You've been staring for at least five minutes now..”
“I was..focusing.” Mark averted his gaze to the ceiling.
You shook your head. “You’re weird, Potter.”
Mark licked his lips and looked at the table. “I’m sorry I’m just a bit tired..” 
“Me too! I think we should call it a night!” Haechan stretched his arms out and up high.
He cleared his throat as you all started to pack your things away.
“Mark..so we’re all going to the movies to see that new horror film, “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” tomorrow. Wanna come?”
You kicked his shin again.
“Mark doesn’t like horror movies.”
Mark scratched the back of his head. “Well, I only said I don’t watch them, not that I don’t like them..”
You sighed.
“Perfect! So we’ll see you tomorrow at 8! This is so exciting, it feels like a date!”
“Haechan!” You stood up from the table, glaring into his skull once again. 
He shrugged his shoulders and stood up too. The four of you walked towards the door.
Mark only laughed awkwardly.
“Hey.. y/n..”
You paused and turned around. “Yeah?”
“Will you be alright..getting home at this time?”
You laughed out. “I’m fine..I take the bus at this time all the time!”
Mark nodded.
He was caring and it was strange for you, for someone to genuinely care about you for the first time in a while.
He had his own car. An old Hyundai that got him where he needed to be. He had parked it outside of the Starbucks.
He waited with you at the bus stop right outside. Haechan took Renjun home.
“We can wait in my car if you want..it’s kinda cold out here.” He asked as you pushed your hands into your hoodie and shivered.
“My mother told me to never get in cars with strangers.” You turned to him and smiled.
He chuckled and stepped forward on his toes.
“Well, if that’s what you consider me to be then..I won’t push you..”
You shook your head. “Mark..you’re weird..I was just teasing, take me to your chariot before I freeze to death, please.”
You got into his car and the two of you sat in silence.
You checked your phone and saw that your bus was running about 20 minutes late.
You sighed and leaned back into his car seat.
“Do you like this town so far?” You looked out the window as you spoke.
Mark loved being near you, you calmed him down and his senses didn’t go crazy like they usually did. Sometimes everything was so unbearable, but not when he was around you. He was happy that no one was in danger while he spent the evening with you.
“It’s..alright..” he spoke honestly, finding it difficult to lie about how he struggled to adjust to his new life, without his uncle, without his hometown friends, without his “normal, super power-less” life. He had been bitten by a spider and given these powers just a few months before moving.
“Do you miss your friends?”
“Of course..” he swallowed hard as he remembered playing basketball with his buddies.
“And your girlfriend..”
You let it slip out before thinking. Why did you care?
“Oh, I don’t have a girlfriend..”
You turned to him with bunched up brows. “Boyfriend?”
Mark giggled. “I don’t have either..why do you ask?”
He smirked as he tilted his head.
You scoffed. “Oh, Potter, don’t give me that look..I just wanna know more about you.”
“What about you? Tell me about yourself.”
You swallowed hard. “Well..I think this town is boring..my parents are divorced and missing half the time..I broke up with my asshat of a boyfriend, Jeno, before school started..and now I’m stuck here with the school loser.”
“Stuck?” Mark raised his brows. “You can jump out any time you want and stand in the cold.”
You put your hand on the door handle but he quickly leaned over and placed his hand on yours. Your breath hit his neck. He turned to you with wide eyes as he realized that he was actually touching you.
You froze.
He froze as well. “I’m..I’m kidding, you shouldn’t leave until your bus gets here.”
He sat down in his seat and cleared his throat but you still felt his soft hand on your skin.
You chuckled. “You’re so strange, Mark. I guess it’s a Canada thing.”
“I like..spending time with you, if I’m being honest. I don’t have many friends here but you’re..cool.”
You turned to him. “Cool?? You think I’m cool?”
Mark put his head on the steering wheel and sighed, realizing the mistake he made. “Why did I say that?”
“Haha! Potter! You can’t take it back!”
The two of you spoke about music and entertainment. You told Mark that you were happy to see that he was going to try a horror movie with you tomorrow. You finally opened up to him as he did to you also.
You both laughed and genuinely enjoyed each other’s company.
He was a breath of fresh air in this town.
————
[The Next Day]
“It’s going to start in 5 minutes, where is he?” Haechan huffed as he looked at his watch.
You stood at the front of the movie theatre and looked around for Mark, but he was nowhere to be found. Was he really ditching you? You bought him a ticket and popcorn which had gotten cold by now. The ads that played before the movie were almost done. Haechan gave up and went into the theatre with Renjun. You stood there alone, awkwardly waiting like someone that was being stood up for their date. You looked at your phone but there were no texts or calls from Mark.
“Hey, I know you..” a voice spoke out from behind you.
You felt a sense of relief.
That was, until you turned and saw him.
Taeyong stood there with his hands in his midnight black trench coat, his hair was neatly parted to the side and two gold chains dazzled around his pretty neck.
“Are you alone?” He stepped towards you, a chill ran through your body and it wasn’t because of the temperature outside.
Your face fell, you stepped backwards away from him.
“I’m—I’m fine, thank you.”
Taeyong smirked when he saw your face of worry. He looked smug, dangerously handsome and cool.
“Whoever it is you’re waiting for...they’d be a fool not to show up..” his voice was deep, giving you goosebumps as you stared.
Was he flirting with you? 
You laughed awkwardly.
A girl in a thin black body con dress walked up to him and grabbed his arm.
“Ready, babe?” She flipped her hair as she stared at him, but he still looked at you.
You felt bad for her. Yeah, she looked good, but at the cost of freezing in 20°F weather? Not even a gorgeous man like Taeyong was worth that.
“Sure..” he said smoothly.
They both walked into the theatre. You followed soon after. You found Haechan and Renjun and joined them. Haechan gave you a questioning look but you shook your head.
Mark never showed up.
He was too busy stopping a robbery downtown. It was him against 7 heavyweight champions trying to rob a bank. They were Kingpin’s men, but Mark used his web to bind them to the counters until police came.
By the time he finished, the movie was almost halfway done.
He sighed and grabbed his mask off while in a dark alleyway. He unlocked his phone.
You to Mark: where are you, loser? The popcorn is getting cold.
He smiled to himself. You got him popcorn, one of his faves.
You to Mark: gonna eat this by myself if you don’t show..
The next text message was a picture of Sour Patch Kids candy, the watermelon kind that he also loved.
You actually remembered him telling you he liked watermelons one day in class.
He closed his eyes and cursed quietly. He wanted to get close to you, but he was already messing things up.
————
[The Following Monday]
You threw your backpack down and sat in your seat in class.
Mark walked in soon after.
“You ignored my texts..” he said softly.
You ignored him and put your Bluetooth earbuds in.
He sighed then looked at his notebook.
“So you’re just not gonna talk to me?”
You bobbed your head and started writing as music played.
Mark looked around. Everyone had their heads down, they were either writing in their books or reading. So he put his hand behind his back, he quickly shot a web out to your ear bud. It malfunctioned and suddenly stopped working.
You took it out and looked at it.
“What the hell..” you whispered, genuinely confused as to why it burnt up while actually in your ear.
“Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t show up on Friday, but something happened..I wanted to be there, and—“
You finally turned to him. “Yeah, you chickened out. I’m sure you had better plans for your Friday night than to watch a stupid horror movie with me.”
Mark frowned. “No, no it’s not like that at all.” He wanted to be there with you and watch your face as you enjoyed something dear to you, he wanted to share popcorn and gummies, but those moments are a part of normal life for a normal teenager. He couldn’t have that.
“Really?” You raised your brows and placed your head in your hand. “I know what being second place in someone’s life feels like, Mark. It’s the same crap my parents and my ex put me through..I won’t go through it again.”
Mark shook his head and leaned towards you.
“I’m not like them, I’m here for you, give me a second chance..”
“Hey! Less talking about the weekend, more writing about science!” Your teacher called out.
When class ended, Mark followed you through the halls.
“I had something personal to take care of, y/n. Can we see a movie tomorrow or something?”
You shook your head and gripped the strap of your backpack. “There aren’t any movies out right now that I’m interested in..”
“Okay, umm how about a pumpkin patch?!” 
You turned to him with wide eyes. “What are we? 10 years old?” You scoffed and turned to walk then bumped into someone’s broad chest.
You looked up slowly. It was him. “Oh..I’m sorry.” You exhaled.
“Be careful, I might just bite next time..” Taeyong’s smile gave you the creeps. It bothered you that you were seeing him more frequently.
Mark took your hand suddenly. “Hey..we’re gonna be late.” He spoke firmly and glared before taking you out of Taeyong’s sight.
Mark kept pressing you for a second chance as you continued to walk to the cafeteria.
“Okay, fine. Umm there’s this Halloween party this Friday, I don’t really want to go, but-“
“Let’s go! We can get something to eat after, my treat!”
You nodded quickly just so he’d leave you alone. 
“Okay, Mark, let’s just get through this week.”
———
[Friday Night]
Haechan helped you out of his car when you got to the party. You wore a tight white dress and a feathery halo along with a small pair of wings.
You looked amazing with glittery makeup and white heels as your accessories.
Haechan dressed as a zombie and did a spectacular job on his makeup. He looked like he had really been bitten on the neck and the virus had spread throughout, leaving him grey with purple and green veins throughout his face.
You pulled your dress down and waited in the kitchen for Mark.
You grabbed yourself a beer and cracked it open. 
Haechan drank with you as well.
He swallowed hard. “The nice refreshing taste of piss.”
“Yup, seems about right.” You winced and put the can down.
“Well, well..it seems the Virgin angel has arrived.” Jeno walked in behind you and grabbed a beer. He was dressed as a devil. The two of you had long since talked about dressing as the angel & devil pair  for Halloween as a couple, but now that you had broken up, you didn’t think that he'd still do it.
You rolled your eyes. “What happened? Were your natural horns not enough?”
Jeno chuckled and tilted his head. “We’re playing 7 minutes in Heaven next..I’d ask you to join, but I know you’re just a teaser, never a pleaser.”
You scoffed, but Haechan jumped in.
“That’s what your little friend over there said last night when you pulled your pants down.”
Jeno flipped him the bird and walked away.
You went to the bathroom and checked your makeup. You looked wonderful, your boobs stuck out and your dress hugged your curves perfectly. You rarely dressed like this but it was nice to look and feel..pretty., you quickly fixed your lipstick and left. 
As you turned the corner, you ran into him again.
“Ahhh..perfect timing, I did say I would bite you the next time we ran into each other.” Taeyong’s eyes widened.
You backed away and laughed. 
He was dressed fittingly as a vampire. He was dark and mysterious like one, so you weren’t surprised. He looked even more handsome than usual in his dark eye makeup complete with black liner and red eyeshadow. 
But the way he stared made you..uneasy.
His gaze trailed from your lips to your cleavage as he eyed you up and down.
You stood there in silence.
“Do you—“ he started to pose a question as he stepped forward but his girl walked up and hugged him from behind.
She squeezed him gently, but Taeyong looked annoyed. “Let’s go upstairs, baby…” she said lowly while looking into your eyes with an evil glare.
Haechan came and grabbed your hand. You turned away from the two love birds and followed him, never once worrying about what Taeyong had to say again.
“He’s here!” You heard Haechan gasp.
Mark walked in. He was wearing a...Spider-Man costume.
You giggled at how cute he looked in it. You saw his cute little butt as he spun around looking for you through the crowd in the house.
You raised your hand. “Mark!” You called out to him.
He finally saw you and started to walk over.
You couldn’t stop yourself from grinning. He was adorable as he giggled.
“Why Spider-Man?”
He shrugged. “Eh—I like the way my butt looks.”
You laughed and took his hand to the living room where a few people sat on the floor a circle. 
They spun a bottle and whoever it landed on would be placed in a closet for 7 minutes in heaven.
Two members from the group were missing so you and Mark took their spots as they did whatever they were doing in the closet. He helped you squat down while pulling your dress down your thighs.
You rolled your eyes as Jeno held his new girl crush close to him. If he wanted to be with her in the closet, why did he sit beside her? You thought to yourself.
Everyone took turns spinning the bottle and when it got to you, you spun it fast, hoping that it wouldn’t land on someone that you knew, that way it would be just as awkward for the both of you.
Mark watched the bottle spin and based on the speed and rotation of the beer bottle, he knew that one end would end up pointing to you and the other would point to..Jeno.
As it spun, he placed his hand behind his back. 
He looked up and pointed to the kitchen with his other hand. 
“Oh my god, what is that?!” He yelled, causing everyone to turn to look at whatever he was pointing at.
You turned as well, so Mark quickly shot a small squirt of his web to increase the speed a little.
“What are you talking about?” You asked when you turned back to him. Everyone else turned back too.
“Oh, I could’ve sworn I saw a rat..maybe it was a decoration.” He shrugged his shoulders.
The bottle slowed down to a halt and just as you dreaded. It landed on you and..Mark.
Jeno laughed out loudly. 
“What’s so funny?” Mark gave him a look of annoyance.
“It’s just that..she’s the biggest prude I know, good luck bro, she doesn’t give it up.”
“Maybe because she doesn’t want to..I mean, have you thought about how much of an asshole you are?” Haechan spat out.
Mark looked at you as you stared at him with wide eyes.
“Y/n..you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to..” 
Jeno chuckled again.
You didn’t really want to be this close with Mark, but you had to. You had to prove Jeno wrong, even if you and Mark did nothing but stare at each other. You wanted Jeno to know that you weren’t a prude like he thought.
You stood up and nodded. “Let’s go..”
The two of you stood in the tight closet awkwardly.
The light was dim, but you saw Mark’s features clearly. His dainty nose and high cheekbones, his wide eyes and cute lips. He looked to the side nervously.
The truth was, you looked amazing in your dress. He felt his face become warm when he looked at your cleavage. The glitter made your skin sparkle even more than it usually did.
“So…” you stepped up and down. “I’m glad you came..”
“I’m glad I came too.” He swallowed hard. “Oh.. that, uhh, sounded weird, I’m sorry..”
“Mark..” you giggled. “You don’t have to be awkward, it’s me..it’s just that I’m wearing tight clothing for once..”
He chuckled and looked into your eyes. He raised an eyebrow, making your stomach weak.
“It’s not just that..” his voice is lower, quieter so no one can hear the two of you.
“What is it then?” You smirk.
He stares at your lips and as he’s about to answer a red alarm blares out in his head. His senses are tingling, someone is in trouble.
He squints and turns away. “I-i have to go…”
You step forward. “What? Are you..okay?”
You place your hands on his shoulder.
He loves the touch but can’t stop this nagging feeling. He had to go where his mind told him to go, he had to tend to whatever needed him or else he'd go insane from the noise.
“I can’t explain it, it’s like a migraine, I..just have to go.”
He turns to head through the closet door but you step in front of him. 
“Mark, if you leave it’ll just prove Jeno right. Please just 5 more minutes, I’m sure you can stand being with me for just that.”
“I can’t. I have to go.”
You scoff and continue to block the door. “What? Do you have to run home to your aunt or something? Are you out too late?”
Mark shakes his head. “Y/n..it’s not that, I just—“
“Gotta be a good boy and go home now?” You teased him to buy time. You really didn’t want Jeno to gain any satisfaction from learning that the two of you did nothing.
“Y/n..” he looked intensely into your eyes. His eyes then floated down to your lips as he watched you nag at him.
“Mark, what is it with you? You bailed on me last time! Do you hate being around me or what?”
He took your face in his hands and kissed you hard and sudden.
Your back hit the closet door causing it to swing open.
But Mark didn’t care, he still held your face close to his and caressed your mouth. You closed your eyes and enjoyed the feeling of him on you. The way his tongue traced over your bottom lip for permission to enter, the way his nose poked your cheek.
You opened your mouth and turned your head to deepen the kiss.
Sparks flew between you and you both felt giddy. Blood rushed through your veins. Mark’s senses were calmed for a bit as they focused on what he felt right now with you. The building tension and the satisfying release. 
You fell into him more and more. Even as the others cheered while watching, the two of you were consumed by each other.
You feel butterflies flying around without any intention of stopping and then..he pulls away. Your eyes open and you see your red lipstick all over the handsome boy’s mouth, confirming that what felt like a wonderful dream was actually a reality.
He stares at you through low eyes and licks his lips while panting.
Your lips are still parted while you too breathe heavily.
Your eyes are round and beg for more. Mark wants it too.
You look at his lips and lean forward, but he backs away and swallows hard.
“Catch ya later!” He runs out of the house as you stand there in shock.
Haechan’s mouth falls open.
“Oh...shit.”
———-
[The Next Day]
Taeyong listened to his father complain about the new superhero in town while at dinner.
“I don’t know where this little shit came from but he’s ruining EVERYTHING. We can’t get a simple delivery done without him popping up.”
Kingpin slams his fork down.
“He shoots a web here, he shoots a web there, and suddenly, my men are down and out! Tell me how that makes sense?”
“I’m sure they will stop him soon, he’ll get tired and give up.” Taeyong’s mother continued eating.
“Christ, I’m stressed and then we get a call from your teacher saying that you’re not showing up for class?!”
His father turned his attention to him while pointing a finger.
Taeyong shrugged.
“What the hell you moving your shoulders for? Answer me!”
Taeyong puts his fork down and sighs. “That class is a waste of time..”
“No, the only thing that’s being wasted is MY time and MY effort to get you to good college, you think I want you to end up like me?” His father’s voice rose.
“Is that such a bad thing?” A smirk fell across Taeyong’s face, irritating his father.
“Listen to me, boy, you could never handle the shit i handle, so DONT even think about it. You take your sorry ass to class and you graduate and go to college. Make something of that pea-sized brain of yours.”
“Honey..” his mom placed her hand on his father’s, but he lifted it and waved her off.
“Don’t! He’s like this because you spoil him. He’s a spoiled little brat.”
Taeyong continued eating, he was used to being insulted by his father.
“Dont speak like that, you’re just stressed because of Spider-Man, dear.”
“Shut it! You know that it’s true, you know he’s worthless!”
He stood up and gave Taeyong a frightening glare.
“You got one chance to prove me wrong, boy, make one more mistake and you’re out and on the streets with the druggies!” He huffed and left the dining room.
Taeyong sat quietly, gripping his fork in his fist and thinking about what to do. How could he prove to his father that he would be able to take over the business?
———-
[Monday]
You didn’t say a word to Mark for the first few minutes of class.
It was awkward but Mark didn’t seem to be bothered. He simply did his work in his notebook while listening to his music.
While the teacher was busy, you turned to him.
“Mark?” You whispered and leaned forward to get his attention.
“Mark?”
He still moved his head to the music.
You tapped his shoulder.
He turned to you with large eyes and took his headphones out.
“Yeah?” He said innocently.
“What do you mean by “yeah?” Are we not going to talk about the party?”
Mark smirked. “Do you want to talk about it?”
You nodded. “Mark, what was that about?” You knew what it was, you felt it every time you looked at each other. You had a developing crush on the boy you called a loser, you were just trying to hide it but it was becoming difficult as he was perfect in every way.
His cute eyes, nice lips, beautiful brown hair..you loved it all.
But most of all, you loved how sweet and caring he was, how he spoke to you and made you feel like you were the center of the universe as his entire focus rested on you.
He licked his lips. “I...did that to help you prove your boyfriend wrong.”
You blinked rapidly. “That was the only reason?”
“Um..yeahhh.” Mark looked to the side and moved his head in a “duh” motion.
“Oh..okay..” you looked down at your notebook and continued writing, feeling disappointed. But what did you expect? For Mark to confess his love for you? What a bizarre thought. You shook it off.
Later that day when you were at lunch, Haechan asked you about Mark.
“So what did he say?” He asked with his mouth full.
“He said he was just covering for me.” You shrugged your shoulders.
“Ahhh..I doubt it though, you guys made out like..really made out, it was sexy. If I knew you could kiss like that, I would’ve kissed you a long time ago.” he raises his eyebrows.
You made a look of disgust. “Ew! As if!”
You and Haechan giggled and continued eating. 
You looked over at Mark’s usual eating spot in the cafeteria, but he wasn’t there.
“Where’s that big head, Jeno?” Haechan tilted his head when he realized that Jeno didn’t pass by for his usual snarky comment session.
“Hmm that’s a good question, I don’t see Mark either.”
“Oooo..are you waiting for a round two with him?” Haechan teased, but something didn’t feel right.
You stood up. “Hey, I’ll be right back.”
Haechan nodded and you turned away to walk around the halls.
You peaked down all of the corridors looking for him.
You eventually went outside to the soccer field and heard whimpering behind the bleachers.
You walked towards it and saw three boys gathered around another boy in the middle. The boy in the middle was crouching down and holding his stomach.
You walked faster.
“Give me his glasses!” You heard one of the boys say.
“He had these ugly things on and still couldn’t see us coming..”
You recognized the voice.
It was Jeno. As you got closer you saw Jeno raise his foot to kick at the boy on the ground, and to your surprise, it was Mark.
“Shit…” you ran closer, but Mark grabbed Jeno’s foot and threw him to the floor.
Your eyes grew as Jeno’s back pummeled down into the ground with so much force, you swore the floor shook. How was Mark that strong?
Jeno groaned in pain. The other two boys stared in shock before turning back to Mark and delivering blows to his chest.
Mark couldn’t take on the two of them.
“I don’t want to hurt you!” He called out to them, he was holding back for their safety.
“Hey!” You yelled as you got closer.
“Oh..look who showed up..the school slut..” Jeno said as he stood up straight and winced from the pain in his back.
“You gave it up to the new guy, y/n? Wow, I guess you are like your mother..”
“Hey!” Mark called out to him, but the other two boys held him up by the arms to keep him from hitting Jeno again. Jeno balled his fists up and was about to hit Mark in the chest.
“You’re an asshole, Jeno!” You ran up to him and swung hard, landing a clean punch to the side of his unexpecting face.
“Hey, what the hell is going on here?!” Vice Principal Kim called out.
“Shit.” You held your hand as a stinging pain shot through it.
The two boys let go of Mark and ran, leaving you, Mark, and Jeno to the mercy of the vice principal.
You sat in detention with a wrapped hand. Mark sat a few desks behind you and Jeno sat in front with a pretty black eye.
You are proud of yourself for doing something you should’ve done to him long ago.
You watched the clock tick for an hour as you sat there with nothing to do.
Mark felt terrible for getting you involved, he would’ve handled it on his own but you jumped in to help him and now you were hurt.
After detention, you grabbed your backpack and left without talking to Mark.
“Hey..” he ran up to you.
“Hey..I’m sorry..about that, I didn’t want you to get involved..”
“It’s not your fault, Mark, it’s just that..I’d rather be alone right now..” you had to walk home after missing the last bus.
“I’ll drive you home, it’s the least I can do.”
You turned to him and raised your brows.
“Without your glasses? Can you even see my face right now?”
Mark laughed. “Actually..I have something to tell you…”
“Go on..”
“I don’t need the glasses, I just like it when you call me Potter.”
A smile creeped across your face as you felt it become warm. You couldn’t help but laugh.
Mark drove you home as the two of you talked about Jeno’s look of shock. 
“His face was priceless!” Mark scrunched his nose up and laughed gloriously.
You enjoyed watching him laugh, and without his glasses, he looked even more handsome.
You reached home and sighed. “Ahh..great, now I have to explain to my parents why my hand is swollen..”
Mark lifted your wrapped hand gently. “How does it feel? Does it hurt?” He bunched his brows up.
“And if it did, could you take the pain away?” You smirked.
Mark nodded. “I wish I could..”
“It’s fine, I’ll be fine, I took boxing class in the 9th grade..” you teased him but his eyes widened.
“Boxing class?! That is so cool!”
You giggled. “Mark, you’re so gullible!”
“Oh..” he looked down in defeat and blushed. 
A moment of silence rested between the two of you.
You stared at his lips. “Well..I should get going..”
Mark parked across the street from your house so your parents wouldn’t see you coming out of a strange car. 
You unbuckled yourself seat belt.
“Hey..” Mark said softly. 
You turned back to him and watched his parted lips.
He leaned in closer as you swallowed hard. He was so close, just a few more inches.
Your phone rang out and you looked down.
Shit, Haechan texted you.
Mark smiled and leaned back into his seat. “I’m sorry, um..thanks again.” 
“You’re welcome, Potter.” You winked and got out of the car.
He got out of the car and watched you head home.
But his spidey senses started to blare, something was coming, but you were texting on your phone as you crossed the street.
Everything happened in slow motion. The pick up truck speeding towards you, the steps you took to cross the road. You were moving too slow.
He had calculated it all. If he ran to you, he’d be too late, if he jumped in front of the truck he’d be too late and he’d get hurt. 
There was only once thing he could do given the amount of time he had.
He stretched his arm out, flicked his wrist and shot a  long sticky string out to your back. Once it latched itself onto your jacket, he yanked you back hard.
The truck sped by right in front of your eyes as you gripped your phone and looked up. You didn’t know what was happening or why you were flying backwards all of a sudden.
Your heart races, but soon you were in Mark’s arms. The truck came to a screeching halt once the driver realized that he almost hit you.
He spun you around to face him, not realizing that you were now entangled in his web.
You look terrified. “M-Mark..what the—“ you were out of breath, you looked down and saw the strings coming out of his skin.
Mark’s eyes widened as he looked down as well. The truck sped off after realizing that you were okay. It was just the two of you now, standing there in shock.
“Y/n…”
You let out a shakey breath. “Y-You're..him..You're—“
He put a finger over his lips. “Shhh..you can’t tell anyone.”
“S-spider-Man? THE Spider-Man??” 
Mark nodded slowly. 
Your mouth dropped.
“Promise me you won’t tell anyone.” Mark looked into your eyes and pleaded, his arms still held you tight to his chest.
You nodded but no sound came out.
He licked his lips and smiled. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”
“Mark..holy shit, I’m gonna..”
“Please don’t pass out on me, I don’t want to carry you to your parents while you’re unconscious..”
“But Mark..I mean, you’re like.. a superhero..that’s so cool.” You grinned and still looked at him through surprised eyes.
Mark blushed. “You think I’m cool?”
“Oh, my God why did I say that?” You rolled your eyes.
Mark looked at your lips and it was your time to kiss him.
You placed your lips on his while taking his face in your hands. He hugged you tighter and kissed you back, diving into you like you were a breath of fresh air that he needed. You both closed your eyes and embraced the moment as your pulses ran fast and eventually matched.
You stood there for a few minutes while kissing and hugging like you were in a movie. 
Neither you nor Mark noticed a car that was parked 50 feet away. 
But not just anyone’s car, Taeyong’s car.
He had trailed Mark’s car after he saw the two of you leaving school. He had nothing better to do and just wanted to see what the two of you were up to, but then he saw how the web shot out of Mark’s hand quickly and how you flew back into him. He saved your life, all while thinking that no one would see him.
But he was wrong, and now Taeyong knew what he needed to do.
———
[The Next Week]
You and Mark hadn’t things official yet, you both were scared for what would happen to your friendship. But that didn’t mean that you didn’t want to kiss him for hours on end.
Mark felt the same way. You had been paired up with someone else at a different table in class. The two of you were now departed and he wasn’t happy about that so he made sure to keep an eye on you.
You finally ate together too. Haechan had his suspicions when he saw the two of you smiling at each other for no reason, but he didn’t say anything.
Then one day, you didn’t show up to class.
Mark texted you the entire night before and even sent you tik toks to laugh at. He knew you were fine and if you were skipping class, you’d definitely let him know. You didn’t respond to the texts he sent during the day.
His spidey senses tingled, he knew something was up.
He called you while at lunch. And to his surprise, you answered.
“Y/n? Where are you?”
There was silence over the line for a brief moment, then you sniffled. “Hey, Mark. I’m home today, I just needed..a break.”
Mark paused. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing, Mark, I’ll see you later. Please don’t come and look for me.”
“H-“ he started but you had already hung up.
He pursed his lips and looked intensely at his screen. Something was definitely up and he wasn’t going to stop until he found out what it was.
So after his last class, he headed to your house and knocked at the door.
When you didn’t answer, he walked around the house, looking for a way to get in without causing any damage.
He eventually found an open window on the second floor and after looking around to make sure no one was watching, he climbed up the side of the house and entered through it.
He stood up straight and saw that he was in your room, but you weren’t there.
Then he saw what looked to be a body under the blanket on your bed. 
“Y/n?”
He quickly lifted the blanket and jumped in horror. It was a slide-sized Spider-Man action figure.
He had a sticky note on his face that pressed “press my belly button.”
Mark pressed the button and heard it speak through its fake mouth.
“Oh, hello, Spider-Man, or should I call you Mark?”
His eyes widened as the male voice spoke.
“Well..it doesn’t really matter..see, I’ve got your lovely girlfriend here with me..” 
Mark here’s your muffled screaming in the background.
He grits his teeth. 
“And she is here, waiting for you at the very top of the largest building in the city. I know you’re new here, but I’m sure you can find it.”
Mark curses to himself, he was caught with you and by some bastard that he didn’t know. Did Kingpin have his men follow him?
“Oh, and that nice friend of her’s, hmmm Haechan is it? He’s outside her house, but he’s probably all tied up.. don’t be late, Markipoo, we wouldn’t want y/n to hang out with me much longer..”
The recording stops playing. Mark runs out of the house, but stops in his tracks.
He’s too late. 
Johnny and Yuta stand beside Haechan’s car. Haechan has JI mouth covered by a piece of fabric but his eyes are open and wet with tears.
He lets out a loud scream when he hears Mark.
They tied him to the hood of the car while the engine runs. He was literally tied up.
“Hey!” Mark calls out and runs towards them, but Johnny places a brick onto the gas pedal and puts the car in drive.
Haechan screams even louder as the car rolls down the hill fast.
Mark runs after it, struggling to keep up as it speeds down the street.
Johnny and Yuta stand back and laugh.
Mark had to find a way to beat, he had to calculate his speed so he could overrun it and stop it. Or he could shoot webs out from the back and pull it towards him.
His mind runs at 100mph as it goes through every possibility while he pants and runs.
“Haechan! Don’t worry! I’ve got you!”
The car is too heavy, and it’s going too fast, so he can’t hold it with his spiderweb material.
He leaps forward and up into the air, landing just a few feet in front of the incoming car.
He puts his hands in front of him and braces for impact. He had never taken on such a huge task before, he prayed that he would be strong enough to take a 4,000 pound car going at 80 miles per hour.
He grunts and presses forward onto the top of the car, causing it to make a loud skrrt sound and a huge dent to form. He uses his legs for stability as he struggles to stop it from going any further.
But he slides downward in his two feet.
“Shit.shit.shit.shit” he murmurs out.
Haechan cries to the heavens for help.
Mark pushes forward even harder while gritting his teeth. He lifts the hood slightly.
With a loud groan and harsh grip, he tears the engine out to stop the car.
The wheels slow to a halt and Mark places the car down.
He stumbles on his feet and nearly passes out, but he had to keep moving, he had to find you.
So he quickly puts his mask on before people come outside of their homes to see what the ruckus is about, then he unties Haechan.
“Oh my God..oh my God, what the hell?!”
Haechan panics and shakes.
“Mark, you’re—you’re..the guy..”
“Haechan, we can talk about this later. What is the tallest building and where can I find it?”
Haechan points in the direction of the tallest building in the town. It’s 1,000 feet high and is owned by none other than Kingpin.
Mark’s eyes narrowed as he clenched his jaw.
He swings through town quickly to get to you.
Once at the building, he decided that it would be faster to climb.
Meanwhile, Taeyong has you tied up and gagged.
Tears stream down your face.
“It’s such a shame things had to be this way..I kinda liked you.” Taeyong strokes your cheek with his thumb.
His phone rings.
“What is it?”
“He should be there soon.” 
You hear a man’s voice say on the other line.
Taeyong gives a devilish smile and looks back at you as he hangs up.
“Perfect.” He winks.
He steps forward to you and takes your bound wrists in his hand. He takes your gag off with the other.
“Would you like to beg for your life now?” 
“Fuck you, Taeyong! I never did anything to you!”
Taeyong smiles when you curse. “You’re right. All you did was go to class and look pretty...oh and decide to date a superhero. You had to expect us to use you as leverage.”
You shook your head. “Taeyong, you’re not like your father, you’re better than him! Please don’t do this.”
Wind blew your hair back as Taeyong had opened one of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor.
Taeyong’s smile fell when you mentioned his father.
“I know I’m better than him, sweetheart, I get right to the source of my problems.”
He strokes your cheek again. “You know..you’re a lot prettier when you don’t speak, but right now..I want you to scream for me.”
He suddenly pushes you out the window but grabs the end of the rope that has tied your hands up.
You let out a blood curdling scream as you stare down as the tiny people and cars so far below you. You cry even harder.
“Just like that, sweetheart, you sound beautiful.”
He smirks and ties the rope to a pole to keep your body dangling.
“Mark!!” You cry out when you see him in his Spider-Man suit climbing up the building towards you.
“No! Don’t come any closer! It’s a trap!!” You try to stop him but Mark doesn’t stop, you’re right there and he has to get to you.
“The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout..” Taeyong sings to himself as he picks up his father’s machine gun.
He aims it out of the window and at Mark.
“Down came the rain and washed the spider out.”
He pulls back on the trigger, allowing bullets to fly in the direction of the crawling Spider-Man. 
“Mark!!” You cry out once again as Mark let’s go with one hand and dangles with the other. He quickly moves from side to side to dodge the bullets.
He regains his position and continues climbing.
“Oh, he’s a stubborn spider.” Taeyong grins and unloads on him again, this time never stopping.
He moves it from side to side to catch him.
A bullet flies right over Mark, breaking his suit and cutting his skin. He curses then looks back up.
He had to pay attention, he had to get to you.
Taeyong goes maniacal with the gun but he just can’t seem to get him.
He stops when he’s out of bullets and Mark is just a few feet away.
You think he’s given up because he’s lost, but Taeyong got just what he wanted.
“Okay, sweetheart..” he unties the rope from the pole and holds it in his hands. “It’s time to fly like the beautiful angel you are.”
You look back at him with wide eyes. “Taeyong!”
He lets go of the rope. You fall out through the window fast and past Mark.
Mark throws his head into your direction and leaps off of the building towards you.
He tries to fly down fast but he can’t keep up with your falling body, he’s so close but he can’t get to you.
You cry and think about your life, you never imagined this would be how you’d die.
You see Mark coming after you with all his strength, you know he’s doing his best. But it was impossible, there’s no way he’d get to you in time.
And so you felt yourself lose consciousness.
Your head fell back and your body fell limply.
“No, no, no, no don’t give up on me!” Mark yells and stretches his arms out, he shoots two strings from his wrists.
They latch onto you, he pulls back as hard as he can, your body flying into his arms as he still falls down the side of the building.
He spins around and shoots another string onto the building. His fall stops abruptly and his body flings itself into the glass. He holds you in his arms to protect you from the shattered glass.
You both fall onto the floor of an office. People jump up and yell in shock.
“Oh my god..it’s Spider-Man.” a few people say with gasps.
But Mark is focused on you. He doesn’t feel the pain from the impact, for his heart breaks for you. He unties your hands and holds one of them in his own.
“Y/n..y/n.. please talk to me..” leans over you and shakes you gently. Your body lies limply. Your mouth is slightly parted and your eyes are still closed. He hears a faint heartbeat.
He starts to tear up when you don’t respond.
“Y/n, I’m sorry..” he lifts his mask off and kisses you on the cheek.
He doesn’t care who sees him and can possibly expose his identity.
“Please..just wake up..tell me you’re okay..” he then kisses you on the lips.
Your eyes flutter open when you feel his soft lips on yours.
You place your hands on the side of his face, the people in the office clap and cheer.
You breathe him in before kissing him back. He pulls away and smiles down at you. His wavy brown hair hangs over your face and his eyes are teary.
“Are you crying, loser?” You give him a small smile.
Mark laughs and kisses you again.
Once you assured him that you were okay, Mark hunted Taeyong down at one of his father’s warehouses. Taeyong, Johnny, and Yuta waited there for him with a gun and several weapons, but they weren’t  prepared for Spider-Man’s speed, strength, and agility, especially when all three were amplified by Mark’s anger. He gave them all an ass whooping they’d remember for the rest of their life, then had the cops come to arrest them. Mark didn’t go into much detail, but you knew that Kingpin, disappointed and hurt, disowned Taeyong and left him on his own to deal with his own actions.
When Taeyong tried to tell him who SpiderMan was, Kingpin called him a fool and deemed him mentally unstable, for a scrawny and nerdy kid with Harry Potter glasses couldn’t possibly have been the Spiderman that was kicking their asses.
Everyone thought Taeyong was crazy and Mark was never identified by the people in the office room.
Johnny and Yuta gave Taeyong up and admitted that they didn’t know who Spider-Man was, for if they had gone along with him, they’d only look crazy too.
Taeyong was arrested for attempted murder of both you and Haechan and sentenced to life in prison. He was tried as an adult and without the assistance of his wealthy father, didn’t stand a chance at getting away.
———
[December]
Finals were over and you could finally celebrate with Mark. 
You joined him for the Winter Dance while dressed in a long, sleeveless icy blue dress.
“You look beautiful, like a princess.”
Mark blushed as he took your hand and led you to the dance floor.
You smiled and laughed out. He too looked dashingly handsome like a prince in his black suit and a bow tie that matched your dress. His hair was parted to the side and smoothed back, he didn’t have his glasses so he looked older, more mature.
The two of you swayed side to side. You laid your head on his shoulder and drank in the scent of his cologne. He smelled like flowers, his touch felt warm on your bare back.
There were stars decorating the dark gym in order to set the mood. White snowflakes also danced across the ceiling.
“I...have something to ask you..”
His low voice vibrates against your chest.
You raised your head and looked at all of the beauty marks on his neck and jaw. Funny enough, they were in all the places that you wanted to kiss.
“Yeah?”
Your soft voice makes him weak, he wants to hold you like this forever.
“Will you..” he clears his throat and glances down at you nervously. “..be my girlfriend?”
Your face lights up, you smile widely.
“I thought you’d never ask, Potter.” You kiss him on the lips and spend the rest of the night together.
1K notes · View notes
zevlors-tail · 4 years
Note
Hi I feel really bad for sending in an emergency request but bakugou, deku, or kaminari comforting and helping a reader who is going through a major depressive episode with suicidal thoughts. I’m so sorry I feel really bad for asking
A/N: I could not have gotten this at a more convenient time. I just want to say thank you for requesting this, and please don’t be sorry for asking about this. If you want to talk my dms are open, but I hope this helps! This was extremely cathartic for me to write. I only did Bakugou for the moment, but I fully plan on coming back at some point to at least add Denki (and also Deku eventually). Bakugou as a secret comfort character for me? It’s more likely than you think.
TW: Suicidal ideation, suicidal thoughts, suicidal reader, depression. PLEASE DO NOT READ if these things trigger you. It’s extremely descriptive and emotional!
Bakugou Katsuki
“Hey...are you okay?” 
You barely snapped out of your foggy trance as you slowly blinked, your coworker’s face coming into focus eventually as you gathered your surroundings you had long since forgotten about. Your response was immediate, familiar words strung together with little effort after saying them over and over again. No longer did they drag you down and taste like lies in your mouth; now they were just the ghost of a feeling you struggled to remember, an empty shell with hollowed out meaning. 
“Oh, yeah...just tired,” you drawled. And you were.
There weren’t too many days anymore that you didn’t feel drained, didn’t feel like the weight of the world was sitting on your shoulders. You felt heavy- both mentally and physically, like there were weights tethered to your arms and legs. It made you feel utterly exhausted at the end of every day and stole your motivation to get up in the morning. Your bed never seemed more comfortable, and your sheets never seemed so warm. If you had the choice, you would allow yourself to lie there forever, to skip work in favor of sleeping through the whole day, because what good was there in being awake, anyway? Lately it just seemed like everything was a waste.
“Are you sure? You just seem...down.” Your coworker gave you a concerned look, and you thought it ironic that the day you felt you might snap was the day everyone chose to finally ask if you were alright. Maybe she could see it on your face, or maybe you finally looked how you felt inside. Whatever the case, you didn’t care. In fact, you hardly cared about anything; it was hard to care about your life when you felt there was no value to it.
“I’m fine! Just really tired,” you repeated without hesitation.
“Okay, if you’re sure.” She seemed to take the explanation without any further question, shrugging and turning around to get back to what she had been doing before. “Just make sure management doesn’t catch you staring off like that; I think they’re in a bad mood today.”
Logically, you knew you were dealing with depression. Depression was not something new to you; this had happened before, and you had managed to dig yourself out of your own hole each time, but this time was...different. Logic didn’t stop the thoughts rampaging through your mind, didn’t quiet the voices that told you others would be better off without you. You felt like a burden to everyone, a walking problem that caused trouble everywhere you went. Just this morning at work you had dropped something accidentally, and it had spilled all over the floor and under the tables, the mess reaching into the cracks and crevices of the tiles where it would be harder to get to. You had done the best you could to clean it up, but in the end, the janitor had to step in and clean up the mess that you made. Maybe it was just an accident, and maybe you didn’t mean to spill your food, but you couldn’t see past the fact that you were always like this. Always spilling things, always causing problems for others, always inconveniencing everyone you came into contact with. Maybe...it would be better if you had stayed in bed all day instead of coming to work.
Maybe it would be better if you had never woke up in the first place.
...No!
You shook the thought from your head, doing your best to ignore it and focus on something else. Come on, you told yourself, focus on your job. But your mind remained hazy as you continued on with work, and it only served to cause more problems for you. By the end of the day, you had accidentally dropped a couple more items, slipped on some water and fell face first to the ground, and towards the end of your shift, just as you were clocking out, you bumped into an unruly customer who was clearly having none of it today. Hands reached out to shove you away and you stumbled, tripping over your own feet as you tried to get a grip and regain your balance.
“Watch where you’re going, god! Are you blind or something!? Jesus!”
For any other person, it might have just made them upset or angry, but it would have been passed off as a bad day, a bad moment in the grand scheme of things that would go away with time. But for you? For you it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Whatever motivation and will to live you had left, it was gone within the instant, replaced with a numb, empty feeling. What was the point in all of this? If this was life, if you were constantly going to cause problems and get in people’s way, what was your purpose here?
If nothing was enjoyable anymore...you just wanted it to end. It was too late for you anyways; you felt too far gone to be saved. And honestly...what was even left to save? You felt like a shell of your former self.
And that was how you left the store, feet dragging against the ground as you numbly walked to your car to go home. It took you a while to collect yourself, so you sat there for a few minutes in the parking lot, keys stuck in the ignition and hands resting loosely on the steering wheel. Finally, you worked up the will to actually start the car, and then you were on your way home. Home...where you would probably just lie through your teeth again and go lay in bed for the rest of the night.
Bakugou was in the kitchen making dinner when you padded through the foyer and announced your arrival, the smell of spices overwhelming rather than inviting or enticing. But then again, you didn’t have much of an appetite lately, and you found the thought of sleep to be more appealing than the thought of food anyways.
“I’m home.” Your voice was quieter than usual, your tone flat and monotonous. Bakugou didn’t respond for a minute, and you wondered if he had even heard you over the sound of something sizzling in a pan.
“Y/N, that you?” A head poked out from around the corner, red eyes meeting E/C. “How was work?”
“It was work.” You blinked and kicked your shoes off haphazardly, your body already caving in on itself as you made your way to the bedroom. If Bakugou noticed the change from your usual demeanor, he said nothing about it, only going back to what he was doing in the kitchen when you retreated to your sanctuary for the night.
Finally alone with your thoughts, you crawled under the soft sheets with your work clothes still on and curled up, eyes already shutting even before your head hit the pillow. At some point you must have managed to fall asleep, because the next thing you knew you were being shaken awake by Katsuki, a sweet and savory smell drifting through the air. Your stomach rumbled, and though it felt empty, you still didn’t feel like eating emotionally. The only thing you seemed to feel now was a heaviness settling on your soul.
“Y/N, come eat.” Either you were imagining things or Bakugou’s normally gruff voice was more gentle and relaxed as he woke you from your slumber.
You protested with a whine, your face scrunching up in annoyance from being woken up. “Tired...” you mumbled.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. But you haven’t had anything since you came home from work, babe.”
“That was only an hour ago...” you started, your voice still thick from sleep. But as you looked towards your alarm clock on the nightstand next to the bed, you were surprised to find that the little digital numbers read 11:58 pm. You’d slept for a little over five hours since you had arrived home. “Shit-!”
That seemed to do the trick, and you were scrambling up and out of bed in no time, panic and confusion washing over you from your prolonged nap. Had you really slept so long? You hadn’t meant to, but it did feel nice to have a small break from everything you felt when you were awake. And again, you caught yourself wondering if maybe the world would be better off if you never woke up. Eventually the haziness of your dream state faded, leaving you with the same reality you had been facing earlier in the day. You wanted nothing more than to go back to bed and curl up in your state of melancholy, but you were up now, and Katsuki would worry if you didn’t eat anything.
The two of you made your way to the dinning room table where a plate of reheated leftovers sat along with some silver cutlery, a cute little holiday napkin leftover from Halloween resting next to it. You stared at the pumpkin covered paper for a while before picking up your fork and stabbing at whatever dish Bakugou had decided on for dinner. Lately he seemed to be on a vegetable kick, though a healthy dose of fruits and meats were also thrown into the mix for balance. You mindlessly chewed, not really paying attention to the flavor if there was any at all. In fact, it felt like you were chewing cardboard. You didn’t enjoy the taste or feel; you only ate purely out of habit and need to.
“Do you not like it?” Bakugou pulled you from your reverie of thoughts, your head snapping up in his direction when he spoke.
“Huh?”
“The food. You’ve barely touched it in the last ten minutes.”
Ten minutes? Since when had that much time passed? Looking down at your plate, you realized he was correct. Over half of your food remained untouched, bits and pieces of it spread around from your fork and pushed to the side as if it was your least favorite meal. You hadn’t even noticed you were playing with it, and you wondered how long you had been just sitting there scooting food around with a blank look on your face.
“No, it was good.” Liar. You’d hardly been able to taste it. But it wasn’t just food that had lost it’s merit to you, if you really thought about it. The world just didn’t seem as lively; colors seemed washed out and faded, food held no taste, and music just didn’t sound the same. Nothing was enjoyable for you anymore.
“Y/N. You know you can tell me if there’s something going on, right?” Bakugou’s eyes bored into you while you just stared at the brightly colored napkin.
“Yeah, I know!” you chirped back, eyes briefly flickering up to meet his gaze before returning to orange pumpkins.
“Is there anything you want to talk about?” It sounded like a question, but really it was an invite. He knew there was something going on with you. Asking you was his way of giving you room to explain yourself before he decided to pry. Usually he was mindful of any boundaries you might have had, but Katsuki was never a fool, and you tended not to open up easily. Sometimes a little pushing and prodding on his part was necessary.
“Not really? Just work, but it was the usual. I’m just tired.” Even as you tried to pass your unusual behaviors off as a bad day at work and exhaustion, you couldn’t hide the sour note that slipped into your voice along with the visible scowl you made. But the emotions were short lived, and you were back to feeling defeated and down within mere seconds.
“Hey...” You felt compelled to look up at him when he softened his voice even more, but everything in you told you to hold back and keep staring at those damn balls of orange on the napkin. Why, you weren’t sure- maybe it was to keep from crying, or maybe it was to suppress the feelings that were slowly surfacing within you, or maybe it was just because you no longer cared. “Are you alright?”
You visibly winced when he asked. Suddenly everything hurt; everything was a mess, it was all wrong, all of it, and you just wanted it to stop. The pain, the numbness, the thoughts- everything. It felt like you hadn’t been able to catch a break since the day you were born. Day in and day out you lived like that, and no one would ever ask if you were okay. No one took the time to check on you properly; no one seemed to notice when you felt like you were at your worst. Well...no one except Bakugou. He’d been your rock for a long time now, but lately everything had gotten much worse, and you had kept certain things from him so as not to burden him with your troubles. In your eyes, he had enough of his own problems; hero work was already rough on him as it was, so you kept things to yourself so he wouldn’t feel overwhelmed. 
“Why does everyone always ask that when it’s already too late?”
The words tumbled uncontrollably from your mouth as your brows furrowed, a pained look clouding your dull eyes. Bakugou took a moment to process what you said before responding, eyes still locked onto you.
“What does that mean?” He already knew. You could hear it through the apprehensiveness in his voice, see it in the way he gritted his teeth anxiously. “Y/N, what does that mean?”
You glared at the blurry orange shape below you (were you crying...?), refusing to look Katsuki in the eyes. You were afraid of what might happen if you did. “I’m just...a waste of space.” There was a strange conviction to your voice, as if you’d made up your mind about something. Bakugou did not miss this. You, however, did miss the flash of fear in his ruby eyes as you spoke. “I cause problems for everyone I meet. I’m just a giant inconvenience to the world, and everyone would be better off without me. I don’t matter.”
“Y/N.”
“Would anybody even care if I was gone? I mean really, what difference am I making here?”
“Y/N, look at me.”
“It would be better that way. People wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore, and I don’t have to deal with all of...this.” You made some sort of gesture with your hands, your voice cracking as you held back hot tears. “Life. It’s just...it’s so exhausting. I’m so, so tired of having to wake up every day and drag myself out of bed and live. Nothing is fun anymore, and it’s hard just to breathe. I mean, seriously!? Come on, ya know? I didn’t ask for this, I don’t want to live like thi-!” You choked up, silent sobs wracking your shoulders as you buried your faced in your hands. 
Across the table, Bakugou slid from his chair and made his way to you, feet thudding against the floor as he quickly closed the distance and kneeled down to your level. “I knew something was wrong, but...” He gently cupped your face in his hands, palms warm against your tear stained cheeks. “How long have you been feeling like this?”
You struggled to remember when this all started. Minutes turned to hours, hours to days, and days to weeks that blurred into months eventually. Time blended together, and you couldn’t recall the last time you felt able to get up in the morning without feeling like it was a chore. “I don’t know...” you answered honestly.
Bakugou rubbed his thumbs against your face carefully, a soft sigh leaving his lips as he brought you into an embrace against his chest. You didn’t fight it, instead leaning into his touch while crying, and the two of you stayed there for quite some time before Katsuki spoke up about how he was feeling.
“You may think that you don’t make much of a difference here on this earth, but that’s just utter bullshit, Y/N. You make a hell of a big difference to me and everyone else around you, and you would be sorely missed and grieved over. Don’t you dare for one second think that you’re not important or loved, because you are; you are so, so loved.”
“It doesn’t feel that way,” you cried.
“I know, babe. It’s hard to see it right now, I know. Your mind is telling you the opposite. But believe me when I say you are the most loving and caring person I know. You’re always reaching out to others, maybe even a little too much, and you’re always checking on them. You’ve made a world of difference to everyone. Your friends need you, your family needs you, and I need you here. And I would be devastated if anything were to happen to you.” It was hard to believe anything he said. You wanted to, you wanted to so desperately. But you weren’t sure of anything anymore, and the most you could do was cling to him like a koala and hope that what he said was true. “Let me in. Let me be there for you. Trust me, please.” You’d never heard those words from Katsuki before. They sounded odd coming from his mouth, like they didn’t really belong on his tongue. But you listened because it was Bakugou, and you wanted to trust him. You wanted to be able to feel okay, and he’d always been there no matter how much you’d tried to push him away.
“Okay,” you murmured against his chest, your tired eyes drooping shut in exhaustion. Your shoulders followed suit as they slumped downwards, and you gave in and crumbled into his arms. 
“You’re not a waste of space. You’re extremely important to me, and I don’t tell you that enough. Every day when you leave for work, I miss you. I love when you come home and greet me, and I’m a better person because of you. Y/N, you’ve gotten me through shit I didn’t think I was going to make it out of. And you know what? We can do this. We can do it together, and it’s going to take a lot of work, but we will do it. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.” You couldn’t help but to smile at that. “And I know you feel like a burden, but you’re not. Your problems are never a bother. People are here for you, they want to help support you and listen to you. I want to support you. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. Everything’s gonna be okay. I love you.” 
You couldn’t stop the fresh tears from falling, quiet hiccups taking over you as you cried into his shirt. “I love you too,” you managed somehow.
Bakugou rubbed a hand over your back, his chin coming to rest on your head as he sighed. “I’m not going to let you give up on yourself, no matter what.”
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beldroxramscal · 3 years
Text
Third Time's the Charm
Frankie Morales x f!reader
Words: 1.4k
Summary: Two times Frankie almost tells you he loves you and the third time he actually does.
Warnings: none, just fluff
A/N: This is a birthday fic for @chasingdreamer and since I love her so much, I decided Frankie loves her thrice as much! I know no one writes better Frankie than you, but I tried my best :D I really hope you like it. I even tried putting in some little details for you :D Happy Birthday, Julia! Love you <33
English is not my first language and I have no one to beta for me. That is just a very long way to say: sorry, my English sucks.
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You didn’t hear him the first time he said those three words, and he thanked God for that. It was not more than a month into dating you, and he knew it was way too early for such confessions.
He took you fishing, something you’ve never done, but was more than excited to try. Planning the trip for the whole week, searching for information about the fish in the lake you were going to, the best baits, and, to his utter delight, even your wardrobe.
“I don’t wanna be overdressed, Frankie,” you’d reason with him. And so he sat there and watched you go through your wardrobe, smiling so much his jaw hurt, as you picked your outfit.
The day didn’t turn out as well as you both hoped. It was supposed to be sunny and warm, but when you two arrived the sky was gray with a slight wind that smelled of rain. Still, you were determined not to let such a small detail sour your mood.
Your smile never seemed to disappear as you two walked the small distance through the forest, even when you kept sliding on the mud and catching him by his arm for support. He tried not to get too excited at the constant contact, but you’d giggled and apologize to him every time, and his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest.
Frankie showed you everything you needed to know, practicing with you for almost an hour just to have an excuse to be so close to you. It felt incredible for him to be the one to show you something new, something you seemed to enjoy this much and would associate with him no matter what the future holds for the two of you.
“You are a pro,” he smiled when you did the whole process by yourself. His heart skipped a beat when you looked at him bashfully from under your eyelashes, your cheeks pink, as you thanked him.
Leaving you by the shore with a rod in your hand, he retreated to the bags. He packed a small picnic basket, and he wanted to surprise you when you seemed so focused on the task in your hand.
He decided against the blanket, the grass was wet, and he didn’t want you to catch a cold. Instead, he moved the two folding chairs closer together with a small folding table in between them. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes as he tried to put everything together when you suddenly screamed. Frankie turned his head just in time to see you fall face-first into the shallow, muddy water. In an instant, he started running towards you, but before he could get to you, you were already sitting up.
You turned to him and your beautiful face was dripping with water with pieces of mud sticking to it and the rest of you wasn’t in much better shape. Maybe even worse.
He stopped dead in his tracks just a few feet away from you, his face frozen with fear of what was going to happen. Will you yell at him for leaving you alone? Oh God, what if you’d never speak to him again?
But then you started laughing. Your head was thrown back and your hands were flailing around as you tried to speak, but there wasn’t enough air in your lungs for that. So you just laughed and pointed, and he’s never seen anyone or anything more enchanting than you at that moment.
“I love you,” he breathed out. Too quiet for you to hear through the fit of laughter, but loud enough to shake with his whole being. He wasn’t expecting it, didn’t know it, but now he said it out loud and there was no denying it was true.
The second time was a mess too but in a completely different sense. The two of you were hanging in your apartment, eating pizza and drinking some beer, when you decided to show him one of your favorite movies - Pride and Prejudice. He’s never seen it before, not really into that period lovey-dovey stuff, but you looked so excited he couldn’t refuse. So you both moved onto the couch. Few clicks of your remote control later and a soothing piano started to play from the TV.
He didn’t know what to expect, but he had to admit he could see the appeal. The tall brooding wealthy man and the headstrong heroine with her own ideals? Not very groundbreaking, but there was something about it, he couldn’t put his finger on. It felt almost like a magnet. Whatever it was, he was becoming a fan.
It wasn’t until some time later, when Darcy followed Elizabeth from the church, that he felt you stir in his arm. He looked down to where your face was laying on his shoulder. Your eyes looking almost longingly at the TV in front of you with a piece of pizza hovering just outside your lips, when he noticed you were mouthing along with the movie. You knew the speech and by the look on your face, he could tell you wanted this. You wanted someone to get over their fears, and tell you they love you. He wanted to be that man for you.
“I love you.” He didn’t realize how dry his throat was until the words left his mouth. Well, barely.
You looked up at him, and he could feel his heart in his throat from the anticipation.
“Huh? You said something?”
It was quiet after that, except for the TV, but there were bombs going off in his mind.
“Nope,” he shook his head. Kissing you on your forehead just to distract himself from the panic that seized his body. You smiled and turned your attention back to the TV.
Okay. So he was going to become that man for you.
Third time’s the charm.
Frankie wasn’t planning anything for today, you two were not even supposed to see each other, but when you texted him about being stressed because of your asshole boss, he decided to cheer you up a little.
On his way to your place, he picked up some tulips and a cake for your nerves. And his nerves. His mind went into overdrive as he started to doubt his decision. He was inviting himself to your home, without any kind of heads up or any indication you even want him there. He contemplated calling you or maybe texting you that he was on his way, but before he could even make up his mind what would be better, he was turning onto your street.
Frankie parked outside your house, looking at the flowers and the white carton box, trying to decide what to do. He kept picturing you angry at him for showing up uninvited and kicking him out, telling him how creepy he is. He knew it was stupid, you wouldn’t treat him like that even if you were annoyed. And you wouldn’t wear one of those pointy witch hats his mind kept picturing you in for some reason.
It took him almost ten minutes of sitting in the car outside your house and reasoning that he could always just give you the stuff he bought you and go home. No harm in that right? Just him thinking you might need a pick me up. He finally got out of the car after that and rang your doorbell.
He expected a lot of things, a witch hat included, but he didn’t expect you to open the door in his plaid shirt. It was the one he gave you on your fishing trip, so you could get out of your wet shirt. You promised to wash it and give it back to him, but he completely forgot about it.
Your surprised face mirrored his own, but he was sure your heartbeat was much calmer. Or at least that’s what he thought until you started stammering.
“Frankie! Oh… wh-what are you… doing here?” You kept fidgeting, your eyes ticking from his face to anything else as if he caught you doing something you shouldn’t have.
“Is that my shirt?” He raised an eyebrow, unable to mask the smile that threatened to cut through his cheeks.
You looked down, flushed, nervous, tripping over your words as you shook your head. “Uhm… may--maybe? I-- I’m not sure.” But when you looked up at him again, it was all the confirmation he needed.
“God, I love you.”
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