#they went through so much raising and then losing a child together. they’ll always be friends

[comfymoth]

ssorry i just. thought about jaiden taking roier dress shopping and now i’m in tears i have so many wishful thoughts about them i really just need to see them interact before the wedding or i’ll die i think

[theladyofdeath]

The Return 2 {The Arrival, Part 2}

Summary: Back at the lake house, ten years later… Collaboration with @snelbz - part 2 to the sequel!

Word Count: 7136

The Arrival Series Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

Even ten years later, Elain was still the first one awake whenever they took family vacations. She had woken up with the sun, tried — and failed, miserably — to rouse Azriel from sleep, read her devotions, gotten in some yoga, and started on breakfast, all before she heard the first footstep from anywhere in the house. But soon enough, she heard slow, sleepy steps on the stairs, though they headed towards the back of the house rather than towards the kitchen.

Ruling out Lannan and his voracious appetite, along with Thorn, Bennett, and John, Elain waited, mixing up the pancake batter after she put a large pan of bacon into the oven.

A few minutes later, Scarlett appeared, dragging a still half-asleep Cassian by the hand. He was yawning and had a hair brush, comb and two hair ties in his hand.

“Good morning, you two,” she laughed, pouring Cassian a cup of coffee, which he looked like he desperately needed.

He mumbled something that sounded like a typical morning greeting, while Scarlett gave her a sleepy smile after climbing up onto one of the barstools. “G’morning, Aunt Lainey. Are we having pancakes for breakfast?”

“And bacon,” she replied, smiling at her youngest niece. Layla and Scarlett had sleepovers all the time, being the two youngest and close in age.

Scarlett grinned and turned to Cassian. “Remember, I want two braids, daddy, not just one.”

He nodded, still drinking his coffee, but handed her the brush to start detangling her long, waist-length hair.

“Nesta not up yet?” Elain chuckled, pouring some of the batter into the hot pan.

“I like it better when daddy braids my hair. Mommy makes it too fancy,” Scarlett replied, scrunching up her nose.

“That’s right,” Cassian mumbled, running his fingers through his youngest’s hair. “Dad keeps the braids messy.”

Elain laughed quietly as she continued to make breakfast. “Well, if you have the magic touch, I may make you braid Layla’s hair. She always complains when I do it, and the art of braiding isn’t exactly one of Azriel’s many talents.”

“We don’t need to hear about Azriel’s many talents,” Cassian warned.

Elain jabbed him in the ribs, which only made Cassian laugh as he began to braid his daughter's hair.

“Is Thorn going back to jail today?” Scarlett asked.

Cassian sighed, Scarlett wincing as he made sure his braid was tight. “No, Thorn’s not going back to jail, ever.”

The ten-year-old rolled her eyes. “Never say never, daddy.”

Elain chuckled as she set a giant mountain of pancakes on the island. “Give your brother a break. He’s a good boy.”

“No, he’s not,” Scarlett said, earning a snap from Cassian for her to stay still while he worked. “He swears too much and he smells yucky.”

“All teenage boys swear too much and smell yucky,” Cassian promised. “Just wait until you’re a teenager and you like those yucky boys.”

“I’m not ever going to like boys,” Scarlett promised. “I’m going to stay single and awesome forever.”

Elain shook her head, humored, as she watched her niece.

“That would make daddy very happy and I’m holding you to it,” he replied, tying the elastic around the end of the braid and starting on the second.

“Aunt Lainey, does Luna like smelly teenage boys?” Scarlett asked, looking up at her.

Luna was Scarlett’s idol. Everything the girl did, the younger one was right behind, whether it was a trend, style or even just following her around. And Luna handled it well, for a sixteen-year-old girl. She never complained, even when her own baby sister was in tow. Cassian was sure that because she was a carbon-copy of Elain, right down to the soft, caramel colored eyes.

Elain smirked as she set a plate down in front of Scarlett, a small stack of pancakes on top of it. She pulled the bacon out of the oven before replying. “Oh, she does. And Uncle Az is not happy about it.”

“Isn’t happy about what?” The man in question asked as he rounded the corner, heading straight for the coffee pot. He paused to kiss Elain’s cheek. “Morning, beautiful.”

“Luna Bug’s boyfriend,” Cassian smirked, watching as Azriel’s good mood deflated.

“We don’t talk about him,” Azriel said, quietly, as he filled his mug. “And definitely not this early in the morning.”

“He has a name,” Elain said, simply. “And you should call him by it.”

“The name I have for him shouldn’t be said around Scar,” Azriel said, pausing as he passed her to kiss the top of his niece’s head.

“He’s a good kid,” Elain said, rolling her eyes. “And I think Luna and Lachlan are good for each other.”

“Lachlan,” Scarlett repeated. “I like that name.”

Cassian’s grin only widened as he looked up at Azriel, who sat at the table, sipping from his mug.

“Just wait until she thinks she’s old enough to date,” Azriel said, gesturing to Scarlett.

“Oh no,” Cassian said, shaking his head. “She’s already informed me that she’s staying single and awesome forever, so.”

Azriel snorted as the twins came into the room, followed by John, whose hair was sticking up in every which direction.

“Mom says she’s taking a shower then she’ll be out to help make breakfast,” John said, yawning as he flicked Olive on the back of the ear. She flipped him off, which earned a gasp from Scarlett and a laugh from Cassian.

“No need, your Aunt has been up since the crack of dawn,” Azriel said, nodding toward the food. “Eat up.”

John didn’t need to be told twice. At fourteen, he was eating more than nearly everyone else - followed closely by his older boy cousins, who were, no doubt, still sound asleep.

Lily was still mortified by her new haircut, but thanks to a French braid of some sort, it could barely be noticed. She and Olive got a couple of pancakes each and talked to each other quietly.

Once Scarlett’s hair was finished, Cassian got his own breakfast, splashing a bit of whiskey into Azriel’s coffee and his own when he thought no one was looking, and sat down at the table. Mid bite, his chewing slowed down as he looked at Olive. “Liv, I think you still have makeup from yesterday on. You’ll probably want to get that off before we go on the boat.”

She rolled her dark, lined eyes. “It’s Olive, Uncle Cass, and it’s waterproof eyeliner. I’ll be fine.”

Lily, fresh faced, shook her head. “She’s too cool to be seen without her makeup anymore.”

Elain was chuckling at the stove as the two girls quietly bickered and Cassian was immediately grateful he only had one daughter.

“What’re we doing today?” John asked, his mouth full.

“Ask when your mouth isn’t full and I’ll tell you,” Cassian said, sitting next to his middle child.

“Yeah, John, have some manners.” Thorn entered the room, grumpy as hell, the first thing out of his mouth directed at his younger brother.

“Says the asshole that spent yesterday in jail,” John muttered, mouth still full.

“Watch your mouth,” Cassian snapped, his mouth also full.

Azriel just shook his head, watching the three of them. He looked at Scarlett. “How do you and your mom handle those three?”

Scarlett shrugged as she hopped off her stool. With a piece of bacon in each hand, she said, “We stick together. Girl power.”

Elain laughed, winking at her niece as she fled from the room.

Layla appeared a minute later, on Rhysand’s back, wide-eyed and chipper. Bennett was soon behind, and Cassian snorted.

“How is it that the kids from your side are the ones still asleep when Elain is one of the first ones up?” he asked, looking at Azriel.

“Luna’s probably awake and talking to-.”

“If you say his name again, I’ll lose my appetite, then my mood will be destroyed for the rest of the day,” Azriel said, holding up his hand and looking at his wife.

“Lachlan is so sweet though,” Lily said, sighing, and Olive nodded, which earned them a look from both Rhys and Azriel.

“Teenage boys aren’t sweet,” Rhys told his daughters. “They’re crafty, lying, disgusting creatures.”

Lily and Olive looked at Thorn and Bennett, both shoveling food into their mouths. Their brother responded. “What?”

“Aren’t you going to say he’s wrong?” Olive asked, looking between them.

“No, because then I’d be lying and proving him right,” Bennett replied.

“And we’re pretty disgusting,” Thorn added, shoving an entire piece of bacon into his mouth in two bites. Bennett nodded and was getting up for seconds when Rhys stopped him.

“Save some food for your mothers, please,” he said. “After mom and Aunt Nesta eat, you can get more.”

Layla quietly approached Cassian and tapped on his shoulder, asking if he could braid her hair, too. He gave Elain a knowing look, but picked Layla up and set her in Scarlett’s vacated seat. “Only cause you’re the cutest one here,” he whispered, so only she could hear. She giggled and nodded, sitting still as he went to work.

Nesta and Feyre made their way into the kitchen soon after, with Azriel going to retrieve Lannan, who was still sleeping like the dead. Luna was the last to arrive, claiming she’d slept in, too.

“Y’all wanna make some sandwiches for the boat while we get everything ready to go?”

Cassian asked Nesta and his sister-in-laws.

“You don’t want to come back for lunch?” Nesta asked. “You want to keep nine kids on a boat all day?”

He shrugged. “They'll be swimming and wakeboarding and tubing. They’ll be busy. Plus Thorn and Bennett are taking out the jet skis.”

Thorn raised his hand.

Bennett gave him a high-five.

John frowned. “Why can’t I take one of the jet skis?”

“Because we’re older,” Thorn said, simply.

“That’s not fair,” John argued. “What kind of argument is that?”

“Thorn and Bennett are taking the jet-skis,” Cassian said, his voice holding no room for argument. “You can take one tomorrow.”

“Ooooh, me too,” Luna said. “I call one for tomorrow.”

Thorn rolled his eyes, the only sign that he was annoyed.

The second that Nesta and Feyre sat down with their breakfasts, Thorn, Bennett, and John were on their feet, fighting for what was left.

“Animals,” Lily scoffed, taking Olive by the elbow and leading her down the hall to their room to get ready.

Thirty minutes and almost just as many sandwiches later, everyone was loading onto the boat, save for Thorn and Bennett who took off towards the jet-skis as soon as they were given the okay. After strict instructions to stay within sight of the parents, they were firing them up and taking off, Cassian starting the boat and following behind.

Elain fell into the seat at the front with her oldest daughter, wrapping an arm around her as the wind whipped back their hair. “What’s Lachlan doing this weekend?”

Her knees were tucked under her chin and she looked out over the passing water. “He and his parents went to Orynth. They’re touring a college there, but he doesn’t want to be that far from home.”

“Far from home or far from you?” Elain asked, nudging her slightly.

Luna blushed. “Both.”

Lachlan was a year older than Luna, so college was much more prevalent on his mind, as a senior. Or it should have been, had Luna not already had her five-year-plan made, starting with attending the University of Velaris and ending with a degree in business and communications, an internship under her belt and an entry-level position in a company she could grow at.

“Sounds serious,” Elain said.

“Too serious,” Azriel muttered, and both of them turned around, unaware that Azriel was just on the other side. Elain lifted a brow. “What? She’s sixteen.”

“Exactly,” Luna said, crossing her arms. “I’m not a child anymore, dad.”

Azriel didn’t respond. He simply walked to the cooler, opened a beer, and sat next to Rhysand.

“Ignore him,” Elain said, her arm around Luna. “He’ll come around.”

“Doubtful,” Luna muttered.

“You’re the oldest girl in the family,” Feyre said, as she took the seat on her other side. “You finding a boyfriend is uncharted territory.”

“It’s just not fair,” she said, simply. “Thorn and Ben have had tons of girlfriends, since middle school, and no one has ever batted an eye. I get my first serious boyfriend, and dad…” She shook her head as she glanced at Azriel, who was sipping his beer with a rigid jaw. “It’s like I’m a criminal or something.”

“And you weren’t even the one in jail,” John muttered, gazing out over the water.

Cassian hit him upside the back of the head.

“Dad will come around,” Elain promised again.

“Maybe we should keep the boyfriend talk to a minimum,” Luna muttered. “At least for this weekend.”

“Why?” Feyre asked, propping her feet up in the empty second chair and giving her niece a comforting smile. “He’s going to have to get used to you dating eventually. And Lachlan is very sweet. You could’ve ended up with someone like your Uncle Cassian. He’ll get used to you having a boyfriend. I promise.”

Cassian brought the boat to a stop, effectively ending the conversation and started unloading the wakeboarding equipment.

“Can we ride tubes first, Uncle Cass?” Lily asked. “Tubing always gets saved for last and we never have much time thanks to you guys wakeboarding for hours.”

He was about to protest, even though he knew she was right, even with the unnecessary eye rolling, but Nesta said, “I think starting with tubing is a good idea. Let those two expend some of their energy before they board and try to do tricks they can’t accomplish. No trips to the hospital this year.”

The year before, there had been two trips to the hospital. One for Bennett, who’d gotten a concussion, and one for Cassian…who had thrown out his back, thanks to thinking he was still youthful enough to complete some of the tricks he had attempted.

He wasn’t.

This year, they were having none of that.

“Fine,” Cassian sighed. “Get out the tubes.”

The kids let out a round of excited yells, and up ahead, Bennett and Thorn were riding circles around each other.

Cassian, Rhysand, and Azriel took turns driving, seeing which of the kids they could throw off their tubes. Even Luna almost let out a curse - almost, but not quite.

Once they were done, everyone grabbed a sandwich as the wakeboarding began. Thorn was the first to go, which meant that John got his jetski, so everyone was happy.

At least until Thorn wiped out, then he was just pissed.

When everyone was worn out, Cassian brought the boat back to the dock, and one by one, everyone got off to slowly make their way back up to the house.

Rhysand was the last to get off, carrying a sleeping Layla up the hill. He laid his niece down in her bed before fighting everyone for one of the two showers.

“So what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” He asked as he stepped into the kitchen, fighting off a yawn.

Nesta was doing the same and Elain chuckled. “Seems like everyone could use some downtime. Why don’t we let the kids do their thing, take naps if they want, and we’ll start dinner around five-thirty?”

“A nap sounds awesome,” Nesta said, wrapping her arms around Cassian’s waist and laying her head on his chest. From the look on his face, he didn’t think she meant it literally. From the look on hers, she did.

And so everyone went their separate ways. Most of the kids ended up in the bonus room, either playing Xbox or entertaining themselves in someway. Ironically, only Luna and Lannan decided to lay down for naps, and Nesta, of course.

Elain’s alarm on her phone went off, letting her know it was five-thirty. She and Azriel had taken advantage of their alone time and were now just laying in bed together, although Azriel it seemed was half-asleep now that it was time to get up.

She looked up at him, eyes closed and lips parted and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He responded by rolling his head to the side, looking for her lips without opening his eyes. She kissed him again, but pulled away when his tongue brushed against her bottom lip.

Laughing softly, she got out of bed and started getting dressed. Azriel watched her with sleepy eyes. “I’m going to get Feyre so we can start making tacos. Will you get the kids up around six?”

He nodded, tucking an arm behind his head and closing his eyes again. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to the end of his nose. “Don’t fall asleep.”

“That’s asking a lot,” he replied, catching her before she could stand up, twining his fingers into her hair. “You wore me out.”

“Hush,” she said, blushing, and kissed him again before slipping out the door.

He heard a knock on a door down the hall and then Feyre’s voice joined Elain’s. The word daddy was unmistakable as they walked away and he couldn’t help but chuckle even as he blushed and covered his face with Elain’s pillow.

Once the smell of delicious food cooking started wagging towards their room, he decided it was time to get up, get dressed, and wake up his kids, knowing it’d be time to eat soon.

He stopped off in the boy’s room first, knowing Lannan would be the easiest to rouse. All he had to say was tacos, and his son was up and hurrying downstairs to help in any way he could, if it meant he could eat quicker.

Layla was still fast asleep in the room she and Scarlett shared, her braid messy from sleep. Getting her up was easy enough. She didn’t require bribery or any tricks, she liked to do as she was told. He just had to tell her that mama needed help in the kitchen and she slipped off to do what she could.

Luna’s room was at the end of the hall. She shared a room with the twins, but they were upstairs and already being told to go to the kitchen, which meant she surely was sound asleep.

Azriel didn’t bother knocking before he opened the door. “Hey, dinner’s-.”

“Fuck, Luna-.”

Luna dropped her phone and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes went wide in horror. “Dad!”

Azriel quickly shut the door, his hand remaining on the knob for a moment before he dropped it, and slowly walked down the hall, toward the kitchen.

He had not seen much, considering Luna had been under the blankets, but he knew enough about technology and the teenage mind to know exactly what had been going on.

Azriel was going to be sick.

He hadn’t even noticed the chatter going on in the kitchen as he entered.

Rhysand was in the middle of a sentence, even though Azriel had no idea what he had been saying, when Azriel said, “Elain, a word.”

The tone of his voice must’ve created alarm, because the room went quiet. Without noticing if Elain was following, Azriel walked into the living room.

He sat back on the couch, nausea brewing in the pit of his stomach.

Elain timidly entered a moment later. “You okay, babe? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Worse,” he said, without any hesitation. “So much worse.”

He quickly and concisely explained what he’d seen, which thankfully wasn’t much, but he knew. Oh, gods, he knew.

He heard the male voice on the other side of the video call, recognized it and hated it all the same, especially the way that voice had said his daughter’s name.

“Why didn’t you knock?” Elain asked, shaking her head as she rubbed at a spot between her eyes.

“I thought she’d be asleep!” He defended, throwing his hands up.

“She’s a teenage girl, Az,” she sighed. “Regardless, you should have knocked. She could have been changing.”

“I wish she would’ve been!” His cheeks were on fire. “That would’ve been better than…that.”

Elain stood. “I’ll go get her. Why don’t you and the boys go eat on the deck? Some fresh air might help.”

He nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“Do not be mad at her,” she added before leaving the room. “It’s not her fault you didn’t knock.”

“She shouldn’t be having video sex with her boyfriend while we’re on a family vacation,” he whispered, shooting to his feet.

“At least she didn’t get arrested having sex in the back of a truck. So this isn’t the worst thing that could have happened on this vacation,” Elain replied.

“No,” he said, heading towards the kitchen to get a plate of food. “It’s the worst thing that could have happened to me, period.”

Elain rolled her eyes, watching as Azriel stormed into the kitchen and out of sight.

Calmly, she walked down to the end of the hall and knocked on the last door.

She could hear Luna sniffling. “Yeah?”

“It’s mom,” Elain said, leaning against the door. “Can I come in?”

A second passed. “Yes.”

Elain opened the door to find Luna sitting up on her bed, wearing a hoodie and wrapped in a blanket, as if she couldn’t get enough clothes onto her body. Her eyes were red and puffy.

Elain sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her daughter. “Care to tell me your side of the story?”

Luna shook her head, then looked at her hands as she said, “We were just facetime-ing. It got...slightly intimate, nothing was even really going on, and then dad walked in.” Her face fell into her hands. “Too much was going on for him to walk in on, though, I’ll tell you that. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life. I just hung up. Lachlan probably thinks that I just lost connection.”

Elain huffed through her nose. “Look, I don’t know exactly what your father saw, he couldn’t exactly get the words out-.”

“Me, topless, showing my boyfriend my boobs,” Luna supplied, her face still in her hands. “I mean, I was mostly under the blankets, but… I think he got the point.”

Elain had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Usually, she wouldn’t find things so funny, but this was Luna. Luna, who never did anything wrong. The fact that she was just like every other teenage girl, that she was just like Elain and her sisters at sixteen, was…almost refreshing.

She scooted closer and wrapped her arms around her daughter. “Your dad is having a hard time processing that his little girl isn’t so little anymore.”

“That’s an understatement,” she scoffed. “This is worse than my first period, first bra and first date combined.”

Elain couldn’t stop her chuckle again. “I think we’re probably gonna spend the rest of the evening separated. We’re gonna do our thing and the boys will do theirs. Are you hungry?”

Luna shrugged, fiddling with her phone case.

“You sure? Aunt Feyre and I made tacos.”

Looking up at her, eyes still puffy and blush still on her cheeks, Luna said, “I guess I could eat.”

“Good,” Elain said, kissing her forehead and taking her daughter’s face in her hands. “I know you’re a smart girl, and I know you care about Lachlan. But if and when things move past just showing him your boobs on FaceTime, promise me you’ll be careful.”

Luna’s cheeks were blood red again and she shook her head. “I haven’t… we haven’t… I’m still a virgin, mom.”

Elain stifled her laughter again. “I know you are, sweetie. All I’m asking is that whenever the time comes, promise me you’ll use that beautiful brain of yours and don’t let hormones get in the way. And when we get home, we can talk about birth control if you want to.”

Luna’s eyes went wide. “You’d…let me get on the pill? What about dad? He’d lose it if he found out.”

“If it means you’re being smart and safe, yes.” Elain smiled, and took her daughter’s hand. “And don’t worry about your father. I can handle him.”

“He’s awfully dramatic,” Luna mumbled. “He’s just passionate,” Elain said, correcting her. “Which means he loves as fiercely as he loses it.”

Luna chuckled, and nodded. “Let me text Lachlan about why I hung up so suddenly, then I’ll be out.”

Elain kissed Luna’s forehead before hopping off of the bed. “I’ll make you a plate of tacos.”

“Thanks, mom,” Luna said, as Elain walked out, and Elain knew it was for much more than the food.

As she walked back into the kitchen, all of the boys were out on the back porch, leaving the girls inside.

“We’re thinking about having a girls night,” Feyre said, as Elain approached. “Chick flicks, painting our nails, and mud masks?”

“I’m here for it,” Elain said. “Luna will be, too.”

Quietly, Feyre asked, “Is everything okay?”

“I’ll fill you in later,” Elain promised, and went to making Luna her plate of food. She came out a minute later, and cleared her entire plate in under five minutes.

When they were done, Legally Blonde was being set up in the living room, and Nesta was carrying out a basket of nail polish.

“Looks like the boys are going for a boat ride,” Nesta said, rolling her eyes. “Hopefully Cass isn’t driving. He can’t drive in the dark. I swear he needs glasses but he’s too stubborn to go get his eyes checked.”

“He’s in denial about getting old, Rhys was the same way,” Feyre sighed, searching through the basket for a color she liked. “But I finally convinced him to go a couple months back.

Now it’s like I have a sexy Clark Kent walking around my house in the evenings.”

“How’d you do that?” Elain asking, carrying wine glasses and a chilled bottle into the room.

The girls were all focused on the huge box of makeup Lily and Olive had brought down from the bonus room, sitting around it and begging Luna to do their makeup. Even Olive was willing to remove her thick eyeliner if it meant Luna would work her magic on her eyebrows.

“I can be very…persuasive,” she replied, filling her glass and taking a sip.

Nesta reached for the remote and turned the movie up to give their conversation a semblance of privacy, turning her attention to her sister. She whispered, “Spill.”

Feyre was blushing, clearly not expecting her sisters to jump on this particular topic. She settled back into the couch cushions and took a much larger drink of her wine. “I…let him go where no man has gone before.”

“What, like, Victoria’s Secret?” Elain asked, brow furrowed in confusion, but from the smirk on Nesta’s face, she knew exactly what Feyre meant.

“No, Lainey, not like Victoria’s Secret,” Nesta said, voice low enough that the kids couldn’t hear them over the movie. “She let him get in her ass.”

Elain blinked once and said, “Oh,” before going back to looking through the nail polish basket.

Feyre and Nesta looked at each other, before looking back at Elain.

Nesta whispered, “That was a very casual Oh.”

Shrugging, Elain glanced up at them, still looking through the basket. “That’s nothing new for us.”

Feyre’s brows shot up as Nesta leaned forward. “Okay, for the two quietest and most private in this family…you two have one hell of a sex life.”

Elain laughed, quietly, as she picked out a soft lavender nail polish. “What? We’ve always liked to keep each other…intrigued…in the bedroom.”

“And was daddy the one to introduce this…act?” Feyre asked, still dumbfounded.

Elain shrugged, falling back on the couch. “We thought we’d give it a try one day, and it was…nice.”

“Nice?” Nesta repeated.

“It’s not for everyone, but…yeah, it was nice,” Elain said. “Anyway, someone paint my right hand, please. My left is too shaky.”

Nesta did as her sister asked, even though Feyre was still staring at her, minutes later. It wasn’t until halfway through the movie, when Luna excused herself to walk into the kitchen, that Nesta excused herself to follow after.

When she walked into the kitchen, Luna was staring out the back door to where the boys were tossing a football around the campfire.

“You okay, Lunabug?” Nesta asked, referring to that old nickname from her childhood that they all still used.

Luna nodded. “Yeah, just…tired, I guess. I think I may head to bed early tonight.”

“I get that, it was a big day,” Nesta smiled, and hugged her eldest niece. “Don’t worry about your dad. I’m sure Uncle Cass and Uncle Rhys have been calming him down all night.”

“I know, I know,” Luna sighed, burying her face in her aunt’s shoulder. “How am I supposed to ever look him in the eye again though? He didn’t see anything, but he knew what was happening. It’s not hard to figure out.”

“You’re almost an adult, sweet girl,” Nesta said, tipping her chin back so she kept her head high. “Sooner or later, your dad is going to have to accept that.”

Luna nodded and hugged her aunt again. Nesta hugged her tighter and said, “How do you think I feel right now? My adult son got caught having sex in public yesterday.” She felt Luna laugh and pulled back to rest her hand against her cheek. “It could be worse. I’m sure you’re embarrassed, but this will pass, okay? Your dad is overbearing because he loves you.”

Luna’s smile was small, but Nesta could tell it was genuine. “I know. Thank you, Aunt Nes.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

With a goodnight, Luna was off to the room, Layla and Scarlett only a few minutes behind her. The twins, stubborn as always, said they weren’t tired, yet were asleep on the floor within ten minutes.

“Another drink, ladies?” Feyre asked, bringing out a new wine glass as she fell on the couch between her sisters.

“Please,” Elain begged, holding out her glass.

Nesta didn’t protest either as the three sisters finished the movie, drinking the night away.

*

“Fuck, the twins are only two years younger.”

Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel were lying in the grass, a beer in their hands, staring up at the stars as their boys swam in the water, the firelight the only thing allowing them any guidance.

“I just… I knew this day was coming,” Azriel said, his words slightly slurred. “I just… I don’t know. I wasn’t ready for it.”

“Can we ever be ready for it?” Cassian asked. “Boys…they’re easy. But, girls…” Cassian shook his head. “We’re never going to be ready for anything they put us through.”

“I want to find this kid… And-.”

“And what?” Rhysand asked, laughing as he cut off Azriel. “You act like you weren’t a teenager once.”

“I was,” Azriel confessed, then sighed. “But…that was me…this is…my daughter.”

“Have you met his parents yet?” Cassian asked, sitting up and bracing his elbows on his knees. “Once we met Marion’s parents, we felt way better. Mostly because we know Lorcan Salvaterre has the capability to kick Thorn’s ass, and Thorn does, too. But it also showed us Marion is a good girl. She comes from a good family, who loves and cares for her just as much as we do Thorn.”

“We’ve met his mom,” Azriel admitted, staring at stars still. “Or Lainey has, I haven’t. But she said she was sweet. Granted, she says Lachlan is sweet, too. She thinks everyone is sweet, cause she’s sweet.”

“You guys should try to all go to dinner when we get back to Velaris,” Cass suggested, finishing his beer. He tossed his empty can into the pile by the fire. “Meet his parents, get a vibe for them, shake the kid’s hand hard enough to leave an impression. I’m sure they love Luna, just like we love Marion.”

“Them loving Luna isn’t the point,” Azriel began, quietly. “Everyone loves Luna. The problem is…is that I was a teenage boy once, and I know exactly what this kid wants.”

“You also met Elain when you were a teenager,” Rhysand pointed out. “And, you started dating when you were teenagers. You’re telling me that the only reason you wanted to be with Elain was for sex?”

Azriel paused. Then answered, shortly, “No.”

“Then maybe this kid wants more than that, too,” Cassian said.

“But he wants the other thing, too,” Azriel protested, then groaned, flipping over until his face was buried in the grass.

“You can’t make her a nun,” Cassian said, Rhysand grinning on Azriel’s other side. “You can’t keep it from happening. Teach her to be safe, and she’ll be fine.”

Azriel’s voice was muffled by the ground. “Why are you being the reasonable one right now?”

“Because I’ve also been a teenage boy who loved a girl. Because I currently have a teenage boy who loves a girl, even if he makes stupid decisions with her sometimes,” he replied. “But I have to let him make those decisions on his own so he can learn. Luna is smart, Az. She’ll make good choices, you just have to let her make them.”

He grumbled something into the grass that his brothers couldn’t hear and Rhysand ruffled the back of his hair before standing.

“It’s getting late, the kids need to get to bed.”

They called the boys out of the water, handing out towels and dousing the fire as they headed up towards the house.

“Bennett and I can carry the beers out to the garage,” Thorn said, and Cassian’s eyes immediately met Rhysand’s amused state.

“Good try,” he chuckled.

Rhys added, “You can leave them on the kitchen counter.”

The boys mumbled something under their breath, but did as they were told and they all went off to get changed and get in bed.

They found their wives on the couch, wine drunk and giggly, with the twins asleep on the floor.

“Everyone else in bed?” Cassian asked, sitting on the arm of the couch by Nesta. She laid her head against his thigh and nodded.

Feyre inclined her head to her daughters on the floor in front of them. “These two insisted they weren’t tired.”

Rhysand snorted. “I see that.”

Azriel fell onto the couch by Elain while Rhys gently woke the twins and sent them to bed.

Elain looked up at him and chuckled, quietly, as she ran her fingers through his messy hair. “You’re drunk.”

“I am not,” he lied.

“Your eyes are glazed,” she whispered, “and I could barely make sense of the three words that just came out of your mouth.”

“He only had…” Cassian cocked his head to the side, counting on his fingers. “Yeah, I lost count. How many beers you have there, Az?”

Azriel mumbled something incomprehensible and sighed.

Cassian chuckled as he stood, and gathered Nesta in his arms before walking down the hall, toward their bedroom.

Feyre followed, carrying the empty wine glasses into the kitchen.

Elain shook her head as Azriel’s eyes fluttered shut, thanks to her fingertips gently rubbing at his head. A moment later, she thought he may have fallen asleep, but then he said, “I’m scared for her.”

Elain’s fingers slowed, but she nodded. “Luna’s smart-.”

“But teenage boys aren’t,” Azriel said, opening his eyes to meet his wife’s. “I know that Luna’s smart. And everyone can keep telling me how smart she is, but it doesn’t make me trust any guy that she’ll ever be with any more. Men are idiots. And the last thing I want is for my baby to be heartbroken, crying over some dick that didn’t deserve her in the first place.” Elain’s eyes softened, but Azriel went on, “And the fact that they’re getting more….intimate, only means that Luna’s starting to trust him and like him more. And that scares me.”

“I know,” Elain said, quietly, crawling onto his lap and straddling his waist. Her forehead fell against his as his eyes fell shut, once again. “She spent the entire night thinking she’d disappointed you.”

“She didn’t disappoint me,” Azriel said, quietly, and Elain knew that he meant it. And as she pulled back, she recognized the look that was creeping into his hazel eyes: guilt.

“She’s probably still awake if you want to go talk to her,” Elain said.

Azriel hesitated, then nodded. After Elain crawled off of him, he waited a moment before pushing himself up and began to amble his way down the hall, until he reached the last door on the left.

This time, he knocked.

He waited, and when there was no response, he knocked again, only to find no response. He cracked open the door and peeked inside. The lights were off, and Luna was sound asleep, the hood of her hoodie pulled over her dark hair, and the fan across the room on high, pointed right at her.

He laughed quietly at the sight.

Yeah, she was growing up, but sound asleep, she looked like she always had: mouth hanging open, one hand tossed behind her head. She used to fall asleep on him like that, and he’d have to carry her to bed and tuck her in. That’s how she would always be to him: that little girl whose only man in her life was her daddy.

Except that’s not how it was, not anymore.

Azriel walked to her bedside and leaned down to kiss her forehead before pulling her blanket up higher around her. “Night, Lunabug.”

As he headed back for her door, he heard, “Dad?”

He spun around, that alcohol catching up with him and nearly knocking himself over, thanks to the quick motion. He grabbed the doorframe to steady himself. “I…knocked this time.”

Luna rolled over and looked at him. Thanks to the light in the hallway streaming in, he could see the hurt in her light brown eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Azriel’s shoulders sagged as he made his way back into the room and sat down on the edge of her bed. He ran a hand through his hair before saying, “You don’t need to be sorry. I’m sorry. You’re growing up, and that’s exactly what you’re supposed to do, but I’m still figuring out how to raise a young woman and not a little girl.”

Luna nodded, but said nothing.

“It’s hard, though,” he began, honestly. “When I was seventeen, Luna, I had no idea how to treat girls. I went on a lot of dates, and…did a lot of things on those dates…and, if I’m being honest with you, not a lot of those things meant anything to me other than what I got out of them at that moment.” He looked at Luna. “It wasn’t until I started dating your mom that I got some sense knocked into me.”

She chuckled at that.

“But, I also know that Lachlan is not me,” Azriel continued. “I also know that I don’t know a lot about him. So, maybe next week we can have him and his parents over for dinner, and I can start to get to know him, if he means that much to you.”

He didn’t need any light in the room to see the tears lining her eyes. “I would like that.”

“Then you talk to him, I’ll talk to mom, and we’ll make it happen, okay?” She nodded, and he leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. “Goodnight, Lunabug. I love you.”

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and he was glad for what little balance he still had, so he didn’t topple over on her. “I love you, too, daddy.”

Wrapping an arm around her, he held her close, not letting her go until he felt her arms getting heavier. Until he carefully settled her back into the bed, tucking the covers around her, but not too tight, because she hated feeling constricted, and pushed the hoodie back just a bit to see her sleeping face.

She looked so much like her mother while she was asleep.

Quietly, carefully, he slipped out the door and closed it behind him.

He could tell the television and lights had been shut off in the living room, so he aimed for their bedroom instead, and found Elain sleepily beneath the covers herself. He stripped off his shirt and shorts, wearing just a pair of boxer-briefs and slid into bed beside her, aware that he probably smelled like a bar. Elain didn’t complain though, she just laid her head on his chest and slung an arm and leg over his body.

“How’d it go?” She asked into the darkness.

“Good. She was asleep, and I accidentally woke her up, but it’s okay. We needed to talk,” he admitted. He paused for a second before asking,

“Do you have Lachlan’s parents numbers?”

Lifting her head, Elain looked at him in the moonlight. “We are not talking to them about this at midnight, Azriel.”

“No, no,” he chuckled, rubbing a calming hand up and down her arm. “I was thinking it might be nice to have them over for dinner one night next week, all of them. Lachlan, Aelin and Rowan.”

Elain lifted a brow. “You’re serious.”

Azriel blinked. “Why wouldn’t I be serious?”

“Because you’re drunk and you just spent the entire day throwing a hissy fit,” Elain mumbled, nuzzling into his neck.

Azriel laughed, quietly. “Damn, you’re mean.”

Elain huffed then propped herself up on an elbow. “I’m serious. If they come over, you need to be nice.”

Azriel scoffed, his hand sliding down her back then up her shirt. “I’m always nice.”

“No mean-mugging the kid,” Elain went on. “You will ask him about his likes and dislikes, and you will not scare him shitless.”

Azriel sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I promise.”

“And you will offer Rowan some of your good whiskey,” Elain said.

Azriel looked pointedly at his wife. “There’s no need to get carried away.”

Elain grinned as she leaned down and pressed her mouth softly against his. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he whispered, and closed his eyes.

He was sound asleep before Elain could even lay back down, and snuggle up to him beneath the covers.

He was over-dramatic, and surely a pain in her ass, but by the gods, she loved that man. He had given her three beautiful, perfect children, and although, sixteen years after their first was born, they were still figuring this whole parenting ordeal out….Azriel was doing a pretty damn good job.

Which only made her love him even more.

[guardianofrivendell]

The Odd Ones Out

Kíli x OC (platonic)

Summary: Tullaina and Kíli were best friends from day one. Getting into a fight to the death together tends to do that to you. Of course, it wasn’t actually to the death, but Kíli kept insisting it had been a close call. This is the story of how their friendship started.

Warnings: bullying, young Kíli (Tullaina and Kíli are 34 and 33 in this one, which is the dwarven equivalent of a young teenager)

OC: Tullaina, you can read her character sheet here

A/N: My first oneshot with Tullaina! A big, massive thank you to @lathalea who helped me find the motivation to finish this and gave me the nudges and the kick to my butt that I needed to keep going! I love you!  Also a thank you (and maybe an apology too) to @anjhope1 and @laurfilijames because they had to hear me nag and complain about this story over and over again :)

Kidizbuhâ. Friendship.

What exactly is friendship? What defines it? It’s something Tullaina always wondered about.

According to one of master Balin’s many books, it can be described as a state between two or more individuals, a mutual affection that is strictly platonic. 

Your best friend is even more than that. They are that one special person who sticks with you no matter what. You talk about anything and everything, have fun together, comfort each other, and you accept one another with all their flaws. It’s almost like finding your One, but without the romantic love. 

Tullaina had often dreamed of finding that one true friend...

Born and raised in the mountains of Ered Luin, she had a pretty normal childhood as a pebble.  With only a few friends and a loving family, she was as happy as a young girl could be. 

When she grew older, her friends’ appearance started to change. 

They grew wider, more muscular and their facial hair started to grow out. Each of them turned into perfect examples of how a sturdy dwarf or dwarrowdam should look like. 

Tullaina however stayed exactly the same. She grew in height, but kept her lanky figure. She filled out the appropriate places, but not as much as her friends or peers. Her freckles became more pronounced and the increase of birthmarks started to raise questions among those so-called ‘friends’. And on top of that, as if she couldn’t be ridiculed enough already, she lacked the pride of every Dwarf… facial hair. A fine layer of down hairs where her sideburns should be was all she could grow, and it was barely even visible.  

There was no denying that she looked different than your average Dwarrowdam at that age. 

And that’s when the teasing and bullying began. 

One by one, she lost her friends, none of them wanted to be associated with the ‘elf child’ or khathzith, as they started calling her. 

Everywhere she went, she could hear the dreaded word, whispered among the people of the Blue Mountains. And after a while, Tullaina started to believe them. Maybe she wasn’t a Dwarf after all?

No matter how many times her parents had tried to convince her she was of full Dwarven descent, a proud Longbeard, she never stopped asking whether what they said about her was true. 

Maybe she was a late bloomer, like her mother sometimes said in an attempt to comfort her. When Tullaina’s tears had dried up, she usually told her daughter the story about her late auntie Marthosia whose beard only started to grow after she turned 30, and it turned out to be the most glorious beard of them all. The Dwarrows stood in line to ask for her courtship.  And every time Tullaina would simply roll her eyes and thank her mother. 

By the time she turned 30, there was still no trace of a beard or proper sideburns. Not that Tullaina had expected anything, but she couldn’t deny that there was a tiny sliver of hope left that maybe, maybe she was like auntie Marthosia after all. 

Her mother eventually stopped telling the story and Tullaina had given up all hope. She started to isolate herself more, hardly leaving the safety of her home, losing herself in books and her own imagination.  

The only time she would leave the house by herself was to visit the mines and bring her father his lunch when he forgot to bring it with him. Which happened a lot more than you would think.  Tullaina suspected her father did this on purpose to get her out of the house more often, but she never said anything about it. 

It was on one of those trips that she ran into Kíli for the first time...

*

Tullaina hurried through the small, slippery streets of the mountain city, her shawl wrapped securely around her head and neck, head down and eyes fixed on the ground. 

She was on her way back from the mines having delivered her father’s lunch, but she’d dawdled when the baker’s cat had crossed her path. It wasn’t her fault she absolutely had to pet it, right? 

So now she was in a hurry to get home. And she would have been there in a matter of minutes, if her ears hadn’t picked up the teasing laughter coming out of one of the dead-end side alleys.

On any other day she would have tucked her scarf a little tighter around her, bowed her head a little deeper to avoid any unwanted attention, and definitely walk a little faster. 

But it turned out today wasn’t like any other day…

There could be many reasons as to why she felt the need to investigate further. Some would call it being adventurous, fate, maybe even Mahal’s will if you want. But for Tullaina it was her sense of injustice that drove her to the alley. 

There was something familiar about the laughter that made her suspect this wasn’t just some friends having fun. She tiptoed towards the corner of the building and peeked around the corner.

Her curiosity often got the better of her and her mother used to warn (okay fine, she guaranteed it) that it would get her into serious trouble one day. Who knows, maybe her mother was right after all...

At the end of the dead-end alley she could see three dwarves, at first sight probably not much older than she was. It was almost comical how they were all so different but clearly looking like they were up to no good: you had the short one with flaming red hair, the muscles and then one who was fairly normal at first until he grinned and Tullaina could see he was missing a front tooth. These three dwarves practically screamed trouble. 

They were all looking at a boy who was standing in the middle of the trio. 

The boy had shoulder length brown hair with no braids. He was taller than the others and had a slender build. He was wearing a simple dark blue tunic and black trousers, and his unruly hair framed a kind face with large brown eyes. No beard.  

And that’s precisely what they were bullying him about...

Tullaina could hear the insults they were throwing at him, she flinched because she knew them all too well - having heard them many times before - and something in her snapped. Before she realised what she was doing, she called out to them.

“Oi!” 

All four heads turned towards her. 

Well, that’s what you get for calling out to them, she thought. Now what? Quick, say something so they’ll know you mean business! 

“Leave him alone!”

Oh wow, she thought, almost rolling her eyes at herself. Great choice, that’ll make them tremble with fear! 

The boys started snickering, excited about the prospect of another victim. One of them grabbed the beardless one by the shoulder and pushed him forward. 

The Muscles came up towards Tullaina and it took all her restraint not to take a step back. 

“Aww Kíli, look at that, your girl is here to save you!”

“I said, leave him alone,” she repeated, trying to look confident by straightening her back and balling her fists at her side, but her voice gave her away. It earned her a chuckle from the dwarf in front of her.

“No, this can’t be his girl,” he sneered, removing her scarf, “Look at her face, not a hair in sight! It’s the same babyface as our dear Kíli. Who would’ve thought there were more of you khathzith?” (young Elves)

Oh, he should not have said that! 

The familiar insult triggered something in her and her hands moved on instinct. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed with all the strength she had.

It took him by surprise, he didn’t have the time to brace himself and he fell on his back in the dirt with a grunt. Mistake number one.

One of his companions, the one with the flaming red hair lunged forward and pushed her in turn. Tullaina didn’t stand a chance with the force he was using against her lanky figure and immediately fell to the ground. She cried out when her arm scraped against a small rock. Mistake number two. 

They started laughing at her, until the one who was holding Kíli cried out in pain.

When Tullaina looked up she saw him clutching his nose with both of his hands, tears springing in his eyes. 

Before she could figure out what had happened, Kíli threw himself on the redhead with a loud cry of “Du Bekâr!” and something about not laying your hands on a lady. Or... that he shouldn’t have handed him a baby? 

It wasn’t her fault that it was difficult to understand him with all the shouting and the curses being thrown around. If her mother was near she would’ve covered her ears. Luckily for Tullaina she wasn’t, at least now she could learn a thing or two for future use!

But this actually was the moment she should have decided it was time to go. Mistake number three.

They were all distracted and not paying attention to her whatsoever, the short one was still busy crying over his nose, the redhead was wrestling with Kíli and Muscles just stood by and watched it all happen for some reason. Really, what was stopping her from running? Her more reasonable side was yelling at her to go home. Let the boys fight it out themselves! 

But she couldn’t leave this Kíli to himself now, could she? After he so valiantly defended her? No one ever stood up for her before, and here he was literally fighting for her honor. 

No, she couldn’t leave him…

When Muscles finally noticed Tullaina was still there, he came towards her with a loud roar - or what should’ve been a roar, it was more a gargle really - and the decision was made for her. She was going to fight. 

Well… It seemed her mother was right after all. Her curiosity got her into trouble. 

*

One of the last things Dís had expected to see when she opened her door was a pair of young Dwarves, battered and bruised. Well… half of the duo was her youngest son, so their disheveled state shouldn’t come as a big surprise.  

“Amad, this is Tullaina,” Kíli introduced his new friend with a wide smile, wiping a drop of blood off his chin with the back of his hand like it was the most natural thing to do. His left eye was a little swollen and starting to bruise. And still he was as chipper as ever.

Tullaina waved timidly, getting a bit uncomfortable. She had recognized the dwarrowdam as soon as she opened the door and suddenly it had clicked in her head who Kíli was. She knew how this might look and the last thing she wanted was to get in more trouble. Typical of her to befriend a prince of all people…  

“Nice to meet you, Tullaina.” Dís smiled kindly to let her know she wasn’t angry. It seemed to relax Tullaina a little, her shoulders slacked and she returned her smile.  

After the introduction Dís switched into full mother hen mode and ushered the two inside, so she could take care of their injuries and hopefully get some answers to the many questions that flooded her mind. For one, who Tullaina was. As far as she knew, she hadn’t seen the girl before. And Dis took pride in knowing everyone in Ered Luin. 

But getting the information out of these two turned out to be a lot harder than Dís had initially thought. 

She told them to sit down at the dinner table while she got everything she needed to clean their wounds. 

At first sight it was only Kíli’s busted lip that needed attention, their bruises would heal on their own. 

When the only daughter of Thraín asked her youngest how he and his new friend got their bruises and Kíli his busted lip, he only shrugged his shoulders. 

Kíli clearly didn’t want to talk about it. 

And that worried her, because if there was one thing Kíli liked to do, it was talking her ears off about what he had done or discovered while out with Fíli or by himself.

She guessed he probably stood up for Tullaina and had valiantly defended or even rescued her, in which case Dís wouldn’t hear the end of it. So the silence of her youngest was rather alarming, to say the least. 

In the end, it was Tullaina who reluctantly explained to her that she stumbled upon Kíli and a couple of other young Dwarves, who felt the need to mock the young prince. 

Dís’ eyes widened and her hand that was cleaning the dried blood around his mouth, froze midair. The cut on his lip had finally stopped bleeding, and it looked a lot worse than it actually was. 

“Kíli, that is still no reason to start a fight! And certainly not in the presence of a lady.”

Kíli straightened his back at the scolding of his mother, but didn’t contradict her. 

“He didn’t start the fight, Lady Dís, I did,” Tullaina answered before Kíli could stop her.

The large Dwarrowdam frowned, and she absentmindedly started stroking her beard. She was happy Kíli seemed to have made a friend who was not Fíli, but if she turned out to be a troublemaker…

Her sons definitely didn’t need help in that department.

“Now why did you do that, nadanê?” she asked her. (my child) “Amad, please just let it go,” Kíli said before Tullaina had the chance to explain.  “I wasn’t asking you, Kíli.”

Tullaina hesitated. What if lady Dís blamed her for his injuries, or getting him into the fight in the first place?

Her new friend obviously didn’t want his mother to know about the bullying and she understood that better than anyone. Tullaina herself had kept a lot from her mother, the things she had to go through, all the insults, the name calling, the laughter… 

But she also knew her new friend needed someone he could talk to. When it gets too bad, you need to vent, let everything out. And since she wasn’t sure she’d be welcome again in Lady Dís’ house after today, it might be better to tell his mother what had happened. 

“They were teasing and bullying him about stuff they used to bully me for as well,” she finally caved. 

“And what might that be?”

“Our lack of dwarven features,” Tullaina answered, as she lowered her eyes. “I’ve been bullied and made fun of for years because I don’t have a proper beard, and don’t look like most other dwarrowdams… So you see, my Lady, I couldn’t just stand there and watch. But they would not listen! So I pushed one of them and started the fight.”

“I see,” Dis hummed, before she placed her hands on Kili’s and Tullaina’s knees. “You did what you felt was right, and that is very admirable. Nadanê, never let anyone make you feel inferior. No matter what you look like, what you have or do not have. It’s what’s inside that matters. You’re both courageous, headstrong and maybe a little reckless too, but that’s alright. That sounds like a true dwarf to me.”

Tullaina smiled in return.  It wasn’t a lot different from what her own mother would say when she tried to comfort her, but somehow when Lady Dis said it, it added more weight to it. 

“Now tell me about the fight?” Dis smiled, trying to lighten the mood. 

Kíli’s head shot up and his eyes sparkled, and Dis knew that look all too well. Now she was going to hear every single detail about their little adventure. 

“So I found myself surrounded by, I don’t know, ten, maybe twelve other dwarves-”

“Three. There were three Dwarves, Kíli,” Tullaina interrupted with a straight face.

“It’s not like I was counting them!” he said to Tullaina, before he turned to his mother again. “I was too busy fighting for my life!”

“I bet you were,” Dís chuckled. 

Kíli explained how he was trying to find a way out so he could run home, but they wouldn’t let him. 

“And then Tullaina showed up and she came to help me, Amad. She gave the biggest one a shove, can you believe?! But then one of the other dwarves pushed her to the ground! You and uncle always told me I should treat all dwarrowdams with respect, right? But I don’t think his parents told him, because why would he do that? Anyway, then Tullaina hurt her arm,” Kíli paused his rambling and grabbed Tullaina’s arm to show the scratch she got when she fell, but she immediately pulled her arm free and muttered something like ‘i’m fine, it’s nothing’. Dís made a mental note to clean it later. 

“So I had to defend her honor! Fíli will be so proud of me when he hears about it, I punched that atnuzab right on the nose!” (prick)

“Then how did you get your lip cut and your eye so bruised?” his mother asked him, already knowing the answer, but playing along. It was better to let him continue his story, but it was Tullaina who cut in. 

“It turned out the atnuzab knew how to hit back,” she grinned.   

“And that’s when the fight really took off,” Kíli continued enthusiastically, a wide smile on his face. 

While Dís took care of Tullaina’s arm, he explained everything in detail, waving his arms in excitement, while the girl filled in the blanks or corrected him, which happened surprisingly often. 

Dís chuckled every time it happened. It was refreshing to see Kíli being reprimanded for not telling the truth or exaggerating by someone his own age. Who knows, maybe Tullaina will turn out to be a positive influence on her son and his vivid imagination?

“And then he ran off, crying about his bloody nose,” Kíli cackled, holding on to Tullaina’s shoulder to keep himself up since he was laughing so hard. 

“Which I believe you gave him?” Dís commented. 

“I did,” he said proudly, wiping a tear away. “A true warrior I was!”

“Or tried to at least, did you forget you tripped over your own feet? Twice?” Tullaina laughed, recalling both times she had to help him up before the bullies could get to him.  

“I was creating a diversion!”

Tullaina raised an eyebrow at that in disbelief, but decided to let it slide. 

Dís shook her head at their friendly banter and left for the kitchen, taking the bowl and the dirty rags with her.

Tullaina watched her leave and smiled to herself. Isn’t it strange how one hastily made decision had changed her entire day? It had been ages since she laughed this much, it was amazing how quickly she felt comfortable in Kíli’s company. Was this what true friendship felt like?

When she looked back at Kíli, she caught him already staring at her.

“What?” she asked with a frown. 

“Thank you,” he said. “You came to help me and I’ll never forget that.”

Tullaina felt her face flush at how sincere he was, his big brown eyes looking at her intently.  

“Don’t mention it,” she grinned, playing with her fingers in her lap.

They sat side by side in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, their hands tucked away under their thighs before Tullaina spoke up again.

“You know, I need to thank you too,” she said, bumping her shoulder against Kíli’s.

“Me? What for?”

“Defending my honor.”

Kíli gave her a broad smile and puffed out his chest. “It was the right thing to do. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.” He placed his hand on his heart to emphasize his words. 

Tullaina believed him. Kíli seemed that kind of person who would rather follow his heart than his head, someone who would act on impulse before thinking about the possible consequences.   

“Besides, friends take care of each other right?” he continued, pushing himself off the table. 

Dís returned from the kitchen with two slices of cake in her hand. 

“I believe you’ve more than deserved this,” she smiled. “A good fight works up quite an appetite.”

The two new friends eagerly accepted the treat, and while they were eating Dís watched them carefully. She had noticed how these two interacted with each other; as if they had been lifelong friends, even though they met mere moments ago. Yes, this wouldn’t be the last time she saw Tullaina. Dís was sure of it. 

That reminded her of something…

“How come I haven’t seen you around, Tullaina?”

“I like to stay home, inside, where it’s safe,” the girl looked down in embarrassment and whispered. “There... there are no bullies there.”

“Then why were you even out there in the first place?” Kíli wondered.

“Kíli!” Dís chided him. She gave him a stern look but he didn’t even falter and looked at her expectantly. 

Tullaina chuckled. She kind of liked Kíli’s cheekiness and lack of filter when he spoke. It was a nice change from the usual harsh words and sneers she had to hear from others. 

“It’s fine. My adad works in the mines and I sometimes bring him his lunch,” she explained to Kíli. 

“He does? I know where that is!” he said enthusiastically. “You know what? Next time you have to go there, I’ll go with you!”

“That’s a great idea, Kíli,” Dís agreed, she couldn’t be happier that her youngest had found a new friend. He was starting to get lonely now Fíli spent more time with Thorin. Tullaina might be exactly what he needed to stay out of trouble. 

But Tullaina shook her head. “No, I can’t ask that of you! I’m-I’m sure you have much more important things to do.”

“Nonsense,” Dís waved her concern away. “You’re always welcome here, Tullaina.”

When Tullaina said her goodbyes - her mother will be worried sick by now - she had to promise Dís to come back the next day.

Kíli caught her off guard a bit when he hugged her, squeezing a lot harder than she expected him to.  

“See you tomorrow,” he said, and then his eyes lit up and a face-splitting grin appeared. 

“What?”

“I can’t wait for you to meet my brother!”

.

Kíli taglist: @elles-writing @sxperncturalimpala67

Permanent taglist: @roosliefje @kata1803 @entishramblings @artsywaterlily @sleepy-daydream-in-a-rose @marvelschriss @aduialel @anjhope1 @kumqu4t @myrin1234 @moony-artnstuff @dark-angel-is-back @the-fandoms-georgie @lathalea @xxbyimm @sokkasdarling @katethewriter @aredhel-of-gondolin @leethology @thepeanutcollective @elvish-sky @emmapotato88 @kirenia15 @vicmackeybullshxt @hey-its-nonny @moarfandomtrash

If your name is scratched through, it means I couldn’t tag you! You might want to check your settings ;) 

[uwuwriting]

Sakusa and Ushijima seeing their wife and child at their game.

Request: UM EXCUSE ME BUT DAD PRO PLAYERS ARE A MUST HAVE IN MY LIFE. I know you haven’t done anything with dads yet but maybe Skusa and Ushijima seeing their wife and child at one of their game. It’s a surprise though so they don’t expect it. THANK YOU!

OMG ANON THIS IS AN AMAZING ASK. I have another dad related ask which I’ll get to later this week I hope *or maybe next week*. I haven’t written Sakusa before so I’m sorry if he’s a little OOC. Hope you like it. Love yaa.💖💖💖

rules

warnings: fluff

characters are aged up 

Sakusa Kiyoomi

-How did you manage to end up with a child from this man?

-I mean mister germaphobe here actually slept with someone? And got her pregnant?

-In all seriousness he would do anything for you and his son. 

-From the moment he was born, Oomi was wrapped around his little finger. 

-Not being able to see you two as much as he wants leads to him being kind of a push over with both of you. 

-He will shower you with affection after sanitizing you, the house, your son and himself  giving you as any kisses as possible and then cuddling you during the night, holding you as close as possible.

-As for your son...he will be spoiled from sunrise to nightfall. 

-He wants a new volleyball even though he has 3? Done.

-He wants a toy that he saw at some random store? Done.

-You’ll have to talk to Oomi about it since you are starting to become the bad guy since you are the one who says NO every once in a while. 

-Poor man wants to make up for lost time. 

-Your son has gotten into volleyball of course, even at the early age of five he already trains with his dad whenever he can.

-So when Oomi has a game that isn’t in another country your son is ecstatic. 

- “Daddy’s game is in Tokyo this time! It’s not that far! Can we go please????”

-You wanted to go yourself, it had been ages since you had seen one of his games in person.

-So you agreed under the condition that he keep it a secret. 

- “Let it be a surprise for daddy hm?”

-Once Oomi left for the match you went to your bedroom and put one your Black Jackals n. 15 jersey.

-Then you went to your son’s room finding him struggling to put on his makeshift MSBY 15 jersey that his dad bought him for Christmas.

-You helped him and you were out the door in no time. 

-Entering the gym you took your seats in the bleachers and waited for the match to begin. 

-Usually you would text or call Sakusa to wish him good luck but not this time.

-And boy did it affect him. 

-He was so grumpy during warm up until he heard a very familiar squeal when they stepped on the court and were getting into receiving position. 

-Looking at the bleachers he immediately spotted you, holding your son in your arms both of you adorning his number. 

-He was filled with so much determination and giddiness that it was a shocker to Atsumu who saw his teammate smile for the first time. 

-After a successful game, he will rush home accompanied by the two of you, listening to his son rambling on about what he saw and what he wanted to learn. 

-He will shower doing his usual routine of sanitizing and cleansing his skin from germs with the power of the gods before scooping both of you up and cuddling you on the couch. 

-He thanks you for going to his game because you pushed him to give his all. 

-Might promise his son to take him to his practice the next day.

Ushijima Wakatoshi

-Our baby Toshi here has wanted to start a family with you for so long. 

-Since you graduated high school and moved in together to be exact.

-He knows however that his occupation keeps him away from home a lot and he wouldn’t want to raise a child who doesn’t know him. 

-He wants to be there for everything. 

-So when you announce a few years later that you’re pregnant he is almost panicking. 

-He has to be here for everything. 

-You sit down and talk things through agreeing and making compromises, finally getting to the exciting part that was that you were having a baby!!

-Fast forward five years later and now you are a mother of two. 

-A five year old boy who has you hair and his eyes.

-And a three year old girl who has his hair and your eyes. 

-They are literally a mix match result of the both of you. 

-Despite their age they are both crazy over volleyball, practicing with their dad when he doesn’t have practice and even attending his practices running around catching balls. 

-They are adorable to say the least. 

-Toshi is there for the majority of the important moments and he spends all his free time with them, trying to make up for lost time. 

-They always accompany you to the airport to say goodbye no matter the time and are always with you to meet him when he comes back. 

-Facetime before going to bed is a must if you want them to sleep in their beds, otherwise they’ll take over your bed and basically kick you out. 

- “We didn’t talk to daddy!” your daughter would say with a pout that looked too much like your own. 

- “Yeah and now you lose bed privileges.” your son would add before hopping onto the bed. 

-At first you thought they were kidding but when they wouldn’t budge you had to call Wakatoshi and complain about your kids’ bullying. 

-He would of course laugh at first and then ask to see them. 

-So yeah.. they are overly attached to him.

-It makes you jealous at times. 

-So when a game was close to your house the kids started acting more like angels than ever. 

-They would do whatever you wanted and not question you. 

-That’s how you knew that they wanted to go to the game. 

-You see your kids had two modes 1) I’ll help you drive mom crazy and 2) don’t you dare breath in my direction. 

-So when they both wanted the same thing mode n. 1 is in constant affect and you’re kinda scared of how easily they work together when they want to. 

-You surprise them with shirts with their dad’s jersey number as you yourself are wearing one of his older jerseys. 

-Now your daughter prefers your shirt and will ask if there’s another one which she can wear as a dress but sadly there isn’t (she would also look like a potato sack with Ushijima’s huge shirt one her).

-When you get to your seats the match is starting and your son is scanning the other team as they serve. 

-Both Ushijima children follow the ball with such concentration like wow. 

-Then the ball falls on the opposite side and dad Ushijima is going for a serve. 

-Both of them are screaming/chanting for their dad and you were certain that they were they were the loudest in the gym. 

-Ushijima looks at them( he spots them immediately no matter where he is )and gives them a soft smile, his whole body swelling with bride and fuzziness. 

-The whole game continues with the two of them cheering and you laughing next to them as you see how terrified some of the opponents are. 

-True Ushijima strength right here. 

-After the game its ice cream and a family outing because he is just so happy and proud he could combust. 

TAG TEAM AY:

@brattyquirks​  @the-arcana-fan-fic​ @angelwritings​

[bunny-hoodlum]

Asynchronous With You: Chapter 1

ship: naruhina

rating: teen (maybe mature later)

tags:  Modern Day AU, Foster Siblings, Family, Angst, Unrequited Love, Poor Communication

summary: An awkward journey full of self-denial and missed moments between two foster siblings. Perhaps their love will find the right timing someday.

(The way overdue long-form version of the Foster Sib AU I wrote for @szajnie for Secret Santa 2020.)

music: Asynchronous With You by burokkurubeats & my playlist

He wasn't the first child.

Somehow he had expected to be.

A girl his age, age six, and her older cousin had already been living here for a year now.

They had family, they were just… deemed unfit.

Maybe they'll take them back, when they get their act together. He doesn't know. He only knows he doesn't have the luxury of hope that they do.

Nobody was coming back to get him.

And he had nowhere to go back to.

The foster lady with the ruby red eyes showed him his bedroom.

At first, Naruto thought Hinata and Neji were close, so much so that no one could ever be closer.

Then he thought it was their tactic to keep others out, self-preservation in blood.

Hinata was nice enough, but she never strayed far from Neji.

That was because he never let her.

She wasn't just fiercely loyal to him. She was scared of him.

He tried to get Neji in trouble. Kurenai-obachan needed to know. But Hinata stopped him. She told him not to split them apart. That she didn't mind Neji bossing her around. She would never be okay if she didn't know where her cousin was.

So he tried. But it was hard. He still picked fights with Neji.

That didn't make Hinata happier, either.

He still thinks it's Neji's fault when she finally breaks down, telling them both off before running to her room.

He runs after her, but she won't let him in.

He goes to his room and talks to her through his wall. He has to press himself flat against it, straining to hear any sound.

Could she hear him, too?

"I'll leave Neji alone, okay?" It's a bitter promise, because it makes him feel like he's surrendered when he did nothing wrong. But part of him also feels tired of this pattern day in and day out. He'd rather spend his time better.

The silence stretched passed the point of comfort, and he pictured tomorrow, a tomorrow where Hinata may hate him. Enough to shun him in his own home. And would he really do what he's always done to others to her? Would he really go that far for attention?

His unconscious concerns spilled out, running through his fingers before he could stuff the words back in and swallow them. "Hinata… can I bug you instead?" He flinches and freezes, and he waits.

It's faint, but he heard her.

"Sure," she said.

His shoulders lowered as he slouched down the wall, the tension leaking from his body and he smiled.

Their early years would be shaped by a secret language shared between the two of them from that moment on, where a pinch on the arm and a retaliatory swat was a polite exchange in the morning. Where a "missing" item from their bedrooms was an excuse to search the house together, and where a stolen item was an invitation to enter each other's bedrooms. Hinata really liked to show him her new collection of pressed flowers, and he really liked to show her his latest Gachapon figurine. Whenever that happened, it was usually one of those new things that went "missing" shortly after.

It wasn't that Kurenai-obasan didn't spoil him as much as them, he could have new things all the time, too. But she hadn't been planning on taking him, she hadn't been prepared for him. If he wanted more things, Hinata would have to have less.

And the time he could spend with her was more than enough for him.

____________________________

Halfway through their grade school years their secret games waned. Being in the same grade helped to keep them in touch throughout the day, but at lunch time she was Neji's, and after school she was Neji's. That's just how it was.

But they were maturing. Their experiences were expanding. They had so much to talk about.

But how could they? It had to be at bedtime. And because it had to be bedtime, they had to be quiet.

He got the idea to drill a hole into their bedroom wall so that way they could easily whisper and not get caught.

That was one of his first thrills: vandalism.

"I think you mean 'home improvement'," Hinata giggled.

He had to process that.

He never realized until then that he still hadn't considered this his home.

Thanks to Kurenai-obasan, he had food in his belly and a roof over his head. He had a bed, some video games, and a safe route to school.

Thanks to Neji, he had a model of masculinity. Not a role model, mind you, but a model nonetheless. Some things about Neji were cool, even admirable. And other things he would never do in his life. They were both abandoned, confused and alone, sure. But it was always annoying how Neji couldn't help but look back. Naruto always had to look forward.

Maybe the way they both did things was equally imperfect.

He smiled to himself, as this is where he had to thank Hinata, for she kept them both grounded and present. Because that's how she lives her life, like each day is a gift not to be squandered.

Who cares about being hurt yesterday? Who cares about what hasn't happened yet?

Right now, at this moment, he was home.

This was his home.

____________________________

Girls at school always cupped their ears when they were eavesdropping. They cup their mouths when they're telling secrets or bad-mouthing others.

Hinata cups her ear around the hole in their wall when he's telling her stories. And she cups her mouth when she's telling him hers.

Her ears are sensitive, so he tries to watch his volume. He forgets himself when he gets excitable.

Her breath tickles and teases a memory from his brain, one that fills him with both sadness and relief.

When he tries to sleep, he searches for the root of this feeling.

The next day on television, there's a mother murmuring her baby to sleep.

He adopts that image as his own forgotten memory.

And the following night, Hinata's soothing whispers confirm that he had a mother once, and she used to sing him to sleep.

____________________________

Hinata's a wimp.

He loves the girl, but at school she is a gosh damn trouble magnet.

He jumps in front of her bullies, fists blazing, and he loses.

A lot.

But he gets to pick fights again. He gets to be cool from time to time. And when he gets better, he becomes the best. He gets a reputation!

By the time they reach fifth grade, he doesn't even have to raise a fist.

A well-aimed death glare is enough.

When Neji's graduation forces the two cousins apart for the first time in their lives, the older Hyuuga undergoes a personality shift.

He expresses legitimate concern for Hinata.

Maybe it's been there all along.

They're both standing on the empty landing just outside of their elementary's gymnasium where the remainder of the proceedings were taking place. Neji's stare, heavy with expectations and ultimatum, bore down on his little shoulders.

"You're the only one I can ask."

"Yeah, don't worry. I got this!" Naruto flashed his patent overconfident grin, and this time not a hint of condescension passed across Neji's face.

His heart thumped wildly when he and Neji returned to the gymnasium, with Neji returning to his position amongst the other students in the center of the room. Family members lined up against the walls in foldable metal chairs, a spattering of pride and loss playing out across their faces; Their children were growing up.

When Naruto took his seat, he stole a glance at Hinata on the other side of Kurenai-obasan. Her gentle profile seemed to unlock something inside of him. Waves upon waves of warmth filled his body, pulling him in deeper into a languid pool of contentment.

He would be her protector from now on.

He would be her brother.

____________________________

He never noticed how their paths lead each other further and further apart.

Their daily routines had remained the same.

Aside from a few exciting developments.

Like Kurenai reconnecting with a childhood friend. The man was a Marine and a chainsmoker, but he seemed cool.

Or how Naruto happened to find a collection of discarded skin mags behind the pool storage room at school. They now safely occupied the space beneath his bed.

There was also the neighborhood shrimp squad of grade-schoolers who loved to call him 'Boss' whenever he came over to play.

Or that time he was hanging out with Sasuke, and unusually the stoic lad had insulted a group of delinquents before he did at the local arcade.

Sasuke may have taken out four guys by the time Naruto took out one, but he still got the win.

But way, way before all of that something had really surprised him: Hinata becoming Deputy Class Rep to their own Haruno Sakura.

She was volunteered for the position based on her equally outstanding grades. Or, at least that's what they had believed.

Over time, it became apparent that they had volunteered Hinata to be Sakura's foil. Hinata was considerate and much more approachable. If the students wanted something, they went straight to Hinata first.

But then her unchanged nature became more detectable.

Like he's said before, Hinata's a wimp.

She crumbles at the slightest disapproval.

She implodes when she's convinced she could do better. When she thinks she's failing.

So halfway through their first year, she started to get abused. Girls and boys alike tried to strongarm her into making their lives 'better'. Making her fetch their lunches and dumping cleaning duty on her every day, then throwing her words back at her when she tried to complain. They'd say, 'But it's what you signed up for', and 'Isn't this your job? Don't you care about your classmates?'.

Somehow Sakura never noticed. He tried to tell her, but she didn't take him seriously. He tried to tell the teachers, but they acted like he had no evidence.

Liars! They just didn't want to get involved! What good are teachers if they don't help their students?!

Some weeks later, the following exams were posted outside the classroom.

Sakura was number two, just below Ino. They were always competing for the top, always unevenly dethroning the other.

Hinata was number three. Always suspiciously number three. And he was dead last.

Hinata could rise to the top, but she never tries.

He always tries, but he can never seem to rise.

He realized then that he hasn't been doing enough as her brother.

Compared to her, he has no future, no potential. It wouldn't be a waste if he took on her burdens.

He can take abuse, because during those first six years at a state-run orphanage, abuse was all he knew.

He realized what he had to do. Resiliency was one of his best traits, after all.

The following day, he took Hinata's place as the class slave. He fetched their lunches, got them drinks whenever they asked. The only thing they never asked him to do was their homework. Because… yeah.

Nobody knew they lived together.

If they did, well, he might've been forced to copy Hinata's assignments all the same.

He never noticed how their paths lead them apart, how their daily routines boxed them into two different social spheres never to overlap.

He was still her brother. Her protector.

But by high school, he'd also become the embodiment of trouble itself.

And he couldn't let that stuff disrupt her life.

____________________________

Naruto’s sprawled belly-down on the sofa playing on his Vita handheld when Kurenai-obasan calls out to him as she’s emerging from the laundry room.

“Naruto, I’ve stared at this hamper for three weeks,” She drops the hamper at her feet with a weighty thump for emphasis. “Are you going to do it or not?”

“I just forgot.” He surreptitiously powers off his game and abandons his handheld on the sofa as he ambles off the couch.

He’s dramatic when he slouches his shoulders and drags his feet, head lolling backwards in anguish. He hauls the hamper back inside the laundry room. He doesn’t look when he opens the washing machine and dumps his clothes into the drum. But the pile is sticking up. He tries to smash it all down, but he can’t. It’s already full.

“Crap.” He scoops out his month-old laundry in four armfuls and disposes them at his feet. He reaches in to grab the damp garments sticking to the sides of the drum, then begins to throw them into the dryer. At least that’s empty.

He doesn’t notice the butter yellow hoodie with white polka dots on the kangaroo pocket. Or the frilly linen top that needs to be dried on the line. Or the no-show socks with rabbits on them.

Once the drum was cleared out, he hurled his fermented clothes into the washer and started up both machines.

He went back to his game for several hours. Kurenai had to remind him to dry his clothes as she delivered the dryer’s contents to Hinata’s room. This was because Hinata was at cram school.

As he moved his items to the dryer, he recalled how Neji had done cram school too before moving onto a prestigious high school deep in the city center.

Naruto never knew whether to be jealous or not. School work was utterly useless and he didn’t envy the workload of overachievers, but maybe that was only because he couldn’t handle it. Maybe if he were smarter, he’d appreciate it better. Or maybe he’d figure out more ingenious ways to skip it all.

He played his game in the laundry room, waiting for the final ding to go off. He used the same dirty hamper to gather up his clean clothes and dragged it inside his room, where he promptly dumped it all out on his bed. Fresh laundry was intoxicating and he didn’t fight the urge to belly flop into the softener-drenched warmth.

He deeply inhaled as he sank into the heat. His cheek felt particularly nice against this satin material.

His left eye opened a peek. Vanilla and lavender stripes met his eye, with a rose lace and ribbon trim along the waistband.

He shot upright, his face no longer hot from the laundry, but hot with horrified embarrassment. He stared at the garment like it might come to life, jump on him and eat his face. It hadn’t so far.

‘It should be fine to pick them up, right?’ He thought with his frozen hand stretched out.

Why was he acting weird about this? They used to mix their laundry up all the time when they were younger. It’s actually how Hinata acquired a love of hoodies in the first place, because she loved to wear the beige one Obasan got him. She can pull off softer colors, but he can’t, so it was easily hers from that moment on.

He plucked up her panties by their corners and held it away, like it were an envelope full of Ricin, and he gazed at it mindlessly. Somehow they were exactly what he expected Hinata to wear, they were girly and cute.

Pale skin flashed before his eyes, a taboo image of Hinata in these panties, lifting her pleated uniform skirt up had startled him and he dropped the undergarments with a yelp.

Did he really just imagine her that way?

Naruto tried to smack the stupid from his mind until his cheeks burned with physical pain, then with everything he could muster, he snatched up the pair and ran for her bedroom, adding it unceremoniously to her hamper of clean clothes.

He pretended to be asleep by the time she got home.

He ignored the sweet voice that slid through the hole in the wall until she gave up and stopped calling him.

There was simply no way he could hold a conversation with her after that experience.

And to think he had to rely on his skin mags to purge him of his sin.

____________________________

Weightlifting was doing wonders for him.

For starters, it was taking his mind off of his libido.

For another, his physique was changing. He was starting to sprout up, too. Hinata’s former bullies were starting to learn some new feelings, like reluctance and fear. They eventually moved onto the freshman to enslave, leaving him alone to finally live his final year of middle school the way he always wanted.

The more he did weights, the more girls started to look his way, not just at Sasuke-teme.

Life was looking good!

Is what he thought when he was hanging out on the roof with Sasuke and two Ojou-gyaru types. One girl was straddling Sasuke while Naruto spooned the other girl from behind.

A dire thought hit him when he realized only six months remained until graduation. A choice he had been overlooking was rapping its knuckles against his temple, and he could hardly shoo it away.

“Hey.” Naruto turned his head towards Sasuke.

“Hn?”

“Where are you going for High School?”

Sasuke turned his head up towards the sky. He was pensively silent. Then he shrugged. “I’m going to stay here.”

“So you’re going to Konoha Normal High?”

“Just like everyone else.” Sasuke said.

‘Everyone else’ didn’t include Hinata, and he was supposed to stick close to her.

How suspicious would it be if he chose to follow her to her high school?

What if he couldn’t? What if she was following the same path as Neji?

Neji would be there until her senior year. Was his responsibility to the both of them over already?

Naruto would later get a text from Obasan that she would be spending the night with Asuma.

K-Obasan: There’s curry udon in the fridge.

He narrowed his eyes at the text.

Just because you add noodles to leftover curry doesn’t make it a Naruto-approved dinner!

“Udon’s not even the same thing!”

His steps slowed in the school corridor. It was enough for his rooftop date to catch up with him.

“Your face looks weird when you’re glum.” She giggled as she poked his cheeks.

“Yeah, well, I just realized I’m about to go home and no one’s going to be waiting for me.”

“Oh?” She circled her arms around his own and leaned in close. “Good for us, huh?”

His eyes widened with realization. A goofy grin stretched across his face, the corners curling lasciviously.

‘Yeah,’ he thought, ‘I’m owed this.’

____________________________

Author Note: I'm forgoing the one-shot because I still don't have that kind of discipline. ;D I'll definitely try to finish this short story to the end. I had received some good title suggestions for this story, but I ended up going with another song name because I can't seem to do anything else. ¯\_༼ ಥ ‿ ಥ ༽_/¯

I'm still going to try to adhere to the canon of the original fic to the best of my ability. I would totally declare this new canon, honestly, but then it'd be a Secret Dating fic with smut and it would never line up with what I already wrote. 😓

Anyways, I hope you liked this so far!

[imaginationjunkie]

Say the word

Jason Todd x Reader

It’s kinda heartwarming

I tried to control my fast breaths, lifting my head from the crook of Jason’s neck to give him a lazy kiss. Deliriousness coursed through our veins, minds hazy from the aftermath bliss of an intimate climax.

Being apart for weeks for his mission and my conference clearly had one gigantic perk- the mad intense I-missed-you-so-fucking-much sex.

It doesn’t matter if it was the first or the thousandth time, the feeling of his body against mine never failed to weaken my limbs to mush and warm my heart, like it’s soup being heated up on a stove.

A smile split my lips as I tried lifting my naked body up from his chest, and failing. The thick, muscular arms that were tightly wrapped around my waist stopped me from doing so. It made me smile wider and lean down to put my lips on Jason’s.

“You know you’re gonna have to stop doing that right?” I murmured, running my fingers through his dark raven locks. A chaste kiss was placed on my cheek by his smirking lips.

“Hmm? Doing what?”

I leaned down so that our bare chests pressed against each other, lips hovering over his. My whisper was naughty as I answered him.

“Why should I? We both seem to like it so very much,” Jason nuzzled his nose against mine with a mischievous smirk.

“Because if by any chance I get preggers before marriage, my parents will chase you to the ends of the earth and decapitate the crap out of you,” I whispered jokingly, but meant every word. “And then after they’re done with you, they’ll feed me to the demons.”

My ever-so-daring boyfriend’s reply was to lowly chuckle and simply kiss my shoulder. 

Affection came naturally to us now, especially since Jason had been touch starved practically since birth. The first few months of our relationship, I had to have a mental debate every time before touching him; how far I should go with the cuddling, to hold his hand or not, put my legs on his body while cuddling or not...

Unlike his brother Dick, who much to Jason’s irritation loved pulling me into a tight hug every time we met, Jason just wasn’t the affectionate type.

After a few months, I understood how badly he needed to be touched- to be loved, to be comforted. When he got the message that it’s okay to hold me as much as he wants, that there’s finally someone he can lose himself in, someone he can love, he found a way to touch me every spare moment we spent together. Kissing my neck, nuzzling his nose, holding my hips, putting his large hand on the small of my back or around my waist, constantly lifting me onto his lap- the list’s never ending.

“I’m serious, a child out of wedlock is beyond just a sinful taboo in my family,” I booped his nose, leaning my forearms on his chest to hold my upper body up.

Jason pretended to be lost in thought for a while before suddenly rolling our bodies over to our sides, the ridges and sinewy muscles of his defined chest flush against my back. He tucked the messy portion of my hair out of the way before kissing from my neck up to the back of my ear. 

“Well since marriage is out of the question, I’ve no option than to not make my pull out game weak,” his tongue darted out to lick my ear teasingly.

Ignoring the pang that hit my heart at his statement about marriage, I turned to swat his chest teasingly. My lips were unable to hold back a grin at his reference to WAP .

“What? You’re the one who keeps dancing to it every morning,” Jason grinned back at me.

“It’s 4 am, we should sleep,” I shook my head at him, turning to face forward again. Jason and my shared bedroom turned dark as he flicked the dim bedside lamp off, making the glow of moonlight our only source of light.

The warmth from having his arms encased around me brought a serene feeling, making me think about how impossible it’d be to live without Jason Todd. 

“I love you,” he murmured against my neck.

My eyes closed shut, senses overwhelmed with the depth of my feelings.

“I love you,” I whispered back.

I had an amazing life- loving and supporting, albeit sometimes overbearing, parents, a great job, a pretty apartment, and a man I’m certain I’d love and be loved by for the rest of my life. For the entirety of my existence, I’ve had the one thing Jason never did- stability. 

But when it’s meant to be, it’ll always be. 

God, fate or whatever higher force is up there looking over us made sure to let our souls find each other. Cherish each other. 

I knew Jason’s views on marriage and children. It was hard enough for him to indulge himself with something as normal as a committed relationship, that too for two and a half years; but it’d actually be impossible for him to be a husband, a father. He didn’t have a basic job in the least, and thus didn’t think tying the knot and being a family man would be suitable for him. 

Ever since I was a little girl, one of the things I’ve wanted greatly was to be married to the man I loved someday. But for Jason I could give it up. I could give up the hopes of having a ring on my finger and a baby on my belly, because he means more to me than anything ever will.

¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡

*2 months later, New Year’s eve night at the Wayne Manor backyard*

“Damian, those aren’t fireworks, they’re explosives!”

At my alarmed exclaim, Dick quickly snatched the big box from his younger brother’s hands, waddling his finger as if to say ‘no no’.

“They’re fireworks,”  Jason assured from behind. “The kid and I labelled it explosives so Dick doesn’t steal it,”

Dick’s face scrunched up in confusion, “”Why would I steal your fireworks? I’ve better things to do for fu-”

“Miss, the barbecue is ready. Would you like to add the last bit of sauce on top?” The always-polite and everyone’s favorite Alfred smartly interrupted Dick from saying the curse word.

Every time I practically forced my boyfriend, his brothers and father into having a family night, Alfred let me help with the food; and since I suck beyond words at cooking, he always gave me the easy tasks to do.

Now if you’re thinking that prevented me from considering myself as the world’s second Martha Stewart, you’re wrong.

I clapped my hands together in delight, “I’d love to!”

“No she wouldn’t,” Jason, Dick and Tim said at the same time.

I turned to them, perplexed at their concurrent interference. 

Taking note of the unusual shiftiness in the boys’ stances, I raised a brow- “And why is that?”

Out of the three suspicious-looking brothers, Dick replied- “Because there’s only 20 minutes till midnight and you have to help us set the fireworks off!”

Now both my eyebrows rose, and I crossed my arms against my chest.

“So you’re telling me,” I said in slow amusement, dragging the words sarcastically. “That three of the strongest night vigilantes of Gotham, one being a violent nutcase once,” a look was thrown in Jason’s direction, “Needs an ordinary girl to set off fireworks?”

This time Tim responded, “Well you see, we’ve never set them off. None of us has ever had the chance to have a normal new years with fireworks and a countdown,”

“Really?” I deadpanned, voice turning into a shrill by the end of the question, “So have I been planning and working my ass off every new year’s for the past three years to make robots happy?”

Tim realized his mistake, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head before trying to redeem himself. “But we’ve never had a family new years, y’know, with the barbecue and fireworks,”

“Also, you’re nowhere near ordinary,” Jason added in a low voice as he came to stand behind me and kissed my temple. I rolled my eyes at the cheesiness, wrapping an arm around the middle of both the boys’ backs.

Right then Damian piped in, surprising everyone. “Plus you’re not a girl, you’re a woman,” he emphasized on the last word, making Jason scoff with a smirk and everyone else laugh.

It didn’t take long for me to grow on Damian, making him accept and like me. From what I heard from his brothers and Alfred, he didn’t like most people and never went easy on newcomers. I was especially concerned about getting Jason’s family to like me, since he didn’t have much of a good relationship with them and I wanted to change that. In the end everyone ended up accepting me; and gradually even treating me as one of their own. Dick and I were practically best friends.

Despite what he used to say, I knew Jason loved them all like they were his own blood; so I knew that it meant a great deal to him to rekindle his relationships with them.

Bruce Wayne’s voice spoke for the first time that evening, “Good evening, my apologies for the delay,”

An awkward silence took over our so-far cozy night. All of the boys looked other directions, not acknowledging their dad who never bothered to show up to any family days on time. I tried my best to knit the boys together, help them get close and create a bond; and saying that I succeeded wouldn’t be a lie. But the fact that Bruce couldn’t even take one day off from his billionaire/ vigilante duties sort of upset me every time.

Jason scoffed, his mouth opening to say something undoubtedly snarky to his father. But before he had the chance to I stepped on his shoe and gripped his hand tightly, silencing him.

“It’s okay Bruce, at least you made it,” I smiled.

The excruciatingly tense atmosphere was cracked by Dick, “I still need help with the fireworks, anyone up for it?”

“I’ll come!” I was quick to squeak and walk towards him.

“Me too,” Damian grumbled, following me.

Tim was the last one. “Yeah, me as well.”

“Great, so you guys do the fireworks and Jaybird and I will be right back!” Dick clapped his hands together in perky delight, pushing Jason’s back forward as they walked into the manor. From the distance, I saw Jason shrug Dick’s hand off before glaring at him. Again, confusion filled me at their strange behavior tonight.

“What was that about?” I asked Tim.

He smiled, “Nothing, probably just vigilante stuff.”

As the minutes passed by, the new year came nearer and nearer. The three of us successfully managed to set off the first batch of fireworks, looking up at the sky and laughing freely. Even Bruce had a small smile as he took a sip of his drink, looking up and the lit up sky with a hand in his pocket.

When it was about 10 minutes to the clock ticking 12:00 am, worry started to cloud the excitement I was feeling; but Tim and Damian were quick to distract it.

“Now can we do the grand purple one?” Damian gave me a rare pleading look.

“Yeah we can, but where’re Jason and Dick? They’re gonna miss new year’s,” I voiced my concern. 

Right then, my phone started ringing. 

Incoming video call from mom.

I answered, knowing that my parents were calling to say Happy New Year like they did every year. What rendered me surprised after receiving the call was that almost my entire family was on the frame of my mom’ video- two of my aunts, uncles and all the cousins I’m close to. Which are a lot.

I’m a family person, if you couldn’t tell already.

“Hi baby!” My mom grinned.

I grinned back, glee taking over the initial confusion.“Hey y’all! Are you having a New Years party without me?”

One of my younger cousins replied, “Sort of, now show us!”

My brows furrowed, “Show you what?”

A string of ‘oh shit’s sounded from mom’s side, further increasing my confusion.

Out of the blue, Dick intervened from behind me, “The fireworks of course!”

A sudden bang! took us all by surprise, and I looked up to see the huge purple fireworks lighting the dark canvas of the sky up. A wide grin split my lips, along with all the other boys as they whooped at the different shades of purple. It happened to be my favorite color. 

I felt the familiar warmth of Jason’s body against my back before hearing or seeing him. The digital clock on the top corner of my phone read 11:55 pm. Not being able to contain my excitement, I subconsciously shoved my phone to Tim, who was beside me, while my family was still on video. I raised a hand to point at the sky.

“Jay look, it’s all so purple!”

And then something happened. Something I wouldn’t even dream of imagining.

Jason’s larger hand rose to the level of mine, which was still pointing up at the sky. He spread my fingers out so that my hand was displayed open. I turned to look at my boyfriend, not quite understanding his intentions.

His eyes were trained on mine, a golden and purple reflection from the fireworks and balcony lights visible on the glossy blue orbs. 

Our eyes stayed on each other’s as I felt something cold graze the top of my ring finger.

In the background I heard Dick harshly whisper, “Tim, the song!”

I wasn’t dumb. I knew what my boyfriend was holding on top of that finger.

Jason’s lips were an inch away from my ear as he spoke clearly, not a hint of hesitation in his voice, “Just say the word, and I’ll put a ring on you.” 

I couldn’t even look at it as I tried to get over the giant bucket of emotions that was thrown over me. Shock, flabbergast, sheer happiness, disbelief, excitement, a rush of adrenaline. My heart threatened to beat the crap out of my chest.

“Jason,” I whispered, my eyes fluttering shut as he put his chin on my shoulder, inches from mine. “What. Are. You. Doing??”

He bit his lip, smiling before cryptically answering. “I love you.”

“I thought you didn’t want to get married?” I questioned again. “Do you think I’m pregnant? Are you doing this cause-?” my voice was breathy.

Jason smirked, his unoccupied arm going round me from behind to rest on the other side of my waist. “No baby, I don’t. The twenty something negative pregnancy sticks on the bathroom trash sort of made it clear that you aren’t pregnant.”

I couldn’t hold back my own grin from his teasing. For the first time, I turned my head to look at our hands. The sky was phenomenal in the background of them, a swirl of blue, red and purple as Damian and Dick continued setting the fireworks off. Tim was holding my phone up to where Jason and I were standing, undoubtedly showing the scene to my family. Now I knew why they were all gathered together to call me.

“You asked my parents?”

Jay rubbed his nose on my cheek, his smart-assery coming to action as he quoted my words from that night two months ago- “Of course, wouldn’t wanna be chased to the end of the earth and be decapitated the crap out of now, would I?”

The boys all had blinding bright and hopeful grins on their faces; even Damian! Alfred’s expression could only be described with one adjective- delight, and Bruce had an odd smile as he saw the straight-out-of-a-movie scene unfold.

I turned my head to the side to look at Jason again, grin faltering to a small smile.

This time nervousness coated his expression and words as he asked once again, “Will you marry me?“

I heard my mom speak through the phone, “Oh come on, stop torturing the poor boy! Answer already!“

Taking a deep breath, I leaned my head even closer to Jason’s. His blue eyes pierced into mine with their intensity, and my lips touched his as I said the word softly. 

“Yes.”

[mariesocuniverse]

Relationships: NCT DREAM

Look for Mark and Haechan: here

RenMae

Okay RenMae is one of the top if not the #1 among NCT

fans are like almost 100% sure they’re soulmates

Like there was no awkward small talk when they first met they just talked and ended up each other’s best friend

You would think they’d be childhood friends or at least friends before they became trainees with the way they interact even though they met at SM

she did confess to him before debut that she had a crush on him but he thought she was joking and now none of them talk about of that

Whenever she has a hard time sleeping and wants to sleep with someone, the first option is renjun

she also steals his clothes a lot and renjun’s pretty sure half the clothes in Mae’s closet belong to him

he just stopped fighting her about it because of how stubborn she was and let her do what she wanted

there was this one time he ran out of shirts to wear so he just walked to Mae’s closet and took one out

there was also this one time Renjun was in China and Jaemin posted a pic of Mae taking a nap with Renjun’s sweater on saying that she missed him so much so she wore his sweater

yeaaaaah nct twt broke that day and Renjun’s phone was blowing up with notifications

they dressed as peter pan and tinkerbell for halloween and have each other as that for each other’s contact name uwu

okay enough with the corny stuff

just because they’re close doesnt mean they’ll hold back on each other when it comes to teasing each other

like you wouldnt want to get in their crossfire unless you want them to turn their attention on you instead

MaeNo

you would think he’s older than her because of how protective he is of her

He has eyes like a damn hawk when they’re going somewhere

whenever they’re doing schedules you can see Jeno holding her hand as they make their way through all the crowd and glancing around to see if anyone has any bad intentions towards her

If it weren’t for his status as an idol you would think he was a bodyguard and he would beat up someone for Mae’s sake

whenever they record Jeno always waits for her to finish so they can go home together no matter how late at night it is

there was this one time sasaengs kept calling her phone during a live so he just grabbed her phone and turned it off and threw it too the side without saying a word

Second person Mae goes to when she has nightmares

they’re also have a really playful relationship

like there was this one time she wasn’t paying attention to him so he just lifted her and put her over his shoulder like a potato sack even though there was staff watching them Mae has tried and failed to do the same to jeno

You know how jeno says he likes being called no jam bc of how it makes him feel less burdened? Yeah she always throws him under the bus when it comes to variety shows

she has a samoyed plush on her bed when she bought when she went shopping with him bc it reminded her of jeno

Sometimes she hugs the plush instead of jeno just to annoy him lol

“I’m right here you know” “well the plushie is more huggable for you information”

Yes he did tackle her after that comment

MaeMin

okay this man right here

you know how he melts at everything jisung does? yeah the same goes for Mae

only that she openly accepts his affection and lets him cling to her whenever he wants like his personal teddy bear

you know how at fansigns idols sometimes get gifted cute headbands and plushies? he openly yelled “i love you!” to her when he saw her with a cat ear headband surrounded by plushies

she’s also like really impressed by him

she never thought she’d meet someone who would do aegyo so willingly and so shamelessly

like that one episode of weekly idol where they did the ottoke song and jaemin did a duet with everyone? yeah she couldn’t believe someone like him existed

he basically acts as her parent if none of the 127 members aren’t near them

Whenever they’re on reality shows and the prize is food he always put someone on her plate regardless of whether she lost or not

third person mae goes to when she has nightmares

would not leave his side for a week when he was put on hiatus and couldnt perform with the rest of the dreamies

she didnt want him to feel lonely while everyone else went to promote without him :(

All in all, they’re very affectionate and if they’re together you’ll have to pry jaemin’s hands off her

ChenMae

Mae’s child #1

he got lost in the company building and was too shy to ask the staff so mae approached him and brought him to wear he needed to be

accidentally called her hyung once when he was still learning korean but it ended up sticking so now he and jisung call her hyung instead of noona

When he first joined she helped him adjust with her broken Chinese and now they help each other with the language

one time she visited his house for dinner and his mom made her eat a lot of food because of how skinny she was chenle didnt stop her bc she needs sustenance >:(

wants to give her a personal tour of Shanghai when they’re given enough time for vacation

you know how chenle gave 00line watches when they became adults? he had to fight mae to get her to keep it bc she didnt want him spending money on her

legit he tried to buy her stuff but the only thing she accepted was the watch and this cute charm bracelet that says NCT on it

he put one of his photocards in her phone case (the WGU one with him by the water) and she hasn’t removed it since

he’s really smug abt it and brags to the others about it jisung retaliated by putting his photocard too so now she as to make both of them visible

fights jisung for favorite child position and he wins 50% of the time even though she says she doesnt have one

MaeSung

Mae’s child #2

took one look at him and decided to protect him

she’s used to other people taking care of her so it was nice to take care of someone else for once

i said he also calls Mae hyung but it’s also because he forgets that she’s a girl?

sometimes he hears someone call Mae ‘noona’ and he just gets whiplash because he got reminded that his “hyung” is really a girl put in a boy group

they were honestly really awkward when they first met because Jisung didn’t know how to react to a girl joining the group and kinda avoided her until she cornered him

calls him a tree whenever he teases her about her height

mae when jisung tease/pranks her: i’ve fed and raised you and this is the treatment i get?!?

jisung: you’re only two years older than me….

he gets pouty when Mae doesn’t pay attention to him

theres this one video of Mae talking to another member during Resonance filming and you just see him pouting in the background before walking to her and giving her a back hug

definitely uses his status as a maknae to his advantage

she’s not even subtle about it she’ll buy or cook food for him or yield whenever he loses a game

whenever she’s not around he always brags that he’s her favorite nct member haechan and renjun get so salty abt it lmao

[myboipracticallyimagines]

Caretaker - Din Djarin x Reader

Prompt: You are the caretaker of the Child. When a Mandalorian and a droid walk in, you find yourself begging your life, as well of the life of the child. Goes through season one. 

Gunshots rang outside. This was nothing new. People had been coming for the Child for as long as you could remember. Layers of guards stood around you, protecting you from all angles. “Come on, one more bite,” you pleaded with the child, who was currently more occupied with the new noises than with his meal. 

“Well, I tried,” you said to only yourself as you sealed the lid on the child’s food. You tucked it into your bag and hoisted the Child into your lap. When the door busted open, you were slightly alarmed. No one normally made it past your ground defense. And no one had ever made it through them this quickly. You sank to the ground, holding the child tight to your chest. “It’s gonna be okay, baby. We’re gonna be fine.” 

The gunshots slowed, and then stopped all at once. You allowed yourself to peak out finally, finding yourself face to face to face with a Mandalorian and a droid. “Pleasedon’tshoot,” you said quickly, your words jumbled together and hands above your head.

“Who are you?” the Mandalorian asked.  “I’m the caretaker of the one you were sent here for.” “Caretaker? Our mark is fifty years old.”  “This species ages different,” you explain. “It’s only a child.” You slowly uncover the child, allowing them to see his face. For a moment, no one moves. Then, the droid points a blaster at you. “Please don’t!” you exclaim, before hearing a shot go off. 

After realizing that you were still alive, you slowly open your eyes to find the droid motionless on the ground. The Mandalorian extends a hand. “Let’s go.” 

After wading through mud, bartering, and rebuilding the Mandalorian’s ship, you had never been more ready to sleep in your life. You were covered in sweat and dirt, mud caked in your hair. 

“The wash room is this way,” he said, causing you to jump. He looked at you. “Sorry.” You followed the Mandalorian to his bathroom. He gave you a change of clothes, as well as a towel. 

Once under the running water, you allowed yourself to cry. Everyone you knew was gone, except for the Child. All killed at the hands of the man you were now entrusting with your life. You were forced to remember that you didn’t know him at all. Once the water started to lose its heat you got out, dressing in the baggy clothing the Mandalorian provided for you. 

He was waiting for you outside of the wash room, still in his uniform. “I should’ve let you go first. That looks really uncomfortable.”  “Here’s your room,” he motions to a small room with a singular cot pushed against the wall. “It’s normally a jail cell.”  “Will the child stay with me?” you ask, not seeing him anywhere.  “No, I have a holding cell for him,” he simply responded.  “Oh.”

Before you could get another word out, he was gone. He didn’t lock your door, which you figured was rather generous from your new friend. Hopefully friend was the right word to describe it. The Mandalorian had placed two blankets on your bed, both folded neatly. You quickly spread them out, clinging to their warmth. This was the first night in many years you wouldn’t be sleeping next to the Child. You had been caring for him since you yourself were a child. You, of course, outgrew him.  “Goodnight, baby, wherever you are,” you said to only the air. 

When you woke up you felt the ship moving beneath you. It took a while to adjust to the motion, but once you did it was almost calming. The Mandalorian had left you clothing to change into, which you obliged. You were most excited about the new socks than now shielded your feet from the icy metal of the ship. You made your way to the cabin of the ship where you found the Child already sitting behind the Mandalorian. “Good morning,” you said, picking up the child when he reached for you.  “Where are we going today?” you ask, noticing the man was already dressed in a full suit of armor.  “To a safe place.”  “Oh. Why the suit, then?” “What?” “You’re dressed in a full suit of armor. I thought we would be going somewhere dangerous.”  “This armor is part of my religion. I do not take it off in front of any other life form.”  “Oh.” 

The safe place in question had not been so safe after all. It seemed like everywhere the Mandalorian went soon turned hostile in his presence. Shaken from the experience, you slumped into the backseat of the Razor Crest, only half watching the Mandalorian use the controls. “It’s always like this?” “Not always. It only seems to have gotten worse now that I have him,” he said, motioning to the Child now seated comfortably on his lap.  “I think he likes you.” The Mandalorian did not reply. 

Everything seemed to come to a boiling point on Nevarro. You didn’t like the idea of using the Child as bait the kill the Client, but the Mandalorian’s mind was set. You were now trapped with the Mandalorian and two of his friends - without the Child. You had no training on blasters and were absolutely defenseless as the three of them tried to figure out a plan, which happened to be a sewer that couldn’t be opened. As both Cara and the Mandalorian pulled at the grate, the stormtroopers finished assembling a blaster. 

Panic had set in and you barely heard the words of the man about to end your life. The three people surrounding you listened intently to his words but you only caught pieces through your sobs. “-Mandalorian hunter, Din Djarin.” You looked up at the Mandalorian through your tears and tried to search his face, but you were met only with metal.  “And, of course, the mercenary caretaker who the Mandalorian has chosen to spare only until he knows the Child is safe. Surrender and you can join him.” The rest of his words fell to deaf ears. He wouldn’t do that, would he? 

“I say we hear him out,” Greef Karga stated.  “We’re dead if we open that door,” Cara retorted.  “We’re dead if we don’t,” you said, a fire burning in your chest. You looked at the Mandalorian. “One way or another.”  “He’s manipulating you,” the Mandalorian spoke. “If I wanted you dead you wouldn’t be standing here.”  “You need me alive to care for the Child.”  “I could care for him on my own. I spared your life of my own free will.”  “Do you expect thanks for kidnapping me?” “Knock it off,” Cara seethed. “We are running out of time.” 

And you were. Moff Gideon, as the Mandalorian explained, was the man waiting to kill you. But, based on your current safety you knew that the Child was safe. Alone and scared, perhaps, but alive. 

Suddenly, the stormtroopers turned. 

And then fell. 

One by one the troopers were picked off by a droid carrying the Child. You wanted to run for him, which the Mandalorian could obviously tell. “Stay here.” Then to Cara, “cover me!” She did, of course, blasting down troopers one by one. You watched the Mandalorian from the window and tried to force down the worry from seeing him in such danger. 

Suddenly, the room was ablaze, the blast from the explosion sending you across the room. Your head met the concrete floors and pain rippled through your body. Before you could even crawl to a safer spot, stormtroopers had entered. After only a moment, Cara was in front of you, killing the two troopers before they had a chance to get to you. Then, she was gone. 

You let your eyes close for only a moment. When they opened, Cara stood over you, shaking you awake. You yelped as pain coursed through your body. “Alive,” she said, stepping back. Beside you now was the Mandalorian, in much worse shape than your own. “I’m not going to make it. Go,” he said, his voice raspy.  “Shut up. You just got your bell rung. You’ll be fine,” Cara said. You reached out for him, aching to take his pain away.  “Leave me.”  You pulled your hand from the Mandalorian’s neck, finding blood. “Mando you need to take your helmet off.”  His hands gripped onto yours, tightly. “No. You leave me.”  “You didn’t leave me for dead when we met and I will not leave you now.”  “Protect the Child.” The Mandalorian placed an object in your hand. “If you take this to the Mandalorian covert they will help you - they’ll keep you safe. Tell them it’s from Din Djarin.”  “No, I’m not leaving you here.”  “I’m not going to make it, and you know it.”  “Help me get him up,” Cara said. You moved to lift the man to his feet, but fire rained through the window, causing the three of you to drop.  “Protect the Child.” 

Another round of fire blazed, clearing to reveal a stormtrooper within your hideout. As it raised it’s blaster, you leapt for the Child, but fire did not come. You finally allowed yourself to look up and found the Child’s arms raised, shielding the flames from hitting you. Instead, the fire ricocheted back, casting the trooper through the door. You caught the child as he slumped back. The droid helped you to your feet. “Escape and protect the Child. I will stay with the Mandalorian.”  “I’m not leaving him.”  “We need to get out of here now,” Cara said. “If they get the Child it’s over for all of us.”  Sobs raked through your body as both Cara and Greef Karga led you to the grate. “Please keep him safe,” you called to the droid, hoping that your words meant anything. 

Once through the narrow tunnel you were met with an even larger tunnel, leading only to more darkness. You held the Child close to your chest, thankful for his safety. Suddenly, Greef Karga and Cara turned, pushing you behind them and drawing their blasters. But, no troopers came into the light. Only the droid accompanied by a limping Mandalorian. Cara ran to him, supporting his weight. “I’ve got you.” The child cooed, also very happy to see Mando. 

You walked behind the three humans, but before the droid. When you came upon a pile of armor, you were confused. But the Mandalorian, was not. He turned towards Greef. You had never heard the Mandalorian yell, but he screamed, “Did you do this? Did you?”  “It was not his fault,” a woman’s voice called. As she stepped into the light you could see that she, too, was Mandalorian. 

She was the Armorer, in fact. She led you to the Armory, where she began melting the abandoned armor. “Show me the one whose safety deemed such destruction.” You stepped forward, the Child still safely in your arms.  “This is the one that you hunted, then saved?” she asked.  “Yes,” Mando spoke. “The one that saved me, as well.”  “And you are?” she asked, now looking directly at you.  “I’m just the caretaker.”  “So I presume the three of you have been travelling together?” “Yes.”  “You, Din, are in possession of a foundling. By Creed, it is in your care.”  “You wish me to train this thing?” “No, it is far too weak. You must reunite it with its kind.”  “Where?” “That is for you to find out.” “You expect me to search the galaxy for its kind alone?” the Mandalorian asked.  “Not alone. The foundling is in the care of you and it’s caretaker. Until it is of age or reunited with its own kind, you are as its parents.” The Child looked up at you, and you placed a hand on the back of it’s neck, holding it tighter. “You are a clan of three.” 

Even after you had escaped the troopers and made it safely to the Razor Crest, those words rung in your ears - clan of three. You sat in the backseat of the cabin, holding the Child as Mando properly stationed the ship for the night.  “Mando,” you called once you could hear his footsteps approach you.  “Yes?” “What did the other Mandalorian mean by a clan of three?” Mando sighed and sat in his own chair turning towards you. “A clan is to the Mandalorians what family is to other races. It is a pact that cannot be broken. Ours is based on keeping the Child safe.”  “So we won’t be a clan once he’s back with his kind?” “Yes.” He paused. “And when that happens, I’m not going to kill you. You have my word that I will never harm you.”  “I know. I didn’t really think that you would. I was just scared.”  “I was, too. I didn’t think that the situation would escalate in that way.”  “I thought you were going to die.”  “I did, too.” The Child reached out for the Mandalorian, and you willingly handed him over. 

“I don’t know what I would do if you died.”  “Cara would take care of you, at least until you found somewhere you really wanted to settle. All of my credits are set to transfer to her when I die.”  “I don’t mean that. I just-” you paused, searching for any trace of emotion under the Mandalorian’s helmet. “If you died I don’t know how I would recover, emotionally.”  The Mandalorian did not speak for a moment, only moving slightly to cradle the now sleeping child. “I thought that I lost you today. You were laying motionless on the floor when they dragged me in and I thought that you were dead. I haven’t felt fear like that since I became a foundling.”  “I don’t want to lose you, Mando.”  “Din,” the Mandalorian interjected.  “What?” “My name is Din Djarin. I haven’t shared my name with anyone since I swore the Creed. I wish I would’ve been able to share that with you on my own, but Moff Gideon took that away from me.”  “Din Djarin, I don’t want to lose you. Even after the Child is reunited with his kind.”  “You are always welcome to stay with me. But, if you do you have to learn to hold your own. My life isn’t always like today, but you must be prepared for other days like this. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”  “I want to stay.” 

The child’s soft snores brought both of you back to reality. “We both need to get some sleep,” Din said, now standing.  “Can he stay with me tonight?” “The Child stays with me.” “Oh-” “You are free to, as well. With some precautions, of course.” 

You showered first, finding another set of clothes laying out of you. Beside the normal garments was a silky piece of fabric. “What is this?” you asked the Mandalorian once you emerged from the washroom.  “It’s a blindfold. So you don’t see my face.” Din grabbed the fabric from your hands and tied it around your eyes. “Can you see anything?” “No.”  “Good. I’ll help you get in bed and I’ll join you soon.” The Mandalorian guided you into the large bed, placing the warm blankets over your body. Then he was gone to shower. 

“Din?” you asked as the bed indented.  “I’m here.” His voice was different than it normally was. It was just as deep but not as robotic. You reached out for him and your hands met fabric rather than metal. You moved down to his hands, which were bare. His fingers intertwined with yours.  “I can’t believe you’re a real person under all that armor.” Din laughed. The sound was gentle and happy, something you didn’t often hear from the Mandalorian. You scooted closer until your chest touched his. “Is this okay?”  “Yes.”  After everything today you craved closeness to the man you feared dead only hours ago. The fear ignited something in you that you’d never felt before.  “Can I kiss you?” Din asked, voice barely above a whisper.  “Yes.” Din’s lips met yours and your chest ignited. Your hands wandered to his hair, aching for any touch the man could give. His hands remained on your waist, fingers gently digging into your skin. 

“Thank you for saving me,” you breathed.  “I think you saved me.” 

[some-dr-writings]

V3 Boys x SHSL Toy Maker

Shuichi Saihara:

·       Shuichi was surprised by how much he had began to rely on you. He didn’t entirely depend on you, but with you life was certainly much easier.

·       Shuichi liked your toys, thought of them as cute, but there was never any he was particularly attached too unlike how Kaede likely would be with a toy piano. Even as a child he much preferred reading to anything else, it was his lifelong hobby. He still cherished any toys you gave him though. However, that changed one day.

·       It was just a day like any other, Shuichi was in his office discussing being hired by a family for his services. Their pet capybara had gone missing and everyone was upset, especially so were the young children who were distraught and began to bawl. Their parent desperately tried to calm them, but when all attempts had failed, they just started apologizing to Shuichi, who to their confusion was searching through the drawers of his desk. He then squatted on the ground, a few action figures and little stuffed toys in hand, making some comical voice gaining the children’s attention who quickly joined in on playing. After an hour or so, once Shuichi was finally able to pry himself from the fantasy land without upsetting the children, his character haven fallen under a sleeping curse, he got back to his client to discuss the job. When they were to leave, the children refused to part from the toys and Shuichi said it was alright for them to keep the toys. Seeing how good Shuichi was with the children and having toys his client asked if Shuichi had children of his own.

·       That question really stuck to him as he searched for the lost pet. He didn’t dislike the idea of having children with you. If you were up for it maybe… it was something to consider. He did become rather fond of the thought though when he had returned the capybara home. He was invited in and found the children so happily playing with your toys. It also hit him in that moment how much joy your work brought, much like how his own work had those children crying with joy to see their furry companion had returned.

·       Something about that moment changed him, made him want to rely on you. Your kindness in gifting him your work was able to ease the pain of others. He began to keep a stuffed toy or action figure on his work desk instead of hiding them away, so he could be reminded of you all the time, and to cheer up any more hurt children who came his way. In a way, all your toys were very special to him now, all of them held some personal meaning, showing you both just wanted to make people happy… Maybe that was why he fell so hard for you back at Hope’s Peak, you both had the same dream.

    Kaito Momota:

·       You made nothing but space for Kaito. Glow in the dark space themed stickers, star and planet projectors, star chart globes, wooden spaceship puzzles, anything space you could think of you made for Kaito. Your boyfriend adored every last one of your gifts, all of them proudly displayed in his room. Kaito always got so giddy when you gave him something, he always showered you in affection in return, Kaito just found it natural to give you affection much of the time, but he was especially so after getting a gift, he had to give you something in return after all!

·       After giving Kaito another gift, with that bright grin Kaito lifted you off the ground, spinning around, hugging you close as he flopped onto his bed. “Hey, Y/N. Teach me how to make toys.” “Huh? You? Make toys?” “Hey! What’s with that look!?” “Nothing, I’m just surprised it all.” Kaito huffed, slightly miffed at your response. “So, Kaito Momota, the man with his head up in the stars, why would you want to learn?” “To be with you! And everyone plays. Humans play, dogs play, cats play, birds play, everything plays so if I ran into any aliens I could make them some earth toys!” “……… Fine. It would be nice to have you in the workshop for a day.” “A day!? What do you mean a day!? Wait… you believe I’ll master your craft so quickly?” “No. Like your training you won’t keep it up.” You snickered seeing you successfully had gotten a ruse out of him. “I’ll show you!” And with that you successfully ignited a determination in him to prove you wrong and he’d actually keep up on training with you… for a while at least.

·       You underestimated how much of an effect you’d have on him though. There were times when he slacked off in practice or following your teachings, but he never quit entirely. “You seriously thought I’d quit!? Do you even know me! I am Kaito Momota, Luminary of The Stars! I can do anything I set my mind too!” He then presented you some wooden blocks he was working on for you to examine “… Besides, if you think that lowly of me… Then I just have to prove you wrong or you need to raise your standards! You deserve the best boyfriend, and if I’m not that yet, then I’ll become that! It won’t be hard for me! Even when we’re apart and I’m in space I’ll still be the best boyfriend! Or husband! I just have to keep working at it! Just you wait and see. If I’m somehow not now… then I’ll just have to become someone more reliable for you.”

    Ryoma Hoshi:

·       It was a day like any other, you were hidden away at the back of the store in your little workshop, whittling away on a wooden doll when you heard a knock, knock, knocking on the door. “Come in!” You kept working for a few moments, finishing that last line as not to forget it later before turning to your guest. “Ryoma!” It caught the man off guard for a moment how brightly you smiled upon seeing him. “Hey.” “So, what brings my favorite person here?” You were confused seeing what appeared to be a snapped stick and some string. “It’s probably not cool to ask you something like this, and during work hours at that, but-” “wait, the cat toy broke again!?” “Yep.” You took the pieces, spreading them across your desk. “I knew these things were cheep, but I thought it’s at least last longer than the last one. None of the cats even play roughly, so how?” Baffled you scanned over the pieces. Ryoma stood beside you, watching as you looked over where it broke, mumbling something about materials and cost. “Think you can make one that won’t break.” “Think I can!? Who do you think you’re talking too, of course I can!” “Heh, yeah, I should have known.”

·       Ryoma didn’t like distracting you from work, but he rather enjoyed helping you with it. It was always so relaxing helping you gather materials, or to try to mimic your movements and follow your instructions, or to simply watch you. You were always so detailed, yet still found beauty in simplicity, everything you made was perfect.

·       “Hmm… aaaaaaaaaand done. This should do!” You passed it to Ryoma, who looked over your completed work. “Thanks. I’m sure they’ll love it.” “Tell Cheese and the rest I say hi and that I love them.” “Heh, I’ll be sure to do that. Thanks.” “Actually.” You stood up, taking off your apron. “My break will be soon, and as boss I can make the executive decision to take off early. I’ll just stay in a little later today to make up for it. Mind if I tag along? Lunch with my favorite cats just sounds lovely.” “You can tag along any time with me.”

·       Life could be rather rough after having served his time for Ryoma, but he had you and his cats, the only anything that brought stability and joy back into his life. It always hit him just how much your company meant in little moments like these.

    Rantaro Amami:

·       No matter how far Rantaro had went in his search he always carried around several of your toys which reminded him of you. One for each of his missing sisters. Something he knew they would like. Rantaro was fearful at times, what if they had changed so much he didn’t know them anymore? If they didn’t like one toy hopefully another would do, the toys were there simply to bring them joy, or to help calm them should they be coming from a stressful situation. Even if none appealed to their taste, surely your work could still draw out a smile, it had been able to do so for so many others, including himself so surely they would still help. And if it somehow didn’t then at least he had them around for his own sake, hugging them close at night when dark thoughts seeped in or when that homesickness crushed him like a boulder.

·       It was not often you traveled, almost always needing to be making something to fill up your little shop, it got lots of traffic and often things sold out so you had to try to quickly restock, you didn’t have much time for anything else, but at least you were happy making toys, it was good. Truthfully Rantaro preferred it this way. He was scared that if you were by his side during his search, he’d let you down just like he had with all his sisters, losing you and being unable to find you again. At least, even if it hurt to be apart, he knew where you were. It was a bit of an unrealistic fear since you were an adult who could take care of themselves and you had a phone and knew his number, but… it was still a real fear which had festered deep inside of him. He couldn’t lose you as well. He treated your toys like you in a sense, making sure he always knew where each was, and made sure to not leave any behind when traveling.

·       Even if it was only for a short time Rantaro would always return to you. Since you were usually busy all you could really do together was have him watch you work or teach him something you thought he’d find useful while making something like teaching him how to sew. Rantaro always indulged in these times together. He absolutely loved you, and though he liked your toys, they were nothing compared to actually being with you. Soon though the search would continue, at least he had more precious memories along to keep his spirits high.

    Gonta Gokuhara:

·       Gonta loved all of your toys! He found it amazing how you could turn a single piece of wood into a functional little car or some such. You offered to teach him since he was so fascinated. It was a long process with many injuries along the way, fingers pricked on needles, cuts from carving tools, pinches, even burns, but no matter come what may Gonta never gave up and continued to learn your art! It was something important to you, and Gonta wanted to understand it, if he could understand it, then he’d understand you better, and Gonta wanted to learn as much as he could about the person he loved!

·       Though it would not be fair for you to be the only one to be teach so Gonta would teach you all he could about his beloved insects! Gonta wanted you to know him better too after all. Gonta would take you out for walks and such to find some bugs and tell you everything he knew about them. He also thought it good for you to get out of your work shop more often and get some sunshine. All his lessons seemed to have some payoff when you gifted him a realistic looking figure of his beloved bugs.

·       Gonta always showed off his gifts to his forest family when he got the chance. He didn’t get to see them often but when he did he’d regal them with everything he had done, including his time spent with you, he even tried teaching them what you taught him, but it never ended well.

·       Gonta kept all of your gifts perfectly displayed in his room, making sure to take care of them to not let them fade due to time so they could last even a little longer.

·       Gonta was a diligent student  eager to learn more, he wanted to be a gentleman after all and Gonta thought that a gentleman should want to understand all things and continue to learn and grow always! He was going to be the best person he could be to make his family proud, and now he had you his partner, he wanted to be the best partner he could be for you! Not only was he growing but learning under you also gave him an excuse to spend more time with you which admittedly at times was more important to him.

·       After leaving Hope’s Peak, when Gonta began teaching others of bugs he’d actually use the models you had gifted him as examples. With time you had only become more invaluable to him. You were the only one for him, without a doubt.

    Kokichi Oma:

·       Kokichi served as a… rather interesting source of inspiration. He practically insisted on being your muse for some reason unknown to you. He’d giddily drag you around town on a whim going wherever. On these excursions Kokichi would buy something seemingly random only moments later asking if you could make something out of it, even goading you into it if necessary. It were as if he were challenging you to think outside of the box. He’d take you to botanical gardens, museums, theme parks, whatever was new in town and asked if you could make a toy based off of something from one of those attractions. You were never short on ideas with him around, that was for certain.

·       Kokichi also insisted that you both play with your toys, saying there was no point in making them if you never enjoyed them yourself. He’d take you back to times of being a child, playing pretend, making up stories for the toys, building pillow forts to be castles and whatnot. Often this exercise would give you more ideas, even some improvements, and all the while you were taking quick notes Kokichi would cry out for you to return to your fantasy land with him.

·       On occasion Kokichi would commission you to make spy gear for D.I.C.E. Toys with secret compartments that could shoot lasers and sleeping darts and act as walkie talkies, and explode moments after a recorded message was played with a tracking device and maybe even a gps to find some fast food place should they get hungry and maybe even- and the list of things a single item had to accomplish went on, and on, and on. They were large requests, but Kokichi would always insist that only you could accomplish this and no one else. You’d usually give in at some point and take on the request. You always had to adapt, Kokichi always adding or taking out what he wanted at any given time, but in the end he was always satisfied with the product. Coincidentally these requests always came whenever you were losing confidence and when you were struggling with a certain skill which would be a pin point in making the toy work such as wiring.

·       Kokichi in his own way was just always looking out for you, making sure your work never felt like work, that you were always having just as much fun as others had playing with your toys.

    Korekiyo Shinguji:

·       Korekiyo always found great joy in examining your crafts and asking you about them, your inspirations you had, if any for making that particular item, why you used the particular materials you used and whatnot. Most everything was anthropology, and that included your toys. Korekiyo wished to learn how you interpreted this era. He knew without a doubt how your craft would be preserved for eons, future anthropologists studying them, and he wanted an idea of sorts how others might see your work, it was all to beautiful to not be displayed in a museum one day. Kiyo loved having discussions with you, about your distaste for the thought of your work being preserved. To you, your toys were made to be played with and enjoyed so the thought of them being sealed away was disappointing. The pair of you could endlessly discuss the possibility thinking of something new to add to the conversation from such differing points of view. Kiyo was in awe and fascinated by your perspective, he simply had to learn and understand it more!

·       When you were becoming unmotivated for your work Kiyo would take you to a museum or even show you his personal collection of artifacts, show you long forgotten toys or others items, perhaps seeing what cultures of the past had crafted could inspire you in the present which it often did, more so Kiyo speaking so thoroughly about it all, a word or phrase in particular capturing your interest and you dashing off back to your work.

·       On occasion Kiyo would even try to study how you work, your techniques and such, comparing to what he knew from the past. You even tried teaching him since to you watching something and partaking in an activity were completely different things. Again more discussions ensued from your hands on approach and Kiyo being the observing anthropologist. He so loved these discussions seeing how differing your points of view were, yet you still loved one another and could not want for anyone else.

·       You were able to learn and experience so much than you could or would not have on your own without the other. In a way, you were perfect opposites, just similar enough in nature at your core, both wishing to understand one to bring joy the other knowing the past for the future.

    Kiibo:

·       Though Kiibo had told you on multiple times he had a childhood and grew up like any other human being you were still surprised to see how fond Kiibo was of your toys even getting nostalgic, recalling times when he had similar playthings as a child, Doctor Idamashi even taking time out of his busy schedule to play imaginary games with Kiibo. He was always so tender with the objects, you always put so much time and care into every last one, making sure each was up to your standards and excepting nothing less, working tirelessly till it was… like how Idabashi always worked so hard, all for Kiibo’s sake. Even if your work was not specifically for him, he still held all your efforts so dearly.

·       Kiibo however had some… issues with your more electronic toys, like the robot dog, or the futuristic robot dog, or the little robot dog, or the robot dog on wheels, or the robot dog with a toy gun attached to it’s back, or the robot cat, or the futuristic robot dog on wheels… There was a big demand for robot dogs and you always delivered them, much to Kiibo’s chagrin, especially when you were testing them and playing with them and giving them all your attention. You’d try comforting Kiibo by saying he was the only robot for you, but that only ever made him more upset.

·       On occasion you’d find Kiibo indulging his inner child, playing with one of your toys only for him to immediately clam up and get embarrassed, his face heating up and flushing a bright pink and his face covering clamping shut in an attempt to cover it upon realizing you had seen him. You’d join in on the fun, Kiibo eventually loosening up and playing again. Kiibo thought it silly, but Kiibo found this fun. It took him back to a time when he was just happy and wasn’t aware of the harsh robophobia the world festered. He could just enjoy himself and feel like a person, forget troubling thoughts, like you thinking he was a mere toy, he could be a child with you and just enjoy your company. Both of you just being human. In a way, it was like you were now apart of his childhood, there for the good times. Kiibo truly loved you, and maybe… just maybe moments like this would get you to see he truly was a person too, so you could love him in the same way.

[amethystroselilith]

If Lost Return to the 11th Harbinger (Babysitter Childe ft. Chilumi)

Finally, I get to write my first Chilumi fic! Hard to find a peaceful time to write cause of family demanding attention haha

~~~

SUMMARY:  In which Childe has to babysit 3 girls that means a lot to Lumine

Can also be read in ao3: here

“You know, sometimes, I think he’s doing it on purpose.” Childe sulked, wrapping his arms around Lumine’s waist in an attempt to ditch her plans for the day and spend it with him instead.

The bed looks cosy right now and Childe would pretty much like for Lumine to get back in there with him and maybe lure her into various activities they can play on the sheets.

Lumine chuckled, “I’m sure Zhongli doesn’t mean that.” before running her hand through his hair, letting him hold her for a while, a warm feeling blossoming on her chest as she watched them cuddled together in the mirror she was using to get ready for the day.

She wouldn’t admit it, but feeling Childe’s bare chest against her back makes her just want to stay with him a bit longer, but unfortunately for her lover, she knows how to control herself.

“Yeah? You really think he didn’t plan to tag you along with whatever rites he has to prepare whenever I’m in Liyue?” Childe huffed, burying his face against her neck.

“People don’t schedule when they’ll die, Childe.” Lumine rolled her eyes.

“Can’t he find someone else to help him?” Childe pouted up at her, displaying the best puppy eyes he could put on.

“Hm, didn’t really ask.” Lumine shrugged, earning a whine from her clingy lover.

“You mean we could’ve thrown someone else with him? But you didn’t ask?” he huffed.

“He invited me to help. I accepted. Besides, he helps me a lot during my stay here, it’s just fair to help him back. May I remind you he also pulled some strings to have you here without any Milleliths watching your every move?” Lumine hummed.

Childe rolls his eyes, “I’m pretty sure you could’ve convinced them to leave us alone, you’re a hero here, they know you kicked my ass, they trust you and all.” 

“Same hero that’s dating the same man who almost destroyed their city.” Lumine rolled her eyes, “I’m pretty sure they’re a bit wary of me as well ever since you decided to shout we’re officially together in public.”

“First of all, that’s to declare I won against all my rivals and they should fuck off.” Childe shrugged, “Second… I mean, how could they blame you? I’m charming as fuck.” Childe snickered.

“Right. I’m out.” Lumine said as she unwraps Childe’s arms off her.

“Ojou-chaaannn…” he whined as he tries to pull her back, “It’s the truth, come back.”

Lumine was about to say something back, but a knock on the door caught their attention. 

“You think he’ll take Paimon if I throw enough mora on them?” Childe tried, to which Lumine just chuckled and walked to the door.

“Good morning.” Lumine greeted their guest as she opened the door, “Oh?” her eyes widened in surprise when not just Zhongli appeared, but also three little girls.

“Qiqi brought friends.” Qiqi simply said.

“Onee-chan! Klee and Diona found you!” the excitable girl in red waved, “Diona said she missed you! Me too so we looked for you!” 

Diona freaked out, “I-I did not! I don’t care! If she doesn’t want to return to Mondstat and see me then that’s her problem!” she huffed, looking away with a red face.

“You went all the way to Liyue?” Lumine’s eyes widened, “Does… anyone know you two are here?” 

“Yea! Kaeya-oniichan!” Klee smiled.

“Oh,” Lumine breathed out in relief that they’re not alone, “So, where is he?” 

“I dunno, he was sleepy when I asked him, but he said ‘yes’, so Klee is good, no?” she smiled.

“He’s passed out drunk outside of Angel’s Share,” Diona mumbled.

“But we still asked permission and he said ‘yes’!” Klee argued to avoid getting in trouble. 

“No need to worry, Ms Lumine, I have taken care of that. Rest assured that their guardians are aware of their little ones’ whereabouts.” Zhongli intervened when he saw the blonde’s about to have a heart attack.

“I’m glad you found them before anything bad happened.” Lumine sighed in relief, while she knows Klee and Diona aren’t helpless when it comes to fighting, she still can’t help but worry. She’s especially fond of the 3 little girls, protective of them as a mother would be of her child.

“Yea, I recognised Mister during your visit in Mondstat and Qiqi as well! So Klee is good with not following strangers.” Klee nodded with a proud smile.

“Good.” Qiqi agreed, it may not be seen, but she’s also excited with the thought of playing with her friends again, “Play with Qiqi and friends?” she looked up at her with hopeful eyes.

“Ojou-chan, what’s taking so long?” Childe emerged, now wearing a shirt, “Oh?” 

“Qiqi brought friends,” Qiqi informed once again.

“Hi! Will you join us in playing too?” Klee asked excitedly.

Childe caught a glint of mischief in Zhongli’s eyes, “Unfortunately, Ms Lumine and I can not join you, but Mr Childe here will be playing with you for the whole day.” 

“Eh?!” everyone looked at him with wide eyes, additional pouts from the 3 little girls.

Zhongli just chuckled before kneeling at the little ones’, “Ms Lumine and I will need to take care of some urgent errands, but we will try to finish them as fast as possible, but for now, will you be good for Mr Childe?” 

~~~

And just like that, Zhongli had dragged Lumine away for whatever errands he has to do, leaving Childe with 3 innocent eyes looking at him curiously.

Childe hasn’t been around much whenever Lumine visits Mondstat, it’s always been the usual party of Lumine, Qiqi, and Zhongli since Childe still has duties to fulfil for his Queen. Duties that would make things complicated for his relationship with the Honorary Knight, but he believes that as long as they work together, not hiding dirty secrets from one another, they may be able to find a peaceful resolution for all parties.

But that’s something he has to think of for another day, today he has to entertain three little girls.

Three little girls that Lumine holds dearly, and for some reason, Childe feels a bit pressured in trying to win their favours, well Qiqi should already be won with coconut milk and the fact that they both work together in Lumine’s main party, but he’s not too familiar with the other 2 besides Lumine and Qiqi’s story. 

Klee seems to be easier to win over because of her energetic and friendly nature, Diona however, may take a bit of work with her shy and independent personality. 

But they’re still kids. Childe has experience with kids, his siblings love him, so this shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

“So, do you guys have any games you want to play?” he asked after watching the 3 finish the last of their breakfasts.

Klee pursed her lips, “Well, we were supposed to play house but, Mr Zhongli and Lumi-oneechan are gone so we don’t have a mama and papa anymore.”

“Ahaha, why are they mama and papa?” Childe laughed through gritted teeth.

“Are they not Qiqi’s mama and papa?” Klee tilted her head.

“No.” Qiqi answered, “But Lumine can be.” she hummed, “No papa though.”

“Ah, well, ojou-chan and I are very close-” 

“But I guess Zhongli can be papa, he gives Qiqi flowers.” the zombie child hummed.

A vein popped in Childe’s forehead, “Ah, Qiqi-chan, I give you coconut milk too, remember?” 

“But you’re always gone.” Qiqi shrugged.

Childe frowned.

“Ah! Kaeya-oniisan can be our papa?” Klee added, “He’s the bestest!”

“He’s always drunk, he won’t spend time with us.” Diona huffed.

“Diluc-”

“No.” Diona hissed, ears and tail raising.

“Yeah, he’s weird.” Klee nodded, “He doesn’t smile. Weird.” 

‘Just how many men does ojou-chan know?’ Childe’s eye twitched.

“I guess Zhongli is papa?” Qiqi proposed in their little meeting.

“Ahaha, I mean, what about me?” Childe smiled since apparently not smiling will make him weird according to Klee’s logic.

The three looked at him, eyes focused, judging him thoroughly until Klee perked up.

“Does Mr Childe have a huge crush on onee-chan?!” the red girl gasped excitedly.

“Ah, you caught me, you’re a very observant girl.” Childe went along, just glad that he’s getting acknowledge as a potential papa for their mama.

It doesn’t really make sense since he’s the one dating Lumine, but being ignored by the three girls as a candidate as a papa just doesn’t settle well in him. Especially losing to Zhongli… he may have tricked him once, but there’s no way in hell Childe’s going to lose to him again. 

Even as a hypothetical father figure to these girls.

“Hm, well if you want to date Lumi-oneechan, then you have to go through us!” Klee declared with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“I suppose you’ll be a better boyfriend than that drunkard captain and evil Diluc.” Diona shrugged.

“If you become Qiqi’s papa, then will I get more cocomilk?” Qiqi asked with hopeful eyes.

“Eh?!” Klee protested, “We have to give him tests first! Like… like how the prince has to go through challenges to get the princess’ hand!” she huffed.

“Okay.  A cocogoat, please. Thank you.” Qiqi nodded.

“A giant Jumpy Dumpty!” Klee’s eyes sparkled.

“Destruction of Mondstadt wine industry!” Diona requested.

‘What the actual fuck…’ Childe gulped.

~~~

Childe likes to pride himself as an ‘amazing storyteller’. 

His finest work is “Snezhnaya’s Greatest Toy Seller”.

He just released 3 new stories;

“Unfortunately, the Cocogoats have to be Kept in a Special Cocomilk Production Place to Spread Cocomilk Joy”

“Oh, Have You Not Heard of the Secret Survival Rule? A Giant Jumpy Dumpty, Leads to Confinement Solitary”

“Destruction of Mondstadt Wine Industry Will Make The Good Lord Barbatos So Mad He’s Going To Destroy Us All”

The 3 girls are in awe as he tells an elaborated story, each nodding in understanding, though he’s pretty sure Qiqi will most likely still look for her cocogoat, Klee will still create a huge bomb, Diona will still try to destroy the wine industry in Mondstadt. 

Childe wonders what kind of environment Mondstat is that turned Klee into a pyromaniac and Diona having such strong ambitions… 

He’s going to beg Lumine to take him there soon.

“That’s so pretty, Mr Childe!” the three awed as Childe finished weaving a flower crown made of Violetgrass.

“A pretty flower crown for a pretty princess.” Childe smiled placing the crown on Qiqi, who was beaming at the new hair accessory, hugging her hat tightly to her chest.

His little sister had always loved flower crowns, and with some random flowers he found nearby, Childe had made one in hopes of impressing the girls. He was testing it on his head when it immediately attracted Qiqi’s attention. With some spare Violetgrass she has with her, she shyly asked if Childe can make her one too. The pretty little crown on Childe’s head had also caught Klee’s and Diona’s attention by the awed look on their eyes, and Childe offered to make one for them out of the flowers that catch their eyes.

“Thank you…” she smiled shyly, carefully checking if the crown is secured on her head.

“Me next! Me next!” Klee jumped, plopping some silk flowers she gathered around Wangshu Inn on Childe’s lap.

“Oh, these will be very pretty as well.” Childe complimented, earning an excited squeal from Klee, “Have you found some flowers you like as well, Diona?” he asks.

The catgirl blushed, turning away, “I don’t want one anyway.” she huffed, crossing her arms.

“Hm?” Childe frowned a bit, he was sure Diona was also excitedly looking around, but then it hit him, there was not a lot of choices for flowers around Wangshu Inn, and it looks like she wants a unique one as well and with only Silk Flowers nearby, she came back to him empty-handed and disappointed. 

She can also feel the disappointment coming from Qiqi and Klee, who had been talking about taking pictures with their flower crowns with Childe’s Kamera.

Childe’s face softened, “Is it because there are not enough flowers that you like nearby?”

Diona just looked down in embarrassment, ears flat on her head and tail wrapping around her leg.

He just chuckled, “Well, don’t worry, there’s a village here with some glaze lilies nearby, maybe you’ll like those?” 

“T-that’s still far though…” Diona mumbled. 

Childe chuckled, “Don’t worry about it, I know a fast way to get there.” he said hydro vision glowing.

~~~

Despite Diona’s displeasure with water, she ended up having fun sitting on Childe’s shoulder as he literally rode the waves to Qingce Village, the other two clinging on both sides of his waist, secured by his arms wrapped around them protectively. 

The girls giggled as Childe softly landed them on the flowery field. Their entrance would’ve given them weird looks, but Childe had already done this a couple of times with Lumine. It’s one of his favourite moments to spend with Lumine, they would just chill in the flowery area, Childe’s head on Lumine’s lap, his hair being played with while Lumine sings softly, Glaze Lilies blooming beautifully. 

The thought sends a warm feeling in his chest, smiling softly at the thought of being lucky that the blonde made him a bigger part of her life.

“They’re beautiful!” Diona’s excited gasp pulled Childe from his thoughts.

“Well, then go and pick them while I’ll work on Klee’s crown.” Childe smiled before sitting down on the flowery field.

The three nodded and began collecting the flowers. Childe checked his surroundings first to make sure everything’s safe before taking his eyes off them. 

Childe was halfway done with Klee’s crown when he noticed that it suddenly got too quiet. His head raised, heart stopping when the 3 girls are nowhere in sight. 

He rose to his feet and began searching through the fields, hoping that they’re just hiding within the flowers. 

He started panicking when he can’t find them. Not only are these children his responsibility right now, but he’s sure his beloved ojou-chan will murder him if there’s even just a small scratch on them.

“Qiqi, Diona, Klee!” he shouted as he searches, cursing under his breath when there’s no villager nearby to help him.

A patch of frost caught Childe’s eye. 

Qiqi and Diona are cryo users, and it’s a high possibility it’s from them. There’s a burning patch just ahead of it, and Childe’s certain it’s from Klee.

The relief within him didn’t last long when a realisation hit him.

If they’re using their vision, it must be because they’re fighting someone. 

And Childe needs to move fast.

~~~

Childe followed the tracks, his pace increasing as soon as he heard even the softest sound from the three. 

As soon as he reached closed enough, his hydro daggers appeared on his hands. It has to be treasure hoarders.

He jumped in the area, a clever phrase in the tip of his tongue.

“Mr Childe!” Klee cheered.

His eyes widened, there was no treasure hoarders insight. Just the 3 girls with a mora weasel in Qiqi’s hand.

“...Wha…?” he stared at them in shock as his daggers slowly disappeared. 

“We caught a mora weasel!” Diona said proudly.

“Oneechan always runs after them so we thought we’ll help her,” Klee explained.

Childe took a deep breath, relief washing over him as he lives for another day for escaping his lover’s wrath, “I understand that you want to help her, but please don’t run off like that without me, okay?” he gently smiled as he walks to them.

“It runs too fast,” Qiqi said, raising the animal to Childe.

“Are we in trouble?” Klee asked in worry, “We just want to help.” she said looking down.

Childe chuckle, “I’m just glad you all are safe, but please let’s avoid doing that next time, alright? Liyue is a bigger place than Mondstat so it’s quite easy to get lost.” he explained before patting her head.

He then took the weasel from Qiqi, retrieving the mora before letting the animal go, “Now, why don’t we get back and finish your crowns, yeah?” 

They smiled and followed Childe back to the field.

~~~

It was late at night when Lumine got back to Wangshu Inn thanks to Zhongli’s high standards when picking the materials for the rites. Paimon hadn’t even bothered staying around when it started getting late, making an excuse about meeting Xiangling for an important taste testing. 

Though the whole experience wasn’t bad, she was just worried about how Childe can handle looking after the three alone. Zhongli assures her that Childe is probably experienced looking after children since he’s from a big family. Which worked and all, but she also remembered how busy Childe could be from that experience with Teucer, what if they run off when Childe wasn’t looking?

Zhongli shut that down by reminding her that the three are vision holders and Lumine just huffed and pouted, but agreed.

She opened the door to their room, careful with her steps assuming Childe must be asleep. 

When she opened the door to their room, she can’t help but have her heart melt at the sight.

Three little girls are asleep on their bed, a sleeping Childe sat on the chair beside the bed, a forgotten storybook on his lap.

With a soft smile, she made her way to Childe, chuckling softly when she caught glimpse of a photograph on the side table.

It was of them 4 posing for the camera, each has a flower crown adorning their heads.

“Ojou-chan?” a tired voice called softly.

“Look like you all had fun.” she smiled warmly.

Childe returned the smile, pulling her gently on his lap. His arms quickly wrapped around Lumine’s waist, face nuzzling against her neck. Lumine sighed in relaxation, leaning back and running her fingers through his hair.

“I’m guessing they liked you a lot they decided to sleep over?” she teased.

Childe chuckled, “More like the Knights were a bit busy to get them, and sent a letter to apologise for the inconvenience. Klee and Diona don’t seem to mind though, and I’ve never seen Qiqi excited for having her friends stay for longer.” 

“Hm, well that shouldn’t be an issue, we can bring them home ourselves tomorrow, I do have some things to go over with Jean.” Lumine hummed at the thought.

“Do you think they’ll welcome me warmly?” Childe teased.

“If you behave.” Lumine rolled her eyes.

“Shame. I was planning on picking a fight against the Cavalry Captain and the Dawn Winery owner.”

The blonde shifted to face him, her eyes glaring, “You will not. Why would you want to in the first place?” 

“I heard they’re great opponents.” Childe just smiled, hiding the jealousy from Klee’s story about how these men had also shown interest in his beloved ojou-chan. 

Lumine rolled her eyes, “I’ll make sure to tell Zhongli to keep an extra close eye on you.” 

“I’ll fight him too.”

“Promise me you’ll behave and I might just invite you in the shower.” 

“Bold of you to assume I won’t do it anyway,” Childe smirked.  

“Behave and you’ll be thoroughly rewarded after.”

“Oho, what reward are we talking about?” he grinned.

Lumine just chuckled before unwrapping his arms off of her, “Depends on how good you will be.” she smirked before heading to the shower.

Childe grinned before following after her.

Deciding that he’ll just pick a fight with said rivals another time.

[seungmoroll]

Turning Pages | Han Jisung

Word count: 3k

Genre & warnings: soulmate!au, fluff, character death

Requested: yes

A/N: this is inspired by the song Turning Page by Sleeping at Last. to the lovely anon that requested this, thank you for the request and sorry that it took so long for it to come out, hope you love it!

    The wind softly runs through your hair as you sit in the shade underneath your favorite tree. The warm air embraces you, giving you a sense of comfort and safety. The book held in your hands has captured your attention for the last hour. It wasn’t uncommon to find you out by the tree next to the lake; it was your safe space. It was where you were able to separate yourself from the crazy world that you sadly have to go back to at the end of the day.

     “Well hello there my little feather.” The sound of the familiar voices makes you slightly jump from your seated position. Clutching at your chest, you turn to face the intruder, “Han Jisung, you frightened me.” When you turn, instead of being face to face with Jisung, you see him hanging off one of the branches of the tree. As he climbs down, you close your book setting it aside, knowing that with him present, you won’t be able to read another word of it. Jisung settles down next to you, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. To this day, little stuff like this makes your heart flutter.

    “What is my little feather doing out here by themselves?” Little feather was his nickname for you. It comes from the fact that your soulmate mark was a little feather, and when the two of you realized that you were each other’s soulmate, that’s when he started to call you little feather. “Well, I was enjoying my book before someone interrupted me,” you say as you playfully glare at him.

    “Oh, well now that you’ve already been interrupted, you can focus all that attention on me.” Jisung cheekily grins at you as he attempts to lay down on your lap. Not letting him get away with his antics, you gently push him away. As a result, he plops his head on his hands, pouting at you. Rolling your eyes, “You know, I could always just go back home to read.”

    “And yet you choose to read out here where you know I can easily watch you from my house.”

    “Should I be worried that you’re watching me now?”

    “Little feather, I’m always watching over you.” He spoke of nothing, but the truth. Ever since you were a small child you had been coming down to this tree, and for the longest time, you had never noticed the little boy that would watch you from his window, until he finally made an appearance in your life.

    There was something off with Jisung, you could tell. Although he may not be outwardly showing it, you knew him well enough to know when he’s not telling you something. “What’s wrong?” The smile on his face fumbles for a quick second, but quickly returns to its position. “Nothing is wrong. What makes you think that there is something wrong?”

    “Han Jisung, I’ve known you for quite some time now, and if you think that I can’t tell when there’s something wrong with you by now, then you are sadly mistaken.”

    Putting his hands up in defeat, he says to you, “Ah, you’ve caught me, but don’t worry your pretty little head about it. It’s nothing to worry about.” You give him a stern look, wanting nothing more for him to tell you what’s on his mind.

    Unable to deny you, he slowly takes out what looks to be a letter from his pockets and gently hands it to you. Quickly taking from his hands, you scan over the document, dropping it as soon as you finished reading it. Out of instinct, you cover your mouth in shock, tears beginning to blur your vision. Jisung carefully gathers you in his arms, not wanting to see the look on your face.

    “You can’t.”

    “I have to.” Clutching onto Jisung, you let the hot tears run down your face. You couldn’t believe it. You knew that the chances of this happening were very high, but you had hoped that there was a chance for it to be avoided. Unfortunately, for the both of you, it was really happening.

    “Oh Y/n, it pains me to see my little feather like this, but you know nothing can be done about this. You know that once somebody gets their draft letter that it’s a done deal.”

    “I can’t lose you.” Separating from your hold, Jisung gently cups your face, making you look him in the eyes. “You’re not going to lose me, little feather. You know you can’t get rid of me that easily.” Jisung attempted his usual cheeky comment in attempt to make the situation more lighthearted, but the both of you knew that it wasn’t going to work.

    “Besides, let’s look on the bright side, now that you know I’ll be gone for a long time, you’ll be attatched to me like this until I’m gone. And when I come back, you won’t ever want me to leave your side ever again.” Smacking Jisung in the arm, you ask him, “How can you be joking around like this? You know that you can get seriously hurt.”

    “I’m not going to get hurt. I won’t allow myself to, but now that I think about it, if I do get injured, they’ll send me home and I can have you care for me.” Raising your hand for another smack, Jisung stops the attack, “I’m kidding. Look, let’s not even think about stuff like that, okay? Let’s just enjoy the time we have together, and not worry about it. Please.”

    And that’s exactly what the two of you did. Everyday leading up to Jisung’s departure, which happened to be two weeks after he told you, the two of you would meet up and do miscellaneous activities together. From rowing a boat in the lake to stargazing, from feeding animals to cuddling each other underneath the tree. The two of you wanted to make the best memories with each other so that you’d both have something to hold onto. Although, your family did not necessarily approve of Jisung, they let you have your moments with him, knowing that you would be in pain from the moment he left.

    The night before Jisung had to leave, the two of you met by the tree for one last time for a while. When you had arrived, you saw that he had set up blankets for the two of you. He wanted to watch the stars with you, while holding you for one more time. He had even gifted you a new book, telling you that anytime you missed him, you could read the book and remember how much he loves you. That night, the two of you slept underneath the stars by the tree, in the arms of one another, dreading the following day.

    The next morning, you had woken up before Jisung, using the last moments you had with him to admire his features. He was beautiful like this, and you couldn’t imagine the harsh conditions that he was going to be put through. When Jisung had woken up, the two of you laid in a comfortable silence, taking in everything. Once it was finally time for Jisung to go back home to grab his things, the two of you silently packed up and made your way to his house.

    At his front door, before he went inside, he gave you a gently kiss. A kiss that held so much meaning behind it, that you couldn’t help it when your tears started falling. Jisung’s tears were also falling, mixing in with yours before the two of you parted.

    Letting him hold you for one more time, you say, “You promise to write me whenever you can?”

    “Of course.”

    And with that, he takes your hands, and lays gentle kisses on each of your knuckles, and lastly kissing the little feather that laid on your wrist. Once he finished, he whispered, “I love you, my little feather.”

    “I love you too, Han Jisung.”

    When you had received noticed that you had gotten a letter, you had quickly snatched the letter from your father’s hand. Immediately running to your bedroom, you sit at your desk and quickly open the letter.

    Hello my little feather, It is I, your one and only. I hope you are well and taking care of yourself. Don’t worry your pretty little head about me. I’m doing fine, I even made a new friend. His name is Minho. He’s actually my senior and messes with me a lot, but I know that I’m his favorite junior. He’s looking after me, so no need to worry, okay? Oh how I miss seeing your beautiful face. I can’t wait for the day for me to come back and I can hold you in my arms again. I must end this letter here, but just know; I love you little feather. Your love, Han Jisung.

    Clutching at the letter, you’re glad that Jiusng was safe. You didn’t really need the letter to know he was safe, as long as the little feather on your wrist was there, then you knew he was fine, but you couldn’t help the little concern you had for him.

    And that’s how the following year went for you. As your life continued on, all you could do was wait to receive letters from Jisung, and every night right before you fell asleep, you would look at the little feather on your wrist, holding onto the hope that he was doing fine.

    Dear little feather, It’s starting to get a little colder isn’t it? I hope you are staying warm, don’t stay out under the tree for long. I can’t have you getting sick. As for me, your love is the only thing keeping me warm out here. That and of course the group huddles we have, but nothing beats the warmth you give me. Oh, how I miss the warmth of your touch. Promise me that when I return, you’ll never let me go.  Oh, what am I saying, it is me who won’t let you go. Anyways, I love and miss you little feather. Your dearest, Han Jisung.

    Dear little feather, I miss you so much. It’s getting harder and harder everyday being away from you. To be honest, last night I cried while the others slept because of how much I missed you. I laid a kiss on my feather, could you feel it? I want nothing more than to lay a kiss on your little feather. Today feels a little bit different than the other days, and I’m honestly quite scared, Minho hyung says I shouldn’t be, but I just can’t shake this feeling that I have. Maybe I’m just being dramatic, maybe it’s because I’m lovesick and I just need your loving right now. I must end this letter here; they are calling for all of us. I love you, little feather. Forever and always, your soulmate, Han Jisung.

    You were finally able to get a break in your day, and so you decided to relax down by the tree. As you were making your way to the location, you turn to check up on the Han household, however, a peculiar sight was in front of you. Two men in military uniform stood in front of the door. Slowing your pace, you watch as they knock against the door and Mrs. Han opens it. Upon seeing the men, Mr. Han shows up as well. The two military men then proceed to take off their caps and bow down to the Han’s and suddenly Mrs. Han is falling to the ground, but Mr. Han manages to catch her. The sight before you and the sounds of her cry was all you needed to know what it meant.

    Hot tears quickly began to run down your face as you quickly made your way to the tree. It took you everything you had to not stay on the ground when you tripped on your path there. Once you had arrived at the tree, your legs grew weak and you dropped against the tree. Clutching at the ache in your chest, you let out a sob. You couldn’t believe it, but there was no way for you to mistake what that scene meant. There was only one way for you to confirm it. If you checked your wrist, you would know the answer, but you weren’t sure if you wanted to know. If you looked and it confirmed your suspicions, then it meant the end for you.

    Finally deciding to look, you slowly open your eyes to check your wrist. Your heart stops. Nothing is there. Han Jisung was dead. Your soulmate was taken away from this world. Taken away from you. You scream out in pain.

    For the rest of the day, you had laid out by the tree and when your parents came out to search for you, they saw your broken-hearted figure and knew. They carried you back to your house, where you had laid bedridden for a month, lifelessly.

    The Han’s had visited you at some point and as a whole, you had all mourned together. When they had left, they gave you a journal, Jisung’s journal. It took you two weeks after their visit to open it, and when you did the contents of it made you cry. Every page that you had turned was about you. It was a journal full of Jisung’s favorite things about you and his favorite memories with you. That’s when you made it your goal to live the rest of your life in honor of Jisung, until the two of you meet in your next lives.

    You were running late again for the second time that week. If this were any other job, you probably would’ve been fired by now, but luckily for you, your boss likes you. As you briskly walk to your destination, you do your best to avoid bumping into those around you, though you do manage to get slightly pushed by a big man, causing you to bump into a tree. Finally arriving at your job, you let out a loud, “Sorry I’m late,” and proceed to slightly bow. When you rise up from your bow, you see your boss, Jinyoung, slightly roll his eyes at you. “Yeah, yeah, kid. Just get these books back where they need to be.” Smiling, you take the cart of books he referred to and begin to put them up. Aside from your boss, the other thing you liked about your job is that you were surrounded by books. The small bookshop that you were employed at was basically your second home. When there were no customers, you would pick a random book and read it until you finished it at the end of your shift. You recently finished a book called Turning Pages. It was about a person who had lost their soulmate to a war. It was one of your favorite reads so far. As you read it, the author’s words made it feel like you were experiencing their emotions as well. The fact that the two also had the same soulmate mark as you meant even more for you. You had made a mental note to purchase the book later on so that you could read it again.

    As you are finishing up putting the rest of the books on the shelves, the bell to the door sounds, alerting the shop of a new customer. “Y/n, can you go help them, I’m a bit busy,” Jinyoung asks of you. Pushing the cart back to the front, you can see that the customer is a man, though you can’t get a good view of him until you’re closer. Reaching the counter, you ask the customer, “Hi there, is there anything I can help you with?”

    Finally looking up at the customer, you can’t help but think that he’s attractive. “Hey, I was wondering if you guys had Turning Pages in stock.” You knew that there was only one copy left in the shop, it was the copy that you read. It still had the little sticky notes that you placed in them from when you were annotating the book.

    “Yeah, in fact, we only have one copy left. Let me get that for you.” As you were getting the book for the customer, you did your best to take out all the sticky notes you left in it. Going through them, you realized that you wrote a lot more than you thought. When you reached the customer again, you were still taking out your notes. “Sorry about this, I just finished reading it and I sometimes like to leave notes with my thoughts in books.”

    “Really? Then you don’t have to take them out.” You look at the customer in confusion. You didn’t know why he would want to leave your notes in the book. “I think it’s kinda cool that you wrote about it, and if it’s okay with you, I'd like to read those as well.” This was a first for you; you weren’t really sure if this was okay, but since he asked, then what else could you do.

    “Uh, okay, but just letting you know now, most of these were just the first thoughts I had, and I have like zero experience with romance.” You instantly regretted saying the last part. Embarrassed, you begin to ring up the book for the customer. Placing the book into a bag and you hand it to the customer, who instead of thanking you says, “Little feather,“ while pointing at you. Taken back by the two words the man said to you, you clutch at the small mark on your wrist and say, “Excuse me?”

    “Oh, I’m sorry. You’ve had a little feather on your shoulder the whole entire time.” Looking down at your shoulder, he was indeed correct about the little feather. It must’ve landed on you when you were on your way to work. Gently picking it off your shoulder, you lay it down on top of the counter, even more embarrassed by the fact that it was there the whole entire time.

    “I’m Jisung by the way.” Looking away from the feather, you see that the customer, Jisung, has his hand out for a handshake and that’s when you see it, the small little mark on his wrist Smiling, you take his hand, “Y/n.”

A/N: this was my first soulmate au so I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. my requests are open so feel free to send something in!

masterlist

[blackenedwhite97]

Pregnant Panic- Poly! Erasermic x Reader

Hello! this was a requested fic from quite some time ago. I'll be catching up at some point, i'm in my final year of university so update will be more spaced out for the next few months.

Content Warning: Discussions of paternity, some medically accurate potentially a little gross conversations and mentions and depictions of anxiety and panic.

This story includes and Polyamorous relationship

Polyamory: the practice of engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the consent of all the people involved.

It was killing them. You’d think with how tired and unwell Shouta looked and how uncomfortable Hizashi seemed that they were the pregnant ones. Shouta was the most stressed you’d ever seen him, not because he didn’t want a child but because he was scared he’d be a bad father. You’d stayed up many late nights with him, looking out at the dark city skyline through the living room window, him drumming up ways he’d fail as a father and you countering them with rationale and reassurance. He wanted to be there, he wanted to be present. You all knew he was around the least; he was a teacher during the day and a full-time hero at night. Hizashi was usually home at night, at least.

Hizashi wanted two things. The first, to be as good of a dad as he knew Shouta was going to be. The second, to know which one of them had knocked you up. Hizashi, unlike Shouta had full confidence in Shouta’s ability as a father. Hizashi also had confidence in his own ability to be a father. Yet, and you assumed it was natural, the two of them compared themselves to each other constantly. They both felt like they had to fill a role that was usually filled by only one parent, a father. In regard to his second wish: It was driving him insane. Hizashi didn’t want to know for the reason of ascertaining who the “real” dad was, it was more of a who’s quirk we might have to deal with.

While it’s not a given that a child’s quirk is going to be the same as your parents, it’s still a possibility. A possibility some families count on so greatly that they arrange marriages based on quirk compatibility to keep their bloodline strong and on the top tiers of society. Your little mismatched family never worried about that sort of thing, whether this child was a telekinetic like you, made your ears bleed when they threw a tantrum like Hizashi or could shut his dad up like Shouta, or even if they were quirkless you’d all love them with every fiber of your beings.

This was going to be one lucky kid.

Hizashi was squirming around in his chair, his legs going from being slung over the arm rest to being tucked underneath him. Shouta was as still as a statue save the tip of his boot where his toes were wiggling with nervous energy. Hizashi shifted his position for the umpteenth time, his legs swinging around towards Shouta, their knees bumping. Shouta shot out his hand and gripped Hizashi’s knee, holding him in place.

“Stop squirming.” He grumbled.

Hizashi stilled and slumped back, splaying his limbs out dramatically. “Babe, come here.”

Hizashi looked slide long at you through his lashes and a grinned, waving you over.

“Sure, yeah. Hold on, lemme just-” you placed a hand under your swollen stomach as if that would help carry any of the weight and hopped off the examination table. You landed in a wide stance, almost losing your balance from the nearly one-foot drop. It was pitiful, since you’d started to really show it was almost like all of your hero training went straight out the door. Mind you, your hips were wider than they’d ever been, and you were twenty-seven pounds heavier than you’d ever been. You also constantly had a little critter kicking you in your bladder, which was very new.

You waddled towards Hizashi, the smallest of grins pulling at Shouta’s mouth as he watched you. He found your knew range of mobility highly entertaining. You stopped just short of Hizashi’s wildly splayed out feet, nudging one with the toe of your shoe.

“Can you stand behind me for a sec?’ Hizashi sat up straight. “I wanna try something.”

“Okay?” you raised an eyebrow but waddled around him anyways.

As soon as you were behind him he leaned back in his chair and propped his head back on your belly. He closed his eyes and sighed in contentment. “Now, I’m comfy.”

You stared down at him as he fought a stupid grin, trying to keep his face serene. Goof. “I’m glad our kid is already good for something.” You sighed, stroking the top if Hizashi’s head and smoothing his hair back.

Shouta blinked, his brows knitting together. “You are such a dad already.”

“Been practicing!” Hizashi quipped, shooting up and snapping one of his fingers into a gun.

Shouta rolled his eyes but couldn’t help himself and chuckled.

The door to the examination room opened and in walked a kind looking older woman with deep smile lines and dark shining eyes. She looked like she worked with babies for a living, there was a pure unadulterated kindness about her. “Mrs. Y/L/N?”

“Hi, yeah that’s me.” You turned towards her and stretched out a hand.

She took it with a smile and eyed the two men in the chairs. “Which one of you is the father?”

The three of you had agreed when this all started happening for the sake of appointments that weren’t with doctors you’d be seeing regularly Shouta was going to be the father. It was hard enough explaining that the three of you were together romantically anyways, add a baby in and the fact that you don’t know which one of them was the biological father and you have a proper scandal. Out of the three of you Hizashi was the most recognizable and had the closest thing you could equivalate to a fan base so Shouta felt that in order to keep a sense of privacy around all of this he’d be the place holder father. You’re doctor and OB GYN both understood the whole situation, of course they needed to. Both had been in favor of a paternity during the pregnancy, which you had wanted to fore go until after the birth. At this point in the pregnancy it would have to be an invasive test and with this being your first child the three of you were so nervous you didn’t want to even consider taking that chance.

Shouta cleared his throat and stood up, reaching out for a hand shake as well. “That would be me.”

Hizashi shrunk down in his chair, he had agreed to this prearrangement, but it still stung a bit. You placed a brief set of comforting pats on his shoulder and he straightened up a bit.

“Right,” the kind eyed woman took his hand. “everything seems to be going well and on track. If you wanted to go over specific we could step into another room?”

She eyed Hizashi, and curious look about her. It was probably rare to see a friend sitting in on any sort of appointment. You shook your head and spoke up.

“Oh, he’s here to help us keep track of everything. I have total baby brain and Sho gets… overwhelmed.” You smiled at her reassuringly, trying to normalize the situation.

“O-okay.” She looked down at the clip board in her hand and skimmed the page. “The only thing I would say is out of the ordinary is that all signs are pointing to a later birth than expected. This is completely normal, of course. There are a few options if we feel as though the little one if take their sweet time a little too seriously such as inducing birth.”

You looked down at your swollen belly, your little one didn’t even stir. Why would they want to leave anyways, the little shit was swaddled in warmth and had a direct line to all the caving food you were constantly supplied with. Aside from the waddling, miniscule range of motion, tiny bladder and hip and back pain you didn’t mind being pregnant too much. The boys were totally whipped, which you tried not to take too much advantage of. But you were human and Hizashi was getting really good at baking.

“Inducing how?” Hizashi questioned from his seat.

“W-well,” she looked at you and Shouta for approval before speaking, Shouta nodded. “there are ways to induce labour through hormonal injection as well as more slightingly invasive physical ways, however it all depends on the circumstances. We prefer the less invasive ways for new parents generally speaking.”

Hizashi nodded and there was an awkward silence for a few seconds. The woman looked between the three of you then looked back down at the sheet and began tearing slips off along the perforated lines. “Here are your prescription cards, signed off by Dr. Onishi.”

“Thanks.” You took the slips from her outstretched hands and she slipped out of the room, you could have sworn her polite smile slipped from her face as she closed the door behind her. She sniffed you three out.

“Invasive?” Shouta mumbled. “How invasive?”

Hizashi shrugged as he stood up, grabbing your jacket off the end of the exam table to help you into it. You turned around and let him help you into it, even putting on a jacket was harder when you were this pregnant.

“They’ll stick a plastic hook up my vagina a pop the amniotic sack thing.” You explained, expecting full well the boy’s reactions.

Hizashi shivered violently and let go your jacket, shaking himself out like a dog trying to rid itself of water after a swim. Shouta’s nose flared and his eyes rolled to the side as he frowned.

“Is that painful?” Hizashi asked, his voice still shaky.

“No one on google really said anything about that but it’s safe to assume is they won’t talk about it, it’s not good.” You shrugged.

“Ew.” Hizashi stuck out his tongue like a kid tasting adult food for the first time.

“Yeah, can we uh, stop talking about this?” Shouta, if it had been possible, had paled out. Throughout the pregnancy Shouta had gone from the toughest out of the three of you to the one that was the most squeamish about everything. Sure, Hizashi was over dramatic and very vocal about his thoughts and feelings but he always had been. For Shouta, the idea of your body literally contorting to stabilize itself only for it all the end in hours of screaming, crying and otherworldly pain was too much. Normal injuries? Doable. Anyone could get hurt. Giving birth? That was something only you could do out of the three of you and he didn’t like that.

“Sure.” You smiled at him and he hooked his arm under yours as you all made your way out of the building to the busy street outside.

“What’s up for dinner?” Hizashi asked, pulling up his collar against the wind. The winter was blowing in and Japan was in the early stages of grey skies windows and cool winds, not yet covering in heavy snow and frozen streets.

“Um, I kinda forgot it was my night.” You muttered. If you hadn’t been the pregnant you’d have been subject to a somewhat sarcastic lecture at the hands of Hizashi, but you were practically untouchable now-a-days.

“Let’s just pick up something on the way home.” Shouta grumbled.

“I gotta fill my prescriptions, though. We can just go to the grocery store, there’s a pharmacy in the back.” You said.

“I don’t want to make you cook.” Shouta sniffed, the cold air making his nose run. “Plus, it’s cold as hell and the grocery store is refrigerated, I don’t want you getting sick.”

“Sho I can-” you started to protest.

“Dad has spoken.” Hizashi chimed in, wrapping and arm around your shoulder. “We can split, Y/n and I can head home a grab food on the way, and you can go fill her prescriptions?”

“Nice try, Mr. “I-wear- a jacket- all- the-time-for-fashion”. You go get the pills; we’ll get the food. I’m fucking freezing.” Shouta poked Hizashi in the forehead.

“I can’t help that I like the layered look, Sho.” Hizashi huffed. You turned to his and gave him a peck on the tip of his nose, a dopey grin spreading across his lips. God he was easy to butter up, he was such a glutton for physical affection.

You took off you scarf and wrapped it around his neck and handed him your prescription slips. “Your assignment Present Mic.”

“Aye-Aye, Ma’am.” He saluted dramatically.

“You own me a warm drink when I get home!” he added over his shoulder at Shouta who was already wrapping his arms around you as you waited for the walk signal.

Shouta was a furnace as the best of time and a miniature sum at the worst of times. You’d taken his temperature before, worried that he had fevers or worked himself sick in the early days of your relationship. He was always around the normal base line, he just radiated heat like crazy. You sank back into him and let his thick wavy hair curtain around your face. You looked up and make eye contact with his smoldering dark eyes, a soft smile on his lips.

“Hey.” You said.

“Hey.” He hummed into your hair.

“What do you want to eat?” you asked.

“Hmm,” she closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “something warm.”

The cars came to a halt and the walk chime sounded as the pedestrian light lit up. “Ramen it is.” you chirped and skipped awkwardly froward, your splayed hips not exactly made for such enthusiastic movement. He trailed behind you; your hand clasped in his.

The Ramen shop on the way was the kind of shop you couldn’t eat in; it was a thin rectangular shop with just enough room for a line and the counter. You had never minded before but lately the lack of seating options as you waited was less than ideal. You and Shouta had to make do with leaning into each other, him trying to support you but making a makeshift seat with his thighs while she leaned against the wall. The cashier rang a small bell and called your order number with a polite thank-you. You scuttled to the counter and retrieved the expertly packed bags of lidded ramen bowls.

When you made it back to Shouta he was staring down at his phone, his normal peaceful tiredness replaced by an annoyed alertness. He was frowning and pulling away from the wall.

“What’s wrong?” you asked just in time for him to look up at you.

“Uh, there’s an emergency call for heroes. Like, three blocks from here.” He looked as though if he hadn’t been waiting for you to return he’d have already dashed out of the door. It was in his blood, Shouta was a hero and until one the assholes had knocked you up so were you. The splayed hips somewhat dulled that itch to jump into action, but you could remember how it drove you crazy.

“Go.” You nodded. “I can get home.”

“Y-you’re- really?” he turned towards the door and you could see him winding up like a spring action toy.

“Yes, go!” you waved him off. Without another work he was off, the door swinging in the wake of his exit. Although you hated to admit it, this kid had changed more than just your body. You never worried like you did now. You were never so afraid od the average mission or call turning into something catastrophic, you were paranoid about patrols in good neighborhood and rescuing cats from trees. Shouta literally rescued a cat the other night and when he was telling you about it all you could see was him toppling out of the tree and getting hurt. Whenever one of them left for work they would be setting up times to check in, and Hizashi being the chronically late guy that he is had to suddenly start keeping track of time. You didn’t want to raise this kid without either of them and while you all knew full well that it was a possibility with the life you all lived, it still terrified you to no end.

You tried to calm yourself as you stepped out onto the street, people were still milling about, and there was no thirty-foot inferno to speak of so things couldn’t have been that bad. You waddled the rest of the way home, bags of soup sloshing around in your hands, trying to stay calm. You weren’t doing very well. Usually you had at least one of the boys with you or they were together but no doubt Hizashi also had gotten the message. You groaned to yourself, knowing full well he’d also responded.

Your hands were shaking, hoping it was just the cold you rooted around in your pockets for your keys. Getting them in the door was an experience, both frustrating and upsetting in the only the way a pregnant person can attest to. Were the tears running down your face because you couldn’t get the key in the door or because you were a walking rage pile or hormones and anxiety? You whipped angrily at your tears and shoved open the building door, warm air washing over you. At least it was warm.

The building got more and more blurry as you made your way to your apartment, tears fulling your eyes until the lights were just wavering streaks. You were huffing breaths into what felt like air starved lungs, sobs pounding against your cheat trying to break free. You choked them down and rushed through our door, leaving the ramen in the hallway as you slammed the door shut behind you.

You really didn’t feel like being very very pregnant and having a panic attack. You started to pace around, running your hand through the soft blanket across the back of the couch and pressing your palms to the cool counter top as you went back and forth between eh kitchen and living room. Some tears fell but your eyes dried and soon enough your lungs stopped convulsing for air. You were still shaking and a knot was still tight in your gut but you had for the time being subdued the panic. With this new clarity you went you your room and pulled out you professional phone, the battery low having not been used in weeks.

You had also received the distress signal:

10 Ave and 4 St. Grand villain activity: League of Villain members sited at scene of disturbance. Requesting all back up in immediate area. Priority: Containment.

League of Villains. You’re stomach dropped, almost painfully. You gripped onto the sheets of the bed as you slid to your knees, panic rising in your chest again. You knew they were among other heroes, that Hizashi wasn’t a frontline fighter and Shouta would have a horde of heroes trying the keep him in play. You knew this. You also knew them, and that they could be stupid. Shouta had climbed a Goddamned tree the other night FOR A CAT. He could have fallen and died for a CAT. You choked down another sob. Hizashi was always the centre of attention and he did it on purpose. What if he tried to distract the villains and got hurt doing it? He’d done that once before on a mission and came home with a nasty concussion.

What if it was worse this time? What if the League was more organized?

You choked on another sob.

Warm arms wrapped around you and you jumped, trying to pull away.

“Hey, whoa, babe it’s me.” Hizashi hummed calmly. “Shh, it’s okay. It’s Zashi.”

He brought a hand to your head and held you against his chest, scooting closer to you in his crouching position. He kissed the top of your head and rubbed circles into your hair with his thumb and held you like that until you were able to calm yourself. “What happened?”

“I got scared.” You sniffed. “And I’m pregnant.”

“Oh.” Hizashi chuckled, pulling back to look at you. His nose was still rosy from the cold and his hair was swept back in messy waves. “Sorry.”

“You should be.” You punched him the shoulder, once for every word.

“Ow!” he whined, holding his arms up in defense.

“You did this to me!” you wailed. Irrational, yes. Cathartic? Also, yes.

“I refuse to take ownership until we get that paternity test!” he laughed somersaulting away from you.

You were just about to give him a piece of your pregnant mind when you heard Sho enter the apartment and trip over a set of paper bags.

“Y/N?” he called. “Hun? Are you, okay?’

Hizashi jumped to his feet and darted out of the room, shouting wildly. “She’s angry!”

You tried to push yourself up to your feel but couldn’t, slumping back down onto the carpeted floor next to the bed. The threw your hands up in the air frustrated, all that panic from earlier having left your body. Being pregnant was a wild ride, whatever you felt was so strong and so consuming at the time, but it could fade just a quickly as it came.

“I’m stuck!” you pouted.

Shouta crept into the door frame, Hizashi hiding behind him. The two of them melting at the sight of you slumped, cross legged on the floor, belly swollen, unable to move. Shouta grinned, that same entertained grin from earlier. He made his way to you and grabbed your hands hauling you to your feet. You slumped into him, reaching out a hand to motion for Hizashi to join in. Not one to pass up a good group hug Hizashi happily wrapped his long gangling arms around you and Shout, ignoring your grunts and he squeezed.

“That didn’t take long.” You mumbled into Shouta’s chest.

“Illusion base quirk, I erased it and it turned out to be a bunch of low levels trying to make a scene to get away with some cash.” Shouta explained. “You okay?”

You nodded and hummed into his chest.

“You sure? There’s soup in the hallway.” His whiskers rubbed against your forehead.

“The baby got scared.” You muttered.

“Oh?” he hummed, as if in thought. He pulled away from you and knelt down, so he was level with you belly. “Listen up little one, there’s nothing in this world that your parents can’t handle so don’t so around worrying us like that okay?”

Hizashi stooped down and eyed your belly very seriously. “Especially, your mom. She’s already doing all the heavy lifting, dude!”

You dropped your face into your hands a laughed. Yeah, this was one lucky kid.

[writing-of-a-british-bitch]

Blame Me - Chapter 2

Fandom: The Walking Dead

Specified gender: Female

Word Count: 5.8K

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x reader,

TW: canon typical violence, canon divergence, gore, somewhat major character death (OC), Child death, murder, implied/suggested threat of rape, 

Genre: Horror ig?

Series: Blame Me

Requests: CLOSED

Masterlist

A/N: This one is a tad dark, so, uh, get ready. I forgot to clarify last chapter that this series is going to be about 10 chapters, possibly more. Enjoy!

It happened overnight. Well, that was what it felt like. (Y/N) had only been in South Carolina a week, a few days before she was set to return to Georgia. Weird stories started arising on the news, stories of increasing cannibalism, and a weird illness going around. At the time, she and her mum had thought nothing of it. She wished she had paid more attention to it.

The sun was peaking through the windows, and the birds were chirping. It was any other day when it started. She would have never expected anything. (Y/N) rushed down the stairs, smiling as music filtered from the kitchen, blaring her moms' favourite song "Easy Street". Despite her daughters' constant teasing of immaturity, she still loved it. And admittedly, it had grown on her as well. (Y/N) danced into the kitchen, pressing a kiss to her mom's cheek as she passed, and sitting down at the kitchen island.

"Morning, honey," Her mom, Lily, smiled, placing some food on the table for the pair of them. They both sat down, and ate quietly, listening to the birds outside, and the lighthearted music. "So, I was thinking, since you're heading back to Georgia in a few days, maybe you could finally talk to Daryl about coming back up and giving me crossbow lessons," She teased, raising an eyebrow. (Y/N) rolled her eyes playfully and went to respond when a loud scream sounded from outside. They shared a panicked look with each other, eyes widening. before they dashed outside, not even bothering to put shoes on, looking for the cause of the noise.

A gasp escaped her mom when they caught sight of the noise' cause. There was blood everywhere. And some dirty, almost decayed, man with his teeth sunk into Alisha's, her mom's neighbour, arm, pulling flesh and muscles away. Blood all around his mouth, blood all over Alisha, blood on the ground. Blood fucking everywhere. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Was this what those news reports were blabbing about?

"What the fuck!" She exclaimed, and the guys head moved to look at you, quickly losing interest in Alisha, who fell to the ground, clutching her arm in shock. The blood wouldn't stop flowing. Lily pulled on her arm as the man started stumbling forward towards them, making an awful snarling noise. More neighbours were flocking from their houses, gasping, and running over to help Alisha. One of them, Daniel, she thought his name was, sprinted to this man and tried to pull him back and restrain him, but to her disgust, the guy's arm pulled straight from the elbow, when Daniel tried to pull him away. Daniel froze in disgust, and apparently, that was enough time for the man to take a chunk from his neck.

"(Y/N), c'mon, we need to get out of here!" Lily whispered to her, tugging her again. This time, her daughter allowed her to pull her into the house, her heart pounding in fear, and her eyes still wide. When they were back in the house, she seemed to snap out of it, but her mother knew it would come back to haunt her later. She rushed into motion, grabbing one of the large backpacks from under the stairs, and going to the kitchen, grabbing as much canned food and water she could find. Lily watched her for a second, before following her lead, snatching up food and dashing upstairs to grab them a few spare pair of clothes, as well as one of her picture albums. She knew it wasn't a smart plan and took up space, but if she was leaving this house, she'd be damned if she left this behind. (Y/N) made quick work of raiding the bathrooms of medicine and supplies, as well as grabbing the gun her mother kept for self-defence.

She didn't know what had just happened outside, but the increasing volume of groaning and screams that filled the street told her it was bad. If this was the cannibalism that the news was talking about, she wasn't risking being caught without a weapon. With this thought, she dumped some of the knives in the bag as well and by that point, her bag was full.

A loud bang on the door made (Y/N) jump, and she darted out of the kitchen to lock the door. She glanced out the peephole and saw that same guy banging on the door. Mouth red, and flesh caught between his teeth. His eyes were milky white. There was no way this guy was still alive. Fuck, they had to get out of there. She shoved her feet in her boots, quickly making work of tying the laces. Lily came racing down the stairs and followed her daughter in putting her shoes on, before the pair did a quick look around the house, ensuring they hadn't missed anything. There were two things on (Y/N)'s mind right now. Keeping her mom safe, and getting back to Georgia. Back to Daryl. Georgia was only a three-hour drive - they could get there before midday. Nothing could go wrong, right?

Damn fucking wrong. They got an hour into the drive before getting caught in a complete standstill of traffic. People were rushing out of South Carolina. The air was chaotic with fear, the beeping of the cars, and aggressive shouting from everyone in the traffic. (Y/N) was getting antsy, and she couldn't stop bouncing her foot anxiously. Her mother kept looking at her from the corner of her eye, but (Y/N) hardly noticed. Daryl and Merle had gone on a hunting trip. Did they come back? Are they at home, waiting for her? She doubted it, but what if they were? What if they were in trouble? What if they were already dead? Her panicked line of thought was put to an abrupt stop as her mom reached over and squeezed her knee.

"Those boys of yours are survivors. They keep each other safe. They'll be fine. We'll find them," Lily reassured, eyes skimming over the people who had climbed out of their cars. It was starting to get dark, they'd been there so damn long. If there were more people like the man this morning, being outside at night couldn't be safe. They wouldn't be safe. (Y/N) let out a sigh, putting her hand over her mothers, and giving her a tiny smile.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just worry about them," She replied, biting her cheek. "They may be survivors, but they're damn idiots too."

"Well, I can't lie to you and say that you're wrong," The pair chuckled lightly, ducking their heads. She always made her feel better, even if they were talking about her idiot husband and his dumbass brother. But the calm moment was once again broken as the sound of gunshots broke through the air. Their heads shot up and saw a woman fighting off another one of those decaying motherfuckers.

Shit.

As soon as the woman went down a second later, (Y/N) shot from the car. There was no saving that poor woman now, not with the decaying thing's fingers wormed into her stomach, ripping out intestines. Her stomach churned, and she heard her mom open the car door and throw up onto the road. They couldn't stay here either. It was time to go.

"Mom, grab a bag and get off the road," She hissed out instructions once her mom was done emptying her stomach, as chaos broke out around them. Her mom nodded almost instantly and followed her instructions without defiance, and (Y/N) followed suit, but while her mom ran to the tree line, she was stopped dead in her tracks. She was vaguely aware of Lily calling her name, but she couldn't take her eyes off the sight in front of her. The woman who had been dead on the floor a minute ago was up and walking. Her stomach was spilling out, blood still flowing from the wound, but she was walking. Movement slug-like and staggering, but moving nonetheless. Her eyes. Milky white. How the hell?

Some stranger grabbed her elbow, pulling her back. While she had been stuck like a stick in the mud, the dead woman had gotten close. Close enough that (Y/N) could hear the noise her teeth made as they clashed together. The stranger, pushed her behind him, before using a knife to stab this woman in the head. He was talking to someone on the other side of her. When had they gotten there?

"What the hell! You killed that woman!" The person said, but it was muffled like she was underwater. She could feel someone touching her back, but the touch felt familiar. Her mom.

"She was already dead, Danica! We've got to get these two out of here!" Her 'saviour' snapped back, pulling the bag off (Y/N)'s back and shoving it on her own. Slowly, their words grew more clear, but so did the crying, screaming and snarling. Her head looked over to her mom, who had a panicked look in her eyes, but showed more relief when she finally looked over.

"Are you okay, honey?" Lily asked, fear making her voice tremble. Her daughter paused but nodded. She gave her a reassuring smile before Danica narrowed her eyes at them, and giving them a slight shove further into the trees.

"Let's go, unless you guys want to become zombie dinner," She snarled, and her companion (brother, boyfriend? who knows) glared at her. She stormed ahead, her buddy following after her. (Y/N) looked over at her mom and raised her eyebrows.

"Well, isn't she just a peach?" She whispered a mischievous look in her eye and Lily choked out a hushed laugh before the women followed after the couple. They didn't know if they could trust them, but hell, what other choice did they have?

It had been months. The walk from South Carolina to Atlanta was only meant to take 3 days, but as always shit happens. They were a few miles out from Atlanta, but they'd learnt from another member of their group that Atlanta belonged to the dead now. (Y/N) and her mom was still with Danica and Ben (as she'd found out his name was). They were non-identical twins, and while Danica was sometimes a pain in the ass, they all took care of each other. (Y/N) couldn't deny that she'd never been more glad she married a hunter, who'd taught her more than a few things. She kept them fed, so they didn't need to use as many cans of food, and she'd even managed to teach her mom a thing or two. A few days after the highway traffic, they met up with some more people too, and they'd joined their merry band. A married couple, Andrew and Oliver, and their daughter Anna, and an ex-military soldier, Kai. Kai and (Y/N) had become the unofficial leaders of the group, which seemed to get under Danica's skin, and they'd made a little camp in an old service station they'd found while on their way to Georgia. It had been pretty much untouched, and they'd found a shit ton of food, medicine, and even some ammo behind the cash register. Andrew and Danica were the people who went scavaging went they were running low, while Ben and Lily helped take care of Anna, along with Oliver of course.

(Y/N) hadn't wanted to stay for so long. If she were on her own, she probably would have left the group by now, and would already have been in Georgia months ago. Maybe she would have found the rest of her family by now. Her stupid, bigotted brother in law, who was amazing at running his mouth, and her man. Her stupid husband would always put her and his brother before himself. She just wanted to see him again. Just one last time, if that was all she could get. But she couldn't take off. Not without her mom. And she wouldn't leave a little girl. (Y/N) honestly didn't think she could either.

"What're ya thinkin' about, Dixon?" Kai asked as they come to sit beside her on the roof. It was her turn on watch, and she couldn't help but notice that the number of snarlers that had come through the trees was getting higher and higher every day. She and Kai had become good friends, though it was what you'd expect after spending months with them, planning almost everything together. They were kind, and actually listened to what the group had to say, but also knew when they should step in. It was refreshing to see Danica getting put in her place every once in a while. a

"Nothing much. How's Anna doing? Has that fever gone down?" (Y/N) asked, glancing over at them, and they let out a heavy sigh, shaking their head. Anna had caught a cold or something a week or so again, and it was only getting worse and worse. She was a sweet kid, and Andrew and Oliver were worried sick. Everyone was working ten times harder to take their jobs, so they could be by their daughters' side. But she wasn't getting better, and the medicine was starting to run out.

"Her fever is higher than before. She was throwin' up blood this morning. I hate to say it, but I think she ain't gonna make it. We've scavenged every house and buildin' near here and there ain't no medicine left. We're runnin' low, and a few more days and it'll all be gone. It's gonna ruin Andrew and Oliver," They answered, running a hand over their face. (Y/N) looked over to them, and she couldn't help but notice the bags under their eyes. They were exhausted. But, she supposed she probably didn't look much better. Her mom kept fretting over how skinny she was. But the apocalypse didn't exactly result in the healthiest figure.

"Well, if, or when, it happens, the only thing we can do is be there for them. Make sure they don't fall in on each other," There was a heavy pause, and Kai took the rifle from her hands, signifying it was their turn on guard, but she didn't move. "We can't stay here much longer, Kai. The snarlers in Atlanta are running out of food, and they're starting to venture further out to find it. We've had more snarlers today than we had all of last week. It's not gonna be safe here for much longer."

"Believe me I know. But until Anna gets better, or until she-she goes... we can't go nowhere," Kai's voice shook slightly, but their shoulders soon tensed when a tree bristled, and out came three snarlers. "Shit."

Thank god they were a good shot, otherwise the group would have lost way too many bullets by now. The snarlers went down quickly, and Kai relaxed again and they let out a sigh but shot (Y/N) a bright smile, that didn't quite reach their eyes.

"So, ya know what I did before snarlers took over, but I don't know shit about ya. C'mon, it's nostalgia hour," Kai joked, nudging her, to which she rolled her eyes playfully and nudged back.

"I didn't do much. Just another 9 to 5 job. Nothing interesting. My life was good though, despite it all," (Y/N) answered, chuckling slightly. Kai raised their eyebrows, then nodded towards her ring, which she'd started spinning around absentmindedly.

"What was he like?"

"Without sounding cliche, he was the best thing that ever happened to me. Daryl was one of those guys that people were scared of, and who could look scary, especially with my brother-in-law, Merle, by his side. But he was sweet. He liked to pretend he was made of stone but, he did pretty much anything I wanted. Hell, he didn't even want a wedding. He just wanted to go and get it registered, get some rings and be done with it. But he remembered me telling him that I dreamt of getting married as a kid, and suggested having a small one. And it was small; Merle, my mom, some of my friends and one of Merle's biker buddies. But it was perfect," Kai smiled at her, seeing the adoration in her eyes. They didn't think they'd seen her this happy for the whole time they'd been together.

"Merle used to make these dumb videos of us when he found this video recorder. He'd film us all the damn time because he knew it pissed Daryl off. When we were on a hunt, in the kitchen when we were cooking, even if we were just walking around the house. I, um, I was going to visit mom, and he and Merle were going on a two-week hunt. Gave him the recorder so he 'wouldn't forget me. Then, the world went to shit. Mom and I came from South Carolina back down here to find him," Her face fell further as she got into the story and Kai put a hand on her arm and squeezed.

"I hope ya find him. He seems like a great guy," Their eyes flicked over as the squeaking of the roof's latch told them someone was coming up. There was Lily, face sombre and eyes sad.

"(Y/N), Andrew and Oliver want to talk to you. Ben is coming up to sit with Kai," She said, and (Y/N) knew it wasn't going to be good. She didn't say anything, just got up and went through the hatch, climbing down into the service station.

Andrew had tears going down his cheeks, holding Anna to his chest as she coughed and sneezed, looking deathly pale. Oliver looked like he was barely holding it together as he pulled her to one side. Danica was sat next to Andrew, trying to comfort the pair.

"She's coughing up more and more blood. We're running out of options and time and me and Andrew we want-"His voice hitched, and his eyes filled with tears. She rest a hand on his shoulder, telling him to take his time and he took a deep breath. "We know she's not going to get better. We-we want to take care of her so she doesn't turn. So she doesn't have to suffer."

(Y/N) eyes softened, and she tilted her head to look at Anna and Andrew. Anna was dying. Everyone knew it. She was such an energetic kid, but for the past few weeks, she'd been drained and quiet. Normally, she'd be pestering Ben or Kai and asking to play games, filling the air with questions and laughter. It had been quiet. Too quiet.

"I'm so sorry, Oliver. Is there anything I can do?" (Y/N) whispered. Oliver was quiet before yanking her forward and into a hug. He clung to her like she was the last thing on Earth. He needed this.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but we know neither of us could do it. I- We'd like to know if you could. I know we have no right to ask. But she adores you. And you're the one we trust with our little girl. Please, we're begging you. Don't make her suffer," He was sobbing by that point, tears seeping through her clothes and onto her shoulder. She felt for them, she really did. She wished she could have saved Anna. But if this was what they wanted, they knew what was best.

"Of course. Of course, I will. You shouldn't have to go through that, either of you," She stated simply, squeezing him tightly, and not pulling back until he let go. Oliver scurried to wipe his eyes, not noticing the hard look Danica was giving him. She'd deal with her later.

"Could we, uh, possibly wait until tomorrow morning? Or even late tonight if tomorrow is too much to ask? We just want to say goodbye to her. Spend as much time with her as we can," He wasn't asking anymore. He was begging. He was desperate. She only nodded. The look in his eyes only read gratitude as he left to sit with his family. Danica stood up as Oliver came over, glare fixed on (Y/N). She grabbed her arm, but not in the kind way that Kai had previously. it was bruising and painful as she tugged her to the back of the store.

"What the hell are you thinking? Anna could survive!" Danica snarled, getting a little too close for comfort. (Y/N) took a step back, and glared at her, with pissed off eyes.

"Look, Danica, I know it's hard, but this isn't my decision. It's what Andrew and Oliver want," She shot back, glancing over as Ben came down the ladder from the roof, wandering over.

"What's going on?" He questioned, softly, coming to stand by his sister.

"She's going to kill Anna!" She barked, looking up to Ben with a dark look. (Y/N) stepped forward again, and stood in front of Danica, grabbing the front of her shirt. She was at the end of her fucking tether with this damn woman

"You listen to me, and you listen well. That little girl over there is dying. She's been in pain and dying for two weeks now. Her fathers are struggling and they can see there are two options here. Either we keep giving her medicine and using up our supplies, and continuing to let her suffer. Or, we put her out of her misery. Quick and painless, and she doesn't have to live like this anymore. Now her dads have chosen the latter option, and who the hell are you, or I to argue with that? So you keep your fucking mouth shut and trust her own fathers to make this decision. It's not in your hands," Ben's eyebrows shot up, looking between her and his sister, not sure who he should side with, so he stayed quiet, watching as the two women stared each other down before Danica shoved her off and stormed over to the cash register. Ben hesitantly trailed after her, shooting (Y/N) an apologetic look.

Lily was running her fingers through (Y/N)'s hair, humming quietly. It was something she did when her daughter was a kid to soothe her. Her head was resting in her lap and Kai was sat next to them, fast asleep. (Y/N) wasn't asleep but with how still she was being, she might as well have been.

"Ma?"

"Yes, love?" Her fingers were working her hair into a tiny braid and with the small amount of moonlight that shone through, she watched as her daughter's eyes opened.

"Am I doing the right thing? With Anna? Do you think the groups going to hate me for it?" There was a pause, where Lily could tell (Y/N) was about to continue "Do you think Daryl would hate me for it?"

"Oh, honey. Andrew and Oliver would never have asked you to do this if they didn't think this was right," she whispered and looked over to the family, curled around their daughter as her rattled breaths shook the air. "The rest of the group understands. Well, maybe not Danica, but we both know she isn't exactly your best friend regardless of what you do."

"And Daryl?" (Y/N) questioned, and Lily glanced at her. She was finding it harder and harder to be vulnerable, and she could see her daughter was losing herself. Losing who she was. Losing the joy. One of the only things that was keeping her going was Daryl, and she didn't know what would happen if that hope were to be destroyed. She was finding it hard to vulnerable and only Lily and Kai got to see that side of her, even if it was rare.

"Daryl could never be ashamed of you. You know him better than anyone, but I know him pretty damn well. He knows you wouldn't do anything like this unless you had to. He loves you," She stroked her cheek, and she saw a bright but reluctant smile rise on her cheeks. But it seems they could never have a calm moment. A snarl filled the air, but no one could respond before Oliver's scream followed through. (Y/N), Ben and Kai were immediately up and Andrew's scream of pain and fear soon accompanied. Fuck

"Did you guys see all that smoke earlier? Looked like it was coming from the old prison a few miles down the road," Ben inquired meekly, watching the fire flicker and dance. He was perched on a log beside Kai, while Lily, (Y/N) and Andrew sat on the floor. No one said anything. No one really said much anymore, unless it was necessary. Everyone was hurting too much. Ben was the only one who tried to keep the group alive, in more ways than just survival.

"Does it matter?" Andrew asked flatly, not even bothering to hide his annoyed look. Lily nudged him with a noise of discontent. Kai huffed, turning their head to look at Ben.

"If it was the prison, and someone was seekin' refuge there, I pity the poor bastards," Was their comment before turning back to the fire. Ben's shoulders slumped looking deflated.

"Where should we go next?" (Y/N) asked, trying to ease poor Ben's rejection. All heads looked to her, surprised she said anything. Out of them all, she was, unexpectedly the one who has spoken the least. It was her fault they were gone. Oliver and Andrew had trusted her to take care of Anna, and she'd made the stupid decision of waiting until the morning when she should have known Anna wouldn't have lasted until the morning. She knew Andrew held it against her. She tried to do the good thing and she got Oliver and Danica killed. Fuck, she didn't know how much longer she could do this. Kai cleared their throat.

"Well, I was thinkin' we should start headin' up. I mean, there clearly ain't nothin' left in Georgia. Nothin' worth our time, anyways. Now, I know y'all said South Carolina had gone to shit, but what about further up, like Washington or something. They got a shit ton of medical facilities and research centres up there. I'm willin' to bet it's our best shot. We got nothin' to lose," Kai explained quietly, head perking up slightly as the branches nearby rustled.

"What's the point?" Andrew grumbled, aggressively stabbing his knife into the ground next to him.

"We could find someplace safe, even if we don't find a research centre. A refuge, or a sanctuary. People are bound to have started them. We can't be the only people left in the whole of America," Ben's optimism was starting to get on everyone's nerves but this time, (Y/N) couldn't help but appreciate it. Maybe Daryl had the same idea. Maybe him, or maybe his group (would he even be in a group?) were already up there.

"But, Washington? That's a nine-hour drive, pre-apocalypse when we could easily get gas. Is there any promise we'd even get there?" Lily piped up, knowing she had to be the rational one, even if her daughter was already dreaming about it. Andrew opened his mouth to leave a snarky comment when there was a click, and (Y/N) stiffened at the feeling of hard metal behind her head. The whole group went stiff, panicked eyes watching behind her intently.

"There ain't no promise at all missy," A gruff voice spoke from behind her. She closed her eyes for a second, trying to calm her breathing down. It was okay. She was okay.

"Hey, look, we don't want any trouble," She declared, trying not to let the confidence in her voice tremble. A sinister chuckle sounded as more rustling was heard, before more men, at least 12 or 13 surrounded the group.

"Neither do we. Just hand over all your supplies, and we'll be on our merry way."

"But, we'll die!" Ben exclaimed, looking terrified. She narrowed her eyes at him, telling him to shut up, before locking eyes with Kai, who quietly shushed him.

"Ho, ho, boys! I think I found the leaders first try! Well, I say leaders, but there's only ever one really in charge, no matter how much they both claim to be," The man with a gun to her head climbed around and knelt in front of her, so (Y/N) was staring right down the barrel of the gun. He was old, and he looked disgusting, blood and grime mixed into his overgrown teeth. No one really looked good any more, what with the lack of clean water, but he had a dark look in his eye, and a wicked smile on his lips, yellow teeth shining at her. "So, who is it?"

Kai gave her a look, clearly telling her not to do anything rash. But she'd be damned if she didn't try to save her friends.

"Me, I'm in charge. And I say you can't have our supplies," She said, holding the man's amused gaze. He dropped his head, laughing bitterly, before raising his gun and shooting Kai, right between the eyes. "No!"

She lunged forward but two of the men held her back as the rest of her group made varying noises of grief, shock or fear.

"No! No! Let go of me, you motherfuckers!" She growled, not hiding her panic or the anger that was bubbling up inside of her. Lily had started crying as soon as the gun went off, and she couldn't bear to see her mom like that. " Okay! You win! Take it all! Please, just take it!"

"Hmm, well if you'd listened to me the first time around, maybe your little friend over there would have survived. But because of your stubbornness, your friend is dead. And now, the deal no longer stands. Boys, you know what do to do," He grinned, as his men stalked forwards, becoming more visible with the early light of dawn. They started raiding their belongings, taking their guns, food, water. Anything they could take.

"Boss!" One of the guys' goons pulled out the photo album her mom had brought, holding it up and the man in front of her snatched it but still keeping his gun trained on (Y/N).

"Well, is this baby you? Weren't you just a cutie! And oh, what's this?" He was flicking through the pages, stopping near the end and twisting it about, so she could see. It was (Y/N) and Daryl on their wedding day, grinning at the camera. Her eyes hardened, her heart aching at the thought of Daryl being used against her. "Hell, you're a married woman! What a damn shame. The things I would have done to you."

Andrew was glaring at the men, under those thick ginger eyebrows, but Lily and Ben were trembling. They were frightened, but (Y/N) was trying to promise using only her eyes that she'd keep them safe. She didn't know what she'd do if she couldn't.

"Well, I'll be virtuous, and let you keep this since you don't have the real things anymore. Count that as a favour," He grinned, and she went to ask what he meant before the men holding her tightened their grip.

One of the other men took a knife to the side of Ben's head and he fell forward, lifeless eyes staring back at her. Next, they took Andrew, and hell if he didn't go out fighting. Tears were streaming down (Y/N)'s cheeks as she cried out in fury and anguish, begging them to stop. Andrew kept swearing and spitting, and he even managed to get a good punch in before they shot him, point-blank. He'd had nothing to lose. He got to be with his family now. Finally, they grabbed Lily's hair, and (Y/N) had never fought so hard in her life, swearing at them and sending death threats their way. Lily kept talking and talking, never taking her eyes away from her daughters even as they brought a knife to her throat.

"Please honey, this isn't your fault. Find Daryl. Find him. I love you, I love you, I love you, I lov-"

A quick slice was all it took, and she let out a cry that left her throat burning and definitely alerted every snarler for miles around. She could hardly get a breath in, she was sobbing so hard, hiccups taking her throat. The men just laughed, shoving the bag of spare clothes and photos at (Y/N) as they let her go, the bag void of anything other than that besides a half-full water bottle, a knife and a can of beans.

"See, we've left you stuff to survive, so really you should be thankin' us. Appreciate the gifts you've given us darlin'. You've been a real treat. C'mon boys, let's move."

She didn't know how long she was frozen in place. How long she sat there, begging her mind to wake up. To take her back to the gas station. If she just kept pinching then maybe she'd wake up to Lily's fingers in her hair. Her tender motherly touches that no one else could possess. Maybe she'd wake up to her and Daryl stood at the aisle, her mother grinning up at her.

But that's it. It was a nightmare. This was real. She was alone. She didn't get to wake up from this. She got reminded of that as a snarling rose from next to her as Lily's milky white eyes. She knew that when she had to put a knife into her own mother's brain because that damn group wanted her to suffer. (Y/N) felt anger coursing up her spine, filling her every atom. Every part of her was burning up, and she didn't know how to control it. So she glared at the dying fire and picked up the backpack. She used her fingers to close her mother's eyes, before fishing the knife out and bringing it to her side. She walked and walked, and she didn't look back.

'Terminus. Sanctuary For All. Those Who Arrive, Survive' read the sign as (Y/N) crept closer. Her bag was heavy with food she'd gotten lucky with when scavenging. It didn't sound right. It sounded too good. Maybe Andrew had been right. What was the point?

Daryl. Daryl was the point. Maybe she could follow those tracks. Maybe she'd find Terminus. Restock, spend a few days there to get better, then head to Washington. Wasn't like she had much of a choice otherwise. Besides, maybe she wasn't wrong and Terminus was true to its word. Or maybe she was right. What did she have to lose?

TAGS: OPEN

Tags (for this series): @graniairish​ @fuseburner​ @gloomystorm​ @bxxbxy​

[sombreboy]

Dining out⇢kth x jjk

⇢18+ ⇢pairing: Taehyung x Jungkook (brief ft.Namjoon & Jisoo) ⇢genre: Smut, fluff, mxm, married couple ⇢word count: 8k ⇢warnings: Profanity, dumb humor, lil secret touching under the dinner table, bratty sub tae, dom daddy jk, I swear the daddy kink is heavy for these boys sometimes and this is one of those times, puppy petname; CHECK, blowjob, finger sucking, fingering, filming their shenanigans with their phone, tae fucks himself on jk's big doink then gets fucked good, meme ending because i am too lazy but at least you got a good fucking in. xo

A/N: Serves as a oneshot within the Love Maze series AU, however can also be read on it’s own. Co-written with my lovely @velvetwicebang​​ <3

“Okay, remember to feed her every two to three hours.” Jimin nodded; blonde hair bobbing as he did so. The man carefully bounced the babbling baby on his hip, suppressing the need to roll his eyes at Taehyung’s constant reminders. 

They’d only be gone for a few hours; but Taeyeon’s fathers were treating this like a five-month vacation. 

“Her formula is in the bag, and so is her apple sauce! Sometimes she gets fussy right after she eats, so rub her tummy and give her a few pats on the back. Also, there’s diapers—“

“Guys, we know. We’ve looked after her before, remember?” Jimin reached out to place a hand on Taehyung’s shoulder; unknowing of Taeyeon’s infatuation with his boyfriend’s tattoos. 

He didn’t have as many as her daddy Koo, but her shiny, doe eyes curiously scanned over the new piece of art. She found his eyes cool..

“No, I know.” Taehyung sighed, knowing he needed to calm the fuck down— but, Taeyeon.. but their date night.. “Normally we would’ve left her with Namjoon and Jisoo, but obviously that isn’t an option.”

“Cool, we’re the second choice. Nice.” Jimin wasn’t truly hurt by his friend’s careless reveal, only chuckling as he reassured them of the best.

“Shit, Jimin, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just she knows them bet—“

“Tae, be quiet before I throw this apple sauce at you.”

Taehyung’s mouth was glued shut.

“Just go out and have fun, alright? We’ll look after Taeyeon, she’s in good hands. You seem stressed out as hell, I dunno, maybe even fuck it out while you’re at it.”

Tae simply sighed, detaching himself from Jungkook’s arm to press a soft kiss onto Taeyeon’s head, bidding his temporary goodbyes.

“Okay, well.. we’re leaving. We should be back soon. Thanks, again.”

"Thanks guys, don't hesitate to call us if you need to!" Jungkook chirped, a bit less worried than his husband. Surprisingly, Taehyung seemed to be the one who was always extra, extra protective and worried about separating from their little daughter. Now, Kook was a worrier himself, but he never thought he'd be the one tugging at the elder to finally be able to let go of being a father for just one second.

Kook's eyes met with the little doe eyes their daughter mirrored, his toothy grin growing as she quickly resumed her attention towards the tall man. He might've looked a bit intimidating at first, but everyone quickly learned that he was probably the softest one of them all.

Jungkook pulled Taehyung with him quickly, closing the door behind them before heading towards their car. They haven't been able to get this kind of time to be a couple for quite a while, and both of them were excited-- and anxious. It was routine by now with their child, and breaking it was harder than it seemed. BUT, fuck, did they need it. Stress was no joke with these men. Work, eat, sleep, clean, shit... Take care of the baby, make time for each other?

It wasn't easy, but they were a team. And did they make a damn good one.

"You look good." Jungkook grasped for Tae's hand to hold it cutely by the car. "We should take a picture of this rare occasion of both of us being properly put together at the same time for once."

“You’re right. This is rare as fuck..” Taehyung’s shoulders dropped to a less unnatural position, deep-set brows resuming to their place, ripening his facial muscles. He hooked an arm around Jungkook’s delicate waist, pulling him in until their sides touched. “Let the photographer do the honors, ey?” Cocky as ever, the elder’s hand uninvitingly reached inside of Koo’s back pocket, searching for the younger’s phone whilst he hummed into their short-lived kiss. Tae pulled away with a dorky smile, angling the high-tech device towards the starry sky, a wash of light shining down on them as if the cluster of stars themselves were on their side; working towards getting them the perfect picture.

It was cheesy— every second of it— but, Taehyung found his anxiety crumbling the longer they spent taking silly photos, so he said: ‘fuck it’.

“I like this one, you look like a full course meal.” Tae nudged his husband’s side, believable as he mercilessly teased. “Ah, okay. We should get going before Joon thinks we’ve bailed or something, you know he always thinks of the worst.” The elder climbed onto the passenger seat, twisting his body to reach for the seatbelt. “How much do you wanna bet Jisoo is holding him back from making a phone call right now?”

Jungkook's bunny-like grin grew at the compliment, the apple of his cheeks tinted with a rosy hue. He grabbed his cell phone back from his husband before sitting down in the driver's seat, deciding to post their selfie on his Instagram.

"I bet she took his phone away already. If not, they'll see our pretty picture." Kook scrunched his nose before placing his phone down in his front pocket. He starts the car and backs out on the driveway, giving their home one last glance before driving off.

"I'm excited, honestly. We haven't had a second for ourselves lately." The younger sighed, eyes flickering to keep his attention on the traffic. With one hand on the steering wheel, the other reached over to smooth over Taehyung's thigh as if to soothe him.. Koo could easily tell the elder was still having a bit of separation anxiety for leaving their daughter with their friends... "Let's enjoy this to the fullest, don't think too much. You know what would be nice? A few drinks to loosen up a bit."

“Yeah, I need that.” Taehyung knew Koo could see right through him. It was no secret that the elder’s mind lingered somewhere else; Taeyeon, to be exact. Tae knew he was extremely overprotective, it was never something he’d felt ashamed of in the past. What could you expect from someone who grew up in a hostile environment when they were younger?— it pained him to think this way, but.. If his own father could raise a hand at him, what would a stranger be capable of doing? Of course Tae didn’t think any of their friends would obtain such malice, nor were they strangers to Taeyeon. The opposite, in fact. Each and every one of their hyungs held a special place in the girl’s heart. The elder guessed that his past’s trauma arose now that he was a father himself. Taehyung wanted to do better.

Jungkook's smile didn't falter from his face the entire ride, the faint tugging of his lips in excitement a constant reminder of how relieved he actually is to be able to get some time alone to focus on his friends-- and especially his husband for the night. He pulled up into the restaurant parking lot, the scent coming off the building already hitting their noses even as they sat outside in their car. Kook inhaled with a content sigh, leg almost jumping in excitement. He was a foodie after all-- and since he finally has a stable income along with Taehyung, he's never had to worry whether or not there'd be food on the table. Cheesy one might say, but once in a while the younger still enjoyed to microwave some noodles on occasion either way.

"We're here." He cooed joyfully as he clicked the seatbelt off to lean over to the passenger seat, placing a haste kiss on Taehyung's cheek. He lingered, letting his lips hover over the elders skin. Taking a moment, he drank in the view. Taehyung has always been the most handsome man that Jungkook had ever laid eyes on, and as the years passed by quickly, that still never changed. One would say Taehyung only became hotter, aging like a fine wine.

"You look so good tonight... I won't be able to keep my eyes off you." Kook smiled, cupping Taehyung's cheek to draw him in for a proper kiss.

Taehyung giggled in the midst of their kiss, the sound so small and indistinct, but in the calming stillness of a parked vehicle it was impossible for its vibrations to go over one’s head. It definitely went noticed by the culprit himself, who blushed at the abrupt realization that even after many years spent by Koo’s side, the latter always knew how to make him feel beautiful..

“Thanks. You look really good too, baby..” Tae licked over his lips, able to still taste Jungkook despite the younger having pulled away. “Fuck, okay. Let’s go in; I’m hungry and Joon’s probably losing it by now.”

“Where the hell were you guys? We’ve been waiting for what—“ Namjoon’s eyes flickered down to his watch, “—fifteen minutes?”

Taehyung snorted, “What do you want us to do? Get down on the ground and bow at your feet?”

“You know what? Hell yea—“

Jisoo stepped in, speaking on behalf of her husband, “No need for any major bows here.. Ah, please sit down. Joon’s extra dramatic when he’s hungry.”

"You're not you when you're hungry." Jungkook recited the old commercial with a giggle, shaking his head at how bad it was-- but so funny to his young mind. He sat down in the booth across from Jisoo, with Taehyung sliding down next to him to sit across from Joon.

"Fifteen minutes is precious cooking time at a place like this, Kook. Don't joke--"

"Won't happen again hyung!" Jungkook saluted clearly, his toothy grin too effective towards Joon-- whether he wanted to admit it or not. His bunny-like smile would never cease to work as a secret weapon...

"Whatever." Namjoon grumbled as he picked up the digital device on the table used to order their food. 

"How have you guys been?" Jisoo chirped as she glanced over at the little tablet, clicking occasionally to help navigate Joon's confused behavior towards the device.

"Stressed." Jungkook sighed, leaning his head against Taehyung's shoulder. "Having a child is no joke, there's never a dull day. But I love it, though." Kook mused, waiting for their turn with the tablet, reaching out for it when Jisoo had completely taken over to order for her and her husband. He stares at the contents for a moment, showing Tae the various choices of alcohol, hovering with his finger over the stronger drinks with a coy eyebrow.

“You know me too well.” Taehyung returned the favor, imitating Koo’s raised brow before pointing at the drink of his choice; Tae was aware he needed to chillax. And alcohol never disappoints.

Once they were finished ordering their starting drinks, the elder dismissed the tablet to the side. He scooted closer to Jungkook until they were practically squished together in spite of the extra space; playing with his husband’s fingers from under the table.

“Yeah, Taeyeon’s a handful.” The corner of Taehyung’s lips twitched upwards as he amusingly breathed out through his nose, mind tracing back to their daughter. “But she’s cute though, so it makes up for it.” The elder turned his head to look at Kook, “Also, this guy right here is pretty good with babies.”

Jisoo voiced out her agreement, reminded of the older days when Jungkook would help her with Yuna once he was done with school. Now her friend was married, and caring after a baby of his own.. Proud was an understatement in Jisoo’s mind. Every time she looked at Koo her heart swelled; the boy she once knew had grown into a man. But then again, Jungkook had always been really mature. In a sense, it’s the same guy Jisoo’s always considered her close friend— and fed on the daily.. “Joon could learn a few things..”

The mumbling under the older woman’s breath didn’t go unnoticed by Namjoon, who came to his own defense as quickly as lightning strikes the ground, “I showed up to the wrong preschool once!”

Taehyung butted in, confused but amused, “You forgot where your son goes to school?” Tae’s shoulders vibrated as he laughed, suddenly feeling much better about his own mishaps as a parent.

“The drinks can come out anytime now..” Namjoon tried to swerve away from the topic; his failed attempt at being sly earned himself a couple rounds of laughter.

Yeah, maybe Taehyung needed this..

As the tray of drinks finally arrived, they were left to sip on whatever they've ordered while waiting for their dinner. Jisoo and Namjoon both opted for the simple choice; beer. While Jungkook was an avid enthusiast of alcohol, whether it be beer, tequila, wine... He did settle for a large glass of wine, perfect for the occasion on his end-- and perfect as it always got him pleasantly warmed up.

"Ah, I'm so hungry...." Jungkook groaned, waiting for that big, fat juicy steak he'd seen on the screen. Meat was his one true love-- if you'd disregard the fact that his husband existed. He worked out just as avidly as he did in their younger days.. Well, tried to, and therefore his appetite was comparable to that of a horse.

"You're always hungry!" Jisoo joked, slapping Joon's shoulder as she laughed.

"Yah! Why'd you hit me?!" Namjoon nudged her shoulder back with his dimpled smile.

"Ah, food!" Jungkook's big, doe eyes sparkled with a childlike joy when the food finally arrived, jaw hanging open in pure admiration.

Taehyung chimed out loud along with Koo, ignoring Jisoo’s and Namjoon’s playful banter in the background. All that was on his mind at the moment was, ‘must eat’. Taeyeon snuck in there once in a while, but Tae trusted Jimin and his boyfriend. They’ve always returned his baby back in one piece, so that’s that. Maybe the alcohol was helping; he wasn’t as restless.

“Fuuck,” Taehyung knocked his head back, resting it against the backrest of the booth whilst he chewed on the piece of meat, savoring the burst of flavor that’d just popped in his mouth. “Koo, here.” It didn’t matter that they ordered the same meal, Tae still cut out a small piece for his husband to try. He blew on it before guiding it into Jungkook’s mouth, “Fucking delicious, right?”

Jungkook chomped the piece of meat off the fork with his bunny teeth, chewing it happily. His eyes widened as he nodded, humming in content. Food did taste better when it was from your husband's plate, confirmed. "So fucking good, oh my god.. " Koo agreed. Both men were just feeding off of each other's plates at this point, letting out all their curses and groans occasionally. Being censored on the daily was harder than they thought, and finally letting it all out--- somewhat satisfying.

Namjoon eyed the couple with a mix of disgust for their cheesiness, yet the dimples proved that he couldn't hold his smile for the two. They were grown ass men, and yet they acted like dorky the teens they’ve always been the moment they are together like this. It was endearing.

"What? You want me to feed you too?" Jisoo nudged Joon with a coy smile on her lips, immediately laughing when he shook his head.

"Definitely not." He joked back. He hated to share his food-- but so did Jisoo, so it was okay.

The evening went on for a bit, everyone talking-- rather, Namjoon rambling about everything and nothing while the rest ate, drank, and drank....

Jungkook couldn't help but continuously look over at his husband. He was just so fucking hot, when was the last time he was able to truly admire him like this? Forever ago.. A few drinks in and Koo's cheeks were hot, hazy eyes only half listening to the rambling from the other side of the table, nodding absentmindedly. His hand, however, decided to snake over to the elder's lap, gently rubbing up and down the soft fabrics, feeling the firm muscle underneath.

Taehyung was just as buzzed; their conversations only stuck with him for a couple of seconds before he reached for his glass of wine, downing the remainder of the scarlet drink. He was loosening up, or so he thought.. The meat of the elder’s thigh clenched, and his dimmed eyes averted downwards towards the source of the unexpected caress on his leg. With barely any space between the two, Tae awkwardly shifted around in his seat— however, he didn’t bother on pushing Jungkook’s hand away.

He liked it..

It’s been a hot minute since his husband put this much attention on him. The touch was small, but even such delicacy had Taehyung’s hormones in a twist..

“What are you doing?” He leaned in to whisper into Koo’s ear, resting his own hand on the younger’s thigh. Tae told himself that it was for balance, but even he knew that wasn’t exactly the truth. “Fuck, you’re hard,” his hand had slithered upwards to Jungkook’s crotch, groping his husband’s cock through the fabric of Kook’s pants.

"What are you doing? ah.." Jungkook's thighs quivered, gently bucking up into Tae's hand as he desperately tried to act unaffected. Not that the other couple would notice-- they were just as buzzed, just rambling, occasionally bantering... Koo barely noticed their presence at this point.

All he could think about was Taehyung, Taehyung, Taehyung...

"You just look so hot, babe, how could I not be hard?.." He huffed quietly, the hand on Tae's thigh mirroring the elders movements by palming his husband's cock right back, able to feel the shape and girth of it through the fabrics. "Shit, what I'd do to have you on your knees below this table instead..."

Taehyung’s shrunken pupils vigilantly switched between his husband and the other couple in front of them, until he realized there was no need..

Joon and Jisoo weren’t quite at their level, but it was obvious the beer had gotten to their systems if the cheesy mumbles and sudden display of affection were anything to go by. They were never cheesy— in front of them, at least.

“Don’t tempt me, we’ll probably get banned from this place or something..” Tae’s drunken smile beamed in the dimmed lighting before his lips abruptly took the shape of an ‘o’. Embarrassed, he nuzzled his nose in the dip of Jungkook’s neck, continuing to rub and squeeze Koo’s prominent bulge at a fixed pace despite crumbling underneath the younger’s teasing himself. “It’s been so long since I really got to feel you like this, and it’s been too long since you’ve felt me; really felt me..” 

“Let us in on the secrets! Don’t be so secretiveee, it’s not nice, y’know.” Jisoo loudly sipped on her water’s straw, lips closing in on the frail plastic after her third try— her aim when drunk was amusing.

“This feels like all the way back to, uh, second grade was it? When all my buds talked shit behind my back ‘n crap.”

The woman pouted, “Awe, babe, fuck those kids. Look at you now, with mee! They wish they had me.”

Namjoon understood in spite of her strong slurring, “They’ll never have you, mine.”

Taehyung turned to look back at Jungkook, face reading; ‘what the fuck’. “Wanna get out of here? Kinda want some.. privacy.”

Jungkook couldn't even play it cool at this point, his eager nodding proving just how badly he wanted to get out of there as well-- if his throbbing erection wasn't enough to go by. "Yeah, please." Kook’s ragged breath whispered back, withdrawing his hand from Taehyung's crotch to inhale deeply. "Follow me... I have a fun idea." Since they couldn't go home, nor did they have a hotel room for the night-- there was only one option the younger could think of. A fun one, in his own mind. It's been a long fucking time since they did something a little risky... Jungkook was gonna try to say something to the other couple, but it was easier than he expected to have them accept their disappearance, so he simply got up, leaning down to whisper once again into Tae's ear.

"I'll be waiting in the bathroom... You have two minutes. No more, no less." He cooed, a mischievous grin on his lips as he placed a gentle kiss on the elders cheek before strolling off towards the bathroom area, closing the door behind him. The anticipation-- the small amount of waiting was enough to rile him up even further. And surely he hoped it did the same to Taehyung.

Fuck the bathroom, I’ll willingly get down on my knees right at this second— Is what Taehyung wanted to say, but he was far too stunned to even respond with a dumb nod of his head. Jungkook had strutted away without waiting for an answer, and for that Tae was glad.. Every time the younger asserted his natural dominance, Taehyung was left a flustered, unable-to-form-coherent-sentences mess. The elder was convinced the alluring words that slipped past Koo’s lips tasted like honey; they were sweet and sticky, making it awfully hard for Taehyung to forget them.

“I’ll be waiting in the bathroom.. You have two minutes. No more, no less.”

The man didn’t realize he’d been stalling until Jisoo asked him where Jungkook had gone off to.

“He’s.. somewhere. I’m going to the restroom, I’ll be back.” He kept it short ‘n sweet, knowing that whatever was going to happen in the secluded space would be anything but. Jungkook liked taking his time, and Taehyung enjoyed taking all his husband had to offer. The elder loved drowning himself in the moment, which is why he’d grown keen of using his beloved camera for other reasons.. Taehyung looked back on the films a lot— it was hot, and it gave him an excuse to miss Jungkook whilst he was away at work. More often than not Tae couldn’t act on his sexual desires; only settling for giving Koo a messy hand job before they called it a night. But today? It was going to be different.

Taehyung’s eager hand slowly turned on the doorknob, brows arched in anticipation when he’d met Jungkook’s gaze on the other side. It was a family restroom, meaning it was quite small. There were no stalls, only space meant for one. Or two..

Tae’s back was pressed up against the door as he pushed it shut, making sure to lock it. He stayed still in his place, arms shyly tucked from behind him. “I think I went over two minutes, daddy.”

"You did, puppy." The corner of Jungkook's lip curved into a smirk as he moved forward, barely a few steps before he was already towering over his husband. Internally, he was eager.. Impatient in every sense of the word. But tonight was a once in a while occasion, and it didn't occur often enough for him to waste it on a quick fuck. He'd been longing for this opportunity to truly feel Taehyung again, and boy.. was his body itching to feel everything.

"Can't even follow one simple instruction.." Jungkook tsk'd playfully, pressing up his body against Tae's, deliberately brushing their crotches together to make sure the elder felt just how hard he was for him already. "What do I do with a boy that misbehaves..." Now, Taehyung was anything but a boy-- but making the elder feel smaller was one of his favorite things to do, belittling him until he was nothing but a whiny, pleading sweetheart. Kook grasped Tae's chin in his long, tattooed grasp to demand eye contact, tilting his head lightly to the side like a curious pup would. "Do you need a reminder of why you call me daddy?"

“Hmm... I think I do..” Taehyung’s tongue peeked out from the small, surprised opening of his flushed lips, brushing over the moisturized skin and wetting it with its saliva. A hitched gasp followed suit, emphasizing the gloss-like effect he’d made for himself; Taehyung knew Koo was a sucker for the posh look. Slowly, his lips relaxed, and Taehyung’s intense gaze clashed with his husband’s. He allowed the latter to feel superior by standing tall before him, while Tae cowered in his place. The delicate, firm hold on his chin was beginning to make itself known, but the elder didn’t dare move out of Jungkook’s clutch. “Remind me, Koo.. why do I call you daddy?” Taehyung’s hands gripped at the younger’s hips, stifling his faint moans as their crotches pressed against one another.

It’s been too fucking long.

“What makes you worthy of that title?” He kept on pushing, wishing Kook would drop the foreplay and fuck him numb once and for all.. The elder was less patient, but he was just as needy.

Jungkook's lips curled into a smirk to serve as a response to Taehyung's daring words, knowing just how needy his husband was to just be stuffed with his cock already. But what the younger loved even more, was the buildup-- to make Tae so flushed and desperate that when he finally gets what he desires, it'll be more than worth the wait.

"Ah, my baby has already forgotten...." He huffs through heavy breaths, leaning forward to kiss his husband. As his tongue claimed the elder's mouth as his own to explore as he wishes, his hands hungrily roamed down his body, feeling and groping at every curve before they began to unbutton Tae's shirt, exposing his flushed skin. Without wasting another second, Jungkook's hands smoothed up Tae's stomach, his thumbs swiping over the elder's nipples softly-- at first. He groaned into the hot kiss, not stopping his hungry ministrations all while continuously teasing Tae's perky nipples, lightly pinching them between the calloused pads of his fingers.

Taehyung’s frail body squirmed in delight, the skin of his chest buried in small goosebumps whilst Jungkook spared him no mercy on one of his most responsive areas. The filthy noises of mild fulfillment scratched at the back of the elder’s throat, calling out for vocal release only to get pushed back down by Kook’s tongue. 

“Mmhm..” Tae vaguely hummed into the heated kiss, hot puffs of air slipping past his nose, warming Jungkook’s already sultry skin. Everything about the younger was hot; like a predictable summer’s day.. Just one kiss and Taehyung began melting against him, his smaller body frame molding against the barely-noticeable dip from Jungkook’s chest to his pelvis. Eager, Tae never stopped rubbing their crotches together, driving his husband’s hips towards his own.

“Fuck, babe...” Tae whimpered once he pulled away from the kiss, chest rising while his lungs worked to retrieve back air. Taehyung’s head tipped backwards, bottom lip caught in between his teeth as he nonverbally encouraged Koo to continue playing with his sensitive nipples.

“Daddy.. please film me.” Tae might not have his camera at hand, but something about the quality of a phone turned him on. The elder wants to be able to look back on this moment.. He wants to be able to see his reflection in the mirror while Jungkook fucks him— phone held tightly in his hand. Tae wants Koo to focus on the way his cock sinks deep into him, catching Taehyung’s loud, hiccupy moans on video. They’ve filmed themselves a few times in the past, but Tae’s camera was set up on a tripod. Now, they had the opportunity to pilot a phone how they pleased. Jungkook could pan in on whatever he wanted, get a close-up of the goodies.. “Please, daddy. I’ll be a good boy... I’ll squeeze around you so tight. I’ll be so warm.. fuck— I’ll be your little bitch until you stuff me full of your cum. Then I’ll be nothing but your cum dumpster..”

Jungkook's cock twitched heavily beneath the fabrics, the thought alone of filming his husband in such a scenario bringing him more excitement than he expected. Tae’s cameras were fun, the quality superb... but using his phone seemed so much more intimate, it had the younger heated in excitement.

"Fuck yes... I'll stuff you so well. But first..." Kook placed his hands on the elders shoulders, using his strength to force him down on his knees. With a swift motion, he unbuckled his pants and tugged them down, too eager to wait for his cock to be engulfed by Tae’s plushy lips. His cock bobbed when set free, letting it freely taunt Taehyung as he dug for his cellphone in his back pocket. "Suck on it, puppy." His low, raspy tone was laced with lust, eyes staring at Taehyung's lips through the camera screen on his phone when he pointed it down from his view. "When it's nice and wet, I'll fuck your tight ass until you can barely walk out of here."

“Whatever you say, daddy..” His warm hands skimmed upwards from Jungkook’s beautifully muscular thighs to the latter’s base, where Taehyung took his time feeling the younger’s cock. He began by lazily flicking his wrist, multitasking while the other hand kneaded his husband’s balls. Taehyung played innocent, staring up at the camera whilst his tongue circled around the head; his long eyelashes fluttering in a coy manner. 

“Daddy.. daddy, you’re so fucking hot when you’re in control.” Closing his eyes, Tae leaned back in, slowly taking all of Jungkook into the warmth of his mouth. He’s had plenty of practice, his gag reflex was practically nonexistent at this point in their relationship. Taehyung guessed all of those times he’d sucked Jungkook off under the covers when their friends were around— or when he got too impatient and gave Koo the suck of his life in the middle of the grocery store’s parking lot. Not to mention, the birthdays when he’d woken Jungkook up with his limp cock throat-deep in Taehyung’s mouth. They all paid off when it came to unplanned moments such as this one.

Tae hollowed out his cheeks, bobbing his head as he dragged his tongue from Kook’s base to the tip, leaving a trail of saliva along the hardened girth. He’d gotten so consumed in the moment, that Taehyung had forgotten all about the camera.

"Whoa, so pretty when you take my cock like that..." Jungkook's voice was shaky, already feeling the muscles in his thighs tense up. Taehyung knew exactly how to suck him off properly, every drag and movement done with the utmost purpose, hitting every sensitive nerve that riles up Kook to the max.

"I can tell you love it, fuck..." He stated as if it was a fact, and it was. Kook kept one hand gently combing through Tae's dark curls, brushing his fringe away to be able to get a proper visual of the elder through his phone screen, focusing on how his husbands plush lips stretch with the younger's girth, the slick saliva on his silky skin glistening even in his digital eye. "Okay, baby, that's enough... Spit on it and get up, pull down your pants and bend over the sink. Need a good view of your pretty ass."

Taehyung might be a natural-born brat in other aspects, but he never disobeyed Kook’s orders inside of the bedroom. Or a public restroom.. No matter how much Tae wanted to keep going, he did as his husband told, leisurely withdrawing from Jungkook’s cock as if it was the last thing he wanted to do. The elder stalled at the tip, glistening eyes peeling open to meet the phone’s unwavering perspective from above him, keeping a digital memory of Taehyung’s lightly damped, crimson cheeks. His swollen lips pulled off with a loud pop, eyes dimmed as they switched downwards to his husband’s cock. He gathered saliva, swishing the warm, thick substance around his tongue before allowing it to drip down on Jungkook’s already-drenched head.

“It’s so wet..” Tae’s thumb rubbed deep circles on the small slit, moaning to himself at the sly muscle spasms in Jungkook’s clenched thighs. Once Taehyung was satisfied, he followed through with the second order. Shimmying out of the tight jeans that hugged around his thick ass, Tae let them drop to his ankles along with his boxers.

He really was one impatient boy.. He couldn’t wait to get utterly fucked; Taehyung was always horny for cock.

With each hand gripping onto the side of the sink until his knuckles turned white, the elder stood before Koo, back slightly arched whilst his soft stomach pressed up against the cold surface.

“You like what you’re seeing, daddy?” He spoke, looking at Jungkook through the mirror, feeling more cocky now that he wasn’t kneeling down in front of his husband.

"Mhm." Jungkook hummed in approval, his eyes dilated with lust as he dumbfoundedly stared at Taehyung's full cheeks. He's seen his husband naked more times than he could ever count, but every single time it turned him on just as much-- He was insatiable when it came to Kim Taehyung. He angled the camera down as he approached Tae from behind, using his free hand to grab a handful of the flesh, squeezing hard just to see the skin redden underneath his fingers, watching the fat protrude in between his digits. "I love what I'm seeing... Fuck, I've been thinking about doing this to you all day--work was dreadful."

Jungkook's blunt nails dragged across the tanned skin, leaving faint pink marks in it's rake. He spread his cheek with one hand, just enough for him to see his unused entrance. By now the elder had gotten used to Jungkook's sizable stretch without much preparation, although some would still be needed... It had been a while after all. Kook switched the angle to the reflection, making a show out of the way he sucks his finger until it's nice and slick, however wasting no time in massaging Taehyung's delicate rim, and then finally sliding his middle finger inside of his heated flesh. He films Tae's expressions through the mirror before switching back to filming the way he drags his finger in and out of him. A low groan slips past Kook's lips, his cock throbbing as it rests against Taehyung's ass, still wet and impatiently waiting for it's turn to feel the warmth it craves.

"Stretched so easily tonight-- you're that cockhungry, huh." Kook digs his finger deeper past his knuckle, glancing back at the reflection to watch the blissful expressions on his lover's face.

The elder wasn’t given the chance to come up with a vague answer, only mewling softly as he felt his insides grip around Jungkook’s finger; the squeeze so tight while it clenched and unclenched that it almost forced Kook’s single digit out. Still, Taehyung worked on regaining his breaths, relaxing his muscles for a deeper stretch. Jungkook’s cock must’ve plunged deep into him over a million times, but that never meant Tae would lose his tightness. Every time felt just like the first.

“Oh my g-god.. move your finger— please.” Taehyung deliberately squeezed harder, squirming in delight when he felt the pad of Jungkook’s digit brush against his prostate.

Jungkook's lips tugged into a light smirk, a hot breath huffing through them at the beautiful sound of his husband pleading for more. Everything his man did turned him on, but the begging.. It was next level music to his ears. He kept the camera close enough to be able to see the skin of his finger coated in Tae's juices as he pulled out, only to shove in a second along with the first when he pushed it back inside, effortlessly with the sheer amount of force he used to refill the elders tight heat. Kook curled his fingers ever so slightly, just enough to reach that sweet spot better as he began to curl and uncurl his fingers a few times, relishing in the visible contractions around his digits.

"Your ass is squeezing me so tight... Ahh, the camera loves you.." He groaned, now fucking his fingers in and out of Taehyung, his stable hold on the phone capturing every single drag, clench and wet squelch. "You think you could take me already? It's gonna be a tight fit, but fuck... I want to feel your ass crush my cock."

As if the rest of his body was beginning to give out, Taehyung’s head dipped forward, panting heavily until he could make out the hot puffs of air grazing against his own chest. 

“D-daddy— fuuck..” His hips rocked into the younger’s nimble fingers, relishing in the toe-curling way Jungkook teased his prostate. “Y-yeah, ‘m ready. First— a-ahh..” Taehyung hissed, raising his head once more to look at his husband through the mirror, long fringe reaching his pleading eyes. “Can I have a taste? Wanna suck on your fingers.” Taehyung didn’t shift eye-contact; eager to swirl his hot tongue around the same fingers that’d been deep inside of him.

Jungkook's small dimples grew more prominent along with his smile, crooking a coy eyebrow as he slowly popped his fingers out of Tae's stretched hole, leaning forward to press his chest against his lover's back, his wet cock pressed between Taehyung's cheeks. He brought his slick digits to Taehyung's hungry mouth, filming the reflection to get a proper view of both men.

"Here you go baby. Daddy's fingers are coated in your lovely juices... Have a taste, give me a good show."

The hand closest to Jungkook’s let go of its numbed grasp on the sink, instead reaching for his husband’s wrist as Taehyung enveloped the two fingers whole. The elder moaned; one that advanced from deep in his chest and rang throughout the otherwise quiet restroom.

He tasted sweet. Tae fucking bet he’s the sweetest Jungkook’s ever had..

He grinded his ass against Kook’s pelvis, staring at his man through the mirror with an intensified gaze, tongue lapping around and between the delicious digits, lips puckered whilst Taehyung bobbed his head. Thick drool dripped from the corner of his mouth, running down his slobbered chin; but he didn’t mind. Having yet to avert his strong eye-contact, Tae arched his back further to really press against his husband, having fun teasing the hell out of him. 

“Mmm~..” Taehyung’s lips were past Jungkook’s tattooed knuckles, sucking roughly on the latter’s fingers as if it was the younger’s cock tucked in between his cheeks.

Jungkook's normally strong facade of stoism struggled to remain intact right at this moment. Too many things went on, from Tae's ever so piercing gaze, the way his tongue lapped at the younger's fingers, and last but definitely not fucking least; his plump ass grinding against Kook's aching cock. It was too much, and it had been way too long. Jungkook didn't care anymore, his expression morphing into that of pure admiration and lust for his husband, gawking like a dumbass at the show he did so kindly ask for.

"Fuck, that's hot... you're so fucking hot, puppy." He growled lowly, almost frustrated at how Taehyung was allowed to be this gorgeous. It should be illegal. Kook watched the elder work his fingers for a short moment before he had enough, withdrawing his hand to harshly smack his husband's ass. "You're too sexy, it drives me fucking crazy.." Another smack, this time keeping his palm on his ass before squeezing it hard between his fingers, spreading the cheek to grant himself better access to grind his tip against the lightly gaped hole. "Shit, look at this... All mine." Kook huffs under heavy breaths, panning camera down Taehyung's prominent cleavage of his spine runs down his back, until the lens settled on where the head of Jungkook's length prodded at Tae's entrance.

"Move backwards baby, fuck yourself on my cock." Jungkook commands, loud enough to clearly capture his voice in the recording-- knowing Taehyung will love looking back and hearing these specific words.

Taehyung’s body jolted forward with every firm, jaw-clenching slap to his ass; his cheek grew tender the more Jungkook’s palm came in contact with the agitated skin, leaving behind a noticeable outline of his hand to linger for days on end. If the video didn’t serve as enough of a reminder, the sting sure as hell will. The elder was on the brink of crying out loud, having to bite down on his lip to prevent himself from screaming Jungkook’s name.

“Feels so good..” Taehyung sank back until the slick head of Jungkook’s cock popped through the gateway to his familiar insides, instantly clenching down on his husband’s skin as a warm greeting. “Fuck, fuck... so big, daddy.” Moving backwards until he nudged Kook’s pelvis, Tae took a minute to adjust to the length, muttering filthy curses under his heated breath. “Is that tight enough for you, hm? You’re so hard inside of me, ahh..” Once he deemed himself ready, Taehyung slowly began fucking himself on Jungkook’s cock, stopping at the tip before he plopped back in with more force, wiggling his hips against Kook before repeating the action. “So hard, I can feel you twitching, Koo..”

"Ah, fuck-- Taehyung..." Jungkook doesn't hold back letting his husband know how good his ass feels. He runs his flat palm down the prominent line on Tae's back where his spine hides, keeping his hips still for a moment to allow the elder to fuck himself on his cock. Kook keeps the camera focused on the way his slick length disappears inside the stretched hole, in awe of the view through the screen. "So tight, you're so fucking tight-- good god... How could I ever get enough of this?" He hisses through his ragged breath. When satisfied with the good work Taehyung put into getting himself used to Kook's size, the younger decides that it's time to reward his lover.

With a rough snap of his hips, Jungkook thrusts forward to meet Tae's ass as it moved back against him, the loud echo of their skin slapping together drawing a guttural moan from the tattooed male.

"You're such a good boy for me." He redirects the camera back towards the reflection to capture Taehyung's jolting body as he began to build a momentum to the way he fucked into him, slow but rhythmical, forceful but precise. "Aren't you? My little good boy?"

A loud, unavoidable gasp left past Taehyung’s loose lips as he hunched over the sink, toes tightly curled in his shoes as one of his many reactions to Jungkook’s quickened thrust. His hands were balled up into fists; forearms resting on each side of the sink whilst he arched his ass further back. “Y-your good boy, yes,” the elder rasped out, voice as thin as ice, and tone as unstable as his legs while Jungkook fucked him. “Hngh.. I love you, fuck me harder.”

If harder was what Taehyung wanted, Jungkook was in no position to deny his wishes. He knows just how whipped the elder was for his muscles, and the endless hours spent building and maintaining them surely didn't go unnoticed by his husband. Rather the opposite, Kook loved the attention-- ever since they were younger, the elder seemed to have a special fascination towards the strength Jungkook possessed. He allows his body to serve as a response to Taehyung's request, the hand on his hip digging harder into his tanned skin, holding him in place as the younger increases the force of his thrusts, at first dragging his entire length in and out to ensure that every single inch of Tae's insides feels the friction of being filled to the brim.

"Oh my god.." Jungkook huffs out, throwing his head back, screwing his eyes shut in rapture as he pounds mindlessly, focusing only on how good it feels right at this moment to just fuck his husband dumb. The phone in his hand became less of a priority at this point, shaky and blurred, however it captured every wet sound of their bodies joining, every breathy grunt, and every single squeak of the sink as Kook's powerful hips jerked Taehyung's body forward roughly.

The gnawing weight of a hundred curse-words on Taehyung’s tongue never subsided. Every invasive jerk of his husband’s quick hips made him want to scream out in rapture; to sob from the overwhelming feeling of Jungkook’s rigid cock entering him over and over again until he was so fucked out that his eyes no longer saw the faded blue-wash of the tiles on the spinning bathroom wall.

Taehyung fuckin’ loved that. He felt as if he was floating on cloud nine; as if he was reliving his brief encounter with drugs when he was a young teen. His husband’s fucking was a heavy drug, there was never a time where Taehyung didn’t enjoy the high it gave him.

“I love it when you put me in my place, hmph!” Tae’s voice was sultry— breathy. Still as deep, but far more hitched. Every menacing smack of Jungkook’s pelvis against his rosy skin stole his breath away, gasps getting caught in the man’s throat before they were reduced to soft mewls. “F-fuck, daddy’s fat cock never disappoints..” The elder straightened his spine, caramel shoulder blades flexed as he depended on his weak arms to keep him in place. Taehyung stared at Kook’s diverse expressions through the mirror; internally praising himself. Moaning, one of his arms blindly reached backwards until his hand groped Jungkook’s ass, feeling the muscles twitch with every thrust. He tipped his head back against Kook’s shoulder, turning his head until Taehyung could smell the odor of built-up sweat on the small dip of Jungkook’s pale skin.

His back remained lightly arched, driven forward from every slam to his wet insides. “Ah, fuck.. yes, daddy!” The elder’s nose was burrowed in the crook of Kook’s neck, brows twitching slightly as a sudden warmth approached his lower stomach.

"Love when you call me daddy." Jungkook breathes out his words in a haste, grunts following with every thrust, smacking his pelvis against Taehyung's plump ass to feel it jiggle against him. He snakes one strong arm around his husband's torso, the one holding the cellphone to angle it back to film the reflection, as the other keeps a tight grip on his hip to ensure his lover doesn't fly forward from the rough effort he puts into every sloppy thrust.

"You're so fucking gorgeous, baby. Look at your pretty, big cock--fuck.." Kook couldn't look away from the view in the mirror, the elder's body was erotic in this position, skin glistening with sweat, cock swollen and red, looking as if it was about to burst at any second with how well Kook fucked into him.

"A-are you close? God, I'm gonna cum... fill your ass up so well, I want you to hold it in until we get home, okay?" Jungkook nudges the elder's cheek with his nose to bring them face to face. "Kiss me, wanna taste your pretty moans as you cum."

Taehyung enthusiastically attached his touch-starved lips to Jungkook’s smaller, sweeter ones. His warm hand extended upwards to eagerly cup his husband’s face, the pad of his thumb swiping across the younger’s scar whilst he deepened their messy kiss, low hums of approval ringing from profound in his rising chest. His squirming body jolted forward with more force, the ability to withstand Jungkook’s irregular thrusts slowly drained out of him, leaving Taehyung frail to every insignificant nudge.

“G-Gonna cum.. gonna cum so much..!” The elder leaned in once more, unable to take the empty feeling in his mouth. He generously sucked on Jungkook’s tongue, their drool running past his chin and slowly cascading down Taehyung’s neck, illuminating the way his Adam’s apple would bob with every forceful swallow. His husband’s spit was so warm. It was like medicine to his drained throat.. There came a time where Tae’s breathing was getting scarce; he pulled away with a soft gasp. His curtained eyes were glazed with fresh tears, vision blurry as he looked down at his swollen dick and the way it hit against the sink’s cooling edge.

So close..

“F-fuuck! Oh.. hngh, daddy, I’m gonna— A-aahh— ah.. hmm!” His high-pitched moans were muffled against Jungkook’s slick lips, mouth unmoving as Taehyung focused on giving his husband every drop of his filthy sounds.

He stayed still for a few seconds, twitching against Jungkook’s larger body, whining whilst his eyes fluttered shut.

“Fuck... I’m hungry.”

© sombreboy 2020. Do not repost, edit or translate.

[beewolfwrites]

And When I am Formulated, Sprawling on a Pin - Chapter Nine: Hunting Season

Sorry for the later than usual update! I personally didn’t like writing this chapter for a variety of reasons (having to use street view on google maps to explore an entire park was one of them). But I hope you enjoy it :) 

As usual, the AO3 link is here. And for those who are new here, this is a Chishiya x OC/reader fic :) 

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

The car ride to the game wasn’t ideal. As a group of six people, there wasn’t quite enough room for everyone in the five-seater car. And the result? I was squished in the middle seat at the back, with Chishiya on one side and a couple making out on the other. A woman was sitting on her boyfriend’s lap, their hands roaming freely in the cramped space.

Chishiya paid no attention to them as he rested his head against the window. Personally, I didn’t know where to look. If I kept my head forward, the sight of the road zooming ahead left me feeling queasy. I couldn’t exactly turn to my left and stare openly at the couple. And I definitely couldn’t stare at Chishiya. It was already weird enough that we were crushed up against each other. I could feel his warmth seeping into my skin, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Somehow, they reminded me that he was real. Cold but human. I found myself wanting to slide even closer.

When did I start feeling comforted by his presence?

It was a thought that scared me, and I must’ve stiffened in my seat because Chishiya suddenly turned to me. I could see him trying to figure out what was wrong, and so I smiled at him innocently. He was either unconvinced, or he no longer cared, because he returned his gaze to the window.

Needless to say, it was a long, long car ride.

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

When the car finally stopped, we were outside the Shinjuku Gyoen National Park, near the Sendagaya gate. Pasted to the windows of the gate office was a white sign.

GAME.

‘Come on,’ Chishiya said as he stepped out of the car.

I joined him, sticking closely by his side as our group passed through the gate. And with the bleep of the lasers, our fate was sealed.

The park seemed to be hesitating somewhere between half-asleep and on the verge of life. Aside from the trudge of our footsteps and the rustle of branches, the place was silent. The path ahead shone grey under the moonlight, and on either side of the path pockets of darkness lurked between trees. I wasn’t sure which was worse, the darkness beneath the foliage, or the exposure of the open flat land just off the path.

We followed the signs that dotted the way, leading us across the bridge over the Nakano-Ike. The water breathed with pond life and the trill of crickets. If not for the game, I would have liked to linger and enjoy the views. As we passed beneath a low-hanging tree, I reached up with one hand and brushed my fingers against the leaves.

The movement caught Chishiya’s eye, and he peered over his shoulder.

‘What?’

As I spoke, a few members of our group jumped, only to mutter and continue walking.

Chishiya, on the other hand, looked at me like I was a misbehaving child. ‘You have a leaf in your hair.’

I combed my fingers through, trying to find it. ‘Where is it?’ When he didn’t reply, I brushed at my hair even further.

‘Idiot,’ Chishiya said.

So he was just joking. What is he, five?

We followed the path along the edge of the Nakano-Ike until we reached the Central Rest House. The entire outdoor seating area was illuminated, and I was surprised to see nine other people, some sitting on picnic chairs, others leaning against the walls. One man was inspecting the empty food stall. On one of the picnic tables was a pile of phones, and we passed them around, taking one each.

‘FACE REGISTRATION IN PROCESS.

PLEASE WAIT FOR THE GAME TO COMMENCE’

The others in our group drifted apart from me and Chishiya. The couple remained together, holding hands as they comforted each other, but remaining two members separated. It just proved that despite the Beach giving you the advantage of a group, it didn’t mean you were truly a team.

And Chishiya, does he plan on completing this game by himself?

He was certainly the type to wander off on his own. But inside, I wished that wasn’t the case this time; I didn’t want to play this game alone. Even now, he was leaning against a wooden pillar, his back to me.

‘REGISTRATION CLOSED. THE GAME WILL NOW COMMENCE.’

Sighing, I listened in closely. If I was playing this alone, I couldn’t rely on him to talk me through the rules I might have missed.

‘GAME – HUNTING SEASON

DIFFICULTY – TWO OF SPADES

TIME LIMIT – ONE HOUR.’

Two of Spades. That wasn’t so bad. And an hour was a pretty generous time limit.

‘RULES –

ESCAPE THE PARK WITHOUT BEING CAUGHT BY THE HUNTERS.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT, IT IS GAME OVER.

GAME START.’

All at once, the lights shut off and the place went silent. Everyone was glancing around, uncertain, and for a moment it was almost as if the game hadn’t begun. That was, until the man next to the food stall silently dropped to the ground, a bullet hole between his eyes.

For half a second, I stared at the body, mouth open. Then something snapped and the whole group of us scarpered out in every direction.

Run, run run!

I sprinted into the trees at the back of the rest house, stumbling around in the silence. There were branches and bushes all around, but nothing with nearly enough cover. And everywhere I looked, the darkness started to shift, morphing into faces—

A hand clamped over my mouth.

I struggled, breathing hard over my nose. My fingers tried to rip their hand away, but the person wrapped their other arm across my waist, pulling me closer until I felt his breath tickle my hair.  

‘Where do you think you’re going?’

Chishiya.

Instantly, I relaxed. How many times now had he surprised me by coming to my aid?

Still holding me tightly, he whispered again. ‘You need to stop running around so loudly. You’re going to give us away.’

Beneath his hand, I nodded in understanding. The moment stretched before he finally released me, his hands returning to his pockets while I took a minute to steady my breathing. My half-healed bullet wound was stinging from where he had grabbed me too tightly, and I wanted to snap at him for it, but it wasn’t the right time or place. The game took priority. There was no way of knowing who the hunters were or what they looked like, so we had to be as vigilant as possible.

‘We should find somewhere else before we come up with a plan,’ I whispered. ‘This area’s the first place they’ll look.’

He nodded, then gestured for me to follow him. We stuck to the trees between the paths, keeping low and creeping slowly to avoid leaving tracks, until eventually we came to a tea house. The traditional Japanese gardens at the front were far too open and uncovered, but the thick foliage behind the tea house offered the perfect amount of cover.

‘Over here,’ I mouthed to Chishiya, and snuck into the bushes.

It was disconcertingly dark. And all I could hear was the rustle of birds and Chishiya’s slight movements.

‘How come you came after me?’ I asked.

‘Don’t you want to make an escape plan?’

‘I do,’ I told him, ‘but I also didn’t know you wanted to work together. You didn’t tell me anything.’

He released a small huff of annoyance. ‘I shouldn’t have had to tell you that. We made a deal.’

A deal to take me to find supplies afterwards. I can’t believe he’s still honouring that.

‘I know, I’m sorry,’ I whispered. ‘It’s just that you really caught me by surprise before.’ Squinting, I tried to figure out which direction we should head in. There was small sign just next to the path, but in the darkness, it was impossible to make out what it said. Turning back to Chishiya, I asked, ‘do you know your way around the park?’

‘I’ve been here once or twice.’

‘Okay… that makes things easier. I was going to ask which entry gate is smallest, but I think it’s better to assume none of them are safe. The hunters will probably be waiting there.’

Chishiya thought for a moment. ‘If this is one of the teahouses, it means we’re not too far from the edge of the park.’

‘Which way do we go then?’

‘West.’

That’s…not helpful. Not even a bit.

‘Chishiya, I have no idea where we are right now,’ I said, frustrated, ‘let alone which direction is West.’

‘Ch, you’re hopeless.’ He pulled out his phone and checked the time. We still had 40 minutes left. He slid it back into his pocket and sighed. ‘Let’s go. But be quiet and stay out of sight.’

We slipped around the back of the treehouse, sticking to the lines of trees between and on either side of the paths. It was strange that we had yet to come across one of the hunters, but I didn’t doubt for a moment that they were prowling the park somewhere. The man back at the Central Rest House had been shot so precisely – a perfect aim, even from far away – and none of us had seen it coming. And judging by the lack of sound from the shot, the hunters were carrying silencers too.

Although I could see his silhouette in front of me, I was a little worried that I would end up losing Chishiya in the darkness. Even though he only looked out for himself, I felt safer around him, like he would always come up with a solution to any game, no matter how difficult.

Every time we came to a crossroads where the paths intersected, it became a challenge to stay covered, especially as the trees grew sparser, leaving us completely exposed.

We passed by a second teahouse, this one surrounded by wide open paths – a death trap. Chishiya raised two fingers, a gesture to follow his lead. A second later, he sprinted across the open intersection, disappearing into the foliage on the other side.

You’ve got to be kidding.

Listening carefully for footsteps, or any sign that we weren’t alone, I took a breath, then ran.

But nothing happened.

I found Chishiya, reaching him without so much as a scratch. It was like there weren’t enough hunters in the park to justify this being a game.

‘How come we haven’t seen one of the hunters yet?’ I whispered.

He shook his head. ‘I’m not sure. There’s probably a good reason.’

Following the path further, it quickly became apparent that we were stuck. On one side of us was a bridge over a large pond, and on the other was an open walkway that stretched on farther than I could see.

Chishiya analysed the situation for a moment. ‘Can you swim?’

‘Of course,’ I said. ‘But we can’t swim across that whole pond, we’ll be seen for miles.’

He smirked. ‘Not the whole pond.’

And that was how I found myself treading water, neck-deep, as we crept along the bank. The water was freezing, and the cold hit my lungs in a dull ache that left me almost breathless.

And what’s worse, the phones didn’t have waterproof cases, so we had to hold them in the air with one hand while paddling with the other. It was agony, suspending my bandaged arm above the pond water for such a long time, and all I could think about was how if there was a hunter on the other side, we’d be such easy prey. The pond seemed to stretch on forever, but once we passed beneath a large footbridge, the end was finally in sight.

Ahead of me, Chishiya used the shadows of the bridge to pull himself out of the water and onto a rocky bank. He bent low, extending a hand to help me out of the water. A voice in the back of my head told me not to take his hand, that I could do it myself. But I was too tired to care. I saw his eyes scan over me once, his gaze lingering on the now drenched hoodie.

‘Let’s get through this and I’ll replace it, I swear,’ I told him.

‘I’m not sure you can’ he said, unimpressed. ‘I want that one back’

I folded my arms, huddled against the cold of my wet clothes. ‘You just have to be that difficult, don’t you?’ Then my eye caught the apex of trees ahead of us. ‘Where are we?’

‘We’re coming up to the Mother and Child forest,’ he said. ‘We’re not far from the edge of the park.’

Shivering in my shorts, I held up my phone. We had just 25 minutes left.

‘Are we going into the Mother and Child forest?’

He shook his head. ‘It’s not much of a forest. It’s too exposed.’

Without speaking, Chishiya led the way forward. Here, the paths were wide and open, but sheltered by a canopy of tall trees that protruded from steep banks. There was a long path to our left, with wire fencing on either side of the banks, presumably to keep park goers from doing what we were doing now.

We moved away from the paths and deeper into the trees. Here, it was much, much darker, and I could barely see where I was stepping—

Chishiya’s hand grabbed my hood, jerking me back until I was leaning against his chest. Heart racing, I flinched when his voice came in a close whisper.

‘Look down.’

Lowering my eyes to the ground, I had to squint before I could see it. The blackened metal gleamed faintly in the moonlight, spikes protruding out of the ground like a grotesque crown.

‘A bear trap,’ I breathed. ‘That’s why we haven’t seen any hunters. They’re staying around the edges of the par—’

His hand clamped over my mouth. I squirmed, only for his other arm to wrap around my upper body as he tugged me behind a tree and pulled me to the ground. The position was uncomfortable, with me sitting between his legs, my face pressed into the junction between his neck and his collarbone.

What the hell is he doing?

And then I hear the footsteps.

It was a steady crunch… an occasional snap… careful and methodical, and slowly moving closer.

I stilled in Chishiya’s arms, focusing solely on the sound of the footsteps and the feeling of Chishiya’s calm breaths as they gently skimmed the exposed skin of my neck. If it weren’t for the fear of the situation, I would’ve found our position strangely intimate. With my head against his collarbone, I could feel the steady beat of his heart… except it wasn’t steady. It was beating ever so slightly fast.

Is he… nervous? Chishiya gets nervous?

The thought was instantly pushed from my mind as we finally caught sight of it.

The hunter.

They were dressed head to toe in camo, their heavy black boots glistening even in the dark. Covering their entire face and neck was a black wolf mask, the two eye holes gaping open, but revealing nothing of the person inside. And in their hands, they were holding a large gun with a silencer attached.

The hunter turned, peering in all directions.

I felt Chishiya’s hands tense around me, gripping harder. I wanted to tell him that he was crushing my still-injured arm, that I wasn’t going to make a noise, that he didn’t need to warn me like this. But of course, I couldn’t. I gritted my teeth through the pain.

The hunter looked in our direction.

I held my breath.

Don’t move. Don’t blink.

Then he turned away, and I relaxed, as did Chishiya’s bruising hold. There was a crunch of leaves as the hunter crouched down to inspect the untriggered bear trap… and then nothing.

Just like that, he was gone.

For a full minute, neither of us moved. Until slowly, almost uncertainly, Chishiya’s hands fell away. I took my cue and shifted, giving him room to stand before doing the same. This time, he didn’t help me up, choosing instead to saunter through the trees.

I had no choice but to follow, but I decided that if we got out of this place, I’d have to thank him for saving my skin twice in a row… right after slapping him for that bone-crushing warning he did. The half-healed wound in my arm was probably bleeding again now.

Taking out time to avoid making noise, we snuck down the treeline that followed the path. I was worried we were running out of time, and I wanted to check my phone, but the light of the screen would be too risky. If I were to estimate, we probably had about twelve or so minutes left.

On the way, Chishiya and I scanned the ground for more surprises. So far, we avoided several leg-hold traps and at one point, I grabbed Chishiya and pulled him back, stopping him from walking straight into a snare. He didn’t seem too bothered by the near-miss as he shrugged out of my hands.

Eventually, we came to a final intersection. The path we’d been following joined a longer one that stretched all across the park. On the other side of the intersection, up the bank and beyond foliage, I could see the tall metal of a fence.

There it is! My eyes dropped to the large open space where the paths met. There’s no way we can cross this.

Chishiya placidly looked around, as if trying to find some other way of getting across. But there wasn’t one. For the first time since our run-in with the hunter, he looked at me. Raising three fingers, he mouthed ‘on three’.

We’re not going to… he doesn’t mean…

He lowered a finger.

I shook my head. There had to be another way. There had to be.

But there’s no time…

He lowered a second finger.

I took one step back, preparing myself. I didn’t know if this was a trap, or if Chishiya was going to use me as a decoy. But my gut instinct told me to trust him.

He lowered his third finger… and we ran.

Together we shot down the bank, leaping over the metal wiring at the bottom. I felt the bullets shoot across my skin, missing me by centimetres. They were surrounding us from every direction. We’d been cornered.

But I ran. I ran. And I stared at that tall dark fence in the distance as I leapt over the wire and jumped onto the bank. The bullets kept coming, one whipping through my loose hair. The tall fence was closer now, growing bigger with every step, but I couldn’t stop.

‘Climb,’ I heard Chishiya huff.

Jumping at the fence, I tugged my feet up and clambered my way to the top. Now, the bullets were clanging against the metal, the force shaking the structure. I caught sight of a wolf mask hidden between two trees, and instinctively threw myself over the edge, my stomach grazing the metal spikes that lined the top.

My body hit the ground with a thud, but the bullets continued to ricochet.

I’m out of the park. I escaped, right?

There was a flash of white and a pained grunt, before Chishiya landed on top of me, his weight knocking the air from my lungs. I felt him gasp from the impact, right as the bullets stopped. All was silent.

‘GAME CLEAR – CONGRATULATIONS!’

He didn’t move at first, then as if remembering where he was, he pulled away from me and sat up on the grass.

I lay there, cold, wet and exhausted. We did it.

Not bad for a girl who’s terrible at Spades.

Rolling over, I turned to… Chishiya?

He had unzipped his hoodie, revealing both his toned chest and a bleeding wound in his side. His fingers lightly touched the area as he inspected it. Catching sight of my expression, he zipped his hoodie back up, eyes cold.

‘Are you okay?’

He got to his feet and pulled his hood over his head. ‘It’s nothing.’

Standing up, I tried to reach out to see, but he took a step back. He was wearing the same, distant expression he always had.  

‘Did they get you?’ I asked. The white of his hoodie had become spotted with red over his injury. ‘We should go back to the Beach. I wonder where the others are.’

‘I haven’t been shot,’ he said, dismissive. ‘It was the fence.’  

My eyes darted to the metal spikes, the pinpoints shining under the dull light. Even though he was playing it off, it could still get infected. And it must’ve hurt, despite how cavalier his reaction was. The thought disturbed me. Even though I knew Chishiya was only human, he seemed untouchable somehow.

‘We should still head back,’ I insisted. ‘An could take a look at it—’

Then he uttered my name. It was the first time he’d ever spoken it before, and the way it rolled off his tongue sent goosepimples along my skin. And in a tone that left no room for argument, he said, ‘we made a deal.’

The words crushed me one by one. He was willing to put up with an injury for the sake of a stupid deal I made with him. I just didn’t understand why. But it made me wonder whether there was more to Chishiya than he let on, whether he did have a sliver of a heart buried somewhere.  

Giving me one last glance, he muttered, ‘let’s go.’ Then he turned and began walking away from the park.

I stared at the back of his hood, and the small red patch on his hoodie. And it was then that I finally understood something. Whatever I felt for this man, it was no longer hatred.

[bunny-hoodlum]

Post post post *-* i miss your writings <\\3

Thank you for the love, Anon! I apologize for answering this now, I was still waffling over this decision. 😣 But here's what I got so far! ✨

Continuation of Foster Sib AU:

He wasn't the first child.

Somehow he had expected to be.

A girl his age, age five, and her older cousin had already been living here for a year now.

They had family, they were just… deemed unfit.

Maybe they'll take them back, when they get their act together. He doesn't know. He only knows he doesn't have the luxury of hope that they do.

Nobody was coming back to get him.

And he had nowhere to go back to.

The foster lady with the ruby red eyes showed him his room.

~~~

At first, Naruto thought Hinata and Neji were close, so much so that no one could ever be closer.

Then he thought it was their defense mechanism to keep others out.

Hinata was nice enough, but she never strayed far from Neji.

That was because he never let her.

She wasn't just fiercely loyal to him. She was scared of him.

He tried to get Neji in trouble. Kurenai-obachan needed to know. But Hinata stopped him. She told him not to split them apart. That she didn't mind Neji bossing her around. She would never be okay if she didn't know where her cousin was.

So he tried. But it was hard. He still picked fights with Neji.

That didn't make Hinata happier, either.

He still thinks it's Neji's fault when she finally breaks down, telling them both off before running to her room.

He runs after her, but she won't let him in.

He goes to his room and talks to her through his wall. He has to press himself flat against it, straining to hear any sound.

Could she hear him, too?

"I'll leave Neji alone, okay?" It's a bitter promise, because it makes him feel like he's surrendered when he did nothing wrong. But part of him also feels tired of this pattern day in and day out. He'd rather spend his time better. And then he has a thought. "Hinata… can I bug you instead?"

He hates being alone.

Fighting at least gives those a reason to interact with him. So when he gives up that, what is he left with?

It's faint, but he heard her.

"Sure," she said.

~~~

Growing up, they got in trouble for staying up late and talking too loud.

That's because Hinata was all Neji's for a good part of the day, while he was left to fend for his own entertainment.

He got the idea to drill a hole into their bedroom wall so that way they could easily whisper and not get caught.

That was one of his first thrills: vandalism.

"I think you mean 'home improvement'," Hinata giggled.

He had to process that.

He never realized until then that he still hadn't considered this his home.

Yes. This was home.

~~~

Girls at school always cupped their ears when they were eavesdropping. They cup their mouths when they're telling secrets or bad-mouthing others.

Hinata cups her ear around the hole in their wall when he's telling her stories. And she cups her mouth when she's telling him hers.

Her ears are sensitive, so he tries to watch his volume. He forgets himself when he gets excitable.

Her breath tickles and teases a memory from his brain, one that fills him with both sadness and relief.

When he tries to sleep, he searches for the root of this feeling.

The next day on television, there's a mother murmuring her baby to sleep.

He adopts that image as his own forgotten memory.

And the following night, Hinata's soothing whispers confirm that he had a mother once, and she sang him to sleep.

~~~

Hinata's a wimp.

He loves the girl, but at school she is a gosh damn trouble magnet.

He jumps in front of her bullies, fists blazing, and he loses.

A lot.

But he gets to pick fights again. He gets to be cool from time to time. And when he gets better, he becomes the best. He gets a reputation!

By the time they reach fifth grade, he doesn't even have to raise a fist.

A well-aimed death glare is enough.

When Neji's graduation forces the two cousins apart for the first time in their lives, the older Hyuuga undergoes a personality shift.

He expresses legitimate concern for Hinata.

They're both standing on the empty landing just outside of their elementary's gymnasium where the remainder of the proceedings were taking place. Neji's stare, heavy with expectations and ultimatum, bore down on his little shoulders.

"You do realize you're the only one I can ask."

"Yeah, don't worry. I got this!" Naruto flashed his patent overconfident grin, and this time not a hint of condescension passed across Neji's face.

His heart thumped wildly when he and Neji returned to the gymnasium, with Neji returning to his position amongst the other students in the center of the room. Family members lined up against the walls in foldable metal chairs.

When Naruto took his seat, he stole a glance at Hinata on the other side of Kurenai-obasan. Her gentle profile seemed to unlock something inside of him. Waves upon waves of warmth filled his body, pulling him in deeper into a languid pool of contentment.

He would be her protector from now on.

He would be her brother.

~~~

He never noticed how their paths lead each other further and further apart.

Their daily routines had remained the same.

Aside from a few exciting developments.

Like Kurenai reconnecting with a childhood friend. The man was a Marine and a chainsmoker, but he seemed cool.

Or how Naruto happened to find a collection of discarded skin mags behind the pool storage room at school. They now resided safely beneath his bed.

There was also the neighborhood shrimp squad of grade-schoolers who loved to call him 'Boss' whenever he came over to play.

Or that time he was hanging out with Sasuke, and unusually the stoic lad had insulted a group of delinquents before he did at the local arcade.

Sasuke may have taken out four guys by the time Naruto took out one, but he still got the win.

But way, way before all of that something had really surprised him: Hinata becoming Deputy Class Rep to their own Haruno Sakura.

She was volunteered for the position based on her equally outstanding grades. Or, at least that's what they had believed.

Over time, it became apparent that they had volunteered Hinata to be Sakura's foil. Hinata was considerate and much more approachable. If the students wanted something, they went straight to Hinata first.

But then her unchanged nature became more detectable.

Like he's said before, Hinata's a wimp.

She crumbles at the slightest disapproval.

She implodes when she's convinced she could do better. When she thinks she's failing.

So halfway through their first year, she started to get abused. Girls and boys alike tried to strongarm her into making their lives 'better'. Making her fetch their lunches and dumping cleaning duty on her every day.

Somehow Sakura never noticed. He tried to tell her, but she didn't take him seriously. He tried to tell the teachers, but they acted like he had no evidence.

Liars! They just didn't want to get involved! What good are teachers if they don't help their students?!

The following exams were posted outside the classroom.

Sakura was number two, just below Ino. They were always competing for the top. Hinata was number three. Always number three. And he was dead last.

Hinata could rise to the top, but she never tries.

He always tries, but he can never seem to rise.

He realized then that he hasn't been doing enough as her brother.

Compared to her, he has no future, no potential. It wouldn't be a waste if he took on her burdens.

He can take abuse, because during those first five years at a state-run orphanage, abuse was all he knew.

The following day, he took Hinata's place as the class slave. He fetched their lunches, got them drinks whenever they asked. The only thing they never asked him to do was their homework. Because… yeah.

Nobody knew they lived together.

If they did, well, he might've been forced to copy Hinata's assignments all the same.

He never noticed how their paths lead them apart, how their daily routines boxed them into two different social spheres never to overlap.

He was still her brother. Her protector.

But by high school, he'd also become the embodiment of trouble itself.

And he couldn't let that stuff disrupt her life.

~~~

He might've been a loser at school, but he made damn sure he was a winner in every other aspect.

Sasuke helped him learn to pick up girls and win street brawls.

Naruto got into the weightlifting club during their last year of middle school, his newly developed physique causing an interesting ripple effect amongst the student body. Hinata's former bullies became too intimidated to take advantage of him anymore, so they moved onto their underclassmen instead. The glances that were usually aimed Sasuke's way were starting to come his way now, and two martial arts captains from different high schools were vying for his recruitment.

Everybody was beginning to forget the dead last he used to be.

~~~

Naruto stood outside Ero-sensei's apartment door, envelope in hand. The door opened, revealing the ruddy face of a day-drinking Jiraiya and his smarmy grin.

Naruto presented the envelope with a proud smirk before letting himself inside.

Taking his shoes off in the genkan, he paused. There was another pair of shoes here, black leather boots with the stiletto heel. Naruto cleared his nerves from his throat and joined Jiraiya in the living room, sitting himself down by the low table. He held the envelope close to his stomach as he took in the sounds of someone working in the kitchen.

He didn't expect her to be here today.

A curvacious woman with wax white skin, facial piercings, and a crop of blue hair emerged with a tray of tea and set it down. She had a Geisha-like smile, immaculate and composed.

"You must be working hard, Uzumaki," Konan said. "Weren't you here three weeks ago with the last one?"