#transitioning behind my families back is one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself

[i-miss-breathing]

I started binding and- I didn’t realize just how much I hunched over?? It was a looottt. Like a tonnnn. I didn’t even realize I was doing that. No wonder my shoulders are sore 25/8.

Also I feel super hot with a flat chest I spent like 10 minutes in front of the mirror admiring myself

[redpandaramblings]

Like Caramel For Chocolate- An Omega Bakugou x Alpha f!Reader fic. Part 6

Part 1 Here

Next part Here

Content Warning: Negative headspace, omegaverse, self deprecation, depressive thoughts, pushy parental figures, ambiguous omegaverse reproduction, unhealthy relationships, relationship that could be easily fixed if idiots would use their words and communicate, Shinso/Denki side relationship, Bakugou is a dumbass but so is y/n

Where we left off-

Before Bakugou could reply, the jeweler came back into the room and handed Denki a piece of paper.

“All right sir, here is your receipt! Your ring should be ready in three days.”

“Thanks.” Denki shoved the receipt into his pocket, quickly making his way to the door. “See you around Bakubro. Don't want to be late for my shift.” The door closed behind him with a bang.

Bakugou wasn’t annoyed though. Now he could pick out the perfect ring for Y/N and not worry about Kaminari being nearby. Everyone knows Kami can’t keep a secret to save his life.

“I don’t know how much longer I can keep all of this a secret.” Denki moaned into his hands. He was sitting with his head buried in his arms. Y/N reached across the table and gently petted his hair.

“I know what you mean, but I don’t think either of us are in a good position to start telling people.”

Y/n and Denki sat in a secluded corner of a dimly lit cafe. Both of them had this time free and both of them definitely needed to talk. They stood a lot less chance of anyone asking questions if they were just two friends getting lunch instead of them privately going to each other’s apartments.

Denki looked up, giving Y/N a wide eyed expression. “I know, but I wasn’t expecting Bakugou to show up when I was dropping off that abomination of a ring! I just was lucky the jeweler had already taken it to the back. You were right by the way, that thing is absolutely horrendous. Like, was the designer blind?”

Y/N snorted. “From what I’ve heard, great great grandpappy had a lot more money than brains and wanted to impress his omega by shoving as many stones onto a ring as possible.”

“No kidding. I think it can be seen from space.”

“Very likely.” Y/N chuckled before slumping back into her seat with a sigh. “Though I might have an idea about what Bakugou was doing there.”

“Wait, seriously?”

Y/N nodded with a sigh. “Yeah. When I got back he invited me to the summer festival. I’d forgotten about it.”

“Ah shit, yeah. Isn’t that your guys' anniversary?”

“Yep.” Y/N sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Of course he had to pick this time to actually celebrate. We haven’t gone or done anything… God, I think since he became a hero.”

“So you think he was getting a gift.” Denki sat back as the server came, placing your orders in front of each of you. You both murmured your thank yous and waited until the server was out of earshot before resuming your conversation.

“Yeah, he had to have been. Makes me feel terrible, but there wasn’t a good time to… Well…”

Y/n gestured between herself and Denki.

“Tell him that you’ve been betrothed to an omega of much superior looks, breeding, and manners?”

You gave Denki a little kick under the table as he cackled. He grinned cheekily as he poked at his food. “Sorry. Humor is my coping mechanism. I get it though. Timing sucks all the way around.”

You nodded, sighing and taking a bite of your own food. “Can’t say anything during his heat. Then his schedule was swamped, and I had to sort things out with you. Then bam, anniversary that for some reason he decided to remember this year.”

Denki snorted, popping a bite into his mouth. “That’s about the long and the short of it. And we haven’t even begun to figure out how to tell everyone we’ve not only accepted arranged betrothals, but that we’re engaged to each other.”

“I don’t know, I was kind of hoping we could just move to Tahiti and never speak to our former friend groups ever again?”

“A valid possibility. But that means we’d have to learn French and maybe Tahitian. You know I only passed English because Hitoshi and his dad coached me.”

“Fair point.” You sighed heavily. “But I’m really not looking forward to these conversations.”

“They have to happen though. You might have some anonymity to hide behind, but I’d rather my friends not find out about our engagement when they see an article about Chargebolt getting married.”

“Really?” You smirked slightly. “Then you’re going to tell everyone at your agency, hmm?”

Denki kicked you under the table. “Shut up!”

You poked at your food again as the smile fell from your lips. “So… Did you get a chance to think about what I sent you?”

Kaminari nodded. “Yeah. And I hate to say it, but I think you’re right.”

“I thought about it a lot. I hate to leave the area, but it would be too awkward to stay here after everything.”

A few days ago you had sent Denki an email with a list of places that had job openings that would suit both of you. You both loved where you lived, but after everything, how could you stay? There’s no way the two of you could continue to keep living in the same apartment building as Bakugou. That would be cruel. Cruel to whom you didn’t quite want to think about. You spoke up again.

“Any place catch your eye?”

Kaminari nodded. “I was kind of thinking Okinawa. I have a few connections there. Decent distance from here and from our parents. And that would probably be the easiest transition.”

“Works for me.” You said, as if it wasn’t ripping your heart out to do this. It hurt. But it had to happen. In the end, you had to believe this was what was best for everyone. It might take some time, but this was it. This was what would make everyone happy in the long run.

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

Shinsou was worried. Denki had been acting odd. And that’s saying something. The blond omega was usually loud and bubbly, the life of the agency. At least once a week, he invited Shinsou out for drinks, meals, clubs, karaoke, or some other nonsense. But ever since he’d gotten back from his three day leave, Kaminari had been acting strange. When he thought no one was looking, he was quiet. Withdrawn. Like he was puzzling out the toughest problem of his life.

Denki having a problem? Pretty typical. Denki having a problem and not talking to Shinsou about it? Pretty unusual. The blond had always come to the purple haired alpha with even the simplest of problems. Apartment searches, furniture assembly, what support items would suit his quirk best, even things like what to get from Starbucks. And even though he might groan and roll his eyes, secretly Hitoshi loved every second of it. When he had helped by digging through websites, cobbling together a rickety shelf, or reminding Denki that he always got the most cloyingly sweet items on the menu; Hitoshi got to pretend that he was Denki’s alpha.

Shinsou wasn’t sure exactly when he had fallen in love with Denki. Probably had been since high school at least. His dad had warned him against loud blonds while his father had laughed. But he couldn’t help it. Kaminari had been one of the first people to enthusiastically believe in him. Had always sought him out and wormed his way into Shinsou’s life and heart. And now Shinsou couldn’t understand it, but Denki was pulling away. Even as he watched the blond who was typing up a report on his computer, it somehow felt like Kaminari was slipping right through his fingers.

Shinsou cleared his throat. Kaminari glanced up. “Yeah man? What’s up?”

“You doing okay, Denks? You’ve seemed a little out of it.”

Denki met his eyes, startled, then quickly glanced away. “Yeah. Yep! Totally fine.”

“Denki. I know you.”

Kaminari sighed and slumped on his desk. “Just some life stuff. Family stuff. Friend stuff.”

Shinsou frowned, walking over to place a hand on Denki’s shoulder. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

Denki snorted and laughed quietly. Shinsou furrowed his brows.

“Yeah” Denki sighed. “I know. But half of it isn’t really my stuff to tell and the other half isn’t exactly worth talking about.”

“You sure? We could go grab one of your obnoxiously sweet coffees after work. Go to mine or yours, watch an old crappy horror.”

“Tempting. Thanks man. I would, really, but I got some stuff I have to do after work. Some other time maybe.”

Shinsou frowned. It was rare for the omega to turn down an invitation for a movie night. Hell, it was rare for Denki to turn down an invitation, end stop. It made him even more worried about his omega… friend. His omega friend. His friend who just so happens to be an omega. Hitoshi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He really didn’t want to ruin the best friendship he had. But he couldn’t keep this up much longer. His alpha had decided on the electric blond long ago, and the omega’s unusual behavior and unhappy scent was driving him wild with the need to protect. He really needed to pull himself together and confess soon.

“Well, whenever you’re free then,” Shinsou said, reluctantly letting his hand fall from Denki’s shoulder. “You know my number.”

Denki nodded and looked up, giving him half a smile. “I do. Thanks Shinsou.”

Shinsou walked back to his desk, his mind made up. He needed to tell his omega how he felt, and soon.

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

Y/N twisted and turned, looking at herself in the mirror. It had been a very long time since she’d worn a yukata. It didn’t feel right to dress up like this. But wearing anything else also felt wrong. Everything about this date felt wrong. Like this was the kind of she she did in another life. And now here she was, going on a date with the man she loved. Who she’d always love. And who she’d already decided she was going to let go.

Y/N snorted and fussed with her hair a bit. Maybe she should have just refused this date. Claimed to be sick or something. But that felt wrong too. So, she just had to get through tonight. After all, what’s one more night of pretending everything is fine? Hopefully this could be a good memory from a relationship that just wasn’t meant to be. After tonight, she’d wait a couple days and then talk to Bakugou and let him go like he clearly wanted.

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

Katsuki was going to throw up.

He was going to throw up, right here, all over himself and all over shitty hair, too. His red headed friend was giving him a pep talk as he helped Bakugou into his jinbei. Not that Bakugou needed the help. Or the pep talk. It just was easier to let the squad come over when they had found out about his date. It’s not like he wanted them there or anything. Once Kiri, Mina, and Sero realized he was going to use this date to ask Y/N to be his mate, they had insisted on helping him get ready.

None of them knew about the little velvet box in his pocket and that his plans went further than just asking Y/N to be his mate. Bakugou bit his lip to keep from frowning as he looked over his friends, a certain loud blond conspicuously missing. You wouldn’t hear Katsuki admit it out loud, but he really wished Denki could have been here. He loved the others, and they were great in their own ways. But Denki was his pack’s other omega. He got it in a way that the others didn’t. After tonight, he’d have to make sure to catch Pikachu up on all the news. Hell, maybe he could help his fellow blond finally talk to that purple haired idiot he’d been mooning over for years. Everyone in the pack knew Denki’s family had been harping at him to settle down for quite a while.

Bakugou looked up in time to see Mina coming at him with the hair grease. He threw up his hands.

“Fuck no! Keep that shit away from me!”

“You’ve got to do something about that pile of straw you call a haircut. Besides, Wouldn’t it be nostalgic? Weren’t you interning for Best Jeanist again when you asked Y/N out the first time?”

“Yes, and I’d rather shave myself bald than ever have my hair like that again!”

Mina sighed. “Fine. We’ll do something else. But if I can’t slick it back, you will be wearing eyeliner!”

“IN YOUR DREAMS, PINKY!”

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

You waited outside the entrance to the festival. It was strangely soothing to watch the people flow by, like you were a rock overlooking a stream. There were groups of friends, couples both young and old, families where the laughing children ran ahead of their parents eager to get inside. You gave a small smile at the last. Maybe that could be you someday, a parent getting to see a festival through the eyes of a child again. Though the mental picture was hazier than it used to be. The children you half imagined just blurs of colorful yukatas, instead of loud and stubborn blond haired brats with their father’s eyes and attitude. You huffed a quiet laugh to yourself as a thought occurred to you. If you and Kaminari actually went through with this plan, decent chance the kids would still be blond. The thought hurt a little.

“Y/N!”

You looked up and had the breath knocked out of your lungs.

Katsuki was beautiful. You knew it. Thought it often, even. But tonight he practically glowed. His hair had been tamed into a softer look than usual. The jinbei he wore was the perfect compliment to his skintone. Was that… Yes. Dark eyeliner made his crimson eyes pop. Your heart ached. You’d always love this man. No matter how it tore you apart, he’d always own part of your heart and soul. You smiled weakly and raised your hand in greeting.

“Hey. You look good.”

“Thanks.” Bakugou scratched the back of his head. “Mina got ahold of me.”

“That explains it then.”

“Hey!” Katsuki gently elbowed you in the side before taking his place next to you. “You saying I can’t dress up on my own?”

“Yes.”

“Y/N!” You dodged out of the way as he swatted at you, laughing. Yes. This could be it. One last good night.

“Shall we go in?” You asked, holding out your hand.

“That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?” Katsuki asked as he walked past you, ignoring your hand.

You gave a quiet smile as you followed.

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

Katsuki picked at his food, none of it making it to his mouth. He was going to be sick. He was going to be sick right here and some paparazzi was going to see and take a picture and the big headline tomorrow was going to be “A Puke Worthy Proposal.” He was trying his best to keep up the illusion that everything was fine and normal, but it was rough. It had been a long time since he’d taken his alpha on even a normal date. And this wasn’t any normal date. It didn’t help that things were feeling forced and awkward.

He wanted to hold your hand, but his own hands were sweating buckets. He tried to keep up casual conversation, but that was getting harder and harder as the night wore on. Every sentence he wanted to just blurt it out and get it over with. It was impossible to keep talking about what vendors he recognized when all he wanted to say was “I love you and I’ll always love you and I want you by my side until the sun stops shining.”

It didn’t help that things felt awkward. Almost nothing was feeling easy or natural. It really had been far too long since the two of you had gone on any sort of date. He frowned as he thought about it. It had been over a year, at least. Longer, even. Well, he was going to have to fix that. He’d be able to use some of that pro hero paycheck and spoil you like you deserved. His Y/N. His mate. And soon, his wife.

Bakugou stared at nothing, his eyes going unfocus as he started daydreaming about how spectacular your wedding would be.

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

This was a disaster. You glanced over to where Bakugou stood picking at his food, looking bored. You’d been trying to keep up the conversation, but for the past several minutes you’d only gotten hums or grunts in response to anything you said.

“It’s amazing how they got all those pro heroes to dance nude as one of the main attractions this year.”

Katsuki grunted.

Yeah, he wasn’t paying attention at all.

You sighed, looking down at your own untouched food. You never should have agreed to come. At least this date was proving it to you. This had to end. The two of you didn’t know how to be a couple anymore. It was even clearer that Katsuki wasn’t even interested in trying. You had no idea why he wanted to have this date in the first place. Some bizarre sense of obligation? Maybe his heat had shaken him up enough that his omega needed the sense of normalcy? This issue was this wasn’t normal for the two of you anymore. It hadn’t been for a very long time. You sighed, glancing around for a trash can to oust you untouched dango.

A loud pop caused you to look up. The fireworks were about to start.

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

Bakugou looked up at the sound of the first firework.

“Wanna head to the pier?”

You nodded quietly, following him as he led the way. He was sweating so much now that if he set himself off he’d take out half the city.

This was it. It was almost time. The two of you were going to watch the fireworks from the out of the way pier like you had all those years ago. It was at the end of that fireworks show the two of you had had your first kiss. And this time… Well this time at the end of the show he was going to propose and you were going to say yes, and it was going to be perfect.

That is if he didn’t barf before you two got there.

“Hurry up,” he grunted as he picked up the pace.

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

You tried not to flinch at Bakugou’s harsh tone. He clearly wanted to get this night over with even more than you did. You tried not to let it hurt.

The pier was empty as it always was. The lack of lighting keeping others away. The first time you had discovered it, it had felt hidden and intimate. Now it felt desolate. Lonely.

You walked up to the railing and stared at the sky. The fireworks didn’t feel magical anymore either. Your fingers wrapped around the railing as you glanced to the side. Bakugou wasn’t even looking up. He was staring at the reflections of flashes in the dark swirling water below.

You couldn’t do this anymore.

No more.

The fireworks illuminated you as your grip on the railing tightened until your knuckles turned white.

“Katsuki?”

“”What?” He asked roughly, barely glancing your way.

“Let’s break up.”

And that was Part 6, my darlings! Hope you're enjoying the drama, because there's more angst on the way! You can scream at me about the cliffhanger in replies, reblogs, tags or asks. :P

TAGLIST- @yzviea, @not-a-pushover, @thelilypieforever, @kumihayu, @aomi04, @ladybakugouu, @luajosephdun-blog, @hakunamatatayqueen, @my-thoughts-are-weird, @left-alone-yuki, @officialtrashbusiness, @lonelyheart-clubband, @katsuki-cait, @moonwritters26, @animexholic, @kyrah-williams, @emilymikado, @wolvesblaxe360, @ficklemcselfish, @helena-way07, @fandomsaremylifesposts, @baby-bakuhoe, @sukeraa, l@ucypevensie11, @idk-sam, @katsuki-cait, @weirdestlove, @sasa-slayer, @anime-for-live, @kaidousimp, @bluesdustyflames, @vitheria, @milktea0208, @maristaymulti, @whatdidshesayyy, @memesbyeloise , @fandomsgotmefucked, @killmehe, @shy-panda02 Just a reminder, if you want tagged make sure you have the ability to be tagged turned on; and I’d have to be informed if your blog name changes! Cheers, Darlings!

[helnjk]

A Change of Scenery - C.W.

Charlie Weasley x fem!reader

Requested: yes!

omg hi! I just saw the fanart of the oldest Weasley brothers(🥵🥵🥵) and was hoping you could do a Charlie x reader thing? Maybe the reader is a healer at the sanctuary and Charlie doesn't mind getting hurt because he gets to see her but she literally has no idea he adores her till he spells it out. With promt 42 of your list maybe? Totally cool if you want to leave it out 😁 love you and your work! -🍄

“what the hell were you thinking?”

Word count: 3.1k 

Summary: moving to romania for your absolute dream job, you did not expect to meet a cheeky, flirty redhead along the way. 

Warnings: mentions of injuries, food, & drinks. charlie is a dragon tamer, reader is a healer, of course he’s going to end up with a few cuts and bruises. 

A/N: god i love charlie weasley with all of my heart. that is all. 

prompt is in bold

-

Being connected to and living somewhere very in tune with the earth had always been a dream of yours. It just so happened that your new job had you transferred to the perfect place: Romania. 

Sure, it was quite far from England and had quite a different culture, but the beauty of the mountains and the picturesque scenery made up for it. The fact that you were also working in one of the best medical wings in the country, on a dragon reserve on top of that, was basically your dream come true. 

“Alright, and this right here is your station,” announced the head healer, who insisted you call him Gerry, gesturing to a decently sized office space. “You can decorate it anyway you like, as long as it’s appropriate. Most of the folks around here aren’t locals either, so we’ve got loads of photos up and lots of owls coming in and out everyday.” 

“It’s perfect,” you grinned. 

Gerry left you alone to get settled, and you didn’t want to admit it to anyone, but the first thing you did once he was out of earshot was to squeal excitedly and do a little happy dance. 

It was just all too exciting, really. Dream job, dream location, dream view even. After your burst of excitement, you spent a bit of time just staring out of the window, taking in everything. In the distance, you could even see the silhouette of a dragon peeking over the canopy of trees. The fact that this was going to be a regular occurrence just spurred even more delight in your heart. 

Later in the day, after most of the introductions were made and tours were finished, you could be found familiarizing yourself with the medical wing of the sanctuary. 

“C’mon Gerry, I’m completely fine!” you heard a gruff voice complain. It was coming from the hallway outside, but the accompanying footsteps sounded as if they were on the way to the wing. 

“You know it’s protocol, Weasley,” a very amused Gerry replied as they rounded the corner. 

Beside your boss was one of the most gorgeous men you had ever laid eyes on. With wind ruffled hair the color of sunsets and lightly tanned skin, you almost didn’t notice the small, almost inconspicuous limp he was sporting. It also took you a few seconds to realize that he was probably one of the dragon tamers of the reserve, the first one you were going to meet and treat, it seemed. 

“Ah, Healer L/N, perfect!” Gerry called out to you, “This is Charlie Weasley, one of our on-site dragon tamers.”

“Nice to meet you,” he smiled, holding out his hand for you to shake. 

“You too,” you said in reply, trying not to think about how warm and calloused his hand was in yours. 

“His leg got swiped by the tail of a Chinese Fireball,” Gerry explained as he motioned to the leg that Charlie wasn’t putting much of his weight on.

You could see the redhead roll his eyes, “Honestly, I’ll be fine! This has happened more times than you know.” 

Despite his best efforts, both you and Gerry managed to get Charlie to take a seat on one of the beds that lined the wall. With a sigh, he rolled up his trousers just enough for you to see the area of the wound. 

“Lucky for you, treating this doesn’t take much time,” you smiled. Swiftly, you took your wand out and muttered the correct incantation, “There. Good as new!” 

“If I get to be under the care of Ms. L/N here, I wouldn’t mind getting injured more often,” he flirted, sending you a cheeky wink. 

Gerry just guffawed a loud belly laugh, patting Charlie on the shoulder fondly, “Don’t you go running off with one of my best healers now, Weasley. We just got her!” 

“Don’t worry, Gerry,” you smiled, “I think this one’s too injury-prone to run anywhere.” 

–

As the last work day of your first week at the reserve was coming to an end, you were surprised to see Charlie Weasley knocking on the open door to your office. 

“Hey,” you said, sending him a small smile.

“Hey,” he parroted, stepping inside. 

“Anything I can help you with?” you asked over your shoulder while putting away the last of your files and slipping out of your healer robes, “You’re not injured again are you?” 

Behind you, Charlie gulped as he saw the little sundress you wore underneath. His head spun at the sight of your exposed legs and he nearly forgot what he was about to say. 

“Nah I’ve got a better track record than that, thankfully,” he chuckled. Doing his best to keep the calm facade he had going on, he leant against the doorframe as he asked, “Got any plans tonight? I was wondering if you’d fancy getting a bite to eat.” 

You were caught off guard by how nonchalant and straightforward his invitation was.

“Is this your way of asking me on a date?” you asked, finally turning around to face him once again. 

He raised an eyebrow, “Do you want it to be? Because I just wanted to be a nice person and show you around Romania, but if you’re looking for a date…” 

“Oh shut it, Weasley,” you groaned, “The tab is on you tonight, then.” 

Charlie sent you a grin as you strode out of your office. Despite your faux-annoyance, you were happy to have someone show you around. Being a healer was your dream job, but it did have some setbacks. Obviously, you were needed at the medical wing of the reserve for the majority of the week and that didn’t give you much time to familiarize yourself with the town and the people. 

Because of how remote the reserve was, most staff and employees lived on site. There was a designated area for the many different cabins and living quarters. To give you more of a tour of the little Romanian town nearest the reserve, Charlie offered to side-along apparate you. 

You could feel heat creep up your neck and spread along your cheeks as you gripped firmly on to his muscular arm. 

The sun was just about to set and cast gorgeous hues of orange and pink across the sky as the two of you landed just outside the town. Charlie led you along, showing you where the most important areas were; you saw the town square, the little street bazaars, and the most popular eating places. 

By the time the pair of you got to one of his favorite restaurants, a quaint little place in one of the sidestreets, your cheeks were sore from laughing too much. After the initial awkwardness as you tried to navigate topics that interested the both of you, you found yourselves chatting away animatedly. 

“Yeah, Fred and George were an absolute nightmare when they were little,” he chuckled, fondly recalling the many times he and his older brother Bill were left to babysit their younger siblings, “But they’re great. They’ve got a shop in Diagon Alley now, selling prank products of all things. It’s wild.”

“Your family sounds absolutely lovely,” you said. It warmed your heart seeing how his eyes lit up talking about them. “It must be so hard being so far away from everyone.” 

He nodded slightly before taking a sip of his drink, “Definitely. My first year here was such a big transition. I’m lucky I get to go home every so often.” 

There was a lull in the conversation as you dug into your food, but it was far from the awkward silence you were expecting. 

Maybe working in Romania wasn’t going to be so bad after all. 

–

“Why is it that when you get hurt, I’m always the healer on call?” you sighed playfully as Charlie walked through the door of the medical wing. 

It was the fourth week in a row he had to come and get something patched up. They weren’t major injuries, thankfully, but you had come to learn that the dragon tamers were required to know how to perform the basic healing spells. The things Charlie would come in for were almost always resolved with a quick episkey. 

“You know me,” he joked, taking a seat on one of the empty beds, “Always so accident prone.” 

“Sure.” You rolled your eyes. 

Still, with your wand in hand, you gestured for him to show you where the injury was. 

“I’ve got two things today,” he began. You raised your eyebrows in response. “This is the first.” 

 Charlie quickly rolled the sleeve of his top, his toned arm flexing at the movement. In all the time you had worked at the reserve, which wasn’t that long at all, you still hadn’t gotten used to how fit he was. A quick intake of breath had you re-centering and focusing on the task at hand. There was a small burn on his forearm, not enough to cause too much concern. 

You cast the charm quickly so as not to be distracted further, “There, all done.” 

“There’s still one more place that’s hurt Y/N.” 

By the way Charlie spoke, you knew he was up to something. Inwardly you sighed, “Alright, let’s get to it then.” 

Your heart seemed to stop as he began to unbutton the first few buttons of his top. 

“What’re you doing, Weasley?” you asked, trying your hardest to keep your composure as you got a peek of his very toned chest. 

With a dramatic sigh, Charlie leant back and pointed to an area above his chest, “My heart hurts, Y/N.” 

For a moment you just stared at him, looking absolutely ridiculous in the position he chose to don, eyes blinking owlishly. Truthfully, you didn’t know whether to laugh or to send the strongest stinging hex in his direction. 

“Charlie Weasley, you thank Merlin and Morgana right now that I’m not hexing your balls off,” you said, rolling your eyes. 

“I’m being serious, Y/N!” he continued, “I don’t know if I’ll survive this!” 

“Pity, does that mean I’m losing my ticket to free weekly meals?” she joked, already turning on her heel to get back to what she had been doing before he entered the wing. 

There were sounds of shuffling as if Charlie had gotten back up on his feet again and then, “Definitely not! I’m banking on those meals, one of these days you’re going to be begging me for an actual date. You’ll see.”

“Keep dreaming, Weasley.” 

You sent the redheaded dragon tamer a sarcastic smile, but he just sent you a flirty wink in reply. 

–

“Code white. Need extra hands in the medical wing ASAP.” 

The shimmering white bloodhound soon dissolved into nothing as it delivered its message to you, early one morning. You had just gotten to work, not even in your healer's robes yet, when Gerry’s patronus appeared. 

As you rushed to the medical wing, another patronus made an appearance and rattled off what had happened and who was hurt. Your heart dropped the moment you heard who you were going to be treating. 

“Oh Merlin,” you whispered to yourself the moment you saw the state Charlie was in, “What did you get yourself into?”

In all the time you had been working at the reserve and as a healer in general, it was not unusual for you to treat severe injuries. In fact, you liked to think that when you were faced with someone’s life or quality of life in your hands, you worked even harder and smarter. However, seeing Charlie more battered and bruised than you had ever seen him made your heart pound loudly in your chest. 

“Healer L/N, you’re right on time,” Gerry spoke to you clearly, rapidly explaining the situation and what you needed to do. 

In a flash, you had your wand out and were muttering all the healing spells that came to mind alongside your head healer. You didn’t notice how you were holding your breath and clenching your wandless hand until you let out a sigh of relief when Charlie began to stir. 

“He’s stable,” Gerry announced and released a breath. 

You felt a soft pat on your shoulder as he left you to deal with the patient, deeming it alright for him to step out and get back to his other responsibilities. Carefully, you walked towards the redhead whose eyes were fluttering open. 

“What the hell were you thinking, Weasley?” you murmured softly, your wand sweeping over him one last time to check is vitals. A soft hand reached out to push the stray strands of hair that had fallen in front of his face and you felt him lean into your touch. 

“Y/N?” Charlie mumbled, his eyes still half-closed. 

“I’m right here,” you said in reply. 

“What happened?” he asked, trying to prop himself up but groaning in pain. 

“What happened,” you began, going to help him get to the seated position he wanted to be in. He smiled up at you and you could barely remember what you were trying to say. With a small shake of your head and clearing of your throat you continued, “What happened was that you were being an absolute idiot who absolutely did not call for backup when a nesting mother was going on a rampage.” 

Despite his obvious discomfort, Charlie had the audacity to chuckle slightly, “Sounds about right.” 

“Don’t you dare do that to me again, Weasley,” you admonished, pulling back and shooting him the dirtiest stare you could muster. “You nearly gave me a heart attack. When I got Gerry’s patronus, all I could think about was–” 

As if an electric jolt shocked you, you cut yourself off before anything else escaped your lips. 

“Was what, Y/N?” he asked softly. 

His eyes were shining with something you couldn’t quite name, but the sincerity in his face gave you pause. 

You shook your head, “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” 

Instead of continuing to reprimand him for his foolishness, you busied yourself making sure he was comfortable and that everything was alright. The potions he needed to take later in the day and the different salves to be applied to his skin were placed on the bedside table. Pillows were summoned, fluffed, and placed behind him. 

As you shuffled around the room, purposely ignoring the redhead, his eyes were trained on you. 

The moment his eyes opened and he felt your hand brush gently across his face, he thought he had to have been dreaming. If it weren’t for the ache in his muscles and the sting of his burns, he would’ve believed that he was in some alternate reality wherein he woke up next to you every morning. 

He was tired of waiting for his fantasies to come true, he decided. 

“Y/N.” 

The way he said your name sent shivers down your spine. Your whole body froze for a microsecond before you turned to face him. 

“Yeah, Charlie?” 

“Look at me please,” he begged. 

With a deep breath, your eyes locked with his and you were almost blown away with the look on his face. 

Sincerity pooled in his eyes as they scanned your face, trying to see if your own expression gave anything away. You felt like a deer caught in the headlights, unable to move or look away from him. 

“Tell me what you were thinking,” he whispered gently. 

It was now or never.

“All I could think about was how,” you gulped, taking a steadying breath, “How you could’ve died or gotten so hurt, when I hadn’t even had the chance to tell you how I felt about you.” 

You could hear Charlie’s sharp intake of breath and you had to look away, unable to face the rejection you were ultimately going to hear. 

“Y/N–” 

“And, and I know that you don’t feel the same–”

“Y/N–”

“But, just seeing you lying there–”

“Y/N!”

Charlie’s voice rang through the whole wing, a sharp contrast to the otherwise silent space. You sucked in a deep breath, surprised. 

“Y/N you have to know I’m absolutely mad for you,” he said clearly. 

You blinked furiously at him. 

“You-I, what?” 

Charlie tried to reposition himself so that he could face you properly, but you could see that he was still in a bit of pain. Instead of letting him maneuver himself uncomfortably, you placed a soft hand on his shoulder before taking a seat by his legs. 

Immediately, he went to take your hand in his. “I think you’re absolutely breathtaking, and talented, and passionate. I just haven’t had the balls to ask you out on a real date.” 

“Then what are you waiting for, Weasley?” You offered him a small smile, glancing back down at your intertwined hands. 

The smile he sent you left you breathless. 

–

“You ready to go?” Charlie asked, leaning against the doorframe with his legs crossed just like when he had visited your office that first week. 

A small grin inched its way on to your face at the sight of your boyfriend. His hair was just a tad bit windswept, adding to the rugged look he insisted he could pull off (and he definitely did, you just didn’t like feeding his ego too much). 

“Just about,” you smiled. “Let me get out of these stuffy robes first.” 

And, just like the first time he had knocked on the door to your office, you turned to shrug off your uniform and hang it up in one of the hooks beside your desk. Instead of keeping his thoughts to himself, Charlie grinned widely and whistled at the sight of you in your dress. 

Just as you were about to chide him for being inappropriate, strong arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you backwards. A small ‘oof’ escaped your lips as your back made contact with Charlie’s strong chest. 

“Charlie!” you slapped his arm lightly, “C’mon, I’m still at work!” 

“What so I can’t show my girlfriend some appreciation for being absolutely drop dead gorgeous?” he mumbled, pressing soft kisses on the joint where your neck met your shoulders. 

You rolled your eyes, “You know I love a good compliment. I would just rather you do it outside my place of work.” 

With a chuckle, Charlie released his grip on your waist. “Alright, alright.” 

“Just for that, the tab’s on you tonight, Weasley.” 

“Ah so the usual, love?” 

“Of course.” 

Charlie held his hand out for you to take, and unlike the first time he took you out, you allowed yourself to blush, take his calloused hand in yours, and press a soft kiss on his lips. 

–

General taglist: @expectoevans @george-fabian-weasley @gxthsanrio @slytherinscribbles @harpyloon @nuttytani @mesmerisedangel @amourtentiaa @sarcasticallywitty15 @lumos-barnes @cruciostyles @writingsomewrongs

Charlie taglist: @pinkypurplemagic @lifeofkaze @oldschoolkiddo

[blu-joons]

Picking Him Up When He Discharges ~ Choi Minho

Your heart beat quicker than it ever had done before as security led you out of the car, across the car park to where the main gates of the marine’s compound was. From beyond the wall, you could see several of the marines walking forwards as you stood around many other families.

It was a walk that you’d taken several times before on your numerous trips to visit Minho whilst he was enlisted in the military, but at last, your final trip had arrived. The trip you’d waited for, that would allow you to take him home and back to you.

You’d barely slept the night before, unable to believe that after a long eighteen months it would be the final night that you’d be spending in bed alone. Every little thing you did that morning reminded you that it would be the last time you’d do those things alone, knowing tomorrow you’d wake with Minho right by your side.

The number of days had already been extended after he accepted to not take his final leave and help train others. You were hardly surprised when he let you know a couple of weeks would be added to his stay, the time was nothing compared to how long you’d already waited. As you stood in the gravel waiting for his arrival, no part of what was happening really felt real for you just yet.

After waiting for a few minutes, the group of marines came close enough that you could recognise a few faces. At the back, you could see Minho, standing much taller than a few of the others. His eyes were darting around in search of you, letting go of a chuckle when he finally found you, stood with two security guards just behind you.

As the gates were opened, his feet took off, racing over to you, dropping his bag and wrapping his arms tightly around your waist, twirling you around in the air.

“Congratulations,” you whispered into his ear, pressing a kiss against his cheek before he placed you back down, untangling his arms from around you and taking a step back.

You watched on with a proud smile as he stood back and saluted for the last time, letting you, and his fellow marines around him that he’d finally been given the order of discharge.

“I missed you,” he smiled as soon as he’d finished, quickly reverting from the dedicated marine he was, to the soft boyfriend he’d been waiting to be for so long.”

Your hands cupped his cheeks gently, feeling how different the definition was, spotting for yourself how much stronger he had gotten. “I missed you too, I can’t believe your coming home.”

“I can’t wait,” he chuckled, “I’ve waited so long for this moment.”

“Me too,” you mused, taking a hold of his hand, “there’s a car waiting for us, I think we might want to be quick before too much attention comes our way.”

Minho picked up his bag instantly, pulling you across to the car to keep you safe. As soon as he was seated, he relaxed back, untying the laces of his heavy boots, taking his hat off the top of his head, placing it on top of yours instead.

“It’s so big,” you laughed, having to place your hand on top of it to stop it from falling off. “How do I look? Reckon I could pass off as a marine myself one day?”

“Beautiful as ever,” Minho complimented, eyes studying you closely. “I might just have to keep that hat for you, never know when it might come in use.”

Your hand slapped against his chest as his arm moved around your waist, pulling you against his chest tightly. The two of you had always been reserved with your affection whilst Minho was in the barracks, but now, no eyes were watching, and he was determined to make the most of it.

“I’ve been dreaming of coming home for so long, and yet now that it’s happening, it doesn’t quite feel real,” Minho whispered down to you, “I feel as if the car is going to turn back around in a moment and take me straight back.”

Your head shook as a light giggle escaped, “I promise, you’re on your way home this time.”

“I can’t wait to see everyone, family, the boys,” he spoke, trailing off at the end, “it’s been well over a year since I’ve seen most of them after so many years together too.”

Your eyes glanced up at him as best as they could, “don’t worry, they’re doing great. They’ve all been stopping by since they discharged to check in on me.”

“I knew I could always rely on them, although they love to joke, I know that they all care a lot about you deep down Y/N.”

“They’ve been the best replacements,” you teased, “but I’m happy I’ve got the real thing now.”

Joining the military and everything that came with it was never something that phased Minho, he was almost built for life in the marines. The only thing that worried him, before and during his enlistment, was leaving you. A small part of him was sad to leave the compound, but seeing you far outweighed any lingering thoughts of staying.

“I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed tonight,” he continued to comment, “get a good bath, clean myself up properly, and just be able to relax too.”

Your smile grew, having prepared several of Minho’s favourites at your place for when he got home already that morning. You were determined to make his first few minutes back at home special and help him transition back into normal life.

“I don’t think you’ll get much rest, your mum messaged this morning and said she’d pop round, she seemed pretty desperate to see you.”

“I’ll give her a ring when we get home,” Minho mumbled, resting his head on top of yours, “I just fancy spending some time with you tonight instead.”

You couldn’t hide the smile that grew on your face, “in that case you might want to give the boys a text too, they seemed pretty keen to come and see you too.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we have time alone tonight.”

Your head nodded as your hand settled against his abs, feeling the thick material of the jacket that he wore. A giggle escaped as you recalled the very first time you saw Minho in his marines uniform, and how terrified you were of what was to come.

“I can’t believe enlistment is over, and now we have the rest of our lives together,” he whispered.

A small hum came from you, “sometimes your enlistment felt like it was never going to be over, I thought you’d were never come home.”

You couldn’t deny that you’d had your moments of doubt and concern, the fear that came with not knowing what Minho was doing day in day out was sometimes overwhelming. He knew it was hard on you too, however helpless he was.

Whilst it was time that you’d never get back, it was time that he was determined to make up for. He couldn’t hide his relief that enlistment was over, however much he enjoyed himself, he knew it was time to head home.

As his eyes looked down at you, noticing how close you were to falling asleep, he was sure that this was the place that he wanted to be.

“We’ll be home soon,” he whispered down to you.

“I’m already home now that I’m back with you.”

---

Masterlist

[harrywritingsbyme]

A Celebration

Based Off Of This Ask

A/N: I’m so happy to be out of Tumblr jail and back to posting again! This one is hella detailed and fluffy...like I can’t stand how cute this is!!! And there’s some smut too…enjoy🙃

4k wordss

Ever since you and Harry found out that he’d been nominated for not just one, but three Grammy’s, the atmosphere of you guys’ home was nothing short of electric and filled to the brim with happiness. There was this buzz that was radiating through the air as the both of you, specifically Harry though, celebrated this new milestone in his career. Normally Harry would forgo awaiting the nominations for any awards, but this time was a bit different. He’d seen how this album was received by not only his fans, but also his peers in the music industry and he couldn’t help but to feel a bit hopeful when it came to possibly picking up a nomination. But on top of that, and above all, you were constantly gushing over him. Always talking about how you were incredibly proud of him and that you were confident that he’d get the recognition that you and so many others felt like he deserved. It could be honestly said that you were just as, if not more excited for the recognition that he’d receive from his work than he was. And as a result, the two of you decided to tune into the live stream where the nominations were being announced.

Since Harry was back on set filming and he had to be there in the morning and on time, there was a very little window for the two of you to have a proper celebration of his nominations. But luckily for the both of you, Harry was an early riser which meant that once the time for nominations to be announced rolled around, he had his bag ready on the couch and his clothes on so that he could sprint out the door afterwards. This allowed the two of you to have a solid five minuets of celebration. And a celebration it was. Harry literally pulled you into his arms and refused to let go. He had the tightest grip on you as he repeatedly chanted the phrase “I did it” into your neck and spun you both around. After a couple more moments of just holding you and being happy, Harry releases you back down onto the floor and pulls away from you with a big smile on his face and glassy eyes.

“I did it!” He whispers happily to you, giving your hips a small squeeze.

“You did it baby!” You softly and very happily coo back to him as you reach up to cup the sides of his face to pull him down for a quick kiss. It was the perfect place to put a pin in you guys’ celebration. After a couple seconds of holding your lips against his pillow soft ones, you finally pull away to let him head out the door. “Now get out of here! Don’t want you to to be late, we’ll have a proper celebration when you get back later on.” You sigh up to him with a small smile, smoothing your hands down from his face to rest them upon his chest.

“That sounds amazing.” Harry replies, reaching down to pick his bag up from the couch before regaining his posture and slinging the bag over his shoulder. “I love you” He whispers with a dreamy tone.

“I love you too.” You hum back to him, matching the dreamy tone of his voice.

“I love you more, and I’ll text you a little later.” He says finally before leaning down to press a quick kiss to your cheek and heading towards and out the front door leaving you alone.

Now that Harry was on his way to set and would be there for a sizable portion of the day, you were able to put a little something together to surprise him. In ideal circumstances, you’d invite his close friends over to celebrate his achievement. But since there was a raging pandemic going on at the moment (and for the past nine months just about), it was just going to be a party of two. Despite this being the current state of everything, you still had the upmost confidence in the fact that the physical absence of his friends and family would be tremendously made up for through an influx of text messages and phone calls congratulating him. But even though this was the case, you still wanted to make this moment special for him. You recognized how hard he worked to make this album and how he really poured himself out into these songs. So you really wanted to let Harry know how proud of him you were and that he deserved every last drop, and plus some, of the recognition he was receiving.

A while after Harry left and you made yourself a little breakfast to get your day started, you got yourself together and you made a run to the grocery store to get everything you needed for tonight. You planned on making him one of his all time favorite dishes so you made sure to get out there as soon as possible so that you could make sure that everything was perfect. You also decided to try your hand at a little congratulatory cake for him. Even though you were never a baker like Harry, you did have some baking and cake decorating skills up your sleeve. So you picked up all the ingredients you needed to make the cake along with some fresh flowers and two bottles of his favorite wine to round it all off. Once you were finally done running around town, you make your way back home to get started on your plans for tonight. You were going to get started with your dinner plans right when you arrived back home, but you were pleasantly welcomes with a surprise call from Harry to which you immediately get all the bags inside the house before flopping down onto the couch to pick up the phone.

“Hey baby! Have a little break before pick back up with and I just wanted t’see y’pretty face.” He says sweetly through the phone.

“I feel like you’re trying to get some information out of me.” You reply suspiciously.

“I can’t call up my beautiful girlfriend out of the blue to say hello?” He asks through a laugh.

“Sure! But not today, especially given its recent developments.” You explain.

“So you do have something in the works?!” He exclaims happily.

“No I do not! And even though you look cute right now, it is not cute to fish for information.” You point out to him, trying your best to maintain your firm stance.

“Whatever you say babe.” He chuckles at your seriousness.

“So tell me about your day and stuff.” You quickly divert, your entire stern disposition immediately dissipating into a softer and happier one. The two of you then proceed to talk for a little under half an hour before he’s called back to set.

“Well I’m being summoned back to set, so I’m gonna let you get back to putting my surprise together and I’ll see you when I get home.” He announces.

“There is no surprise Harry.” You were trying to hold onto any remnants of the surprise you had left since Harry couldn’t help himself, or his nosey tendencies.

“Whatever you say bubs, I love you.”

“I love you too babe, and I’ll see you when you come home.” You reply before sending him a kiss and hanging up the phone.

From that point on, your time was completely dedicated to getting everything ready for when Harry got home. Once you hung up, you immediately lifted yourself up from the couch and you picked the shopping bags up from he front door before heading into the kitchen to get things started. You throw the bottles of wine in the fridge to chill a bit before getting started on the cake you had planned to make. After carefully following the instructions you found online, you manage to get the perfect cake batter and one thing crossed off your list. Once you slide it into the oven, you move right into preparing the beautiful bouquet of sunflowers you’d picked up from the flower shop on your way home. You trim the stems a bit so that they could properly fit into the vase you pulled down from one of the cabinets. After meticulously trimming the long stems of the flowers and filling the vase you sit them on the kitchen island before transitioning back to the cake. For the rest of its time in the oven you work on the frosting along with getting started on the main course. When your timer goes off, you quickly pull the cake from the oven to let it cool and you finish what you’re working on before sprinting out of the kitchen and upstairs to get yourself ready.

You make a b-line to the bathroom where you immediately turn the shower on and rid yourself of all your clothes before stepping into the steamy cabin. Once you’ve taken your shower and pampered yourself a little bit, you throw on one of the lingerie sets Harry bought for you a while ago that you hadn’t worn yet underneath a simple pair of gray sweats and one of his t-shirts. You then head right back downstairs to get back to cooking. You became so engrossed with getting the house and dinner ready, that you completely lost track of time and didn’t even realize that Harry was walking right through the door.

“Honey I’m home!” Harry announces as he makes his way towards the kitchen. To which you quickly step away from the stove so that you can redirect him to a part of the house that was not the kitchen. Before he can even make it into the kitchen, you’re standing right in the middle of his path to stop him.

“Hey baby, how was filming today?” You ask, trying to divert him and his attention elsewhere.

“More importantly, whats going on in there?” He asks nosily, bringing his hands down to your waist in an attempt to move you aside and see what was going on in the kitchen behind you.

“Okay how about this, you go upstairs and take a nice hot shower and not ruin what’s left of the surprise while I finish up what I’ve been working on all day. How does that sound?” You propose, making sure to keep a sarcastically sweet tone to your voice.

“You’re hot when you’re serious.” He replies bluntly, sneakily trying to bring his hands up under your shirt in the process.

“And you’re a bit of a pest when you ruin surprises.” You reply with a sarcastic smile on your face before lifting yourself up to press a kiss to his cheek. “Now go and let me surprise you!” You demand with a slight smile, nudging him back in the direction he came.  

“Fine!” He huffs as he turns himself back around and heading upstairs to follow your directions.

And while he’s doing that, you’re finishing everything you had going. By the time Harry was all done upstairs, you managed to finish putting the final touches on the cake, finish cooking the actual dinner, and set the table. You even lit a couple candles.

“Okay Y/n, can I come downstairs?” Harry shouts from the bottom of the steps. You were being the absolute sweetest by taking the time to cook for him, so he didn’t want to ruin the surprise any more.

“Yeah, I guess you can come down.” You shout back as you bring the food to the table.

“Is that-“ He begins as he walks into the room.

“Yep!” You interject as you sit the dish down. “I know it’s not a whole lot but I just wanted to do a little something for you and I wanted to let you know that I’m having a crazy proud girlfriend moment and I’m so happy for you and this is only the beginning because you’re kinda awesome even though you suck when it comes to surprises.” You rush out to him, ending your little speech with a sigh, deep breath, and a little smile. “And wearing shirts.” You quickly add on, motioning towards his bare chest. Without saying a single word, Harry walks right up to you and engulfs you in an enormous hug.

“I love you so much baby.” He mumbles into your hair, continuing to hold onto you as tight as possible without squeezing you too tight. The both of you stay like this for a little while longer until he loosens his grip on you. He then places a slew of kisses to your face before pulling you both over to one of the chairs and sitting down.

“Hold on, have t’get the wine.” You announce before shuffling into the kitchen to grab the bottle out of the fridge and returning to Harry. “It’s your favorite!” You say happily, waving the bottle around as you make your war back over to him.

“You really thought of everything didn’t you?” He asks in amazement. Words couldn’t describe how happy he was to be receiving all of this from you. He could honestly say that he was the luckiest man in the entire world.

“Just about everything if I do say so myself.” You reply proudly, sitting the wine glass and fork that you picked up on the way over, along with the bottle of wine.

“Well I’m very appreciative of all this, I love you to pieces, and I’m beyond hungry.” He says, pulling you down onto his lap.

“Well dig in.” You reply happily, motioning towards the dish in front of you both.

For the next hour, the two of you just sit at the table and talk as you collectively devour the food you made. You and Harry were just enjoying each other. One minuet the two of you were having a deep and heartfelt conversation, and the next the two of you were laughing your asses off. Everything was perfect.

“Can we go upstairs and cuddle?” Harry mumbles with a pout, sitting his fork down to focus on you.

“You mean sex?” You chuckle, pushing your hands to the back of his neck.

“I mean eventually yeah, just wanna talk some more.” He replies shyly.

“But I made a cake too!” You remember, quickly standing from his lap to grab the cake from the kitchen.

“Oh my goodness, you’re literally making me want to smother you with hugs and kissed then take you right on this table.” Harry groans, still processing how amazing you were.

“I made a small cake so I had to write small. And since you can barely read your own handwriting at times, it pretty much says “congratulations 3 time nominee”. That’s it, that’s all the surprises I got tonight.” You sigh happily, sitting the cake on the table for him to get a better look.

“Well forget the cuddles, I need to say thank you.” Harry says urgently, standing from his seat before pulling you up into his arms.

“Can we take the wine with us?” You immediately interject before he carries you both away.

“Of course.” He chuckles, allowing you to grab the bottle before running you both upstairs to the bedroom. Once inside the bedroom, Harry tightens his grip on you and takes the wine bottle from your hands, sitting it on the bedside table. This allowed him to drop you right onto the bed and then immediately crawl on top of you. He wastes no time bringing his lips to your mouth, pushing you both right into the passion filled kiss. The passion came not only from the lust he constantly has for you, but also from the love he always has for you and especially the overwhelming feeling of love he has bubbling over in his heart from how you really did everything for him today, even if you only thought that it was a small thing like dinner. It’s the thought and effort you put into it all that was driving Harry mad. He just wanted to love on you and say thank you all night long; and that’s what he was planning on doing, even though it was supposed to be all about him.

As his mouth continued to move against yours, his hands began to wander underneath your clothes. And before you knew it, Harry was pulling away from your mouth to completely undress you to which he was brought to another surprise, one that you completely forgot about.

“I thought the cake was the final surprise.” Harry asks, taking in your lingerie clad body.

“I kinda forgot about this one.” You quietly whisper back to him as he continues to take his eyes up and down your nearly naked body.

“Y’so pretty baby.” He admires, taking one final look over your body before bringing his mouth back onto yours. But instead of staying there, he begins to bring his kisses lower. He sponges his mouth down the rest of your face, continuing down your neck and and chest, stopping  for a moment to press a kiss to the swells of your breasts along with the valet between them before continuing on. His kisses are incredibly tender as he continues on and you could feel yourself getting wetter and wetter as he continued. It was something about his tenderness that really sent a shockwave through your body as he touched you. Once he’s made it between your legs, Harry begins leaving kisses everywhere. He leaves many on your lower stomach before moving down to the lacy hem of your panties, sponging a never ending amount all the way across. When he gets a bit further down, Harry’s kisses continue and they are left right on your pressure points. Your barely covered folds, the area between your cunt and thigh, and your clit. He even goes as far as to suck on it a bit through your panties. As he focuses in on your cunt, you can feel yourself getting worked up a bit. Not only was his mouth on you, but his hands were as well. At some points he’d have his hands cupped around your confined breasts, and at others he’d be squeezing at your thighs or running the tip of his finger up and down the small and sensitive area between your cunt and thigh to get one of those adorable giggles out of you. Either way, you could feel yourself becoming a bit sticky and you could feel yourself yearning for more and more. Thats why when Harry abruptly pulled his mouth off of you, your head immediately shot up from the pillows to see what was going on. “Just wanted t’say thank you.” He begins, lifting himself up from the bed so that he could properly remove your panties. “Not just for being the most thoughtful and most sweetest person in the world, but also for being my muse.” He continues on, pulling the thin and damp material down from your hips and off your body before going back to his original position on the bed between your legs. “Wouldn’t have the songs if it wasn’t for you darling.” He finally whispers up to you while locking his eyes with yours and bringing his mouth to your now soaking center. You didn't even have the chance to interject with a “but it’s supposed to be all about you”!  

“Oh my god!” You sigh delightedly, dropping your head back down again. He skillfully began to lap his tongue up and down your folds, pushing his tongue into you to scoop all of your juices onto his tongue. His hands were currently stationed on your thighs as he practically devoured you. He managed to move his tongue in a swift, yet languid manner. He was making you feel so good that your hands were wound in his hair, and your foot was planted right on his back, digging into him whenever he used the tip of his tongue to prod at your entrance or when he’d suckle on your clit. You absolutely loved it when he’d push his tongue back and forth against your entrance; it was like you were getting a little taste of what was to come a little later. You were losing your mind as the time went on. He was licking at every part of you and he was doing it in a way that guaranteed sending you into a frenzy.

And while you were in a completely blissed out and frenzied state, so was Harry. He couldn’t get enough of having his head between your legs. You tasted absolutely amazing per usual and he couldn’t get enough of hearing your moans and whimpers from the way he burrowed his face into you. In fact, while you were moaning above him, he was moaning right into you. Not only was it because of how good you tasted, but it was also because of how much he loved being between your legs like this. He loved having his face between your legs. It was just something about your scent along with the idea of being between your soft thighs that drew him in. And once he got started, it’d be extremely hard to stop him. As he ate you, he could feel himself stiffening up in his pants which only pushed him to keep going. This also increased the frequency of his muffled moans which radiated right through your clit, pushing you even closer to the edge.

As he continued on moving his tongue against you and moving his hands back and forth to other parts of your body, you could feel yourself getting closer to the edge of your release. When he heard your moans turn into whimpers and pants, Harry pulls his mouth off of you and brings one of his hands that were on your breasts down between your legs. He then proceeds to use his index finger to flick at your sensitive clit. Every time he’d quickly brush the tip of his finger against the sensitive nub, you’d jump at the sensation.

“Wanna cum babydoll?” Harry asks sweetly, continuing to brush his finger against you, every once in a while bringing it a bit lower to push into your weepy little entrance.

“Can feel it in my stomach!” You breathe out, feeling yourself getting closer and closer to slipping right off the edge.

“Cum f’me baby.” He coos, bringing his hand up to your lower stomach to apply a bit of pressure and moving his mouth back onto you. And with that, you’re gushing right on his tongue. It was like a seismic wave of pleasure came crashing down onto you as you let go. And as you do, you can feel and hear Harry’s hums against you where he laps up every drop of your juices.

“Did so good f’me sweet girl.” He praises, giving both of your thighs a kiss before placing a final one in your slightly swollen clit which resulted in another jump from you and crawling back on top of your body. “M’gonna ruin you.” He growls playfully, nuzzling his head into your neck to softly bite at your skin. As he does this, you couldn’t stop yourself from letting out a string of loud laughs and occasional squeals; which causes Harry to stop his movements completely. “Is something funny darling?!” He asks amusedly, pulling his head up to give you a questioning look.

“S’just that what you were doing tickled, I’m still sensitive down there, and you always say that you’re gonna ruin me but as you can see m’still standing.” You explain with a little laugh. Even though it was his moment and all, you still liked to poke at him a little bit. And you were still a bit loopy from your first release

“Well how about this, you let me finish and we can discuss whether or not I keep my word.” Harry challenges with a smirk.

“Hey! Ultimatums are my thing.” You pout below him.

“Well how about you let me finish celebrating then.” Harry leverages playfully.

“Fine!” You huff dramatically. And with that, Harry brings his head back down to the crook of your neck and continues moving his hands all over your body and getting you ready for what was next.

Let’s just say that the two of you were going to be “celebrating” all night long.

Masterlist

[softtransbf]

Fresh Blood, Old Scars Part 1

You'd disappeared 15 years ago without a trace- what's Yancy supposed to do when you walk into Happy Trails Penitentiary and don't recognize him, because he's transitioned? canon compliant trans!yancy/reader

Reader: he/him trans man, no physical description

Rating: T

Warnings: mentions of violence, canonical and parental. deadnaming and misgendering before either of you came out (none by anyone who knows the correct name/pronouns)

Word Count: 2,690

“Hey Yancy, I heard there’s fresh blood comin’ in today for some sorta museum heist.”

“Oh? Know anything else about these guys, so we can give ‘em a proper welcome, Bambam?”

“I know some. The first guy, Mark Iplier, claimed to have been in charge of the whole thing, but from what my sources said, it’s the partner that ran the show- just real quiet-like. I’ve been told that he don’t say a word.”

“Got a name for this, uh, silent partner?” He chuckled at his joke.

“Y/N L/N.” Yancy’s stomach dropped the way it always did when he heard that last name, your last name. Get your shit together. Wrong first name, and Bambam said he and his. Bambam don’t use pronouns other than they/them unless they’re sure. It’s just some guy with the same last name.

“Yance, you okay?” Tiny waved his hand in front of Yancy’s face.

“Yeah, yeah, just, uh, thinkin about how best to greet dese guys. The usual, wit Don’t Wanna Be Free ready just in case?”

“Right off the bat? You really think they’re that high of a flight risk?” Sparkles finally spoke up.

“I, uh, I don’t trust dem silent-types. They’s always schemin’, got somethin goin ahn in their heads.” And if he's anything like- yeah. Gone before you know it.

“Okay, if you say so. I’ll go let the others know.” Yancy didn’t even register who was speaking; he was too lost in memories.

- 15 years earlier-

Yancy knew it wasn’t cool to be excited for the first day of school when you’re a senior in high school, but he didn’t care. He didn’t need or even want to be cool- all he needed was to be your friend. Well, maybe not just friend. You’d been gone for almost the entire summer, and he’d spent the whole time figuring out how to both ask you out and tell you that he’s a guy.

He practically skipped across the street to your house so you can walk to school together, like you had every day since middle school. He knocked- nothing. Rang the doorbell- still nothing. He checked the back door and the spots where you had hidden spare keys over the years- nothing. All the curtains were drawn, too, so he couldn’t see inside. He kept trying as long as he possibly could before he had to sprint to make it to class just barely in time. All day, he kept an eye on the door, waiting for you- the two of you made sure to sign up for the exact same schedule before you went on your vacation. At lunch, he went to the office to see what he could find out.

“Y/DN isn’t a student here anymore- Mr L/N just told us last week.”

“What? Do you know where they went?”

“I’m sorry, hon, I don’t. All I know is that Y/DN is no longer a student here.”

He’d never ditched a class in his life, but that was the last thing on his mind as he ran home, crying. He didn’t stop crying for weeks.

-Present -

He’d never wanted to be wrong more in his life, but there you were. Looking better than he’d ever dreamed, following Mark around silently as he blabbered on about wanting to rally the other inmates to try to break out. No. I lost you once, and it cost me everything. I’m not about to lose you again. He quickly spread the word to skip pleasantries with the new guys and prepare for the song. As he was, you made eye contact with him from across the room. His heart dropped; you didn’t recognize him. You looked right through him, with the same calculating expression you gave everyone else. Of course he wasn’t gonna recognize you, dumbass. You’ve been on hormones for years and have had top surgery. Usually Yancy loved that he couldn’t see anything of the person he used to be in the mirror, but today he hated it more than anything in the world. Stick to the plan, Yance. He doesn’t recognize me, but it might be better this way. This way, I can get him to stay and get to know me as I am now, and he won’t be disappointed that I haven’t become anything like what we dreamed of so long ago.

Yancy couldn’t have planned it better, Mark practically begging Jimmy to punch him through the wall right before the show started, leaving you alone.

The number went great, as always, but then you showed him a picture of your parents. He knew that picture; you took it when the four of you went on a vacation together before you started your freshman year of high school. He also knew that he had once been in the picture, but you’d cut him out. The tape and staples that had been holding his heart together since you left fell away.

He stuck with his usual response to people citing family for wanting to leave, for the most part. No one at Happy Trails knew about you, and he’d killed his parents before they could leave him, so he’d kept his true abandonment issues to himself. Face to face with you after all these years, though, he couldn’t stop himself from adding “they’re always just gonna leave you behind” and a warning about trifling with the past. You flinched a little at both of those, and a spark of hope ignited in his chest- maybe you hadn’t forgotten about him, even if you didn’t recognize him now.

Then you still chose to leave. The rest of the rather single-sided conversation was a blur to him. Later, as he was tending to his injuries in solitary, he remembered calling you handsome and/or beautiful and your blush when he did. And, of course, you knocking him flat on his ass. He’d challenged you to a fight, because he’d always been able to beat you before. The part that truly left him confused, though, was why he offered to help you break out.

All he’d wanted for the last fifteen years was to go back to the day you left and beg you to stay. He’d told himself dozens, maybe hundreds, of times that if he ever saw you again, he’d do everything in his power to keep you with him. On his darker and angrier days, he truly meant everything. But here you are, and he offered to help you leave. This is what you get for even hoping someone might stick around. Let’s just do this. I gotta stop in with the warden first, though…

“Me? Out there? With you?” He chuckled. You had no idea that, with that simple gesture, you offered him everything he’d wanted for so long. Fuck, I don’t deserve him. I still love him, but he deserves someone better than the angry, selfish man I am. The fragments of his heart splintered even more. “I, um. I done a lotta bad things. And, uh.” He made himself brighten up. “This is home! For now, anyway. Maybe next time parole comes up, I’ll, uh” take it and go find you like I should have fifteen years ago. And I’ll spend every minute until then trying to become the kind of man you deserve. “Anyway, I gotta get back to it. You take care now, you hear? And, hey, visitation! Every third Sunday!” You looked down at the box you’d brought with you, and he ran. When he got back to his cell, he cried genuine tears for the first time since that August day when his world turned upside down.

- 2 weeks later, visitation day -

He knew hoping you’d come was a waste of time, and that he was just setting himself up for more pain. He’d learned the hard way that when you were gone, that was that. But still, there he was, looking up every time a guard walked into the room. As expected, they never called his name. The rest of the inmates gave him a wide berth as he went back to his cell for the night, and they were right to. He was itching for an excuse to fight. No one gave him one, though, so he told himself he’d find one tomorrow and got ready for bed.

When he got to his cell, it took him just one second to realize there was someone on his bed, pull them off, and shove them against the wall. It took him three more to process that it was you, and then another five to step back and let you go.

“Sorry for scaring you, Yancy. I didn’t mean to. It’s just… it’s visitation day, but I’m still wanted for the escape you helped me pull off, and I haven’t decided if I want to come back for good or not.” He stood there, frozen. You chuckled nervously. “I get it, your turn to be the quiet one. I’m sorry about that, by the way. There was a lot to process all at once, and I just kinda shut down when I get overwhelmed.”

I know. I remember that you didn’t say a single word our first day of high school, Yancy wanted to say. He wanted to say something, anything, but you being there and so close was just too much.

“Okay, so, honesty time; there’s a specific reason I came back.” You took a deep breath. “I haven’t been able to shake this feeling that I know you, somehow. But I know I’d remember meeting you- no way I’d forget someone like you. Anyway, I'm probably way off base and ridiculous. I guess I just wanted to tell you?” You ran your hand through your hair. “God, that sounds even flimsier than it felt in my head. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It, uh. It means a lot that you came back to say that.”

“Uh, Yancy? What happened to your accent?”

“Shit. Um. C’mere.” He muttered, as he sat down on his bed and pulled you down next to him. He prayed that you couldn’t hear how his heart started racing when he noticed your knees were touching. “No one here knows that the accent isn’t how I always speak. Not even the warden. I’ve been here five years and haven’t dropped it once. Anyone learns about this, and you’re dead, understand?” He knew that the threat was empty, but you seemed to believe it.

“Yeah, yeah, I do, don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me. I gotta ask, though- why fake it? It seems like a lot of effort. You don’t owe me an explanation, of course, but since you’re heart-on-your-sleeve about your parents, it must be one hell of a reason. I bet it’d feel good to let it off your chest. I can promise to leave and never come back if you do- a burden shared is a burden halved, and if I’m gone, you can be 100% sure no one here will know.”

He took a deep breath. “Something flipped my world on its head, and I needed to distance myself from who I was before. That’s an odd phrase, though- ‘a burden shared is a burden halved’. Where’d you pick that up?”

“Oh, um. The mom of someone I loved a long time ago used to say it a lot. It just kinda stuck, I guess.”

“Loved, huh? You break their heart, or did they break yours?” Yancy was surprised he got the words out without his voice shaking or cracking. You were silent for a long time, and Yancy was sure he’d pushed too hard and you would completely shut down or, worse, leave altogether.

“Sorry, I haven’t talked about this… ever." Your voice shook. "I’ve never talked to anyone about this. I don’t know if I was loved back, but if so, I was the heartbreaker. I didn’t mean to be- I couldn’t control having to leave, and I didn’t know I wasn’t coming back until it was too late. I couldn’t say goodbye. I’ve hoped every day for the last fifteen years that my feelings were unrequited, though. I’m happy to have the pain of an unrequited first love if it means she wasn’t heartbroken.” The incorrect pronoun stung a bit, but you didn’t know, and you’d loved him back all those years ago. He was invincible.

“Have you tried reaching out? Even if your feelings were one-sided, I think you owe it to both of you to say them, at least once.” He reached out and took your hands without thinking. You didn't stop him, and he felt like he could fly.

“I tried, actually. About eight years ago, I'd, uh, escaped and was finally an actual person again after everything that was done to and taken from me, so I started looking for her. But it’s like she vanished off the face of the earth five years to the day after we were separated. It’s actually how I met Mark- I got into some deep and shady shit looking. I only gave up last year. Nothing turned up in seven years of searching, so I have to figure that she did something incredibly stupid a decade ago and got herself killed.”

“I didn’t die. Just the name did.” Yancy breathed. A half second later, he realized he’d said it out loud, and his heart stopped. You took your hands out of his and scooted away.

“Yancy. Are you trying to tell me that you’re- that we- oh my god. It is you. I knew I knew you. Everything else is different, but I should have recognized your eyes. I guess some part of me did. But you- I- I thought you were dead.”

“As you can see, I’m not dead, Brain. And for the record, your feelings were definitely not one-sided.” He reached out and cupped your cheek with one hand.

“Shit, Pinky, it really is you.”

Yancy had dreamed about how seeing you again would go in a million different ways. Not a single one of those included you practically jumping into his lap and kissing him with a lifetime's worth of love and want.

He let out an undignified whine when you broke the kiss. “Wait, wait. You knew from the second I walked in here who I was, didn’t you? You tried so hard to stop me from leaving… but then you helped me do just that. You chose to stay here when I asked you to come with me. Then I came back, and you got me to say all those things… And we’re both trans and wound up here? This is all just. So much. I can’t- I can’t do this.” You got off his lap and scooted to the far end of the bed.

“What are you saying, Y/N? That you’re leaving? Again?” He couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice.

You stood up and faced him. “You do not get to play that card. You don’t know how much I went through trying to find a way to tell you I was sorry, that I didn’t know that the trip was a permanent one until we were on the other side of the country. Dad said that I'd never see mom again, and he’d kill me if I tried to get in touch with you or anyone else from back home. He broke my arm to prove he meant it. I can’t stay here to unpack all of this. I have to go. But you can come with me. I mean it even more now than I did last time. I’m not leaving you, I’m leaving here.”

You walked to the cell door and looked back at him with a sigh. “But I know you, and you have a family here. I’ll get you my address- it’s your turn to come to me, when you’re ready. I’ve waited 15 years to be with you again, what’s a little bit longer?” Without giving him a chance to respond, you kissed him again and were gone.

[fruitcoops]

I was watching this video w Megan Rapinoe & Sue Bird (tumblr won’t let me link but it’s from 2 days ago on GQ- they ask each other questions but it’s like quiz style?) and didn’t know if you would want to do something similar for coops? Some of the stuff they said/how they acted reminded me of coops’ dynamic

Anon, this video was the perfect way to spend an evening. Both these women are my role models and they’re unbelievably cute together--go check out the video here if you have the chance! Their dynamic is a lot like how I imagine Coops, too! Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove!

“Hey, Lions, we’re back!” Sirius waved at the camera and tapped a short stack on notecards on his thighs. “I’m Captain Sirius Black of the Gryffindor Lions and I’m here with my fiancé, Remus Lupin, to do another couple game.”

“The response to our last few interviews was incredible and we had a great time,” Remus continued. “Miss Marlene McKinnon was kind enough to drag us back in here to answer even more questions!”

“Do you want to go first?”

“Sure.” Remus cleared his throat and pulled the first card. “What are my parents’ first names?”

“Hope and Lyall.”

“Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. What’s my hidden talent?”

“You can sing.”

“Does that count? I feel like most people know that now.”

“Hmm.” Sirius thought for a moment, drumming his fingers on his knees. “You can cook really well.”

“Thank you, baby. What’s my favorite accessory?”

Sirius brightened. “Your watch!”

“Yes!” Remus held it up to the camera—it was simple and elegant, with a leather band and a small face. He wore it with the clock against the inside of his wrist, just above his pulse point. “What is my dream travel destination or vacation?”

“Oh, that’s tough.” Sirius bit his lip in thought. “Seattle? Paris?”

“I do want to go to Seattle, but I’ve always wanted to go to Montreal,” Remus said. “You’ve seen my hometown, but I’ve never been to yours.”

Sirius frowned. “Really?”

“Really. What am I most afraid of?”

“I think…I think you’re most afraid of not being useful,” Sirius said after a moment. “For six years, your job was all about helping people, and it’s not now.”

Remus raised his eyebrows at the camera. “I was going to say the dentist’s office. Goddamn.”

“Sorry,” Sirius laughed. “Yeah, you don’t like medical facilities.”

“I mean, you weren’t wrong about the useful thing,” Remus said. “You still get a point for that. What’s my favorite music, song, or artist to listen to before a game?”

“You don’t have one.”

“That was quick. Half a bonus point for speed. When was our first date and what did we do?”

“Our first official date was just after All-Stars and we went to Sid’s, but we had been together for about three months at that point and just hung out at each other’s houses.”

Remus grinned. “Do you remember what day it was?”

“January 28th.” Sirius gave him a look. “I know for a fact you don’t know what day it was.”

“January 28th.”

“You only know that because I just said it!” Sirius smacked him playfully with his cards. “Next question.”

“What’s my favorite movie and TV show?”

“Jurassic Park and Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

He whistled the first part of the theme song as Sirius did the hand motions. “What’s my shoe size?”

“Oh, god,” Sirius muttered, staring down at the floor. “Eleven? Eleven and a half? You have smaller feet than I do, but not by much.”

“I’m a size ten.”

“Are you really?”

Remus pulled one sneaker off and handed it to him with a laugh. “Check for yourself. Oh, I’d love to know the answer to this one. How do you know when I’m mad at you?”

Sirius tossed his shoe back with a snort. “You make faces.”

Remus seemed surprised. “Do I?”

“Yeah. You’ve got a very expressive face and the second you’re pissed, it’s written all over it. It’s like—” Sirius pursed his lips and scrunched his nose slightly. “I can’t really do it, but anytime I see that I’m like, ‘oh, shit, what did I do?’ Also, you stop calling me baby.”

“That’s what I was going to say. What’s my favorite city to play in?”

“Not Florida.”

“Not fucking Florida,” Remus agreed with a grin.

“Gryffindor for sure.”

“Where was I born?” He gave Sirius a teasing look. “Do you know this time, or should I get my mom on the line?”

Sirius stuck his tongue out. “Madison, Wisconsin.”

Remus glanced at the camera. “We got asked this question in an interview a few months ago and he had to call my mom afterward because he forgot.”

“She made fun of me the whole time,” Sirius pouted.

“What is my favorite food? Oh, you’ll get this one for sure.” Sirius hesitated and Remus’ eyes widened. “Really?”

“I’m a little torn. It’s either my grilled cheese or your dad’s turkey-cranberry thing. Actually, I don’t think you know what your favorite food is.”

Remus nodded slowly. “That’s a really good point. My first thought was grilled cheese, but my dad makes the best postgame sandwiches. I’ll give you that. What’s my favorite hobby?”

“Reading.”

“What did I want to be when I was a kid?”

“A librarian, until you started playing hockey.”

Remus leaned over and high-fived him. “You’re on a roll, baby. What was my jersey number in college?”

“Number six.”

“The transition was so fucking easy,” Remus laughed. “Coach literally came up to me a month before practices started and went ‘hey, what was your old number?’ and I told him, and he looked down at his clipboard and went, ‘cool.’. I got my jersey two weeks later.”

“Is this your last question?”

“It is, indeed. What’s my full birth name?”

“Remus Jehosephat Lupin.”

“That is incorrect.”

“Close enough. It’s Remus John Lupin, which I find endlessly funny.”

“Why is it funny?” Marlene asked off-screen. Remus hid his face behind his notecards as Sirius laughed.

“Because it’s such a basic middle name! I love Hope and Lyall with my entire heart and they’re wonderful people, but they named their sons Remus and Julian and then I think they got stuck. Like, you’ve got these two very uncommon first names and they sort of went ‘fuck it. John and Michael. We’re done.’ It’s just so funny.”

“Whereas your parents went the extra mile and gave you and Reg goddamn supervillain names,” Remus snorted. “The drama of it all, my god.”

“Alright, alright, my turn.” Sirius leaned his elbows on his knees. “What is my favorite color?”

“Blue.”

“How do I like my coffee?”

Remus hissed between his teeth. “Ah, shit, you always make the coffee. With a lot of sugar, right? It’s black with sugar?”

“It can’t be black if it has sugar in it,” Sirius laughed. “But yes, I do put sugar in my coffee. What are three things I never leave the house without?”

“Keys, wallet, phone.”

“My favorite TV show?”

“Why are you going through these so fast? Uh, Avatar.”

“Did I ever have a job that wasn’t playing hockey?”

“Nope.” Remus frowned. “Were you allowed to get a job as a kid?”

“I was not. What’s my favorite ice cream flavor?”

“Cookies and cream.”

Sirius made a buzzer noise. “Incorrect.”

“Is it chocolate?”

“Yep. You get half a point for that. What’s the first meal I ever cooked for you?”

Remus gave him a look. “You don’t remember what you cooked for me, do you?”

“Refresh my memory?”

“No way!” He punched him lightly on the arm. “I’m not falling for my own tricks. Next question.”

“It’s kind of a repeat from earlier. How do you know when I’m mad at you?”

Remus fiddled with the edges of his cards. “You act all weird and Captain-y, and then you get quiet. Just cranky vibes all around.”

“Cranky vibes,” Sirius laughed. “Good to know. What are my favorite movie-watching snacks?”

“Popcorn and…Sweet Tarts?”

“Yes!” Sirius gave him a high-five. “Do you know what I like on my popcorn?”

“Butter and enough salt to kill a Victorian child.”

“Bonus point! What is—oh, shit!” He nearly fumbled the cards onto the floor. “What is my favorite movie of all time?”

“Indiana Jones.”

“Which one?”

“The one with Marian, because she reminds you of me.” Remus looked over at the camera. “I really don’t like snakes.”

“What is the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning?”

“Oh, I think this requires a demonstration. C’mere.”

“Does it really?” Sirius sighed as he laid down next to him.

“For sure.” Remus cuddled into his side and laid his head on his shoulder. “Alright, the key to a true Sirius Black wake-up is getting all four limbs wrapped around the other person like you’re trying to suffocate them with affection.”

“Okay—”

“And then,” Remus continued with a grin. “I go, ‘honey, wake up’—”

“You absolutely do not.”

“In my head, that’s what I say. It’s very sweet. To answer the question, the first thing Sirius does is this.” He buried his face in Sirius’ chest and groaned loudly, then dissolved into snickering as Sirius’ chest began to shake with suppressed laughter. “Stop it, you’re ruining the demonstration!”

“You forgot the part where I have to peel you off me with pliers and grease,” Sirius teased as they stood up, dusting themselves off. The camera crew applauded and they both bowed. “Alright, where were we? What am I most scared of?”

“Losing your friends and family,” Remus said. “Also, spiders and most bugs.”

“You forgot one.”

“Which one? The dish soap bubbles?”

“Losing you.”

A vibrant blush tinted Remus’ cheeks and ears, and he floundered for words. “Oh.”

“You still get the points, though,” Sirius said mildly. “What city do I like playing in the most?”

Remus paused for a moment longer, then shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Uh, Gryffindor. You like the crowd.”

“I do.” Sirius smiled at the camera. “To all the fans out there: you are incredible and there is nothing like skating out with everybody roaring so loud the windows shake. Who is my biggest hockey influence?”

“Now, or when you were younger?”

“Now.”

“It’s Dumo, right?”

Sirius nodded. “On and off the ice. What’s my proudest career moment?”

“Hmm, I wonder,” Remus said sarcastically. “Could it possibly be winning the Stanley Cup?”

“Just maybe,” Sirius laughed. “What’s my most famous celly, and which one’s my favorite?”

Remus grinned. “Lightning McQueen.”

“I hate it when you call it that.” Despite his words, Sirius was smiling. “It’s supposed to be cool!”

“Can you elaborate?” Marlene asked.

“I mean, most people who have seen him play know what I’m talking about,” Remus said, gesturing to the camera. “But Sirius’ famous celly is a double fist pump, and I call it the Lightning McQueen because it’s like ka-chow! It’s also his favorite one, though he dances when we’re skating alone or with a couple of the guys.”

“Shhh, they aren’t supposed to know that!” Sirius covered Remus’ mouth with his notecard. “This is the very last one. What is my biggest pet peeve?”

“When I leave my socks laying around the house.”

“Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! That drives me fucking bonkers. Marley, who won?”

“It wasn’t a competition,” she said off-screen. “Just a Q & A.”

“Who got the most right?” Remus asked.

“You two are hopeless,” she muttered. There were a few beats of silence. “Remus won, with sixteen and a half out of seventeen. Sirius, you had fifteen and a half.”

“No.” Sirius groaned and dropped his head into his hands as Remus whooped.

“Hell yes!”

“My bonus points let you win.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe this.”

Remus faced the camera with a victorious smile. “Thanks for joining us to witness my landslide victory—”

“It was one point.”

“And make sure to like and subscribe for more Lion Pride content! See you around, Lions.” They both mock-saluted, and the video ended.

[notepadsandtealeaves]

Tim Drake x GN!Reader in: So Kiss Me~, Pt. 4

12 Days of Batmas || Day 9—Kissing Under the Mistletoe

↞ previous: movie nights with the (bat)boys™ pt. 4 || watching holiday specials

|| ao3 version | 12 days m.list | batboys tag | main blog ||

|| dames day 9 | jay day 9 | tim day 9 || ((links pending))

↠ Requested By: No one, technically ((but given the fact that I’ve been working on this series since last year I’m sure you’re all ready for me to wrap this ish up lmao)) ↠ Reader Gender: Neutral ↠ Content Type: SFW fluff ((but my blog’s 18+ so if minors want to consume my sfw stuff while still respecting my wishes of them staying out of this space, they can head over to my AO3)) ↠ CWs/TWs: None ↠ Betas? Nah, we don’t do that here. ↠ Total WC: 400~

…he’s not at all opposed to being caught under the sprig with you, tho there’s a good chance that he probably won’t notice it unless you or somebody else points it out.

Somewhere his brothers are making exaggerated kissing noises (and by ‘somewhere’ I mean literally right behind you).

Post’s title comes from this bop ((nobody look at me, I’m mentally regressing to a time before the shit show that is the 2020s lmao))

Another set of HCs, but this time around they’re even shorter lmao. Sorry about it folks, but my brain’s already checked out of this shitshow of a year if I’m being completely honest lol. But begardless of the length, I hope you all can still get a bit of enjoyment out of this!

Headcanon || WC: 400~

🌟 Tim’s p. neutral on mistletoe.

It’s not that he doesn’t like having an excuse to kiss you, of course, but rather that he just doesn’t need one lol.

Not to mention the fact that it can lead to some awkward, potentially annoying encounters.

((i.e. that time him and Dick got caught under it together which led to his big brother chasing him around the Manor demanding his kiss lmao))

🌟 But this level of confidence and comfort are things that comes in time.

If you’re at the beginning stages of your relationship he’s still kinda awkward about touching you, but I went over all of that back in Day Two’s installment.

The short version is, he’s not super big on PDA for the first bit of your relationship. He’s still settling into things, still trying to make that transition from friends to lovers, and figure out boundaries.

Though he knows that he loves to be close to you, he quickly finds that more overt displays of his desire make him kinda uncomfy when done in public. He doesn’t mind holding your hand/hugging you and the like, and he may even press a chaste kiss to your forehead or cheek from time to time (and also your hands/wrists because yes, pls, that’s so cute/sweet!!), anything beyond that is generally a no-go.

While he’s not as private a person as Dames, he still likes to keep his personal life out of the public’s eye—a hard feat, that, when he’s such a notable figure, and that’s saying nothing of the internet’s fascination with him.

((because you just know that the man is prime meme material; his socials are a gold mine for relatable quotes and pics, and that’s saying nothing of the candids that people frequently snap of him around town lol))

Notoriety isn’t really something that he can ever hope to escape—and unfortunately neither can you, if you’re gonna be with him—so the best he really can do is not give the paps too much fodder.

🌟 That said, he’s much looser about these things when he’s around his inner circle.

Now he’s not about to have a full blown makeout session in front of his family and friends, but he’s certainly a lot more cuddly and affectionate than he would ever dare to be in public.

And he’s not at all opposed to being caught under the sprig with you, tho there’s a good chance that he probably won’t notice it unless you or somebody else points it out.

Tho he may be a bit hesitant at first, when he wraps his arms around you and pulls you close that’ll all fade away the moment he presses his lips against yours in a sweet, lingering kiss.

🌟 Up Next: Day Ten || Holiday Party ((check back tomorrow!!))

Taglist is open, but to 18+ users only.

© notepadsandtealeaves, 2021 || Please do not repost, translate, or otherwise alter or distribute my works without my express permission. And for the love of god keep it away from Youtube and TikTok lol...

[roseworth]

'cause i know you won't

word count: 6.8k

description: “As much as I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and my family…" the King said. "We can’t have a criminal living in the castle. Even a reformed criminal.”

Eugene and Rapunzel are separated by circumstance, and they need to learn how to live their new lives without each other.

(title inspired by One More Weekend by Maude Latour)

AO3

“Mr… Fitzherbert,” King Frederic said, his face stoic. “My daughter has told me you played a substantial role in her return home.”

“Oh, well, she did most of the work,” Eugene responded, nervously fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “I, uh, I just wanted to keep her safe.”

The King hummed in approval, scanning his face. “She certainly cares a lot about you.”

“And I care about her, too.”

“I see,” he said simply, then cast his gaze away. “As much as I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and my family… we can’t have a criminal living in the castle. Even a reformed criminal.”

Eugene nodded. “I understand, Your Majesty.” He kept his eyes glued to the floor in front of him. He wasn’t sure he could trust his own face if he looked up at the King.

“However, I have pardoned all your previous crimes in Corona. As of now, you are a free man in the kingdom,” he said as he handed Eugene a small stack of papers. Records that he had been pardoned. “And as promised, you will receive a reward for the return of the Princess.”

He didn’t want a reward.

“Thank you, Sir.”

The King examined him for a moment, then sighed. “I understand that you and Rapunzel are… close. But there’s no room for you in her new life, and I hope you can both accept that.”

Eugene forced a smile. “Yes, I understand, Your Majesty. Trust me, this pardon is more than I could ever ask for.”

Frederic nodded curtly, then extended his hand for Eugene to shake. Eugene shook it quickly and stood up, praying his legs wouldn’t collapse under him. He quietly walked out of the room before the King could change his mind and throw him in a prison cell.

He was a free man for the first time in… he didn’t know how long. He was running from guards for as long as he could remember. It felt wrong to walk past them now without fear of being arrested.

What would he do now? He honestly didn’t think he was going to make it this far. He was half-expecting to be strung up as soon as Rapunzel was safe. Yet he had still let himself hope that he could stay with her. That was his mistake.

As he walked down the hall of the castle on his way out, he glanced over at the door leading to Rapunzel’s new room. Her mother had brought her there to show her around and spend more time with her as the King talked to Eugene. She was probably still in there if he wanted to say goodbye.

He stopped in his tracks and stared at the door for a long time. Should he say goodbye? He wasn’t sure when he would see her again, and he did care about her. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

But maybe it would be better if he didn’t. It would be easier for her to let him go if he just left. It was like the King said, there was no room for him in her new life. She had her parents now, and a whole kingdom. She didn’t need him to cause problems when she’s finally happy.

Then again, maybe it would be better for closure if he said goodbye. So she could see that she didn’t need him, and she could easily transition into life without him. But that was selfish, wasn’t it? He just wanted to see her one last time even though it would hurt worse to see her again knowing that he could never be with her.

In the end, anything he could say to her would make it worse. He wanted to see her, but it would be better in the long run if he would just leave now without causing problems. That was what she needed, right? A life without problems. A life without people that would care more about themselves than about her. A life without him.

He took a deep breath and turned around, walking away from her room and out of the castle.

*

With the reward he received for rescuing the Lost Princess, he was able to buy himself a place to live in the kingdom. It certainly felt weird; having his own house and his own bed was all new to him. This life of not-crime was going to take some getting used to.

He had started talking to himself to cover the silence pretty quickly. Silence didn’t sit right with him now that he wasn’t hiding from anyone.

“Alright, straight-and-narrow day one!” he said cheerily, clapping his hands together. “Step one: make amends.” He figured if he was going to be living among the people of Corona, he couldn’t have them thinking of him as Flynn Rider anymore. He wanted them to know him as Eugene, and that started with fixing the mistakes Flynn Rider made.

Besides, making amends would be easy! Or it would be the hardest thing he’s ever done, he still wasn’t sure. Could go either way.

He opened the door and walked into the street, taking a deep breath and looking around. He would have to take it one by one, finding a way to make amends individually with everyone he had stolen from. That might take a while.

He didn’t steal anything too big from citizens. Most of his heists were taking from royalty and the elite, but he would often steal money or other essentials from normal people. It was enough to disrupt their lives, and they deserved some kind of restitution for that.

His first stop on his apology tour was the local shoemaker. Eugene had stolen a crate of boots from him a few years back, so he figured that was a good place to start. It wasn’t big enough that it was unforgivable, but it still might be memorable.

When he walked into the shop, he saw a familiar-looking mousy man with red hair standing behind the counter. The man looked up at him as he entered. “How can I help you?”

“Hi, I don’t know if you recognize me but-”

“You’re Flynn Rider!” the man interrupted, his eyes widening.

Eugene laughed uncomfortably. “Yes, but I recently had my crimes pardoned and I’m trying to turn over a new leaf, starting with making amends for the things I’ve done wrong.”

The man eyed him suspiciously. “I heard you saved the Princess, is that right?”

“Well, kind of. I didn’t really do much to save her, just happened to climb a tower where the Princess happened to be,” he admitted. The cobbler chuckled.

“Well, Flynn, what can I do for you?”

“Actually, it’s more what I can do for you,” he said. “I stole some shoes from here a few years ago, and while I can’t un-steal them, I’d like to make it up to you somehow.”

The man paused in thought, looking Eugene up and down to try to distinguish whether or not he was lying. “Alright then, how much do you know about making shoes?”

Eugene grinned. “I’ve actually been repairing my own shoes for years!” he said proudly. He lifted his foot and pointed to his boot. “This shoe has fallen apart more times than I can count, but look at it now! Perfectly intact!”

The shoemaker inspected the shoe and hummed his approval. “Impressive cobblering!” he said. “How would you like to do some work to repay me for the shoes, Flynn?”

“That sounds perfect,” he replied with a grin. “And my real name is actually Eugene, not Flynn.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I get why you went by Flynn for so long,” he said with a shrug. “I’m Feldspar.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Feldspar,” he said. “And I’m sorry for stealing from you all those years ago.”

Feldspar waved a hand dismissively. “Well, Eugene , if you’ve really changed like you say you have, it’s glue under the sole,” he said. “That’s a cobbler phrase. It’s like ‘water under the bridge,’ but better, because it’s about shoes.”

Eugene laughed. “Got it.”

.

Over the next few days, Eugene learned more about shoes than he ever thought he would know. He learned that the things he had been calling “that thingy” and “that other thingy” for years actually had their own names (it was the “welt” and the “outsole,” Who knew?).

He had made more shoes than he had stolen, and he was honestly pretty proud of himself. He had done a job and not a “job.” Honest labor was a new concept to him, but it was very welcome.

“I think you’ve more than paid off your debts,” Feldspar said at the end of the day, polishing his equipment. “But if you ever wanted to work here permanently, I’d be more than happy to hire you.”

“Really?”

“Of course! You’ve got some real skill here.”

Eugene grinned proudly, looking at the shoes he made. “I would love to. I just need to finish making amends to everyone else first,” he said. “But if the offer still stands once I do that, that would be great.”

“You’re a good kid, Eugene,” Feldspar said, patting his shoulder. “I can put in a good word with the rest of the town. I’m sure they’d all love to hear you out.”

“I sure hope so,” he said. His tone was lighthearted, but they both knew he wasn’t really kidding. He truly did want the rest of the kingdom to realize that he had moved past his old life, and he wanted to make it up to them.

He arrived back at his house later that night and breathed a small sigh of relief. “One forgiveness down, a thousand more to go,” he said to himself. “But that wasn’t so bad! I could have done this years ago!”

And maybe if I had done this years ago, the King wouldn’t have seen me as just a thief, and I could-

He closed his eyes and waved his arms in front of himself as if he could swat away the thought. He couldn’t dwell on Rapunzel. He had to move on. Even if she had changed his life for the better and brightened his entire outlook on life, and she was maybe the only person he had ever truly cared about.

Yeah, he had to forget about what he had lost, and stay focused on what was ahead of him. He sighed, running his hands over his face. He wondered if she was doing okay. She had been home for over a week now, and he hoped she was adapting alright.

He wished he could be there. He wanted to help her as best he could and make sure she was okay. She had other people now, a real family that loved her. He couldn’t provide her with anything.

But he missed her. He was constantly thinking about what it would be like if he didn’t have to leave her. He could be with the love of his life, and they would be happy. Maybe that was selfish. She deserved better than him, and he knew that. He was trying to move past the selfishness that he had held onto in his past.

He took another deep breath, trying to stop drowning himself in thoughts that would just hurt him. Instead, he chose to think about his forgiveness mission again. He still had a long way to go before he repaid all the debts he could, but he was proud of the small amount he had accomplished.

He knew he changed; he wasn’t who he was just a couple weeks ago. Himself from a month ago wouldn’t even recognize him now. He wanted to believe he really could be a better person than he was before. Abandoning the “Flynn Rider” persona might be the best thing he ever did.

.

He spent a lot of time the coming weeks meeting Coronans and doing what he could to make amends. Most of them just asked that he work to repay what he had stolen, which he was more than happy to do. Even though he wasn’t exactly the best at many of the jobs (apparently you can’t speed up baking by turning the oven to 600 degrees), he did his best to help out where he could.

His next stop was the blacksmith. He had been told that the blacksmith was kind, so hopefully, it wouldn’t be hard to get on his good side.

He approached the shop carefully, then waved to the man standing there. He looked tall and intimidating (especially since he was holding a huge hammer), so Eugene hoped the rumors about him being a gentle giant were true.

“Hi, uh, Xavier, right? My name is Eugene, but I used to go by Flynn Rider, and I stole some stuff from you. And I want to make amends for what I did,” he said. He had tried to get his opening statement down over time, but he never knew how to phrase the words ‘I stole from you and I can’t get your stuff back but I would really like it if you forgave me!’

Xavier smiled at him. “I appreciate the gesture, Eugene, but I do not believe you ever stole anything from me. So you don’t need to make up for anything!”

Eugene grimaced. “See, you don’t think I stole from you, but I know I did. Whenever weapons or gold would randomly disappear from here, that was usually me.”

“Oh,” the blacksmith said simply. He paused for what seemed like forever (but was really only a couple seconds), then chuckled. “I don’t know what you could do to make it up, but I do not mind that you took from me. I am sure you needed it.”

Eugene chewed on his lip. True, he definitely wouldn’t have survived without the weapons he stole, but that didn’t make it okay that he stole them. “Is there any work that you would need me to do? Or anything to just make your life a little easier? I want to make it up to you somehow.”

Xavier smiled. “You know what, I do have something. You’re an adventurer, right? Give me a good story, and I’ll consider your debts paid.”

He was taken aback, but smiled back anyway. “A story? Like what?”

“You saved the Lost Princess, right? How did that go?”

Eugene paused. He wasn’t sure how to tell a story like that. In all honesty, he was still grappling with everything that had happened, and he was pretty sure the story was going to sound insane. But the man asked for a story, and so as weird as it was, he was going to tell it as best he could.

“This is the story of how I died,” he said dramatically, then smiled. “Though, it’s not really my story. It’s Rapunzel’s.”

He launched into the story of the girl in the tower who only dreamed of seeing the lanterns, and the guy who only had a crown on his mind. There were quite a few holes in his story where he had no clue what happened. He had never figured out why her hair was magical in the first place, much less how Gothel found out about it.

Throughout the whole story, Xavier looked intrigued. He wasn’t sure how the man wasn’t at all phased by talk of magic healing hair and swordfighting horses, but he didn’t bother dwelling on it.

“And so, once I was brought back to life and she told me she was the Lost Princess, we went back to the kingdom. Now she’s with her family, and it’s the happy ending everyone wanted,” he finished. He looked at Xavier, trying to decipher what he was thinking.

“Wow,” he said. “That must have been quite a lot to go through.”

Eugene chuckled. “Oh, yeah. I know it sounds a little crazy, with all the magic and whatnot-”

“Trust me, I have heard all about that magic. The story of the magic healing flower has been passed down through generations.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, there have been myths about the Sundrop for millennia. It’s impressive that you got to see it in action.”

Eugene pressed his thumb into the palm of his left hand, rubbing it thoughtfully. The Sundrop’s powers were nothing compared to the way Rapunzel made him feel like his heart was bursting whenever she smiled, but that was neither here nor there.

“So, you are in love with the Princess, right?”

Eugene choked on his breath, then let out a shaky laugh. “Th-the Princess? Who? In love? Pfft, I don’t- I wouldn’t- I’ve never even met- I mean, I uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stammered, his hands fidgeting uncomfortably. Nice one, Fitzherbert, that was really convincing . Apparently, he completely lost his ability to lie when he stopped thieving. Fantastic .

Xavier simply smiled lightly. “The way you talk about her, it is easy to tell.”

Eugene sighed and shrugged halfheartedly. “It doesn’t matter, she’s with her family now. I couldn’t come in the way of her happiness.”

“Maybe her happiness is you, too.”

“Even then, a princess can’t be with a criminal. That’s just… that’s how it is.”

“Would a ‘criminal’ go around to everyone in town just to atone for every crime he once committed?”

Eugene’s gaze fell to the ground. He was trying to fix his past mistakes, but that doesn’t mean his mistakes didn’t happen. No matter how much he wanted to be a better person, he couldn’t undo what he had done.

After a brief silence, Xavier rested his hand on Eugene’s shoulder. “Well, Eugene, I’m glad you’re focusing on doing the right thing these days. And thank you for the story.”

*

Eugene had gone to all the townspeople and made amends within 3 months. Everyone was surprisingly receptive to his apologies, which made it easier. He still got the occasional glare as he walked down the street, but he did his best to ignore it. He had done what he could. He didn’t need everyone to like him, he just wanted to right his wrongs.

After he finished making his amends, he went back to the cobbler shop and took the job that Feldspar had offered him. He never would have guessed it, but he had a knack for making shoes. Having an honest job was new to him, but it was a welcome change.

.

6 months after he and Rapunzel had first returned to Corona and his crimes were pardoned, he had a steady job and was getting along the best he could with the others in the kingdom. Life was going pretty well for him, all things considered.

He was walking to work one day when a group of kids ran up to him with excited smiles on their faces. “Eugene!” Seth called out, waving his arm as he ran up to the man.

“Hey, kiddo, what’s up?”

“Can you tell them the story you told me last week?” the boy asked, gesturing to the other kids following him. “They don’t believe me.”

He smiled and sat down on the edge of the fountain in the street. He had a little bit of time before he had to get to work, right? “Alright, just a quick story,” he said. “This is the story of how I died,” he recited, sweeping an arm in front of himself. He stuck with that introduction whenever he told the story; he liked the way people reacted to the line. The kids’ eyes widened, and they sat on the ground in front of him, already completely engaged in what he was saying. “Well, don’t worry, it’s actually a very fun story, and the truth is it’s not even mine. This is the story of a girl named Rapunzel, and it starts with the sun…”

The kids hung onto his every word as he recounted the tale of the weirdest and best days of his life. He chose his words carefully, though, and made sure to keep out the part where he fell in love with Rapunzel. That small detail made the story seem more like a tale of lost love than the fun and rousing adventure that it was.

When he finished the story, his audience of children (and a few adults nearby that were pretending not to listen) looked stunned. “Whoa,” one kid said. “What happened to the chameleon?”

Eugene couldn’t help but smile at how the frog was the kid’s most important takeaway from the story. “Well, that little guy is still with the Princess,” he said. “And he’s living it up in the castle, blending into things just like he loves to do.”

Seth smiled excitedly. “You know, the Princess is coming into town today! Maybe you two can reunite now!”

“She— what?”

“Yeah! They announced that she’ll have a day in town before her coronation celebration!”

Eugene plastered on a smile but felt his stomach plummet. He didn’t know if he could see her without becoming a complete mess. He had been avoiding his feelings for months, but he was positive his resolve would break the second he saw her.

Besides, she wouldn’t want to see him. She had a whole new life, she must have moved on. He wasn’t going to hold her back, that wouldn’t be fair to her. She’d been living outside her tower for months, she probably didn’t think about him the way he constantly thought about her.

“Well, I should get to work, but it was great talking to you guys,” he said, standing up. The kids bid him goodbye, and he made his way to the cobbler shop. Making shoes would help distract him from thinking about Rapunzel. He just needed to focus on his work, everything would be fine.

.

“Did you hear the Princess is supposed to be in town today?” Feldspar said later that day. “I’ve heard you used to be friends with her,” he added with an eyebrow wiggle.

Eugene did his best to grin casually. “I heard, but I think I’m going to stay back. I’ve got a lot of shoes to finish.”

“Good on you! You know what we say in the shoe business: stitches before bi-”

“Whoa whoa whoa, you really shouldn’t call a princess that. Or anyone, for that matter.”

“I’m not just saying it about the Princess, it’s just an expression. All I’m saying is that in general, shoes should come first!”

Eugene didn’t bother arguing. He turned his attention back to the shoe he was working on. He didn’t have any interest in romance right now, given that he was still deeply in love with a girl he could never be with. That put a bit of a damper on his romantic life.

Later that day, a crowd gathered near the shop as it was announced that the Princess would be passing by. “Are you sure you don’t want to see her?” Feldspar asked. Eugene shook his head.

“I’m alright here,” he insisted.

Feldspar shrugged. “Well, I’m going. I’ve got to see what kind of shoes the Princess likes so I can make plenty of them.” He walked confidently out the door, and Eugene didn’t have the heart to tell him that the Princess didn’t wear shoes at all.

He immersed himself back into the work he was doing, shoving away the thoughts of Rapunzel clouding his head. That wouldn’t help anyone.

And still, he couldn’t stop himself from glancing out the window in the front of the store to see if he could spot her. As much as he tried not to care, his heart stopped when he caught a glimpse of her in the street. She was surrounded by guards, and she looked… sad. She had a smile on her face, but something about it seemed distant.

When they had been in town on her birthday, she had found so much joy in talking to everyone around town. Now, with guards on every side of her, all she could do was smile and wave at the citizens. No wonder she seemed so sad.

He noticed something in her expression change, and he couldn’t figure out why until he realized what she saw. She was looking directly at him through the window. Oh.

His heart quickened. He wasn’t sure what to do now. Should he wave? Should he pretend he didn’t see her? They both stared at each other through the window for a moment, neither of them moving, until she was pulled away by the guards.

When she was out of his line of vision, he sighed heavily and leaned against the table in front of him, trying to steady his breath. He wouldn’t let one moment of eye contact ruin him.

“You’re never going to believe this,” Feldspar yelled as he threw open the door of the shop. “She doesn’t even wear shoes!”

.

As it turns out, just a moment of seeing her was, in fact, all he needed to be completely wrecked. He didn’t think about how much he missed her until he saw her in person again.

Eugene was lying awake in bed that night, unable to stop thoughts of her from infiltrating his head. He couldn’t fall asleep just because he had seen her for maybe 10 seconds that day. He couldn’t even be surprised, he had always known this was exactly what would happen when he let himself think about her.

What hurt most was how unhappy she looked. Before, he was able to convince himself that she was happy in the castle, so he couldn’t keep her from that happiness. But she wasn’t happy. She was trapped again. She was being kept from what made her happy, and to make matters worse, there was nothing he could do about it.

A soft knock at the door momentarily pulled him out of his hole of wallowing in self-pity. He furrowed his brow and sat up. Who would be at his house this late? It was the middle of the night, who could possibly need him right now?

He got up and walked to the door, grabbing his sword on the way (he wasn’t sure why, it’s not like an intruder was going to knock on the door first). When he opened the door, his eyes widened as he saw who was waiting there. “Rapunzel?”

“Hi,” she greeted softly.

“What are you doing here? Are you okay?” Instinctively, he reached out to touch her face, tossing his sword to the side. She smiled softly and leaned into his hand.

“My friend Cass helped me sneak out,” she said. That didn’t answer either of his questions, but he moved on anyway.

“Why did you sneak out?”

“Being a princess is… great , but it- it’s just a lot. And I needed time away from the castle.”

Eugene paused, his eyebrows creasing with concern. He wished he had been there to help her. He had been afraid she was going to struggle assimilating into the life of a princess, and he should have been there.

And now she’s standing in front of him, looking scared and tired and excited all at the same time. She had a dark hood over her head, covering her face in shadows. He knew the King would have him killed if he found out that Rapunzel had run away to his house in the middle of the night, but at that moment he couldn’t even pretend to care. “Do you want to come in?”

She smiled and nodded, and he stepped aside to let her in. She looked around as she walked in, taking in every detail of the room. “This is a nice place,” she remarked.

Eugene shrugged. “It’s not very exciting, but it’s much nicer than anywhere I’ve lived before,” he said with a grin, then added, “I’m sure the castle is much fancier than this, though. And probably complete with lots of beautiful paintings by Princess Rapunzel herself.”

Rapunzel blushed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I’ve had a lot of new space to paint in my room,” she said. “I could probably paint a little in here if you’d like!”

“As much as I’d love that, I don’t think you want to spend your one night out of the castle painting my house,” he responded with a slight chuckle.

Her eyes fell to the floor as she rocked back and forth on her feet. “Oh, yeah,” she said under her breath.

“So, speaking of that,” he said, shifting uncomfortably. “Where are you going now that you’ve run away?”

She paused for a moment, then let out a small laugh. “I don’t know,” she said. “I just knew I had to come here, I didn’t think of what I’d do after that.”

“Well, if you don’t have any plans,” Eugene said with a grin. “How about I take you on a quick trip out of the kingdom?”

Her eyes widened. “Out of the kingdom? Like, past the wall?”

The King would absolutely kill him for this. And yet, he still could not care less. “Yeah, we can get out for tonight, then back in before anyone notices. What do you say?”

The bright smile he got in return could rival the sun itself. “I would love to.”

Eugene quickly pulled his boots on, and they headed out the door. Once they were out in the open, a familiar horse came into view. Maximus snorted as he met Eugene’s eye. “Hey, Max! Didja miss me?”

Max closed his eyes and shook his head aggressively. Eugene patted his head. “I missed you, too.”

“Max helped me leave the castle without being seen,” Rapunzel said, scratching the horse’s chin. “And he agreed to bring me here.”

“So then where’s the frog?”

“Pascal and Cass are both at the castle making sure no one knows I’m gone.”

“Wow, Blondie, you’ve got quite a network for your scheme,” he teased lightly. She giggled softly, her eyes lighting up at his nickname for her. “Well, we can’t have that all be for nothing! Let’s get going,” he said, sticking his arm out for her.

She grabbed it happily, and they climbed onto Max’s back to quickly and quietly make their way to the border wall. Max stayed ducked in shadows and trotted carefully to make sure his hooves didn’t make too much noise when guards would pass nearby.

They climbed over the wall, collectively heaving a sigh of relief once they made it out of Corona. They were past the guards and the wall, and now they had the rest of the night to explore the world outside of Corona.

Rapunzel’s smile grew with every step she took, looking around at the forest around her. The stars were hanging in the sky, shining down on her. Fireflies dotted the trees around them. The river next to her was flowing smoothly, the rushing adding peaceful background noise to the scene. “Wow,” she whispered, completely enamored by her surroundings. “Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?”

“Yes, I have,” Eugene answered without thinking, staring at the girl in front of him. Her green eyes were full of the same joy they had when she first left her tower. He could feel his heart doing cartwheels in his chest every time she smiled. The gentle breeze was hitting her face and letting her short hair wave back and forth.

She turned back to him and beamed at him. “Come on, we have so much more to see!” She grabbed his hand and rushed forward, and he was more than happy to be dragged along in her journey.

She stopped to study every new plant or tree she saw, and she made sure to greet every animal that came into her path. She skipped excitedly through the forest, constantly making note of things that she would need to paint next time she got the chance.

After a few hours, she found a soft section of grass and sat down, her legs stretched out as she leaned back on her arms so she could get a good view of the stars in the sky. She patted the ground next to her, gesturing for Eugene to lie down next to her. He did, but he was paying more attention to Rapunzel than he was to the stars.

“There are so many of them,” she whispered. “I learned the other day that they’re all distant piles of gas, far away from here. I guess it puts everything into perspective, thinking about how on that star, no one even knows who we are.”

“Yeah,” he breathed. From the perspective of a star millions of lightyears away, they were just specks. Not a princess and a criminal, but just… people. People that were sharing one moment together, just like millions of other people in the world.

She looked over at him and grabbed his hand. He smiled and leaned in closer to her. Her eyes fell shut as they drew closer to each other.

Then without warning, her eyes shot open and she moved away. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she said quickly, standing up and wrapping her arms around herself.

Eugene took a quick breath in, standing up and taking a step backward to give her a distance. “I- I’m so sorry, Rapunzel, I shouldn’t have tried to-”

“You left,” she interrupted quickly, her eyes gradually filling with tears.

“What?” His eyes flitted over her face, trying to decipher how she was feeling. She didn’t seem scared or mad, just... hurt. He felt a pang in his chest knowing that he was the reason she was feeling like that.

“You left, and you didn’t say goodbye. And they told me you were gone, and I didn’t believe them because I was sure that you would tell me when you left. But you didn’t,” she said quietly, her voice breaking with every word.

He didn’t answer for a moment, trying to remember how to speak. He should have known that she would have felt abandoned when he left without a word. He had been so sure he had made the right choice when he left, but looking at her now, he realized he couldn’t have been more wrong.

Looking back on it, his choice to not tell her when he was leaving the castle was entirely selfish. He couldn’t handle seeing her again, couldn’t trust himself to not run to her. So he had slipped away, hoping that he wouldn’t have to deal with his own heartbreak seeing her face one last time before he went.

And here she was. He had left her behind without a word, yet she still came to him. After he abandoned her and completely cut himself off from her, she came back. That was what hurt most. He knew she deserved better than him. She deserved someone that would have the guts to see her one last time despite the world pushing them apart. It hurt that she was willing to come back to him after he hurt her.

And still, he loved her. He wanted to go back and fix all his mistakes and find a way to be with her. Ever since he had left months ago, there was not a day that went by where he didn’t think of her. It killed him that he had hurt her when all he wanted to do was sweep her up in his arms and hold her so nothing could ever hurt her again.

She was looking at him with wide eyes as his throat dried up. His mind was swirling with all the thoughts and feelings he had tried to keep buried for months. He loved her. He wouldn’t blame her if she hated him and never felt the same way about him, but he loved her with his entire being. And he had no idea how to tell her that.

“Rapunzel, I’m so sorry I never said goodbye when I left. I had to leave to let you start your new life, but I thought it would be easier for both of us if I could just leave-”

“It wasn’t,” she said. “It wasn’t easier. I had no idea what I was doing, and all I did was wish you were there beside me.”

He let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Trust me, Blondie, I felt the same way. I wanted to be by your side, and it hurt that I couldn’t be there with you.”

“It hurt me, too.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“It’s… it’s not your fault that you had to leave,” she said, chewing on her bottom lip nervously. She stepped towards him and grabbed his hand hesitantly. “But I missed you so much.” She took another step closer, and he could almost feel her breath on his face. She was just inches away, and he tried to ignore his heart pounding out of his chest.

“I missed you, too,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “But we should-”

The rest of his sentence was completely lost as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. His eyes widened, then immediately fell shut as he let his composure completely fall away. He pulled her closer, wishing he could live in this moment for the rest of his life.

He knew they shouldn’t be doing this. The King had tried to keep them apart for a reason, and they would have to leave each other behind again after tonight. But at that moment, he didn’t care about any logic. All he cared about was trying to communicate everything he felt about her through one kiss. Feeling her lips pressed against his was all that mattered to him. They had both been wishing they could be just like this for months, and being able to hold her felt like a dream.

They softly broke apart from the kiss, but their faces remained close together as they tried to catch their breath. She smiled at him, and he rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything when I left, and I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there with you.”

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “It’s okay,” she whispered, casting her eyes to the ground. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry I had to be the princess and separate us-”

“No, hey, don’t apologize for finding a new life, your real life,” he said, putting his fingers under her chin and softly tilting her head up to look into her eyes. “All that matters to me is that you’re safe and happy with your family.”

“But you’re part of my family. I’m happy with you,” she said, her eyes starting to water. He reached up to wipe a stray tear off her face.

“And I’ll always be here for you, Blondie. Princess or not, I’m always supporting you, even if it’s from afar.”

She sighed and leaned her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. They stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying each other’s presence while they could. They were acutely aware that the night would end sooner than they wanted it to, and they would have to go their separate ways yet again. It would be the same as before, but it hurt even worse now that they had gotten a taste of what they were missing.

But he would still love her no matter what. Even if they were apart for the rest of their lives, he still loved her more than he ever thought possible.

The night would end soon, and so would their time together. She would go back to the castle, he would go back to his house. He couldn’t do anything to change their situation, all he could do was hold her tighter and hope that the memories of her would keep him grounded.

Rapunzel looked up at the sky, her brow crinkling when she realized how soon the sun would rise. “We still have time tonight,” she said quietly. She didn’t know what would happen to them when the night ended, but she could only hope this wasn’t the end.

“Then let’s make the most of it,” Eugene replied, grabbing her hand and squeezing it gently.

Their eyes met, and he smiled at her. Every glance at her twisted his heart more, but he wouldn’t dare look away.

Despite everything, she was the love of his life, and he was hers. And even if he couldn’t be by her side, he wouldn’t trade that love for anything.

[melzula]

The Throne

part two

pairing: Zuko x Princess!reader

summary: Sokka goes undercover and Katara and the Princess encounter an unlikely ally

~ part of the fire lilies series ~

The royal square is bustling with activity as the water tribe gets ready for the new day. Merchants prepare their stands and the guards on night watch hand over their position to the morning relief, and everyone is simply much too busy to notice the three teenagers who sneak into the palace and past the guards towards Koa’s office. You lead the way, Sokka by your side while Katara keeps watch from the back, and all three of you are dressed in the exact same shade of blue that lines the inside of the palace. Koa’s office is just around the corner, and it’s with the motion of your hand that you stop your little troop and watch him emerge from the room. His eyes are shifty as always, gauging his surroundings as he locks the door shut, and it’s only when he’s completely out of sight that you rush out from the shadows.

“Sokka, the door,” you instruct, both you and Katara with water at the ready as you keep watch over the boy who gets to work on picking the lock. The transition period between the guards means there’s no one around to catch you, but you can never be too careful with these sorts of things.

Sokka is able to break in within a matter of seconds, allowing the three of you to hurry inside before shutting the door behind you. Koa’s office is neatly organized, so you should have no problem searching through his things for evidence; you take his desk, Katara looks through his shelves, and Sokka keeps an eye on the door in case anyone decides to make a surprise visit.

“You know, this is not how I pictured my first visit to the palace,” Sokka says with a slight frown.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize sincerely, pulling your mask below your chin as you meet his eyes. “Trust me, I wish it didn’t have to be this way either, and I wish I didn’t have to bring you both into this but it’s the only way we can make things right. Koa doesn’t care about the tribe, he only cares about himself, and if my mother and I don’t get the throne back soon there’s no telling what he’ll do.”

“I think I’ve got something,” Katara says, holding up what looks to be a journal.

“What’s it say?” Sokka asks as the two of you peer over her shoulders at the page.

“He’s got everything in here. Notes, check lists, calendars with important dates.”

“You know, for a villain Koa is super organized,” Sokka notes thoughtfully only for his sister to elbow him in the side.

“It looks like there’s a few pages missing from the book,” she says with a frown. “He must have known y/n would come snooping around eventually and taken out the important stuff.”

“But look here,” you say with a small gasp, “according to this he’s hosting a meeting with his supporters tonight in... the tunnel?!”

“You mean your secret tunnel with Zuko?"

“Yes! Oh, I can’t believe him!” You exclaim with disgust. “First my throne and now my secret tunnel?!”

“Don’t worry, Princess,” Sokka vows earnestly, “I’ll go to that meeting tonight and get down to the bottom of all of this. You and Katara keep snooping.”

“We might have to take a rain check on the snooping,” Katara says, “someone’s coming.”

The three of you are quick to scatter out of the office, Sokka going down one hall and you and Katara going down the other. There’s nothing you can do now other than wait for Sokka to come back with more information, and you hope to the spirits that things will turn out okay.

“Don’t worry. This isn’t the first time Sokka’s had to play detective,” Katara consoles you, “we’re going to get that dirt on Koa.”

“For the sake of the Southern Water Tribe, I hope you’re right.”

~~~

Choruses of laughter and lively chatter drift through the tunnel as Sokka approaches the entryway with a confident though causal gait and a charming smile, but this demeanor isn’t enough to get him past the guards who immediately block his path the moment he steps towards the entrance.

“State your business,” the taller of the two says.

“This is the secret anti-Princess meeting, right?” Sokka asks. “I too would like to participate in the slandering of y/n.”

“Aren’t you a friend of the Princess?” The other guard questions, his gaze narrowing suspiciously at the obviously nervous Sokka.

“A friend? Pft! Yeah, right! If by friend you mean enemy!” He scoffs a little too dramatically. “She thinks she’s so great with her... big crown... a-and pretty face... and fancy water bending?”

The two guards exchange quiet glances, and for a moment Sokka fears he’s been caught, but to his delight the two clear the way and allow him entry to the meeting. A good amount of men stand about conversing, most of them strangers to Sokka considering they’re not from his village, and it is because of this that he is able to easily blend in and walk about eavesdropping on the different conversations without being noticed.

“Koa’s going to strengthen our tribe, you’ll see.”

“The Princess will never live up to her father. I bet she cares more about her Fire Lord boyfriend than her own tribe. Koa says it’s true.”

“Koa said it was Prince Zuko who killed Chief Tukon. How can someone be with the person responsible for their own father’s death?! She’s obviously lost her mind.”

“She doesn’t deserve the throne. She’s selfish, she’s childish, and she isn’t even a very good water bender. Did you see her hands? If that were me I wouldn’t have gotten burned.”

“Wow, you guys are seriously misinformed,” Sokka mutters under his breath, his jaw clenching as he bites back the urge to defend your name. Luckily, all conversation ceases as Koa appears at the center of the room, preventing the boy from blowing his cover with an angry outburst.

Sokka scrambles to follow the movements of the other men, most of them guards and a handful of them villagers, but all salute Koa and express their praise for the man who gives them a pleased smile before raising his hand to silence the men.

“Thank you all for coming here. I admire your perseverance and your dedication to the cause. With the rise and fall of the sun a new day approaches, and with each day that passes the Princess continues to fall short of her duties. What has she done other than take part in a mediocre party she threw for herself? What of the rest of us, the men trying to rebuild our lives in the wake of her absence?”

Oh, I don’t know, maybe saved the world, Sokka thinks bitterly to himself. Man, this guy is so lucky Zuko isn’t around.

“Under my rule we could get the Southern Water Tribe back to its rightful place in the world. We don’t need the Fire Nation or our sister tribe or anyone else. Trust in me, and you will have everything you should ever desire.”

“But our sister tribe is our ally,” one of the men says, “I have family there. Shouldn’t we remain in contact?”

“What has the North ever done for you?” Koa sneers, quieting the man and only further fueling Sokka’s hatred for Koa. What does he know?! “Once the Princess is taken care of, the North will be next.”

All the men look upon one another uneasily, but no one dares speak against Koa. Attacking their sister tribe doesn’t seem right, but surely he knows what’s best for them?

“How are we going to take care of the Princess?” Sokka calls from the crowd, deepening his voice and ducking down in the back so as to not draw attention to himself.

“I’m glad you asked,” Koa says with a sinister smirk. “She’s overstayed her welcome for much too long. It’s time we drove her out of the palace once and for all.”

“And how will we do that, sir?”

“A mutiny.”

~~~

“Princess?” Kai splutters in surprise at the sight of you and Katara standing in his front doorway.

“Kai, I know this is a lot to ask of you but I need you to let me go through your father’s things,” you say.

“Okay,” Kai shrugs simply, prompting you and Katara to exchange surprised glances.

“Wait, really? You’re not going to even ask why?”

“I know my dad’s a jerk, and I know you’re doing your best to put the tribe back together,” he explains simply as he leads the two of you to his father’s bedroom. “He’s honestly been kind of a pain lately, and I feel like he’s going to do more harm than good. Why shouldn’t we try to stop him?”

“Wow, that’s really noble of you,” Katara murmurs slowly.

“Maybe if he’d been a little nicer to me I might have reconsidered helping you, but it is what it is. You have plenty of time to explore, but I’ll keep watch just in case he comes back early.”

“Thank you, Kai. Honestly, you have no idea how much this means to me,” you profess earnestly. The boy smiles shyly in return.

“Anything for you, y/n,” he replies, and with that you and Katara are off in search of more evidence.

“I hope Sokka’s doing okay,” you murmur softly as you shuffle through Koa’s things.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Katara consoles you. “You know he’d do anything for you.”

“Yeah, I know...”

“Hey, I found the missing pages!” Katara says, her brows furrowing as she reads over the notes.

“What is it?”

“These notes... They’re plans to invade the North.”

“What?!” You exclaim in surprise as you join her side and peer over the handwriting. “That’s impossible! There’s no way anyone will go along with that.”

“Not according to these papers. ‘Every man is expendable. Do whatever it takes and get rid of anyone who tries to get in the way,’” she reads carefully. “Koa isn’t just trying to take your throne away, but the Northern throne too.”

“He always used to make subtle suggestions about the North to my father when he was advisor, but I never knew they were this serious...” you utter solemnly. “We have to stop him before it’s too late.”

“Y/N! Katara!” Sokka shouts, startling the two of you.

“Sokka, quiet down! You’re going to get us caught!” His sister scolds. “What is it?”

“Koa wants to invade the North!”

“We know that already!”

“Yeah, well do you also know that he and the guards are staging a mutiny three days from now against y/n?!” He reiterates. Your face pales with worry and your stomach begins to sink as you process the news Sokka has just delivered.

“A mutiny?” You squeak, the two siblings immediately ceasing their bickering to rush to your side and comfort you. You try to hold back the tears, but you can’t help the way your shoulders begin to shake and your bottom lip begins to quiver. “I really am a failure...”

“No, don’t say that!” Katara protests, pulling you into her arms for possibly the tightest hug you’ve ever received in your entire life. “None of this is your fault.”

“But it is! You and my mother say it’s not my fault but none of this would have happened if I hadn’t left home!”

“Y/n—”

“And I know what you’re going to say, and no, I don’t regret leaving. I don’t regret any of it because then I wouldn’t have Zuko or Iroh or Suki or you guys. But that doesn’t change the fact that my selfishness has now put both tribes in danger. I’ll never be the leader my father was.”

“No, you won’t,” Sokka says much to your surprise, carefully wiping away the tears that fall down your cheeks. “You’ll never be your father, because you’re not supposed to be like him. You’re you, Princess y/n of the Southern Water Tribe, master water bender and rightful heir to the throne. You can do this.”

“We believe in you, y/n,” Katara reinforces firmly. “And we’re going to help you get through this. No matter what.”

“Thank you,” you sniffle, wiping away your tears before holding your chin high. “You’re right. I can’t get anything done if I just sit here and cry. If Koa wants a fight then I’ll be ready for a fight. Sokka, Katara, I hate to ask this of you but is there any chance your father and his men will be willing to help?”

“Dad already said he’d be here to help if you needed it. Our village is just as eager for the end of Koa’s reign as we are,” Katara says. “They’re falling apart without the resources Koa promised them.”

“We know what’s coming and we know what to do,” Sokka reiterates. “We’ll be ready for Koa.”

“And that’s a promise.”

~~~

The flames of the fire that surround the throne glow brilliantly along the palace walls and bathe the room in a peaceful light. On the throne sits Fire Lord Zuko, his knee bouncing anxiously as he awaits the arrival of his servant. He hopes the delay means there’s news waiting for him, but when she arrives empty handed Zuko deflates.

“There was nothing?”

“We received no new letters from the Southern Water Tribe,” she replies solemnly, bowing her head in respect. Zuko is silent for a moment as he does his best to quell his panic.

“I see,” he murmurs thoughtfully before reaching into his robe for the scroll safely tucked away inside and unraveling it to look over his own letter.

To my beloved Princess,

I haven’t heard from you since I last saw you, I hope you’re alright. I’m sure you’re doing amazing things for your tribe, and I couldn’t be more honored to call you my girlfriend. I wish you only the best and hope this letter finds you well. Please write me back when you can just so I can sleep soundly knowing you’re okay and safe. I love you.

- Zuko

“Make sure this gets to Princess y/n,” he orders as he hands the scroll to the servant.

“Yes, my lord,” she replies earnestly before scurrying off to deliver the message and leaving Zuko to stew in his own thoughts.

“Spirits, help me,” he sighs with a tired rub of his eyes. It’s been a long week and each day that passes without word from you is another day of agonizing torture. “Please be okay...”

You really should have told Zuko about Koa from the beginning.

| tags: @rainteslerrrr @oddment-niwit-blubber-tweak @thebluelcdy @royahllty @the-firebender-girl @coldlilheart @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @knaite-solo @zukh03s @taeeemin @user12345321 @just--artemis--with--ghost @titaniafire @dekahg @emberislandplayers @kikaninchen-2 @lozzybowe @izzieserra @melacholy @music-geek19 @thia-aep @thyunnamed @haylaansmi @nataliahaslosthershit @idkdude776 @aangsupremacy @thirstyforsometea @ihaveaproblem98 @brown-eyed-thang @djskfkdkkf @xapham @yeetletzgetitjae @misnmatchedsox @chewymoustachio @that-bucket-hat-gal @chilifrylizard2 @kyomihann @kaylove12 @kiwihoee @freggietale @neighborhoodpansexualdisaster |

[xxwritemeastoryxx]

Sacrifices

Author: xxwritemeastoryxx

Pairings: Klaus Mikaelson x Reader

Word Count: 2.5K

Warnings: Character death, mentions of blood. Mild trigger warning for thoughts/talks of death (It’s canon typical with the Series Finale, but I wanna add this in there just in case.) 

Author’s Note: Welcome to day 3 of Angst week. This my darlings is the prequel to Temporary Spells. This piece was originally supposed to be posted last year, but as we all know things became chaotic and it was almost impossible to do so. But, it is here now and I am quickly working through my drafts! I’m actually below 20 Items and that doesn’t include the new 2021 requests that I’ve asked for. So I’m making a lot of progress!

Feedback gives me life and motivation for future things. 

Klaus was ready to take the Hollow within him if it meant that Hope got to live a long life, even if it was without him there with her. Klaus knew that his siblings would be there to protect her and be by her side whenever she needed them. Hope would even have Y/N if she ever needed anything at all.

While Klaus had been dead set on this plan of his, Y/N hated it. She hated every part of this plan and she had made it known several times. But as the clock was ticking down for Hope, Klaus wasn’t going to listen to any of Y/N’s plans. The Hybrid’s thick skull was impenetrable once his mind had been set.

Y/N only had a few more hours before Hope would begin her first transition and the Hollow would be pulled from her. While Klaus believed that this was the only way, Y/N knew there had to be another. And the woman wasn’t going to stop until she had found an answer.

She poured through every book she had. Looking for anything and everything she could get her hands on that had been left behind by her family. Some spells couldn’t hold that kind of magic while others were darker than the Magic the Hollow provided, making it the very last resort. For if Y/N dabbled into the darker forms of magic, she knew she’d be lost to it as well.

However, when her phone rang hours later with Elijah’s phone call, she knew she had been too late. Klaus had taken the Hollow into himself and with the help of Hope he and Elijah had been able to bring Klaus back to New Orleans before he could finish the task of killing himself. While one timer reached its end, there was another one that was beginning it’s countdown.

“There has to be something.” Hope said as she watched Y/N flip through the pages of her grimoire.

“I’m trying as best as I can to find something.” Y/N promised.

Even after Freya had tried convincing Hope that there was no amount of magic in the world that could slow the Hollow from taking over Klaus completely, Y/N refused to give up. She refused to believe that there was nothing else they hadn’t tried. When Hope came in and saw that she hadn’t quit like her Aunt had, Hope could only hang on to the sliver of hope that Y/N would find something.

As Y/N continued to flip through one book, Hope’s eyes looked over at the other opened book on the table. The design of it had been foreign to Hope. Even as she read the words along the page, she was curious about it.

“What is this one?” She asked as she looked up at Y/N.

Y/N looked over at Hope and sighed as she took in the page. “It’s a grieving spell. One that my grandmother had created for my grandfather right before she passed.” Her eyes moved back to the pages in front of her as she continued to explain. “One that would grant the person grieving a chance to see their loved one after they’ve passed. It’s temporary in the terms of once the person has stopped grieving, they stop seeing them.”

Hope’s eyes moved back to the page as she ran her fingers over it. “Why do you have it open to this page?”

“A back up plan.” Y/N said with a nod. “Because if your Aunt is right, I think that spell would be best for you.”

Hope’s eyes watered at that. Her lips had tried their hardest not to tremble. “Let’s hope that it doesn’t get to that point.”

_____

Y/N heard Klaus’s footsteps as he entered the room. He could easily hear as her heart sped up for a single moment before it returned to normal. And as he entered the room, she never once looked up at him. Her eyes were still trained on the pages before her. From what he heard, she hadn’t moved from that spot for over a twenty-four hour period.

“Y/N/N,” He began as he came to a stop just a few feet away from the very bed they had shared.

“Don’t.” She said as she quickly shook her head. “Don’t you dare ask me to stop looking because I am not ready to give up.”

“No one is asking you to.” He said softly as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed, careful to not disturb the organized mess that has taken over the top of it. “But we should talk before the night ends.”

“You didn’t want to listen before you left.” She said as she finally tore her eyes away from the book to look over at him. “I asked you-no, begged-for you to let me find a way that didn’t involve us saying goodbye.” Her bottom lip began to tremble. “But you wanted it done your way. And I’m not ready to let you go.”

Klaus quickly took her hands in his as he brought the other one up to rest on her cheek. “We both know there was no other way around this, love. I couldn’t stand by and watch my daughter die from this.”

“I understand, I really do.” And Y/N had. But the thought of Klaus not being around to be with his daughter after all this time of them being a part, Y/N hated the idea. While Hope was her step daughter and Y/N would do anything to keep her safe, Hope needed Klaus more. “But she needs you. She just lost her mother and you are willing to take your own life. How is that fair to her?”

“It isn’t.” Klaus agreed. “But what other choice do we have now?” His eyes moved towards the books before looking back over at her. “We’ve come to the end of this and I have come to terms with what is needed to be done. And I know you will be there for Hope. To care for her and protect her. I couldn’t ask for a better partner to be there for her.”

Y/N bit down on her lip as she tried to blink back the tears that were wanting to spill. She was determined not to break when there was still that thought of hope to keep him from wanting to end his life.

“Would you stop me if I found a way?” She asked cautiously as she looked him in the eye.

A smile pulled at his lips as he took in her words. “If you find something and come swooping in at the last second, I wouldn’t stop you.”

She chuckled at that. “We both know I’m great with timing.”

His hand that rested along her cheek moved down to the side of her neck. “That you are. It is one of the reasons I love you.”

Her eyes watered at his words. “Don’t start saying goodbye.”

“I would never.” He promised. “We both know I’m not particularly fond of emotional goodbyes. I’d rather our last conversation not be filled with words that we say out of sadness.”

“And what would you want our conversation to be?” She asked as her eyes scanned his face. She could see the emotions that were hidden behind his eyes. The ones that he refused to speak of.

As Klaus has stated, he hated emotional goodbyes. He hated the emotions that he’d feel with them or even the hurt that was forced upon the other person. That was something Klaus didn’t want to see on Y/N. He knew his decision hurt her in ways that he’d never be able to fully understand. But for right now, with his time ticking down, he wanted her to be happy.

“How much I love you.” A tug of a smile pulled at his lips. “How much the last several years has meant to me. You kept me sane in my time of need. Especially after visiting Elijah. You managed to make sure I wouldn’t lose myself completely.”

“I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.” She said with a nod. “And that is coming from a witch that promised she wouldn’t get herself involved in vampire business.”

“You just couldn’t resist my charms.” He said with a chuckle that made her laugh in return. “There’s my favorite laugh.”

“It’s usually only you that hears it anyway.” She said with a smile.

“Then I am very lucky, aren’t I?” A bit of a smirk pulled at his lips. “I’ll let you get back to your books.”

Her face fell at that as he began to move away from her. Her chest filled with an emotion that was close to breaking out of her. She couldn’t stop herself from putting the book to the side and following Klaus off the bed until she is standing in front of him.

They looked at each other, words no longer needing to be said between them. They could easily decipher the emotions that were surrounding them. Their eyes held on to each other for only a moment before Klaus closed the distance between them and brought his lips down to hers.

The kiss between them shared everything they had refused to say in that moment. The goodbye that neither of them actually wanted to say. The feelings of fear, love and even the grief that had surrounded them had been conveyed through the kiss. And it wasn’t long before Klaus broke away from her, leaving Y/N completely alone in the room.

_____

Klaus, Y/N, Elijah and Rebekah stood in the streets of the French Quarter. The walk to let Klaus do as he intended had felt the longest. While the others had finally gotten Klaus to agree to a ‘funeral’ as his last few hours, the laughter and fun they had was nothing in comparison to what they felt now.

With a rather quick goodbye for Rebekah and promise of the cure for immortality in the future, Rebekah had left knowing that she couldn’t say goodbye to her brother. Y/N had known, just as the siblings had, that Elijah wanted to take his life with Klaus. It was why he had stayed put instead of leaving as Rebekah had.

Y/N on the other hand knew that this wasn’t going to end as any of them had planned. The time between Klaus leaving her room and the last meal with family, she had found a way around this. She found a way for Klaus to be able to stay with his siblings, with Hope and not have to be the one to sacrifice his life. She had just yet to say anything to anyone.

As Klaus began to walk away from Y/N and Elijah, Elijah moved to take a step after his brother. Y/N reached out and placed her hand on Elijah’s arm, as if to stop him for only a moment. Elijah looked over at Y/N confused by her actions.

“I know your intention is to die with him,” she began. “but it won’t be necessary.”

“This is my decision.” Elijah noted as he took in her words.

“Your death would be pointless seeing as Klaus will not die tonight.” Her words caused Elijah to still for a moment, taking in what she said. “He will not be the one to die tonight. And if your intentions are to go out with him, it will only be you that does.”

Elijah’s eyes quickly moved from her to his brother who had still been walking away from them, unbothered by the conversation they were having. “He can’t hear us.”

She shook her head. “No.” She took a deep breath trying to get her thoughts in order quickly. There wasn’t much time left now. “This evening, I performed a spell unbeknownst to Klaus. One that would tie his death and only the action of his death, with another. He will survive tonight, and Hollow will be gone.”

“If that is true, why not tell him of your plan?” Elijah asked. “Having someone take my brother’s place is a better plan than any.”

“Because in order for someone to take Klaus’s place it needed to be someone that was willing to take his place. No one wants to die, not with that kind of darkness within them. While Klaus is hellbent on taking his own life to ensure Hope’s safety, we both know that girl needs her father in her life.”

As Elijah continued to take in her words, realization formed within him. His eyes searched her face for any proof that he had been wrong. But there was nothing that showed his thoughts had been wrong. And it was as he looked down to where Y/N’s hand had been on his arm, that his thoughts had been proven correct.

Where the dark veins had been climbing up his wrist some time before, they no longer did. For as they moved down, they climbed up Y/N’s wrist. She had been taking the smallest piece of the Hollow that he had within himself.

“A willing participant.” He repeated a moment later. “And what am I to tell my brother when he finds out?”

“I’d be able to tell him.” She said with a nod of her head. “There is a temporary spell put in place that I’d be able to speak with him. To explain my side of things.”

“You should be with him.” Elijah said as his eyes looked over her face, but she had already been shaking her head.

“By the time I got there, it’d be too late.” She explained. Just as she had, she felt blood fall from her nose. Her hand instinctively moved to wipe it. “A human can’t hold that dark magic for long. You should be the one that’s by his side when he finds out. I can already feel the spell working. The hollow is slowly being transferred to me.”

“Y/N,” Elijah began but stopped himself as he watched as her eyes changed from the color he had been so used to seeing turn to a bright blue for only a moment. Once her eyes returned to normal, blood began to spill from the corner of her eyes. “It’s killing you.”

“As planned.” She said with a nod. “Now go, he’s going to need you. Especially after he learns that I did this.”

Elijah only nodded his head before he was gone from her sight. It seemed like only a second had passed before a pain filled her chest. One that told her that Klaus had shoved the white oak stake into his chest.

A cry of pain passed her lips as she fell to the ground. Despite the pain that was filling her body, she felt at peace. Her actions saved not only the man she loved, but saved a child from becoming an orphan. From the moment her eyes landed on the spell, Y/N knew she would go through with it. And as darkness began to take over her senses, she wondered what true peace was like in the afterlife.

The last thing she heard had been the sound of Klaus calling out her name as he tried making his way back to her before the darkness consumed her completely.

Always and Forever Tags:

@taylordrunkonwhiskey @thewolf-and-thesheep @wayward-dan @neeadinghugs @fafulous @kenmen02 @elizamonet @dora-the-grownup @mschellehitt @xanderling @fandom-princess-forevermore @buckysarm4 @hi-my-name-is-riley @helenasingers @alka16555 @hellotvshowtrash @dpaccione @dumble-daddy

Hybrid Tag:

@xxsovereignsarayaxx​

The Originals Tag: 

@zillahvathek @obsessedwithvampires @mikaelson-emma

If you would like to be added to or taken off the taglist, you can do so here!

[pink-flame]

Juke Bodyguard AU Pt.3

Here it is! The third and final part of the Juke Bodyguard AU inspired by your requests from the trope game. I reserve the right to do a standalone in this universe at some point but this wraps things up nicely for now. Enjoy! 

Part 1

Part 2

Bodyguard AU + Love Confessor (Character A confessing their love for Character B to Character C)  

Julie was used to change.

Bad change like when her mom got sick and she had to learn who she was when she couldn’t see it reflected back at her through her mother’s eyes. Bad change like when music felt like a stranger and everything she had ever wanted seemed suddenly pointless.

Good change like when she found her way back to it with a vengeance, Alex and her dad and Reggie and Carlos and Flynn refusing to give up until she started chasing her dream again. Good change like when against all odds those dreams actually started coming true, the record deal, and the hit albums and now her first national tour, a new city every night.

What she wasn’t used to was waiting for a change that didn’t seem to be coming.

She had been so sure after what she now internally referred to as “the flu incident” that things between her and Luke would change. That their vaguely flirty dynamic would transition naturally into more flu incident level expressions of affection and then a love confession, marriage and 2-3 obnoxiously good looking babies. Not right away on those last two or anything but still.

And yet here they were, three months and 24 shows later, and they were right back in vaguely flirty territory. Only she was finding it harder and harder to flirt back now that the realization that flirting was all it might ever be started to sink in.

And maybe that was the way it was supposed to be.

After all, he was her bodyguard. She was technically his boss.

She was a strong, independent woman with a thriving music career. She didn’t need some floppy haired boy to complete her life.

Didn’t stop her from wanting him though.

She didn’t bother to go to Alex for advice since he was firmly on what he had taken to calling “Team Juke”. Reggie wasn’t much better, asking her if Luke was there every time she called and never believing her when she told him she was alone. So she did what she always did when she needed someone to tell her the harsh truth.

She called Flynn.

“Look, girl, I haven’t met him but I’ve seen him on tv hovering behind you so I get it. He’s so your type. But he’s not real. He’s a fantasy you can get invested in because you know nothing will ever come of it.”

“It could,” She grumbled into the phone.

“Are you planning on confessing that you’re madly in love with him any time soon?” Flynn countered pointedly.

“I can’t,” Julie answered quickly. “Not when it’s so obvious he doesn’t feel the same.”

“Then he’ll always be a fantasy. He’s like air.”

Julie sighed.

“Cute air.”

“You wouldn’t have called me if you weren’t tired of feeling like this,” Flynn insisted. “I’m not going to let you get your heartbroken. And right now you’re on tour with Luke. So the key is avoiding those big, beautiful, dangerous eyes.”

And as much as the idea of avoiding Luke, eyes and all, seemed ridiculous when he was literally paid to follow her around, she knew she had to give it a try.

Because Flynn was right.

If she couldn’t have him then she couldn’t let him consume her life.

She was sure she would get a great song out of the situation one day but for now she just needed to pull back a little until she could see him as just a coworker she was friendly with. She could do that. Right? Of course she could. She was Julie Molina.

Only it was easier said than done.

Because Luke did not seem to take the hint.

She came stumbling off the stage after a particularly epic encore, vision blurry from the blinding lights, every muscle weak from hours of exertion, yet feeling incredible. At least she was feeling incredible until she tripped over her own unstable feet and Luke was right there, like he always was, to catch her. His hands latched onto her forearms gently, steadying her even as he grinned directly and dangerously into her eyes.

“You ok there, Boss?”

Julie managed a nod, the pounding of her heart combined with the still echoing roar of the crowd leaving his voice sounding far away and yet annoyingly clear.

“They were loving you out there,” He told her in that specific, Luke way. “You were amazing, Jules. Insane, spectacular, rad!”

This guy and his insistence on using slang from two decades ago. She definitely didn’t find that endearing.

She had to stick to the plan.

Julie ducked her head and pushed back from his grip gently at the same time.

“Thanks.”

She glanced up just long enough to see a confused and slightly hurt look on his face before she pushed past him and headed towards the green room, Alex falling into step next to her.

“Are we going to talk about why you just kicked that helpless puppy over there?” Alex asked.

Julie punched him in the arm.

“Keep your voice down, he’s right behind us! And that helpless puppy is literally the very capable bodyguard tasked with keeping me alive, so.”

“So you admit you kicked him,” Alex responded in a completely unhelpful manner.

“Ugh, shut up,” Julie groaned, glancing back and catching Luke’s eager eyes for a split second before quickly facing forward again. “I have a plan.”

“Flynn has a plan,” Alex corrected. “A stupid plan that she never would have suggested if she had seen for herself how crazy he is about you.”

“Has he said that?” She turned her head towards her best friend sharply.

Alex tilted his head.

“Not in so many words but Julie…”

“Then we stick to the plan.” She interrupted determinedly.

Alex sighed.

“Idiots, I’m surrounded by idiots.”

A couple of weeks later, Julie was starting to think he was right.

She had been doing her best to keep her relationship with Luke strictly business and it was somehow more exhausting than the two shows a week and all the time spent trying to sleep in a tour bus cot. She pretended to be busy when he offered to work on a song. She said she was tired when he tried to get her to join him for a beer with the roadies. She pretended she didn’t see him trying to catch her eye during the thousand little moments during the day when she had grown used to making eye contact with him to laugh at something Alex had said or roll their eyes when her manager tried to talk her into something completely dumb.

It was exhausting.

And the thing was it wasn’t even working.

Because every sad, kicked puppy look (as Alex called it) he gave her only left her more distracted and in more emotional turmoil. Part of her was a little mad at him. How dare he look so hurt that she wasn’t playing their usual game when he clearly didn’t want anything more? She wasn’t just a convenient outlet for his excessive flirting energy. But mostly she was just mad at herself for thinking that this ludicrous plan could ever work.

She had thought he was trouble since the moment she met him.

And she was definitely in trouble now.

It was the night of the last show of the tour and they were back in LA to finish things off. Flynn was too sick to come (ironically she thought she had the flu) but Julie’s family were out there in the VIP section. Even Reggie had come down from San Francisco to catch the show.

Julie was feeling oddly nervous for some reason. She had grown up dreaming of playing the Orpheum. It was the smallest venue she was playing on the whole tour, her manager had tried to talk her out of it, but she had insisted it was the Orpheum or nothing. Reggie and Alex had taken her to so many shows there when she was a teenager, it’s where she had discovered rock. Somehow even after everything she knew it wouldn’t fully feel like she’d achieved her dreams until she played there. It was time. Only she had finally made it there and she felt like she was going to throw up.

She wanted desperately to seek Luke out so he could tell some dumb joke to distract her or give her one of his borderline too intense pep talks. But she wasn’t doing that anymore. In fact she had insisted he go take his break now before the show, promising not to leave her green room just to keep herself from giving in to the urge.

“You doing alright there, Jules? You look kind of green.”

Julie spun on her heels and barreled directly into her big brother’s arms.

“Oof!” He huffed as she knocked the air from his lungs, his arms still coming up to wrap around her despite his shock. “You ok?”

“I’m fine,” She told him, her voice muffled as she buried her face against his chest. “It’s just that it’s the Orpheum and you know what that means to me, and the whole family is here to see me play and I’m so nervous and I’m missing Mom and I’m totally in love with my dumb bodyguard.”

Reggie pushed her back by the shoulders until he could see her blotchy face.

He reached up to ruffle her hair affectionately.

“First of all, Flynn and I totally called it,” He said with a smirk. “And Alex swears the two of you have taken ten years off of his life with your stupidity.”

“Alex talks too much,” Julie grumbled. “And Flynn is the one who told me to stay away from his annoyingly pretty eyes to begin with.”

“That’s only because she wants you to be happy. So do I by the way. And this?” He waved his hand to indicate her current state. “I hate to break it to you, Jules, but this isn’t happy.”

Julie sighed as her shoulders sagged and all of the fight went out of her at once.

“I know,” She said defeatedly. “But what am I supposed to do? I can’t force my feelings on the guy especially when I’m his boss. That’s creepy on top of being pathetic.”

“Funny,” Alex broke in from the doorway. “That’s exactly what he just said to me.”

Julie just gaped at him for a few long seconds while Reggie and Alex exchanged amused yet exasperated looks.

“Wait...what did he say exactly?” Julie finally managed to get out.

Alex rolled his eyes.

“Oh you know, ‘What did I do? Why is Julie mad at me? I’m so in love with her do you think she figured it out? Did I come off as a creep? Do you think she’ll have my babies?’”

Julie felt her mouth drop open.

“Dude!” Reggie protested.

“Ok, so the last part was more implied than said directly,” Alex admitted.

“But he said he loves me?” Julie asked hurriedly.

“Yeah,” Alex confirmed. “I’ve been telling you he does for months by the way, but nobody listens to me.”

Julie ignored her best friend’s statement and sprinted for the door.

“Where are you going?” Reggie called after her.

“You go on in ten!” Alex added frantically.

“I’ll make it!” She shouted back without slowing down.

She ran down the hallway, dodging makeup artists and promoters and so many people she’d wanted to impress just a few minutes before. There was only one person she wanted to see at that moment.

Julie kept going until she found the exit that led to the alley outside and burst through it. Luke felt caged in if he was inside for too long, something about living in a garage for a year as a teen. He stuck by her side and did his job perfectly but any chance he got she knew he could be found breathing in the fresh air and feeling like his lungs could fully expand. Sure enough, there he was, leaning against the probably filthy wall humming some song that she knew would be amazing if he ever really gave it life.

He stood straight and took two steps towards her as soon as she emerged from the door, a look of concern immediately taking over his features.

“Julie? What are you doing out here? You’re about to go on…”

She closed the distance between them and stopped just a half step closer than she normally would, her sudden proximity shutting him up for a moment.

She just looked up at him for a few seconds, just to enjoy it after weeks of denying herself. He broke the eye contact first, chuckling awkwardly as he looked down briefly.

“What?”

“Can you do me a favor?” She asked seriously.

He answered instantly.

“Anything, Julie, you know that.”

“Tell me what you just told Alex.”

His face drained of color, almost ghost like in appearance.

“He promised he wouldn’t say anything,” He mumbled.

Julie shrugged.

“He probably wouldn’t have if he hadn’t walked in on me telling my brother pretty much the same thing.”

Luke’s eyes widened comically as he took in her words.

“You told your brother that I did something to make you hate me and that I don't know what it is and it’s eating me up inside?” He asked in confusion.

“I told him I love you,” She said bluntly, all the bravery she had inherited from her mom giving her the nerve. “And that I’ve been trying to distance myself from you because I didn’t think you felt the same.”

“That’s...that’s...Jules, that’s crazy!” He exclaimed, bouncing a little to emphasize his words. “I’m head over heels, crazy in love with you. Always have been.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” She asked softly, managing to step even closer to him.

His eyes softened as he reached down to tuck one of her curls behind her ear.

“Because you’re my boss, and you’re totally out of my league. You’re this super talented, total force of nature. I mean you’re Julie Molina and I’m…”

“A big fan?” Julie interrupted, raising one eyebrow teasingly.

Luke froze.

“How did you…”

“I’ve been in your apartment, remember? When you had the flu I snooped a little. Sorry. The fact that you have my first album on vinyl is one thing but to have a cd of my first EP is really impressive. I didn’t know hard copies of that still existed…”

Like groaned.

“Ok, ok. You got me. I didn’t want you to think I was a pathetic fanboy, alright?”

Julie grinned.

“Isn’t that what you are?”

Luke smiled softly down at her, brushing the back of two fingers over her cheek.”

“Only for you, Boss.”

Julie instinctively stretched onto her toes, raising her face towards his, her eyes starting to flutter shut…

BANG

They sprang apart and spun to face Alex who had just emerged breathing heavily into the doorway behind them.

“You know no one is more Team Juke than I am but Julie you are going on in 2 minutes!”

“Oh crap,” Julie said. “I’m coming.”

Alex shot her a skeptical look.

Julie glared at him until he sighed and disappeared back inside.

“Team Juke?” Luke asked.

Julie giggled, already backing towards the door.

“Don’t ask. I’ve got to go but later we should talk about your future with the company.”

Luke’s eyebrows shot up.

“You’re firing me?”

Julie grinned.

“Well, I think we both might find your current duties a little too distracting. I think I need a stoic, middle aged man built like a linebacker. But we’ve been looking to hire a new songwriter to help me with the next album if you know anyone who might be interested.”

Luke grinned back.

“I might.”

He bit his lip and stared after her with those big, beautiful, dangerous eyes.

He was such trouble.

Julie ran back to him wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning up to a plant a quick kiss on his lips, pulling back before he could fully register what she was doing.

“Hold that thought,” She whispered with a smile before turning and running back through the door and towards the second dream come true of the night.

She was Julie Molina. She was about to play the Orpheum. She was in love with her bodyguard.

She was in trouble and she couldn’t be happier about it.

[winterscaptain]

push.

Aaron Hotchner x Gender Neutral Reader

a/n: alright, team! this one covers cradle to grave and the eyes have it. i am so excited to share this with you, and we are that much closer to 100. ahh!! (i also mistakenly noted that infirmity was part three and it is in fact part four. while i can write, i made no promises in regard to counting.)

an ajf fic arc that happily stands on its own! (the pieces stand alright on their own as well, for the most part!) one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten | eleven

words: 4.2k warnings: canon-typical violence and discussion of violence, language

summary: “if you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” - t.s. eliot. a shift, a transition, and a lie.

masterlist | a joyful future masterlist | requests closed!

Aaron meanders around the store, looking into the glass cases. There’s very little purpose, very little direction. He figures, just like the first time, the right one will make itself known. 

What are you doing? 

He takes a breath, ignoring that pesky little voice in his head, focused on the task at hand.

I’m listening to Haley. What are you doing?

Playing devil’s advocate because you shouldn’t be doing this right now. What are you thinking?

I don’t know. Fuck off. 

The man behind the glass greets him, asking if he’s looking for anything in particular. 

“Yes,” Aaron says, only a little startled out of his thoughts, “though I’m not quite sure what it is, yet.” His gaze wanders. “Can I see that one, please?”

He takes a close look, but it’s not quite right. 

He’ll find it. 

+++

You’re still at your desk when Hotch leaves JJ’s office, late. You throw him a little bit of a smile as he frowns at you. 

Why are you still here? 

You shrug. Work?

He snorts. Sure. and hops up the stairs to his office. There’s a moment where he stops short at the door. With a little bit of a startle, you realize Strauss is in there. 

How did I miss that?

JJ arrives in the bullpen with an armful of files, and you tip your head toward Hotch’s office. She works her distribution, setting folders down, her eyes glued to the window. 

When Strauss leaves, you both busy yourselves, looking up as she passes. 

She greets the both of you with your formal titles, and a chill runs down your spine. 

“Ma’am.”

“Ma’am.” 

You and JJ echo each other, throwing an approximation of a smile in her direction. 

What the fuck? 

You exchange a look with JJ once Strauss is out of sight, nod, and stand. 

Reaching his door, you note that he hasn’t moved. 

“Hotch?”

He’s still as he answers. “Yes?”

Something feels wrong. Really really wrong. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” 

You stand there for a moment as he turns over his shoulder and returns to his desk. He knows better than to meet your eyes - then you’ll know for sure he’s lying. 

Choose your battles. 

Protect him. 

How? 

Just try. 

“Goodnight, Hotch.” 

+++

“You’re kidding.” 

You look up from your file at Spencer, who has a manic little grin on his face. “What?”

“You’re not going to believe this.” 

“Try me.”

He laughs. “Someone started this blog called What Would Carl Sagan Do? and it’s so woefully inaccurate I’m wondering if this is some kind of 100-level school project, it’s -”

Derek walks in and you beam at him. He doesn’t return it. “What’s the case?”

“What case?” You ask, the smile falling from your face. 

“I just got three emails from Hotch about cases.” 

A little confused noise leaves you as you refresh your email once...twice. “I don’t have anything.”

Spencer follows suit. “I didn’t get any emails from Hotch, or did I?” He checks. “Nothing.” 

With a sigh and a huff, Derek puts his things down and walks purposefully toward Hotch’s office. Spencer looks back at you. 

“Wonder what that’s about.”

You hum, looking back at your file to hide your face. “I dunno.” 

What happened last night?

+++

“What’s with Hotch?” Derek catches up to you in the hallway on the way to your hotel room at the end of the first day. Naturally, he’s not at all out of breath. 

You frown at him. “What do you mean?”

You know exactly what he means. 

“You’re a shit liar.” 

You chuff at him and unlock your door, opening it and shepherding him in. “Alright. Fine. He’s stressed.”

“He’s...stressed? Really? That’s all you’ve got for me?”

Throwing your hands up, “It’s not like he tells me everything, Derek.” 

You do know, however, that Jack spent his fourth birthday in protective custody, with only a surveillance feed to satiate Aaron’s need to see his son. 

It sucks. 

“Yeah, but -” He pulls the chair from the little desk and sits backwards on it while you take your shoes off. “ - you know him.” 

“You’ve known him far longer than I have.” 

“It’s different. I’ve been working with him longer, but you know him better.”

You can’t deny that. “Well…” You search and search for a viable explanation. “...maybe he’s just more open to help than he usually is? He knows how good you are at your job, so…” Your mouth twists. “...I think it’s a compliment that he’s relying on you more and asking for your opinion on things.” 

He squints, thinking. He “hmphs” once before standing up, replacing the chair, and heading toward the door. 

“I’ll tell you if I hear anything.” 

No I won’t. 

The side of his mouth lifts. “No, you won’t.” Then, “Goodnight, kid. Get some sleep.” 

+++

Aaron hands him an aggressively annotated copy of the preliminary profile. “Morgan, in order for the profile to be useful it has to generate multiple scenarios about what the unsub is doing. Rewrite it.” 

You have to admit you’ve been looking between each of them like a particularly interesting game of tennis as they volley back and forth. 

It’s tense...and confusing. 

Derek looks completely crestfallen. You wipe the confusion off of your face as best you can and exchange it for something you hope is empathetic. 

Hotch pulls JJ aside to discuss her new findings while Derek joins you at the table. 

“What is with him?”

You shake your head. “I wish I knew.” Your gaze wanders over to him, where he’s watching the pair of you. You look away, focused on the profile Hotch returned to Morgan. 

Your next words are almost a sigh. “I know he pushes hard, but…I just...don't know.” 

+++

You take a deep breath as Derek snatches a piece of paper from the printer and stalks to Hotch’s office. 

Maybe this time, they will kill each other. 

Who would win? 

Hm. Catch-22. They both lose. 

Even then, you’ll always put your money on Aaron. 

You keep your eyes on them and you know JJ’s doing the same. Part of you is always ready to bridge a rift between Aaron and Derek. For some reason or another, they both listen to you when you tell them they’re acting like shitheads. 

So, they listen. Often. 

Hotch’s jaw tenses and, though you can’t hear him, you can tell he’s raising his voice, his tone growing harder. 

That’s it. 

You shove off from the desk and open the door without knocking, interrupting Derek mid-thought. They both look at you and don’t even have the good graces to look caught out. 

“Garcia needs to talk to us.” 

Hotch takes a talking breath, but you cut him off. 

“Now.” You tip your head. “Please,” you add for good measure. 

They brush past the both of you, Derek’s fingers brushing your sleeve as he passes. 

You catch the hem of Aaron’s suit jacket and tug. 

He turns on you - there’s still a lot of fire in his gaze and for a moment, you let yourself be intimidated, looking away from him and bringing your hand back. 

There’s a sigh, and you know he feels bad (just a little). “Yes?”

“You’ll tell me if you want help, right?”

He meets your gaze. There is so much going on behind those deep brown irises you don’t even know where to start. “Yes.” 

Liar.

I miss you. 

Not satisfied, but pacified for now, you turn and lead the way back to the table. You meet Derek’s eyes and shake your head just a little. 

Damn it. 

+++

When you’re done with Penelope, you find an excuse to get Derek alone. Your conversation, somehow, is already heated. 

“He’s just trying to challenge you, Morgan.” Your body language isn’t great, but you can’t bring yourself to care. Arms crossed, tight mouth - you’re the picture of frustration. 

He’s restless - shifting his weight back and forth. “I don’t understand it. He’s on my ass about shit he’s never been on my ass about before.” 

“Did you even hear what I said?”

“Yes, I did.” He stops moving, gesturing sharply with an open, flat hand. “Why is he challenging me, when he’s the one under the gun?” 

You close your eyes and press your fingers to the bridge of your nose. “Did you ever think, just once, maybe, he wants to make sure this team still functions if something happens to him?” 

Derek, finally, has the good sense to deflate. You follow suit, leaning on the desk behind you. 

“We almost lost him a couple of months ago,” you remind him. “If we don’t know everything his position entails, we will not be able to help him if there’s a next time.” 

You step forward, a fond little laugh in your voice. “Derek - you’re a natural leader, a great tactician. There’s no better person for him to build up, just in case.” 

He breaks your gaze, thinking. 

For good measure, you add, “He respects you a great deal. Remember when you said you tolerate him, just for me?” You hold his gaze as it returns to you. “I think that’s bullshit.” 

Another breath. He steps forward, meeting you in the middle of the isolated, small conference room. You offer him a small, closed-mouth smile. 

“Come here, kid.” 

You tuck into his arms with a little laugh. “How did you two manage before I got here?”

You can feel his laugh rumble through him. “You have no idea.” 

+++

Of course, under Derek’s careful tactical direction, everything goes according to plan. Textbook soft entry, no hostages, peaceful takeover, and four rescued victims by the end of it. 

“I love these ones,” you say, standing between Aaron and Derek in the precinct as a family forms before your eyes. 

“Which ones?” Aaron asks. 

“The ones where we all get to go home, and so do they.” 

+++

“Well, I guess it’s time,” Derek says, pushing back from his desk and rising. You’ve both stayed late for one reason or another, with the excuse of paperwork. 

Really, Derek was building his nerve, and really, you were waiting for Aaron. 

You furrow your brow. “Time for what?”

“Hotch wants to see me.” 

“What does he want?”

He laughs a little. “I thought you’d know.” 

You shake your head, so he shrugs and walks up the stairs, knocking twice on Aaron’s door before stepping inside. 

They immediately take a seat, but not at Aaron’s desk. 

Red flag.

You know it’s ridiculous to worry, but nevertheless, you pace around the bullpen as the boys talk upstairs. It looks serious, given the image before you. They both sit forward in their chairs, lit by the warm light from Hotch’s lamp, their elbows on their knees, their hands loosely laced. 

Other than on the plane, you’re not sure you’ve ever seen them sit so close together. 

Aaron didn’t close the door, but still you know to keep your distance. The coffee pot is scrubbed again, the mugs reorganized, and you return to your desk after you run out of tasks, still fidgety. 

“What?” You hear. “No!” 

Your head whips up to the office at Derek’s outburst. They simmer down again after a moment, but continue talking with low brows and lower voices. 

They rise after a few more minutes, and Derek swings out of the door and whistles for you. “Hop to, kid, let’s go.” 

Your brow crinkles, but you jog up the stairs and land in the doorway. “What’s going on?”

Derek and Hotch exchange a look. 

“Have a seat,” Aaron says, finally. You follow instructions, sitting gingerly on the couch. 

What the hell is going on? 

Aaron sits across from you, looking a little lighter than he did this afternoon. You’re hoping it’s good news. 

“I’m resigning as unit chief at the end of this week.” You open your mouth and move to protest with your entire body, but Aaron’s hand stops you. “Wait. Hold on. Feel free to get mad at me when I’m done, but I’m not done yet.”

Is he...smiling? 

No, but it’s close. 

You freeze, waiting. 

He speaks to you like a scared animal, likely remembering the last time he tried to resign and you chased him across the office. “Morgan will be taking over as acting unit chief until we catch Foyet. I will return to my post at the conclusion of the investigation.” 

You still don’t move as you ask, “You’re staying on the team, though, right?” 

He nods. 

So it’s not as bad as you thought. “Why?”

Aaron glances at Morgan, who sits heavily beside you. You settle down and mirror their postures from earlier, feeling a little like a co-conspirator. “I’ve shared this with Morgan and I’ll share it with you, but -”

“- don’t tell anyone. Got it.”

His lips twitch. “Right. The bureau thinks that my ability to lead this team has been compromised.” 

You blink at him, waiting for him to continue. 

“What do you think?” He asks. 

This is a trick. He’s tricking me. 

“What do you mean ‘what do I think?’”

His gaze is definitely a little amused as he watches you. “I mean, what do you think?”

“Hm. That’s helpful.”

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in Derek’s head. 

He’s never seen two people more well-suited for each other. The fact that you’re giving Hotch shit right now to avoid answering the question speaks only to the closeness between you. You push him harder, give him more hell, and have the power to make him more miserable than anyone else. 

And yet, he loves you. It’s so clear. Why can’t you see it? Why can’t he see it?

You’re both profilers, for fuck’s sake. 

Derek’s eyes flicker back and forth, watching the raise of your eyebrows and the upturned corners of Aaron’s mouth. There’s a fondness between you - it rests in your eyes - as you wait each other out. 

God, they’re stupid. It’s written all over their faces. 

Aaron repeats himself, but slower. “Do you think my ability to lead this team has been compromised?”

You sigh, finally breaking his gaze to focus on one of the degrees on Aaron’s wall. “Alright, fine. I have been...concerned about some of your choices in the field the last few weeks.” You meet his eyes again. “Though, I believe I’ve told you as much in the moment, so that shouldn’t come as much of a shock.” 

He snorts and you swat lightly in his direction, purposefully missing him entirely. 

“But I don’t think there’s anyone better to lead this team.” You look over at Morgan. “Not to say you can’t or shouldn’t do it, but -”

Derek interrupts you. “- No, I agree.” 

You nod, turning back to Aaron. “Out of curiosity, what’s the alternative?”

His eyebrows rise for a moment. “The alternative is, I remain in my post until I am inevitably removed. In that instance, the team will be split and budgets will be cut.” 

“Oh.” 

“But,” he continues, “if I promote internally, we can avoid that.” 

It’s unsettling, to be sure, but not the end of the world. You think about it - what the team would look like with Hotch as just “one of you,” and Derek at the helm. 

Your eyes flicker to Aaron, taking in his suit, the strong set of his shoulders, the authoritative brow, the serious mouth. It wouldn’t be quite right, but it is better than the alternative.

God, he’s handsome.

We knew that. 

I know, but look at him. 

You’ve looked too long without talking. Derek noticed. He starts to think, already excited for Hotch to resume his post so he can start a betting pool on how long it’ll take for you two to finally give in to whatever...this is. 

Weirdly, though, he wouldn’t call it tension. It’s more like a blanket - covering the both of you in a kind of warmth that radiates to everyone in the vicinity. 

Derek has no idea how you got into Aaron’s good graces so quickly, why he trusted you so early on, but it’s made him a better leader, a better agent. 

He might even go so far as to say you’ve made him a better man. 

“I think,” you say, slowly, “given the circumstances, that Morgan leading the team until we catch Foyet would be a sound decision.” Your lips twitch into a smile. “And now I get to share the burden of being the one who gets pissed at you when you pull risky shit in the field.” 

Aaron almost smiles, but it’s enough. “Alright, then.” He stands and so does Morgan, so you follow suit. He crosses around to his desk, where two massive boxes of files are waiting. 

“If you intend on getting any sleep tonight,” he tells you, “I would recommend you leave now.” 

You suppress a smile. “And miss all this?” You gesture to both the file boxes and the boys. “No way.” 

+++

The next morning is...hectic, to say the least. 

Strauss stole Morgan the second he arrived, so naturally Penelope came up to the bullpen to keep tabs. “So, did anyone say why Hotch is stepping down?” 

You keep your eyes on your work, pretending to be only half-tuned into the conversation. There are eyes on you for a minute before you look up and cursorily shake your head. 

“All Morgan said this morning is that it’s happening,” JJ says. “Business as usual, I guess.” 

Emily’s not so easily appeased, sitting on the corner of your desk. “So we’re just supposed to move forward without any discussion?”

 Oh, there was a discussion. You just weren’t part of it. 

You look up for real and put your pen down. “I think we’d have to prepare for anything after Foyet, don’t you?”

The rest of you quiet down as Hotch descends the stairs. You’re the only one who keeps your eyes on him. 

No need to pretend you’re busy when he already knows you’re paying attention. 

“...I’ll have all my things cleared out and it will be all yours.” 

No. 

Your brow crinkles and you look up at the office. It feels...wrong, somehow, to imagine that room without its shelves of legal citation books, legal dictionaries…

Legal this, legal that. 

Could he be any more of a lawyer?

No. 

“Hotch, I don’t want your office.” Their voices are low, but they carry - especially to shamelessly eavesdropping ears. 

Strauss starts talking, but honestly, it just sounds like static. 

“All due respect, Ms. Strauss,” Derek says, “but both of you have trusted me to step in as acting unit chief. I’m asking you to respect my decision.” 

You drop your head down to your paperwork, a proud smile pushing at the corner of your lips. 

“I’ve decided I don’t want Hotch’s office. That’s where he belongs. If necessary, we can discuss this again at a later date, but right now, we really need to get started on this case.” 

He looks up, and you all pretend to be doing something else. It’s a ridiculous showing, really. 

“Guys. Grab Rossi.” 

Emily huffs, jumping off your desk. “I got ‘im.” 

+++

It’s weird at first as you all settle in and get used to looking at Derek more often. He’s doing well - asking good questions on the plane and stepping in when you arrive at the precinct. 

Aaron still looks like the authority in the room, but that’s just how he is. There’s more than one occasion where you’re forced to hide your smile as he intentionally and mindfully defers to Derek in front of the local officers. 

It’s not actually funny in any comedic sense, but the strangeness of it all gets to you a little bit. 

You’re driving (another perk of Derek being in charge - he lets you drive) while Hotch takes shotgun. You’ve just hung up the phone, where Hotch said again “It’s your call, Morgan.” 

It made you smile, and now you’re under fire. 

“What’s funny?”

You check (again) that you’re the only two in the car. You are. “It’s just weird. I’m getting used to it.” 

“What? That we’re the same rank?”

Honey, we’ll never be the same rank. 

“Sure,” you reply, dubious. “Like you and I are in the same league at all.” 

He shakes his head, playing off the twinge of hurt that doesn’t come from his freshly healing wounds.

In his mind, you’re right in more ways than one. 

That train of thought led him down a rabbit hole he’s now punishing himself for. Why he should even have half a thought dedicated to any of that is completely beyond him...

“What’s wrong?” 

He shakes his head. “Nothing.” 

You glance at him out of the corner of your eye. “You know I can tell you’re lying to me without even looking at you, right?”

A sigh. “Oh, yeah?”

DIdn’t think he’d answer that one. 

“You have a tell when you’re lying to me, specifically. It’s different from your other tells.” 

“Is that so?” He sounds skeptical. 

“Mhmm.”

You can almost feel him squint. “Are you going to elaborate on that?”

“Nope. If I do, you’ll stop doing it and I have to start from scratch.” You shoot him another glance and the corner of your mouth tips up. “And I don’t take orders from you, anymore, so you can’t make me.” 

His fond eye roll finally breaks you, and you laugh at the absurdity of it all. He doesn’t break himself, but it’s the thought that counts. 

Your laughter is the best reward to him, anyway. 

+++

Goddamn it, Aaron. 

If you had a dime for every time you’ve had that thought in the last eight weeks, you’d have...a shitload of dimes. 

You’re chasing after him, because of course he ran after the unsub without backup. It’s like he’s on a mission to give you hypertension. 

“FBI! Get off her!” You hear his voice, rough and authoritative (you, of course, ignore what that does to your anatomy) and round the corner. 

You find him grappling with the unsub, cuffing him. 

With a sigh, you take over - holstering your weapon and hauling the unsub to his feet. 

Derek walks over with Emily after you’ve passed the unsub to the local officers for processing. “What happened?”

“Hotch took him down by himself.” 

“You’re kidding.” 

You press your mouth into a thin, facetious line. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

Derek shakes his head with a huff that’s almost a laugh and returns to Hotch, who clarifies the aforementioned events. He looks over at you. “Did you tell him you were right behind me?”

You just stare at him. 

Derek takes over, saving you the trouble of getting too annoyed with Aaron. “You should have waited for backup.” 

Unit Chief Derek, in with the feedback. Very nice. 

You look unfairly smug, but the look drops off your face when Hotch answers, almost smiling, “Would you have?”

You're confronted with an image - Aaron, ten years ago, only a little older than you, a young, hotshot agent with a sarcastic streak a mile wide. 

Poor Gideon...

Derek just turns with another sigh, off to do whatever acting unit chiefs do. 

Emily manages to hold her laugh until he’s out of earshot. Hotch, passing her, just smirks. “What?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing.”

+++

Alright, that’s enough. 

You rise from your desk and pat Derek’s shoulder on your way past him. “Proud of you.” It’s casual, almost a throwaway line. If it was any kind of serious, you know he’d hate it. 

A little staccato hum leaves his throat. He’s still working, and you leave him to it. 

You knock twice on Hotch’s office door before letting yourself in. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he replies but doesn’t look up. 

You sit at one of the chairs and prop your chin on the heel of your hand. “How late are you staying?”

“You should go home. it’s late.” His response is absent, at best. You’re not even sure he actually heard you. 

“Hey.”

He finally looks up, his brown eyes tired and bloodshot. “What?” His tone isn’t unkind, but it isn’t patient, either. 

“You should go home. It’s late.” 

He heaves a sigh and lets it out through his mouth, choosing not to acknowledge your use of his words against him. “Can’t.”

You hum, looking over his nameplate to the files on his desk. “He’ll still be there tomorrow, you know.”

“That’s the problem.” 

“Fine,” you relent. “Then let me help.” 

He doesn’t protest when you reach across the desk for the first case file, so you figure you have tacit permission.

Maybe, just maybe, if you learn this case backwards and forwards, too, something will change. 

Your love for the man across from you makes that lie easier to swallow. 

+++

tagging: @arganfics @quillvine @stxrryspencer @agenthotchner @hurricanejjareau @ughitsbaby @rousethemouse @criminalsmarts @shrimpyblog @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @good-heavens-chris-evans @davidrossi-ismydad @angelsbabey @writefasttalkevenfaster @venusbarnes @hotchsflower @ogmilkis @marvels-agents100 @hotchslatte @risenfox @mrs-dr-reid @captain-christopher-pike @dwellingsofrosie @pan-pride-12 @sunshine-em @word-scribbless @jdougl-love @sageellsworth05 @dreila03 @forgottenword @aaronhotchnerr @ssa-morgan @buckybau @sana-li @tegggeeee @abschaffer2 @ssacandice-ray @ellyhotchner @lotties-journey-abroad @mrs-joel-pimentel-23-25 @laneygthememequeen @violentvulgarvolatile  @mooneylupinblack @ssareidbby @violet-amxthyst @bwbatta @roses-and-grasses @lcvischmitt @capricorngf @missdowntonabbey @averyhotchner @mandylove1000 @cevanswhre @qvid-pro-qvo @jeor @spencers-hoodrat @infinity1321 @zizzlekwum @popped-weasels @evee87 @nuvoleincielo @this-broken-band-girl @reidtomestyles @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @winqhster @spencerelds @the-falling-in-the-danger @nattylite49 @crazyshannonigans @ambicaos

[blu-joons]

The Dodgy Edit ~ Jeon Jungkook

You called out Jungkook’s name as you finished editing the video you’d put together, excited to show him. It was your first time ever trying something like this, and the pressure was on when he was such a talented director himself.

“Everything alright?” He asked as he ran up the stairs, joining you in the bedroom. “What have you been doing?” He continued, recognising the software you had open on your laptop.

“I’ve just been messing around, but I made you something,” you proudly smiled as his eyes lit up. He quickly moved around to sit on the end of the bed behind your desk chair, spotting a few of the clips you’d pieced together straight away.

It was nowhere near as good as anything Jungkook could make, but you’d still put a lot of effort into making it. With your anniversary fast approaching you really wanted to try and do something special for the two of you this year.

“So, this is what you’ve been doing every time you’ve tried to tell me you’re ringing your family?” He laughed, hitting his forehead gently as he realised how stupid he’d been. “I can’t believe I didn’t realise something was going on.”

“See, maybe you’re not as smart as you thought after all.”

He sat back and watched as you set the video up to show him, remembering all the little things he’d taught when he was showing you how he edited his videos a few months ago. Jungkook couldn’t help but be surprised that you remembered so many of the little details.

“I don’t want to jinx things, but I’ve got high expectations,” he remarked once the video was finally prepared, impressed by the front screen you’d put on the video.

It was one of the clearest memories either of you had, one of your first photos together when he invited you to one of his concerts. Around it you’d put a few effects to make sure it stood out, but the photo was by far the centrepiece that you both still fondly looked over.

“Now, don’t expect too much, because you might have high expectations of yourself, but I’m not you. It’s my first attempt, so don’t be mean,” you scolded, hovering over the play button for a few moments.

"I’m sure whatever you’ve come up with I’ll love because it’s made by you, just click play, I’m excited to see what you’ve edited,” he encouraged, pressing the play button for you before you managed to talk yourself out of it once again.

The first few clips were perfect as you smugly sat back, even Jungkook had to admit he was mightily impressed by what you’d done. You weren’t one to sit back and say you’d done a good job, but even you were slightly surprised by the outcome.

“You can start editing my videos if you do it like this,” he teased, “it all looks so good.”

You smiled across at him, “I always thought I had a bit of a talent for editing, I guess I’ve learnt from the best after all these years.”

“I hope you’re talking about me,” he continued to laugh. Your eyes noticed the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes, but quickly they dropped as you watched his smile leave and a state of confusion appear across his face.

Your eyes flickered between him and the screen as you noticed a few of the images were pixelated, soon followed by the crackling of the music you’d put in the background, having not layered it properly. The transitions soon became messy, and many of the photos were covered by effects you thought you’d put elsewhere.

“We can just end this here,” you quickly argued, desperate to stop the video, but Jungkook didn’t let you, keeping your hands close to his chest.

“It’s cute, let’s carry on watching it until the end Y/N.”

“It’s not cute, it’s rubbish, please. Jungkook, don’t you think I’m embarrassed enough now?”

Whilst he would be the first to admit the edit, you’d made wasn’t the best, the effort that had gone into it shone through. No one had ever done something like this for him before, and especially after all the time you’d put into it, it deserved to be watched until the very end, even if it meant you curling up into a ball on your desk chair.

Eventually the video came to an end, as you reluctantly peered out from your ball to look across at him. “It’s not that bad,” he tried to comfort you, “yes, there is a bit of room for improvement, but nothing can change the effort that you put into it.”

“I thought it was going to be perfect, and it’s anything but perfect.”

His head shook, pulling your chair across so you were closer to him, “do you think my first video was perfect? These sorts of things take time, and I have to say for a first attempt, it’s not too bad. If we maybe just discard the last five minutes and enjoy the first two.”

“I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but I wanted this to be for our anniversary.”

“The sheer effort you put into this makes it meaningful enough, it might be a bit of a dodgy edit, but actually I think that sums up our relationship quite well,” he continued to comfort.

“Are you calling our relationship dodgy?” You exclaimed, “if we’ve been together for this long, I don’t think it’s that dodgy. You’re just rubbish at making me feel better.”

Whilst you said that, the smile that was beginning to blossom on your face told him a different story. He had his own roundabout way of making you feel better, and it most definitely seemed to be working as you covered your red cheeks.

“I’d like to think no relationship is perfect, but that’s probably the reason why we’ve stayed together all these years,” he laughed, “it’s our imperfections that make us perfect.”

You paused for a moment, questionably glancing across at him, “you must really be working hard to make me feel better if that’s the sort of cheesy things you’re saying.”

“If you’re allowed to express all your feelings in a video, then I can do it with words,” he challenged, “nothing is cheesy, it’s sweet. Just like your video, you might cringe watching it, but I’ll look back on it now with a fondness and a smile.”

“And a second-hand embarrassment for me,” you noted, resting against his side, “you can tell me it was bad; I promise I won’t be mad at you.”

His head shook, kissing the top of your own, “like I said, there’s room for improvement, but something that came from your heart will never be bad in my eyes.”

“At least I’ve got a good teacher who can help me get better now,” you teased, tapping against his chest, “you’ll help, won’t you?”

“Of course, I will. But maybe I should take that bit I said about you editing my videos for now…”

“I think that’s probably for the best.”

---

Masterlist

[fullmetalscullyy]

royai week day 4 - communiqué

summary: roy has an announcement to make to everyone

rated: g | words: 2084 | tags: royai, post-canon, romance, marriage, marriage announcement, marriage of convenience, kinda? bc they just have~ to do it but it works out for them, basically royai using royai to further their agenda

read on ao3 | read on ffnet

“Good afternoon,” Roy greeted with confidence into the microphone atop the podium in front of him. Hundreds of pairs of eyes stared back expectantly, and while that should have been unnerving, his excitement at the upcoming announcement kept the feeling at bay. This communiqué had been a long time coming, crafted from years of subtle diversion, and playing a tactical game. Now, it was coming to fruition. It was all still part of their game, but Roy had a personal stake in this part of it too. It was still a win for both parties involved.

A huge personal win.

Up there, on the podium, he was completely exposed. While that was dangerous for someone like him with such high political standing, Roy trusted the eyes that were watching his back implicitly. He does not turn complacent, but is more than confident in their abilities. He trusts each and every one of his subordinates to ensure the day goes well and without incident.

“Today’s announcement,” Roy continued, “will hopefully put to rest any fears you may have had regarding me assuming the role of your leader. Fuhrer Grumman has led this country exceptionally well over the last five years but feels ready to step down. As you all know, I have been named his successor and will make a promise to you all now, this country’s citizens, that I will do my utmost to ensure I do my best by you.”

There was a pleased applause after he finished, accompanied by a quiet murmur.

He meant every word, but that was not the reason Roy had taken the stage that day.

“I would also like you to know that I’ve heard the rumours surrounding me,” he smirked, letting his gaze sweep across the crowd before him. Out the corner of his eye, he noticed how this had piqued the interest of those in the audience with the various media outlets. Their ears perked up at the mention of rumours, understandably. “I am aware of the public’s opinion on a bachelor like myself being given the title of Fuhrer. However, I have come here today to offer my reassurances.”

Some people in the crowd turn to one another, momentarily confused by what he’s saying. Roy smirked to himself, thinking of his own private joke before he opened his mouth to finally reveal to the world something he has wanted to for over two decades.

“As you can imagine, this will be a busy transition period for us, so I hope you will extend your respect, as well as privacy, to both myself and my new fiancé as we navigate this new chapter in our lives. I can assure you though, an official date for my upcoming wedding will be announced soon.”

It was like the crowd had frozen. A few jaws went slack, and mouths parted in shock as they processed the news faster than others.

“More news will come in due time. Thank you.”

With a simple bow of his head, Roy stepped back from the microphone and turned to look at the stunned officials up there with him. Breda and Havoc approached, nonplussed by the news, and started to escort him off the stage.

There was a split second where the world was completely still, as everyone was still processing what he’d just announced. Then, everything felt like it exploded. The crowd erupted into applause and cheers. Cameras flashed in desperation to capture the moment that Roy Mustang, the most eligible bachelor in Amestris and a well-known womaniser in his younger years, announced he was engaged, and his wedding would be announced soon.

Roy can hear some of the questions being yelled by the reporters.

“Who are you due to marry?”

“What’s her name?”

“General Mustang! When did this happen?”

He ignored them all, for all would be revealed in due time. It was enough for now that it had been announced. Roy never planned on revealing anything else other than that today anyway. He would have loved to. He can’t wait for the day he can finally give the order to give the announcement, but he must hold off. The mystery will drum up interest in their favour. It will draw eyes to them and get people talking. No other Fuhrer had caused quite as much a stir as he had, and Roy wasn’t even officially in office yet. He was popular and well liked among the masses. Not as much as the Fullmetal Alchemist, the alchemist of the people, but Roy’s work over the years had built up a perfectly crafted reputation for him. It played well into his plans.

A womaniser who announces he’s settling down with someone who is a complete mystery. It was interesting news. Especially for the imminent ruler of the country.

The public ate it up, desperate to know. Out the corner of his eye he could already see heads bowed together in excitement as they gossiped about the news while Roy walked off the stage.

He was led by his security team into a private room within the building behind them. Havoc gave him a quick nod in response to his order, reaching for the door handle and pulling it closed behind him. Breda was down the hall, already speaking into microphone after microphone in order to soothe public relations about the surprise announcement. Poor guy, but he did volunteer. Having Breda assure them, but give nothing away, would only cause more intrigue. If Roy went out there and spoke to them all, they’d never let him leave.

His shoulder slumped now he was away from prying eyes. Not with fatigue, but just to relax. The initial phase had finally started, and his plans were set in motion. While he did have a personal stake in this and was more than happy to go along with it, it could certainly be draining. But then again, nothing had ever been simple between them.

The door opened as he was pouring himself a glass of water. He reached for a second glass and smirked, not turning around because he knew who it was who’d entered. His order to Havoc was to permit only one person entrance to the room.

“Did you really have to do it so dramatically?”

There was a grin on his face as he turned on the spot, coming face to face with his fiancé. Well, according to the country, she was still his fiancé. Nobody, except from them and his team, was aware that they were already married, and had been so for a while. While touring Aerugo last month they’d taken a clandestine trip to one of the islands off the coast to the south. It was just the two of them, the team, and his mother in attendance. Gracia had made the trip, and so had Edward and Alphonse, along with their respective families. Everyone who mattered most to Roy was there to witness them come together as a couple.

Marriage was not the be all and end all for him and Riza. They already knew where they stood with each other and what their relationship was. They had done so for years, and the ring that nestled comfortably on the end of his dog tags proved that. The legal document was just a formality at this point and given his current position as leader of the country, it would be necessary. So, they’d compromised. A private, personal ceremony for them to do things their way, exchanging the rings they’d already given each other years ago. The grand wedding that was yet to come was for the masses, not for them. Once the official ceremony happened, he would move the ring onto his ring finger where it had always belonged and where he’d always wanted to wear it.

Riza’s lifted one eyebrow expectantly, awaiting his answer.

“They expect a show,” he shrugged, “so I’m going to give it to them.”

“So, our official wedding is just a show,” she deadpanned.

His expression softened at her light teasing. “Our official wedding has already happened,” he reminded her. “In case you had forgotten, we are already legally married.”

“I hadn’t,” she placated as she approached him, “but you need to stop talking about it so openly. You were the one who suggested keeping it a secret, and the walls have ears,” she replied cryptically. Once close enough, she brushed a piece of invisible lint off his immaculate uniform and his shoulder tingled where she’d ran her hand over it.

“Let them listen,” he shrugged again. Roy lifted a hand to rest upon her hip as he grasped one of hers, lifting them both to rest between their bodies. He bent his head forward and kissed the backs of her knuckles, a small, fond smile playing on his lips. “It doesn’t matter now that our news is out.”

“Part of the news is out,” she reminded him. “You were quite adamant about only revealing some of the truth so early on,” Riza smirked. “It will be a busy transition period for us, after all,” she quoted back to him with mock sympathy.

His eyes rolled fondly.

“So,” she continued, extracting her hand from his and taking a step backward to put some distance between them. Roy felt like a petulant child, pouting at her actions. “We must keep up pretences and give ourselves the time and space we need to adapt to our new circumstances and navigate through it.”

“You’re no fun,” he complained, his tone nearly a playful whine.

“I know, dear,” she replied, sounding like she didn’t particularly care he felt that way. Roy was only joking though, of course.

“How did it look from up there?”

Riza’s perch had been on the roof of the building behind him, on the lookout for anyone who may wish harm upon him, along with her own elite security team.

She snorted lightly. “I will admit, it was entertaining to see the looks on their faces.”

“They were very surprised,” he chuckled, pleased with himself.

“It’s never a dull moment with you.”

“I would hope not because you’re stuck with me now, fiancé,” he grinned.

“Unfortunately,” she deadpanned quietly. When he scowled at her, she laughed loudly, her smile reaching her eyes.

For a moment, Roy is enraptured by her beauty. Her grin lit up his whole world and the sound of her laughter pulled at the stings of his heart pleasantly.

He is married to this woman, he thought to himself, and still couldn’t quite believe it.

After so long… After so many years of ignoring feelings and holding back – or trying to – now he didn’t have to.

Although it was his plan to delay the information given, he really wished it wasn’t. He wanted to go back out there and tell everyone how much he loved and cherished this woman before him.

All in due time. And the pay off when that day finally comes will be so worth it.

They’ve both waited for so long. Roy could stick it out for a few more days. What was more important was holding this woman close and loving her so freely like he has always wanted, and Roy planned to do just that.

Riza smirked and didn’t shrug him off as Roy wrapped his arms tightly around her frame. He pulled her close and kissed her, trying to convey just how much he loved her with one kiss alone. She hummed against his lips pleasantly as her arms lifted to loop around his neck. One hand slowly, tantalisingly, trailed up the back of his neck, making him shudder. She noticed and grinned against him. When her nails scratched lightly against his scalp and Roy groaned, Riza’s smile widened. She knew exactly what she was doing to him. She could play him like a fiddle, but Roy didn’t mind at all. There’s no way he was going to stop her ministrations when they felt so good.

“I love you,” he breathed. His chest heaved with his breath and the words almost got stuck in his throat, both from the emotions overwhelming him and their passionate kiss.

“Love you too, Roy.” When she pulled away to look at him, Roy didn’t let her move far. Their noses were almost touching but he could see her expression soften. She looked so happy and content. So in love. Which was exactly how he felt too.

They both couldn’t wait to start this new chapter in their lives together.

[let-me-luve-you]

At Home Concert

Tom Holland x Sister

Summary: You perform on an online concert and your brothers and their friends are amazed by you.

Warnings: none

A/N: I used the song Time of Our Lives by Tyrone Wells for this. I love the song so you should go check it out. Oldie but goodie.

MASTERLIST

Lockdown threw off the whole world. Millions have lost their jobs. Thousands have been sick and even died. It hurt your soul that you couldn’t do anything about it. You were lucky though. You were a professional singer. The only thing it did to you was cancel your US and European tour.

You were lucky to still have money and a roof over your head. You were in between apartments at the moment since you had decided to move home and leave that as your base. You had been living in the US, but you missed your family and ended up in Kingston in your off-time anyways. Your tour was canceled the same day Tom’s movie was postponed. Tom offered to let you stay with him until you found a place for yourself.

It’s already been over a month since you’ve moved in. It was a little cramped, but you didn’t complain because you were grateful for this time with your older and little brothers.

In mid-April, your agent called you about joining a concert series. The series was a two week event. Each night being three different singers for a hour at a time. The money raised would go to those who had been effected by the global pandemic. You quickly agreed.

Tonight was your night. It was 8 p.m. and you were set up in your brother’s dining room. You were doing an acoustic set. Playing two new songs you had written in quarantine. Harry, Harrison, and Tuwaine were in Harry’s room playing some video game. Tom was currently cooking a late dinner for the whole house.

“Good luck Y/N/N.” Tom said as he finished the last of the food.

“Thanks Tom. I’m on in five minutes.” You said nervously. You were still trying to get used to the whole famous thing. You were very shy and performing still made you nervous. You tried to look at it as rehearsing. Just you and your guitar. The five minutes went up quick and you were given the go ahead by the concert committee.

“Hey everyone! I know it’s late in some places and early in others. I just want to start by saying thank you for joining. The money is going to a great cause. I know it wasn’t the best time to be raising money as most are struggling at the moment, but just know, you are helping lots of people.” You smiled at the camera.

“I decided to do an acoustic set tonight with a couple of surprises for you.” You started strumming the chords on your guitar. “I hope you guys enjoy. Film yourselves singing along and tag me. I’d love to see all of you enjoying tonight.” You finished as your strummed for a couple of more seconds. You started singing the lyrics to your song to Time of Our Lives. You got to the chorus and looked up at your brother.

And I will not forget, the faces left behind. It’s hard to walk away from the best of days. But if it has to end, I’m glad you have been my friend in the time of our lives.

You continued as Tom looked on in aw of you. He always loved your voice. He listened to your music all the time. He pulled out his phone and started filming you to post to his instagram story. After posting he quickly texted Harry to get in the kitchen as quickly, but quietly as possible. He jumped on the counter to just enjoy the show.

Harry walked in with Haz and Tuwaine following. All of them immediately giving you all their attention as you slowed down towards the end of the song.

We have had the time of our lives. Now the page is turned. The stories we will write. We have had the time of our lives

You finished up the song lyrically but kept playing your guitar as your transitioned into your next song. The boys all amazed at how beautiful your voice is and how well you perform. They had all listened to you so much that it shouldn’t be a shock to them, but no matter what, they would always be amazed.

As you started to play your new song, Harry being the only one to have heard it since he shared a bedroom wall, he quietly walked out of the room to go get his camera. He sneakily took some photos of you and the boys all watching.

After the hour was up. With your new songs being introduced into the world, you decided to give your sendoff.

“Thank you everyone for coming into my home.. well actually my brother’s.” You laughed. “For tonight’s mini concert. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I loved performing for it. Thank you all for your donations. I hope you enjoy the rest of the series as it continues through Sunday night. It will be back tomorrow night. Check your calendars to see what time it starts for you in your country. Love you all and hope you are staying safe and healthy. Muah.” You ended as you blew a kiss at the camera. The series committee took you off the stream.

Tom came over to you as you shut your laptop screen. He gave you a giant hug and kiss on the cheek. “I’ll never not enjoy you singing Y/N/N. You are the best singer I know.” You smiled and stood up to put your guitar down.

“Y/N that was beautiful.” Harrison said. Tuwaine agreeing.

“What did you think of the new songs?” You asked scared.

“Well seeing as I’ve heard them like 500 times, I’m going with I loved them.” Harry said smirking.

“WHAT?!” You said shocked. “How did… How did you hear them already?”

“You aren’t that quiet when you write. I could hear it through the wall.” You blushed as Harry explained.

“Time to eat some cold food. Feel free to warm it up in the microwave.” Tom said.

“I’m sorry it’s cold. I should have done this in my room.” You said feeling bad.

“Don’t ever apologize. We love hearing you sing. We could have easily ate while you performed. I was too in aw of you to even think about eating.” Tom said as he handed you a plate. “Now eat and come join me in the living room to watch a movie.”

As you sat by Tom you finally pulled out your phone and saw all the positive messages about your performance from friends and family. You even saw the picture of you performing with the boys watching on Harry’s Instagram. You quickly liked it and commented some hearts. You sat back with your plate and enjoyed the food and movie. Happy that you were loved and had a great support group behind you.