#we’ll have to meet again for sure. he’s just a cool guy to hang w too

[threebyfours]

I’m so embarrassing all I talk abt is weed 😭😭😭

[jimlingss]

i have a request for something Taehyung! maybe taehyung christmas/holiday??? OR taehyung and the prompt "Give me attention"??? honestly i will take anything taehyung 🤩

↳ The Best Friend’s Older Brother Cliché

2.3k || 99% Fluff, 1% Angst || Kim Taehyung || Best Friend’s Older Brother!AU

Taehyung is your best friend’s older brother. 

It’s so entirely cliché that you cringe whenever you think about it, but it’s true and it happened…..you had the tiniest crush on him in high school. Okay— it was a big, fat crush. But you weren’t willing to admit it, not then and certainly not now. Mostly because it’s weird. Plus there’s the fact that it would be breaking the code of honour between besties. Sisters before misters.

The last thing you would want is to make Joy upset. 

But when you came home from college in the summer and Taehyung returned from his own studies abroad...you didn’t expect him to look like that.

“Hey, Y/N.”

“H-Hey.”

Taller. Leaner. Better dressed.

Maybe it had just been a long time since you’ve seen Taehyung. Maybe you had gotten desensitized but the long period away from him made you hyper aware of his existence again. Either way, seeing him made you realize that he had very much become a man.

He was no longer just the unattainable, cool teenage boy that you swooned over but left behind nonetheless in your coming of age years. And that fact slapped you across the face.

You didn’t expect for him to be like that either.

To smile at you like that. To strike up conversations. To be interested in what you were doing, where you were going.

“What are you majoring in again?”

“Anthropology.”

“Really? That’s super cool. I took one anthropology class when I was a freshman. Do you like it?”

“It’s not too bad. I think it’s interesting.”

Taehyung smiles faintly. “I always knew you were smart.” 

It was one date. 

You came over. Joy was abruptly called in to fill a shift at her summer job at the ice cream parlor.

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I swear I’m going to choke Jimin.”

“And then who’s gonna have to bail you out? Get going before you’re late.”

“Promise we’ll hang out more tomorrow.”

“Have fun at work!”

Taehyung happened to be there, hanging around the house, and he offered to drive you home.

“You really don’t have to.”

“I’m not going to make you take the bus in this hot weather, you know that right?” The corner of his mouth tugs easily. “Just get in the car.”

Except you both stopped to grab a small bite. A burger and fries. While sitting out at the park.

You’re not sure if that even constitutes as a date — there was nothing said about it, no mention made, all entirely too casual to be considered one. But it was the first time you and Taehyung were alone together.

Okay, if that counts...then technically it was two dates.

You and Joy went out to Jungkook’s party. She had a little too much to drink and the pair of you needed a ride home afterwards. Naturally, Taehyung was the one who picked you up in his car, begrudgingly, as Joy fought him before she laid down in the backseat, but he still flashed you that smile.

“Had fun tonight?”

“It was alright.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t end up going home with him.”

“Who?”

“You know. That guy with the glasses you were talking to on the lawn.”

“Namjoon? Oh no, we’re just friends.”

“Hmm. Is that so.”

After Joy was put to bed and tucked in, Taehyung asked if you wanted to stick around to watch a movie. You might or might not have cuddled into him during those three hours, but really was it cuddling? He just slung his arm over the couch where you were sitting and you leaned into his chest.

The two of you were just getting comfortable.

Alright, if that counts, then it was three dates but just three!

Taehyung asked you out personally, but it was to help him pick a gift for Joy’s birthday. He drove you downtown and you walked together in the streets, checking out boutiques before parading around the mall.

“What do you think?”

“Joy hates camo print and she doesn’t need another backpack, Taehyung.”

“Perfect! So she’ll love this then.”

He ended up getting a sweater she’d been eyeing for months.

When it became dark and you got hungry, instead of being dropped off at home, you went to the night market together on a whim. You snacked, had conversations and exchanged numerous stories. You still remember the laughter and how much your cheeks ached when you finally jumped into bed that night.

But before the summer ended, before you both left for your respective colleges, he wanted to talk.

“I had a lot of fun this summer.”

You eye him. “What did you even do this summer?” 

“Hang out with you.” Taehyung grins, eyes sparkling with mischief. “And I liked it.”

“Good. I might be hurt if you thought this entire time was awful.”

“I like you too much to ever think that. But...hear me out. What would you think we made things offici—

“We’re going to be super busy,” you interrupt in a panic, having a sense of where he was going with this. “...going to different schools and all that.”

You search his expression while schooling your own. Taehyung stays silent for a second and tries to read you. You’re not sure how successful he is.

“Right.”

“I’ll contact you, Taehyung.”

He smiles at that and eases. “Okay. Yeah. Sounds good. You can call or text me anytime.”

“Anytime?” You try to lighten the mood by shooting him an incredulous look. “I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

“If it’s you, it wouldn’t be a bother. Trust me.”

Except when you got back, you didn’t call him. You didn’t text him either.

You only saw him briefly when Joy would occasionally facetime him in the same room as you, when you were merely a figure in the background and Taehyung would ask who it was.

“Y/N, of course, who else?”

And you would give a small wave.

There were no conversations, no small talk, no exchanges of laughter. But it was better that way. Otherwise, you wouldn't know what Joy would say, how she’d react. You don’t even know if he’s serious about you. And you’re too scared to find out the answers to any of these questions.

It didn’t matter anyway. Deep down, you know Taehyung should be kept at a distance. You know it would be better if these feelings could fade away as a sweet, brief summer romance.

What you didn’t anticipate is to come over to the Kim’s for the holidays a few months later.

“Where are you going?”

Taehyung’s following after you, trailing at your heels like a lovesick puppy. “And don’t tell me you’re showering because you already used that excuse to avoid me today.”

You spin around, masking your startlement at just how close he is, and you frown. “I’m not avoiding you.”

The corner of his mouth tugs. “We shouldn’t lie to each other, sweetheart, even if you have the tendency to do that.”

You feel hot in your face from the pet name. “I never lied to you.”

Taehyung raises his brows. The both of you know then and there it’s a lie.

“My empty phone says differently.”

You cross your arms defensively. “I never promised I’d remain in contact. I was just...busy with classes.”

“Oh. Another lie again.” Taehyung grins, and he exhales softly causing a hundred goosebumps to raise along your skin when you feel the warmth of his breath. “You should really stop your bad habit, Y/N.”

You take a step back and he steps forward.

Before you know it, he’s cornered you in the dark hallway, staring at you intently before his half-lidded eyes flicker to your lips.

You swallow hard. “Go annoy your sister instead.”

“Why should I?” His mouth slyly curls. “I like you way better.”

For the entire duration of the break so far, the both of you have been sneaking around the whole time. From Taehyung instigating a game of footsies under the dinner table to whispering in your ear when no one’s looking to winking at you from across the room so quickly that you’d miss it if you blinked. You feel his affectionate hand on the small of your back when he slides by you, feel his gaze when his shoulders graze yours, and you feel the tickle in your tummy when his voice lowers into that seductive, husky pitch. 

During the summer, he was kind and friendly Taehyung. Cautious when it came to you. Hesitant to look your way.

But this time, he’s intensified. Flirtatious. Bold. Pulling out all stops.

Maybe it’s because he’s pissed that you didn’t contact him like you said you would. Maybe because he doesn’t understand why you’re restraining yourself, and he feels the need to push to know. Maybe because he suspects you know he likes you, and you like him — he wouldn’t be wrong. 

But either way, his new brazen approach was making you weak in your knees.

“Your mom’s coming,” you mutter while pressing your hands to his chest. You don’t know how or why he feels so firm.

“She isn’t. But even if she was, she’d be more than happy to know we’re together.”

“W-We’re not together, Tae.”

“That could change right now.”

“I...I can’t.”

His thick brows furrow. “Why not? I like you, Y/N, a lot.”

You swallow hard, feeling scrutinized under his heavy gaze. Taehyung’s beauty is lethal when he’s this close and you feel an urge to brush away the dark strand that’s fallen in front of his forehead from his neatly styled hair. It was a contrast to the casual hoodie and sweatpants he was wearing. He was handsome and cozy, ready to stop hearts or be hugged like a teddy bear.

It didn’t help that he was saying these kinds of things either. “I know.”

“I don’t think you do.” His voice drops a pitch. “For the past few months, I’ve been thinking about the summer and you. The entire time, I was waiting for you to call me, to text me. Do you know what that’s like?”

“Taehyung.”

“We can make this work. I want to make it work, so don’t make me wait anymore.”

You gaze at him, breath hitched in your throat and your self-control meets its limit. You practically leap onto Taehyung, heart thundering against your rib cage, standing on the tips of your toes — all to kiss him.

It’s soft and unhurried. 

Taehyung is caught off guard, but then you feel his wide smile against you. Immediately, his strong arm reaches for your waist and he tugs you in. A yelp escapes your throat as your bodies become flush against one another. Taehyung’s other hand presses against the wall behind you and he tilts his head to deepen the kiss. His tongue licks into your mouth and you groan, wrapping your arms around his neck. He tastes like sugar cookies, smells like citrus, and absolutely makes your knees weak.

You’re not sure how long you and Taehyung make out for, swapping spit like horny teenagers without experience.

It’s not until you hear a— “what the hell!” — do you break apart.

Joy is standing at the end of the hall and you shove Taehyung away from you, wide-eyed. He stumbles back, equally surprised.

“I-I can explain!”

Joy’s jaw has gone slack and you realize she’s waiting for said explanation.

“I….I…we….umm….”

Taehyung looks at you and then at his sister, opening his mouth to rescue you from this mortifying experience. But his sibling beats him to the punch—

“Look.” She raises her hands and you brace yourself. She wouldn’t end your years of friendship over this, would she? Then again, you can’t blame her if she did. “You don’t have to make this weird. It isn’t weird unless you make it weird. So I’ll just pretend I didn’t see anything.”

“Wait.....what?” That was certainly not the reaction you were expecting. You think you’re more taken aback than she is. “You’re okay with this? You’re okay if we’re dating?”

Joy nonchalantly shrugs. “It’s not a big deal. You’re adults, so you can make your own decisions and I kind of had a feeling there was something going on anyway.” She smiles and looks at her older brother. “Taehyung, you’re way too obvious. The biggest gift under the tree is for her from you.”

He grins. “You caught me there.”

You’re shell-shocked at how unconcerned she is and seemingly supportive at that.

“You knew?”

“Of course I do. We’ve been friends for what, ten years? I knew you had a crush on my brother back then. So if anything, it’s about time.” Joy raises her fist at Taehyung. “You better not make Y/N cry or I’ll make you cry.”

He snorts. “Wow, thanks.”

“Anyway, continue.” Joy lazily gestures. “But we’re watching a movie in five so be quick.”

Your best friend leaves to the bathroom where she was heading to in the first place and you turn to Taehyung who has an amused grin. “Well?”

“I don’t know.” Your mind is reeling at everything that’s happening and how real this is becoming. “For some reason in my mind, I thought that would go way worse.”

“Is that why you were so worried? You didn’t need to be. Joy likes you way more than she likes me, so if anything I’d be the one getting the flack.” Taehyung smiles and leans in. “But does this mean we can finally make it official? Can I call you my girlfriend already?”

You sigh and lift your arms to loop around his neck again. He leans in for another kiss, but you stop short an inch— “Depends on what that gift under the tree is.”

Taehyung grins and before you can pull away, he tugs your waist into him once more. 

This time you kiss each other unabashedly. 

[loveelle]

Are we supposed to kiss?

Alive!Reggie Peters x Reader AU

Request from Anon: okay but could you PLEASE do a fake dating trope imagine w reggie? like he has a crush on carrie and she has a crush on luke && they start fake dating each other before they ultimately fall for the other?🥺🤍

A/N: Hope you enjoy my dear! 

WC: 6.5K

MASTER

---

Lunch was usually the only time of day you had the chance to hang out with your friends without the distraction of class, teachers, and homework. Your class was right next to the lunchroom, meaning you were luckily one of the first students to buy food and save a table. You always enjoyed the few minutes you had to yourself, you loved your friends but sometimes a breather between class and friends is needed. But today, someone decided to interrupt your alone time.

Reggie Peters, your best friend since second grade took the seat across from you, making you tug the earbud out of your ear to talk to him. “What’s up, Reggie?”

“We’re friends, right?”

His question threw you as you furrowed your brows. “Uh, I guess you can call us that.” You answered, slightly mocking him.

“Good! Then I need you to go on a date with me.”

You blinked at him, seeing the happy smile on his face before you let your mouth open. “Um, yeah. I’m gonna need a little more of an explanation here.”

Reggie’s face faltered as he glanced around nervously before leaning closer to you, beckoning you to do the same. You sighed but did so. “You’re good friends with Carrie.” You hummed his correctness. “I like Carrie.”

“You like Carrie?”

Reggie’s cheeks started to darken at your surprised question. “I like Carrie.”

You were shocked to hear Reggie liked Carrie. You’ve known everything about him for years, but this was not something you noticed. “Wait, if you like Carrie, then why are you asking me on a date?”

“Well, I figured if we pretend to date around Carrie, then maybe she’ll see what a great boyfriend I am.” You had to admit that Reggie’s thinking made just the tiniest bit of sense, but this whole ordeal was unexpected.

“Why don’t you just ask Carrie out on a date?”

“Well, I assume it’s the same reason you won’t out Luke.” Reggie’s comment made you choke on the water you were drinking, and your throat burned as you tried to breathe again. Reggie’s eyes widened as he scrambled to your side and started rubbing your back, helping you as best he could as you finally stopped choking and turned to face him.

“How the hell do you know about that?” you whispered harshly. How Reggie knew about your crush on his bandmate was beyond you and you slightly feared that Luke knew as well.

“Y/N, I’m going to be honest with you because you’re my best friend.” He put his hand on top of yours resting on the table as he suddenly became serious. “You’re not that good at hiding the fact you’re undressing him with your eyes.”

You snatched your head back from him as your mouth fell open and Reggie let out an uncontrollable laugh at your reaction. “I- I don’t undress him with my eyes!” you squeaked out and buried your face in your hands, feeling your cheeks heat as you leaned into Reggie’s open embrace.

“You do, but it’s okay! I think I’m the only one who’s noticed.” He tried to console you and you only whined as he wrapped his arms around you, smiling at your reaction before you pulled out of his arms.

“That only makes me feel a little better.” Reggie smiled at you as you nudged his shoulder with his.

“So, what do you say? Help a guy out? We can even use this to your advantage with Luke!”

Before you had the chance to answer him, your friends started pouring in the table around you and your eyes widened along with Reggie’s. “What are you doing here, Reggie? Don’t you usually eat with your band?” Carrie asked him as she took the spot Reggie first sat in. Reggie and you exchanged looks, trying to figure out what to say.

You took the lead. “We’re… dating now.”

Your friends fell silent and you had to keep from shrinking under their gazes. “OMG that’s great!” Carrie smiled at you and you relaxed. “I’m so happy for you two.”

“Thanks Care.” You knew she was being real with you. Although Carrie can be harsh when she wants, she’s never been anything but nice to you.

“Wait…” Kayla mumbled, moving her head out to look at the two of you. “I thought you two were already dating.”

“No! Nope!” you blurted out along with a nervous batch of giggles, seeing Reggie looked amusedly at you. “I just mean- we weren’t dating yet. Right, Reg?”

He nodded before meeting your eyes and smiling. “That’s right, babe.”

Babe.

Yeah, that was going to take some getting used to.

“Well, Reggie, you’re welcome to eat lunch with us if you want.” Nick extended an olive branch and Reggie happily took it, pulling your food closer to him and stealing some of your chips.

“Uh, excuse me!” you grabbed your chip back from him before he could eat it and popped it in his mouth. “I think Nick meant eat your own food.” Reggie just smirked and reached for your water, but as you were grabbing it and trying to stop him, he snuck another chip and ate it with satisfaction.

“Ha! I win.” Reggie chuckled and you shook your head at him.

“You guys are so cute.” Carrie put her hand on her heart.

“Well, it’s easy to be cute when you’ve got a boyfriend as great as Reggie.” You glanced between him and Carrie, seeing her nod briefly before her attention was diverted to Nick next to her.

Reggie’s arm slipped with yours as he pulled you close enough to whisper. “I think this might be working.”

“I have to pretend to be your girlfriend, it better work.” You mumbled back with a smirk, knowing Reggie would know you’re joking. The whispers between you two were dropped as you and Reggie joined with your friends and to keep up the act, Reggie’s arm stayed laid across your shoulder.

When the bell rang to tell lunch was over, you said bye to all your friend’s and threw your bag over your shoulder to head to your next class. Before you could, Reggie grabbed your hand to keep you from leaving him.

“You comin’ over to the studio after school today?” Reggie asked and you stared in thought for a second, something that made him sigh dramatically. “Oh, just say yes! We can get started on the Luke part of the plan.”

“Reg, you don’t-“

“Nope! It’s a deal. You help with my crush and I help with yours.” He seemed determined to help you and while you didn’t want your best friend to insert himself in your love life as your actual boyfriend, you weren’t getting far doing what you were now.

“I can’t! I have Dirty Candy rehearsals today.”

“Just for a few minutes?”

You pressed your lips together in thought before shaking your head with a smile. “Fine, I’ll be there at 5.”

Reggie pumped his fist as you chuckled and when you reached the end of the hallway, where Reggie and you were supposed to go separate ways, he turned toward you.

“So, what now?” He asked before donning a goofy grin. “Are we supposed to kiss?”

“Yeah.” You laughed sweetly and stepped closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder that caused Reggie to widen his eyes slightly. “Try it and we’ll see what happens, babe.” You tapped his cheek with your hand before dropping it and walking pass him to your class. Reggie watched you walk away before shaking his head fondly and turning the other way.

---

The band was hanging out in the studio after having taken a break from rehearsal. Reggie glanced at the clock behind him, tapping his foot as the clock showed a few minutes passed 5.

“Dude, what’s wrong with you?” Luke asked as he tossed his friend a water, hitting him in the chest before Reggie took a sip.

“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong, why?”

“Maybe because you keep glancing at the clock like it insulted you?” Alex pointed his drumstick at him getting Luke and Julie to laugh. Reggie sighed, falling into the chair next to him.

“Y/N said she’d be here at 5 and she’s late.” He said with a shrug.

The boy’s heads perked up. “Y/N’s coming?” Luke asked and Reggie felt a sense of pride that Luke was the one to ask, apparently happy by your future arrival.

“Yup.” Reggie answered shortly. “We’ve got some news.”

“Oh yeah? What’s up?” Julie asked, wiggling her brows at him.

Reggie’s mouth opened but before he could say anything, the door to the studio opened and you walked in. “Where’s the music! I was promised music!” You faked anger as you walked over to where they were all hanging around and you leaned on the chair Reggie was perched on.

“You’re late.” Reggie smiled up at you and you pouted playfully, bopping his nose.

“Aw, did you miss me already?” Reggie rolled his eyes as you laughed at his reaction.

“No, I just wanted to make sure I had enough time to see you before your practice started.” Your amused face melted into a soft smile and Reggie’s own smile sprung to life at the same time.

“What’s this news that’s Reggie’s talking about?” Luke called out, making your eyes narrow at the fact Reggie had started to tell them already.

You pulled your eyes off Reggie and looked to your friends, seeing their states of confusion as you motioned for Reggie to talk. He stood up and moved in front of them all, pulling you to stand next to him. His hand slipped into yours and you both looked down at your intertwined hands before meeting eyes. Despite Reggie being your best friend, you’ve never really held his hands like this and stood so close. It was… well, it wasn’t unwanted.  

Reggie was the first to pull his eyes away, making you take a deep breath as he cleared his throat. “Y/N and I are dating.”

“No way!” Julie shouted as she sat up in her seat, her jaw dropping and you smiled at her before nodding.

“Hey, that’s cool, guys. Congrats, We’re happy for you.” Alex got up, coming to give you and Reggie hugs much like Julie and Luke did.

“Thanks guys.” Reggie told them, getting a pat on the back from Luke.

You sucked in a breath as Luke moved to you, pulling you in for a short but tight hug. You tried not to hug him too much, but as you got closer to him, it was hard. He stayed next to you as the four of you stood talking, placing himself right between you and Julie.

“Why did it take so long for you guys to get together?” Alex furrowed his brows and you and Reggie both looked at each other with slacked jaws, unsure how to answer that question because technically you weren’t together.

“Come on, Alex.” Luke spoke up. “Who cares if it took them years, at least they finally figured it out.” You didn’t want to ask Luke what that meant as you and Reggie laughed softly in agreement, thankful for the avoidance of answering.

Your phone dinged in your pocket and you and Reggie exchanged a glance, both of you knowing that was Carrie asking where you were. “That’s my cue.” You joked and patted Reggie’s back.

“Did you drive?” Julie asked, looking for your keys only to come up empty.

You shook your head. “No, I left my keys in my dance bag and I left my dance bag at Carrie’s when Kayla drove me home last night. I was just going to take the bus.” You told her and her eyes bugged out of her head.

“Why on earth would you do that?”

You shrugged. “Cause it’s too far to walk?”

Julie looked at Reggie, followed by Alex’s gaze, then Luke’s and Reggie stood there like a deer in headlights before he caught on to what his friends were trying to get him to do. “Oh, I’ll drive you!” he blurted out, receiving nods from his friends and a chuckle from you.

“It’s alright, Reg. I don’t mind taking the bus and I’m not going to pull you from practice just to drive me.”

“I’m driving you!” Reggie smirked.

You looked to your friends. “You’re cool if I steal him for a bit?”

“Of course.” Luke smiled at you, glancing from you to Reggie then back. “He’s your boyfriend.”

You forced a smile and started toward the door with Reggie on your heels. When you were out of the others hearing range, you turned to Reggie, making him run into you slightly before he stopped himself, putting his hands on your shoulders for balance as you both stumbled. “Does this feel weird to you? The whole fake dating? Cause it doesn’t feel right to me.”

Reggie frowned slightly as he shrugged. “I mean, kinda? I guess, seeing how happy everyone was felt a little weird.”

“And Kayla’s comment!”

“Exactly!” you and Reggie both chuckled under your breaths, remembering how awkward you had been after that moment. Reggie’s face softened when he saw you tug your lip between your teeth, letting your eyes fall to the ground. “For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t fake date anyone else.”

You picked your head up, seeing the small blush on his face. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think anyone else is dumb enough to fake date you.” Reggie’s laugh bubbled out of him, making yours do the same but before you could say more, the door to the studio opened.

Both of your heads snapped to the side, only to see Luke looking between you two embarrassed. You only became aware of Reggie’s hands that were still on your shoulders when he pulled them off and took a step back. If you weren’t aware of what Reggie and you were really talking about in that position, you would’ve assumed Reggie and you just kissed, which is exactly what Luke assumed.

“Hey, uh, you left your keys.” You quirked your brow at Reggie who proceeded to pat his pockets before Luke held up the keys and you rolled your eyes, holding your hand out to take them.

Luke tossed you the keys before heading back inside and you put your hands on your hips. Reggie looked embarrassed. “Look, we were going to find out I left them when we got to the car, he saved us from having to come back.”

“Um, I pretty sure he saved you from having to come back.” You nudged your shoulder against his as the two of you set off. “Besides, I’m pretty sure he thought we were kissing.”

“So?” Reggie guffawed. “That’s what we wanted right? Now I can go back and say what a good kisser you are.”

You rolled your eyes, feeling your cheeks heat up. “You don’t know, I could be an awful kisser and you’re setting me up for failure.” You joked but Reggie just sighed dramatically.

“You’re not a bad kisser, Y/N.”

“You don’t know that!”

You finally reached his car, hoping into the front seat as he jumped in the driver’s seat. “You’re a good kisser.”

“But how do you-“

“Because it’s impossible for someone like you to be awful at kissing of all things.” Your arguments stopped as Reggie looked at you, raising his brows and silently daring you to challenge him.

You didn’t challenge him, only leaning back in your seat and glancing out the window, bringing a hand to hold in front of your mouth to hide the smile that involuntarily came up. Reggie kept glancing at you as he drove down Julie’s street, wondering if he made things awkward. His worries were put to rest when you reached over to the music player, turning it on and turning up the volume as you bobbed your head to the music.

“Be honest, Reg. Did you offer to drive me because you’d get to see Carrie?” Reggie tried to the hide the look on his face as you accused him. There were a lot of reasons Reggie offered to drive you: He didn’t want you to take the bus, the looks his friends were giving him, knowing your boyfriend driving you to practice would surely sell the act, not wanting you to have to take the public bus; Knowing he’d get to see Carrie was just a bonus.

Your laugh pulled Reggie out of his thoughts as he looked between you and the road. “Oh yeah? Well, you just came to rehearsal to see Luke!”

The sounds of your laughs only doubled. “That was the point, Reginald!” He couldn’t help but laugh with you, knowing his counter wasn’t good at all. You pulled into Carrie’s place faster than you thought you would as Reggie put the car in park, his hand hovering overing over the gear shift before you rolled your eyes and turned off the car. “You’re allowed inside.”

You climbed out, hearing Reggie do the same. “Oh wait, come here.” Reggie told you and you listened, coming to the front of the car to meet Reggie who was offering out his flannel to you. You took it slowly, looking up at him curiously. “I just want Carrie to know that I’m the type of guy who lets his girl wear his clothes.” You nodded, understanding completely as you slipped the jacket over your shirt, fixing yourself before presenting yourself to Reggie.

“How do I look? Like your girlfriend?”

Reggie froze at the addition to your question because, if he was being honest with himself, he always wanted his girlfriend to wear his flannel or jacket. And on you-

“You look really good.” Reggie straightened his head, ignoring the weird look you were giving him as he faced the house. “You ready for rehearsal?”

You nodded, locking your arm with his as you headed inside. “You’re late again!” Carrie smirked at you when you opened the door, seeing her in the kitchen filling her water bottle.

“Can I plead loss of time?” you asked, glancing to Reggie and watching him give Carrie a little wave. Carrie looked between the two of you for a moment, her eyes drifting down to the flannel before she let out a small hum.

Carrie started past you, a small smirk on her lips. “I’ll give you 1 minute.”

When she was gone, your eyes widened. “You really like her like that?” you questioned, scratching your head.

Reggie’s mouth fell open as he looked between you and where Carrie departed several times. “I mean, yeah, I just-“

“Reg, it’s cool. I was just kidding; you don’t have to explain yourself.” You put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. “Thank you for driving me, I appreciate it.”

“Yeah, uh, if you need a ride back, let me know.”

“I’ll probably catch one with Kayla.” You shrugged before Reggie caught the mysterious glint in your eye. “Or I can ask Carrie if I could spend the night and I’ll talk you up!”

“You don’t have to do that.” Reggie said but he wasn’t sure why. The whole point was to talk each other up to their respective crushes.

“Why not? Maybe I’ll tell her what a good kisser you are.” You smirked as you started walking backwards, not hearing if Reggie disagreed before you were gone.

---

“Check it out, yeah, we make ‘em say, “Wow””

You were out of breath as the song finished, you and the rest of your group striking your poses for a moment before Carrie stepped forward and broke formation, meaning the rest of you could. “5-minute break, then we run again.” She said and you nodded before heading over to your bag and water and collapsing on the floor. You closed your eyes, focusing on taking deep breaths as you drank your water.

“You seem distracted today.” Carrie took the spot next to you, drinking from her own bottle.

You furrowed your brows, swishing your water in your mouth as you thought. “Do I?”

She hummed, glancing around to the other girls before scooting closer to you. “You and Reggie?”

Your brows quirked up from their previous position as you let out a soft laugh. “What about me and Reggie?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t know you liked him like that.”

“What’s not to like?” You questioned before getting an idea in your head, one that could paint Reggie out perfectly to Carrie. “I mean, He’s literally the kindest person I know, he’s always there for me and always knows how to cheer me up. He’s my best friend, he knows everything about me and I know everything about him-“

“Okay, Okay!” Carrie laughed, throwing an arm over your shoulder. “You don’t have to convince me you’re in love with him.”

“I-I’m not in love with him.” You defended instantly. Despite needing to put up this act, you didn’t need Carrie to think she doesn’t have a shot. She gave you a look though, one that told you she didn’t believe you. “Carrie, I’m not in love with him.”

“Got it.”

There was a silence that unnerved you. “That’s all you’re going to say?”

She patted your shoulder. “No, I believe you. You’re not in love with your boyfriend.” Well, when you put it like that…

“I mean, it’s not like I-I won’t be?” you winced when you heard how dumb you sounded. If Reggie could hear you right now, he’d hate you for most likely ruining this plan.

“Whatever you say Y/N, just know that everyone can see the way you look at each other.”

Much to your fortune, Carrie’s phone rang. It was something regarding a possible gig for the group, but you were thankful it pulled her away from the conversation. You let your head rest against your knees as you relaxed, occasionally bringing it up to drink but you couldn’t help but think about what Carrie said.

---

As Reggie got back to his house that night after a few more hours of rehearsal, he was exhausted. All he wanted to do was fall asleep forever, but before he could, he had to make a call.

“Hello?” you sounded like you were just asleep when you answered, making Reggie chuckle.

“It’s only 10, Y/N. Are you already asleep?”

There was a quiet shuffle on from your side as Reggie assumed you struggled to sit up and cleared your throat. “Um… no?”

“Oh, that’s believable.” Reggie made you chuckle. “How was rehearsal?”

“Exhausting.” You sighed, noting how your limbs ached when they moved. “I might’ve overdone it a little.”

“You always overdo it.” Reggie reminded you, making you hum in agreement at all the times you’ve definitely worked harder in rehearsal than onstage.

“Well, it’s worth it. Carrie said we have a gig this Friday.”

“Ooh, can I come?”

You scrunched your face. “You want to? Don’t you have rehearsal that day?”

“I can skip it. I’m sure the others will understand when I tell them I want to go and support my girlfriend.” Reggie rolled his eyes and you could swear you heard it, or at least you knew Reggie enough to know for a fact he did so.

You thought for a second, playing with your blanket as you laid back in your bed. “I guess… it would be nice if I had someone there for me.”

“I’m always there for you!”

“Oh yeah, and as soon as Carrie’s free, you’re right by her side.”

Reggie paused. He entirely forgot that Carrie would even be there, it was her group but he was planning on going just for you. “Y/N, you know you’re still my best friend, right? I’m not going to just ditch you just because Carrie’s there.”

The sound of your chuckle made Reggie feel slightly better, the knowledge that you weren’t upset with him by any means. “I’ll hold you too that, Reginald.”

You yawned and Reggie held back a smile. “Do you want to go back to sleep?”

“Nah. I wanna talk to you for a little longer.” Reggie didn’t now what the small feeling in his stomach was at your words, but whatever it was, he enjoyed the feeling. “Besides, we have to talk about the specifics of this relationship.”

“Oh, right.” Reggie said nervously. “The specifics?”

“Uh-huh. I mean, both of us froze up today when Alex asked why we got together.”

“Yeah, that wasn’t our finer moments.” Reggie mumbled before raising his brow. “At least Luke came to your rescue.”

Your cheeks heated up instantly as you draped a hand over your face. “He came to OUR rescue.”

Reggie and you fell into a fit of laughs and before long, you were both silent and donning smiles of your own. The sound of you yawning again caused Reggie’s smile to fall slightly. “Go to sleep.”

“What if I don’t wanna?”

Thinking for a second, Reggie’s smile returned. “Do you remember last time you stayed at my house and I couldn’t sleep so you sang to me?” After hearing your hum of acknowledgment, Reggie took a deep breath before quietly singing your favorite song to you. He could hear you chuckle, but you listened nonetheless and eventually, Reggie heard your breathing fall even. “Y/N?” He whispered, wanting to make sure you were asleep and when you didn’t reply, he got his answer. “Goodnight, Y/N.” He said softly before hanging up, letting you get your rest and eventually finding his own.

---

It’s been a few days since you and Reggie started this relationship and you had to admit, you were crossing a lot of boundaries with him that you hadn’t expected before. Pet names between the two of you seemed to be the funniest part. It seemed the moment one of you called the other a name like babe, baby, sweetie, or even love– which had to be the hardest to wrap your head around– the other did the same, making a game of it. You also hung out with each other’s friends more often.

You were about to meet Reggie at Julie’s so he could drive you to your rehearsal, something he’s done the past few days in hopes to see Carrie. He wasn’t supposed to have rehearsal today, but he told you he was most likely going to spend the afternoon at there. You adjusted your grip on your dance bag as you pulled the studio door open without knocking.

That was a huge mistake.

Instead of what you expected to be the four members of Julie and the Phantoms laying around and talking, you found just Julie and Luke and instead of talking, they were kissing. They pulled apart at the sound of your dance bag dropping from your grab and when they turned to you, your eyes widened and you quickly picked it back up. “I’m so, so sorry!” you told them. “I’ll just- I’ll just leave you to it.”

You didn’t let them get a word in before you were out the door and walking as fast as you could out of Julie’s residence. You had no clue where Reggie was but at that moment you didn’t want to think about anything relating to the fake dating or the plan to get Luke to like you. It was a stupid plan to begin with.

You didn’t bring your car because you thought Reggie would drive you, so with no plan, you ended at a bus station and hopped on the next bus to take you downtown. Dirty Candy’s performance was tomorrow and you knew rehearsal was mandatory, but the thought of having to go and rehearse made your sick fall.

You pulled out your phone, pulling up Carrie’s contact and listening to the ring. “Where are you?” Carrie asked immediately when she answered.

“I’m not going to be able to make it today. Something came up.” You mumbled, keeping your voice low to not disturb anyone else riding.

“Are you okay?!” Carrie’s worried tone made you shift awkwardly, hating that you were making her concerned.

“Uh, yeah. It’s- It’s nothing bad.”

“Good. We’ve got a performance tomorrow. You can’t just miss rehearsal the day before a performance, Y/N. You know the rules.”

You groaned, glancing out the window as the bus started to pull to a stop around a bunch of shops, including a smoothie place that you and Reggie found yourselves at frequently as you trudged off the bus. “Alright. I’ll be there.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m just going to be a little late.” You said quickly and hung-up hearing Carrie calling your name. She hated you being late. The smoothie place was barely packed as you bought yourself a smoothie and sat down in a booth in the back, letting yourself collapse in the seat.

Julie and Luke kissed. You watched them kiss and it wasn’t something that could be misconstrued. That wasn’t the hardest part to wrap your head around. What was troubling you was the fact that watching them kiss made you feel nothing. You weren’t mad or upset or jealous that Julie and Luke were possibly dating now. It was like you didn’t really care.

Your phone sounded, getting your attention as you looked down to see Reggie’s contact filling the screen. The other day, you were hanging out after school and decided to update your contacts to sell the fake dating. His picture on your phone was him smiling and you pressing a kiss to his cheek. Similarly, your picture on his phone was of him pressing a kiss to your cheek.

The call ended and you realized you’ve zoned out thinking about that day. It was only a second before Reggie called back and you were quick to answer. “Hey.” You said awkwardly, taking a sip of your smoothie.

“Hey, where are you? Alex and I came back into the studio and Julie and Luke said you just ran off. I thought I was supposed to drive you to practice.”

You sighed heavily, leaning back in your chair. “Yeah, after I walked in on Julie and Luke kissing, I kinda just ran out.”

Reggie froze at your words paired with such a carefree attitude. “Wait what?” He stumbled out, he glanced around the studio, seeing his other free friends busy in a conversation as he slipped outside. “Julie and Luke kissed?”

“Yup.”

“And you saw them?”

“With my own two eyes.”

“Wow.”

“My thoughts exactly.” You chuckled under your breath and Reggie’s heart sunk for you.

“Are you okay?”

There was a silence on your part as Reggie waited, unsure whether you were going to be honest with him but the sigh that released before you spoke told him you meant what you said. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I’m fine.”

Reggie’s brows scrunched together. “You’re fine?” You hummed and Reggie’s concern started to settle. “Well, where are you?”

“At our smoothie place.”

Reggie scoffed playfully. “Without me? Wow. Wait, don’t you have rehearsal?”

“Yeah, but I told Carrie I’d be late.”

“Oh, I’m sure she took that well.”

“I wouldn’t know. I hung up before she could yell at me.”

Reggie’s laugh made you grin widely. “Buy me a smoothie, I’ll pick you up.” He said before hanging up and you rolled your eyes before doing what he said. It barely took Reggie 5 minutes to get there, perfectly lining the time up with when his smoothie landed at your table. He didn’t say anything as he climb into the booth across from you.

“I don’t like this silence.” You admitted and narrowed your eyes at him. He just sighed, reaching out to take the smoothie you bought him and taking a long sip. You waited, your leg shaking as you groaned. “Will you say something? Please?”

“I’m just waiting for you to tell me how you’re really feeling.”

“Oh.” You rubbed your hands together, your eyes falling to the table. “I’m really fine. I guess, it makes sense Luke and Julie together. They’re much more suited to each other than Luke and I could ever be.” You finished off your statement with a sip and a smile.

“You’re really fine?” Reggie clarified and your demeanor softened as you nodded.

“I’m really fine, Reg. Thank you for making sure.”

“Of course. I’m always here for you.” You tried to bite back your smile as you looked out the window next to you before finally meeting Reggie’s eyes. You reached forward, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze and Reggie and you were caught off guard by the skips in your hearts at the touch and seeing each other smile so dearly.

---

Reggie’s felt weird all night after you grabbed his hand at the smoothie place. It wasn’t like you haven’t held his hand before, you’ve done it a lot this week, but something about that moment right then where no one was watching felt so intimate. He drove you to rehearsal, receiving a weird look from you when he decided to stay in the car instead of walking in to see Carrie and later that night when the two of you did your nightly phone calls, he stayed quiet most of the time, choosing to listen to you ramble on about how Carrie worked you harder than hard for being late.

Now, he was on his way to pick you up for your gig, something he promised that night that he would do. He pulled up in front of your house and honked, waiting a minute before the door opened and Reggie could see your blue wig from the street. He grinned at the sight, looking down at the sparkly shirt and pants you wore that matched the color. The only thing that didn’t matched was Reggie’s flannel hanging off your shoulders as you rushed to his car and threw your dance bag in the bag.

“Thanks for the ride!” you told him as you slid in next to him, seeing his eyes dart from you to the steering wheel as he cleared his throat.

“I told you before, it’s no problem.” Reggie and you started singing along to the music until he pulled into the venue. You were bouncing on the seat as Reggie hesitated before reaching for your hand, making you surprised by the action. “Don’t be nervous. You’re going to be great.” You should’ve known he picked up on your nerves, he always does.

You nodded and started out of the car, keeping Reggie’s hand in yours until you were inside and whisked away from him by your friends. You threw a look back as they pulled you to what was deemed ‘backstage’ and Reggie was watching you leave, a small smile on his face as he waved.

Reggie glanced around, trying to figure out what to do before he found an empty table and slid into a seat. The band that was onstage kept his boredom from surfacing, but he was just waiting for you to walk on stage.

The moment your group was announced, Reggie’s head perked up and he clapped and cheered with the audience. When he saw you look around the crowd, he waved again to catch your attention and gave you a thumbs up. Your smile lit up your face as you took your position and Reggie couldn’t help but match your expression. His eyes never left you as you preformed, occasionally catching your eye and sending a wink your way that made your cheeks heat up more as you sung and danced along. He was so caught up in you, he never even looked to Carrie.

The moment you were offstage, he was by your side, tapping your shoulder to get you to turn around. “You were amazing!” He told you and you giggled and threw your arms around his neck in a hug, one that Reggie was happy to return.

“Aw, you guys really are so cute.” Kayla awed as she watched and Reggie and you pulled apart, each sporting your own embarrassment.

“Thanks, Kay.” You told her, feeling Reggie’s hand grab yours. You turned back to face him, feeling the adrenaline of the performance start to wear off. “I’m exhausted.”

Reggie snorted a laugh at you. “Yeah, I bet. That looked intense, I don’t know how-“

“You came!” Reggie’s words were cut off by the sound of Carrie across the room and you and Reggie turned right in time to watch her jump into Nick’s arms. Your stomach dropped. They weren’t getting back together, were they? When Nick pressed a kiss to Carrie’s cheek, you turned back to Reggie, seeing him looking at you.

“Are you alright?” you questioned, slightly confused by the reaction you weren’t getting from him.

Reggie looked back to Carrie and Nick, seeing them holding each other as he let a smile creep on his face, one that double when his eyes flickered back to you. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.” He assured you, just like you had assured him yesterday.

You chuckled. “We really know how to pick good people to crush on, don’t we?”

“Yeah, we’re great at it.” He joked with a chuckle as well before glancing down to your hands. “I guess, we don’t have to pretend to date anymore.”

You gulped, your smile faltering. “I guess not.” Slowly, you let your hands drift apart and you were already missing the warmth his hand brought you. Reggie was missing it too and a part of him, a big part of him, hoped you were feeling the same he has these past few days.

“Hey, Y/N?” Your eyes met, making your heart skip when he smiled at you. “We’re friends, right?”

You quirked a brow, your head tilting before you realized what Reggie was doing. “I guess, you could call us that.”

“Good. Then I need you to go on a date with me.”

You knew what Reggie was doing, but you didn’t know where he was going with your repeated conversation. “I’m gonna need a little more of an explanation here.”

Reggie’s breath was shaky as he reconnected your hands. You held your breath, refusing to look away from him as he hyped himself up to speak. “I like you.”

“You like me?”

“I like you.” Reggie repeated, hearing the uncertainty in your voice but the way you tightened your hold on his made him hopeful. “So, um…”

“I like you too.” You assured him and felt Reggie relax as his eyes closed before he opened them back up to look into yours. “So, what now?” you joked, stepped closer to him. “Are we supposed to kiss?”

Reggie’s eyes flickered down to your lips and yours did the same before Reggie nodded. “Yeah.” Not a second later, Reggie’s lips were on yours, and you were melting into his hold as he held you close by your waist. You brought a hand up to his neck to deepen the kiss. When you separated, your hand moved to rest on his chest as you were fully pressed against him. “Why couldn’t that have part of the fake dating?” Reggie mumbled, chasing your lips for another kiss that you granted him before giggling.

“And we thought we were just friends.”

“Yeah, we were stupid. Another kiss please?” Reggie pleaded and you rolled your eyes fondly before doing just that.

.

.

.

.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

By My Side (Part 6)

Summary: The reader and Jensen discuss their relationship moving forward while Jensen learns more about the reader’s family situation. He still has a bad feeling about something though and his gut may prove to be right...

Masterlist

Pairing: Bodyguard!Jensen x reader

Word Count: 5,700ish

Warnings: language, angst, mention of prior suicide attempt, minor violence

A/N: Enjoy!

_________

You woke up to Jensen bundled up in bed, covers tugged to his chin as he sleepily watched you stretching in bed. You giggled at him and his bed head, rolling closer and kissing him good morning.

“That is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” you said.

“Obviously you don’t look at the mirror much,” he said. You smiled and he reached his arm under the covers, putting a hand on your waist. You scooted over, Jensen blinking slowly. “We need to talk about this.”

“Talk about what?” you asked. He bopped your nose and you smiled, tucking down into the sheets. 

“Do you want a relationship?” he asked.

“Do you?”

“It would make my job...difficult.”

“Oh.”

“Not impossible. Just difficult.”

“Is it any more difficult than it was? I mean honestly. What’ll have changed? You still keep me safe and I still hide and run if you say so.”

“That part hasn’t changed. But there is something that has. A wildcard factor. Wildcard factors aren’t great in this job.”

“What’s a wildcard?”

“In a dangerous situation, if we were in a relationship, there’s the potential that you would do something to put yourself in harm’s way to protect me.”

“If that happened, regardless of us being in a relationship, if your ass is on the line, I can’t guarantee I do as told.”

“I don’t like that answer.”

“Jensen, if we do this, you need to trust me. I will do what you tell me when it comes to threats but I can’t say for sure that I won’t try to help you if I can.”

“So if it comes down to it, you’ll do whatever you want in the end.”

“Exactly.”

“If when I’m in bodyguard mode, you do what I say...I will learn to be okay with that very small possibility.”

“Good choice,” you said. You slid a hand around his back and traced up and down his spine, feeling a thin line raised on the skin. “What happened there?”

“Not advised to jump from of a speeding vehicle,” he said. You raised an eyebrow and he chuckled. “I was four wheeling once. Went off trail accidentally. Had to ditch my ride in a hurry. A bit of gravel-”

“Liar,” you said quietly. You smiled and he looked over your head.

“How’d you know?”

“I’m pretty good at knowing when people are acting,” you said. “You get it in combat?”

“Shrapnel got my vest.”

“You’re still lying.”

“It’s not pleasant. I’d rather not...scare you.”

“You don’t scare me,” you said.

“I was held captive once. Very, very briefly. I got a little beat up,” he said. 

“You?” you asked, Jensen nodding, sliding his hand up and playing with the end of your hair. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want.”

“Thanks. I don’t like to talk about that stuff a lot,” he said. 

“If you ever change your mind, I’m a good listener,” you said.

“Thanks,” he said. “You like scrambled eggs?”

“Who doesn’t?” you asked. He smirked and kissed your cheek before he popped out of bed. 

“Well I’m about to blow your mind with the Ackles special,” he said. He walked around the bed and picked up his underwear, turning when he noticed you watching him. You looked him up and down, Jensen laughing to himself. “I saw you checking me out when I was swimming you know.”

You groaned and pulled the sheets over your head. He moved around for a moment and you felt the sheets come down, Jensen leaning over you.

“I had to tease a bit, make sure things were mutual,” he said. 

“Of course you did.” You stretched and yawned, closing your eyes.

“Doing anything fun with your family today?”

“Shopping with my mom will be fun. I’m not the biggest shopper but she likes it. We’ll get lunch, hit a few stores, get a massage after. I think Chuck and the guys are going looking at houses for the boys. Sounds like they might get a place together again.”

“Would you like your brothers to live closer?” he asked. You sat up and held the covers to your chest, Jensen handing you his shirt. You pulled it on over yourself, shrugging as you sat on your knees. “Why do you interact with them if you don’t like them?”

“How long have your parents been married?”

“All my life. Before that,” he said.

“No step siblings, half siblings?”

“My brother and sister share the same parents I do,” he said. “I don’t quite know what it’s like to live in a family like that I guess.”

“My mom went to a very dark place after my dad died. I didn’t know how to fix it. Chuck made her laugh for the first time in six months. He made her smile. He helped her and she helped him too. His wife died earlier on that year. He made her so happy, makes her so happy. I will put up with a few mean step-brothers to never see her go to that place again.”

“I would understand if they resented your mom but it’s you it seems they don’t like.”

“I was the youngest by quite a bit. Chuck would spend time with me. I think the boys were jealous and they probably could have done with more time with their father back then. They’d lost their mom that year too. But I needed him, mom needed him, he was mourning himself...he did the best job he could considering how fucked up we all were. They’re both successful. I just don’t think they liked having a little sister honestly.”

“Sucks for them. Little sisters are cool,” he said with a smile. “My big brother loves to mess with me but he doesn’t treat me the way those two do.”

“Well, even if they move here, I don’t have to hang out with them,” you said. You crawled into his lap and wrapped your arms around his shoulders. “I heard someone’s a little cocky about their scrambled eggs.”

“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know,” he said. He stood up with you before letting you get your feet under you. You pulled on your underwear and followed him downstairs, whistling as you took in his backside. “Y/N…”

“My bodyguard is hot and he should know it,” you said. He shook his head and headed into the kitchen humming to himself as he started to make up some breakfast for the two of you. The doorbell rang and you groaned. “I bet that’s my mom, early as always. I’ll get her out of here.”

“You don’t have to,” he said.

“I plan on doing things to you after breakfast and I do not want her around for that,” you said. He laughed as you padded down the hall and to the front door. You cracked it open a smidge and saw a man in a suit standing there, his back to you. He spun around with a smile and you nodded. “Oh, hi Jake.”

“Good morning!” he said. “I apologize for being late this morning, my car-”

“The meeting,” you said, slapping yourself in the face. “I totally blanked on it.”

“That’s alright. Is now a good time?” he asked. You looked down at yourself and peeked back around the door. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah! It’s perfect, all perfect,” you said.

“You’re not...are you sure-” he said before Jensen was suddenly stepping into view and pushing you behind the door. “Good morning, Mr. Ackles. You uh, appear to be missing most of your clothes.”

“It seems I am,” said Jensen. “Ms. Y/L/N is very well. She would like to reschedule for ten am if that’s possible.”

“Uh…” he said before you rolled your eyes and opened the door all the way. You stared at him and he looked between you both. “Oh. Gotcha. You two…”

“Mhm,” hummed Jensen, crossing his arms.

“Jake would you mind setting up in my office? It’s just down the hall. Jensen and I were about to eat breakfast. We’ll only be fifteen or so minutes,” you said. He stepped inside and you pointed the way, Jensen pouting as you headed back into the kitchen. “Oh, I’m still gonna do things to you. Just tonight, pouty boy.”

“Alright. You told me David was going to be your manager I thought,” he said, going back to the fridge to get the eggs.

“Well I went with Jake. Is that a problem?

“No. I need to be made aware of decisions like that though. I’m going to have to work with him quite a bit for events, your work schedule, that stuff,” he said. 

“I thought you’d be happy. You said you liked him.”

“I do. I am happy. I’m just not happy that you didn’t tell me.”

“He’s been my manager for like a day, calm down,” you said. He put his hands on the counter and you saw him drop his head, his back to you. “Jensen, no evil person is out there looking to snatch me away the second you turn your head. It was one day.”

“In the future, please make me aware of staff changes when they happen?” he asked. He looked back at you, his face softer than you were expecting.

“Okay,” you said. While he whisked some eggs in a bowl, you walked over beside him, watching over his arm. “Looks good.”

“I haven’t even done anything yet,” he chuckled. You rested your head against his arm, Jensen adding in some spices to the mixture. You scooted up on the counter as he went to the stove, watching him scramble them on low, pouring in a dash of cream.

“Can I ask why the Jake thing bothered you?” you said quietly. He scrambled the eggs for a minute before sliding them onto a few plates.

“Because I have a bad feeling that there is someone out there that wants to hurt you and I have nothing to go off of besides a gut feeling and trusting that you’ll be honest with me, always. You didn’t do anything. I overreacted.”

He got out a pair of forks from the drawer, handing you one along with a plate.

“Your gut feelings are normally right?” you asked, taking a bite of the eggs.

“Normally. They were at the restaurant,” he said. You nodded, putting a hand on your arm where a barely there bruise was. “I’m sorry if I hurt you that night.”

“I get hurt worse walking into a wall cause I’m dumb. You had me on the ground before I even knew what was going on and stopped that guy from doing who knows what to everyone. I’m not sorry about that.” He was quiet but gave you a nod. “Your eggs are great. Permission to brag granted.”

“Thanks,” he said, the doorbell ringing again. “I better get dressed. We’re gonna talk about getting a gate at the end of the driveway too by the way.”

“I second that,” you said as you heard the front door open. “Oh my God, my mother, just walks wherever she wants.”

He took off upstairs, ducking down the hall just as she walked into the kitchen.

“Hi mom,” you said. “You are...three hours early.”

“I know, you have work things. I wanted to make you some food you can have for leftovers the next few days. You have hardly any food in your house,” she said.

“Ma, I can barely cook and most of the time, I don’t have the actual time,” you said. She rolled her eyes and you hopped off the counter.

“Well I’m here so might as well,” she said. You glanced up to the balcony and saw Jensen pop into view wearing some jeans and a long sleeve henley. His holster was clipped on under his shirt and you smiled as he came down. “Oh, good morning, Jensen.”

“Mrs. Y/L/N,” he said.

“Any particular reason my daughter is wearing your shirt and no pants?”

“Uh,” he said, opening his mouth when she made a face.

“Two plates of eggs? You think I was born yesterday?”

“No mam. Your observational skills are impressive,” he said. 

“Mom, could you lay off. We like, just started dating,” you said.

“Can you cook?” she asked him.

“A bit,” he said.

“Bodyguard, he can cook and he’s handsome. He’s fine by me,” she said. You put your head in your hands, your mom whacking your shoulder. “You’re so overdramatic. Now get out of my kitchen. We’ll get lunch and shop later. I assume Jensen is coming with us?”

“I would love to spend the day with you ladies but I trust you two will be okay on your own. I’d like to go over some things with Y/N’s new manager if Y/N’s okay with that,” said Jensen.

“You will join us for dinner though, won’t you? We’re going out with Chuck and the boys. Our treat,” she said.

“Mom,” you said, getting a look from her. “Jensen always goes out with me at night, that’s our rule. I’ll pay for his meal.”

“But we’re taking you kids-”

“He is my employee. You don’t-”

“He’s your boyfriend who happens to work for you. I’m paying for his dinner, alright?” she said. You held up your hands and padded out of the kitchen, Jensen following you upstairs. 

“I’m sorry about her,” you said back in your bedroom as you started to pick up last night’s clothes. “She’s-”

“She misses her daughter. She’s happy I’m here. It helps her sleep better at night,” he said. “Told me herself.”

“I love her. I love her to death but I was a kid when my dad died. I know it was hard for her but for six months, until she met Chuck, she acted like I didn’t exist. She likes to forget that sometimes.”

“People grieve differently,” he said. “Still, it wasn’t on you to do that.”

He took the dirty clothes from your hand and cupped your cheek, kissing your temple quickly. 

“Don’t know how anyone could not notice you. Good thing I get paid to stare at you all day,” he smirked. You lightly smacked his chest, Jensen giggling. “As much as it pains me to say it, get that tush dressed. We’ve got a very long meeting with your manager this morning.”

That Afternoon

“What about this one?” asked your mom, holding up a dress.

“You know I hate award shows,” you said.

“I mean for tonight. Or a date with Jensen sometime,” she said. You did your best to keep your face neutral but she caught the slight down turn of your lips. She slammed the dress back on the rack and put her hands on her hips. “What? All morning you have been short with me.”

“Mom I just started dating him like half an hour before you got to the house. You are going way too fast. I have dresses and I honestly wasn’t even going to say anything until it got more serious.”

“You pay him to protect your life. How much serious does it need to get?” she asked. You rolled your eyes and she made a face. “You barely pick up the phone and talk to me anymore.”

“Cause you changed after dad and not in a good way. For a little while, I lost both my parents. Even after Chuck, you two were so involved with each other you didn’t spend as much time as me as you did before dad died. When I was a teenager, when I really needed my mom, you weren’t there all the time. I’m sorry I grew up to be independent. But-”

“Do you think I don’t realize that? I know I made mistakes,” she said. She sighed and took a seat on a bench outside a waiting room. “I just want you to be happy and Jensen...I haven’t seen a smile on your face like that since before Brian died. He makes you happy, even when you two looked so annoyed with one another earlier in the week, he would stare and you would stare. I feel good about this one. I just want you to enjoy falling in love, if you do end up going that route with him.”

You sat down next to her and shrugged, crossing your arms. You leaned back against the wall and rubbed your sneaker against the floor.

“How do you know that’s your guy,” you asked quietly. “I mean, you’ve done it twice. How do you know?”

“It was different with Chuck. I was slower to admit to myself that I was in love with him. Your father was very quickly. I didn’t share that information with him until much later but I knew, a part of me, the part you don’t justify with logic or facts or details, that part always knew. It knew with them both. Nowhere does it say you only have to have one soulmate. I know you don’t want to hear that but I love them both equally, Y/N.”

“Mom, I love Chuck. It’s not the same as dad but I do. He makes you happy and he tries to be a dad to me but he gives me the space I need too. I’m happy you have him. I’m happy we both do.”

“Why do ask how you know the man you’re with is the one?” she asked. “Or are you asking because that part you can’t explain already told you something you’re not even willing to think yet.”

“I was curious was all,” you said as you stood.

“You’re a horrible actor,” she said. You pushed on her shoulder and she laughed. “Fine, fine. No more boy talk. Let’s try another store. I’m at the very least not letting you walk out of this mall without a new pair of heels.”

Later That Night

“Y/N?” asked Jensen outside your bedroom as he knocked on the door. You checked the back of your fancy bun one last time in the mirror before you walked out and into the room.

“One sec,” you said, bending down and putting on the five inch heels, zipping them up in the back. After a moment of looking yourself over in the mirror in a sleek, mostly backless black dress, you opened up the door. Jensen was in a tailored black suit with a deep navy tie. “You look-”

“Wow,” he said, looking you up and down. “You look so fancy.”

“Fancy?” you laughed. “Is this because you hardly ever catch me out of my sweats?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love the sweats and the leggings. I love all of it,” he said. 

“You look very handsome,” you said, skirting past him and hearing a quiet whistle. “Knew you’d appreciate that.”

“Damn right I do,” he said as he caught up. “Ready to head out?”

“After you.”

“That’s great you guys found a house,” you said an hour later at the restaurant, mouth full of some cheese fries. Nick rolled his eyes at you and you licked your lips. “Wha? I’m hungry.”

“Actually it’s for mom and me,” said Chuck. You raised an eyebrow and he smiled. “I’m a writer so I can work from anywhere and your mom got offered a great position at a clinic here.”

“That’s great guys. I’d love to get to see you more,” you said. You looked at Michael and he had a curious smile on his face. “Did you get a house too?”

“Penthouse apartment hopefully. We’re looking at some tomorrow. Gonna be on my own for the first time. Nick and I talked and he’s not sure if he really wants to move out here yet. We decided we’d see what it’s like living apart for the first time,” he said. 

“Worst case I can always get a professor job at one of the colleges if I change my mind while I try to get into a school district,” said Nick while he played with the remnants of some crust on his plate. 

“You’ll come eventually,” said Chuck. “Get everyone living in the same timezone again. It’ll be good.”

“So are you two like a thing now?” asked Michael to you, looking as innocent as could be while he hid his shit eating grin.

“Yes,” you deadpanned. Jensen looked up from his salad but you went back to eating. For the most part the evening was what you were expecting. Your step-brothers acting oh so pleasant in front of your parents and Jensen getting a few questions about his job. You did smile though when Jensen was able to upstage Michael about some law usage. You were pretty sure even Michael was impressed with him at that point.

“That went well,” said Jensen an hour later after you’d parted ways with your family and were walking back to your car. “Michael’s growing on me. He seemed better tonight. Nick not so much.”

“I’m actually really proud of him for getting his own place. I get that they’re twins but they’re in their thirties. Neither one of them has had a girlfriend in years.”

“Michael’s like a workaholic though,” said Jensen, holding your hand when you walked past a guy in a jacket with his hood up.

“True. Maybe he’ll cut back some out here.”

“How do you think Nick will handle that?” he asked. You stopped walking and pulled out your phone. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t particularly like Nick most of the time, don’t get me wrong. But he might do something stupid,” you said as you dialed your brother. It rang a few times before he answered.

“Yeah?” he said.

“Hey Nick. You want to come over tomorrow while Michael apartment hunts?”

“Uh, sure,” he said and you knew he must have been around your parents still.

“Great. Come over around noon. We’ll have lunch and a swim or something.”

“Okay. See ya.”

You shook your head before you were walking again, Jensen bumping your shoulder.

“Something I need to know about?” he asked.

“The file you did on Nick, what’d you find.”

“Arrest record for when he was young. A few drunk and disorderlies, nothing Michael couldn’t ever get cleared up for him. Hospital stay for a few days in his twenties when he fell down some wet stairs. I’m going to go ahead and guess out of all of that he didn’t fall, did he.”

“No,” you said as you stopped outside your car.

“What happened?”

“I came home from school early and Nick had tried to kill himself,” you said. Jensen blinked a few times and you let out a dry laugh. “It’s hard to surprise you but I think that took the cake.”

“You need to tell me everything.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s a threat to you. You can’t see it but I can. He doesn’t like you and if he’s tried that before, it means-”

“Can we talk about this at home?” you said when you saw someone down the street recognize you. He nodded and they wandered up, asking for a few pictures. You posed and put on a smile, Jensen watching careful with a hard look in his eye.

“Woah, woah,” said Jensen half an hour later as you sat in the family room at one end of the couch in some sweats and an oversized tee, Jensen sporting a similar look but wearing the hoodie you’d given him. He had a notebook by his side but he’d put it on the coffee table in favor of throwing his hands up. “He tried to do it in your bedroom? He left a note on your bed?”

“My closet,” you said. “My closet had attic access so he’d tied a rope up on a beam. He had just kicked the chair away when I walked in. I was skipping last period. Senior year and all.”

“What’d you do?”

“It was very obvious that Nick knew he’d made a mistake. I grabbed him and held him up as best I could until he could untie himself. He fell down pretty hard cause I couldn’t hold him anymore and landed on all the junk lying on my closet floor. He told me we were gonna lie and say he fell down some stairs to account for all the bruises.”

“Why’d you help him lie?”

“Cause I thought he tried to kill himself because of me. I thought he hated me that much. He was in my bedroom after all,” you said.

“You read the note?”

“Jensen-”

“I need to know, Y/N.”

“Why?”

“Because my job is to protect you from threats. If your step-brother doesn’t like you and now his whole family is moving away from him to be closer to you, depending on a lot of things, this could get messy.”

“Jensen-”

“Did you read it?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“And?” For a moment you looked past him and outside, Jensen’s foot nudging yours. “I’m sorry but I gotta know.”

“He felt like a failure. He was in the car with his mom when she died. He saw how well Michael did and I did and he felt distant from his dad and he felt like his life was crumbling around him and honestly, he wanted to go be with his mom again. He felt like he didn’t belong. I fucking bawled reading it.”

“You guys ever talk about it or was it over like that?”

“I slapped him in the face and told him he was pathetic. His mom, my dad, they didn’t get a choice to live or die. I was so angry at him. He apologized and he promised me that if he ever felt like that again, he’d tell me. A few years later, he came to me and thought he might do something stupid.”

“His teaching sabbatical he went on.”

“He got some professional help. I paid for it all. He stayed out here, nearby. I visited him everyday on the way into work. He got better. He learned a lot about himself, how to cope, how to deal with things in his life. He still sees a therapist every week I pay for on the down low.”

“He’s no threat to you.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he loves you and you love him, even if you don’t like one another or act like you care. If something bad were to happen, he would help you and you’re gonna do it right back.”

“How do-”

“Because your step-brothers who are assholes to you at times, they wanted to ensure that I would protect you when I first met them. I think it’s finally all clicking into place,” he said. “Hence why you never say a word about their behavior to your mom.”

“I will take prickly siblings over dead ones, even if I didn’t pick them,” you said.

“Are you worried Nick will take a bad turn with everyone else moving here?”

“I don’t know. I know he associates this place with bad memories, some of his darkest memories. I don’t blame him for not wanting to live here,” you said. Jensen nodded and ran his thumb over his lips. He propped his elbow on the back of the couch, resting his head in it.

“I’ve always thought you were kind. But helping your brother like that, in secret when I’m sure you want to tell your family, that’s not easy.”

“Yes, it is. There was never really a decision to be made though. The only one was to tell my parents and Michael and as long as Nick is honest with me, I will keep his secrets from them.”

“You’re more loyal than some of the people I served with,” he said, looking out the back windows. “It’s only an easy decision if you’re a good person. I wish I’d worked with more of those.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” you asked. He smiled and ruffled his hair, frowning after a moment.

“Jared saved my life you know. After I healed up, I transferred to his unit.”

“He’s a good guy to call your friend,” you said. He hummed and you crawled over to him, wrapping your arms around him. “I’m glad we’re finally friends.”

“Me too,” he said. He pulled you into his lap and rested his head on your shoulder. Your fingers ran through his hair, eyes drawn down to how his back flexed and relaxed. “Sorry for playing twenty questions with Nick. I won’t say a word to anyone, including him.”

“S’okay. Just doing your job.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost nine. Why?”

“Do you want to go to bed?”

“Counter offer. We make out in my hot tub and then go to bed.”

“Counter counter offer. I make ice cream sundaes we eat in said hot tub and then make out and then go to bed.”

“I’ve always had a thing for intelligent men,” you said. You kissed his cheek and he chuckled. “You’ve never seen me in a bikini before, have you.”

“I’m in for a treat then, aren’t I?” he said. “Go on and change.”

“I’ll meet you out there,” you said. You departed from him and headed upstairs, poking around in your closet for the perfect one to put on. You spotted him come out of the hall in his orange and blue striped shorts, a whistle on his lips as he jogged downstairs. In your closet you took a seat on the small bench, holding up your black teeny tiny bikini and your aqua blue that honestly made your butt look great.

You opted for the black top and blue bottoms to get the best of both worlds. You were midway through pulling your shirt off when you heard Jensen come in the room.

“Oh come on-” you said, something whacking you in the back of the head. Instantly you fell down, strong arms catching you. You looked up wearily, someone in a black mask looking down at you. The eyes weren’t green and you kneed him, putting an elbow to the back of the guy’s neck and making him groan. You got to your feet as fast as possible and sprinted out of the room. “Jensen!”

You knew you weren’t going to make it to the stairs without the guy catching you so you grabbed the railing and vaulted over the balcony to the ground below. You rolled when you hit the ground, spotting Jensen by the base of the stairs. Your eyes spun upwards, Jensen following your gaze and seeing the man standing there. You turned and saw Jensen running towards you, a loud thud right beside you. The man was on the first floor now and you ducked down, missing his arms as you dove into the dining room. By the time you had your head up, you saw Jensen tackling the guy, a gun going flying out of the intruder’s hands.

You stood up, watching the two of them wrestle, the intruder getting a good hit on Jensen’s face. 

“Y/N, go!” you heard Jensen yelling at you, the pounding in your ears finally growing a little quieter. Jensen told you when you were going over his book of rules that was the adrenaline in your system, trying to get your body to only focus on survival. The gun was laying fairly close to you and you heard Jensen shout, eyes darting over to see he had a cut on the back of his shoulder. 

He had Jensen pinned face down and was working on restraining him. He was still shouting at you and the man looked up the second he had pulled the tie taut. You ran over and picked up the gun, the man revealing a knife.

“Put that down or I kill him,” he said. You swallowed, Jensen yelling a frenzy of things at you, all of which involved you running away as fast as possible. Instead you aimed the gun and fired, the man falling backwards as it hit his vest. 

You ran over and kicked the knife he dropped away, keeping the gun on him as Jensen rolled over to it and cut himself free. He gave you a dirty look but searched the guys pockets and found more restraints, slipping some on the intruder before taking the gun out of your hands.

“Call the police. Now,” said Jensen. 

________

A/N: Read Part 7 here!

[atlabeth]

Can I get a Fluff with scenes 12 , 19, and 20 for Sokka x fem reader. They plan a date and get ready for it. Sokka and the gaang are amazed on how Y/N looks for their date.

you look perfect - sokka x fem!reader

a/n: this was such a cute request ive been writing so much angst lately that i needed some fluff lol. i played w the request a little and once again i wrote way too much but i hope you still like it!!

wc: 1.7k 

warning(s): only a little bit of insecurity on the reader’s side but the rest is all fluff :))

12. “It looks good on you.” 19. “How did I manage to get you?” 20. “Maybe I’m just lucky.” 

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

“Are you guys sure that this goes with the dress?”  Y/N looked at herself in the mirror uneasily as Suki finished up her eyeshadow, fiddling anxiously with her hands in her lap. Katara was working magic on her hair, styling it to perfection, and Toph was sitting on a beanbag in the corner of her room to offer moral support. She had called her girls over to help her get ready for her date with her boyfriend; they had been more than happy to help her out and gossip together, but nerves were once again getting the better of her. 

It had only been a little over a year since she had been silently pining for Sokka — ever since he had walked into the lecture hall on their first day of classes, she had been drawn to him. It didn’t help that he had chosen a spot right next to her — this was a class essential for half the majors at the university, so he didn’t have very many choices coming in right before the clock — but that easy smile he shot at her before taking out his laptop made her feel some kind of way. 

They ended up getting paired together for their first project, and they became friends in no time. Doing projects together turned into studying together, and they had been spending a lot of time together at various cafes and libraries in preparation for their midterm. Y/N had been wanting to ask Sokka out for a while, but she was so scared of messing up their friendship that she just settled for it. After all, he was an amazing friend and had become one of her closest ones, so it was hardly settling. Luckily for her, she ended up not having to make the first move. 

“Hey, Y/N.” She hummed in response to let Sokka know she had heard him, but didn’t look up from her laptop. “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow?”

“Oh, I think that would be great! Our midterm is on Wednesday, so if we fit in another long study session tomorrow we’ll have Monday and Tuesday to take it all in and do some last-minute preparations.” 

“No, no studying.” That got her attention and she stopped her rapid typing, being met with that same easy smile he gave her the day they met when she looked up. “Just.. the two of us, together. I could take you out to lunch, and you could have something that isn’t coffee for once.” 

Now Y/N was really paying attention. She almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and she was unable to stop the wide smile playing on her lips. “Sokka, are you asking me out?” 

He laughed and nodded, giving her a similar smile but with a hint of nervousness in it. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.” 

Y/N set her hand on the table and Sokka set his on top of it, intertwining his fingers with hers. “You don’t even know how much I’d love to go out with you.” 

“For the thousandth time, yes!” Suki nodded, pleased with her work, and started to clean up the palettes that she had laid all over the floor. “You know I would never do you wrong.”

“I know that Suki, but.. This isn’t something that I usually wear, what if he doesn’t like it? What if he thinks I’m trying too hard? I usually don’t even do makeup, but I really wanted—”

“Y/N, stop!” Her eyes snapped over to Toph, who came over and put her hands on her shoulders. “Remind me what you’re getting ready for, again?” 

Toph’s brutal honesty was one of the things Y/N appreciated most about her, and bringing her back down to Earth was something she needed desperately right now. “A date with my boyfriend?” 

“Yes, and what is that date celebrating?” 

“...our one year anniversary.” 

“Exactly!” Toph clapped her on the shoulder a lot harder than she needed to, and Y/N let out a surprised laugh. “You’ve been dating him for a year, this man is totally and completely whipped for you! You literally have nothing to worry about.” 

“I know, but still! What if he doesn’t like this shade, or you’re all lying and this actually doesn’t bring out my eyes, and—” 

“Y/N, please. Look at me.” Katara’s voice interrupted her ramble, and Y/N met Katara’s eyes, finding a lifeline in the ocean she carried within them. She started playing with the ring on her finger again — it was a promise ring that Sokka had given her half a year into their relationship, and she never took it off. It was one of her most treasured possessions, and just holding it helped her worries fade away a bit.

“I know my brother, and I know how he feels about you.” Katara finished off Y/N’s hair and took a seat on the floor in front of her. “After that first day in class with you, he told me about this beautiful girl he met in his calculus class. He said, ‘something about her seemed so inviting, so I sat next to her. I even lied about forgetting my pencil so that I would get to talk to her, even just for a second.’” 

Y/N smiled to herself, already feeling her cheeks heating up. Sokka had told her about that on their first date, and she remembered how shocked she was that he had thought about her when they first met in the same way she did. “I remember that. He told me how nervous he was to ask me out, and that was just crazy to me. He carries himself so confidently and he’s just so smooth in everything that he does.. The thought of him getting nervous over me is so cute.”

“Everything is going to be fine, okay? You look absolutely fantastic in every way possible. I’ll be surprised if he’s even going to be able to take his eyes off of you. Everyone is going to be looking at you when you look like this.” Suki patted Y/N on the cheek and smiled, and her nerves finally settled, but only for a moment. There was a knock on the door and Y/N took a deep breath, shaking her hands out as she gave her friends a desperate look. She felt the same way that she did the time he came to pick her up for their first date — childish joy and excitement all playing together to form some very big butterflies in her stomach. 

“Go get your man, Y/N!” Toph hit her on the shoulder and Y/N laughed, running out of her room so she could get to the door. She took a second to compose herself before opening the door, revealing the image of her boyfriend in a simple sports coat and slacks — it was one of the most basic combinations, but Sokka made it look like he was walking out of a luxury store. He was holding a bouquet of flowers, and he perked up when she opened the door. 

“Sokka! You have perfect timing, I just finished getting ready.” She opened the door wider so that he could come in if he wanted to and gasped. “Are those flowers?” 

Sokka didn’t say anything, his mouth parted like he wanted to say something but just couldn’t find the words. His wide eyes traveled up and down, looking at her makeup, her hair, her outfit, the way her eyes sparkled when she talked, and that gorgeous smile that had drawn him in from the start. She was completely and utterly perfect, and it was like his brain was shutting down trying to think of how to communicate it to her. 

“What?” Y/N looked down at her outfit and pulled at the fabric, mentally kicking herself and already starting to walk back to her room. She was convinced he didn’t like it. “You know, I wasn’t really into this anyways, I can change if you just give me a second—” 

Sokka grabbed her wrist and pulled him back to her, stopping her rambling with a heated kiss. Y/N practically melted as she returned it, and was completely breathless when she pulled away. 

“What was I saying?” She asked, slightly dazed. 

“Your dress,” he said with a chuckle. “It looks good on you. You look so good, so.. perfect. I just forgot how to talk for a while there.”

Y/N smiled shyly and rubbed her arm, all the insecurity from before dissipating. She always wanted everything to be perfect for her boyfriend so that he would understand how much she loved him, but Sokka loved her, not the clothes she wore or the way she did her hair. Of course, she looked drop dead gorgeous tonight, but to him, she was always perfect. “How did I manage to get you?” 

“I ask myself that every time I look at you.” Sokka grinned and held out the flowers, his eyes following her as she set them in a nearby vase. He then pulled her into the hallway with him, allowed Y/N to close the door before they started walking down the hallway together. “And the only thing I can come up with, the only reason that someone like you could fall into my life, is that maybe I’m just lucky.”

“I think it was fate. I truly believe that we were meant to meet because.. I just can’t imagine my life without you. I’ve loved you since that first bad joke you made to me during class, and this has undoubtedly been the best year of my life,” Y/N mused. 

“I knew it was only a matter of time before you fell for me after I pulled out the comedy.” He laughed and gave Y/N a cheeky smile as he held the door to exit the complex open for her, the cool night air doing nothing to help her flushed cheeks. 

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Y/N. Happy anniversary.” Sokka’s eyes softened as he looked at her, leaning in to give her a kiss on the lips before they continued. “I can’t wait to celebrate so many more of these with you.” 

And as they walked into the parking lot towards Sokka’s car, hands intertwined together, his thumb rubbing against hers, and her lips still burning from where he kissed her, Y/N wondered what she had ever been worried about. 

[animebaby00]

I'll Never Stop Waiting (Armin Arlert x Reader) - One-shot

Instagram Request: Armin becomes separated from Y/N after an expedition and is unconvinced they're dead.

Warning: (Mild use of language)

*5 years prior

Ack, Y/N, Eren, Mikasa ! Wait up !"

A young, brown haired boy no older than 10 looked behind his shoulder, a girl with black hair trailing right behind him, "Come on Armin ! Don't tell me you can't run faster than that ! We're gonna miss the scouts' return !"

Armin clenched his eyes shut, legs wobbling underneath him as he came to a stop, panting for breath, "I - I know but -"

He could hear feet walking towards him and a hand on his shoulder.

"Eren, just stop and let him catch up will ya ?"

The boy looked behind him and stopped again, "Awe not you too, Y/N ! We're gonna be-"

"Late. I got it." You said flatly, waving a hand, "You and Mikasa go on ahead. We'll catch up with you."

"Hmmmm….okay. But make sure you hurry !"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Eren gave a toothy grin and ran on ahead with Mikasa trailing right behind him as you fully approached the panting blonde.

"You okay ?"

Armin looked up at you with one eye,."Yeah. I-I'm fine. But...you didn't have to do that. "

You shrugged, "Hey, Eren needs to be put in his place sometimes. Especially when he's not aware that one of his friends needs help."

Armin stood up a little straighter ," He's not a bad person."

"I'm not saying he's bad. I'm just saying he needs to act a little more aware and not act so...Eren."

Armin looked off "He'd probably explode if he heard you say that."

"Exactly my point. And let him. Maybe some of that explosion will break some of his skull and let more brain grow in."

At this, Armin giggled and took a few steps forward.

"Come on, we better get going," he shyly held a hand out, "Thank you waiting."

You smiled and gladly took his hand, squeezing it.

"I'm your friend. I'll never stop waiting for you."

~~~~~~~

Present*

It was bright. Unbearingly so even through closed eyelids. His head was pounding as the ray from the light above him pierced past the thin skin adorned with blonde lashes.

He blinked, he groaned, before he finally opened them fully to meet the wooden beams of a ceiling and a hanging, dome shielded lightbulb, and the faint pitter patter of raindrops were thumping against the roof.

He was inside. But how did he get here? God, his memory was so fuzzy.

"Armin !"

His eyes darted to the right, vision still plagued by whatever happened. But the lean, boyish outline, messy brown hair, and tone of voice was enough to help him identify the individual.

"E-eren?" He rasped.

"Oh, thank God…I'm so glad you're awake! Are you feeling okay? Do you-"

"Eren. Calm down."

That feminine voice. He turned his head to the left. Black hair. Red scarf.

"M-Mikasa ?"

"Mm. Are you okay?" She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I...I think so? Where am I? What happened?"

"You're in the infirmary." Mikasa said softly.

"Wha-?"

"The expedition didn't go as planned," Eren interrupted , "A giant group of titans began attacking 2 of our backup groups so we had to retreat. Christ….it was a goddamn bloodbath out there."

Armin's eyes widened, "H-how many…?"

"...27."

The blonde shuddered. So many people.

"How did I get here ?" He asked dryly, " I was on backup but we didn't…?"

"They called you upwards since you weren't being attacked." Mikasa explained, " But mid retreat it looked like your 3DM gear malfunctioned and you fell from the wall of a cliff. We found you and carried you back in a wagon."

Armin nodded. No wonder his body felt like it had been beaten to a pulp.

But something still didn't feel right.

...wait.

"Where's Y/N ?" Armin asked, looking between his two friends, " They were in the backup C with me. Why aren't they here?"

At this, Eren grimaced and looked off to the side while Mikasa buried her chin into the piece of red fabric around her neck.

Armin's breath hitched, "G-guys?"

"It was...really bad out there Armin." Eren admitted, running a hand over his face, "And honestly, we don't remember much. But in the midst of everything...we didn't see Y/N at all on the way back. We...don't know where they are…"

"W-what ?" Armin trembled, eyes widening.

Mikasa reached a hand out in noticing the blonde's troubled state, "Armin-"

"S-so your telling me," he quaked, face engraved with fear, "That Y/N...is out there," he pointed at the glass windows in the back of the room with a trembling finger, "B-by themselves ? Lost, in the dark and rain. Possibly surrounded by titans ? A-and possibly…" good god this word made him feel sick to his stomach.

"D...dead?"

Eren pressed his lips together and nodded while Mikasa looked down the bed, and Armin could have sworn he saw the outline of a few tears in her eyes.

Something inside him snapped, before he completely lost it.

"N-no…" he stuttered, shifting his legs upward, "No. No, they can't be…"

"Armin, please," Mikasa said desperately, "I know your upset but-"

"No ! I-I won't accept that ! T-they have to be okay !"

Armin shifted his body to the side and stood shakily from the bed, bones and muscles screaming at him to stop. But he didn't, and made his way to the door.

"Armin ! What the hell are you doing ?!" Eren exclaimed.

"I-It's not possible ! T-they have to be alive ! We have to help them !"

"Armin, lay back down" Mikasa argued, "You need-"

"SHUT UP !"

Both Eren and Mikasa froze, completely shocked by Amrin's outburst and we're even more shocked when, even in his state, he managed to hastily move out of the move and down the hall.

They were frozen from his actions, almost not even realizing what he was doing until the loud echoes of him calling out your name and words of refusal burst through the walls of the building.

"Shit...Armin !" Eren called, running after him. But Mikasa just stayed at the door, first clutched over her heart.

It couldn't be true. He didn't want to believe it.

You were his best friend. You were always there for him when no one else could be. You were always sweet, kind, considerate, and strong.

So very strong.

You didn't deserve this fate.

"Y/N !" Armin screamed, rushing past corridors, other soldiers, even other friends of his. And they all simply looked down at the floor upon hearing your name.

Armin didn't even pause in his hasteful movements as he arrived at a large oak door and pushed it open, revealing a dark sheet of night and rain. But that didn't stop him from moving forward, clothes and body becoming immediately drenched after taking only a few lunged steps away from the building.

"Y/N !" He cried, wiping at his snot and tear covered face, "WHERE ARE YOU ?!"

His eyes darted around desperately, hoping to see your face in the near pitch black, soaked darkness, wishing that maybe you had just gotten lost in a crowd or caught up with some old friends and weren't going to return until late.

The screams didn't stop,even as his throat grew raw, even as it stung everytime he swallowed his gasping, broken breaths. He prayed to Wall Maria that he would eventually hear the sound of your voice calling back to him, that you would run up with your own, watered down clothes, carrying that nonchalant smile that he adored so much.

But you never did.

~~~~~~~

A memorial was held for you a week later.

There was no report of the findings of your body or any news of the possibility that you were still alive.

Everyone was there, clad in their uniforms as the proceedings commenced in commemorating your services and honor that you put forth to the scouts. The weather was a drastic change from a mere 7 days ago, the dreary, cold, wet rain replaced with a warm sunset and a cool breeze.

Too calm of weather for the event at hand.

All stood tall as they watched the empty coffin slowly lower into the ground, the offering bouquets of flowers and lit candles put temporarily off to the side in waiting until the deed was done.

So many words were spoken, so many memories were shared, and so many tears were shed as your comrades spoke of you in lights that made you sound like the most wonderful and most pure bring on earth.

The crowd remained until nightfall until it slowly started to diminish by one to two people at a time, until there was only one person left.

Armin.

He was quiet the whole ceremony. He only listened, most of the words muffled in his distracted hearing, still only focused on the possibility of missing your voice if by some miracle you turned up at your own funeral, making this whole thing a cruel yet life-relieving joke.

But yet again, his please weren't answered.

However he still wasn't convinced.

They hadn't found any remnants of your uniform or any broken 3DM gear in the areas they searched a few days after the expedition. They didn't have anything solid.

They had no proof that you were dead.

Armin stepped forward, a bouquet of F/F's squeezed in a clammy palm. He gently laid them down on top of all the other offerings presented to you, feeling the tears as they began pooling in his eyes.

"Y/N… I promise…no matter where you are…"

He brought his fingers to his lips and kissed them, before reaching out to smooth them over the polished rock of your gravestone, whispering those same words you had told him long ago.

"I'll never stop waiting for you…

A booming voice sounded from the watchtower "CADET L/N SPOTTED IN THE DISTANCE ! OPEN THE GATES !"

[bubblesuga]

needy

“Tell me how good it feels to be needed. . .” 

Summary: Hoseok leaves for Seoul in less than 12 hours, and you’re desperate to tell him how you feel. 

W/C: 2,681

Genre: fluff, smut

Warnings: cussing, unprotected sex, slight daddy kink, slight exhibitionism (it’s car sex lol), dom!hobi, switch!reader, power play

The gentle breeze of the sea brushes your cheek lovingly, the smell of sea salt invading your senses while you watch the blue waves crash against the rocks a mile out from where you sit. Beneath you, your hand buries itself in the cold sand in an attempt to ground yourself further into this abysmal bliss. Beside you sits your best friend, Hoseok. 

Golden skin shines beneath the setting sun, the weather being just cool enough to turn the tip of his nose a soft pink. His smile is small, dragging his bottom lip between his teeth while his eyes travel up and down the coast line. You could stare at him for days. Hell, you have been staring at him for days. You want to memorize every inch of his face, you want to remember the freckle on his top lip and the way his dimples pop every time he jokingly scolds you because tomorrow he’s leaving you. 

You’re just hoping this isn’t the last time you see him. 

Of course you’re happy for your friend. You’ve been to every performance, watched every ribbon be handed his way, and stayed up late into the night to watch him practice the same choreography over and over again in the small garage at his parents’ house. It was only a matter of time before some entertainment label was ready to take him in. You just wished you had more time with him. Alas, you’re beginning college soon and Hoseok is beginning the rest of his life. 

He turns to you, his smile big. You drag your eyes up to meet his, “Yes?” 

“You’re staring at me.” he says simply. 

“And?” you tilt your head, raising an eyebrow. 

He laughs, “It’s kind of creeping me out.” 

You tear your eyes away, a blush creeping up your neck. “I- I’m sorry. I just want to remember you.” 

Hoseok reaches his arm around you, pulling you into his warm embrace as he coos gently, “Ah, lovely _____. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again.” 

He’s always been good at comforting, a trait you’re sure he’s picked up from his mother. The way his hand gently clasps yours and rests atop of your thighs instantly sparks an emotion you had been trying to swallow this entire time because despite how much you tried to ignore it, you’ve fallen in love with Hoseok. 

It’s difficult for you to pinpoint exactly when your feelings came to fruition. Maybe it was at age 16 when he insisted you help him practice his first couples dance, a dance he had been dreading since the beginning of the year. His grip on you was strong, and he lead you under the guise of confidence despite having shaking knees. Or it could have been even earlier. At 14 years old he spent every night under the stars with you, talking about the possibilities of life and where the two of you might end up. It was the first time you rested your head on his chest and listened to his heart beat. 

With your thoughts reeling, you feel a tear slip out of your eye, “I’m just worried that you’ll forget about me.” It feels stupid to say, but the validity of your statement is far stronger than you thought. 

“Hey,” you feel Hoseok shift beneath you, his fingertips brushing your jawline to guide your head in his direction, “I could never forget you. I’ll be back regularly to see you, and before we know it you’ll be in Seoul right beside me.” 

He swipes a tear away and continues, “Besides, you’re too cute to forget.” 

His smile is big, but you still struggle to wipe away the melancholy. Hoseok notices, the grin dropping. He shifts completely, laying his back down in the sand while you fall with him, feeling his grip tighten on you. 

“Talk to me.” 

“Hobi, I-” you begin, but you feel your breath hitch in your throat. The hoodie on your body isn’t doing enough to keep you warm, anxiety chilling you to the bone while you try to process your feelings. It’s now or never, if you don’t tell him then you’ll regret it and he’ll be sent off to Seoul without ever knowing the extent of your feelings. However, if you do he could be completely caught of guard, disgusted even. He’d never be able to look at you the same and your friendship would be ruined. 

But you’re willing to take the chance, because he looks down at you with a calming aura completely engulfing your senses. You’ve forgotten about the beach, you’ve forgotten about the sand. All you know, is him. 

“Do you remember,” you shift your weight, your chin in the center of his chest, “in 6th grade when you were so terrified of your mother finally watching a dance performance that the only thing that could calm you down was me?” 

Hoseok nods, his slender fingers moving to push a piece of hair from your face. Still, his lips stay upturned. 

“And do you remember how you told me that you’re never going to meet someone better at hugging than me?” 

“Still haven’t.” He chuckles, wrapping his arms around your upper back and giving a small squeeze. 

“Well, what if I told you that I,” you take a deep breath, trying not to overthink your next words, “want to do more than hug you?” 

Instantly, Hoseok’s eyes widen and your jaw immediately drops. “W- wait hold on! Let me-” you smack your forehead, “that sounds really bad out of context. I just- I really don’t know how else to say that I am so absolutely in love with you.” 

Hoseok’s jaw stays slack, the smile previously shining his entire face is replaced with down turned lips and eyes so wide that you’re sure that they could fall out of his head.

“I knew this was stupid,” you say, “I shouldn’t have told you because you’re leaving and I’ll still be here and we’ll be living two very different lives butIfeltlikeIhadtotellyouotherwiseIwouldregretitfortherestofmy-” 

“Hey!” Hoseok cuts you off, and your mouth clamps shut with a small whimper. 

Your eyes anxiously bore into his, and you feel tears begin to well again, but before they could fall, Hoseok speaks again. 

“What took you so long?” 

“What?” You ask incredulously. 

“You mean to tell me that the entire time I’m pining after you and fighting off every guy that tried to ask you out, you were in love with me?” Hoseok laughs as if he doesn’t believe what he’s saying. 

“You fought off guys trying to ask me out?” 

“Every damn one of them,” Hoseok says proudly, “you wouldn’t believe how many times a guy would walk up to me to make sure that we weren’t together before they made a move.” 

You let out a giggle, “And what did you say to them?” 

Hoseok pulls your entire body on top of his in one swift movement, chest now against his and your face inches away from his. The proximity causes your skin to flush, your earlier chills long forgotten. 

Hoseok brushes his nose against yours, “I told them you weren’t mine yet, but you were gonna be.” 

With that, he presses his lips to yours. 

At first he moves slow, the cherry balm on his lips enveloping your taste buds with an infinite amount of electric bolts flying up and down your body in a symphony of pleasure. His hands move to your hips, the tips of his fingers digging in while he inhales your scent because finally you are right where he’s wanted you to be. 

He’s not the one to deepen the kiss, though. Instead, your hands grip the collar of his jacket tightly and you tug, signalling Hoseok to flip the two of you over. 

“I’ve wanted this for so long,” he groans into your mouth, “you feel so much better than I imagined.” 

“I’ve wanted this too,” you whisper, “for so long.” 

He grins, capturing your lips again as your legs spread just enough for him to slip between them. He slits perfectly between, his lean body pressing hard against your chest. Hoseok pulls away to begin trailing kisses along your cheeks, then your jawline, and you let out a sigh of happiness. He giggles against your skin, but it stops the moment he bites into your neck. You let out a gasp, arching your back into him. 

“Hobi,” you moan, “Hobi, please.” 

“You need to tell me how far you want this to go, baby.” His voice is much deeper than usual, the growl under his words shooting a jolt of electricity to your core. 

You ponder for a moment, debating whether or not you’re prepared to lose your virginity to your best friend. It certainly isn’t where you expected this to go but you’ve got no complaints. 

“Hoseok,” you grin, pulling his attention away from your neck, “fuck me.” 

His lips trail kisses until he reaches your ear, “That’s what I like to hear.” 

Without warning, he stands abruptly and tugs you upward. Hoseok grips your hand tightly in his as he rushes towards his car. The sun has finally set and the quiet beach which had become your favorite place to hang out was completely silent. When you finally reach his car, Hoseok opens the back door and bows his head. 

The butterflies in your stomach are swarming. 

You slip into Hoseok’s back seat and lay back, watching Hoseok take his place over you again. Slotting between your legs, you feel him grind harshly in the apex of your thighs. 

This is so much better than what you imagined. 

Hoseok’s fingers draw a line down your chest and to the hem of your sweatshirt, tugging gently. “Take it off.” 

It’s a demand you have been waiting to hear forever. 

Hoseok pulls himself off of you and watches you with dark eyes while you slip your hoodie off. Just like Hoseok had imagined, you wore nothing underneath. His sweet tongue dips out to lick his lips at the sight of you, your nipples instantly perking in the coolness of the car. 

“Your turn.” you smirk, loving the way his eyes dance hungrily across your chest. Hoseok doesn’t hesitate to do the same, his nimble fingers then moving to the waistband of his sweats to tug them down. You watch carefully, the grey sweats slipping down his thighs until his cock flies upward freely. Gloriously hard and ready, you lift your hips and slip your own pants down your legs at the sight. 

You’re astonished at your brazen actions, tugging him down to your mouth as Hoseok rolls his hips against yours. Before, you would have never tried something so bold. He doesn’t seem to mind though, because as you push him back onto the seat, he lets out a loud moan. 

Underneath the moonlight, Hoseok’s face is illuminated gorgeously. You slip onto the floor of the car, gripping his cock in your hand. It’s thick, curved, and mouthwatering. He tosses his head back as you stroke your hand up and down, his hips flexing beneath your grip. 

“God, do you know how much I’ve had to stop myself from getting you on your knees for me over the years,” he says, gasping when you lick the tip, “I’ve dreamed about you sucking my cock.” 

You sink your lips around him, dragging your tongue along the underside as you do so. He thrusts, letting out a small apology when he hears you gag around him. However, he’s surprised by the moan that vibrates from your throat while you take him as deep as you possibly can. 

He laces his hands through your hair, gently guiding you up and down, “Look at me,” he demands, “keep looking at me.” 

His chest heaves, and the thrill of having him mewling for more has you moving faster. You suck in your cheeks, watching how his face reacts to each movement you do. Suddenly, his eyes shoot open, “Fuck! No, stop baby. I’m gonna cum if you continue.” 

The gleam in your eye scares Hoseok momentarily as you continue to suck, practically having Hoseok rip you off of him while you let out a giggly. 

“Oh yeah, real funny,” Hoseok rolls his eyes, “don’t be a brat and come here.” 

“Yes, daddy.” You croon, not expecting the way his adam’s apple bobs at the use of the nickname. You merely smile at the affect you have on him, crawling upward and straddling his thighs. He doesn’t shy away from your movements, welcoming your lips on his. Despite the fact that this was your first time, you were very prepared to take Hoseok in his full glory. So, you sink carefully down onto his cock. 

Harmonious moans fill the car as you feel him fill you deliciously. The stretch burns, worse than you anticipated but nothing you couldn’t handle. Instead, you welcomed the pain, hearing him moan into your mouth as you lift yourself up and sink back down again. 

“Fuck,” his hands caress your ass, spreading your cheeks as you ride him, “so wet for me. Such a good girl.” 

“Yes,” you mewl at his words, “I’m your good girl.” 

“Yes you are,” Hoseok chuckles, “taking good care of daddy.” 

One of his hands moves in between the two of you, his thumb brushing against your clit. Instantly, a shriek leaves your lips at the unexpected feeling.  He grunts when your cunt clenches down on his cock, turning his thumb in harsh circles. 

With the added feeling of his thumb against your clit, your orgasm approaches you quickly. A swivel of your hips was enough to let Hoseok know how close you were, and he captures your lips quickly again. 

His hands grip your hips right on the tip of his cock, pausing your movements. You let out a tiny huff, but it’s soon wiped away from you when you feel Hoseok thrust into your cunt as hard as he can. Overwhelmed with the foreign yet amazing feeling, you let out a gasp and bite into your lower lip while you bury your face in his neck. 

“Come on,” Hoseok’s deep voice echos in the small car, “cum on my cock.” 

You feel your cunt clamp down on him, your orgasm washing over you in waves while Hoseok continues to thrust. “So good,” he presses his lips to your temple, “where do you want me?” 

He’s out of breath, but you want to give him the most pleasure you can. “Cum inside me.” 

That was enough to push Hoseok over the edge, a string of curse words falling out of his mouth as he fills your pulsing walls. Hot and wet, you immediately begin to feel it pooling out of you and back down onto Hoseok’s cock, but he doesn’t make an effort to move. Instead, he stays inside you while he brings you back down to him. 

“Are you okay, baby?” Chaste kisses a linked up and down your neck. 

You nod, “Better than okay.” 

You two lay together for a little while, and the sudden realization washes over you that he’s leaving you tomorrow. You’ve just lost your virginity to him, and he’s leaving. 

Yet you don’t regret a single thing. Instead, you sigh, “What am I going to do without you?” 

Hoseok didn’t want to think about the fact that his trunk is filled with his belongings and this is the last time he’ll see you for a little while. He just wanted to enjoy having you in his arms, but the inevitability of change was a mere 12 hours away.

Hoseok presses a kiss to your temple, and in his infinite words of wisdom, speaks huskily, “I’m going to work my ass of to make it big, you’re gonna move to Seoul, and we can be together. Until then,” he presses a small kiss to your lips before continuing, “we’ll video chat as often as possible. You’re mine now, ya hear?” 

You grin, “Yes, Hobi, and you’re mine too.” 

[lunaekalenda]

Congratulations on your milestone!! I'd like to request 👄🚗💖 (or maybe trajicomedia not sure there 😅) for Levi, Reiner and Zeke pls 🥺💘 there is not much content for the monke and can you pls end the five with fluff please. Hope u have a great day!!!

ofc! i hope you like it and thanks for requesting on my event! 

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enemies to lovers + modern au + romantic tragicomedia feat Levi, Reiner and Zeke.

w: maybe implicit sex mentions on zeke's, nothing important.

a/n: the starting of the one shot is the same for the three characters, but the ends change!! also i’m not gonna lie, i wrote the tension scenes listening to the gerudo valley theme from the legend of zelda: ocarina of time lol also, on zeke's end i took the prompt that they already make uo with esch other but they have a playful hate (like fake rivality)

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Your university’s debate team is recognized everywhere. It’s a really prestigious one, and you, as its captain, are always praised by other professionals. Since you’re captain, you have won against a lot of teams from different universities and even different countries, but you never won against the team that Levi Ackerman commands. 

“Isn’t this the Ackerman team?” Pieck asks, showing you a piece of paper. Your university is called to participate on a debate night on the south of the country. And your rivals that night is Levi’s team. 

Even when you never compite against him, you know him too well. He used to be in the same high school as you, leading the debate team since he’s just a teenager. He doesn't know you since you two never talked. The day comes fast and you’re looking through the window, with Pieck sitting on your side seat and Porco looking through the space between the two seats, that way he can speak to you two. He looks unamused. “Is that team that good? I only hear good comments towards us.” Zeke nods from the teacher's seat.

"Yeah, and guys, we're going to mash them and take the trophy home"

"But they're older?"

“They are older. Not a lot, maybe a year, but they play on another league” you say. You’re quite nervous, this encounter will maybe decide the future of your team. If your team wins, you’ll be officially the best debate team among your country’s universities. You have to win this. 

The place were you all stay is big and comfortable. You share a room with Pieck in the first floor, while Reiner and Porco have to share the other upstairs. You can hear how Porco curses and Reiner announcement of “Uno” while they play cards. Zeke is probably smoking outside.

“I think I’m going for a shower” You nod and Pieck gets all her things, heading to the public bath downstairs. You put a sweater on top of your clothes and go outside to explore a bit. Your team is pretty good, and they all follow your commands. Except Reiner. He wanted to be the leader so bad... He has kinda rivalry towards you since you got the title of leader. He has been bittersweet about it. 

The gardens are really pretty, with a huge fountain in the middle. There you see Levi, talking to a blonde man, looking at him with maybe concern. You can’t really tell since they are far and the water that falls from the fountain difficults your vision. They are talking, but you can’t hear about what. The blonde man moves and you see the card hanging from his neck. He is a professor.

You turn around and make you way back silently, trying to not grab their attention in any way. You don’t want to meet Levi, you’re sure you’ll feel intimidated and you want to make Reiner know that you’re totally valid as a leader.

Wait, then, shouldn’t you show Levi you have no fear into competing against him tomorrow? Isn’t it what a leader makes?

You turn around again and walk towards the two boys. Levi sees you first. 

“Y/N?” he asks. Does he remember your name? You nod once you’re near them.

“Sorry for interrupting your conversation.” You look between the black haired and the blonde man, who’s smiling politely at you. You can read his name on his card: Erwin Smith.

“Don’t worry!” he smiles. You hear how Levi sighs. “So you’re the captain of the other team, aren’t you?” You nod.

“Yes, Smith.” He laughs quietly and shakes his hands in front of you.

“No, please. You can call me Erwin.” He says. You nod, understanding.

"Are you and your team ready for tomorrow?" Levi asks. You nod quietly. If Reiner was the leader, he for sure would be intimidating and making them see you're not afraid to compite towards them. You smile.

"I wanted to comprte towards your team. It's one of the strongest."

"The strongest, actually." the teacher corrects you, wining a bad look from the boy. He clicks his tongue. "You should go and sleep, y/n" he says. "There's a long journey tomorrow." you nod and, bowing to the teacher and nodding to the boy, you leave the place.

When you arrive, Pieck was already there.

"Nice to see you, y/n. Porco has invited us to have dinner!" she says. That's why she is dressing so good. "Come on, let's go!"

The two boys are already sitting when you arrive. Porco smiles at you two while Reiner looks to another place, without making eye contact with you. For your bad luck, the only chair left is in front of him. Pieck invites you to sit. She thinks your rivalry with him is just a childish thing. But he's the one that doesn't want to admit that you're also a good leader. You sit and look at the menu as if it was the most important thing ever.

"Hey, cap!" Porco calls you. "Did you saw the other team? Aren't they scary?" he says. You shake your head.

"Actually I talked a bit to them. They're nice."

"But they are the rivals." Reiner interrupts. "Making new friends?" he asks. You don't know why the sweet Reiner became this cold towards you just because of a fucking captany. You wanted everything back.

"Reiner could you accompany me outside?" you ask. He looks at you.

"The waiter is here, sit down." Pieck says.

"We'll talk tomorrow. After the debate."

The dinner was a little awkward but Pieck filled it with jokes and support for tomorrow. Porco and Reiner went back to their dorm and so you did. Tomorrow, the debate was going to be intense.

That evening, you were sitting on a huge auditorium, on top of the stage, on four chairs with your university logo on them. In the other team, Levi was accompanied by three more people: a person with glasses and a ponytail, a tall and blonde boy and a short-haired girl. That was his team. Zeke, now accompanied by the blonde man, shows his thumbs to you.

"Let's start the debate night! Levi, do you think we should keep teaching civic valuations on the universuty?"

The debate goes fast. Their arguments easily get rid of yours. It is difficult to win, and even more with that girl on their team. Petra. She's fast and smart, as much as her captain. You were also out of arguments, defending that you should not learn more civic values was really hard. Thats how you lost.

Reiner's end

You took a shower after the debate. You sigh with all the water running down your body.

"Why the hell has to be random. If we could choose..." You dry your head with a towel back in your dorm, with Pieck packing all her things to leave tomorrow morning, really early.

"Well, that's life, y/n. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose." she says. You nod. "Didn't you told Reiner to talk to you now" You nod again. Even when she hates it. "Then go. I listened his steps ten minutes ago. He's in the terrace for sure." You dry your hair a little bit and go downstairs to the terrace. Of course, he's there, with a jacket covering his body. You've entered the debate club because of him. You had an enormous crush on the blonde boy, and he always seemed so sweet and polite you fell even more for him.

Then Zeke told you to be the captain and he changed. Fucking captany.

"Captain, I think punctuality is a quality all captains should have." he says, without turning around or facing you. You took place on his side, your arms on the cold metal of the railing. The brise moves your hair quietly.

"I took a shower." you simply say.

"You should dry your hair or you'll get a cold." he says. You sigh.

"Listen, Reiner. I don't know what changed in you ti became so cold or..."

"In me?" he asks. "Nothing changed in me. Maybe is you the one who changed." he says. You look at him with surprise.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You started to care more for the group that for yourself. You cared for me a lot, and you always stayed until late to make my arguments. You started to forget yourself to take care of us."

"And why the hell you acted like that, Rein!" you ask, yelling to him.

"I thought that maybe if you lost the interest in me you'll start to take care of yourself!" he says. "I didn't want you to stop sleeping for me. I didn't want to see how you mistreated yourself." He sighs, and he takes his jacket out and puts it around your shoulders. He sighs. "You're going to catch a cold."

You're freeze, but not because of the cold. Did he admit...?

"So you cared for me?" you ask in a whisper. He sighs once again and looke to the sky.

"How shouldn't i care for the person I like? Because I like you."

His arms accompanied his jacket around your shoulders, and you smelled his sweet cologne when he hugged you.

"Maybe it's one sided, but..."

"It isn't." you whisper. Was he acting cold just to protect you?

"Hm? Louder, please." he asks. You grab his face between your hands before standing on your tip toes and collide your lips with his.

"I said." you whisper once you part for air. "That it wasn't a one sided love."

Levi's end

He approached you when you where helping to put everything on its place.

"Nice debate, y/n" He says quietly. You smile at him.

"Congratulations, Levi. You won."

He smiles.

"You're a really strong rival. It wasn't easy to win." he says.

"Oh, come on!" you take your things and start walking towards the exit. He follows you quietly. "You're all so smart and fast for this thing. We bite the dust." he laughs a little. The night is calm and there's not much air. You look at the fountain."It was a cool experience. Meet another people, travel with your mates..." you say. Levi nods.

"Yes. Actually, we have a night and half a morning left." you nod. It's true. Your bus picks you all up at 8 am.

"We could... hm.... like." he looks around. "Go dinner tonight." he says finally. You smile brightly.

"Of course! let me call the res..."

"No." he interrupts you. "Just... The two of us." his cheeks are blushing a bit. He doesn't seem like the boy from yesterday, the one that teased his teacher and rolled his eyes. "I would like to know more about you, if you agree." he says. You look at him. He's handsome. And intelligent. He also awakens your curiosity.

"Fine. Let's go for that dinner."

Zeke's end

Zeke was waiting for you on the main entrance of the camping. He smiled, throwing away his cigarette.

"You looked gorgeous on that stage." he says once you arrive. You roll your eyes. He takes your waist and draws you closer to his body. An attempt to kiss you.

"Wait, Jaeger. We're in the main entrance. Everybody could watch."

"Free spectacle, they couldn't ask for more." he says. You roll your eyes again, taking his hand and guiding him until your back finds the wall. Then, he cages you and, leaning on, he kisses you. He tastes like a cigarette and smells to vanilla. That's one of the things you love about him. How his sweet scent doesn't match with his appareance.

"You made it so well... maybe you need a trophy." he jokes.

"Do I have to call you "teacher" during it?" you joke back. He looks intensely at you, as if you awakened something on him.

"Actually is not a bad idea. Hearing you calling me "teacher" makes things funnier, don't you think?" he talks against your mouth.

You smile before taking him closer again, kissing him for the second time, but not the last.

The night is young yet.

[whatiwillsay]

kaylor oomfs avert your eyes 😞

i get asked from time to time “why don’t you like kaylor, why don’t you like karlie, why do you think kaylor isn’t together? why aren’t you and ttb married yet?” and i think it’s high time i centralize my thoughts and receipts on all of that in a little timeline of shady things karlie has done to taylor that have made me wary of kaylor/karlie/that whole situation.  don’t read if you stan kaylor this isn’t for you (unless you know you’re interested in the truth.)

first things first, i do think something romantic happened between kaylor go read @swiftiesleuth‘s realistic kay timeline for what i (generally) think happened between them.

but long story short - i think joshlie is real, i think they weren’t all that serious at the beginning, she famously didn’t meet his family for years, he didn’t take her to work events for a long time, so there’s room for her to have a fling with taylor even though we ended up with a real joshlie endgame.

taylor’s music and art supports this theory - in the wd mv she paints herself as the other woman, on rep she sings of secret sexy sex with her best friend that drives her crazy, in cruel summer she sings of a miserable, secret, and toxic situation with a person who rejects her love, in illicit affairs and august again she is the other woman - the art matches up.  she also sings about her sunshine being gone on lover, and eclipsed on folklore. we have good clues in taylor’s artistic expression.

taylor’s given interviews about some of these karlie songs - she said cruel summer was about the start to a “doomed” relationship and look at what she said about august:

“It kind of explores the idea of the undefined relationship. As humans, we're all encouraged to just be cool and just let it happen, and don't ask what the relationship is — Are we exclusive? But if you are chill about it, especially when you're young, you learn the very hard lesson that if you don't define something, oftentimes they can gaslight you into thinking it was nothing at all, and that it never happened. And how do you mourn the loss of something once it ends, if you're being made to believe that it never happened at all?”

if joshlie is real which i think they are that 100% sounds like taylor having to process being gaslit by karlie while she cheats on josh with her.

so why do i think joshlie is real?

-  josh has no credible gay rumors that didn’t originate on gaylor tumblr: he has old ex gfs that came before karlie, harvard message boards gossiped about him and didn’t like him but never said that he was gay, in fact one of the complaints josh’s schoolmates had about him was that he got special treatment for her girlfriend at parties.

-  as stated before taylor’s art suggests she’s been the other woman with someone in her life recently.  if josh and karlie are beards then what is the affair? why is taylor the other woman so often all of a sudden?

-  i’ve spoken to someone with a mutual friend with the kushners - grain of salt of course, i know you can only trust stuff you hear from me with no proof so much, but i do absolutely trust this person and they say - no way in hell is joshlie fake, no way in hell is josh gay, no way in hell is karlie having taylor’s baby.  also karlie absolutely has moved down to miami with josh.  i’m sure we’ll see her in nyc and la from time to time but she is living in miami now.

-  vicky ward, who is a real investigative journalist not some unhinged person on tumblr, wrote a tell all about the kushners.  she uncovered gay rumors about josh’s father and josh’s brother but not josh.  she had actual sources and was legitimately digging up tons of dirt on these people and not a word about josh being gay or joshlie being fake.

-  yes karlie did convert to judaism.  it’s really offensive to suggest she didn’t.  of course she always could have done it for personal reasons but occam’s razor dictates she did it for josh i don’t know what else to tell you 🤷‍♀️

-  also just vibes.  karlie writes him love notes and leaves them with his breakfast.  they make playlists for one another.  if the kushners weren’t so heinous they’d be cute.

so in the joshlie is real world view i inhabit, i don’t stan kaylor the same way i do swiftgron because i don’t think kaylor was ever a committed monogamous relationship.  important and impactful on taylor’s life? absolutely.  inspired some amazing music? 100%. but was is true and tragic love that drives me insane and makes me feral?  no.  i don’t believe so.  is it still an interesting and iconic ship? yes!  but i don’t stan because it wasn’t like...true love or gay shit like that.

so let’s talk about karlie’s screwups that 1. assure me kaylor is not together and 2. make me have no desire to stan karlie/kaylor.

1.  after the kimye drama (something that deeply traumatized taylor we now know thanks to miss americana) karlie said she was sure kim was a lovely person 😭 now i know she walked it back and tweeted she and taylor had one another’s backs. i know karlie was just trying to be diplomatic.  but come on...if someone did what kim did to taylor to my lover or hell even just my friend i would say “fuck that clout chasing fame whore” bottom line.  c’mon guys.  have higher standards for your otp.

karlie also has vibed with kim on IG about her adidasas line.  recently!  yes i know she’s just promoting her brand but c’mon.  taylor still hates kim, their drama got rehashed in march 2020 and just 6 months later kim n karlie are bestie-ing around on ig.

2.  ALL the fucking masters drama and scooter fucking braun

-  not long at all after the masters heist karlie was palling around with scooter on a yacht like come on the only other thing taylor is equally as traumatized over as the kimye drama is the master’s heist.  why is karlie hanging out with him and partying with him at this time?

-  karlie liked a tweet completely incinerating taylor (in a gross and unfair/inaccurate way) regarding the masters heist.  she unliked it but still.  why was she even looking at that shit.

-  and yeah we gotta talk about perez.  so perez hilton (who is a scumbag and gross but sometimes does have legitimate tea) posted a video saying that karlie and taylor were no longer friends because karlie betrayed taylor to scooter.  now if that were all there was to it, it’d be dumb gossip.  but a taylor fan account posted the video to twitter ashley avignone and claire winter both liked the tweet.  ashley liked two tweets about it.  perez proceeded to tweet that since two of taylor’s oldest and truest friends liked the tweets it must mean he was correct and neither of the girls unliked the tweets.  ashley and claire are low key people, not celebs, not pawns in a “fued narrative”, just long time and loyal friends of taylor’s.  they liked the tweet, imo, because there’s some truth to it.

-  that brings me to spencer pratt.  spencer is a reality star and super swiftie/huge fan of taylor’s.  he despises karlie.  he’s tweeted negatively about her and he also had perez onto his podcast to talk about the drama between karlie and taylor.  taylor herself sent him a cardigan.  do you really think taylor is going to allow a cardigan to go out to the guy who’s dragging her girlfriend or bestie? i don’t think so.  receipts on perez and spencer here.

3.  karlie posted for hailey fucking beiber’s bday instead of taylor’s and hailey hates taylor 🤢🤢🤢

4.  karlie married into a fascist family that is associated with the trumps.  like how can you expect me to stan?  trump is a fucking criminal evil piece of shit.  i know karlie isn’t like him (probably) but it’s still awful.  kimby even goes around liking ivanka’s ig posts like give me a fucking break 😭.

in summation, you can disagree w me all you like, you can ship kaylor all you like, but if you’re of sound mind i don’t think you can look at the facts in this post and think i’m misguided for not being a kaylor/karlie stan.  and you can’t blame me for thinking if you spend a lot of time obsessing over that ship you may not really be that big a fan of taylor’s.  and if you’re spending a lot of time leading lgbt kids on to think they’re going to get a kaylor end game when all the objective facts of the case suggest that that’s never going to happen you might need to reevaluate but at the very least you certainly can’t press me for not doing all that.

[basically-i-write-shit]

“No no, I’m not interested in your friends. I want you. Give yourself over, and they’ll be safe.” annnnd... have you written Osamu x Yama at all yet? UshiYama, if you aren't feeling OsaYama. Omegaverse, if you like?

ahhhh I got an osayama prompt before I watched season 4 and then my drafts glitched and deleted before I could actually write it ;-; 

Mafia prompts

One of the perks of having an onigiri shop as a front for your brother’s gang is the fact that no one knows it’s a front- which means, occasionally, when a member of a rival gang comes in, Osamu gets free intel. No one suspects the poor overworked cook/waiter to be listening in on your business. 

It’s not honest work, but it sure is fun. And this way, Osamu doesn’t have to directly get his hands dirty. His brothers’ men do all the hard stuff. Which gives Osamu the time to flirt with the pretty omegas that come through and not have to worry about telling them what his job is- his job is here, at his shop. Being a good cook is always a hit with omegas. However, as of late a certain omega has been coming in that fulfils more than just his instinctual needs. 

The bell at the door rings, but Osamu already knows without looking who’s there- the sweet, enticing scent of candied fruit and raw pastry dough reaches Osamu’s nose before he even turns around. 

“Welcome back, Yamaguchi-kun. The usual?” 

“Ah, not the boys’ order today, actually. Just me.” Yamaguchi says with a shy smile, sliding into one of the hightops nearest the window peering into the kitchen. He smooths down his skirt as he sits, fidgeting with his phone as Osamu turns back to the kitchen, smiling at him through the window. 

“The boys already eat tonight?” 

‘The boys,’ being Yamaguchi’s ‘roommates,’ usually ordered from Onigiri Miya every now and again, and Yamaguchi always came to grab it. They’d been doing this for nearly 8 months, and in that time it’s become glaringly obvious that Yamaguchi was in some way involved with one of ‘Tsumu’s rivals, the Karasuno Crows. How involved was still somewhat a mystery, because sometimes he came in covered in bruises and cuts and other times just fine, almost always well-dressed and never once acting secretive; in fact, Yamaguchi is always quite open with Osamu and talks with him like an old friend every time he comes to visit. He tells Osamu about his ‘boys,’ Kei, Tobio, and Shouyou, and asks about the shop. Talks about work and the weather, and nosy neighborhood aunties who always want to know how he got such a dark bruise, and “thank you so much for not asking, Osamu-san, I just don’t know if I’ll ever be okay talking about it so openly.” 

“Yes, that, and I’m also going straight back to work after I eat. It’s a...rush season, for my job, and we’re pretty understaffed at the moment so I’ve been there all day working.” 

“My my, all day? It’s almost 9:00 Yamaguchi-kun. When will ya be goin’ home for the night?” 

“Ah, probably around midnight or so...The poor guys, they’ve been in the same boat as me- I haven’t seen them in what feels like ages,” Yamaguchi says, pouting, and Osamu chuckles as he rounds the corner with Yamaguchi’s usual order. He sets it on the table before sliding into the chair across from Yamaguchi; he leans against his palms, smiling when Yamaguchi cocks his head to the side, confused. “You don’t have anything to do around the shop? You close soon, don’t you?” 

“I mean, I suppose I do, but I can spare a few minutes t’ chat with my favorite customer while he eats,” Osamu teases ever-so-slightly, and he grins wider when Yamaguchi’s cheeks turn pink. It’s true that it’s a bit odd, him doing this, since he’s almost always kept their conversation distanced between a counter or the kitchen window, but he’s feeling a bit adventurous tonight. And Something tells him this is a good idea. Maybe it’s the faint scent of pre-heat on an already stressed Yamaguchi, or maybe it’s just the fact that he looks almost delectable in that short little skirt, but Osamu wants to be close to him. “Is that all that bad?” 

“N- Not at all, I just didn’t want to keep you,” Yamaguchi says gently. “How was it, today?” 

“Ah. not too busy but it's a Sunday, so not a lot of people are goin’ out.” 

“Must be pretty boring sitting here all day every day, huh?” 

“No, not really,” Osamu hums, watching as Yamaguchi begins to dig in, looking very much like a starving prisoner with how quickly he devours the first onigiri. “I suppose some days get repetitive, but there’s never a dull day here.” 

And that’s the truth. The shop doesn’t get a lot of traffic, so Atsumu or one of his men are usually hanging around- or stumbling in the kitchen, mortally wounded and needing a desperate healing from a barely-first aid certified Osamu. 

“Sorry, still sounds pretty boring to me- if I’m not moving all the time, I get pretty antsy.” Yamaguchi says, still stuffing his mouth. Osamu laughs. 

“I can tell. Ya’d probably be bored if ya were a housewife or somethin’,” 

“Oh, definitely.” Yamaguchi says. He finishes his meal, hopping down from the hightop with a little puff of his skirt. He slaps money on the table, collecting his things. “Thank you for the meal, Osamu-san, but I need to get back to work. I’ll see you around.” 

And, call him stupid, but something tells Osamu not to let him go alone. “W- Wait! Why won’t I walk ya back to yer office?” 

Yamaguchi seems to hesitate, his brows furrowing as he searches Osamu’s face. 

“...Don’t you have to be at the shop?” 

“It’s almost close, and one of the waiters is still here- I’d hate to let an omega walk alone so late, even if I know he c’n talk himself.” Osamu insists, throwing one of his signature smirks Yamaguchi’s way, and he can see the omega’s resolve melting. Yamaguchi sighs. 

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. It’s not far from here, actually,” Yamaguchi says, turning towards the door. Osamu scrambles to follow, throwing his apron over the back counter and shouting to the back that he’s taking a smoke break, despite the fact that he hasn’t smoked a day in his life and Aran wouldn’t care either way where he went- 

Osamu makes conversation with Yamaguchi as they walk, the dim streetlights illuminating Yamaguchi’s curves, and in the near darkness his scent sticks out above all else, distracting Osamu ever the slightest. He doesn’t even notice they’re in the middle of Karasuno territory, even though he should’ve figured they would be, since Yamaguchi works for Karasuno. It isn’t until he’s yawning, stretching his arm over his head, that he realizes he’s maybe made a bad decision- 

“Osamu-san, is that a tattoo? I wanna see,” Yamaguchi says, and suddenly there’s a hand on his arm, holding it in place as another hand lifts the sleeve of his teeshirt to get a better look at the logo printed on Osamu’s shoulder. Osamu freezes, his eyes widening, and the only thought in his mind is, “Oh god, Tsumu’s gonna kill me.” 

“I- uh- it is, but it’s-” 

“...Your shop, it’s a front, isn’t it, Osamu-san?” Yamaguchi asks, his voice low, and his grip tightens impossibly on Osamu’s forearm. Osamu tries to wrench his arm away, to grab Yamaguchi by the hair and drag him off before he can make a fuss, but it’s useless. Yamaguchi is deceptively strong for an omega. “Answer me, Osamu-san. Your shop, it’s a front, yeah? You have gang members hang around, and launder money from your shop?” 

“I- I don’t know what yer talking about, Yamaguchi-kun.” 

“Right, right...” Yamaguchi murmurs, reaching behind him, and Osamu’s heart hammers in his chest when he sees Yamaguchi pull out a pistol. “Y’know, Samu, I don’t like liars. I thought we had a little thing going...” 

“W- We did?” 

“Of course. We’ve been flirting ever since I first came in, didn’t you get the hints?.,Hmph, no matter now. You’re not telling me the truth, and that hurts my feelings, Samu. I’m sure my boys would tell you how much I hate being lied to, though I don’t think now you’ll get to meet them.” 

The tip of the gun slides up Osamu’s chest, up his neck, and Osamu shivers. There’s a reason he works in the shop and doesn’t do any of the dirty work- and this is the exact reason he doesn’t. Fear makes people do some crazy things, and Osamu’s pretty damn scared right now. 

Even still, he won’t sell out his brother. “I’m not gonna tell ya shit about what does or doesn’t happen at my shop. What I do is perfectly legal.” 

“But what your brother, Miya Atsumu, does isn’t. Isn’t that right?” 

Osamu gulps, shuddering when he feels the cool metal of the pistol press against his adam’s apple. “I don’t know what yer talkin’ about. Leave him out of this, leave- leave everyone out of this-” 

“No no, I’m not interested in your friends,” Yamaguchi says, laughing, and Osamu’s mouth falls shut with an audible click. Yamaguchi leans forward, catching Osamu’s chin in his free hand, the other still holding the gun to the junction of his chin and neck. “I want you. Give yourself over, and they’ll be safe.”

Osamu swallows again, his breath thick and shuddering. He can’t believe this is happening. He’s being overpowered and threatened by an omega. What the hell. But he thinks back to Atsumu, and the empire he’s building, and he can’t let that be ruined, can’t let their cover be blown, and so he nods. 

“...Fine. You have me. But I can’t stay forever, I have a shop to run.” 

Yamaguchi grins. “We’ll work something out.” 

[sassyduckqueen]

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 55

And at last that is Frozer. I finally did it! XD I thought I'd combine it will Luka's birthday since we haven't seen that yet. Anyway, the next chapter is an original akuma called Mob Boss so that should be interesting to write. Also quick trigger warning. There is a scene of kidnap in this It's not over the top or too detailed but it is there so just be aware of that. Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter :D

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Fifty-Five: Frozer

"Once again, Anatis and Lady Noir are here to save the day!" Alya gasped as Anatis and Lady Noir swung by, chasing a man trying to fly on a deltaplane. He was trying to create a new type of delivery service but it hadn't gone well and he had lost control of his deltaplane. He was heading towards the Seine and had dropped the flower bouquet he was holding. Lady Noir caught it as Anatis swung towards him, grabbing him around his waist. He pulled him to safety as the deltaplane fell onto a building instead of the Seine. Anatis dropped him onto the building as Lady Noir landed on there.

 "You should take the elevator next time," She grinned as she held out her hand to Anatis. He bumped his against hers before help the pilot to his feet. Lady Noir held out his flower bouquet. "Don't forget your bouquet,"

 "Thank you but I guess my deltaplane delivery service wasn't the best idea," He sighed as he took the flowers from her. She gave him a soft smile as he walked over to the deltaplane and sighed before he grabbed it and headed to the fire escape. Lady Noir waved to him as he did before she turned to Anatis. She frowned as she noticed he was zoning out a little. She walked over to him and gently poked his cheek, making him blink and look at her.

 "You ok?" She asked, making him nod.

 "Yeah... just thinking," He replied, giving her a small smile before she have him a cheeky smile.

 "Thinking of getting some flowers for a certain baker's daughter?" She grinned, making him lightly shove her on the arm.

 "You know I can't do that, Lady Noir," He replied, rolling his eyes. "Besides, that's not what I was thinking about,"

 "Penny for your thought then?" She asked, making him shake his head. She pouted a little, causing him to pat her head a little.

 "It's nothing to worry about it," He smiled before taking out his yoyo. "I'll see you later kay?"

 "Ok," She nodded, taking out her baton before giving him a smile. "But you know you can talk to me if you need it right?"

 "I know, Kitten," He smiled before swinging away. Lady Noir sighed softly before jumping down and heading to an alleyway before detransforming. She caught Plagg and gave him some cheese. He took it and flew into her purse before she ran out of the alleyway and headed to Rose's house. She was having a girly night with her, Juleka, Alya, Mylene and Alix. Or at least that's what their cover story was. The truth was the girls' were planning a birthday surprise for Luka since it was his birthday in the next few days. The only reason why Marinette knew was because Juleka had told her. Apparently, Luka had a similar attitude to birthdays as he did to christmas but not as badly. However, Juleka wanted this year to be different so she called the girls in and they were going to plan some nice surprises for Luka. They were also getting the boys involved. They were gonna give Luka the best birthday he had ever had. Marinette rushed over to the front door and knocked on it, causing a woman who resembled Rose but older to open it.

 "Hi, Mrs Lavillant," She signed, causing the woman to give her a smile as she signed back, telling her Rose was upstairs before moving and letting her in. She signed thank you to her before heading upstairs and into Rose's room. Juleka was sat on her bed with Rose laid with her head on her lap. Mylene was sat in a bean bag as was Alya. Alix was sat on the computer chair. On Rose's computer was the boys and the girls that couldn't make it to the sleepover. Kagami waved as Marinette took a seat on the bed, making Marinette wave back. Adrien was sat next to her. Marc was sat in his room, Felix was sat in an office looking room and Aurora was sat in her room. Nino was on calling but didn't have his camera on and Chloe was sat with Sabrina in her room. "Am I late?"

 "Nope!" Rose grinned, jumping up. "We're just waiting for Ivan but while we are waiting, anyone have any ideas?"

 "Well, we set up a surprise party," Nino suggested, grinning as everyone nods. "We can set up cake and presents!"

 "Ok. What we need to do is work out jobs for everyone," Alya stated, making everyone nod. "We're gonna need food, decorations, music and of course, we need to make sure Luka isn't home when while we do all of this,"

 "Well, my parents can help with the food and the cake," Marinette stated, making everyone nod.

 "We can do the decorations," Juleka mumbled as Rose and Mylene nodded. "But the hardest thing is going to be getting him out of the liberty,"

 "He could hang out with me and Adrien for a bit," Kagami suggested, causing Adrien to nod.

 "Maybe we could invite him out to orange juice or the ice rink?" Adrien suggested, grinning. "If I recall correctly, he's pretty good at skating,"

 "Hmm but Luka might say no," Marc muttered, making everyone frown. "I mean... maybe..."

 "Anciel is correct," Felix replied, looking at his nails in a bored manner. Adrien and Kagami frowned a little. "He might feel like a third wheel on your 'date' and wonder back to the liberty before the correct time. You'll need a fourth person. Someone who can keep his attention and ensure that he will stay at the ice rink with you,"

 His eyes drifted up to Marinette, making her blink and gasp as she went red.

 "M-me?!" She asked, pointing to herself as the girls grinned. "B-But why would I be the best choice?!"

 "Are you kidding?!" Alix grinned. "Luka would do anything you asked! You would be the perfect distraction!!"

 "Plus this is your chance to redo the ice rink date," Alya grinned, making Marinette go a brighter shade of red. "Since last time was a mess. No offense, Adrien or Kagami,"

 "None taken, Alya," Adrien grinned, making Marinette look at him. He looked excited. "I think it is a wonderful idea. Me and Kagami can come along to make sure that Luka doesn't decide to leave early but Marinette can be the main distraction,"

 "Noo! Adrien, you traitor!!" Marinette gasped, blushing brighter as she hid her face in her hands. "I ca-can't!! What if he gets bored of me too quickly?! Or I fall over in front of him?!"

"Luka will more then likely catch you," Kagami pointed out, making her look at her. "Besides, it's too late. While you were freaking out, I have just texted him to ask him if he wants to hang out with me and Adrien. He wants to know when,"

 "Saturday is his birthday," Juleka informed, making them nod as Marinette covered her face. Kagami nodded and texted back, causing her to smile.

 "He said he's cool with that," She replied, making Marinette look through her fingers as she texted back. "I told him he should invite Marinette,"

 "What?!" Marinette gasped, hiding her face again. She gasped and went to grab her phone as it vibrated, almost dropping it as she did. She quickly answered it and held it to her ear. "H-Hey, Luka!"

 Alya and the other girls tried not to snigger at her reaction, covering their mouths as she shot daggers at them before turning her attention back to the phonecall as Luka asked her if she was free on Saturday.

 "Y-Yeah, I am," She squeaked. "W-Why do you ask?"

 "Well, Kagami invited me to join her and Adrien at the ice rink on Saturday and then suggested that I should invite you so I don't feel like a third wheel," He stated, making Marinette nod. "And it has been a while since I've got to go to the ice rink and I was hoping to ask you to join us, even if Kagami hadn't suggested it... if you want to that is..."

 "Y-Yeah, that would be great!" Marinette gasped. "It's a date... I mean it's not a date.. I mean it is but not a date date. Like we're going as friends!"

 "Yeah," Luka agreed, though he sounded a little sad. "It will be fun... plus I won't have to steal Adrien off Kagami this way,"

 He chuckled a little, making Marinette giggle.

 "Ok, so Saturday at 11?" Luka stated.

 "S-Sure," She replied, smiling a little. "I better get going. See you soon, Luka,"

 "Bye, Melody," He replied before they hung up. Marinette sat down and glared at Kagami, making her smile.

 "Alright so we will be meeting Luka at the ice rink at 11 and we can keep him there for a while," Kagami stated, making them nod. "When everything is set up, you can drop us a text and we'll get Luka back to the liberty where we will surprise him with a birthday party,"

 "Perfect!" Rose grinned, pumping her fist into the air. "Luka will be so happy!!"

 ~Saturday Morning~

 "Good morning, Luka!" Tikki grinned, making him raise an eyebrow at her as Kaalki yawned. Tikki was more hyper then usual, making Luka look at her with concern. "It's your birthday today!!"

 "Oh," He replied, making Tikki frown. "It's just another day, Tikki,"

 "Oh but it's not!!" She gasped, making him look at her. "Birthdays are special! And besides, I got you a gift!"

 "You did?" Luka asked, looking at her. Tikki flew up in the air and started humming before spinning around very fast. She suddenly spat towards his hand, making him blink as he looked at it.

 "Miraculous birthday, Luka!" She declared as he stared at it. Gradually, the glowing spit disappeared and a small red jewel that was shaped like one half of a yin yang symbol was revealed. Luka carefully picked it up and held it up before a smile came onto his face. "It's a kwagatama. We kwamis create them for people we consider our friends,"

 "Tikki, this is awesome," He smiled, getting up and fixing it onto a necklace before he walked over to her and held her in his hands. He gently placed a light kiss on her head, making her smile. "Thank you,"

 "I'm glad you like it, Luka!" Tikki grinned, hugging his cheek. "Are you excited to see Marinette today?"

 "Well, Kagami and Adrien will be there," He admitted, making her and Kaalki frown a little. "But I think that's because of the "Surprise" party they're throwing for me. I think Marinette, Adrien and Kagami are suppose to keep me busy,"

 "How do you know they're planning a party?" Kaalki asked, making Luka chuckle.

 "Because everyone's been acting weird," He replied, making the two kwamis look at him. "Well, weirder then usual. Marinette asked me what my favorite cakes were and if I had any allergic reactions she needed to know about, Juleka and Rose were discussing banners or balloons, Felix was acting nicer then usual and of course, Nino asked me what my favorite songs were. Not to mention Kagami asked me if I wanted anything in particular, Adrien wanted to know if I wanted a new guitar and Marc can barely look at me with how freaking out. And then there's Ma and Jagged,"

 "So you're certain?" Tikki asked as Luka nodded. "What if you're wrong?"

 "Then I'm wrong," He replied, shrugging. "It's not a big deal. They know I'm not fond of my birthday but I think Juleka just wants to make it special. Either way, I'm just happy to spend some time with my friends. That's the best gift anyone can get me. Besides, we should get ready to meet Marinette, Adrien and Kagami,"

 Tikki nodded as Luka took out some clothes and got dressed. He decided to switch out his normal hoodie for the jacket Marinette made him before packing his ice skates. He opened his jacket, allowing Tikki and Kaalki to fly into his jacket. He left his room and walked into the living area, causing Juleka and Rose to stop whispering with the Captain and Jagged. Penny was also stood near them, sipping a water. He rose an eyebrow as he walked over to them.

 "I'm going out..." He stated, making everyone nod before he glanced around at them. "Don't burn down the ship while I'm gone,"

 "We won't!" Rose gasped as the others nodded. Luka gave them an amused look before kissing the captain on the cheek and ruffling Juleka's hair, making her gasp before he headed upstairs and out onto the plank. As soon as he did, Tikki and Kaalki poked their heads out as he noticed the badly hidden banners that read 'happy birthday, Luka'. He chuckled and shook his head.

 "See? They're planning a surprise party for me," He stated as he walked across the gangplank. He hummed to himself as he took out his phone and texted Marinette to let her know he was on his way. She texted back quickly, saying she'll meet him outside the park instead of at her home. He suspected it was because her parents were providing the food but he agreed and headed there, sitting on the bench as he watched Mr Ramiers feeding his pigeons. A few minutes later, Marinette came into the park and walked over to him. She was wearing a cute jumper with a cat on it, blue jeans and boots. She had a rucksack on her back that had her skates attached to it and had a light jacket on. Her hair was in her usual style and she was also playing with her hands. "Hey,"

 "Hey," She smiled back as he stood up. "Sorry for not been able to meet you at the bakery. Ma and Pa have a really big order so it's super busy there at the moment and-"

 "It's ok, Marinette," He smiled, offering her his arm. She smiled and took it before they walked out of the park and to the metro. "Are you looking forward to skating?"

 "Yeah," She smiled, moving a stand of her hair. "Are you?"

 "Yeah," He smiled back. "I like ice skating... plus I get to spend sometime with you, Adrien and Kagami... which is great since those two don't get out often,"

 "Yeah, I'm surprised they were able to pull this off," She admitted, glancing to the side. "Hopefully this time I won't fall over either,"

 "I'll catch you before you do," He smiled, making her smile back. "Just stick with me and I'll make sure you're ok,"

 "My hero," She giggled, making him smile a little as the train came to a stop. If only she knew. The two of them got off the train and headed up the stairs to the street. They crossed the road and walked over to the ice rink. Kagami and Adrien were already stood outside and waved as soon as they saw Luka and Marinette. Luka waved back and smiled as they walked over. "Hey,"

 "Hey, you two," Adrien grinned as Kagami smiled. "Ready to skate?"

 "Yeah," Luka smiled as they headed inside. They paid the receptionist and got the rest of the equipment they needed before heading to the chairs. Luka frowned a little as he noticed Chloe's father talking to a man he recognized as the owner of the rink. The four of them took seats and began to put on the equipment. Luka put his stuff on quickly so he moved over to the edge as Marinette began to put her shoes on. He was close enough to hear the conversation but not close enough to draw attention to himself.

 "I can't believe it, Mr Mayor!" The skater gasped, moving dramatically. "You want to shut my ice rink down?!"

 "The ice rink doesn't belong to just you, Philippe. It belongs to Parisians," Andre scolded, frowning. "Besides, I'm not shutting it down. I'm converting it into an indoor gym for my wife- I mean my city. Nobody comes to your ice rink for lessons anyway,"

 "That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Kagami asked as she leaned next to Luka, who frowned and nodded.

 "You haven't had a single student sign up for lessons this year!" The mayor declared before eying up the group. "But if you can get one signature, I'll put the work on hold,"

 "Really?" Philippe gasped, causing the mayor to nod so he took the papers and smiled. "Consider it done,"

 With Luka distracted, Adrien moved over to Marinette.

 "Rose texted me," He whispered, making her look at him. "They had to move the party to the grand paris hotel,"

 "What?!" She gasped, causing Luka and Kagami to look at her. "I mean what a wonderful idea!! We should definitely got to Andre's after this... ha... ha..."

 Luka gave her an amused smile before looking back at the ice rink so she moved closer to Adrien.

 "What do you mean they've moved it?!" She gasped in a quiet voice as Adrien shrugged. His phone vibrated, causing Marinette to look over at the message. Her eyes widen as she read the message. Somehow, Jagged had found out about Luka's birthday party and had teamed up with the captain to make it the best day yet, which was why it got moved to the Grand Paris hotel. Apparently, he decided the Liberty was too small for his son. This would be one birthday Luka would definitely not forget. "Well, at least, Jagged is trying..."

 "Yeah," Adrien nodded as he put his phone away. "Rose will text me when they're ready for us,"

 "Ok," Marinette nodded, getting up and went to step forward but she misplaced her feet and fell but before she could hit the floor, Luka caught her and helped her up, placing his hands on her hips as she did before he helped her sit down. He glanced down and noticed her shoelaces were tied together so he knelt down and untied before retying them separately as Marinette blushed. "S-Sorry,"

 "It's fine," He smiled, straightening up and offering her his hand. She blinked before taking it, causing him to pull her to her feet before the two of them headed onto the ice. Luka smiled reassuringly at Marinette before spinning around her. She giggled as he lifted his leg up and held his arms out, pulling a face at her as he did. He grinned back before putting his leg down and taking her hands in his, spinning her around as she tried to skate. Kagami and Adrien staked by, giving her a thumbs up. She smiled but stumbled, almost falling again. Luka caught her hands and helped her straight up. "You ok?"

 "Y-Yeah," She smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm just rusty. I haven't been ice-skating since... you know..."

 "Don't feel guilty about that, Marinette," He stated, making her look at him before she smiled softly. "I had fun then and I'm having fun now so just relax and follow my lead. Remember I'll catch you before you can fall,"

 "Thanks, Luka," She smiled as he pulled her across the ice, relaxing a little but before they could do anything, Philippe skated over.

 "Hey, young man!" He gasped, flashing the papers in front of him. "Have you thought about signing up for ice-skating lessons? The judges would not be able to to resist that sparkling smile of yours,"

 "That's nice of you, sir but my life is already filled with commitments and music," Luka replied, thinking about the akuma attacks and been Anatis before he glanced at Marinette. "And I might have a brand new song to write so..."

 "Music is an important part of skating you know," He replied as Kagami and Adrien skated by. "Think about it!"

 He skated off as Adrien and Kagami moved with each other. Kagami spun around, causing Luka and Marinette to look as she moved and danced gracefully. Once she was done, Adrien smiled and clapped but once again, Philippe interrupted. He ordered to teach Kagami but she shot him down, explaining that her mother wouldn't approve. She apologized but it didn't stop Philippe from looking sad or Andre to glare at him.

 "Kagami is really good at ice skating," Marinette whispered before giggling as Luka spun her around. He placed his hands on her hips and sped up a little before the two of them glided across the ice, causing Marinette to smile. He took her hand and spun her again before he lifted his spare hand and leg. Marinette smiled and minicked his movements as they glided across the ice before he spun her around again, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her before he moved them to her hips. He gave her a sly but kind smile before suddenly lifting her up in the air and holding her above his head. One of his hands rested on her hip while the other rested on her thigh. Marinette gasped in surprise as he did before she relaxed, knowing Luka would not drop her. She held out her arms as they spun a little before he lowered her down, leaning over her before he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She connected her other hand with his as they moved before letting go and moved it above her head as he did the same. They grabbed onto each other's upper arm and slid their hands down their arms, connecting them again and linking fingers. Marinette smiled and moved in front of him, causing Luka to place his hand on her hip before dipping her down. She held out her spare arm as they glided before he pulled her up. She jumped up a little and rested against his hip as he held her there before lowering her down and skating around with her. Kagami and Adrien actually stopped moving to watch the two of them as Marinette skated backwards and Luka held her hips as she leaned back and held her arms out, making sure she didn't fall. Neither had seen her so relaxed in any situation. Luka brought her back, causing her to jump up again but this time, she rested her knees against his thigh as he held her back, making Phillip look over and gasp before she landed back on the ice as Luka spun her, causing the two of them end up extremely close to each other's face. Marinette blushed as Luka looked at her but anything else could happen, Philippe skated over, spitting them up. 

 "I'll give you a week's worth of lessons for free!" He gasped, looking at Marinette. "Just a few hours a day and you'll be a star!"

 "Thanks but I'm already very busy as it is," She replied, taking Luka's hand and skating off before looking at him. "Are you having fun?"

 "Definitely," He smiled but it turned to a frown as Philippe attempted to get Adrien to sign up for lessons. Like Kagami, Adrien rejected the lessons, explaining that he was too busy. Luka frowned and unintentionally let go of Marinette's hand as he saw Phillip frown and his song turn to a sad melody. He wished he could help him out but there was only so much he could do. However, he was knocked out of his thoughts as he literally crashed into the wall of the ice rink and fell to the floor. Marinette gasped and rushed over, helping him to his feet.

 "Luka, are you ok?" She gasped, worry moving across his face.

 "I'm fine," He replied, rubbing his back. "I just lost concentration. Sorry..."

 "It's ok," She smiled, moving his fringe. "We can take a break if you want,"

 "Yeah, if you don't mind," He replied, causing her to nod and the two of them to walk over to the edge of the rink. "I'm just going to use the rest room. I won't be long,"

 "Ok," Marinette nodded. "I'll get us some drinks from the vending machine,"

 Luka nodded and headed to the restroom, walking inside and over to the sink. He ran the water and splashed his face as Tikki and Kaalki flew out of his pocket. 

 "Are you ok?" Tikki asked, making him sigh as he nodded but before he could answer, he heard someone knock on the door.

 "Luka, I got the drinks," Marinette gasped from outside, making him smile a little but before he could answer, he heard Marinette gasp. "Luka! Hide!"

 "Marinette?!" He gasped, rushing over to the door but he stepped back as soon as it turned to ice. "Is that... ice?!"

 "It sure looks like it," Kaalki replied, making him frown as he stepped towards the sink and climbed on top of it. "Must of been that disgruntled ice skater,"

 "Poor man," Luka muttered as his breathe showed. He shivered a little before reaching into his hoodie and taking out a small box. He opened it and picked out a blue macaron. "We better try out Master Fu's magicaroon. Tikki, power up!"

 He threw it in the air, causing her to fly over to it and eating it. She spun around, glowing as she did. She gained a crystal tail and the spot on her head turned into a hexagon but over then that, she didn't look much different. 

 "Stalactikki!" She declared as Luka swiped his earrings.

 "Stalactikki! Spots on!" He declared, causing her to get sucked into them. He swiped his hands over his eyes, creating his mask before the energy of the miraculous travelled down his body, creating his outfit. Ice crystals and a circle that had resembled a ladybug appear around his hips as a sort of belt as he spun around before his yoyo appeared, completing his transformation. He jumped down from the sink counter and glanced over his outfit. His boots had blades on the bottom, making them ice skates and had a white fur trim. He had black gloves on that had ice blue diamonds on them with a trim in the same shadow. His boots also had ice blue diamonds on them. He had large white diamonds on his sides where his black panels were and his suit was more of a frosted red then a bright red. The spots had changed to hexagons and he had a triangular pattern across the part of his outfit that was ice blue in color. His mask matched his suit and his hair was black with ice blue highlights. Even his eyes were an icy blue. He also had a white fur trim around his collar. The outfit itself was comfortable warm. Kaalki flew over to him, causing him to look at her. "Do you want to stay out or would prefer to go back in your miraculous for a bit?"

 "I'll go in my miraculous for a bit," She replied, making him nod as he reached into his yoyo and took out the glasses. She turned into a ball of light and flew into them, charging them up. Anatis placed them back in his yoyo before skating over to the door. He tried to open it but it was stuck, causing him to take out his yoyo and break it down. He skated out of the room and around the building, feeling a bit of relief that Marinette was in there. She must have gotten away. However, he learnt that Adrien and Kagami weren't as lucky when he skated into the rink area. The two of them were trapped in a block of ice, as was the mayor. He frowned before skating out of the rink and using his yoyo to pulling himself up onto the roofs. The best thing he could do for them was find the akuma and defeat him. He took out his phone and called Lady Noir but she didn't answer. He frowned and skated off, hoping she hadn't been captured by the akuma.

 ~Meanwhile~

 Marinette let out a sigh of relief as she had managed to get away from the ice but she needed to transform and find Anatis. Plagg flew out of her purse and shivered as he looked around. She reached into her purse and took out a small little box, making him groan.

 "Do I have to transform?" He asked, causing her to give him a look. He sighed and rolled his eyes as she held up the cheese. "Alright, let's get this over and done with,"

 "Plagg, power up!" She declared, throwing the cheese in the air. He jumped over and swallowed it whole before spinning around and glowing, transforming himself. The only difference between his normal form and this form was the crystal crown on his head.

 "Plagglacier!" He declared as Marinette held out her hand.

 "Plagglacier, Claws Out!" She shouted, causing him to be sucked into the ring before she spun around and held up her hand. She swiped her hand across her face, creating her mask before pushing it across her hair, creating her ears and a crystal tiara on her head. She threw out her arm as the energy moved across her body, creating her suit. She spun around as ice blue crystals appeared around her hips, along with a circle that had a ice green paw print in it. With her transformation complete, she glanced towards the ice, noticing her new look in it's reflection. Her base suit was the same but it had ice blue crystals on her legs that resembled snowflakes. She had white diamonds on her forearms, gloves and her boots that were identical to each other. The normal green detail on her gloves, suit and ears were ice blue and her eyes were frosted green with ice blue scleras. Luckily, her outfit was nice and warm, protecting her from the icy air. Her baton vibrated, making her take it and open it. She pouted a little as she saw Anatis had phoned her but hadn't left a message. She pulled up his number and called him back. He answered on the third ring. "Hey,"

 "Hey, Kitten," He replied, making her smile a little. "We've got a bit of cold situation,"

 "I noticed," She replied, skating out of the ice rink. "Where are you?"

 "Currently just looking for the akuma. I was planning to set a trap for him," He replied but he sounded annoyed. "However, all I've come across is ice and frozen victims,"

 "Well, why don't I see if I can track down the akuma and bring him to your trap?" She suggested as he hummed in agreement.

 "Good thinking, Kitten," He praised, making her smile. "I'll set up a trap on the bridge near the Eiffel tower. You track the akuma and lure him to me,"

 "Consider it down, Bug-a-boo," She purred, making him chuckle. 

 "Alright, I'll leave you to your tracking then, Kitten," He replied as she nodded. "Be careful,"

 "You too, Annie," She replied before hanging up. She jumped up onto the roof and skated across the roofs before jumping down when she saw a clump of ice. When she got closer, she saw it was a bunch of people. She frowned and looked around before noticing something on the ground. She skated over and knelt down, examining the tracks. She glanced up and followed them, leaning towards the Seine. She saw the tracks when across a bridge, causing her to follow them. She turned towards the Eiffel tower, frowning as she followed them. They lead her right up to the tower. She moved behind a truck and looked up, seeing the akuma standing onto of the tower. She frowned as she noticed he was distracted by something. She had an awful feeling that it was Anatis he was distracted by so she looked over and saw she was right. Anatis was setting up his trap on the bridge but he had failed to notice the akuma up in the tower. She frowned deeply and took out her baton. It wasn't like her partner to not be aware of his surrounding. Seeing the akuma jump from the tower and aim towards Anatis, she jumped into action and pushed him out of the way before the akuma could turn him to ice. They roll to the side with her ending up on top of him before they both jumped up and jumped down onto the Seine, skating off as they held hands. They jumped over a truck and kept going. Anatis turned to Lady Noir and gave her a small smile.

 "Thanks, Kitten," He stated as they moved in sync with each other across the ice. She gave him a wink but the akuma caught up with them, throwing icicles with his feet towards them. Anatis let go of her hand as they dodged the icicles. The akuma chased after them, going more for Anatis then Lady Noir. However, Anatis manage to dodge the icicles while keeping a good and steady pace on the ice. He spun around and used his yoyo to block the attacks as Lady Noir skated near by. "Who pissed off you, Jack Frost?!"

 "My name is Frozer!" The akuma growled as they passed the Liberty. He slided across it before speeding up and jumping over a bridge as Lady Noir declared he was too fast. He spun his body around in the air, causing the two heroes to stare before he showered them with icicles again. Lady Noir and Anatis did their best to dodge them as they skated across the ice.

 "I think the akuma is in his skates!" Anatis declared as he grabbed Lady Noir's hand and jumped out of the way of Frozer again, causing him to stumble slightly on the ice but it was just the chance they need. Anatis quickly grabbed Lady Noir around the waist and threw his yoyo, pulling them off the ice. They landed on a building and ducked down behind a wall, peeking behind it to make sure Frozer didn't follow them. Frozer skated down the Seine and came to a stop as he looked around, confused as to where they had gone. He jumped off in the opposite direction of where they were hiding and skated off. Anatis and Lady Noir jumped down and skated off in the other direction, stopping behind a camper van at the arc de triomphe. "You ok?"

 "Yeah," She replied, glancing from behind the van but she couldn't see Frozer nearby. She turned to Anatis as he took out his yoyo and checked the usual channels. "Looks like he's frozen everything,"

 "Yeah," He replied, frowning as he closed it. "Right, we need a plan,"

 "Well, my power could destroy his skates but he'd have to be up in the air," She mumbled, making Anatis nod. "Your idea for a trap would work nicely for that,"

 "Yeah but I should have observed first," He muttered, frowning before smiling. "But thanks to you, we observed and now we know enough,"

 "Then all we need now is a little bit of luck," Lady Noir grinned, making Anatis shoot back a smile before he threw up his yoyo.

 "Lucky charm!" He declared, causing a sack to manifest out of nothing. It dropped down and he caught it, blinking as he realized it was salt. "A bag of salt?"

 "Salt makes ice melt," Lady Noir stated as she pointed to the ice that was melting.

 "Of course," Anatis grinned before looking around. "But we need the right area. Follow me,"

 The two of them skated off as Anatis looked around in his luck vision. He came to a stop at a wall and pointed downwards. On the lower path was a frozen over fireman's truck. 

 "There," He pointed to it, causing Lady Noir to look at it. "Alright, I have a plan. While I distract Frozer, you melt that ice on that truck and move it into position,"

 "Alright!" She declared, taking the bag of salt off him. "Be careful though,"

 "You too," He replied before skating off until he came to a bridge. He climbed on top of the edge and whistled loudly when he saw Frozer skating across the Seine. Frozer stopped and looked up as Anatis pointed at him. "Frozer, I challenge you to a race! If I win, you give up your akuma!"

 "And if I win, Anatis?"

 "I will give my miraculous!" Anatis declared, making Frozer smirk. "What do you say? Deal? Or are you getting cold feet?"

 "Don't play with fire, Bug boy!" Frozer declared, jumping up. Anatis jumped down and skated off, gaining speed as he did. Frozer, however, followed closely behind.

 "Let's see if you can do this!" Anatis declared before sliding under a bench.

 "Don't make me laugh!" Frozer replied, mimicking his movement. Anatis gained speed and skated up a piece of ice, flipping and spinning in midair before landing. He skated off as Frozer did the same thing. Anatis jumped through an open car as Frozer caught up. "I'm closing in, Anatis!"

 Anatis continued going, leading him to where Lady Noir was waiting as he jumped through the car. He grabbed onto a lamp post to help him change directions towards the fireman's truck.

 "The next one is tricky!" He declared, jumping up and spinning midair before flipping and landing on the ladder, sliding down it as Frozer jumped up in the air. Anatis turned around and threw out his yoyo, wrapping it around one of the steps as he slid down it. Frozer spun in the air and landed on the ladder, sliding down it too. Anatis jumped off it and wrapped his yoyo around a block of ice, pulling on it. The ladder lifted, sending Frozer flying into the air, along with Lady Noir. 

 "Cataclysm!" She shouted, reaching out and scratching his skates, causing them to break as he fell onto the floor. Anatis jumped down and caught Lady Noir in his arms, causing her to throw out her arms in the air as she grinned before he put her down. The akuma escaped from the skates, causing Anatis to open his yoyo and capture the akuma as Lady Noir grabbed the lucky charm. He released the purified butterfly as she moved back over to him before taking the sack of her as she held it out to him.

 "Thank you," He smiled before throwing it into the air. "Miraculous Ladybugs!!"

 The sack burst into the magic swarm and swept around the affected areas, cleaning up the ice and restoring those who had been frozen to life again. Frozer turned back to Philippe as the skates on their boots disappeared, causing Anatis to look at them.

 "Oh so they're only skates when we actually need them," He grinned, making Lady Noir laugh. "What?"

 "You're a dork," She grinned before lightly kissing his cheek as their miraculous beeped. "See you soon, ice bug,"

 "Ice bug?" He asked as she saulted him before jumping off. He shook his head and turned to Phillip. "Are you ok, sir?"

 "Oh, I'm fine," Phillip sighed. "Sorry if I caused trouble,"

 "It's ok," Anatis smiled, helping him up as his earrings beeped. "Sorry, I have to go. Will you be ok getting back?"

 "Oh, yes," He nodded, causing Anatis to nod and run off, jumping up to the roof and dropping his winter outfit, leaving him in his normal outfit. He swung towards the ice rink, dropping down in an alleyway and detransforming. He caught Tikki and took out a cookie for her before taking out the glasses and tapping them. Kaalki appeared in a ball of light as he put them back in his pocket before opening his jacket for them. They hid back inside before he headed back inside. He walked over to Marinette, who hugged him as Adrien and Kagami took off their skates. Luka sat down and took his off as Marinette did the same. Once they put their skates away, they headed out of the rink, running into Philippe as he walked over to the door, still looking sad. Luka frowned a little before walking over to Philippe. "Are you ok, sir?"

 "Not really," Philippe admitted, causing Adrien and Kagami to join him as Marinette stood next to him. "I'm sorry that I bothered you four on your trip here. I was just so desperate to get new students. If I don't get any then the mayor will shut down the rink and convert it into an indoor gym,"

 "That's not right," Adrien declared as the mayor walked over before he took out his phone and wrapped his arm around Phillip's shoulder, taking a picture with him. He pulled away and typed on his phone before showing them. Philippe blinked as he saw that Adrien had uploaded the photo to his social media with the captation 'This is Phillip at the Paris ice rink. He's makes skating so much fun'. "Hopefully that will give you some students,"

 "Oh thank you, Adrien!" He gasped, smiling. "I hope you four come back and if you ever change your mind about ice skating lessons, just let me know!!"

 "We will," Marinette smiled as Adrien's phone buzzed. He looked at it before giving a secret smile towards Marinette and Kagami. Luka rose an eyebrow before the three of them pushed him towards the metro. He guessed that the surprise party was ready. The four of them got on a train but headed away from the Seine, making him blink in surprise. Wasn't it supposed to be on the Liberty? He didn't have much time to think about though. As soon as they were off the train, they dragged over to the Grand Paris Hotel, surprising him even more. Adrien and Kagami went ahead as Marinette took out a silk cloth. "I have to blindfold you,"

 "Um... ok?" He answered, confused but he trusted her. She tied it around his eyes and took his hand, leading him over to the lift.

 "No peeking!" She declared as they got in. She led him out of the lift when it stopped, causing him to blink as he felt wind on his face before she made him stop and gently removed the blindfold, revealing the entire pool area had been transformed into a party area.

 "Happy birthday, Luka!" Everyone declared as they jumped out, making him smile as he looked around. Everyone he considered family or friends were there. The Captain, Jagged, Penny, Fang, Juleka and Rose were stood in one part. Alya, Nino, Adrien, Kagami, Marc, Nathaniel, Ivan and Mylene were stood near by. Aurora, Mirelle and Jean were stood with the rest of his friends from school by the pool. Tom and Sabine were stood by the food table with Chloe, Sabrina. Even Felix had come out for it. Marinette smiled as he looked around.

 "Y-you guys did this for me?" He asked, surprised. He knew there would be a surprise party but he thought it would just be his family and Marinette. Everyone nodded, making him smile a bit more. "Thank you,"

 "You haven't even had your presents yet," Adrien grinned as everyone stepped aside, revealing a table filled with gifts. Luka couldn't help but stare in shock at the amount on the table. The captain walked over and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

 "Happy birthday, Lad,"

 ~Later that Evening~

 "You know you didn't have to walk me home, Luka," Marinette stated as they walked through the streets towards the bakery. Luka gave her a small smile as they walked.

 "I don't mind," He replied, making her look at him. "It was getting too loud there anyway,"

 "Was it too much?" She asked, worried but he shook his head.

 "No, it was great," He smiled as they saw the bakery ahead of them. The light were on as Tom and Sabine had to leave the party early. They had wished Luka a happy birthday and given him a batch of fresh cookies as a birthday treat before leaving. However, Marinette had stayed and the party had been great. Of course, the Captain and Jagged were still partying but Chloe had provided rooms for anyone who couldn't get home. Adrien and Kagami had to leave early too but he understood. Besides, he got to spend time with them at the ice rink. "I really enjoyed myself,"

 "I'm glad," Marinette stated as they came to a stop outside the side door of her home. She stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed his cheek, making him smile softly. "Happy birthday, Luka,"

 "Thank you, Melody," He smiled as she yawned. He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Go get some rest,"

 "Text me when you get back to the hotel or the liberty," She demanded, making him nod before he gently kissed her cheek, making her blush and rush inside. He chuckled to himself before he turned on his heel and began to walk back towards the metro. He headed down into the station and got on the tram to the Seine. The Captain knew that he was going back to the Liberty as he had told her already. The tram took about fifteen minutes to get to that station. He got off and walked up the stairs, humming to himself as he headed to the stairs that led down to the lower path. He stopped as he felt someone watching him and glanced around but he didn't see anything. He walked down the stairs and headed towards where the Liberty was. However, the sound of footsteps alerted him, causing him to stop and look behind him again. He saw nothing but turned back round, speeding up as he headed towards the Liberty. Relief filled his mind as he saw it ahead of him but before he could even reach the gangplank, someone grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth with a cloth. Luka struggled and thought as they held it over his mouth, causing him to inhale the chemical on it. He tried to break free but his vision began to blur and he slumped unconscious in the stranger's grip. The man removed his hand and pocketed the cloth before lifting Luka over his shoulder and walking back up the stairs as a black car pulled over. The back door opened and the kidnapper placed Luka inside before closing the door and getting in. Once he was in, the car drove off, disappearing into the night.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Chapter: Here

[specificocean33]

Ｔｈｅ Ｓｐｏｒｅｓ

Ｋｉｒｉｓｈｉｍａ ｘ Ｒｅａｄｅｒ

2: ᴋɪᴅɴᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ; ʜɪꜱ ᴘᴀꜱᴛ

A Zombie Apocalypse AU. Just a little idea I had. I’ll be writing a total of 3 parts (subject to change,) but anyways here’s the second :) I hope you enjoy it.

The next few hours over to the West District were certainly much livelier than before. Indeed, Kirishima was like the physical embodiment of a golden retriever. His optimism and charisma was contagious, but damn you if you weren’t looking for a cure.

At least Mateo seemed to have cheered up. You were trying your best to allow the anger and sadness eat you alive, but Kirishima was unknowingly beating away your negative emotions with his stupid jokes and his ability to get along with others.

Damn him.

When you finally arrived at the West District after 2 hours, you paid the entrance fee and made your way inside. You decided to trust Kirishima and have him take 25$ and look for a hotel for you all to stay at. You took Mateo to the nearby pawn shop to look for something interesting for him for his birthday.

The West District is a shopping district of sorts; weaponry, food, armor, car parts, gun parts, and other sorts of odds and ends can be found here. That’s why it was one of the most crowded and most populated Districts. That’s also what made it incredibly easy to be stolen. You had Mateo hold your hand the entire time, lest he or you be stolen.

Before you all separated, you swallowed your feelings and opened the car trunk. Your mother’s shotgun was entirely normal. As a matter of fact, the only identifying factor was a Sakura flower keychain hanging from it. You frowned before handing it over to Kirishima, along with some crumpled up currency.

“If you lose this, you’ll be getting the shit beat out of you twice today,” you growled before firmly placing the gun in Kirishima’s hands.

He gulped and nodded, “Of course. It wouldn’t be very manly of me to lose someone else’s property. I’ll be sure to return it to you, safe and sound.”

“Look…when you’re done, we’ll be at one of the pawn shops. I don’t have a phone, and I assume yours got stolen, if you had one at all-”

Strangely, Kirishima didn’t clarify if he had a phone at all to begin with.

“-So just look around. All the pawn shops are clumped together anyway.”

“Okay!” He said with a bright smile. “See you soon!”

You weren’t sure why you were trusting him so much. There was just something so….likable about him. You weren’t sure what though.

Keeping a firm grip on Mateo, you both managed to safely make your way to the pawn shop section of the District. You settled on the first one that you saw, a shabby little shop called Lucky’s Pawn Shop, and followed Mateo around as he looked for another sticker or color of spray paint. (Mateo loved to vandalize buildings, and seeing as how they were all one boring color, you allowed it. No one really cared anyway.)

The entire pawn shop was filled with odd things. All four walls had shelves full of gears, books, broken and whole toys, candle sticks, and other things. The floorspace was taken up by tables and desks of equally odd things. Mangas, comics, novels, old action figures and other such things filled the store.

After about 30 minutes of “I like this color, (Y/N)!” “No, that color’s ugly. Pick another one.” And “Check out this cool sticker, isn’t it from that show you used to watch?” “Yes, but today’s for you. Pick something you want,” Kirishima came bounding into the shop, and seemed genuinely insulted that you were surprised to see him again.

“What? Did you think I was gonna steal from the people who did me a favor? What kind of unmanly scum do you take me for?” He crossed his arms and was very huffy about the whole thing. You found it endearing.

You laughed, “Sorry, sorry. At least you’re back now. Why don’t you help Mateo pick out a color? He’s been struggling and frankly all the colors he picks are lowkey ugly,” you said, pointing at the shelf of half used and cap less spray paint cans.

There were quite a few shades at this shop, which was sort of uncommon.

“Hmm…how about this super cool red, little bro?” Kirishima grinned, pointing at a fiery shade of crimson.

You sighed. You should have known he’d go for some shade of red.

“Oh! I like it. I only have orange and yellow, so I needed a red anyway. Can I get it, (Y/N)?”

“Fine. At least it wasn’t that throw up shade of green,” you mumbled before taking the can in one hand and Mateo’s in the other.

“It’s called ARMY GREEN!” He exclaimed in and exasperated tone.

You winked at Kirishima, he smiled and his cheeks flushed slightly pink.

“Yeah yeah whatever. Army green, throw up green, same difference. It’s all green. Ugly colors regardless.”

Mateo shot you a look before you set the can on the front counter. An old woman was bent over so she didn’t see you right away. When you cleared your throat to get her attention, she bumped her head under the desk and let out a series of curses before lifting her head up, one robotic arm rubbing the spot where she had hurt herself, and the other gripping the counter for support.

This woman had the wildest white hair you had ever seen. She wore a pair of googles on her head, which had a wire coming out of it and trailing in the floor. She blinked a few times, before smiling kindly.

“Oh hello there. Is this all you wanted,” she asked examining the can before looking back at you.

“Yes, that’s all. How much were you wanting for it?”

“Hmm…this particular shade was actually made by me, so it’s a full unused can. 5$ and 3 pieces of copper wire.”

You almost choked. Currency AND wire? Was she insane?

Mateo looked slightly saddened, and Kirishima a little confused.

“Umm…copper wire?” Kirishima whispered into your ear;You jumped, startled. His voice caught you off guard, and you nodded, your cheeks flushed.

“Might I offer 6$ and 1 piece of copper wire?” You asked, turning away from Kirishima, trying not to look at Mateo.

“Hmm…” the old woman crossed her arms and pondered for a moment, “How about 3$ and 3 wires?”

You sighed. You really wanted to give the woman less copper wire, but it seemed there was no help for it.

“Alright. Deal,” you mumbled, reaching into your back pocket and extracting the payment she wanted.

15 minutes later, Mateo was grinning and staring at his new paint can on his bed. The hotel Kirishima managed to find was rather nice. You had half a mind to ask how he managed to get a room with a working bathroom, kitchen, and 3 twin beds to boot, all for 25$, but you decided to ask him a little later.

You shooed Mateo off to shower and promised to find something nice to eat for dinner, before sitting Kirishima down at the kitchen table.

He seemed nervous.

“Alright. So I need to know for how long we’re gonna be traveling together for.” You said bluntly.

“W-wow. Straight to the point, huh?” He laughed nervously.

“I have nothing to hide, and as you can see, we’re sort of broke. I can’t afford to have another person around, no offense. Mateo is my priority and I need to know how long we’re gonna have you around.”

“W-well…okay look,” he sighed rubbing his face with his hands, “I…I’m a runaway.”

You leaned forward on the table.

“A runaway? From who? Are you dangerous? Elaborate.”

“Umm…well…my parents are Buyers. I…I ran away 3 days ago.”

Buyers. The worst kinds of people on this godforsaken planet.

Buyers are the people who buy from Kidnappers. It would make sense why Kirishima would want to leave that life, but that would only mean one thing.

Kirishima was originally from a White Zone.

“You’re…from a White Zone?” You asked.

“Yes. My parents bought freshly Contaminated and…did terrible things to them. I don’t want to talk about what they did, it was just awful, but I think you can see why I wanted nothing to do with that life.”

You felt sort of bad for him, he looked distraught.

“Then…you have nowhere to go?” You asked.

“Well, not necessarily. Whenever things got sort of bad, I’d leave for a bit and I’ve found some friends. They live in the East District, but the thing is, I’d always come back. This time…I haven’t, obviously. They sent someone to come get me, but they robbed me instead, probably to extort more money from my parents.”

“How come you don’t have a bounty on you then?” You were beginning to get somewhat concerned. Harboring a White Zone resident could mean terrible trouble that you really couldn’t handle. Not to mention a lot of running away from bounty hunters and other scum.

“My parents didn’t like me all that much to begin with. They were mainly mad I didn’t agree with their actions, and they didn’t like that I spoke up about it. They want me back because they won’t have to put up a front, but at the same time, not having me home makes it easier on them. They want an obedient child, and that’s not me,” he said, not meeting your eyes.

“So…no one is looking for you, then?” You asked nervously.

“No, no I don’t think so. This is…super unmanly of me to ask, but…can I stay with you two? Just for a little bit? I’ve got some contacts around here who still think I’m living with my parents, and I can get some money for you guys, I’ll make sure to pay you back for helping me, I swear! Just…please, let me stay?” He was pleading with you, looking you deep in your eyes.

His crimson eyes bore into yours, and for the life of you, you couldn’t find it within your heart to deny him.

How entirely unfair. He was dangerous and you knew it. Mateo needed to be kept safe but….

He needed help. You enjoyed his company.

You decided to trust him.

“I-…o-okay. Just…please, don’t put Mateo in any danger. He’s the only family I have left, please,” you said quietly, clasping your hands together.

Kirishima smiled the brightest smile you’d ever seen him muster, before standing up. Before you knew what was happening, he had you crushed in a hug.

“I promise!”

Ｅｎｄ ｏｆ Ｐａｒｔ ２

[moonah-rose]

Eavesdrop

A quick alternate to Earshot, but set in canon S2 rather than NPL, where the demons focus on Michael for their taunting.

*

Second book in on the top shelf. That’s the one to pull to unlock the secret door hidden in the wall behind Michael’s desk. She’s supposedly the only other being, besides Janet, in this micro-universe privy to that bit of info. It leads to a hallway that extends to a secret chamber filled with a bunch of Earth collectables along with, recently added on her suggestion, a mini-arcade with classic game machines and a karaoke stand. The walls were sound proof, obviously.

She’s not here to escape a lecture from Chidi about messing up the laundry by hanging out in her demon pal’s very own ‘bud hole’ this time. Her ear is pressed to the closed panel after sealing herself in, waiting for the big Satanic tree to arrive.

To her surprise, and slight annoyance, he hadn’t arrived alone.

“You shouldn’t be getting drunk like this. What if the humans saw you? Everyone here is supposed to be abstinent of all vices!” Michael had grumbled, a ruckus of giggles behind him.

“That’s the point, dummy! It’s a ‘Purge’ night!” Vicky cackled; “Tell ‘im again, Gunner!”

“I got the idea off this human movie - one night, we’re allowed to do any shirt we wanted without consequence! We can drink, smoke, do drugs, stab and bite to our black hearts content!”

“NO! Definitely no stabbing! Or hurting any of them...Physically!” He’d struggled to make that last detail sound natural.

Good save, bud, Eleanor had thought.

Another demon, Petra, Eleanor thinks, had groaned; “Ugh, you are such a buzzkill lately. Can’t you see how awesome this idea is? Think about how wasted Eleanor is gonna let herself get! That dork, Jason, is gonna be high as a kite and it will make Chidi and Tahani wanna cower inside their homes! It’s genius!” 

Eleanor had almost let herself be excited for the idea of trying to make the most of this supposed ‘torture’, similar to the one at Tahani’s party, which even Michael had said she hadn’t done too bad at acting and preparing the chaos sequence the next morning. She could hear the worry in Michael’s response though, being surrounded by three hundred demons, losing their inhibitions and wanting to let off steam in the most ‘passionate’ way possible, had the potential to go very wrong. For all of them.

As she listened, Michael’s attempts to reign in his rogue employees soon descended into outright pleading, which only gave him more scorn in return.

“Look just...remember what our goal is here. I get that you’re all frustrated but we’re doing so well and all I ask is that you don’t go too far on the humans, please.” He’d tried to ask, nicely. Wrong move.

The laughter nearly shook the building.

“Jeez! If you love these humans so much, why don’t you fork them?” Bambadjan teased.

“Nah, let’s face it, not even those cockroaches would wanna go near that disgusting skin suit with all it’s musty folds.” Vicky responded; “...Oh, what’s wrong, Mikey? It’s not like we’re insulting ‘you’ after all...Unless you’re starting to feel a little too cosy in that costume of yours.”

Eleanor’s stomach twisted on his behalf. She knew how much he loved that suit; he was so forking vain, after all. But then again, is it vanity if it’s not really his body? He just wishes it was.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Michael responded, quietly.

“Then prove it, dude! Take it off! Strip! Todd goes streaking every night.” Gunner encouraged.

“You know I can’t! It’s not the same for me.”

“Maybe I’ll take mine off tonight. Imagine how much Mendoza will freak out when he sees a giant acid snake coming for him after too many mushrooms!” Vicky joked; “It’s still ten times better than any torture method you’ve come up with for them, Mike. Maybe melting their brains by revealing your demon form will provide us some results.”

Is it really that bad? Eleanor was naively hoping there was some sexy bald goat-man underneath that suit. Dude was so shifty about it, like he didn’t wanna spoil the mystery. Was it more than that? Was he ashamed?

“You’ve all made your point, have your Purge and I’ll clean up the mess tomorrow. Just go easy on the humans - I insist.” Michael sounded so tired.

“Oh he ‘insists’!? Did you hear that guys? Mikey, who failed his own experiment over eight hundred times, wants to ‘insist’!” Vicky sneers.

“Well I insist that he shuts his fugly food hole and leave the masters to our job!” Petra cackled; “And he gets back to trying to fork his paperclips or whatever shirt you get up to here.”

That sounded painful, Eleanor couldn’t stop herself picturing it.

“Jeez, Mike, you always were a loser but there’s really no hope for you, is there. Before you were just the quiet nerd no one wanted to hang out with because of your weird fixation with Earth-people. Soon you’re gonna be known as the idiot who failed his first experiment; even if the rest of us do manage to salvage it for Shawn, we’ll all know the truth about how badly you suuucked!”

It took all of Eleanor’s strength not to shove the panel open, stomp over and grab Vicky’s hair to slam her face into the desk. They all just followed him in there to bully him?! They were the losers.

“C’mon, guys! We should have known he wouldn’t have wanted to join our party, it’s not like he’s used to being invited to any.” Bambadjan added, inciting more giggles.

“See you in the morning, dumb-ash. Be up bright and early to clean up our shirt, as you say, chop chop!”

Counting to ten to contain her rage luckily meets up with the sound of the door closing, the demons exiting the building.

She carefully opens the secret door, seeing Michael sat in his chair, hands folded on his lap, eyes cast down. When he hears her soft footsteps, his head turns, expression shifting to try to cover the wobbling lip she’d briefly caught sight of. He sniffs and rubs his upper lip with his hand.

“Eleanor!” Michael straightens up; “Were you there the whole time? What if they’d seen you or...sensed you were there?”

“Relax, man, they didn’t see shirt, it’s cool.” She puts her hand up; “...You okay?”

He looks to the side, forcing his ‘superior’ smirk, “Uhh, yeah, of course! Why wouldn’t I be? Just...having a bit of workplace banter, as they say.”

“Didn’t sound like ‘banter’ to me, dude.” She edges closer, slowly, knowing that if he’s as much like her as she knows, he’s gonna be like a wounded tiger right now.

Getting too close, too quick, is gonna get her eyes clawed out. She would know, she’s swung a few claws herself.

Michael sniffs, struggling to keep his mask on; “M’fine, Eleanor, really. You better go prepare for this Purge or whatever they were talking about, go enjoy yourself or...make sure the others are safe-.”

His words are cut off by her weight falling down onto his lap, arms looping around his neck as she embraces him. Fork it. Screw being slow and steady; the demon was about ready to cry.

“Wha....What are you doing?” Michael stutters, stiffening.

“Hugging you, idiot...Sorry, I mean that affectionately,” She says against his ear.

“W-why?”

She shrugs, still hugging him tight, shuffling on his knees; “’Cause you need it. ‘Cause it’s the quickest way to let you know that all those things those demons said was garbage. Fork, have they always talked to you like that?”

His silence answers her question.

She squeezes him again; “Damn, no wonder you’re as new to this whole friend thing as me.”

“Demons insult each other all the time, Eleanor, it’s how we compliment each other. We’re meant to enjoy it.”

That made zero sense. 

“But you don’t....do you?”

Michael breaths in deep against her. Then she shakes her head, leaning into her shoulder.

“That’s ‘cause I’m a freak...I’m wrong, just like they say...like Shawn says...I’m just a failure of a demon.”

“That’s a good thing in my books, man.” Eleanor pulls back, looking at him, admiringly; “You might be failing as a demon but, I have it on good authority, you are rocking it as a newbie human. And I know you think we’re all gross and stupid but...I know you love us.”

He wrinkles his nose, trying to look as though he denied it, yet refusing to. His eyes gaze into hers, a rush of color brightening his cheeks.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to say it, I know you’re not quite ready there yet.” She knows herself how difficult it is to say those three words, to anyone; “But we’re your friends. We want you on our team, Michael, not just ‘cause it stops you torturing us but...Because you’re a cool guy to be around, when you’re not giving paperclip showers or putting us in purple space bubbles.”

A smile threatened to crack on Michael’s face as he squirmed beneath her. Was it really this easy to make an all-powerful being look so shy and bashful? It was adorable.

She moves her hand up to his cheek, thumb stroking below his eye, reddened with unshed tears.

“Also...I feel kinda obliged to confess something.” She says, “This skin-suit? Your skin-suit? What Vicky said was bull-shirt. All of it. Not only is this suit as much you as whatever demony essence you got going on underneath...But it’s also not bad looking either. I might even go as far to say ‘handsome’. In like a Richard Gere in Pretty Woman way.”

“R-really?” He looks hopeful for a second; “I mean...I know it’s gorgeous, but I wouldn’t expect...I mean I wouldn’t want you - or any human - to ever wanna-.”

She cuts his babbling off again with a kiss on the cheek.

He’s frozen now.

Eleanor grins; “That prove it for you? You know me, I don’t give out pity kisses.”

Michael squirmed again, biting his lip, mumbling something which might have been ‘gross’ or ‘weird food holes’, but he doesn’t move his hands away from where they’ve found the small of her back.

“Hey...how about we do one quick bit of karaoke before we go brief the others on tonight. You can pick the song.” She says, giving his bow-tie the smallest tug.

He smiles, touched, then nods; “Sounds good...”

“Cool. Also, don’t open that drawer on your desk until you’ve properly cheered up - I rigged it with a pie to get thrown in your face as revenge for cheating off my paper earlier!”

“Oh, pies are the best prank! I wish you hadn’t told me now, you’ve spoiled the surprise.”

Eleanor giggles as she takes his hand, leading him to his bud-hole; “You know me, demon buddy. I’m always full of surprises.”

His fingers squeezed hers; “That you are.”

[nishiisenpai]

skating under the lights - nishinoya yu x reader

REQUEST: “ Hiiiiii!! I was wondering if I could maybe get a Christmas fic? (Yes, I know it’s still November but-) Maybe where Noya and the reader are like, spending a day out (maybe they go to an ice skating rink or something) and they stop to stare at a giant lit up Christmas tree, and then Noya kisses them? Thank youuu! 🤍 I hope that wasn’t too vague! - @nishinoya-slut​ “

A/N: merry christmas everyone!!! i hope all the joy in this world will be well and sent to you after reading this request and that everyone is warm and bundled up in the coziest blankets, hoodies, socks, etc. 

oh and to have the best presents ever!!! or the best hot chocolate, gingerbread houses and people alongside seen the christmas lights!

to those who do not celebrate christmas, happy holidays! stay safe, stay healthy and may 2021 bring you the best wishes and luck.

besides stating the obvious as always, i hope everyone is happy and doing well, this request was a lot of fun to write and my god do i love the holidays because of the 2 week break that i get away from school :D

P.S: i saw this request in my inbox and i just had to save it till christmas! so let this be my christmas gift to you all <3

-

WARNING: NONE - just fluff and christmas crack lol

WHO: Nishinoya Yu x Reader

FORMAT: short story

-

Ice skating is a very amazing thing to do during the holiday times. It’s super fun since you get to glide on the ice freely and no one will judge. Ice skating takes patience and skill to just stand up straight without falling. 

Today you were testing that patience with your boyfriend Nishinoya on the ice.

You guys had gotten changed into some fairly warm yet moveable clothing for your ice skating date today at the city’s local ice skating rink. 

A hat, warm leggings, a baggy sweater with a turtle neck underneath, some warm socks, mittens, scarf and a warm yet light weight jacket was all you needed to be set for ice skating. This was your time skating so it was quite nerve-wracking and sorta scary.

“Hey baby, you ready to go?” Noya had asked grabbing the car keys and placing a kiss on your cheek.

“Yup!” As you stood up from the ground to put on some shoes and picking up the bag with your skates.

“Let’s go!!!” Noya opened the door for you and him as you guys left your house to head to the skate rink.

Originally Noya didn’t plan on telling you about going to skate but he got a little bit excited and spilled it out. As the both of you were heading to the destination in Noya’s car, both of you were jamming to Christmas music that played on the local Christmas radio station.

Noya had this thing where, when he was the driver, he would have one hand on the steering wheel and the other laced with your hand or to have a grasp of your thigh. It’s comfortable for him to have some sort of touch on you.

“Your destination will be found on the left.” as the navigator stated.

“Anddd we are here.” Noya went to turn into the parking lot to find an empty slot for the car. He went through many lanes and finally found a parking space that was near the skating rink but still sorta far from sight.

“Babe, let me show you some mad parking skills.” Noya sent you a wink, and you shook your head in disapproval.

“Just be careful you don’t hit that-” as the car bumped back, “car.”

“Whoops... It’s fine though, we’ll just buy them candy and write them a note.”

“Noya!” 

“What? I ain’t got money on me. You know I’m broke.”

“Fine, but at least make sure it’s expensive candy because if we get cheap candy, it’s gonna seem like we don’t care much.”

“Fair enough. Now, let’s get out of this car and go skating!!!” Noya kissed your lips and you kissed back. He went for another one but you pushed back.

“We can go skating after we buy the candy.”

“But babeee,”

“Baby, the nearest store is literally a 5 minute walk. Relax, the ice rink doesn’t close yet.”

“Okay, fine. You win. But once we get back, we are speeding to the rink. Like, speed will be on our side when we come back.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go now.” You finished talking before opening your door carefully to leave the vehicle with Nishinoya shutting his side of the car to meet you at the end of the car with his hand out.

“Make sure to lock the doors.” you informed Noya.

“Already done, now hurry, we got to go buy that candy fast or we won’t skate for long.” Noya dragged your hand with you to go find the nearest store. You guys had decided to leave the skates back in the car as you were going to come back to place the candy by the hit vehicle.

-

“Awh, babe look! They have these here!” Noya had pointed out to an old childhood snack.

“What? No way! We have to get them for later.”

“Definitely. How many do you think we need?” Nishinoya had asked staring at the box of childhood snacks.

“How about ten? We would both get five each.”

“Smart thinking.” your boyfriend had agreed before dumping in ten of the childhood snacks into the basket that Nishinoya was holding.

“Let’s pick this brand of chocolate. They’re kind of expensive looking and have a decent amount for it’s price.” You picked up a box of chocolates that looked rather expensive looking.

“Eh, whatever works. Now can we pleaseee go back to skate? We’ve literally raided the candy aisle for a solid fifteen minutes.”

“Okay, okay, fine. But we also need to write a small note, so I’ll dash to the school supplies section to buy a small wad of paper and some pens.”

“Make sure to get stickers! They have to be the glittery ones!”

“Yeah! Yeah! I’ll go right now!” waving a hand in the air to signal your leave. You went to aisle nine where they kept the school supplies.

Searching for the paper and pen was easy, you even grabbed some markers to add some colour. Moving onto the stickers, it was hard. It was hard only because there were so many options for stickers. They had so many varieties of stickers. Ranging from flowers, animals, certain characters from different series, puffy stickers, and even simple glitter stickers. Too many stickers, yet so little money.

“Baby, what is taking you so long?” Noya had walked down the aisle as he stared at you in confusion.

“So many stickers, yet so little space and money...” You mumbled staring at the stickers.

“Stickers? What’s with the- oh... Wow... There’s so many.” 

“I know... I’ve been staring at them for a solid five minutes admiring them.”

“Yeah, I can see why... But we need to really hurry up. The rink is gonna close soon, Y/N!” 

“Okay, okay, okay! Let’s just grab these two.” your hand reached for the glittery stars and glittery minion stickers. Noya let out his hand and you latched on as you guys sped to the cash register to pay for the stuff.

-

Nearly tripping over your own feet, both of you managed to hurry back to Noya’s car as you quickly scribbled on an apology, randomly placed stickers on the apology note before throwing in the candy in the oversized bag Nishinoya had picked out and sneakily yet hurryingly placed the bag on their hood.

“Let me get the skates, and we are good to go.” your boyfriend smiled before opening his trunk to pull out two pairs of skates. “You ready, Y/N?”

“Not really.”

“Good enough!” Noya had grabbed ahold of your hand before dragging you to the ice rank.

“Wow...” you said in amusement at the many families and couples that came alongside the pretty lights that were set up around the rink.

“Isn’t it so pretty?” your boyfriend asked staring at the lights.

“I could stare at them forever.”

“I know, I know. Now, let’s get on the ice shall we?” Noya pulled you over to a seating bench to put on the skates. “Here babe, slide your foot in.”

You slid your foot into the skate as Noya laced it up for you.

“Now, the other one.” Again you followed suite and he finished it up for you. 

“Let me just tie mine up real quick and we can go on the ice together.” Nodding at Noya’s statement as you watched him lace his skates.

“Baby, I’m kind of scared to go on the ice.”

“Relax, you got this. We can take easy small steps. Come on now. Take my hand, princess.” You grasped Noya’s hand tightly as you wobbled your way to the rink side. “I’m going to go on the ice first and guide you through, okay?”

You immediately latched onto the side of the rink as Noya let go of his hand to step onto the ice. He laughed at your reaction and you sent him a glare.

“Babycakes, it’s alright silly. Grab onto my arm.” Your hands latched immediately onto this arms as you tried to balance. “Woah, easy, easy, girl. You’re doing a good job.”

“Am I really, though?”

“Yes. Now slowly take one glide forward.” You followed his orders and slowly did so but wobbled again. You took another glide forward still clutching onto Noya.

“You’re doing amazing, baby! Now the other one.” 

“W-Woah, this is so cool.” your eyes sparkled as you glided on the ice with your boyfriend.

“Right! Aren’t you glad I brought you here for a date?”

“I love it!” As you begun to glide forward very slowly and slowly took your arms away from your boyfriend’s arms.

“You’re doing so well!” your boyfriend glided towards you as he reached his arms out to hug your waist and placed a kiss onto your cheek.

“Now that I’ve got the hang of it, let’s glide on the ice together?” you linked your hand with Noya’s warm one and he blushed putting on a big smile.

“Mhm, let’s go!” Both of you glided on the ice holding hands and staying close to each other. 

-

Both of you lovebirds had been on the ice for a bit, laughing and smiling at each other over small trips and loss of balance on the ice. You guys even did some competitions, but quickly stopped seeing the security guard eying you both which made you both shiver in fear.

You and Noya had agreed to take a break and sat by the side.

“This by far is the best date, we’ve been on.” Your cheeks hurt from smiling so much after sitting down to take a breather.

“I agree. Though if it weren’t for me, then we wouldn’t have made this new memory.”

“You’re absolutely right, sir.” as you brought Noya down by the collar to give him a kiss on the lips. “Thank you, baby.”

The lights that glowed off the Christmas tree gave Noya the look of a million stars. He was glowing and quite literally showing off the stars in his eyes from that small kiss.

“Can I kiss you again?” Noya asked as he came closer to your face.

“Of course silly, come here.” You placed your hands on the side of Noya’s face as he as well followed suite to give you another warm yet passionate kiss.

-

The tree glowed and towered over the people that skated and other people that walked by. The lights shining and being the source of light to create the shadow of two lovers sitting on a bench giving each other warm kisses. 

“Merry Christmas, cutie.” Noya smiled brightly at you.

“Merry Christmas, lover boy.” you smiled back before going in for another kiss on the lips.

“Ahem. I need you two to uh leave. You’re making it sorta awkward for people to leave the ice rink.” The security guard from earlier said as the two of you blushed and turned flustered before apologizing profusely. 

“W-we’re sorry! We’ll get going, now! Have an amazing holiday, Mr. Security Guard!” As you dragged Noya out of the exit and rushed to take off your skates.

Both of you rushed your way to the parking lot and sat in the car, and turning on the ignition to get the car started up.

“That was insane.” Noya said huffing out air.

“Yeah, it was.” You replied doing the same. 

The huffing from both of you slowly went down as you guys calmed down and all that could be heard from the car was the Christmas music that played lightly.

“Another kiss?” he asked.

“You read my mind.” as the both of you quickly brought your lips to connect to one another and shared the warmth that came from the both of you.

-

[knight-queen]

Lunatic Parade Kou Mukami– (Chapter 3)

Place: Saint Nore Park / サントノレパーク通り

Yui: (Huh? What am I doing in this place…?)

???: M-neko chan, why’re you spacing out?

Yui: Kou kun…? When did we come here…?

Kou: You don’t know...we’ve been always here since we moved into the Demon World.

It’s because the parade of this year is way livelier than ever. I don’t even get bothered about which place to visit.

Let’s build up a bunch of memories here ♪

...Have you forgotten about our promise?

Yui: Err…

(Let’s see…?)

*BG turns black*

Kou: M-neko chan ♪

Place: Hotel • Mortstein, Guest room / ホテル•モーントシュタイン客室 

Yui: Nh…

Kou: Ah, you’re finally awake then.

Yui: (Ooh, I see now...that was just a dream.)

Kou: You were putting on such a pleasant sleeping face...what kind of dream you saw?

Yui: It was with you. We were visiting the parade together.

Kou: Wah, you serious? I’m so glad.

We gotta try our best so that we'll be able to do something like that.

Yui: Yes!

Kou: 一Well then, now that you mentioned

We have to make Earl admit that we’re the absolutely worthy ones to have those treasures.

And for that...I thought to thank the person who helped us regarding our issues.

In order to put it...Even though it’s not related to Earl, I'm willing to apologize.

At that time, I was so irritated that I ended up behaving like a kid.

Since there were also moments when he helped you too.

So for these, let’s go there?

Yui: Sure…!

Place: Glimmer Main Street / グリンマーストリート表通り

Yui: ーOh Kou kun. Since we’re going to thank them so you’ll get any souvenir?

Kou: Ah, sounds great.

What it could be...that he likes.

*BG Flash back*

Underground Dweller A: On the way back from the ‘Zafia store’...

*BG back to normal*

Kou: ...That time, he mentioned the name of a sweet shop I believe.

Then, what about getting a delicious cake for him?

Yui: I also wanted to mention that.

Kou: Then it’s decided!

Let’s get one from that shop which’s around here.

Place: ‘The fear’ Confectionary Shop / ザフィーア菓子店

Yui: (Wah...There are a lot of delicious cakes out here!)

Kou: There’re so many that I may get puzzled in choosing one…

Clerk: Welcome here! Which cake you would like toー

…! Y- You are...could it be you are Mukami Kou san…

Kou: Fufu, exactly.

You know, I wanna buy the most delicious cake of this shop. ...Would you mind telling me which one is it?

Clerk: A- alright then!

*She runs to get the cake*

Clerk: I- it’s this one! Only one left, since it is one of the limited restrictions. This is called the sponge cake specially baked for the parade!

Kou: Aww, thank you. Then I will purchase it.

Clerk: Y- yess!

Place: Glimmer Street, Front of Wagon Main Street / グリンマーストリート表通りワゴン前

Kou: Phew, glad that we made it to get the last one!

Yui: (As you’d expect from Kou kun…)

Kou: Aight, with these our preparation is bang on! Let’s go then?

Yui: Mhm!

Place: Underground Corridor / 地下回廊

Kou: Err...I’m sure he was right ahead.

Yui: Perhaps he is not here by now. Where did he head up then….

Kou: Maybe you get the point but...let’s search a bit more anyways一

*Footsteps*

Underground Dweller A: Huh, you guys are…

Kou: Ah ♪

Yui: Oh!

Underground Dweller A: So it’s you from before...why are you here again?

Kou: That’s because…

I thought of thanking you at least.

...I am so sorry for the earlier.

Thank you for helping me, plus her as well.

We really appreciate that.

Yui: Let me express my gratefulness too. Really, thank you so much…!

Underground Dweller A: You two…

There was no one who thanked this much to someone like me who is unfortunately living underground.

...Likewise, thank you. It turned out to be embarrassing but I’m glad.

*Kou is blushing*

Kou: ...By the way, this is for you.

Underground Dweller A: Th- this is!

The special sponge cake…! It’s said that you’ll be filled with happiness if you eat it…!

Yui: I- I see now!

Underground Dweller A: Yeah, and...your boyfriend

Thanking back that this face is very familiar...you’re famous in this Demon World too, right?

Kou: Yes? Well, a little bit.

Underground Dweller A: Don’t low-rank yourself. Even I know you, it means you’re really a famous person.

Hang on there from now as well.

I’m not the only one who is looking forward to your important roles.

I’m supporting you.

Kou: Th-thank you…*blushing*

Yui: (Fufu, Kou kun’s unusual side is getting revealed…)

Place: Glimmer Street, Aizen Alley / グリンマーストリートアイゼン横丁

Yui: It’s good that we thanked him properly.

Kou: Yes.

I was the one to apologize to him, so it was a weird feeling to get cheered up by him.

Well...I also gotta do my best in my idol-jobs.

一That being said…

Let’s go to meet that manager.

Yui: By manager you mean...the person who wanted to perform on the stage?

Kou: Yup.

He was pretty rude with you, so I wasn’t in the slightest mood to accept his offer or whatever but…

But he is being troubled for my last-minute cancellation I guess?

That’s why…

Yui: Kou kun...But you don’t really want to do that right?

Kou: Well yes. To be honest, I have no intention to do that.

However………

Umm…..

*Collides*

Kou: Waa…!

Vampire Child G: Uwaa!?

Kou: ーOops…

Yui: (Ah, the child was close to getting hit! It’s a relief that Kou kun held him in time…)

You are not hurt?

Vampire Child G: N- no…

ーーAh!

I know this big-brother!

Kou: Eh?

Vampire Child G: You’re the idol brother!

You’re so cool! You’re incredible!

Vampire Child H: Wah! I’m so lucky!

*Hugs Kou*

Yui: (W- wow! He’s very popular even to these Demon World’s children)

Lady: Hey stop these, your big-brother is being angry right?

Vampire Child G: It’s because I want him to play with us!

Vampire Child H: That’s right! If we don’t hold him firmly, he’ll go away somewhere else!

Lady: Seriously, you guys are…

….I’m so sorry for putting you into these.

They’re being so much overjoyed since it’s the first time for them to visit the parade.

Since they usually stay in the orphanage, they were not supposed to meet a famous idol like Kou kun…

Kou: Orphanage…

Yui: (I see...meanwhile this person is their instructor.)

Orphanage’s Instructor: But I can’t allow them to bother you more than this.

ーAlright everyone. Let’s move on!

Vampire Child G: No way! I wanna play with him more!

Vampire Child H: Exactly, there’re a lot of things I wanna talk about with him!

Orphanage’s Instructor: You can’t. If you refuse一

Kou: 一Hold it for a sec.

If these children are gonna enjoy it then what about visiting the parade together?

You fine with it, M-neko chan…?

If I’d be the Earl, then I wouldn’t approve of any idol or whatever who won’t give time to play with kids.

Yui: Fufu, ofcourse we can!

Orphanage’s Instructor: Umm...that’s...you really mean these words?

Kou: Yep ♪

Vampire Child G: Yay! Hurray!

Vampire Child H: Waaa!

Orphanage’s Instructor: I- if that’s the case then...that’s…

Kou san! Please give me your autograph later!

Kou: Ahaha, sure thing!

Vampire Child G: Oh my, looks like our teacher also wanted to play with big-brother!

Vampire Child H: Me too, please give me your autograph! Autograph!

*Runs up to him*

Kou: Waah! W- wait wait. One by one, in order, order…

Yui: (They all are looking so happy...Seems like Kou kun is enjoying it as well.)

Kou: Alright, then follow me who wants to go to Saint Nore Park with me!

Vampire Child G: Yeeea!

Vampire Child H: Yeees!

Orphanage’s Instructor: Yeees!

*They starts walking*

Yui: (Ahahah, even the instructor is…)

Place: Saint Nore Park / サントノレパーク通り

Vampire Child G: Big brother, this way, this way!

Vampire Child H: No, it’s this way!

Kou: Hold it, hold it. I have only one body, yeah?

(Somehow...it’s a very rare scene.)

→ Selection

徴笑ましいな / It’s quite funny (+ Correct)

心配だな... / I am worried

Yui: (It’s so funny…)

Kou: Come on, you come here too, M-neko chan.

Vampire Child G: That’s right!

Vampire Child H: Let’s play together!

Yui: Y- yes!

Kou: 一 Got it? This big sister is the cutest lady in this World.

Vampire Child G: The cutest in this World!

Vampire Child H: Cute sister!

Kou: Yes, well done ♪

Yui: (I was embarrassed but...it made me happy.)

Vampire Child G: Hey, what will we do next!?

Vampire Child H: yeah, what’s next?

Kou: 一 Aight. Let’s do this.

The winner will be the one who will get through that labyrinth most quickly...what about it?

Vampire Child G: Wah, sounds interesting!

Vampire Child H: I wanna play!

Orphanage’s Instructor: Fufu, then I will judge the winner in the goal.

Kou: Thanks a lot.

一 Okay then, no way I’ll lose this I’ve suggested this match. Let’s do our best, M-neko chan ♪

Yui: Y- yess!

Vampire Child G: Yo, tell me. What does “M Neko Chan” mean?

Yui: Eh!?

Vampire Child H: What does it mean?

Kou: Fufufu, you know that’s一

Yui: K-kou kun! Let’s start already!!

Kou: Yes yes ♪

→ Game

Words he says in the game一

“Game’s start”

“We’re done, M-neko chan. You did great”

*If you win*

Orphanage’s Instructor: Goal is right here!

Yui: (I’ve maken is successfully!)

Kou: I think...those two kids haven’t come out yet.

Guess it’s our victory this time.

*Runs up to them*

Vampire Child G: Ah! You two are wonderful! You made it so early!

Vampire Child H: Brother Kou and M-neko chan’s victory!

Yui: (Eh, they called me M-neko chan…)

Kou: You two were incredible as well.

Vampire Child G: I guess so? Ehehe.

Vampire Child H: Let’s do it someday once again! We won’t lose that time!

Kou: Mhm, I’ll look forward to that.

*Crowd noises*

Yui: (Huh? It’s getting so noisy now…)

Staff of Mirror House: Excuuuse me! The couple who has just come out from the labyrinth present here?

Yui: (Eh? Is he talking about us…)

Vampire Child G: About you two?

Vampire Child H: Mr. Staff! Heey, those two are over here!

Staff of Mirror House: Aah...finally found you.

Kou: What is it that you want from us?

Staff of Mirror House: Actually…

*Fades to CG*

Staff of Mirror House: Well! You two are the 1000th ones to be commemorated for making out through this labyrinth successfully!

*Applause*

Yui: Eh!

Kou: Waah...I’ve heard about it but, it’s my first time to hit on the exact point.

Staff of Mirror House: Please let us take an interview for this celebration!

*Shutter sound*

Staff of Mirror House: How are you feeling for achieving this?

Kou: It makes me so happy!

I feel like her love for me got deepened even more ♪

Right, M-neko chan一 Mmwah…

*Fades to CG (2)*

Yui: Kou kun…! A lot of visitors are watching…

Kou: Who cares. I think it’ll be better if more people would watch us.

Yui: (Well...guess it’s alright if it’s around this time…?)

*Shutter 3x*

Place: Sain Nore Park / サントノレパーク通り

Vampire Child G: Fuwaa…

Kou: ……

Yui: (Fufu...My eyelids are about to close.)

Orphanage’s Instructor: Oh my goodness...Looks like you two are about to sleep for playing a lot today.

Vampire Child H: It’s not that...I wanna play mo...re...fuwaa…

Orphanage’s Instructor: 一Well, well. Let's go back to our house and take a nap.

But before that, you should thank this sister and the brother properly.

Vampire Child G: Yes…

Thanks for today! It was a lot of fun!

Vampire Child H: Me too!

Kou: That’s good. I also enjoyed today a lot.

Yui: We shall play together once again.

Vampire Child G: Yes! I’m going to watch the finale, so that time...oh but…

Kou: But?

Vampire Child G: Well…

I wanna see you on the stage during the finale!

Vampire Child H: Ah, me too!!

Kou: ...Kh…

Yui: (Kou kun…)

Vampire Child G: Pleasee! We’ll be nice children!

Vampire Child H: You won’t? Tell me, brother you won’t? Please do!

Kou: ………

一Fine then.

On the finale, I’ll be on the stage. So, look forward to that day.

Vampire Child G: Really!?

Vampire Child H: Yaaay!

Kou: I’ll make that stage into a great excitement so make sure to watch that.

Vampire Child G: Yes!

Vampire Child H: We will!

Kou: Then let’s make a pinky swear. Give me your pinky finger.

一Alright, with this, it’s a promise.

Vampire Child H: Promise promise!

Aaah, when will the finale come!

Orphanage’s Instructor: It’s a good news right? 一Thank you so much.

Then let’s go back to our home at once.

Vampire Child G: Okie dokie!

Vampire Child H: Yeees!

*Walks away*

Kou: Bye bye! ….Phew.

Yui: Listen Kou kun, you’re fine with performing the finale?

Kou: Yup!

Not for that manager but…

If those kids are gonna enjoy it then I’ll give it my best from the bottom of my heart.

Plus...Everyone will be bored if there’s nothing special in the finale.

That’s why you know…

For everyone, I wanted to do what I can do for them.

I haven’t mistaken this time I think.

Yui: ...Y- you’re right…!

Kou: Okay! If it’s decided then we have to talk with that manager about it.

Yui: He gave us a business card when we first met him, so we can tell where he is if we look at that.

Kou: Alright, let’s go there!

一The END of chapter O 3

[sdottkrames]

Welcome Home My Boy (Welcome Home My Son)

✍🏼By: me, @sdottkrames

🎁For: @skeeter-110 for the @friendly-neighborhood-exchange

⭐️Rating: general audiences

💜Relationships: Tony Stark & Peter Parker, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts

Characters: Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Pepper Potts, May Parker (au where she’s not Peter’s aunt)

Summary: Tony Stark’s life is missing something. Peter Parker is an orphan who wants a family. And Pepper Potts comes up with an idea that brings them together

Read on AO3: Here

“Do you have a family?”

“Yes. And I will see them when I leave here. You Stark?”

Tony’s mind flashed first to Pepper. Then Obadiah, Rhodey, Happy. But the memories exploded with the car crash that had killed his parents and faded along with the life in the eyes of Edwin Jarvis. He had no family. He’d kept it that way, distancing himself with booze and sunglasses and a falsely confident persona, all to protect himself from being hurt even more when he inevitably lost them, too.

“No.”

 Ho Yinsen had changed Tony’s life in more ways than one, but perhaps the greatest change had been through that admittance he’d been forced to give. 

Ever since that whispered “no,” there had been something stirring in Tony’s chest. He’d squashed it down vehemently when a black Tetris puzzle crawled across his chest and neck like some evil game. When he’d been freed of that, he’d found a little family in his best friend and his (now) girlfriend who hadn’t let themselves be pushed too far away by his fears and insecurities. 

Then his family had unexpectedly and, at first, unwelcomingly, grown. But soon the five other superheroes had forced their way into his heart and home. He rearranged the tower to house the new avengers, and found himself participating in weekly team training exercises and helping Steve Rogers of all people cook for team dinners. Game nights and movie nights and pool parties became part of the norm and Tony found himself slowly working through the anxiety and fear that carrying a nuke through a wormhole and falling almost to his death left in its wake.

 His life had never been more full of family. But something was still missing.

Then he’d had the dream.

***

Pepper was pregnant. 

She came to him with tears in her eyes, excitement and joy warring with worry and fear on her face, and showed him the positive test. 

“Tony,” she whispered, and he found himself speechless. The joy he felt spread all the way through his chest and stilled his tongue so he answered the only way he knew how: he swept his beautiful wife into his arms, shoulders shaking a little with a joyful sob that broke through.

“You are?” He finally choked out, and saw the fear and worry leave the battlefield of her eyes and she nodded.

“We- we gotta get a room together! A crib and, and paint. What color? Grey? You like grey? That’s neutral right? Then it doesn’t matter what they are- boy or girl or even if they decide to say eff off to gender norms.”

Pepper cut him off with an ecstatic kiss, and Tony felt that stirring for something different, something more, settle and dissipate. 

He’d finally found what was missing.

*** 

Tony woke up in tears, mourning something he wanted with every fiber of his heart, but that he feared he would never be good enough for.

He mentioned it to Pepper, and she was the one that came up with the idea.

“Tony, I want you to listen to me, and get this into your head. We’ve both talked about how we aren’t ready for kids, but I need you to know that it isn’t because I don’t think you’ll be a wonderful dad. When we decide to have kids, you will be the best dad those kids could ask for. I believe that with all my heart.”

He nodded, taking a deep breath and letting himself hear her words and believe them.

“What if you volunteered at an orphanage or something?” she said. “Get around kids, fulfil that desire until we both feel ready for a family of our own?”

“That’s not a half bad idea.”

Pepper had left him to his thoughts then. Once he got that look on his face, she knew that he wouldn’t let it go.

Sure enough, Tony found an orphanage in severe disrepair and desperate need of some support. After a few meetings with his teammates to make sure they were okay with little kids coming to the tower for a bit (Natasha and Bruce had thought it sweet, Steve had smiled and got a look in his eye like he was already imagining hanging out with the little ones, and Clint and Rhodey had all agreed enthusiastically) and filing all the paperwork with the best lawyers he could find, he’d gone to the orphanage to offer his help.

May, the sweet but slightly frazzled orphanage caretaker, had burst into tears right there.

“I- I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless,” she said, chuckling through grateful sobs.

“No thanks needed. I’ll take the kiddos off your hands for a couple months while my guys fix this place up. You just tell them exactly how you want it and what you need. We’ll take care of everything.”

Three weeks, several panic attacks, and more trips to Toys “R” Us and Ikea than he wanted to admit to, Tony had one of the lower floors of the tower completely arranged to house seven small children and was preparing to welcome them into his home.

“Everything’s gonna be fine, Tony,” Pepper whispered, hearing his breath hitch as the car he’d sent to pick up the kids pulled in.

“Yeah,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Just fine. Let’s go meet our new roommates.”

***

Peter Parker could not believe his luck. 

When his parents had died in a horrible car crash a year ago and he’d ended up in the orphanage, he’d been labeled as having bad luck. Every little trip they went on, something happened. He’d accidentally let the class snake out at school (May had told him about Harry Potter, and how he'd let a snake out, too, which made Peter feel better). And there was the time that he’d gotten left behind during an outing at Central park, and the time a bird had pooped on his ice cream while he was eating it outside with his best friend Ned, and the time that-

Well, you get the picture.

Joselyn called it “Parker Luck,” but she wasn’t trying to be mean. She just talked even more than Peter did, and tended to say exactly what she thought. She was one of Peter’s best friends at the orphanage, and besides, she wasn’t wrong. Peter did tend to have some not so great things happen to him.

But not today.

Today was the greatest day of his life, because today was the day that all the kids were moving into the Stark Tower. 

Three weeks ago, Tony Stark himself had come to the orphanage. Peter remembered May crying and he hadn’t known why. He’d drawn her a picture to make her happy, but she explained that they were good tears, and had told him and all the kids that they would be leaving for a few months to live at Stark Towers. 

Peter had nearly peed his pants in excitement, and he was quivering with it again as the car pulled up and he could see both Tony Stark and Pepper Potts through the glass door. 

One by one, each kid got out of the car while a small swarm of workers gathered their things to take up for them.

“Hello, everyone,” Pepper greeted them with a smile, and Peter felt his cheeks heat up. Tony was his hero, but he also knew how smart and wonderful Pepper Potts was. 

“Welcome,” Tony said, grinning.

As soon as the man spoke, Peter couldn’t help the way his eyes went wide and his mouth popped open with a gasp. He was everything the boy had imagined, standing confidently in a sharp black suit with those signature sunglasses on his face.

The two adults began to explain the rules of the tower as they took the children on a small tour. They introduced the security guards, explained who to ask for help if they got lost or hurt, where they were allowed to go and what areas were off limits, and how they would be getting to school. Peter didn’t pay too much attention though. He was too excited, taking in the sight of the tower, his hero, and thinking about how cool it was that this would be his home for a little while. He was certain nobody was luckier.

“Mr. Stark?” one of the other boy’s- Mikey- asked when they passed one of the labs they were being shown on their little tour.

“Yes?”

“Where’s your Iron Man suit?”

Tony chuckled. “It’s in my private lab, away from anybody’s hands that aren’t mine. Don’t want anything breaking them.”

“Not the Mark 50,” Peter asked softly before he could stop himself.

“Huh?” Tony’s piercing gaze was turned to him. 

Squirming under the sudden attention, he tugged on his shirt. “W-well, the nanite suit, sir. Unless a person broke the actual nanite robot, the suit could just be reformed.”

“You know about nanites?”

Chocolate curls flying, the boy nodded enthusiastically. He couldn’t help himself once someone got him talking about the things he loved. “Yeah! I did a report on them a month ago. I read all your papers on them, and I even started trying to make my own so that I could-” Blushing furiously under his hero’s appraisal, Peter cut himself off and ducked his head. “Sorry.”

But Tony Stark didn’t look angry. “I’m gonna give you a piece of advice, kid: never apologize for being the smartest in the room.” He winked. “You really read my work on nanotechnology?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m impressed.”

And Peter was grateful that his legs didn’t give out right then. He could hardly believe the compliment. He was dazed for the rest of the tour, soaking the praise in with a huge grin.

Eventually, they arrived at their floor. It was a large one, and after the Battle of New York, it had stood mostly empty. There was a spacious living area and a small kitchen, and then a hallway with three bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms.

“Now, you’re going to have to share,” Tony explained. “We don’t have seven rooms on this floor, but each room has a bed and desk for you.”

“You three girls will share a room while the boys will split up in twos,” Pepper added. She gestured to one of the rooms. “This one’s yours, girls. It’s a little bigger and we’ve put three beds in it. Boys, you can decide which of the other rooms you want and who you want to share it with.”

Joselyn, along with the other two girls Kaylie and Hazel, dragged their suitcases and chatted excitedly as they entered their room.  If it had been possible, Peter would have roomed with Joselyn...or Ned. But those two not being an option, he looked to the boys.

He was the oldest out of all of them. There was the four year old Greyson and the six year old twins Mikey and David. It was fairly obvious that the twins would stick together, so Peter took Grey’s hand.

“Can I be your roommate, buddy?” The little boy nodded enthusiastically. “It looks like the twins took the middle room, so we get this one!”

The boy genius led his new roommate through the door and for the second time that day felt his jaw drop. 

The room was huge, and the beds looked like they were clouds, piled high with pillows Peter was almost certain were the most comfortable things on the planet. Grey seemed equally as overwhelmed, walking over to inspect the bed.

“Can you help me put my clothes away?” he asked, turning to the older boy.

“Sure.”

And slowly they got settled into this new chapter of their lives.

*** 

Tony was about ready to throw something at the wall, which meant that he needed to get out and move around, distract himself from the problem before he actually did break something. It wouldn’t be the first time, but he didn’t want a repeat of the great Potts meltdown of ‘09. 

Sighing, he stood up and stretched, letting a loud yawn out as he did before wandering out of the lab. 

It had been nearly a week with the little kiddos staying at the tower, and Tony had enjoyed having them so far. He even invited them up for dinner and a movie the other day. Most of them had been totally starstruck and it had made him smile. He figured they might provide a decent distraction, so he wandered down to the “baby floor,” as he called it. 

He was delighted when the first face he saw was Peter Parker’s.

The boy was shy, but also unfailingly kind. Tony had seen him take the hand of the smallest boy when the two twin boys ran into their room, making the little one feel welcome and loved; had watched as the kid listened to his friend Joselyn, who tended to ramble, with a patient and kind smile, never seeming annoyed by how verbose she was; and had smiled as the kid let one of the other girls hold his hand during a part in Snow White that scared her.

He was exactly the sort of distraction that Tony needed.

“Hey, Pete. How’re you doing?” he greeted, smiling a little as the boy’s cheeks turned pink and his lips lifted in a small, excited grin when he was called by name.

“G-good, Mr. Stark. How are you?”

“I’m doing good. A little frustrated with a project I’m working on, so I figured I’d take a break and come see you kiddos. How was school? Learn anything good?”

Peter’s eyes lit up as they had the first day the older genius had met the kid and they bonded over nanotechnology. Tony smiled as the chatter about 2nd grade science (they were learning about cells) and math (how was an 8 year old already doing functions?!) swept his frustration right out the door with its soothing familiarity. He didn’t have to figure anything out or meet any deadline. All the kid wanted was someone to listen.

So Tony did, oohing and mmhmming in all the right places, until the kid asked: “So what project were you working on before? Maybe I can help so you’re not so frustrated? can I?”

He’d known how sweet Peter was, but Tony was still taken aback by the kindness. “Well, if you want to-“

“Sure!” The little eager beaver said quickly. “What’s the project?”

Hesitating only for a second, Tony explained how Clint’s explosive arrows weren’t working properly, detonating too soon because of an unstable chemical inside them.

With a few graphs and a little breaking down of some more technical terms, Peter understood the problem.

“Let me think a little bit, okay?”

“Sure, buddy,” Tony chuckled. “However long you need.”

And he let the kid think while he checked some emails and wandered into the kitchen to grab him and his mini genius a granola bar.

He stopped for a moment before joining Peter at the table, his steps halted by the adorable crease in the boy’s brow and the way his tongue poked through his teeth as he drew some diagram.

When Tony finally pulled himself together to sit down against and offer Peter the snack, the kid announced: “I got it!”

Surprised, Tony raised an eyebrow and motioned for Peter to continue.

“What if you use your nanites? You could engineer them in a way that they wouldn’t jostle or affect the catalyst. Clint could control when they fell away, which would cause the explosion to happen.”

He pushed the little picture he’d drawn to illustrate, compete with a stick figure Clint Barton in purple (Hawkeye’s theme color), and Tony let his jaw go slack.

“Kid, honestly, I’m impressed. That’s genius. How in the world did you think of that?”

Peter flushed under the praise, and explained the process to Tony, the latter encouraging him whenever he seemed self conscious about his rambling. 

“You, my friend, are one of the smartest kids I know. Would you like to help me build these arrows?”

Peter’s eyes widened to the size of a dinner plate. “What?”

Tony chucked. “They’re your idea, kiddo. It’s only right that you should help me make them. I’ll handle all the explosive parts, but I think you should help engineer the nanites.”

“I would love to!” The boy choked out.

“Great. After school tomorrow, come to my lab. Jarvis will know where to take you.”

“Okay!”

Tony stayed a little while longer, enjoying talking science with Peter, before being called to other projects. He was grateful for the distraction though, because he couldn’t wait to see the look on the kid’s face when he saw the lab.

And, boy, Peter did not disappoint.

When Jarvis opened the door, Peter’s jaw dropped and he practically flew to one of the Ironman suits. Talking a mile a minute, he inspected every inch of the lab. 

“Oh my gosh, what’s this?! Wait, no way, is that- it is! Mr. Stark this is amazing! And woah look at that!”

Tony just chuckled at the kid’s enthusiasm, and pulled his attention to the reason for their working together after a few more minutes’ exploration. 

The two spent hours in the lab together. Tony hadn't ever thought he would enjoy sharing his lab with anybody, let alone an 8-year-old child, but Peter was different. He found himself wanting Peter to come help him more often.

This is only temporary. A cynical voice inside him said.

Maybe it doesn’t have to be. Maybe I can give him a real internship and a real job? Said the more hopeful part of his brain.

A seven year old with a job. Yeah, that’s a great idea.

Tony shook his head to clear off the thoughts. He would enjoy the lab time he did get with this kid that had somehow wormed into his iron heart. He’d just have to baby proof the lab first.

***

Peter fought back the tears, trying hard not to let Flash’s taunting get to him. He kept walking, ignoring his classmate’s teasing behind his back as he nearly ran out the front door.

“Hi, Mr. Happy,” he greeted, trying to keep the sniffling out of his voice. The man Mr. Stark had assigned to drive him to and from school didn’t like little kids. (At least, Peter thought he didn’t. He wasn’t mean, but he seemed to grunt and growl more than use really words.)

“Hey,” Happy grunted, as was his usual greeting, and Peter didn’t notice the concern in the man’s eyes when he didn’t answer right away as he blinked back tears. 

The drive to the tower was quiet except for the occasional snuffle from Peter, who was trying to his sadness. He hated when Flash was mean, especially about his parents. He missed his parents and his Aunt and Uncle. It was right of Flash to bring them up, but there wasn’t much Peter could do about it.

When he came into the tower, he was surprised to see Mr. Stark there, waiting for him in the living room. Usually the man had him come straight to the lab, but they hadn’t been scheduled to work together that day.

“Hey, kid,” Tony greeted.

“H-hi. Are we having a Lab day today?” Peter tried to keep the hope out of his voice. Tinkering around the lab with his hero was exactly what he needed to cheer him up. 

“I was thinking we might spend some time in the lab, yeah. If you’re up for it?”

“Yeah, i'd love a lab day, sir!” Peter said, smiling his first genuine smile since Flash had said the word “orphan” at lunch.

“Yeah? Let’s go, young padawan.” 

Peter gave a small smile at the Star Wars reference. Mr. Stark wouldn’t have known that reference if Peter hadn’t rambled about the franchise one of their last Lab days, which then led to the man insisting they watch the movies together so Peter could “make sure he understood what was happening.” He was pleased Tony seemed to have enjoyed the endeavor! The pleasant feeling followed him as they went to the lab and began working on the housing unit for the nanites in Clint’s arrows.

Tony, however, kept a watchful eye on his little friend.

Happy had texted saying that something was off with the kid, and while Tony had no experience with children prior to the last few weeks, he did have experience with being a genius and an orphan. He figured tinkering would be a good distraction, and he’d wager he was correct after seeing the look of relief and excitement on Peter’s face when he was invited to the lab.

It wasn’t until they had the housing unit almost complete that Tony decided to actually broach the subject.

Though working with his hands seemed to have stemmed the tears Happy reported seeing in the car, the boy was definitely off. He sniffled more than once, and didn’t seem as talkative or enthusiastic as he normally did. There wasn’t a single excited ramble about his friends Ned or Jocelyn, or whatever the last thing they learned in science was.

“So, Peter. How was your day. You haven’t said much.”

Tony didn’t miss the tears that misted the boys eyes slightly 

“It was fine,” he said, turning back to his project with a barely concealed sniffle.

Tony felt slightly awkward and unsure. He’d never had a conversation like this with a little kid before. Heck, he was barely getting to the point of speaking openly to his girlfriend and best friend about some things. But if he wanted to someday have kids, he figured he’d need to start getting used to stuff like this. With a deep breath, he took the plunge.

“Buddy, if you don’t wanna talk about it, that’s okay. But, uh, if you do want to talk about whatever is bothering you, you can. I mean, I’m all ears or whatever. I can blast or make fun of or drown in ice cream nearly any problem you have.”

Peter hesitantly turned towards him. “I-it’s really nothing. I’m f-fine.”

“I’m real sure, kid,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow. “Seriously, is everything okay?” The hesitation in the boy’s eyes warred with the desire to tell what had happened. “C’mon. Out with it! The sooner I know who or what I need to blast, make fun of, or drown in ice cream, the better we’ll both feel.”

“W-well It’s this kid n-named Flash.” Peter began twisting his shirt into knots as he finally gave in. “He was just making fun of me for not having parents and he just b-bothered me more today, I guess.”

Tony’s heart squeezed in sympathy. He had plenty experience of his own being an orphan and dealing with bullies.

“Since I can’t blast a kid with my repulsars, although he maybe deserves it for being such a jerk,” he finally answered, “and I don’t feel right making fun of him, either, I’m going to settle with drowning it in ice cream. I know a great place just up the street, whaddya say?”

There was a small smile, which Tony saw as an absolute win, and then a shy nod, and Tony whisked the boy away for ice cream.

“Ya know, kid, none of what this Flash kid says is true,” he said as he licked his mint chip cone. “You’re not unlovable, or unworthy of parents. You didn’t do anything wrong the day they died. You couldn’t have been a better son. Trust me. All those things are utter nonsense.”

Peter stared at him dumbfounded. “H-how did you know?” He whispered.

“I’m an orphan too, ya know. I lost my parents many years ago, but I definitely know a little of what you’re feeling and dealing with.”

“Really?”

“I promise.”

“Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

“Anytime, kid. Anytime,” Tony said. “Now, are you drowning enough in ice cream? Do you need more chocolate sauce? You look like you need more chocolate sauce.”

Peter giggled, and Tony couldn’t help the slow smile that stole across his face as he went to go get more chocolate sauce, determined to keep that little boy smiling as long as possible.

***

“Um, can you find it in an aquarium?”

The science genius duo was enjoying their usual time in the lab and Tony had begun a session of “I’m thinking of an animal.” His animal was a hippo, which he’d felt fairly confident about until this last question.

“I don’t know, kiddo, I’ve never been to an aquarium!”

Dropping his jaw and his screwdriver, Peter spluttered out an incredulous, “what?”

“I’ve never been to an aquarium.” Tony shrugged.

“Oh, man. You don’t know what your missing, Mr. Stark! There’s fish and turtles and sometimes even hippos and alligators. My favorite are the turtles.” Peter's Big brown eyes widened and Tony grinned in anticipation of the child-like excitement that was sure to follow in whatever story the kid was going to tell next. “One time, there was this huge sea turtle and it came and swam next to the glass right where I was sitting for literally five minutes. My mom took tons of pictures. It was so cool!”

Tony chuckled. “That sounds really cool, bud.”

“It was! Did you know that some turtles only lay eggs every four years?”

They continued working and sharing weird animal facts and Tony was again startled by the desire to make this little kid smile. 

“Jarvis, buddy, can you look up the nearest aquarium?” He asked when Peter had left to go to bed.

“That would be the New York Aquarium.”

“Does it have turtles?”

“It does.”

“Hippos?”

“No, sir. But the Philadelphia Aquarium does.”

“Get two tickets to the New York one for this Saturday. And clear my schedule for that day.”

“With pleasure, sir.”

A few days later, Tony was nearly bouncing with excitement as he waited for Jarvis to bring Peter up to the penthouse for them to go to the aquarium.

“Mr. Stark, is everything okay?” The boy asked as he exited the elevator.

“Yeah, kiddo. Everything’s just fine. We’re going on a little field trip, though.”

“We are?” Peter’s eyes lit up. “Where to?”

“That’s a surprise!” Peter’s grin widened to match Tony’s. “My schedule’s all clear. You good to go?”

With a floppy-haired nod, they were off. 

The little boy had no clue where they were going, and Tony indulged 20 questions, but by the time they arrived, Peter was no closer to figuring it out.

“Wait...an aquarium?” He gasped when he got out and took in the building.

“They don’t have hippos or alligators, but they just got a couple turtles. I figured after hearing about how wonderful aquariums are, I should try and go to one, and I thought you could show me around.”

Peter didn’t hesitate one moment, unabashedly grabbing Tony’s hand and pulling him into the aquarium. They presented their tickets and the younger genius continued to drag the older genius around from exhibit to exhibit with huge smiles on both their faces. Like Peter, Tony’s favorite part were the turtles. The way they gravefully swam through the water and their kind faces made him feel peaceful and warm and fuzzy. And Peter’s little hand in his while he spouted off lots of facts about turtles made him feel even more so.

But the kids were leaving within the next couple weeks, and those pesky thoughts were back, marring the joy a little. Tony dutifully beat them back, aided by the peaceful feeling of being with Peter and the kid’s head modded off onto his shoulder on the way back to the tower.

***

Peter had nightmares more than he wanted to admit. 

They woke him up shaking with his heart beating so fast and hard he could hear it in his ears. The worst part about them, though, was how they would linger, seared into his eyelids. Scary images of his parents and aunt and uncle as their plane went down in flames replayed themselves over and over. 

Sniffling back tears, Peter decided to quietly sneak out of the room. He didn’t want to wake his little roommate.

“Hello, Peter,” Jarvis greeted, making him jump even though he knew the AI well. (Tony had even started helping Peter code his own when the boy showed interest.)

“H-Hey, Jarvis.”

“It is quite late for you to be up. Or early, depending how you look at it. Are you well?”

“Just can’t sleep. I’m heading for a snack, that’s all.”

“I think I have something that might help, if you’ll follow me, sir.”

The AI lit up a pathway and Peter shrugged before following it. He thought Jarvis would lead him to the kitchen, but instead he found himself staring at a door that definitely wasn’t for a kitchen. He’d never been to this part of the tower.

“Uh, where am I?”

“You’re outside Mr. Stark’s bedroom.”

His stomach flipped like a monkey after a banana, and Peter stumbled backwards. 

“Jarvis,” he hissed. “I can’t wake Iron Man up! Why’d you take me here. I thought you were bringing me to the kitchen for a snack!”

“I did not say that I was, only that I had something I thought would help.”

“No, I’m not going in there. I’ll find the kitchen myself,” he said, backing away as quickly as he could. 

But it was too late. 

A light flicked on and before Peter could turn around, the door opened to reveal a sweatpants-clad Tony Stark.

“Peter? What’s going on?”

“I’m so sorry Mr. Stark.” Peter’s voice was shaking and tear were burning his eyes. He’d gotten closer to the man the last month and a half they’d been together, but this was beyond embarrassing. He couldn’t ask Iron man to help him with his nightmares. “I couldn’t sleep and thought Jarvis was leading me to a kitchen for a snack.”

“No worries kid. C’mon. I’ll make you something to eat.”

“Y-You really don’t have to do that, Mr. Stark. I’m okay, I swear.”

Tony rolled his eyes, ruffling Peter’s curls and throwing an arm around the kid’s shoulders to lead him down the hallway. “It’s not a problem, buddy. I don’t mind cooking.”

So Peter was lead to the kitchen, and he was surprised how much better he was feeling not being alone. This was the second time Mr. Stark had saved him from being alone like this, and it felt really nice. He would miss it when he went back to living at the orphanage in a few weeks when the renovations were done. Sometimes, he would imagine what it would be like if Mr. Stark was his real dad, or adopted him, but he knew that would never happen. He usually tried to stop those daydreams fast.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark. That looks really good,” Peter said, breaking out of his thoughts to take the toast with butter and jelly that he was offered.

It was quiet as Peter ate, Tony sitting next to him in companionable silence. Once the plate was empty, the bolder genius spoke up. “Again, kiddo, you do not need to explain, but if you want to talk about what’s got you up at nearly 2 in the morning, I’m all ears.”

Peter felt tears well up in his eyes. He had done so well not crying in front of his hero and he didn’t want to start now. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists to keep the tears from falling, but he was grateful to talk to someone.

“Um, I keep having dreams about- about my parents. The, uh, the day they went on the plane that crashed? And they just make me sad.” He shrugged. “S-Sometimes it’s hard to go back to sleep after I have one.”

“I have dreams like that, too,” Tony whispered.

Just like when the man had practically read his mind, saying exactly what Peter had needed to hear when Flash made fun of him the last week, a shock went up Peter’s spine. “Really?”

Tony sighed. “Yeah, I do. I lost my parents, too. Car accident. I also have dreams about being stuck in Afghanistan, in that cave, or in the wormhole. They’regetting better, though.”

“That must be really scary, Mr. Stark,” Peter said, patting the man’s arms.

“Heh. I’m supposed to be the one comforting you, kiddo.”

“Well, we all need comfort sometimes.”

“Thank you, buddy. How are you feeling?”

Peter looked up shyly. “Better. Thanks for the food.”

“No problem. Wanna watch something? That usually helps me fall back asleep.”

“Okay!”

They chose Iron Giant, and Peter felt so comfortable as Tony threw a blanket over him and pulled him under his arm. Slowly, his eyes drifted closed.

Tony watched as the little boy fell asleep, his heart melting and wrapping around his finger even more. After a few minutes to make sure the tyke would stay asleep if moved, he slipped his arms around the little body and carried him up to bed.

As he closed the door and saw Peter’s chocolate curls poking over the blanket, his tears prickled with tears at the realization he would lose this in a couple days.

Shut up he vehemently told that pesky little voice, and went back to bed, but didn’t get much sleep.

*** 

There were tears in everyone’s eyes, but Tony was going to blame it on May, who greeted him with tears of gratitude. All the kids gave her hugs before running off to explore the new building, chatting excitedly as they ran to the new beds and play area.

“Mr. Stark-“

“Tony, please, May.”

She smiled. “Tony. Seriously, though, I cannot thank you enough. You have no idea how much this means to us. How much this means to me.”

See, this is why he was blaming May for the misty eyes. “Not a problem. The pleasure was all mine. It’s a special group of kiddos you got there.”

“They really are. And thanks to your help, the orphanage got some media attention, and now I’ve got people interested in the twins and a couple of the girls! I hope they all find good homes.”

“That’s amazing, May!” Tony said, and he meant it. Every single one of the kids had found a way into his heart, but none more than Peter. And the thought of that little boy going to another home caused another round of tears to come, though he quickly blinked them away.

“Mr. Stark!” As if called by Tony’s thoughts, Peter came bounding up, throwing a hug around the man’s waist. “This is amazing. Not as amazing as the tower, obviously, but this is a close second. Thank you so much!”

Tony hugged the boy back and assured him that he was happy to help, all the while trying to pretend his heart wasn’t breaking.

***

“Tony, this is ridiculous,” Pepper said, marching into his lab after the fourth day in a row of him being there. 

“What is, dear?” He asked, deflecting as usual.

Pepper raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her crisp blue suit. Even under her scrutinous glare, Tony had to admit she was gorgeous.

“You know what, dear. Peter’s gone and you’re back to moping in the lab.”

Acid curled his stomach, and he had to look away. “Well, what do you want me to do. Yeah, I miss the kid, and I’m trying to work through it. Just...just give me few more days.”

“You won’t survive another few days, Tony. You’re not invincible, you know.” She came over and ran a comforting hand through his hair, and his eyes closed of their own accord, trying to hide the tears. “Tony, what if...what if we adopt Peter?”

His eyes shot open. “What?”

“What if we adopt Peter?” She repeated. “You clearly love him, and I’ve watched him with you. He loves you, too. And I...I don’t know him as well as you do, but he’s so sweet and it’s impossible not to love him.”

“You’re serious?”

Pepper smiled. “100%. Tony, you’re ready. We’re ready. Let’s start a family.”

And just like in his dream, Tony couldn’t say or anything except pick his girlfriend up and spin her around.

“Thank you,” he said, tears in his eyes again. “I love you.”

***

Peter loved the new orphanage. He really did. The beds were as comfortable as the tower’s, and there were lots of cool toys and a new playground.

But Mr. Stark wasn’t there.

Peter tried to deny how much he missed him. How much he missed his own dad and how Mr. Stark helped fill that void a little with lab days and movie nights. He’d even helped Peter when Flash was mean and he’d had a nightmare.

And he missed him.

It also didn’t help that Jocelyn and Greyson got adopted, and the twins might be as well. People had been buzzing at the orphanage ever since the renovations. The media had run a few stories on how the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist had taken in the group of orphans and funded the renovations of the building. People had been coming ever since, but none of them really connected with Peter.

He hated to admit it, but he compared all of them to Mr. Stark, and none of the fit. Besides, they all wanted the younger kids.

“Peter!” May called, interrupting his moping. “Come here, sweetie.”

“Coming, May!” 

He jumped off the swing set, running towards the orphanage, but screeched to a halt as he saw a familiar face. Two familiar faces.

“M-Mr. S-Stark? Mrs. Potts?” He stammered out. “W-what’re you doing here?”

“Hey, kiddo,” Tony greeted. He looked nervous- a hand running over his carefully defined goatee, feet shifting back and forth, fingers clasped with Pepper’s.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, buddy, everything’s fine. We, uh, we were wondering if,” he hesitated and Pepper squeezed his hand. “We would like to adopt you, Peter. If that’s something you’d be interested in?”

Shocked, Peter couldn’t say anything, which was a rare thing for him. Or so his parents used to say.

“Really?” He finally choked out.

“Yeah, sweetie,” pepper said, smiling kindly. Peter was surprised. He’d gotten close with Tony, but not as much with her.

“I don’t know what to say.”

Tony grinned at him. “Well, say yes, buddy! We got a room all ready for you and a team of the best lawyers to make it official if you want.”

“Yes!” Peter said, throwing himself into their arms. “Yes, I want to!”

Again, everybody was crying (happy tears) and once all the paperwork was filled out, Tony took Peter’s hand.

“Let’s go home,” he said, his heart at peace finally, the nagging sensation of something missing finally filled by the little boy who was now his little boy.

“Home,” Peter repeated, smiling. His new favorite word.