#why would we pull the same joke TWICE after having revealed for a month that the first time was a joke

[maochira]

Remy and I are a fake dating reonagi fic that came to life

[azaleavi]

“All of the songs are about you”

Requested by anon: Hi, first of all I want to thank you for all your amazing work that you share with us, I absolutely adore everything that you write!!! Secondly, I was wondering if I could request something with Sebastian, where reader is a famous singer and younger than him, and when they reveal their relationship, people start saying that he is only using her and he gets worried that she will leave him for someone her age. Once again, thank you! 😚

Word count: 2k

Author's note: Thank you for your kind words dear nonnie! I hope you like it.

Warning(s): language

Feedback is always appreciated and don’t forget to reblog and like if you enjoyed it and want to see more. Thank you!

Masterlist

Both of you being famous wasn't easy with you being a singer and Sebastian being an actor. Especially when you wanted to keep your relationship a secret and you were quite younger than him. You have been dating for a while now and you couldn't be more in love with him. He was your muse for many of your songs, but the fans didn't know that. They did notice though that you started writing more love songs than before. You got questions about it almost every day, but you never answered them. They had their speculations, but you never confirmed any of it. It might be selfish, but you wanted to keep him all to yourself and both of you agreed to wait a little more before going public. He was promoting his new movie and you didn't want people to think that you announced your relationship only to give more publicity to it. But sometimes the universe doesn't care what you want.

It was a normal day, like any other, when you were at Sebastian's house and you started craving some McDonald's. The weather was nice for the time being past 10 pm so you decided to go out to buy it instead of ordering. It was dark already so you weren't afraid that anybody would see or recognize you. It was a five minute walk from his house and you thought it would be nice have a short walk. You waited for Sebastian to lock the front door then started walking down the street hand in hand. It probably wasn't the best idea, but you really didn't think that any paparazzi would be near you. You went into the fast food place to buy what you needed, then started walking back to his place, laughing at a story he was telling you. You loved these late night walks, the dark giving you a sense of comfort.

"Baby" he stopped walking as still giggled, making you stop as well. You turned to him, eyebrows raised in question, a smile still on your face. "I love you" he blurted out, intently looking at you, waiting for your reaction. He never said it before, despite dating for almost 6 months now. You didn't say it either yet, not wanting to make him uncomfortable or rush him. After his last relationship he wanted to be extra sure when saying the three words and you understood him. Your heart skipped a few beats at his confession, the smile widening on your lips.

"I love you too, Seb." you beamed, stepping closer to him and pulling him into a hug.

"Thank god." he mumbled into your hair, making you pull away.

"What do you mean 'thank god'? How could I not feel the same way about you? Haven't you heard the songs I wrote lately?" you asked jokingly in disbelief, but knowing he didn't mean it like that.

"You know what I mean" he blushed under the light of the streetlamp.

"I do" your arms going around his neck you pulled him down into a deep kiss. When you broke apart you walked back to his house to finally eat.

What you didn't realize was that there was a paparazzi following you, getting the perfect angle of your kiss, taking a series of photos.

The next morning you were woken up by your phone essentially exploding with calls and messages. You groaned as you reached for it, barely being able to touch it as Sebastian refused to let go of your waist.

"Why is your phone waking us up at the ass crack of dawn?" he groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"I don't know" you unlocked it to see at least 25 calls from your manager and another few from friends and family. Around the same amount of texts were sent as well, making you sit up in bed, confused. "Something is wrong." he sat up at your tone to look at your phone. You dialed your manager, putting it on speaker. She picked up right away.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she almost screamed into the device, making Sebastian look at you.

"I was sleeping. It's 7 am." you explained.

"Care to tell me why is you and Sebastian kissing plastered on every news site on the internet right now?" your whole world stopped at her words.

"What did you say?" Sebastian spoke up as you were still frozen in your spot.

"Oh your partner in crime is there too? Great. I don't have to say this twice." she was being sarcastic, but you didn't care. You just wanted an explanation.

"Tell us what is happening, please" you pleaded.

"There are multiple pictures of you going around. They are claiming that they took them last night." she explained, but that wasn't enough.

"What pictures?" you asked.

"Pictures of you holding hands and kissing." you ran your hand through your hair.

"Fuck" Sebastian sighed.

"That's an understatement." you heard shuffling on the other side. "So I recommend you guys figure out what you are going to do and do it real fast because it is getting out of hand."

"Yeah, sure we will do that." he took the phone from you. "Thanks."

"Just doing my work." she ended the call with a sigh. Sebastian looked at you as you stared at your legs, deep in thought.

"Hey" he brushed his hand up your back, shaking you out of your mind.

"Yeah?" you looked at him, startled.

"We need to do something." he explained.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. What should we do? Go public? I mean we don't really have any other choice." you furrowed your brows.

"Do you want that?" he wanted you to be hundred percent okay with whatever you were going to do.

"Yes, I just hoped it wouldn't happen like this." you sighed. "Do you want that?" you asked back.

"Yes. We already talked about going public so I guess we will have to do it now." he shrugged.

"How are we doing this then?" you stood up to get dressed, getting ready for the day.

"Posting a video on TikTok?" he grinned.

"Absolutely not. We are not posting on Tiktok." you shook your head, laughing.

"So where do you want it? Facebook?" he raised his eyebrows, joking.

"No." you laughed. "I was thinking about posting a pic on Instagram." you threw out the idea. Both of you used the app a lot so it would be the best choice.

"Okay, let's find a picture." he also stood up.

"Ah-ah" you held out your hand to stop him. "You talk to your manager while I pick out a picture to post on my account and you can post one on yours if you want to. Mine is going to be a surprise." you grinned, already having one in mind. It was your favorite picture of you, taken by a friend without your knowledge. You were in a parking lot at the beach, you sitting on the hood of his car while he was standing between your legs, kissing you. There was a second picture, where you were leaning your forehead against his, both of you laughing at your friends shouting at you to get a room. Both of your faces were clearly seen on them so you decided to post both of them.

'All of the songs are about you' the caption read. In seconds your notifications were blowing up with comments from fans. You didn't want to read them, because you knew how people on the internet could get and you knew that you being younger than him would bother some of them. Sebastian came out of the bedroom to sit next to you.

"You posted it?" he asked, taking out his phone.

"Yep" you smiled. You leaned your head against his shoulder as he opened the app, waiting for his reaction. He immediately searched up your name and tapped on the photo. His thumb froze on the little heart as he read the caption. He put the phone down and grabbed your chin to pull you to his soft lips in a kiss.

"I love you." he mumbled into your lips.

"I love you too." you giggled. He pulled away to pick up the phone to leave a comment. 'If I wrote songs mine would be about you too' you snorted at it. "You are cute"

-

A few days later you had enough courage to check the comments people were leaving online. Maybe it wasn't the best idea.

'Jesus. Isn't he like 12 years older than her?? Gross'

'He is definitely using her lmao but I can't blame him, get that coin king'

'Y'all think she calls him daddy in the bedroom kjsdnhs'

'She is just using him to write songs'

There were nice comments as well, calling you cute together and wishing you well. The mean comments always stuck with you more though and you didn't want Sebastian to read them. It was enough that you went through them. Both of you were a little insecure about your age gap, but you loved each other so you helped the other through the harder times.

You got to his house and walked in as he asked you to not to knock anymore. You found him sitting on his couch, phone in hand. Hoping that he wasn't doing what you thought he was doing you sat down next to him. He had instagram open.

"Seb" you sighed, taking the phone out of his hands.

"What? I just wanted to see what they were saying." he tried to defend himself.

"You shouldn't read these." you shook your head. "So you wanna watch a movie?" you changed the subject. He agreed with your suggestion.

The movie had been playing for a half an hour when he pulled away from your cuddling.

"What if they are right?" his voice was so quiet so almost didn't hear him. You paused the movie to look at him.

"What do you mean?" you asked, confused by his sudden outburst.

"The comments saying that you could do so much better than me" he kept looking at his feet. You sat up and grabbed his chin to turn his head towards you, your heart breaking at his words. This was exactly why you didn't want him to read them.

"Baby" you sighed. "They are not right. Not even by far. I could not find anyone better than you even if I tried. But I'm not trying because I have you with me and you are the best thing that happened to me in a long time. So get that thought out of your head." you stared into his eyes to get your point across.

"But don't you want someone your age?"

"No I don't." you shook your head. "I am perfectly happy with you and I don't need anyone else." you held his cheeks between your palms. "Plus I like it that you are older." you smirked making him chuckle lightly. Climbing onto his lap you pulled him closer. "I love it that you are more experienced." you pressed a soft kiss on his cheek. "I love it that you are taller." a kiss under his ear. "I love it that you are always so so sweet to everyone you meet." a kiss on his nose. Your right hand went into his hair as your lips kissed down to his neck. "And I love the way you make me feel when it's just the two of us." you whispered into his ear, your breath hitting his skin, making him let out a moan. He grabbed your waist in a strong grip. "I love how big your hands are." you nipped at his skin on his neck earning another noise of pleasure and his fingers digging into your skin. "But most importantly" you pulled away so you could look into his eyes to show your sincerity. "I love you. All of you. With everything I have." his eyes softened as he pulled you into a passionate kiss.

"I love you too."

Permanent taglist: @byatomoe

Sebastian Stan taglist: @wobblymug @sleutherclaw @toms-spiders @sarcastically-defensive17 @allforkook @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123 @mrsbarnesinmyimagination @bbl32 @wakandabiitch2

get added to my taglist

[leetotters]

Hi! Can I ask for a long sugardaddy mob Tom fic? You’re first like blurb kinda did it for me ☺️☺️

mobsugardaddy!tom holland x reader

warning: daddy kink(he's a sugardaddy here lmao), curse words, oral (male recieving)

summary: basically request just short😔

"Don't you fucking come near her again" Tom spat on the man's bloody face colliding his fist to his swollen eye one last time, he gripped the man's jaw making him let out a groan at the mob boss firm hold. "Don't go touching things that don't belong to you" Tom gritted through clenched teeth as the image of the man in front of him attempting to grope your ass played in his mind once more. Tom roughly drew his hand back, pushing the man's face to the mucky floor, he instructed his right hand man Harrison to finish up for him, knowing you would be fretting why he was taking so long.

Tom exited the back door of the pub, pulling out a handkerchief from his suite wiping the blood from his fists and knuckle, mumbling profanity words when he noticed his knuckles were bruised red. Tom made his way to his car, where he was met with the sight of you laid back in the car seat scrolling through your phone, your dress hiked up displaying your red thong that was surely doing a poor job covering your cunt.

Tom opened his door, sliding in his seat as he pulled his seatbelt over his chest, pressing the start button. "Hey babydoll, sorry for taking so long daddy had.. some business to deal with" Tom knew better than to tell you what he was doing, he knew you didn't mind his choice of work but he was smart enough not to get you involved.

You nodded your head acknowledging Tom, you kept your eyes on your phone screen skimming through dresses and jewelry you wanted Tom to purchase for you. "Ohh look at this Daddy" you gasped at the ivory satin dress with corseted details that exposed a fair amount of cleavage to Tom, he only smiled at you resting his hand on your thigh pecking your plump lips, "Looks lovely doll, you should add it to your cart" You beamed saying a soft thank you as he clicked the plus icon.

"So where are we going now" You inquired setting your phone on your lap, pulling Tom's hand from your thigh interlocking your fingers together, twisting the silver rings that adorned his fingers. "I was thinking that Italian restaurant you wanted to try" Tom answered pulling your hand to the steering wheel as he circled around the road.

"Yes let's go there, the menu is a bit pricey though" You stated earning a hearty laugh from Tom, "M'sure I can manage the bill darling" you rolled your eyes at his cheeky response but broke out grinning knowing he wouldn't give a damn about the cost.

After your extravagant dinner you went home your stomach full with the delicious full course dinner and your favorite dessert. "Tommy I think you're trying to get me fat" you whined poking your belly, pouting at Tom, he looked at you shaking his head placing his hand on your stomach giving it a gentle pat. "Course not doll", he pecked your lips focusing his eyes on the road as the light turned green.

When you arrived at Tom's mansion you got out of the car, handing your coat to the maid as Tom did the same telling her to expect Harrison to stop in later to collect some important documents, you made your way to Tom's room which was practically yours since he insisted that you had your own personal closet, the reason being you spent most of your nights here instead at the luxurious apartment he bought you.

"Doll I have to finish up some work so don't wait for me" Tom spoke walking up to his bed undressing himself leaving him in his button up shirt and his boxers. "No Tom it's a Friday night" you whined out like a child, wrapping your arms around his torso resting your head on his clothed back, your fingers fiddling with his pendant.

Tom turned around latching his lips to your pouty ones, "As much as I want to spend my night with you doll, I have some stuff to get finish up" You huffed pulling your lips from his as he tried to deepen the kiss as if he was going to finish what he started. "Well go ahead, m'not stopping you" You went to the bathroom taking your dress off leaving you with your thong and bra on, you thought Tom already left to go to his office so you began wiping your makeup off.

You glanced at yourself in the mirror making sure you got all your makeup off, exiting the bathroom ready to dress yourself for a lonely night with Netflix. Before you could bend to pick up Tom's trousers from the ground you were hoisted up in the air, your legs instantly wrapping around the middle of person as you let out a loud scream. "Sh doll" Tom quieted you, his hand holding the back of your thigh while his other stretched the fabric of your thong letting it go to slap against your skin making you yelp at slight sting.

"What the fuck Tom" you jeered pretty sure he should be in his office doing his work or killing a man for all you knew. "What doll did you not want to spend the night with daddy" he smirked seeing you attempting to clench your thighs together, he knew how much you loved the daddy title.

"Put me down Tom" You uttered trying to come down from Tom's sturdy hold. "What did I tell you about calling me doll" Tom quipped through gritted teeth not liking your tone and name you just used, giving you the chance to correct yourself, his free hand unclasping the hooks of your bra revealing your perky breasts.

You gulped answering him like the good girl you are for him, knowing tomorrow he was suppose to take you out for your daily shopping spree because of your good behavior. "Sorry Daddy" you mumbled eyes trained on Tom's shirt not daring to meet his gaze.

"Much better" Tom rest you down on the floor patting your ass as a little approval, you smiled up at him happy that he wasn't using his mean tone and you probably still had the chance to buy latest Chanel handbag you saw earlier. "Since you behaved bratty today why don't you show daddy how sorry you are" Tom spoke his hands tweaking your hardened nipple.

"Yes daddy, I really am sorry" you sunk to your knees, internally cheering that your grumpy self got him to give you his cock, you pulled his boxers down his legs, your finger tracing over the cross tattoo on his ankle. Tom's cock stood high and proud slapping his stomach breaking free from it's prison, you grasped his length your hand pumping his brick hard cock, vaguely dipping your tongue on his tip tasting his moreish precum.

"C'mon doll better start sucking or else I'll not buy that cute little handbag you so badly wanted" Tom lifted your hair pushing his cock in your mouth making you gag, but wasted no time suckling his length, your hands playing with his balls as Tom kept his hand in your hair pushing you deeper so you were now deepthroating him. "Just like that babydoll" he groaned thrusting forward inches away from his end.

You looked up at Tom through your lashes, your eyes glossy blurring your vision of his beautiful face as he came in your mouth, his hold of your head tightening eager to come all over the tip of your tongue, that was more than gladly to collect his come. "Yes doll swallow Daddy's come" He ordered, you didn't need to be told twice immediately swallowing the warm liquid.

"Open up babydoll" You opened your mouth showing him you swallowed just like he asked you to. "Good girl" he praised softly patting your cheek prompting you to close your mouth, Tom pulled his boxers up his legs tucking his now wormy looking cock in.

You were about to speak but was cut off by the ringing of Tom's phone which made you roll your eyes but you stayed quiet knowing better than to upset him. Tom answered his phone giving you his winsome smile before entering the bathroom to continue his call.

You changed slipping in to your satin ruffled two piece pajama set waiting for Tom to come cuddle, you clicked on Netflix playing Gilmore Girls once again even though you finished the series. You laughed at one of Lorelai jokes twisting the rose gold tiffany and co bracelet Tom bought for you a while back at the first three months in your 'arrangement'.

Tom exited the bathroom his smile long gone and replaced with a miffed expression throwing his phone carelessly on his dresser running his hand through his curls. "What happened To- Daddy" you asked softly not sure if he would want to reply to you or not. "Nothing doll just someone fucked up again" He groaned slamming his fists against the wall letting out an annoyed huffed.

You jerked up at the sound, standing from your spot on the bed making your way to him, gently pulling him in a hug kissing his forehead, his whole mood changing embracing you in his muscular arms pecking your nose snuggling closer. "What happened" you asked a few minutes after.

"Just this new guy fucked up, lost me thousands of dollars too, big dumbass" Tom scowled pulling away grabbing his coat from the leather chair, clasping his Rolex on his wrists, combing his locks. "I have to go see about this babydoll" Tom kissed your lips, "But tomorrow I'm yours for the entire day, me and my credit card" He laughed seeing the way your eyes widened at his last words.

"Yes okay daddy don't be long" You pecked him waving him out the bed room door, jumping on the king sized bed pulling out your phone scrolling through yet another site.

[kireimarkeu]

wild heart; l.dh

+repost, i did not make any changes to this fic.

summary: where your best friend starts to fall for you 

2.5k words

[11:36 PM] movie night

"No, Hyuck! Geez!" you groaned, your hand pressing onto his shoulder brutally as you reached up to snatch the remote control from Donghyuck's grip. 

He winced when you pinched his shoulder, settling down on the couch then stuck his tongue out at you in a teasing manner. You crossed your arms with a pout, looking away from your best friend. 

"Are you being pouty, right now?" he asks, taking a look at you before a burst of loud laughter left his lips. "it's my turn to choose the movie though," he says, pressing onto the buttons on the remote to turn on the same movie the both of you have watched millions of times.

"I don't want to watch To All The Boys I've Loved Before for the 50th time," you grumbled him, scooting further away from the boy sulkily.

He stops pressing the buttons on the remote, "well, what do you want to watch then?" he asks you staring right at you, while you didn't spare him a single glance. 

You raised your eyebrows at him in confirmation, he only nodded positively. "A new movie just came out and I wanna watch it with you."

He chuckled, "with me?"

You nodded, "it's an action movie."

He pretended to puke, then looks at you with a disgusted look, "I only watch rom-com, dummy. How could you not know that? You're my best friend."

You rolled your eyes at his statement, "the only rom-com you watch is To All The Boys I've Loved Before."

He scowled at you and threw the remote at your direction, hitting you softly on the thigh. "Fine."

You could only grin in satisfaction as you turned on the action movie you have been dying to watch. Once the movie started playing, you shifted closer to Donghyuck and laid your head comfortably on his lap.

[6: 43PM] he helps you find clothes

"Wait- I don't think I look good in this," you say from inside the room. 

You were told a few days ago that your brother was getting married, so you needed a new dress to wear to the wedding. You didn't hesitate to call your best friend for help, knowing he was the best at being completely honest.

You stared at your reflection in the mirror, a frowned plastered on your face. Donghyuck had picked a few dark blue dresses to match with the theme. 

You finally tried on the last dress, the one Hyuck had been waiting for you to put on. It was something you have never worn before. It was just so- revealing. 

There was a slit all the way up to the thigh, a V-neck in the middle that ended just right above your belly button. And, god- why was it so tight? It hugged your curves just right. You felt so naked.

Donghyuck rolls his eyes and replies, "I'll be the judge of that."

"But I look really bad in it," you say, turning to see your side view in the mirror, "I think dark blue doesn't suit me."

Donghyuck rested his back against the wall as he stretched his long legs. "You're already ugly, it doesn't matter."

"Lee Donghyuck!"

"Did I lie?" he asks, "Did I fucking lie??"

You let out an annoyed groan and unlocked the door, peeking your head out to look at the boy who was staring at you with lazy eyes. 

"I look so bad," you whined, "can I just change and find another dress?"

Donghyuck sighed, "We met at 1 pm, it's almost 7 now, y/n."

You pouted, opening the door wider as you stepped out of the room to let Donghyuck see the dress. 

Donghyuck's eyes widen as his heartbeat started to pick up its rate. The dress you wore is stunning, why didn't you like it?

"You look..." he lets out a low whistle. "you look great, why do you not like the dress?"

You shrugged, "I don't know, maybe because it's not me?"

He rolls his eyes, "well you're shopping for a dress, of course, it won't feel like you."

You turned back around to face the mirror in the room again. With Hyuck's reassurance, you felt slightly more confident. It did suit you. Maybe the dress wasn't so bad. 

You turned back around to face the boy, "do you think I should really get this?" you ask Donghyuck. 

He nodded, "just make sure you wear lots of makeup. Or else the dress would go to waste," he joked. 

You turned to send him a sarcastic smile, "great! Now let's shop for shoes!" you tell him, earning a groan from the boy.

[11:18 AM] when you call each other pet names

You didn't know how it all started. You weren't sure if you were the one who started it- probably Hyuck since he was a lot more playful. But the both of you have playfully called each other pet names in front of everyone. 

"Do you want some, baby?" you ask Hyuck, bringing the spoon filled with rice to his lips. 

You could feel everyone on the table staring at the both of you. 

Donghyuck nodded, opening his mouth to let you feed him, "Thanks, babe." 

The table fell silent. 

"Are you guys...?" Jeno trailed off with raised eyebrows.

The both of you raised your eyebrows, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"Dating," Jaemin completes the sentence for his friend.

"Are you guys dating?" Jeno repeats, his eyes wide in confusion. 

You scrunched your face in disgust, "me and Hyuck? Hell no!" 

The table fell silent as they all stare at your best friend.

Perhaps Hyuck's heart broke when the words left your lips without hesitation. Perhaps he did have thoughts of the both of you dating.

Jeno had a surprised expression plastered on his face, "O-oh, well you both were calling each other pet names, so I thought the both of you were already dating."

Already? What did Jeno mean by that?

You shrugged, "I don't know how it started, but we both started using it and became comfortable with the nickname."

"Yeah," remarked Hyuck, "we're just really comfortable with the name."

[9:09 PM] sleepover!!!!

You: r u coming??

You: hyukkiii

You: babyyy

You: why are you taking so long D:

You: can you RUN

You: i'm going to eat all the nuggets >:(

Right when you sent the last text, you heard a loud knock on your door. You ran to the door and unlocked it as fast as you can. You were met with Donghyuck in the matching blue pyjamas that you had bought for him when you went to Jaa. (You had forcefully made him wear the matching blue pJ's whenever the both of you had a sleepover.)

"You're so slow," you complained, pulling your friend in by his arm. "Did you bring the snacks I told you to?" 

He lifted his hand to show you the bag filled with the snacks that you were craving for. "Just admit you invited me because you want to bring food."

You turned to Hyuck, feigning a confused expression, "I would never," you expressed dramatically. 

Hyuck rolls his eyes at your words. "I'm choosing the movie," he tells you, plopping on the couch, reaching for the remote quickly before you could snatch it from him. 

You empty the bag filled with snacks that Donghyuck left on the table. "Fine. Make sure it's not another rom-com."

Donghyuck whines, "what's wrong with Peter and Lara Jean? They're so cute together!"

[11:21 PM] dancing together in the living room

Both of you have ditched the movie he chose and decided to play music instead. Hyuck was in charge of music since he had better taste. 

Suddenly, your favourite song, Feel Special by Twice started playing. Your eyes widened in glee as you stared at Hyuck. You immediately stood up and started dancing to the choreography terribly.

Donghyuck could only laugh as you dance offbeat. You stared up at him with shining eyes, grabbing his hand in yours before pulling him to stand next to you. 

Without thinking, you started dancing next to your best friend. Donghyuck lifted his hand that you were holding above you to twirl you around. 

He couldn't afford to ruin the moment. He loved seeing you this way- so carefree and happy. It would be a lie if he didn't feel butterflies in his stomach seeing your eyes shining so brightly. 

[1:56 AM] he sings you to sleep

After hours of singing and dancing, you finally grew tired. You suggested that both of you should head to bed if Hyuck wanted to get breakfast tomorrow. 

"I'll sleep on the couch," Hyuck says, grabbing some of the pillows on your bed. He pressed his hand on each of the pillows, he didn't like pillows that are way too soft.

You frowned at your friend's words. "I changed my bedsheets for you," 

He turned around to look at you with raised his eyebrows, "what?"

"I made space for you in my bed," you explained, "cuddle me~"

You weren't sure why you wanted him to sleep with you. You just wanted to be in his arms. 

Honestly, Donghyuck was nervous. The last time the both of you cuddled was months ago. Usually, he didn't feel anything while both of you were laying together on your bed, but this time, it felt different. 

He felt his heartbeat starting to pick up its pace, his face turning crimson red from your whines and your pouty lips.

"You want me to cuddle you?" he asks again, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He didn't realise he was clenching onto the pillow that he was holding this whole time. 

You nodded cutely. "Just like the old-time."

Right. Just like the old time. 

"Okay."

Within a few minutes, you had Hyuck's arms protectively wrapped around you, while your head rest neatly on his chest. You snuggle closer to your best friend. 

"Donghyuck-ah," you yawn, your hands fisting his grey sweatshirt. Earlier, Donghyuck had claimed your dorm was too cold so he put on his sweatshirt that he had left at your place last time.  

"Hm?"

"Will you sing me to sleep?" you ask quietly.

You felt Donghyuck's hands thread through your soft hair, "do you want me to?"

You nod, "I love it when you sing."

And without hesitation, Hyuck started singing softly in your ear while you slowly went into a deep slumber. 

Donghyuck tried his best not to move around too much when he knew you were deep asleep. He tilted his chin down to stare at your features. He slowly let his finger trace your nose down to your lips.

"Y/N," he breathes, "why am I feeling this way?"

[2:03 PM] playing with your hair

You were currently seated on the floor between Donghyuck's legs. He had his hands tangled in your hair, occasionally twirling it around his fingers or braiding it halfway. 

"Ow," you winced when you felt a particular tug from your hair. "That hurts, you bitch," you cussed at your best friend. 

"It wouldn't if you actually wash your hair," he argued back, his hand threading through your hair, untangling your long brown locks. 

Donghyuck loved to make sarcastic remarks about everything. But one thing he would never admit was that he actually loved your hair. He loved the smell of your hair; it wasn't strawberry or coconut. It was nothing of the sort, the smell of your hair made him feel like he was at the right place. With the right person. 

He loved the natural soft curls you had on your hair. It was unique. The soft curls you had, made you become you. 

He would often hear you complain about how you hated your curly hair and how you wanted to straighten it. Or how you wanted to have your hair dyed brown because you hated your black hair. 

"Should I cut my hair, Hyuckie?" you asked from below, tilting your head upwards to look at the boy.

"Hm?" he asked with raised eyebrows, looking down at you, "I think short hair would look good on you," he says truthfully.

"Well, I'm not planning on cutting it real short, maybe until here?" you say, pointing on your shoulder. 

Donghyuck let's go of your hair, "you'll look good, baby. You don't have to worry."

[12:01 AM] he kisses you

You didn't know how the both of you ended up in this position-- you in-between his legs, one of his hand resting on your cheeks while the other was planted on your waist.

The both of you were so close, one move and his lips would be planted on yours. 

"y/n," he breathes, his hand trembling slightly, "can I kiss you?"

Your heartbeat started to pick up, how long has Donghyuck been waiting to ask you this? 

Your eyes linger on his pretty pink, pouty lips. You slowly nod, pulling him closer to you by the strings of his hoodie. 

His lips crashed onto yours in a matter of seconds. His lips were so soft, you just wanted to kiss him forever. Your hand thread through Donghyuck's hair while you breathe through your nose. A minute passed, and both of you finally pulled away. 

You breathed heavily as a giggle left your lips when you saw his swollen red lips and messy hair. 

You bit your lips nervously, "wanna make out?"

He pretended to think then he looked at you with stars in his eyes, "I don't make out with my friends."

You kept quiet, dumbfounded by his reply. Was this all a joke to him? You pulled away from Donghyuck but he prevented you from doing so by tightening his grip on your waist. 

You looked up at him, tears already brimming your eyes. You were embarrassed and disappointed. 

"y/n, will you be my girlfriend?"

[2:09 PM] you both get ice cream

"Two chocolate ice cream cones please," Donghyuck ordered, his hand reaching out to pay for both of your desserts. 

"Aww," you playfully punch your boyfriend while he winces in pain, "you're paying for my food?" you ask, wrapping your arms around his bicep while batting your eyelashes in his face.

He sends you a disgusted look, "do you even have a single cent on you?" he replies sarcastically.

You stick your tongue out and push him away from you, "fuck you, Lee."

Hyuck grabs both the ice cream cones and hands one to you while the both of you leaves the ice cream parlour. 

You happily licked your ice cream while the satan next to you bites his ice cream. You didn't say anything though, knowing it was his habit since he was young. 

"Babe," Donghyuck calls from beside you. 

"Hm?" you turned around only to feel the coldness of the chocolate ice cream resting on your nose. "Lee Donghyuck!" you yelp, punching his chest and arm.

Your boyfriend only laughed loudly as he tried to dodge your soft and weak punches. 

"Wait, wait," he says, one hand holding onto your arm to stop you from punching him. He slowly leans down to press his lips on your nose, kissing the cream off your nose. 

Pulling away, he was met with your blushing face. He couldn't help but plant another soft kiss on your lips. 

[thefanficmonster]

Much Cooler

Corpse Husband & Emma Langevin 

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Platonic Fluff, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: There’s always a certain level of uncertainty when meeting someone you’ve only known online. There’s that sense of insecurity that your relationship with them will never be the same or - even worse - that their view of you might change for the worse. But there’s nothing more thrilling than seeing the person you’ve been talking to constantly for the past however long standing across from you. 

Requested by Anon. Hi dear! Thank you so much for your request and I’m so terribly sorry for how late it’s coming out but I hope the fic makes it worth the wait! Lots of love, Vy ❤

“CORPSE! Wake up you famous dumbass!“ is the first thing the poor man heard over the phone at 9 AM on this fine Saturday morning.

It’s more than enough to make him contemplate why he even decided to pick it up in the first place considering he wouldn’t have been very able to participate in the conversation due to his sleepiness. He also, of course, made the mistake of not checking the caller ID which apparently wasn’t necessary considering how recognizable that voice and accent are.

“It’s 9 AM, Emma.“ He states as a tired parent would to a child, “I’m concerned as to why you’re up so early. More so as to why you’re calling me of all people.“

He can practically hear her roll her eyes but he still smirks to himself, knowing she can’t contradict him or argue since he’s completely right with his claims. “Whatever. Remind me to never call you to congratulate you on a milestone again.“

Now that pokes at his attention with a stick. Lately, said attention has proven to be a hibernating bear, leaving Corpse with a lack of interest or motivation for anything but damn if that sentence wasn’t enough to roll him out of bed and hop on PC. “What? What milestone? Subscribers?“

“Nope! You got two million likes on ‘E-girls are ruining my life’! I can’t believe I have to tell you this! Didn’t you notice the numbers climbing?!“ Emma, as annoyed and sarcastic as she’s trying to sound, she’s obviously overjoyed on his behalf and is super proud of him and of the project she luckily agreed to take a small part in.

As his PC boots up, Corpse can’t help but roll his eyes at Emma’s comment, “Well unlike you I have better things to do than refresh a page over and over aga-” His sentence is quickly cut off when he sees the number of likes under the song for himself.

Knowing that he’d find it there didn’t change the feeling of seeing it for the first time at all. It’s so surreal and so hard for his mind to comprehend. Seeing as how little he thinks of himself, his content and his art, this is like his success coming to slap him across the face as if to punctuate to him how wrong that mindset is.

“You know, it wouldn’t hurt if you offered to take me out for at least a coffee to celebrate, bro.“ Emma comments sarcastically, joking only halfway from what he can sense.

He smirks, “Trying to even the playing field, I see.” He replies, referring to the fact that he’s still a faceless mystery to her while her face is literally the cover art for one of his songs.

She laughs but is quick to dismiss his claim, “Nah, I might be a curious and nosey little shit on other occasions, but other people’s privacy is not something I dig my nose into. However, if I were to even the playing field between us it wouldn’t be appearance-wise. More personality-wise. For my sake and yours I choose to believe you are way cooler in person than you are through messages or on a call.”

This withdraws a genuine fit of laughter from Corpse who throws his head back, a few strands of hair moving aside to reveal his shiny eyes, “Well then, instead of giving me the benefit of the doubt, how about we settle it once and for all? Tomorrow? I’ll text you the location.”

Emma’s eyebrows shoot upwards as soon as she comprehends his words and the tone that leaves no room for her to assume he’s joking, “Wait what? How come you’re agreeing to this? And so easily? Nah, this a trap if I’ve ever seen it.”

Corpse laughs yet again, “No trap, Em. I just can’t have you doubting my coolness.”

                                                             *  *  *

The main reason as to why Corpse requested for this meeting to be today is because he feared that if he had more than twenty four hours to dwell on it he’d chicken out. Little did he know it was the same for Emma. Their friendship has only ever existed with the bridge of social media connecting them and they both can’t help but fear the other might not like who they are IRL. They fear they unintentionally become a different person or change things about themselves subconsciously when communicating with people online. Bottom line, they’re scared of letting the other person down with who they really are, unaware that their personalities are most likely the exact same because, as the people who know them can confirm, neither Corpse nor Emma are the type to put on a show in order to be liked. They would rather have no friends because of who they are than have friends and fans of their persona instead of the real them.

And so, while slightly afraid and anxious about this meeting, both of them see it as a relief test to see if the friendship is in fact as real as it’s seemed these past months.

Corpse was the one to choose the location of their meet-up, a location Emma didn’t even think twice about agreeing on, and ever since, they’ve both been counting the hours until their scheduled meeting time.  It’s not about impressing each other, at least that’s what they’re both telling themselves, but rather proving to the other that they’re worthy of their friendship. They might throw snarky and sarcastic comments at one another that others would give a side-eye glance to and question if their friendship is real, but they know the dynamic best and they sure as hell don’t wanna lose it or each other.

Best friends are the ones who roast each other after all - you can’t tell me I’m wrong.

The nervous Corpse fidgets with the insides of his hoodie pockets as he waits outside the café, having arrived ten minutes early because he couldn’t stand being alone with his thoughts in his apartment, judging every fragment of himself twice as harshly as usual. Emma, on the other hand, could barely bring herself to leave her home. She kept retouching her appearance, despite knowing Corpse wouldn’t judge her even if she showed up in pjs. To be fair she contemplated doing just that several times because her hair pissed her off enough to get her discouraged on her outfit altogether but she did eventually talk herself into pulling it together. She already knew she’d be at least five minutes late, but once again, she knew Corpse wouldn’t care.

He’d wait, cause that’s the kind of friend he was. Cause that’s the kind of friend she was for him too.

And boy did it take her less than a second to recognize him. She wasn’t even out of the car when she saw him and knew it was exactly who she was looking for. He too, as if with a sixth sense that registered her presence, shoots his head up from his phone to look up at her, their gazes meeting. There’s a brief moment of close-to-shocked silence, their eyes a bit widened as their brains comprehend that they’re within arm’s reach of one another.

That’s when Emma’s the first to break the bubble of awe as a wide grin spreads across her face and she runs to Corpse, wrapping him in a hug before he’s even realized the distance between the two’s been closed.

“Hey.“ She mumbles, her face hidden in his hoodie due to the height difference.

“H-hey.“ He replies, hesitantly wrapping his arms around her too.

“I was right.“ She says once she pulls away, “You are much cooler face-to-face.“ She pauses for a second, narrowing her eyes, “You’d be even cooler if you bought me coffee though.“

Earning a laugh from him, she’s guided into the café by the arm Corpse wraps around her shoulders, telling her he’s get her a milkshake cause he doesn’t want to see her high on caffeine. Needless to say, they both are, indeed, much cooler to one another IRL.

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[imkylotrash]

Tiny Riot

Pairing: Sky x reader

Requests: I was wondering if you could do a soulmate imagine for Sky? Anonymous And Could you please make an angst/fluff Sky x Reader imagine? Anonymous And A cute sky imagine where him and the reader cuddle. Anonymous

You share a unique tattoo with whoever is your soulmate. Of course, this means people drawing their own “tattoo” on to match the person of their dreams. You try to excuse them by thinking of the desperation some people must feel to find their one true love. You have the pleasure of knowing exactly who your soulmate is because you saw his tattoo on the first day of school when he stretched after a workout and his shirt slid up to reveal the anchor on his lower hip. It’s just that you think he’s sort of a jerk so you refuse to act on it. You won’t fall prey to this idea that the universe decides who you can and cannot love. So, you date. You date everyone you can find who’s willing to test your theory that you can create love without caring about a silly tattoo but no feelings develop.

“This is not working,” you tell yet another guy that’s been your test subject for the past two weeks. You don’t want to admit that perhaps the tattoo could be a real thing because that means you end up with Sky. The obnoxious specialist who cares way too much about his hair and not enough about how to treat people. You see him date Stella who most definitely is not his soulmate but apparently, neither of them cares. 

“I thought things were going pretty good,” he smirks trying to pull you in and as a result bringing you back to the present. You push him away trying not to care about the hurt in his eyes. 

“I said we’re done.” You get up and leave feeling the frustration hitting you once again. Why is it so hard to find someone that isn’t meant to be your soulmate? It’s a rhetorical question by the way. All around you people are showing their tattoos to random people in the hopes of finding the one they’re supposed to love for the rest of their lives while your anchor is hidden under three layers of foundation. Four months pass before you slip up. You’re during a speed round of fighting in the ring. Two people in the ring, one punch sends you to the back of the line to wait your turn. If you block, the fight continues. You’re a sweaty mess after an hour and you don’t think twice about wiping your forehead with your wrist. The foundation comes right off leaving your tattoo exposed. It’s not fair that you’ve gotten yours in the most obvious place. 

“Would you look at that? Ready to lose?” Someone somewhere in the universe is playing a cruel joke on you. Sky is standing opposite you puffing up his chest after Stella cheered him on. There’s no way in hell you’re losing to him - all worry concerning your tattoo forgotten. The bell goes off and you successfully block every punch he throws at you. 

“Give me a real challenge,” you say deliberately provoking him to rush his punch allowing you easy access to the ribs. 

“Hey, what is that?” He doesn’t care about losing anymore but you’re standing completely still from pure shock. How could you be so careless? Months of work thrown into the bin because you just had to win. 

“Nothing,” you say hiding your hand behind your back. 

“Is that an anchor?” he insists stepping towards you. 

“No. It’s a clover. Totally not the same thing.” You rush inside hoping you’ll be able to lose him in the sea of students flooding out from the classrooms. You’ll be damned if you fall into the trap of believing the idiotic notion that sharing a tattoo means you must love each other. Eventually, he does find you though. 

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he says sitting down next to you. You’re not even going to try and run. You’ve been running all day trying to avoid him and still, he seemed to be everywhere you went. 

“And now you found me.” You rub your tattoo - a habit you’ve picked up lately as a sign of your nervousness. 

“I guess we share a tattoo.” You feel the cool air send a shiver down your spine. 

“I guess we do. But I’m not going to date you for that reason.” 

“You don’t even know me.” And I don’t want to. Though you can’t make yourself say that. It’s like your mind is purposely trying to keep you from hurting him. 

“How about this? Give me 1 hour and if I haven’t convinced you that I’m actually a decent human being then I’ll never bother you again.” You’re saying yes before you even have a chance to think about it. You don’t consider Stella who’s probably pretty upset about this turn of events or the fact that you’ve sworn not to give him the time of day. Apparently, you’re not thinking with your brain anymore. Three hours pass before you notice the time. 

“I should go inside.” You don’t move though. You want to deny the truth but he actually seems like a nice guy. It’s crazy how different your perspective can be depending on the situation. Watching him with his friends, he seems like a cocky idiot but with you he’s so different. He’s down to earth, calm and the best part is he’s not trying to impress you with crazy stories of his heroic acts or anything. He’s just Sky who likes to talk about music and once in a while mention a few books that really resonated with him. 

“You know what I’ve always wanted to do?” he asks completely disregarding what you just said. You shake your head no waiting for him to explain.

“I’ve always wanted to sleep under the open sky.” 

“Are you crazy? We’ll freeze to death.” It’s probably a bit of an exaggeration but you’ll definitely freeze. He opens his jacket and looks at you. 

“It’s pretty warm if you stay close.” You’re screaming to run far away and ignore just how good he looks right now, but your body isn’t listening. Instead, you cuddle up with him wrapping the jacket tightly around you. That night you stay awake talking about everything and nothing wrapped up in each other’s arms. By sunrise, you know you won’t be able to go back to avoiding him. Your riot has failed. 

“Why did you ignore me at first?” Sky asks and you can’t help but laugh. 

“I wanted to prove that we weren’t bound by who the universe thought we belonged to. I’m my own person.” 

“You can be your own person and still be meant for someone. One doesn’t exclude the other,” Sky reasons and regrettably, you have to agree. 

“How do you feel about me now?” he asks. You don’t bother responding instead just leaning in and doing what you’ve been wanting to do for the past few hours. He’s taken by surprise but once he catches up, he’s quick to deepen the kiss. 

“I guess pretty good,” he chuckles once you break apart. You can’t hide the smile on your face even if you wanted to. He gently traces the shape of your anchor which has an oddly relaxing effect on you. 

“So, you believe in soulmates now? I convinced you?” he asks with a smile. 

“You definitely made a good argument for your case.”

[stilemawillow]

Hi can I request a dadlevi x momreader where they have a teenage daughter and the 104th cadet boys gave a crush on her and Levi gets really protective and the reader has to reassure him that she's not a baby anymore pleaseeee thank you😁

welp, i’m usually slow as a sloth with requests but if you don’t mind it being a short drabble i can sure as hell crack up sth soo sorry if it’s a bit too short but here goes, hope you like it anonie (also i kind of said trabble and it turned out 1500 words, sorry) ________________________________________________

“This is getting out of hand, Levi.” Your words were low around the table at the mess hall as your raven-haired husband fixed the cadets across from you with a murderous glare. You put a hand to his tense shoulder and could distinctly hear Mike and Hanji snort from next to you at Levi’s click of the tongue - still, his abuse didn’t stop.

Your daughter glanced at her father once, smiling happily from her place in between the cheerful males of the 104th squad and proceeding to be rather oblivious when it came to his foul mood. Admittedly, he hadn’t spoken about it to anybody but, as the mother of his rather grown-up child and the woman who’d spent well over two decades with him already, you didn’t need a verbal explanation to gather why he was being so pissy.

Since your daughter had been enlisted in the Corps (something her and Levi and you and her had had two separate rather long arguments about), she was in the spotlight, or, well, something of the sort. She was kind enough to communicate with her peers and funny enough to make them laugh, and the looks she’d mostly inherited from you did its part when it came to charming the rookies you’d later checked were named Jean Kirstein, Reiner Braun, Connie Springer, Armin Arlert and partly, the very special Eren Jaeger.

They were her comrades and she regarded them as such - close people she would protect and work with in the future, and they regarded her the same with just a little bit of an ulterior motive. Naturally, parents were good at noticing those stuff and the usually emotion-incompetent Levi Ackerman was no exception when it came to Jean’s heart eyes mirroring his own aimed at you in the past.

As a good father who couldn’t, however, reveal his identity straight-up, he made sure to mentor the kids as harshly as he could, strict in his teachings and rather sadistic out of them. The poor boys had handled stable and kitchen duty more than any previous rookies enlisted and two or three of them had gotten lucky enough to clean up a whole storage of 3DM gear and run laps till they fainted. You were nurturing when it came to those undeserved mishaps and ended up playing the good cop who gave the poor boys water and let them sleep for the rest of the day.

Levi didn’t know it but the harder his punishments got, the more reason his daughter had to pity the boys and question her father’s behaviour. We arrive at a moment where he could no longer think of a suitable punishment to pull through with enough reason and, of course, your endless nagging on the topic. Your daughter didn’t need to know about this secret little bickering, as the cadets didn’t know she was your child and nobody but the superiors were aware of your relationship with Humanity’s Strongest Soldier.

“I’m just monitoring.” The raven’s excuse was laughable as you were leaving the mess hall and he literally stalked his daughter and her tall charmers to the training fields, where you decided to pull him along into the building and have a little talk.

“This is ridiculous, do you realise what you’re doing?” Your question struck nothing in him as he made his way to the second floor of the building only so he could observe from above the training the 104th cadets would undertake with Hanji. His hawk eyes pierced the window and the boys surrounding his precious little baby, and in that moment you felt a little soft when it came to reprimanding him.

“I’m watching my fucking child.” He argued with a grumble and crossed arms, making you sigh as you leaned against the window and observed his features. You could guess only by the pissed off twitch of his brow your daughter had been paired to combat with some of the boys he so disliked.

“But she’s not in danger.” You objected with a snort to which he rolled his eyes. “Also our child.” The addition made his frown more sarcastic, then you pushed at his shoulder and glanced outside. The sun was shining and your husband was silent - and you had to be a good wife and mother at the same time. “Now, I need you to hear me out. Our daughter is fifteen years old and she’s part of the worst group possible. Maybe we can concern ourselves more with her safety and happiness, not so much with the boys she has as friends.”

“It’s unacceptable for them to slack off this much, not to mention you’re defending her. You pointed it out, she’s just fifteen.” The emphasis was a cold slap in your face, then you were eyeing him pointedly.

“Levi,” his grey hues left the window for a second to lock with your gaze, “I was fifteen when I met you.” Your words made him suck in a breath but his obstinance had no limits when it came to his overprotective nature.

“All the more fucking reason for me to protect her.”

“No, all the more reason for us to watch from afar and let her live her life. She’s a teenager once and the fact she’s bonding with her comrades isn’t going to kill her.” The brow he quirked at you made you glare, then you beat him to speaking. “She’s not a baby anymore, we take care of her, yes, but we have to give her some freedom too. Otherwise, we’ll get a rebellious period and I can’t handle managing both your explosive asses once that happens.” His spiteful snort was provocative but his figure turned away from the window to glare at you - good, so he was buckling.

“My ass is explosive only when I drink too much coffee.” His childish retort made you chuckle - you took it as him admitting defeat by not addressing the issue any further.

“And when Hanji cooks.” Your joke called forth an eye-roll from him, then his lips pursed and you smiled at his pale countenance. “It’s fine being worried, she’s been sheltered her whole life and suddenly you’re forced to watch her form connections with people who’re not us. I would say, however,” your smile slowly curled into a smirk as you glanced at the training fields through the window, “she can beat up the boys if they annoy her without your help.”

His brows furrowed and his attention followed your gaze, and you watched your fifteen-year-old daughter flip the blond Reiner Braun over her shoulder with a move Levi had taught her when she was ten. He fell to the ground and, from experience, you knew how much it hurt when all the air was pushed out of your lungs in that moment. Next thing he knew, a foot had stepped on his dominant hand’s wrist and a small hand held a wooden knife to his throat.

In your peripheral vision, you saw the satisfied flicker in Levi’s orbs and decided he wouldn’t be arguing with you on the topic of this anymore. Also, he might as well spare the boys their duties. If his daughter could handle the biggest one this easily, she could land a kick to the testicles effortlessly if any of them proved problematic. You shook your head at the sight and how proud Levi seemed due to it, then you realised he was back to watching you.

“On the topic of us meeting when you were still a brat, are you insinuating anything?” You began waving your hands around in a “no” when he glared at the field, then at you. You’d just denied when he tactfully cut in with: “Far as I remember, you jumped me and you had eighteen.” You let out an awkward laugh and his glare got all the more deadly.

“Haha, about that. I actually lied so you’d let me.” The slow admittance slipped past your dry lips and you watched your husband doubt everything you’d told him in your shared life. You could see him recall everything and make sure he was in the right - except you’d been stupid as a teenager and twice as scheming.

“But your birthday had passed.” He argued coldly, unsuspecting of the truth and ever so sweet because he put so much trust in you.

“And about that, my birthday’s kind of a month after the date I told you.” You watched his eyes widen and began ranting, as per tradition when he came close to blowing a fuse and you wanted to avoid being collateral damage. “I know what you’re thinking, I’m so lucky that my wife is even younger than I thought she was, she’s so attractive and youthful---”

“I’m thinking how I’m about to beat your ass in our next combat session for lying to me for twenty fucking years, that’s what I’m thinking.”

[heliads]

Guns Blazing, Tides Rising (Part Four)

When Kaz Brekker announces that they’ll be working with a certain Tidemaker to help with the latest heist, Jesper knows it’s not going to end well. He and Y/N L/N have a fierce rivalry, although feelings may change over a night.

part three / series masterlist / part five

consider: secret dating but fake dating at the exact same time (ily @underc0vercryptid​ ty for the suggestion :))

Jesper’s feet flash underneath him. He’s running, faster than he has in a while. His breath comes sharp in his lungs, a silent promise to himself that he won’t be caught, not today. The flagstones are far beneath him as he runs along the roofline, but he manages to keep his distance. Maybe Jesper has more in common with the Wraith than he’d first thought.

Jesper turns his attention back to the roof he’s currently heading down, and feels a slight twinge of panic start to rise within him. He’s running out of shingled space, and the gap between houses is approaching faster than he’d like. Jesper’s eyes narrow, his hands tap once and twice at his pearl-handled revolvers, and then he makes the jump.

He hits the next house with a significant impact, one that knocks the air for his lungs for a second before he manages to swallow the jolt and keep moving. Jesper knows this part of town, knows the way the houses curve and turn as they twist down the narrow sidestreets. If he darts across this opening, down this corner of the roof, then there’s a fire escape off the back, one that empties into a nearby alleyway.

A stolen pocket watch dangles at Jesper’s side; he checks it with a furrow of his brow. He’s running on borrowed time, a moment or so too slow. He sets his jaw with a determined tilt, running even faster until he’s sure he’s going to slip and fall. Then again, he just might manage to pull this off. Jesper has had plenty of practice over the last week.

A few more seconds of running, and then Jesper is jumping again. He hangs for a moment in the air, arms rising involuntarily as he falls. Then his heels hit the fire escape with a thunk and he’s down, twisting himself over the rails to quicken his journey to the ground. He’s clear of the fire escape now, and loses himself into the mess of alleys that crowd the streets of Ketterdam, sprawling out in an untidy heap like the last remnants of a spiderweb on an abandoned window.

He crosses over one street, two, then ducks under a faded and scrappy awning to find himself in an opening in the alleyways, a back end that nobody checks except the Dregs. He’s back on safe ground, both literally and figuratively. Jesper lets out a sigh of relief, checking the liberated pocket watch once more. Right on time. Even Kaz Brekker would be impressed.

There’s a derisive snort from behind him, and Jesper’s head shoots up in a flash.

“You know, I don’t think you have to go this hard for a practice run.” Jesper straightens up, sauntering over to Y/N with a grin fit to kill. “And why is that, Tidemaker? Maybe I’m just having fun.” Y/N raises an eyebrow at this casual confidence. “Do you always get this sure of yourself after every run? Maybe it’s not so bad after all.”

Jesper leans down, stealing a kiss and swooping away before Y/N has time to think on it. “Maybe not? I’m excellent, and I’m making sure I’m excellent for this heist. We’ll have to be careful, you know. And when am I not careful?” Y/N raises an eyebrow, although her smile deceives her challenging expression. “When we nearly got caught against the wall of the Crow Club two weeks ago? When you had your hands on my dress and-”

Jesper kisses her, both because he can and because the flush in Y/N’s cheeks renders her unable to finish the sentence. “What was that, love? Talking about my excellence? Anyways, we might not be as careful as we could be, but that just makes it fun.” Y/N hums quietly, the sound deep in her throat. “Maybe. Does the fun not extend to spontaneity in heists?” Jesper groans, reaching into his coat to flip his revolver back and forth out of habit from the mention of the heist. “Try telling Kaz Brekker that you’re not following his plans. It’s not exactly a pleasant experience.”

Jesper’s fingers tighten over his revolver as he remembers the meeting of a week ago. Kaz had called him to his office yet again, and Jesper’s pulse had raced at the sight of the maps and documents littering his desk. Another heist, another escapade, another chance for bullets to fly and for Jesper to finally have a bit of fun. 

Kaz had folded his hands over his crow’s head cane. “We’re breaking into a mercher’s house.” Jesper had raised an eyebrow. “Joeri ter Steege again? Saints, this guy doesn’t know when to give up.” Kaz chuckled. “No, not Joeri. This will make ter Steege seem like a pleasant memory. We’re taking on Pekka Rollins.”

Jesper had known even from that first mention of the gang boss that this heist wasn’t going to be easy. Whenever Pekka Rollins’ name came up, Kaz got a look in his eyes, a dangerous look that only came out when bones would be broken and screams would rend the night. Brekker was gone, replaced by Dirtyhands, the boy who would do anything to get what he wanted. Blood would be shed in the Barrel, likely sooner than expected.

Kaz had cleared this throat, the sound like rough stones grinding underneath a carriage wheel. “Rollins has a mercher in his pocket. His name is Arnout Hul, and he’s got ties to banking as well as trade. He’s the perfect puppet for Pekka’s strings. Right now, Pekka wants him because Arnout has a list of names, a list that just might correspond to the Council of Tides.” Jesper let out a low whistle. “I thought the Council of Tides never revealed their identities?”

Kaz gave a tense shrug. “That’s what we thought. Could be nonsense, could be a lead. I need you to find out. Arnout Hul is hosting a party in about a week and a half. You and L/N will enter as guests, Inej and I will circle around back. You two will be getting the names, we’ll be on another tangent.” Jesper had nodded, accepting the map of Hul’s house without another word. He’s run with the Dregs long enough to understand something: if Kaz Brekker doesn’t tell you the details of a mission, it’s for the best. He won’t tell you no matter how much you question him, so why waste the breath to ask?

Normally, Jesper would have no problem going with Y/N to the party. It’s an excuse to act like lovesick fools and drink plenty of expensive liquor, what could be wrong with that? It’s the second part of the playacting that bothers him: namely, the escape. It’ll be easy enough to slip away from the party and into Arnout Hul’s office, but the chances of them returning will be significantly lower. Most likely, they’ll have to make a quick exit from there, especially with whatever Kaz and Inej are doing added to the mix.

That’s why Jesper’s been running the rooflines, making sure he’s ready to escape when necessary. The rooftops in this corner of the Barrel are similar in layout to those near Hul’s mansion, give or take a few feet. Y/N had raised an eyebrow at this when she first heard of his practice runs. “If it’s off, with some jumps bigger or smaller, won’t you get confused when we actually have our lives on the line?” Jesper had dismissed her questions with a trademark wink. “Some are a little off, but if you average them they’ll all be the same. Yes, that is how it works. I’ve done something like this before. Somewhat.”

The Y/N in front of him has now become accustomed to Jesper’s plans, and just watches with a grin as he taps the stolen pocket watch. “How was your timing this go around?” Jesper flashes her a grin. “Right on the dot. It was spotless.” Y/N steps closer, letting her fingers linger on his hand, the lapel of his coat. “I’m fairly sure I saw you stumble on one of the jumps.” Jesper takes her hand, stopping its climb and pressing a kiss to the knuckles. “You were watching me? I’m touched.”

Y/N snorts. “I was watching for weaknesses. It’s not like that.” Jesper cocks an eyebrow. “I’m sure it wasn’t. Was that why you were waiting for me like a blushing schoolgirl?” When Y/N opens her mouth to protest, Jesper closes it with a kiss. Saints, he likes riling her up. Makes it that much more fun to kiss her senseless.

Jesper stares up at the mercher’s mansion. He’s broken into plenty of these woefully wealthy houses over his time with the Dregs, stolen and blackmailed and worked hard to bring down even more. It feels strange to now be walking into one as an esteemed guest, one with a pretty girl on his arm. The girl in question turns to him now, a smile flickering over her lips at the sight of his reluctance to enter the building.

“We do have to go in at some point, right?” Jesper forces a smile. “Of course we do. Just, uh, admiring the view.” Her gaze softens, and she leans over to press a kiss to his cheek. “It’s going to be fine. We’re going to be fine. Now, come on- I intend to be shown off to all the attendees.” Jesper can’t help but laugh at that. For some reason, this small joke is enough to convince him to escort Y/N up the wide colonnade and into the main foyer of the mansion. It’s been decorated extravagantly, if lacking a little in taste, and the entire spectacle could take your breath away.

Jesper and Y/N mingle throughout the crowd, doing their best to seem like normal, law-abiding citizens of Kerch. Jesper leans close to Y/N, whispering something in her ear like a flirty compliment. “I think I pickpocketed that guy a month ago.” Y/N laughs, the sound effortless. More than a couple unpartnered mercher’s sons look over at her in unabashed longing. She whispers in turn to him, careful not to let anyone overhear. “I drowned that one’s office. Hundreds of documents, gone. He’s cripplingly in debt now because all of his stocks are waterlogged and useless.”

Jesper has to try his utmost to stop from laughing. “You know, I think you’re the only girl I’ve ever met who can keep one-upping me on crimes.” Y/N tosses a glance his way, easy and full of secrets he could only hope to keep. “That’s why you love me, isn’t it?” Jesper feels like his heart has been shot through with bullets. It is, more than she could ever know. He could love her every second of every day, and it would never be enough. He loves her more than anything he’s known before.

However, they’re on a mission, so he can’t exactly burst forth with poetic confessions. Instead, he keeps his tone light. “Of course it is. I wouldn’t love just anyone, would I?” He can only hope that this brief statement will be enough. Looking at Y/N, though, at the light shining behind her eyes, he has a feeling that she knows what he means. She understands him, and knows exactly what he isn’t saying and what he wishes he could. Jesper doesn’t think he’s ever had anyone else like this, someone who can send him a single glance and say a thousand words in the time it takes for their eyes to meet. 

An orchestra begins to play, and the couples start to migrate towards the center of the room. Jesper extends a hand to Y/N, who takes it. He spins her once before assuming the proper form, footsteps in tandem as they move throughout the dance. Y/N raises an eyebrow at him. “Since when have you known how to waltz like a mercher?” Jesper smiles like a renegade. “Since I knew I would be dancing with you.”

Y/N leans forward, lips ghosting over his. She doesn’t kiss him, though, just whispers something in the heated stillness. “I can see the door to his office. It’s down the hall to our left.” Jesper groans. “You’re sure we can’t stay a little longer?” His hands slide down to her hips, nestling there in the fabric. She grins, although he can tell from the slight intake of her breath that it’s not an easy choice. “Afraid so, Fahey. We’ve got a deadline to meet.”

Right now, Jesper is willing to curse all the Saints and Kaz Brekker that he has to leave this dance and let Y/N out of his arms, but his girl isn’t wrong- they have to be in the office and out in a short matter of time. If they miss the cutoff time, Jesper has no idea what will happen. Kaz and Inej are somewhere in this building, and Jesper has no doubt that they’re doing something that has the potential to alert a lot of guards to their presence.

Most eyes are trained on the dancing couples in the ballroom, so it’s fairly easy for Jesper and Y/N to slip from the room, shoes clicking on the tiles of the empty halls. The noise and laughter of the gala disappears behind them the further they stray from the gathering. At last, they spot the office, which is guarded by a duo of tall, broad-shouldered thugs in uniform. Jesper waits until the music reaches a particularly loud pitch, then reaches out, knocking one of the guards unconscious in a swift motion. 

Y/N reaches her hand towards the other one, directing a stream of water to flow from a nearby flower pot into the man’s mouth and nose, drowning him instantly. She holds the water there for a second longer, watching with a cool certainty as the man struggles, then releases her hold as the man crumples to the ground. He’s still breathing, at least for now. Y/N looks back to Jesper, as if daring him to be alarmed, but if she’s looking for fear, she’ll find none with him. Jesper happens to have a thing for dangerous women. It’s gotten him in trouble before, but it just makes him fall even harder for Y/N.

They open the door with a key from a ring on a guard’s belt, moving as quietly as possible. Kaz believed that the list of names would be in a safe on one of the mercher’s shelves, which they locate quickly. Jesper hovers before it, doing his best to remember everything Kaz had told him and everything he’d taught himself about picking locks. He hesitates a second, then twists his hand, reaching his consciousness out into the metal and the workings of the safe. The lock clicks open, and Jesper smirks.

There’s a single envelope resting in the safe, marked with a bloodred seal that Jesper recognizes. Kaz had pointed it out to them earlier, saying that the list of names would be marked with it. Jesper snatches up the envelope, pocketing it in a recess of his coat . He nods at Y/N, who begins to prop up the guards at the door. Hopefully, they’ll just think they drank too much and nodded off. Jesper locks the safe and door behind them, and they slip back out into the hall.

They’ve barely turned the corner when Jesper realizes his mistake. They’ve spent too long in the office, and the guests have all filed away into another part of the mercher’s mansion. Jesper and Y/N seem conspicuously lost to the squadron of guards marching towards them. Jesper feels panic rising in his chest. The guards are around the corner at the far side of the hall, about to discover him and Y/N and wonder why they’re not with the rest of the partygoers.

Jesper fishes around for an excuse, but none rise to his lips. Frantically, he turns to Y/N, who has his same panic in her eyes. “What do we do?” She hisses, and Jesper gestures towards the wall. “We pretend we were distracted.” Y/N nods once, understanding. She pulls the neckline down from her dress, letting the fabric pool around her collarbone. Jesper pushes her against the wall, letting his hands creep to her hips and up her dress. This might be a ruse to convince the guards, but Jesper can’t exactly pretend that it’s hurting him to let his lips linger on her throat, the space behind her ear, her lips which open with a sigh.

There’s a coughing sound behind them, and Jesper lets himself straighten up in feigned embarrassment. The guards are looking definitively uncomfortable. “The rest of the party has, uh, moved to the receiving hall, if you’d like to join them.” Jesper flashes them a grin, helping Y/N to readjust her dress. “Of course, officer. Thanks for the tip.” He offers Y/N a hand, guiding her past the soldiers and into the halls once more.

He doesn’t dare speak until they’re far away from the soldiers, then turns to her with a sigh of relief. “Thank the Saints, I thought we were done for.” Y/N laughs at that, the sound a pretty call in the dark. Jesper almost wishes the guards would come back so he’d have an excuse to kiss her like that again. “Well, it wasn’t the worst of alibis.” Jesper smirks at her words. “I wouldn’t mind using it again.”

They’re almost out of the building when Jesper hears the alarms suddenly raised across the mansion. He curses under his breath. Y/N turns to him. “Kaz and Inej. They must have finished their side mission.” Jesper nods, considering the rows of doors before him. “Here. It’ll lead to a side exit.” They run through the halls, not bothering to conceal the loud echoes of their steps. They dart around carriages and into the neighbouring streets, through twisting alleys. Jesper feels a rush of gratitude for all the time he’d spent navigating the rooflines and escape opportunities. Finally, all his practice runs are paying off.

Jesper can hear the shouting of guards behind them, but he and Y/N are too far away for the uniformed men to do anything to them. Jesper takes one last turn, landing them solidly in Barrel territory, then lets himself slow to a stop. His breath is coming hard in his chest, but the adrenaline rush pounding through his veins is something else altogether. He’s feeling powerful, like he might do anything tonight. And, as he looks back at Y/N, who’s regarding him with the same devil-sharp grin, he might be willing to make a dangerous mistake.

Jesper is not sure when he decides to kiss her again, only that he doesn’t ever want to stop. He’s been forced to act polite all night with the merchers, but he can finally kiss her like a criminal, someone who doesn’t have to play by the rules. He can still feel his heart hammering in his chest, but he doesn’t intend to let it stop. They’ve escaped, haven’t they? Why not celebrate?

series tag list: @kaqua​

[honestlywtfisgoingon]

A Match Set

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Pairing: Benny Watts x Reader

Summary: After meeting one night in New York, you and Benny Watts are drawn to each other. As you go through different experiences with one another, you grow closer until it finally gets to be too much for Benny.

Word Count: 1890

Warnings: none

Notes: aye this is my first fic because there is a serious lack of benny watts fics and i had to change that for myself. this will probably be multiple chapters that can be read separately.

It was your first art gallery, and you were both anxious and overjoyed to see people surveying your work. You had put so many hours into each piece and all kinds of people had poured in to look. It was a well known gallery, but the variety still surprised you. You looked around and saw some interesting characters, but your interest was piqued when your eyes fell upon a particular cowboy.

He was inspecting one of your favorite paintings which had chess pieces as the subject. The pieces merely served as part of a metaphor in your art, as the game and all its complexities had never really been your thing. As you looked closer at the man you realized that, not only had his outfit sparked your interest, but he seemed familiar too. Out of curiosity, you walked over and stood next to him.

“What are your thoughts?” You asked, motioning towards the painting.

His initial expression showed surprise that you were talking to him, but he recovered quickly, saying, “It’s good. I think the artist has talent.” You felt a bit of pride hearing that. You opened your mouth to say thanks, but you decided not to reveal yourself. You wanted him to give his honest opinion without fear of offending you.

“So do you like chess?” He nodded to the painting. Hearing this you made the connection as to why you remembered seeing him before. Your father owned a little bookshop back home and you were looking into chess for the same painting you were discussing right now. You had seen this cowboy on the back of one of those books, but you hadn’t given it another thought, never actually expecting to meet him. You decided not to reveal this information either and continued with the conversation.

“I can play a modest game. You?”

“I can play a modest game.” He had a small smile as he shrugged.

“Your first lie.” You said smirking back.

He looked confused but curious, so you explained about your research, your fathers bookshop, the whole story. He puffed up a bit after hearing that, looking impressed that you knew who he was.

“What’s your name?” He asked, still curious.

“Y/n” you replied.

“Nice name. I’m Benny, but you already seem to know who I am. On the other hand I don’t know anything about you.” He reached out his hand to shake yours.

“You walk in here with a black trench coat but you make me out to be the mysterious one,” you smirked as you took his hand. He chuckled a bit, and after your introduction, you asked why he was here.

“My friend knows the artist actually. She told us we had to see her work before going out.” You hummed as you thought about what to say, but he interjected.

“I don’t usually do this, and I’m not sure why I’m doing this now, but maybe you’d consider coffee with me. I won’t tell anymore lies” he joked.

You laughed a little, mildly shocked. “you’re not sure why? That’s flattering” you teased.

“Not what I meant-“ but before you could come to a conclusion on his sudden offer, you heard an excited french accent.

“Y/n! Im so proud! You finally got to show off all that talent!” Your friend Cleo ran up to you and wrapped her arms around you. You hadn’t seen her since you lived in France for a few months and you had missed her. You left for France after you realized you weren’t really needed at home, so you dedicated yourself to trying to soak up some culture. She looked gorgeous like you remembered, fitting for a model. You continued your reunion embrace for a moment before she waved her arms to the men and woman behind her. She introduced the friends she had brought to your show as Arthur, Hilton, and Annette, who all smiled at you. Cleo paused to turn to the cowboy saying, “I see you’ve already met Benny.”

“Yeah we met,” he said, “but I didn’t know this was your work. I would’ve told you how impressed I am.” Your cheeks turned a light pink at the praise.

“Look at Benny, impressed with someone besides himself for once.”Cleo poked fun and the group let out a laugh.

“Hey I’m not a narcissist or anything, don’t listen to Cleo,” Benny made excuses to you, only mildly offended.

“Sure you aren’t. I have nothing against narcissists,” you jokingly assured him. This answer didn’t comfort the man who had essentially just asked you on a date.

You and Cleo continued to catch up and you talked more with her friends as well. Benny just stood next to you, and you caught him glancing at you once or twice, but you just ignored it. Eventually you agreed to go out for drinks with the group, walking with them to a bar a couple blocks down called Hal’s.

You all squeezed into a booth while Arthur went off to get drinks. You sat on the outside, watching the people out on the floor next to you giggling and dancing. Having a couple of drinks beforehand must’ve contributed to the large amount of people out there, you thought. Arthur eventually announced his return by laying a tray of drinks in the middle of the table.

You were all conversing and sipping on your drinks when Annette decided she wanted to dance. Cleo agreed enthusiastically, but the rest of us refused. She suggested we all take shots to make it easier, but once again we tried to turn her down. she pleaded, “come on guys, it’s a Saturday night, and you can’t possible lose something from it. Have a little bit of fun with me!”

We relented, having a feeling that she wasn’t going to give up any time soon. She gave a little clap and handed out the shots. You knocked yours back with everyone else and grimaced at the bitter taste. Shaking it off, you slid out of the booth so the others could get out. You moved back into your spot after they all made their way to the throng of people. You decided you would join them later, but you liked to observe first. You looked over and the only two left were you and Benny. You slid over to him, not wanting to sit awkwardly on the other end like he wasn’t there.

“I bet you five bucks that lady is bored out of her mind.” He pointed to a blonde on a date across the bar, “Either she’s an alcoholic or she’s trying to tune out baldie.” You looked at the woman and saw she was surrounded by empty glasses while the man in front of her seemed like he was boasting endlessly. You both started making observations about the various people in the bar. Most of them were snarky comments that you whispered into each other’s ears, giggling, but you also created imaginary lives for them, guessing who they were and how they got here. After sharing a couple laughs, you sighed and reached a comfortable lull before Benny brought up what you knew was coming.

“So have you thought about my earlier question?” He eyed you seriously all of a sudden, but you didn’t feel any pressure. He seemed the type of confident where he thought you would say yes, but he could recover if you said no.

You weighed in your impression of him. He was cute, with fluffy hair and nice eyes that were a kind of chocolate color. He was funny and you he seemed intelligent (I mean he had to be, he played competitive chess). Albeit his trench coat and hat were a bit eccentric, but that wasn’t a bad thing, in fact you found it attractive.

“So have you?” He asked again, leaning his head in.

“Oh uh” you hadn’t realized while you were thinking that you had zoned out looking at him. Clearing your throat you said, “I’m free for coffee.” You stopped, “But you have to wear the hat.”

“Wouldn’t leave home without it” he winked.

Suddenly you were shoved against him as your tipsy friends barreled back into the booth.

“We should probably join them” you said as you moved off him, pushing one of the leftover drinks towards him. He nodded and you both drank some more just to get on the same level as your friends.

“You two haven’t even danced! I saw you whispering. Too busy flirting?” Annette smiled as she slurred a few of her words. You just looked down, cheeks pink, leaving Benny to respond.

“How were you watching us when you were dancing with that guy, the one who looks like he’s only ever kissed his mother.”

“No, I’m sure he’s kissed other people! I mean he did seem young but...” Annette looked over to the guy she dragged to dance with her earlier. He stood sheepishly in the corner, looking like he hadn’t outgrown his baby fat yet, and was definitely not a city type. “He’s just shy!” She defended, but me and Benny just looked at each other, falling into giggles. You figured out that night that Annette was one of those drunks who got a little childish, but she was sweet.

You would’ve been content to keep hanging out with Benny, if it hadn’t been for Cleo who grabbed your hand and pulled you out to the dance floor. You looked back at Benny, but gave in and allowed her to twirl you into the crowd. You were having a good time with Cleo, Hilton and Arthur dancing on either side of her. You were soon out of breath, but didn’t mind, enjoying it all.

You had moved to the city a couple months ago, but hadn’t had time to make friends, focusing on your work and setting up your apartment. You missed having company, people who were fun and interesting.

You continued to move to the beat of the song until you bumped into someone. You looked back to see Benny smiling next to you. You smiled back and let him in to the little circle you and your friends had created. You felt a little warm, not from the dancing, but from being close to him.

After fifteen minutes you were all tired and made your way to the booth to gather all your things up and pay the bill. You walked out of the bar and into the chilly night air, grateful for the residual body heat that came from all the dancing. You hugged Cleo and your new friends goodbye as took turns getting into taxis and headed towards their homes. Hilton offered to wave you down a taxi too, but you declined, explaining that your home wasn’t a far walk. He shrugged and gave you another hug before climbing into the yellow car. Once again it was just you and Benny.

“Just the two of us again huh?” He spoke, and he definitely didn’t sound turned off by the idea.

“Fate I guess.”

“Sure” he said casually.

“Do you not believe in fate?” You asked. You weren’t a firm believer in the idea but something in his tone made you curious.

“I’ve had this debate before I think. I’m not sure, but I’d like to figure it out. How about you?” He said. You imagined him having a lot of debates. You had just met him, but he seemed to fall into the intellectual category. They always kept things interesting, and frequently offered new perspectives.

“I mean everything’s gotta mean something, there has to be a purpose. I just don’t know if we make our own purpose or if we’re given a purpose; fate.” You mused, not meaning to get existential. He didn’t seem to mind.

“You seem like the type to want to figure things out too.” He said ‘too’. So you and him both liked to do that. You added that to the growing list of things you liked about him.

“I guess I am.” He had a pleased look on his face and you just shrugged as you started to say goodbye.

“Wait” he grabbed your arm, “I heard you say you didn’t live far, I could walk you.” Before you could protest he told you, “it wouldn’t be a big deal, I heard you tell Hilton where you lived, we’re in the same direction.”

You agreed, finding yourself wanting to talk to him more. He offered you his arm casually and you laughed to yourself a little at the gesture, taking it anyway. You walked down the sidewalk, talking and laughing. You felt comfortable as you felt like you leveled with him. It seemed like too short of a walk as you suddenly found yourself at the door of your apartment building.

“Guess this is goodnight.” Benny said as you both stood on the sidewalk.

“What about coffee?” You asked.

“Glad you remembered. I’ll pick you up at twelve tomorrow, we can make it lunch. I’ll pick you up.” He said it decidedly, like it was just a fact. Something you noticed he did often.

“Ok then. Lunch. Tomorrow. Am I forgetting anything?” You said as you stepped halfway into the doorway.

“If you are we can figure that out later. I’ll see you.” He waved with a slight smile.

You waved back and smiled in return, watching him walk away before closing the door. You sped up to your apartment, letting yourself finally feel the excitement and anticipation of going out. You stripped off your clothing as soon as you got in and flopped on your bed, feeling sort of giddy. You felt like you and Benny were connected, though you had barely met him. As you laid down you smiled to yourself, looking forward to tomorrow.

[glacecakes]

Wild Hunt

Eugene isn't exactly well liked by his men, but when they want to induct him into their ranks, he's not going to complain! All he has to do is hunt down a beast that they prepared for this event specifically-

It's Varian. Eugene is accidentally hunting down Varian. Now the two have to survive the night together, while one of them is injured, against a squadron of Corona's best men.

Uh oh.

IM BACK! Kinda. Finals are due Tuesday and I wrote this instead of doing them but WHATEVER WHO CARES

This was mostly written on the Varian Hivemind server, with some lovely inputs from the folks on there, and I edited it and finished it before throwing it up here. So uh. Yea. Team Awesome my beloved

Life and Times and VVO will also be updated soon!!! I hope to have at least one if not both chapters done by the end of the month 

ANYWAY HERES 8K OF TEAM AWESOME ANGST

Being Captain of the Guards sure had its perks.

For one, he got to attend meetings with Rapunzel, finally. You'd think being the princess's future husband (probably) and Prince of the Dark Kingdom got him some recognition, but noblemen are jerks and elitists, so what can you do. Granted, the meetings were boring as all hell, but still, it felt like he was actually being respected and taken seriously. Something Rapunzel had been pushing for since the start. Personally, he wasn't all that sure he deserved it, but if she was happy, so was he.

Another was that the guards no longer gave him shit. That's not to say they did before... well, they did. Stan and Pete didn't, but every other guard called him Flynn Rider at least once or twice before begrudgingly accepting him as their teacher and now commander. He no longer had to worry about someone breathing down his back, waiting for him to slip up or commit a crime, eager to throw him back in prison.

Speaking of which...

He turned the corner to see a few guards, couldn't remember their names off the top of his head, forming a small circle around a corner. Their predatory grins barred down on whatever their target was, whichever poor soul had angered them. One of them had his hands on someone much shorter, so short he couldn't make them out beyond the red coats and gleaming gold... which could only mean it was one person.

"Don't get comfy, brat," the one hissed, pushing Varian up against the wall with an audible crack as a skull hit stone, no doubt hoisted up by a shirt collar. "One of these days the princess is gonna get sick of you, and when she does, we'll toss you back into your old cell... and we'll restart our favorite game. Ain't that a swell idea?" Varian hissed, a soft thunk of his boots scrambling for purchase against the wall.

"Hey!" Eugene snapped, having heard more than enough. "Put him down now ." His words were like fire, causing the other two to jump back and reveal the battered and bruised alchemist. His lip was split, a large scuff of dirt on his white shirt.

One of the guards snapped his head around, whacking the leader's shoulder to get his attention. The guard frowned. "Oh yea? Or what?"

Before his new position, he would've leapt into the fray, hackles raised, punching the lights out of these jerks, but now, he had a much better stance. "Or you're fired." He crossed his arms, the perfect picture of a guy in charge who knew how to keep his men in line.

Someone who was clearly not him.

The guard hummed. "You don't have the nerve." To emphasize his point, he shook Varian a little harder, the kid's toes barely scraping the floor and his hands gripping the soldier's wrists. Leather gloves creaked with how tight the pressure was.

But Eugene's glare didn't waver, hand itching for the sword at his hip, his anger radiating in waves. It was enough to get the other two to back off.

"Cmon, Aaron," one whispered. "It's not worth it."

"Yeah, it's not." Eugene agreed. "Put him down now, and I'll lighten your sentence to a week in the stables instead of a month."

Aaron's face turned sheet white, then bright red. With a huff, he dropped Varian to the ground, readjusting his gloves while Varian cried out on the floor.

"You got lucky this time, brat," he hissed.

Oh, he knew that type of speech. The Baron used it all the time. Anyone who got told that never lasted to the next month. "And all other times," he said. "Because if I see you go anywhere near him I'm taking you to the princess."

Aaron rolled his eyes, clearly uncaring, and stormed off with a huff, his buddies trailing after. No doubt they didn't like a criminal ordering them around. Or, ex-criminal. He'd have to keep an eye on them.

A sniffle broke Eugene's musings, the fog of satisfaction and annoyance quickly replaced by concern for his younger friend. Varian sat up, wincing as he did so. He rubbed his neck, feeling for any injuries and finding none except for his ruined collar. "Aw man," he mumbled.

Dad had fixed his collar for him that day, a proud smile on his face. "You need to look sharp for your first day on the job," he'd said, ruffling Varian's hair. They'd grown so much closer in the past few months, the man always seeing his son off. Today was the first day back after his kidnapping, after all; he'd spent a month recovering from a broken rib.

"It's not my first day, I've been working there for weeks," Varian had grumbled, but let him do it with a cheeky grin.

"First day of the week," Quirin rectified, placing a kiss to his baby's forehead.

A forehead now covered in dust and a bruise.

"Hey kid," Eugene offered a hand that Varian gladly took, stumbling a little as he was helped upright. "You ok? Nothing knocked outta place?"

"Just my pride," Varian joked, smile quickly fading. "I'm ok though, really. I'm used to it." He shrugged, hugging himself for comfort. Maybe he could pretend dad was here, hugging him... he always had the best hugs. Even when Varian was little, before they drifted apart. Back when he was just the weird magic kid. Back when his biggest worries were some older kids picking on him... Dad would always scoop him up into a big hug with flowery words and a book of Flynn Rider.

A warm hand wrapped around him, pulling him into a red chest. Eugene took his other hand to ruffle Varian's hair, earning a squawk of complaint.

"Just because you're used to it doesn't mean it's ok, you know that, right?" Silence followed. Gosh, this kid... say what you want about being an orphan, at least everyone around you was on the same boat. No place for bullies, nothing to bully about, when everyone was doing just as badly. "If they ever give you more trouble, you come to me, yeah?"

"Huh?" Confused blue eyes met warm brown.

Eugene smirked. "You say the words and I boot them out of the castle, goggles. Team Awesome looks out for each other."

"Oh," Varian mumbled, dazed. He'd never had a protector, never had anyone looking out for him. Cold sneers and flowery words, manipulation and secrets and ulterior motives, sure. His chest fluttered, a laugh escaping.

But then... the anxiety returned full force, maybe even stronger.

If those guys got fired because of him, good god, he could only imagine the fallout. Well, that's not true. He absolutely could. One time in prison a guard got fired for beating a cellmate within an inch of his life, and though the guy lived, the second he was out of prison he got jumped, or so the story goes. In all honesty it was probably an embellished truth, stretched out to frighten prisoners into silence, but god damn if it didn't work. No one ever complained about their beatings. A peep was all that was needed to spend a night in the infirmary for even worse injuries.

"No, no, it's fine," Varian flicked his wrist. The dial on his hand spun with each flick, the ticking grating. "Besides, we have work to do!"

"Oh, yea!" Eugene gasped. Right! The whole reason he came out to this part of the castle was to look for Varian specifically, after all.

"So, right, maintenance stuff." Varian waved his hand, motioning for Eugene to follow. "Here's what I had in mind..."

-

It was a week later, late at night, when Aaron approached him. The moon lay low in the sky, just bright enough to allow for vision without torchlight, but not bright enough that anything beyond shapes were clear. True to his word, the guard had been stationed on stable duty for the past several days, coming back to the barracks covered in dirt and angry every time.

So maybe Eugene had whispered to Max about him. Big deal.

Anyway, the captain was knee-deep in paperwork when Aaron knocked on his office door. "Sir," he said. "Finished up for the day, and I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh?" Eugene put his quill down hesitantly. Aaron was his first big show of power, the first punishment he'd dished. Everything else had been a variation of "keep doing what you're doing" as he settled into his new role. Who knew being in a position of power was so stressful?

(Everyone. Literally everyone.)

"I wanted to apologize for testing you, sir." The man shifted, eyes never meeting. His face was unreadable. "I wasn't sure you were going to be as..... sharp, as our previous captain. And I'm sorry for that."

"....Ok," Eugene said. "Thanks? I think?"

"So, I uh... wanted to do something for you." The man continues. "Me and a few others. It's sorta a ritual for guards. We didn’t do it before cuz of, yknow, Cassandra and stuff. And you're one of us now, so...?" He raised an eyebrow, a quiet invitation.

Oh boy.

Knowing these guys, it was probably something really stupid. Most of the guards were pretty nice, maybe a bit airheaded, but a lot of meatheads mostly. Big fans of machismo and showing their strength, boosting their ego, stuff like that. It's why none of them were fans of being run by a criminal. And no doubt Eugene would have to clean up their mess anyway, so he sighed deeply and rose from his seat. "Alright, what did you do now?"

Aaron placed a hand to his chest. "Why, sir, we did this out of the goodness of our heart! We're just welcoming you to the team!" He laughed a bit at that last part. He pointed out the door, leading his superior down the suspiciously empty barracks, and out into the courtyard.

About a dozen or so guards were outside, waiting. One of them was holding a horse's reins, and a crossbow.

"He's in!" Aaron called, and the guards all broke into cheers and raucous laughter.

"Yea, nice to see you guys too, uh. What am I... in?" Eugene asked, shifting awkwardly.

Aaron's smile widened. "It's just a fun little game, sir."

"The game is simple, really," Aaron slung an arm around Eugene's shoulder, pulling him close, not unlike how Lance does. But unlike his larger friend, this man is wiry, more of a weaselly kind of build, with stick thin arms that hide his muscle. "See, when someone new joins the guard, we test their skill by having them hunt down a beast in the nearby forest. Once they catch it, we all celebrate together! And welcome him into the ranks!" The guards all cheered, no doubt thrilled at the prospect.

"....right...." Eugene smiled uncomfortably, cheeks pulling and stretching, a puppet controlling the strings attached to his face. His stomach swirled, bouncing all over as he was passed around.

"But see, you're not just any guard, you're the Captain," Aaron's smile took an equally unpleasant demeanour. "So we figured we'd give you some extra... challenge." Outside of their little circle, no sounds could be heard. Not a peep from a cricket, or a cry from a bird, just dead silence in the surrounding glen. Just the crackle of torches, and the rustling of men.

"The beast for this occasion is small, smart, and fast. The goal is to catch it before it reaches the wall at Old Corona. All you gotta do is," he makes a noise with his mouth to emulate the crossbow. "Hit the target, and the rest of us will finish the job."

"Finish?" Eugene echoed.

The guards around him smiled with all of their teeth. "Well yea, we're not just gonna waste a perfectly good beast, are we?"

Eugene narrowed his eyes. If Rapunzel heard about this, no doubt she'd flip. "How will I know what I'm looking for? And why should I even approve of this?"

"Relax, sir," Aaron shook him, patting his chest with a heavy fist. "We're not just killing an innocent creature. It's always something that's been marked for slaughter, or is causing problems. And trust me," his voice deepened. "You'll know."

No horse was as good as Max, but that was probably for the best, what with his gut screaming about how this all felt so goddamn sketchy. "This isn't some trap where it turns out I'm the one being hunted, right? Cuz I don't want to shoot any of you with this," he joked, brandishing the crossbow.

"No, sir, not at all! In fact we'll be supporting you! No one makes the first shot until you do." He promised, patting the horse's flank. "Rest assured, no tricks here. Just a beast already marked for capture. Or recapture, in this case. We picked this one special for you."

"That sounds like it's supposed to be flattering but it really isn't."

Aaron shrugged. "Not my problem. Good luck!" With a smack to the horse, she cried out, spurring Eugene forward.

They rode through the Capital, out into Corona proper, lush with trees. At this time of night, no one would be about, not even thieves, laden in their straw beds and cots. The only things out right now are animals, or a beast, in this case. How is he supposed to know what he's looking for? What, is it going to be some giant thing with red eyes? No, Aaron said it was small, how the hell is he going to...

Then he hears it.

It's faint, almost like a windchime, but sure enough, the clanking of chains, and a small whimper. Somewhere through the trees there's a rustling, something moving. He can't make it out, the guards didn't give him a torch, but a blob of something rushes forward, the only thing he can make out the distinctive shine of metal, a chain reflecting in the moonlight.

Ah.

Eugene smirked, the rush of adrenaline from a chase beginning to pump through his veins. It'd been a while since an adventure without any stakes, without any daring challenges or risking death. The last time must've been... gosh, probably the Herz de Sonne misadventure? And even then he and Lance had just goofed off for the majority of it. Maybe the Spire? That one was much riskier but he and Rapunzel had been so outrageously drunk during that whole endeavor that it felt more like a fun jaunt.

He shook himself out of his reverie. Focus, Eugene! Fun or no, you're proving yourself to the guards! Show them that you're a worthy Captain beyond just barking orders and supporting the princess!

He spurred the horse forward, hooves thundering against the undergrowth and disturbing the leaves below. The beast let out a shriek, shrill and shaking, rushing forward. It weaved between trees, trying to throw Eugene off. Man, Aaron wasn't kidding about how fast it was. Even on horseback he couldn't keep up very well. The chains wrapped around the beast's legs screamed in complaint, clanking and clattering with each huff of its breath.

Eugene lowered the crossbow, sticking his tongue out. Steady... steady.... he fired.

The bolt whizzed through the air, lodging into a tree just a few feet away from its target. The beast flinched but didn't slow, scampering through the undergrowth, leaping over a fallen tree towards the river.

"Hyah!" He yelled, leading his horse over the log and splashing down into frigid waters. Water rushed past his horse's hooves, dulling the sound of chains, and when he looked around, the beast was gone.

Drat.

Eugene grumbled, reloading the crossbow before urging his horse onward. If this beast got away he'd never hear the end of it! They'd be all "Yes sir, Captain! We'll catch that criminal! As soon as you catch that beast!" And then they'd laugh and he'd moan and he'd have to go catch the criminal himself which is honestly not too far off from how it is already-

Anyway.

It took a few minutes to find it again, the beast trying to muffle it's movements by shuffling, but the metal song was too alluring to ignore. There was no time to waste. With the horse at a fast trot, quieter and steadier, he fired the bolt, this time getting much closer, barely whizzing past the silhouette and lodging into a tree trunk with a chunk of hair.

The creature cried out again, beginning to run and renew this dance of cat and mouse, but Eugene wouldn't have it. Dexterous fingers clasped a new bolt and quickly reloaded, giving barely a few seconds for the creature to try and run before firing again.

He didn't miss.

It was almost silent, the bolt's descent. Its tip gleamed in the moonlight alongside the chains keeping his prey in place, the one thing that slowed it and gave Eugene the upper hand. Whatever this beast was was quick, too quick, and if he lost it again, no doubt he'd never find it again. So when he aimed, he aimed down, and sure enough, the bolt embedded itself into the beast's calf, sending into stumbling.

It shrieked, screamed and sobbed in agony, noises bordering on almost human-like as it thrashed on the floor. The arrow stuck straight up, bright color on the end almost a beacon for the beast's location. Poor thing. He really should've just aimed for the head and put it out of its mercy, but this was the only way to ensure a clean shot.

Eugene slid off his horse, crouching low to the ground as he readied the final blow. But as he got nearer, as the moon hung lower in the sky, providing light through the filtering trees. He hesitated.

The beast was crawling, still trying to run, front legs pawing at the forest floor and clenching the leaves beneath with hands.

Hands...?

Eugene's stomach sank, lower and lower with each passing step, heart climbing higher and higher in his throat, the closer he got, the more ill he felt.

He saw the chains first. No, not chains like that on a cattle’s neck. Prison shackles, the kind wrapped around a prisoner's legs. And they were wrapped around legs, keeping strides from being too large.

And their torso.... clothed torso..... The beast heaved, each breath causing it to rise and fall with rapid panic.

The Captain's hands brushed against the tree with his other bolt embedded in it, eyes trailing onto it, and he froze.

Blue hair, stabbed by the bolt.

"No," he breathed. "No no no no no..." His boots picked up the pace, speed walking over to his catch, to his victim. Please, for the love of god, let him be wrong. Let this be a cruel prank, just a bear or deer dressed up to fool him... don't let it be...!

The creature heard him approach and sobbed, flipping itself over on shaking hands to get a better look at its assailant.

There, lightened by the moonlight, chest heaving, tears streaming down his face and blood oozing from his leg, was Varian.

"Varian....?" Eugene whispered, tears of his own budding when his friend whimpered, scooting back and away. With each step forward Varian scrambled back until his back hit a tree, at which point he curled into a ball. Like a frightened animal. Like a cornered beast.

Oh god... this whole time, he thought it was just one of the farm animals marked for slaughter, or a meddlesome woodland critter... he thought it was an animal destined for someone's table, so why not the guards'? Why on Earth did he agree to this? Was he so desperate for approval from his peers that he would simply shrug off the ringing alarm bells, put aside his gut instinct, and dive in blindly?

Yes, his mind whispered. You would, and you did.

"Hey, buddy," He leaned down, inching closer. "Varian, goggles, it's me. It's Team Awesome." His hand shook as he reached forward, but Varian flinched violently, causing his leg to spasm. The boy hiccuped, a hand clamping over his mouth to stifle his sobs. A small mercy came from the shadows of the night, with it too dark for details, Varian wouldn't see the blood rapidly soaking his pants.

The crossbow glinted, a sharp refraction bouncing off frightened blue eyes and causing him to wince. Eugene tossed the weapon away like it burned him.

"It's me, it's Eugene," he reassured, scooting closer bit by bit. "I'm here to help. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"You did," Varian gasped, whole form shaking. "You did."

And that really was the crux of it, wasn't it? At the center of Eugene's self loathing was the spiral of guilt that you shot him, you shot the kid. He trusted you, and you shot him.

"I know," he rasped, trying to keep his voice level. "I did. I'm so sorry. Fuck, I'm so sorry." Varian sobbed, unfurling slightly if only to reach out for comfort. Even if this was the man who hurt him, who hunted him on horse and acted as the boogeyman straight out of nightmares, he was also Eugene, his friend, the one who stood up for him against Cass and Aaron, held his hand and promised he'd be there if Varian ever needed it. And god did he need him now.

Shaking, gloved hands connected in the middle, Eugene's grip gentle but grounding, a careful smile on his face. "That's it, bud. You're safe."

“Aw, ain’t that cute?”

Faster than a bullet, the smaller hand retracted, Varian’s eyes wide and horror-struck. In his attempt to comfort the boy, Eugene had let his guard down. He’d forgotten the final rule of the game.

No one moves until you make the first shot.

They were surrounded.

Aaron swaggered up to the duo with a grin, torch in hand. It flickered and sputtered, illuminating his blinding white grin amidst the darkness. The other guards formed a circle around them. Every other man carried a torch, while the rest had a weapon or tool or rope.

“The Captain has captured the beast! And in remarkable time, too.” Aaron simpered, waltzing up and gripping Varian’s cheeks in his hand. The boy snarled, teeth grit as he stared up at his bully.

From behind them came Aaron’s two buddies, the guards from before, each one wrapping an arm around Eugene’s shoulder, hauling him up and away.

For a moment, Eugene's insides were pure ice, frozen in time, unable to react despite the screaming in his mind as the puzzle pieces failed to connect. They jumbled and sloshed in his mind, the picture only half complete and the rest of the pieces strewn atop, obscuring the image from his view.

"Eugene...?" Varian whispered, thawing him.

"What have you done!?" He bellowed, anger hardening his voice. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" He strained against the guards.

"Just as we told you, sir!" Aaron mocked, forcing Varian to meet the Captain's gaze. "We captured a beast for you to hunt down! And now that you have," The grin was razor sharp, shark's fangs practically drenched in blood. "We'll dispose of it properly."

A guard from the circle threw a rope, the ends tied into a loop. Like a ring toss, the aim was true, ensnaring Varian's wrist and tightening when he pulled. Another guard followed suit, yanking the boy back and forth till his arms were spread eagle and unable to move.

Varian turned a stark white, paler than the moon that neared the horizon. He cried out, straining to try and escape, but another spasm from his leg paralyzed him. “N-no, please not again…!” He sobbed. “Let me go-!”

"Again!? Varian, what do you mean? VARIAN!" Eugene yelled. "VARIAN!"

The boy screwed his eyes shut, praying for the nightmare to end.

"LET HIM GO!" Eugene strained against the guards, lamenting once again, his own stupidity. He should've brought Max, or an actual weapon, like his sword, or something! He'd gone in totally blind, expecting that the guards were decent people and that this wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. Honestly, he should've known better! After everything he's seen and done, never leave the house without a concealed weapon! You were almost executed by half these assholes!

When he gets back, he's firing everyone except Stan and Pete.

A third rope flashed through the air, this time with a loop larger than the others. It latched itself onto Varian's neck, wrapping tight and close. His eyes snapped open in pure terror, mouth opening in shock. But before the boy could protest or scream, the rope was pulled taut, and his face turned an awful shade of purple. He coughed, thrashing in place with tears of fear and hypoxia trailing his cheeks.

"Aw, the beast is scared! Doesn't he know how all animals are slaughtered?" Aaron cooed, faux sympathy marring his features. "You know, don't you? You were raised on a farm, after all." His question went unanswered, Varian too busy rasping for breath to respond.

The man with the rope pulled harder, forcing Varian's face down into the dirt where his muffled cries barely caused the leaves beneath to move. A steel boot stomped onto his head, and the cries went still.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?" Eugene bellowed, the protective instincts in his mind going haywire, overheating and exploding with pure rage and an intense need to save him, free him. He let this happen, if he had been smarter, stronger, if he hadn't shot him, hadn't let his guard down, hadn't shrugged and taken the guards' words at face value… “Oh relax, it'll be painless!” Aaron hummed, producing a knife from his belt. “The beast didn’t answer the question, but, I’m sure you can figure out how animals are killed after falling unconscious.” He jokingly slashed the dagger in the air above his throat, and Eugene saw red.

"YOU ARE SO FIRED!" He screeched at Aaron. "WHEN RAPUNZEL FINDS OUT-"

"Oh?" Aaron mocked, turning around and placing a hand to his chest daintily. "When the princess finds out? You're making her do all the heavy lifting?" He sauntered up to Eugene, hips swaying with each step till they were nose to nose. "This is your job, sir. You are in charge of keeping us in line, keeping the prisoners in their place."

"Varian is NOT a prisoner," Eugene hissed, meeting his gaze with pure fury. "He is a friend, my friend, my brother."

"Perhaps to Eugene Fitzherbert, but not a Captain of the Guard." Aaron shrugged.

Eugene lowered his head. For a brief moment, Aaron grinned victoriously. Now he's getting it.

"Too bad for you, I'm both."

Aaron's face fell, the cheerful facade falling into a brutal glower. "What does that mea-"

He was cut off when Eugene slammed his face into Aaron's, hitting the bastard's nose with a CRUNCH. He staggered back, and his buddies loosened their grip on Eugene to see if he's ok. It's all the advantage Eugene needed, quickly pushing them both off him and charging Aaron. His shoulder bowled into Aaron, sending him sprawling, and Eugene only stopped to grab the dagger he dropped before sprinting for Varian's crumpled form.

"Oh sun, please be ok, come on kid," Eugene chanted, slashing the rope around his neck. It leaves a brutal ring of red around his neck, as do the ones around his wrist when they're dispatched. There was no time to remove the chains, what with the remaining guards quickly regaining their senses and gearing up for a fight.

He lifted Varian up into his arms as if he were made of glass. Dark black hair lolled against the Captain's chest as he stood to his full height, glaring down at his employees, the hazers, the conspirators.

There was no hope of taking them all on, that much was clear. Charging into battle with hands full and armed only with a knife was stupid. He'd have to outrun them, play the game, and make it to Old Corona where Quirin could protect his son and he could get actual backup from loyal men.

Perhaps this was the true game, the true test of his worthiness.

Aaron snarled, staggering up while clutching his nose. "GET HIM!"

Eugene crouched, letting the first guard try and charge him before jumping out of the way at the last second. This he was used to, dodging men who wanted nothing more than to hurt and destroy what he held dear, making a run for it to the relative safety of the familiar. He fell into the old routine without too much difficulty, leaping over heads and ducking under blows. It helped that Varian barely weighed more than a few grapes, still a stick from his year in prison. He and the others had been hard at work trying to help him gain at the very least some muscle, though Varian was a big fan of skipping meals for science.

According to Quirin he's had that habit for a while, and right now it was a minor blessing.

Huh, he thought to himself as he dodged a crossbow bolt, taking off into the trees. Captain of the Guard isn't all that off from my usual life, just with some added benefits. Another arrow nearly took off his ear. Yea, same old stuff.

His feet pounded against the forest floor, dredging up leaves and dirt alike as he ran. There was no time to cover his tracks or be discreet, there was a whole battalion after him, so it wouldn't do much good anyway. But as his steps quickened, as Varian bounced up and down in his arms, the chains still rattling, the boy stirred, groaning in pain with each motion.

"Gene...?" He mumbled, muffled through the man’s coat.

"Hey kid," Eugene grinned down, not slowing for a second. "Glad to see you're ok. How's your throat?"

"On fire..." a weak hand pawed at his throat, rubbing the soreness away.

"Sorry about that, you're gonna be just fine, ok? It's all gonna be ok."

Varian hummed, eyes glossy and not fully there. His head fell back onto Eugene's chest, a soft smile full of love that he didn't deserve. "K. I trust you."

Varian fell back into an uneasy sleep after that, his breaths wheezing against Eugene, lips stained blue and face clammy. Anytime exhaustion tried to creep into his bones, tried to sneak into his soul and drain him to surrender, he looked down at Varian and his spirit would renew.

At some point, they were hiding behind a tree, keeping to the intense darkness. A few guards could be heard not too far off, their annoyed mutterings like an alarm bell, a siren's song of false security. Just as they passed, Varian coughed, clutching at the fabric for comfort. It was an ugly sound, weak and ragged, as if there was something coming up.

When he looked down, those blue lips were now stained red.

He picked up the pace after that.

But even he couldn't run forever, no matter how light Varian was or how determined he was. Inevitably he had to stop for water, hiding Varian behind a fallen tree and drinking from a stream whose sounds hid them from view.

He just finished his own drink when Varian stirred, and the Captain was quick to help Varian get some water of his own.

They sat by the stream for a bit, catching their breaths, Eugene from exertion, and Varian from strangulation.

It was here that Varian recounted his side of the story, tears dripping and mixing with the stream below him. "I was so scared..." he whispered, voice hoarse.

"I bet," Eugene soothed, running a thumb over Varian's palm. "What happened?"

"....I got jumped," his eyes turned downcast, shame coloring his features. "T-they grabbed me when I was gonna head home. Said that they wanted to make it up to me, to... to give me "a job befitting my talents"...." He sighed. "You can probably guess what that was, huh."

Eugene's ears burned. A flame simmered in his gut, nausea falling away as his free hand clenched at the leaves below him. "Yea. I can." He bit out.

For a moment, neither spoke, unsure of what to say. What could they say? The situation was insane, it was cruel, it was... it was…

Varian hacked, more blood than before coming up and splattering on the shackles that remained.

"Oh, let me get those," Eugene hissed. "I'm sorry, shit," He fumbled for his pockets, procuring a lock pick and making quick work of the shackles. "We gotta move. We can't let them find us." His hands hovered over the bolt, unsure. "Can I... I mean, you can't run with..."

Varian turned a shade of green, barely visible. “It’s stopping the blood from coming out.”

"Yea, good point, sorry." He coughed awkwardly, the stream bubbling and gurgling a simple melody.

"Why do... why do you keep apologizing?" Varian asked, not meeting Eugene's eye for a second.

"Wh- seriously?" He let out a bark of laughter, fading when Varian's face didn't change. "Kid, it's my fault you're in this mess! Sun above, I shot you. I said I'd keep you safe and I shot you." Anger swelled in his words, but Varian didn't flinch. He knew it wasn't directed at him. "Some Captain I am, I'm being chased by my own guys."

Varian bit his lip. "Did..." he hesitated to ask. If the answer wasn't what he was hoping for, he'd never recover. "Did you know it was me?"

"No!" Eugene's eyes widened. "No, I never would've agreed if I knew it was a person, let alone you!" He ran a hand through frazzled hair.

"So..." Varian hummed. "You shot me on accident, and then saved me. Again. Even when your men tried to convince you otherwise." Each sentence was slow, filled with Varian needed to take in a breath, but he met his friend's eyes this time. "I think that's a pretty good Captain."

Eugene blinked, then smiled. "Thanks, kid."

Dark voices shouted across the clearing, words incomprehensible. Varian jolted, hands flying up before doubling over hacking. Each cough shook his body so hard you’d think the boy was trembling with fright.

“Woah, easy,” Eugene’s hand rubbed over his back. “Deep breaths. Come on goggles. You got this.”

“You would think,” Varian rasped. “But I do not.”

Finally, with one final hack, his coughs ceased. Each gulp of air felt like heaven, or at least it did for the first few seconds. Then it was replaced by a searing hell, leaving him scrambling again.

God, what is the culprit?

As his breathing quieted, as the burn turned to a small simmer, Varian’s eyes trailed to the forest floor beneath him.

Stained with blood.

Varian’s eyes widened, his pupils shrunk to pinpricks as his entire world focused in on the blood. The dark blues of night left it hard to see, more a black shine than the vicious red, but there was no denying what it was.

“What-oooh,” Eugene hissed, grabbing Varian’s shoulders for support. Shit, this was bad. He made a mental list of symptoms for the inevitable doctor visit: raspy voice, struggling to breathe, coughing up blood... all signs pointed to the noose as the culprit. Whichever guard had tried to strangle Varian was getting fired and arrested.

No, screw it, all of them were.

“Focus on me, hair stripe,” he warned, shaking his brother slightly. “Are you ok to move?” All he got was a weedy moan.  “I’m taking that as a maybe.” With no preamble, he scooped his arms under Varian’s knees and back, pulling him into his arms as he stood in one fluid motion. “I’m gonna try and make a run for it, ok? We’re almost to your dad. I just need you to stay with me.”

Silence, and then a faint nod moving against his coat.

Each step sent vibrations up Eugene’s spine, tingling and thrumming in his veins and pounding in time with his heart. The sun would be rising soon, it had to be, with the dew that is forming at his feet.

At some point Varian readjusted, shifting so that he could see over their shoulders. He couldn’t run, couldn’t fight, but at least he could keep an eye out.

And it’s a good thing he did, when he beats wildly at Eugene’s chest in a signal. The captain was about to duck behind a bush, but the forest’s edge is within sight! Maybe if they made a break for it...?

An arrow grazed his side.

The pain looped through his system, joining the adrenaline for a joyride through his mind and it sent him sprawling. Varian rolled out of his arms, collapsing at the forest’s edge.

Eugene groaned, raising his face with the sun to see Aaron’s smug grin glowing in the upcoming dawn.

“Well, look what I caught! A daddy beast and a baby beast!” He said.

Eugene gaped. “Could you be any creepier? Really, gotta go for the weirdest shit to say, don’t you?”

“Eh,” Aaron shrugged, crossbow in hand. He stepped past his boss (Er, ex boss), boots crunching on leaves and leaving nothing but dust in their wake. “I’m a weird guy, I guess.”

“Yea, a real weirdo. Kidnaps a teenager and has the captain hunt him for sport. A nice quirk, ain’t it!” Each word is angrier than before until he is spitting acid.

Aaron doesn’t even argue; he’s too caught up in his victory. Varian shook as he struggled to sit up, arms quivering with effort. Just as he raised his head his eyes met the gleaming tip of an arrow, aimed right between the eyes. “Say goodnight, kid. Don’t worry. I’ll make a fine trophy out of you. Hang your goggles over my mantle.”

“Would you knock it the fuck off!?” Eugene wheezed, scrambling up. His feet gave out near instantly, but he leapt forward, colliding with the guard and driving his aim up. The arrow whizzed overhead, harmlessly lodging into a tree.

“Varian, run!” Eugene yelled, still on top of the other.

“I CAN’T! What part of arrow in my leg don’t you get!?” Varian yelled, immediately followed by coughing.

Eugene went to answer, only for the butt of the crossbow to whack him in the face.

Aaron laughed, loud and manic, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. It was quickly stopped by a punch to his stomach from the furious man above him. If the others found them, it’d be game over. Literally.

Whether or not Eugene would be killed was unclear. While he didn’t always need Rapunzel to save him, her good graces granted him immunity from most local threats. But they’d definitely kill Varian, and that was the bigger concern to him.

Unfazed, Aaron slammed his skull into Eugene’s, sending him tearing back. The guard quickly flipped them, crossbow still in between.

“Face it,” Aaron snarled. “You’ll never be a true captain. You can’t control your men, can’t protect a kid, can’t even protect yourself. You just got the job because you saved the lost princess.”

“In my defense,” Eugene wheezed. “Your previous guard couldn’t do that either.” That only angered him more, digging the crossbow into Eugene’s Adam’s apple.

The two men wrestled briefly, Eugene finally getting a good grip on the crossbow, and kicking Aaron off of him. He scrambled to Varian, fully prepared to scoop him up and begin the dance again, just for a little longer, but Aaron just yelled out in anger, drawing a sword from his belt. As strong as Eugene was, he couldn’t outrun him with Varian in his arms. He would know, he trained his men to match him in speed and strength.

Varian moaned in pain. He had to do something, he couldn’t just sit here! Eugene had spent the whole night running around, working his ass off to keep him safe after the initial mistake, he couldn’t let him down...

But the arrow scraped against his bone, pain sending stars across his vision any time he stood…

The captain’s hands clenched down on wood, eyes calculating. He looked into Varian’s eyes, then down at his leg. Then up again. And down again. He hissed between teeth, kneeled down, and clenched his fist around the arrow. It sent a pulse of pain through Varian’s leg, the boy wincing, but understanding.

“Do it,” he hissed.

And yanked.

The pain was so sharp, so intense, that for a moment Varian was certain he was dead. There was no way anyone could survive with this much pain, he must surely be dead or dying. White hot agony stabbed into his leg, and he bit so hard on his lip he broke skin. It took everything in him not to scream.

Aaron laughed again, shadow blanketing them. Eugene turned to see him looming over them, sword above his head. “Say goodnight, Sir!” he shrieked.

Fwip!

Thunk!

The man’s grin vanished in an instant, replaced by sheer shock at the arrow sticking straight into his throat. Blood trickled down the wound, looking more like an impulse tracheotomy. Suddenly, he pitched forward, face hitting the forest floor with a sickening shick as the arrow went the rest of the way through his throat. There wasn’t even a struggle, no death rattles or cry of pain, just the sounds of a morning dove in the coming dawn.

Eugene’s shoulders slumped, and Varian leaned back into the cool grass.

“You doing alright there, Goggles?” Eugene called.

“My lungs are on fire, I can’t feel my legs and I’m sweating in places I didn’t even know I could sweat. I’d say I’m in the mood to die, but I literally just spent the whole night trying to prevent that.”

“...fair enough.”

-

The weeks that followed were, for lack of a better term, a total fucking nightmare.

After pulling themselves together, the brothers managed to hobble to Varian’s house in Old Corona, just in time to greet Quirin at the door. Imagine the poor man’s shock when he was headed out to work only to be greeted by his son’s blood and the captain’s exhaustion. Suffice to say, they got a proper tongue lashing the whole cart ride to Corona proper, the father fussing over them both while he rushed them to the infirmary. And then they had to get chewed out by Rapunzel, and Lance, and pretty much everyone else, despite their repeated insistence that it wasn’t their fault this time.

“What did you expect us to do? We were being hunted!” Eugene whined at Rapunzel while a nurse cleaned up a cut.

“Uh, I was being hunted. You were hunting me .” Varian hoarsely piped up from his own bed, leg propped up in a cast. He paused at the frantic stop motion Eugene was making, and the paling faces of his father and princess. “Oh. Was I. Not supposed to say that.”

“You’re not supposed to be talking,” Rapunzel chided lightly, though that was clearly not the problem. The doctor had been pretty quick to explain Varian’s breathing issues were just from the throat trauma, and would heal with time and supervision.

“I didn’t know! In my defense,” Eugene held up his hands as if to shield from Quirin’s murderous face, but if looks could kill he’d be a pile of bones. “I didn’t know.”

“How do you…” Quirin pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to remind myself that you saved my son’s life and ignore the part where you endangered it in the first place.”

“Yes, please do,” He said, shifting under the glare.

And then came the paperwork.

Trying to figure out who among the guards was part of the hunt was hard enough, seeing as outside of Aaron and his cronies, no one was going to say a word. All they had to go off of were the men who saw Eugene off, and the ones who initially captured Varian. And since they hadn’t run into anyone else directly, no one could be properly accused and charged. But Eugene wasn’t going to take any chances, and therefore anyone who he saw at least once was fired, and if they wanted to dispute it they could come to him and explain why they were willing to throw his little brother to the wolves.

Suffice to say, no one did. Which left Eugene with only two thirds his original squadron. He spent a good while of his recovery vetting new recruits and creating incentives for others to try out, and while he was able to replenish his ranks, they weren’t nearly the same elite task force they’d started with. And considering the threats they faced on the regular, that was a serious problem.

It was after a long day of training and interviews that Eugene finally stumbled into the castle library, ready to destress with a nice long binge read of Flynn Rider. He grabbed a few books off the shelves as he walked, headed for his favorite couch and the cozy fireplace at its side, only to stop dead in his tracks.

Varian lay spread across the couch, foot propped up on the armrest as he glossed over some scientific text that Eugene had no hope of understanding. His eyes flitted up and down the page, clearly not actually reading and more just staring at the words.

“Hey,” Eugene called, and Varian barely reacted. “Oi, kid, that’s my spot. Scooch it.” “I got here first,” Varian said, not looking up for a second.

“Older brother gets first dibs.”

“Little brother gets his way.”

Oh he was gonna play it like that was he? Eugene smirked, plopping his books down at the floor before collapsing directly on top of Varian, making care to not crush the injured leg. Varian squawked in protest, limbs flailing.

“Get off! You’re heavy!” he yelled, trying to push him off. When that failed, he resorted to whacking at him.

“Never!” Eugene laughed. “Your little punches feel like flowers!”

“I have an iron deficiency!” Varian responded, cheeks red but smiling slightly. The captain finally stopped suffocating him, but didn’t get off, instead wiggling in close so they could share. “Mean,” Varian whined, a pout on his lips, but didn’t complain.

“Oh hush,” Eugene chided, grabbing a book from the floor. “You know you love me.”

Varian simply hummed, buck teeth peeking through a tiny grin. “So, what did you grab for today?”

“Ah, glad you asked!” Eugene held up the cover, which Varian oohed in appreciation. “One of the older ones, came out when I was your age.” He wrapped an arm around Varian, pulling his brother close, the warmth of his side and the fire combining to create a heavenly cocoon. “You want to read, or should I?”

“Your turn,” Varian responded, stifling a yawn.

The book creaked in protest, Eugene gazing down at his little brother with a smile. He leaned his cheek on the boy’s hair, deep voice dripping with fondness as he started to read.

Being Captain was fun, but being a brother was even better.

[fangirlfics]

Never Should’ve Let You Go (Harry Hook x reader)

=““

My first Harry Hook x reader!!! I don’t know if anyone’s even going to read this but it was fun to write. :)

summary: y/n returns to the Isle of the lost to help save Ben with the vk’s and Lonnie, she tries convincing Harry to go back with her with no success and after that she thinks that she’ll never see him again. Months later Harry successfully jumps through the barrier with Gil to find Auradon under a sleeping curse. 

word count: 2,314

 “Hey, can you pass me that book?” y/n asked Harry, he threw it to her watching as she packed for Auradon. y/n was one of the vk’s that had been chosen to attend Auradan prep-to say she was excited was an understatement. It was her dream to go there.

“You goin’ ta miss me lassie?” Harry asked with his infamous grin.

“Of course, who else is going to call me lassie?“ She asked, imitating his accent while saying the word ‘lassie’.

Harry chuckled before dropping his smile “How long is this goin ta last?” He asked. The truth was he was scared of being separated from y/n for so long-terrified even, she was one of the few things that made the isle more bearable-but he’d never admit it. He was too prideful. He was pretty sure that he was in love with her.

“It’s only for a little while.” She told him, getting closer to the boy. “There’s a plan to steal the fairy godmother’s wand and take down the barrier.” She whispered, “We’ll see each other soon.” 

“hmm” He thought, wrapping his arms around y/n pretending to think. “Ok, don’ you keep me waitin’ too long.” He told her resting his forehead against hers. He tried to kiss her but y/n pecked the corner of his mouth before backing up. “Always a tease.” He complained, making y/n laugh. 

“I’ll see you soon.” y/n said once more but before she could leave, Harry caught her wrist, pulling her back and planting his lips on hers-capturing her in a passionate kiss. 

“Don’t be gone fer too long.” He told her, bringing her into a hug. 

“I-”     

“y/n! Get down here already!“ A voice came from downstairs.

“That’s my cue.“ she said kissing Harry’s cheek. She backed up, holding his hand and let go once she was a few steps away. “Don’t miss me too much.“ She joked.

“I’m more worried about you.“ Harry shouted back once she was out the door, he smiled to himself when he heard her laugh-secretly wishing that he could go with her. 

(days later)

“Harry y/n’s on tv.“ Gil shouted, pointing to the small screen behind the counter. Harry had just walked into Ursula's Fish and Chips, but once he caught a glance of y/n on the tv he walked over quickly to watch. “Oh the wand!” Gil exclaimed with a mouth full of food, “didn’t you say that-”

“Shut ye mouth!” He snapped, raising his hook in the air. ‘This is it’, he thought. Once Mal grabbed the wand. ‘The barriers coming down’. 

Then Maleficent showed up and the vk’s changed their minds-betraying their parents trust and crushing Harry’s hopes. 

And the rest of the isle kids were still stuck on the isle.

(present time)

y/n stood behind Mal watching as her friend and Uma argued. Her eyes scanned the pirate ship-recognizing a few faces before seeing Harry with Ben on the plank. “Mal, whatever you do it’s gonna be a lose-lose, there’s gotta be a better way!” Ben’s voice rang out. Harry and y/n made eye contact for a moment before she turned away. 

In truth Harry felt betrayed-y/n had hurt him more than anyone ever had. She had promised before that the wand would be taken and the barrier taken down, but it seemed that she had changed her mind-choosing to stay with her friends and have a perfect life in Auradon-dooming Harry and everyone else that was still stuck on the Isle. “Silly king!” Uma yelled out-ripping Harry away from his thoughts-“You? Give me? You're gonna give me a chance? Well, not a chance!”

After a little while longer the wand had been handed over and turned up being a fake-that’s when the fighting between the two sides began. y/n was on the ground with a pirate pointing their sword at her-when the sword was knocked out of their hand. Jay helped the girl up, pushing the pirate off of the ledge and into the water. “You ok?” He asked and she nodded, taking the sword that he held out to her. “I know this is hard for you.” He told her-referring to Harry, “try to stay up here.” 

Well she had tried, but she was now closer to the ship than she had intended-trying to get to the exit where her friends were. “y/n!” Harry’s voice came from behind her. She looked over-spotting the pirate struggling to get out of the water.

“y/n come on!” Mal shouted from somewhere behind. 

y/n ignored her friend, reaching down to take Harry’s hand and help him back onto the wooden dock. He looked up at her and the two stared at each other for a moment. “Come with us.” y/n said out of nowhere, making Harry chuckle. “I’m serious.” She pleaded. 

“I’m not leavin’ Uma and Gil behind.” He told her before sadly adding “not like you left us.”

Her mouth opened in disbelief, “Harry I-”

“y/n!” Jay’s voice rang out, “come on!”

y/n looked back to her friends. “Stay.” Harry said, taking y/n’s hand. “Stay with me.” His blue eyes were pleading and this was the most vulnerable y/n had ever seen the boy. She put her other hand over his, squeezing it. 

“I can’t.” She whispered.

“y/n!” Jay called again.  

“Harry you can come with us, Uma and Gil and everyone else too. Come with me..” She begged holding his hand, he let go looking down. “Please.” y/n whimpered-feeling tears well up in her eyes. “We can have a better life in Auradon-a happy life please....I love you.” That was the first time either of them had said that.   

He silently watched her for a moment, looking at the ground-he didn’t have to say his answer.

y/n’s eyebrows furrowed as she bit her lip. “Harry...?” She asked with a breaking voice, “Harry.”

“Yer friends are callin’ ye.“ He croaked. “Just leave-it’s what yer good at.“

“But...“ 

“y/n!“ It was Carlos’s turn to shout her name this time. y/n looked back to her friends then to Harry-debating what to do. A purple color bomb came out of nowhere suddenly-blocking everyone’s vision. When it cleared y/n was gone.

Harry had lost her a second time. 

(months later)

“Don’t worry Jane, I’m sure Carlos will be here.“ y/n told her friend, putting a hand on her shoulder. “He’s probably just running late.” 

Jane glanced at her friend, offering a nervous smile. 

Carlos however was going back to the isle with the other vks, but y/n of course didn’t know since she arrived extra early to Jane’s party to help with decorations, and the vk’s were in a rush to get Hade’s ember. 

“I just don’t don’t get what’s taking him so long...“ Jane said with worry, “are there birthday parties on the isle?”

“um..“ y/n glanced at her friend “if by birthday party you mean eating stolen cake with dirt and flies then yes...“ She chuckled, making Jane giggle as well.

“um y/n?“ Jane asked staring up the hill.

y/n looked to where Jane was starring, gasping when she saw a pink mist covering the place. It started to make it’s way down to where the two girls stood. “Don’t let her see you!” y/n warned her friend upon seeing Audrey. 

“The enchanted lake! Come on!” Jane told y/n, taking hold of her wrist and pulling her towards the direction of the water. 

“I don’t know how to swim.”

“It’s fine-we just need to get deep enough to bend down into the water.” Jane reassured her. y/n nodded, submerging into the lake. They waited a few moments until Audrey disappeared before coming back up.”Was that Audrey?” Jane asked with a mix of confusion and worry.

“With maleficent’s staff.”

“And the crown!”

“We need to warn people!” y/n told Jane, getting out of the water.

“Let me just fill this water gun up with the lake water. Who knows, we might need it.”

“Knowing the vk’s, they’re probably on top of this already.” y/n told Jane-who had just finished filling up the water gun. “Come on, we should go look for them.”

The two wandered around the woods for a while before making it to Evie’s cottage, “Let’s check here.” Jane told y/n, she nodded in agreement.

With a bobby pin from Jane’s hair, y/n picked the lock after nobody answered the door. “I think that Doug was here-“ The door opened, revealing Audrey standing in the cottage-scepter in hand, with Chad beside her. On instinct y/n swung the door open wider-hiding Jane from Audrey’s view. “Audrey you don’t have to do this!” y/n told the girl, staying put, “just wake everyone up and I promise-”

“Promise me what?” Audrey snapped, “There’s nothing you can possibly offer me that I want!”

“Audrey.” y/n said carefully “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but you can fix it.”

“I don’t want to fix it!” She hissed, “I’m having the time of my life.” She added with a laugh, “you on the other hand, won’t be so lucky. Chad let’s go!” She boomed.

“Wait Au-” but it was too late. Audrey hit the scepter against the floor board and began to teleport. “Sweet dreams...” Her fading voice cackled.  The same pink mist from earlier surrounded y/n, making it’s way to her. 

“y/n!“ Jane called out, taking a step closer.

“No!“ y/n yelled, throwing her arms out to stop Jane from getting to close. “don’t waste the water on me-“ Then she fell to the ground asleep and the pink mist disappeared. 

“y/n!“ Jane yelled, rushing to her friend’s side. She looked around in a panic wanting to cry. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and stood up. “Don’t worry y/n.” She whispered, “I’m going to drag you into the house and then find everyone else.” 

It didn’t take long for Jane to lay y/n on a couch. She had just carefully laid y/n’s head on a pillow when she heard a roar coming from the woods. She had followed it and found Carlos, Jay two other boys she didn’t recognize, and Ben in beast form. She didn’t have to think twice before spraying him with the water from the enchanted lake. After a happy reunion with Carlos Jay spoke up, “Jane do you know where Audrey went?”

“No but y/n-”

At the mention of y/n, Harry’s head snapped to look at her. “ye know y/n?”

“...Yeah.” Jane nodded, “she’s my friend.”

“That’s Harry and Gil.” Jay told Jane and she nodded.

“What about y/n?” Carlos asked.

“She’s under the sleeping curse.“ Jane explained, “Audrey showed up out of nowhere and cursed her before leaving!”

“y/n’s under the sleepin’ curse?” Harry almost yelled. Normally he didn’t act emotional, but he was worried now.  “Where?”

“At Evie’s cottage.” Jane said, “come on.” The group made it to Evie’s cottage with no trouble, finding the girls there too. They had their short reunion and Mal ran into Ben’s arms. Harry however went straight for the door. 

“Where is she?” He asked almost losing his temper. Uma knew exactly what he was talking about and nodded her head towards the cottage, leading the way.

Harry froze for a second after seeing y/n fast asleep on a couch. He creeped forward-as if a sudden movement would disturb her. “I should’ve been here.” He whispered, kneeling down beside her. “I’m sorry-I drove you away and now yer-”

“Hey Harry.” Gil called from the doorway. 

“Can’t ye see I’m havin’ a moment?” Harry yelled to the boy.

“Well yeah but...why don’t you try kissing her?” He asked.

“An’ why would I do that?” Harry asked looking up aggrivated. 

“Well you know..true loves kiss.” Gil told him with a smile as if it were obvious. “Uma said it works every time.”

“It does.” Uma said from beside Gil.

“Well it won’t work this time.” Harry whispered.

“Why not?” Gil asked confused, “don’t you love her?”

“Course I love her!” Harry snapped, looking back down at y/n. “But she’s gotta love me too, and I doubt she does after how I acted-I hurt her.”

“She hurt you too, but you still love her.” Gil said. 

“Why don’t you just try?” Jay asked.

“I can’t.” Harry told the boy, “what if it doesn’t work?” He closed his eyes-he didn’t think he could bare it if it didn’t work.

“She loves you.” Jay told the pirate, “I don’t know why since you’re kind of a jerk-” he stopped talking when Harry glared at him. “But she does and I don’t think she’ll ever stop.” 

“If you don’t try you’ll never know.” Uma told him, patting Gil’s shoulder as a hint to leave.

Once they were alone Harry looked down at y/n sighing. He pulled a strand of her back with his hand, softly caressing her cheek. “Please work.” He whispered. He leaned down closing his eyes and pressed his lips against hers softly.

Nothing happened. 

Harry looked away sadly, “I’m sorry lass.” He said-about to cry.

But he didn’t see her eyes flutter open. “Harry?” y/n asked confused, Harry’s head snapped in her direction and his mouth opened in shock before a smile formed on his lips. 

“y/n!” He exclaimed, wrapping his arms around the girl. “It worked!” 

y/n hugged him back laughing, “what-what are you doing here?”

“I jumped through the barrier before it closed.” He laughed resting his forehead against hers. “I love ye y/n, more than anything.”

y/n smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck again, “I love you too.”   

[onceupona-chaos]

Belladonna Noctunis

Notes: One-shot, because spy Elain is living in mind rent free and I needed to get this out of my system 😂 As usual, forgive me for any English mistakes, it's not my first language. I just wanted to have some fun and try something new. Be kind!

Warnings: Language, violence and NSFW (mention).

After three days traveling without so much stop to sleep, the gloomy, seedy tavern looked like Flynn's particular paradise. Even with the dirty, wooden floor and the cobwebs on the corners, he'd never been happier whilst he took a long drink from his cheap beer.

Flynn had never been to Night Court territory before and although he found the rumours about the unparalleled night sky to be true, it was difficult to admire anything when you were too busy trying to not get caught. Either by guards or by the evil, bloodthirsty creatures that lived in that area.

But The Night Court was the perfect place for someone who didn't want to be found. The vast land had miles and miles of forests dangerous enough to make the bravest warriors hesitate. Even the Lord of Bloodshed would think twice before stepping into those places. Of course, the border shared with Day Court made it all easier as well.

Flynn let out a long sigh. Two more days in the back of a horse was all that separated him from his payer. The job hadn't been easy. It was the most challenging he'd done so far. But he and Akir had managed just fine.

Since Akir was the one who got the short stick, therefore the messy part of the job, it was only fair Flynn received the money. Still… whatever the prick was doing right now, it was better than being in this hellhole.

Most of the customers had already headed upstairs, the lucky ones with some company. Only a few other males remained in the tavern, sleeping miserably in their chairs, probably too drunk to even take a step, when exhaustion began to settle over Flynn, heavy like a blanket.

He was finishing his third beer, about to raise his hand to call the bartender to ask for one of the rooms upstairs, when a flash of purple and gold caught his attention.

He didn't hear her enter the room. But right there, taking a seat at the other side of the bar, was undoubtedly the most stunning female he'd ever seen.

In a lilac gown that did nothing to hide her curves, especially her backside, her golden-brown hair braided was thrown over one shoulder, exposing her pointy ears, a five petal withe flower behind the left one.

Beautiful, with pink lips that were begging to be kissed… She was every male's dream. Flynn didn't try to hide his eyes glued to her, scanning slowly that perfect face and traveling through the delicious curves of her body. She would be even more beautiful between his sheets, that was for sure.

Given that the bartender was almost drooling when he served her a glass of wine on the house, he probably was thinking the same thing.

Under the scarce faelights, she glowed so at odds with the dark tavern. It was strange, he admitted, that a stunning lady like her frequented such a place. But Flynn didn't pay so much attention to that. Not when doe-brown eyes found him already staring and a little, sweet smile curved her lips before she sipped from her glass.

It was everything he needed to approach her.

He made a point of lowering his voice before saying, "If I knew I would find the most beautiful female I've ever seen in the Night Court, I would have visited these lands sooner."

If it was possible, she was even more stunning from up close, with her soft, creamy skin and large eyes. And her scent… almost made him dizzy.

Her face remained neutral though, as if she had heard that many times before. Which probably she had. "A traveler, are you?"

He smirked, "I'm whatever you wish me to be, gorgeous."

At that, she let out a low laugh. Totally unimpressed as if he had told her the funniest joke she'd ever heard. And strangely that only made him want her more. He wanted to know what would take to make a classy lady like her give in, to make her crawl into his bed.

Every ounce of tiredness suddenly gone.

"If this is how you approach someone where you came from, I have pity on those females," she remarked.

"No one has ever complained. Maybe you just need to try something new." The words left his mouth before he even realized.

Flynn didn't know if it was the stress of the last days or the two months since he had sex. But he could already imagine every filthy thing he would do to her, every place he would fill her.

She didn't respond, only raised her eyebrows in disbelief. It was the sweetest thing that look on her face.

His voice dropped an octave, "Maybe you need an actual male to treat you the way you deserve."

A small blush stained her cheeks, but she just crooked her head and studied him. Her eyes assessing him from head to toe in a way that made him feel bare.

The female narrowed her eyes at him and grabbed her glass, standing from her seat, "What makes you think you are an actual male that can give me what I want?"

Her tone was quiet and low as if she was telling him all of her secrets. And damn him if he didn't want to know them all.

She moved toward a table in the corner, her hips swaying in a way that he couldn't help but watch.

A heartbeat later he joined her.

They talked for a while. The flirting, the innuendos slowly blending into meaningless conversation.

Usually Flinn wasn't one who would talk to get someone into his bed. He would rather pay to have what he wanted than having the job of talking nonsense. But for her… well, it wasn't everyday a pretty thing like that crossed his path. And he doubted she would appreciate it if he offered her money in exchange for a good time.

But also... maybe it was her easy smiles or her open expression, but she did have something that made him want to keep talking, keep the conversation alive.

The fact that she wasn't boring also helped to ease his impatience.

So there he was, talking about a particularly charming incident that happened to him at Solstice when he was younger. It had ended with him lost in the middle of a deserted beach named Prateada, completely naked.

He hoped she would get intrigued as to why he was naked in the first place, the perfect cue to smoothly shift the conversation to a more heated direction.

But the female tilted her head back and laughed. Strangely, he took satisfaction from it. Everything about her was sexy and lovely in the same, perfect measure. Gods, she was killing him. He wished things could go a little faster.

"So you're from Summer, then." She mused, propping her chin over her first.

He shaked his head, "My friend is from Summer, gorgeous. Actually he lives close to that beach, but he didn't come to rescue me, the little shit." Her laugh was a song to his ears and hopefully a promise of what it would come next. "But I'm from Day."

She asked, "Oh? And where is this friend of yours?"

Flynn didn't miss the suggestive edge hidden in her tone."Why? Interesting?"

She bit her bottom lip, and a delicious, deep pink colored her cheeks as she whispered, "You know what they say... three is a party."

Gods above.

His blood heated and his cock ached in his pants.

She was really just sitting there, pouring sweet nothings into the conversation, batting her eyelashes and making his head spin.

The delicate flared of her nostrils told him she smelled it, too. His arousal.

Flynn locked his gaze with hers and drained his drink to the edges, her eyes tracked every bob of his throat.

"Unfortunately for you, my friend had an urgent matter and had to head home. But two can make a party just fine."

She merely hummed and took a sip of her wine. "Sure about that? You do look tired."

"My journey has been tough." He added after a heartbeat, his words full of promise, "It takes more than that to make me tired, don't worry."

She nodded to herself before grabbing their glasses. He made to help her, but one look from her froze him in place. "Sit. I'll take care of you, tonight." And with that, she was gone.

Cauldron boil him alive.

His pants were getting tighter by the second. Flynn took a deep breath, shaking slightly in anticipation.

A beer was placed before him a few moments later and this time she didn't bother to sit across the table, pulling a chair to sit by his side. Her sweet scent hit him hard and he tried not to look too much at her cleavage as he drank his beer, but failed spectacularly.

"I heard the people in Day are very… concerned." She started, her delicate scent enveloping him. "After what happened in the High Lord's palace."

His eyes shot to hers, meeting those doe eyes of hers. Flynn kept his face careful blank, even though a wave of smugness went through his body. It wasn't everyday a plan was executed with such perfection - and right under the High Lord's nose. He knew he shouldn't be talking about it. But changing the subject would only make things more suspicious so he had to play along. "They have reason to be. No one saw who did it."

Flynn took another long sip from his beer, eyes still fixed on her. He didn't know if that scent of hers were messing with his senses, but we could swear even his drink was sweeter, his head lighter.

She inclined her body a little, getting closer to him as if she was about to reveal even The Mother's secrets. Her eyes flickered in a way that should be forbidden.

He felt chills going down his spine.

"It is disturbing, though." She went on, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, careful to not mess with the flower. "They say the palace wing where one of his lovers was killed is the most guarded one."

He chuckled, too lightheaded. "Perhaps the west wing guards were off duty that day."

Her grin turned wilder as she nodded. "Well… maybe they should be fired, don't you think?"

With that gods' damn scent of hers filling his nose, he couldn't take it anymore. He was too drunk in desire, the corner of his visions turning black. He couldn't even breathe right anymore.

He murmured, "Here I was, thinking you were a good girl."

His heart was beating fast when he dropped his head, aiming at last for those plumb, pink lips.

He wouldn't even make it to the room. No, he would exposed that beautiful backside right there, bent her over the table and fuck her hard, just the way he liked it.

Flynn was already sweating, his mouth was inches from hers - when he felt the air get caught in his throat.

Frowning, he pulled back and gasped slightly at first, swallowing hard as he tried to pull air into his lungs. But it was like his throat had become too tight all of the sudden.

Still trying to ease that feeling, he undid the first bottoms of his tunic.

But it was like there wasn't enough air in the world anymore.

The female didn't show a hint of concern as she stood just to sit on the table before him. Wine in hand, she just observed.

Sweat was pooling in his forehead, his own hands and feet going numb.

"You proved yourself to be a better company than I've imagined, Flynn," she said.

Realization hit him like a punch in the gut.

He knew he hadn't given her his name. His guard was down, but he wasn't so careless, so stupid. Or so he thought. A small, secret smile bloomed on her face. "Although I do think it's interesting that you know in which palace wing his lover was killed when this is private information of the High Lord."

His eyes went wild. Shit.

"You-", he gasped, looking between her and his drink as his numbed hands covered his throat. His vision darkened further, but he still looked at her, at that adorable, fucking flower behind her ear. And utter panic almost made his blood stop cold in his veins.

Only four petals remained.

"Belladonna Noctunis, in case you're wondering. I grow it myself." Her face was harder, any trace of amusement gone. "It wasn't enough to kill you."

The world got darker around them and Flynn noticed it wasn't only because of that damn flower she'd put in his drink. He tried to look around, but he couldn't see past that darkness, that veil of swirling shadows. Where the hell were the bartender or the drunks, he had no idea.

He was still gasping for air, his throat almost completely closed, when a male stepped from a shadow behind her as if he was hidden somewhere in between them. Enormous wings peeking over his shoulders. Ilyrian.

A shiver shook his body as shadows curled around the male, his eyes blazing between them. His voice was deep, but soft as he asked, "Are you ready to go, El?"

That wasn't a common power, Flynn knew that much. He had heard stories about it for centuries, but it was like his brain was as numb as his entire arm now. He couldn't quite place who those people were, not when he was in desperate need of air, his legs getting too heavy to even lift a foot.

A smile bloomed in her face at the sound of the male's midnight voice. "Yes."

Flynn's eyelashes were becoming heavy, sweat running down his face as he still tried to make sense.

The male walked toward them. "Do I need to make him speak more?"

She shook her head. "No, I already have our confirmation. And you owe me fifty golden marks, by the way. I know where the other one is, too."

Shit. Flynn tried to stand at Akir's mention, but his own body wouldn't obey him.

The male gave her a smile as well. "Of course you do," he murmured, chuckling. "You are the sweetest little minx."

She turned to the male, something sparkling in her eyes before asking, "Will you take care of him?"

The male stared at Flynn, his hazel eyes cold. No softness in his voice, no amusement curving his lips. No trace of any emotion now. "He will be our personal present to Helion. They both will."

Fuck. Fuck.

"Generous of you, my love." She was still smiling at the male when she took his scarred hand in hers.

But the way he'd say the High Lord's name, with such casualness as if he knew him… even with his mind and body almost giving up, Flynn saw through his panic, the pieces of a puzzle clicking slowly into place.

That remarkable, perfect face of her… and those shadows… They actually knew the High Lord of The Day Court, because they were members of the… what was the name, again? Inner Circle.

He had heard the tales that travelled through Prythian of how the powers of fate united three brothers and three sisters, including the High Lord and Lady of the Night Court. And the Generals.

Which means… if the male was the Shadowsinger, if they were the High Lord and Lady of The Night Court personals spies...

The last thing Flynn saw was the face of the Kingslayer herself looking down at him - and then the Shadowsinger touched his arm and the world vanished into shadow.

[13uswntimagines]

I Should Sleep With You More Often (Sam x Reader)

Sequel to Works Like a Charm  where Sam and Reader finally get together. It’s a very fluffy piece, with a little bit of late night breakfast making and a surprise kiss. 

special thanks to @literaryhedgehog​ cause this wouldn’t have happened without her. 

Hello?”

“Hey, I can’t sleep.” Sam’s voice comes over the phone, getting straight to the point with frustration.

“And you’re calling me about it? At 3 am. I could have been asleep you know.” You huff into the phone, pinning it between your chin and your shoulder. 

“Were you?” She asks, and you can almost see her eyebrow quirking up. 

You look down at the frying pan where you were about to pour your egg-cheese scramble. “No. But still.”

“Don’t worry, I appreciate the irony of the situation,” she says, with an attempt at humor. “can I come over?”

“Sure. You can split my omelet.” You hum, your tongue poking out as you make sure the entire omelet landed on the plate instead of the floor. 

“Omelette?” Sam asked, sounding amused. “I thought you weren’t supposed to --” 

“Eat anything after 9 pm I know, I know. But I woke up and was hungry, and couldn’t just ignore it to fall back asleep for two hours. I had to eat something or I was going to get nauseous.” You interrupted her, waving your hand dismissively. 

“What?” Sam asked entirely confused. 

“You know that feeling, where you’re like, so hungry that you get kind of nauseous?” You tried to explain again. 

“No…” She trailed off. 

“Oh, well it’s the worst. I like to try to eat something before it gets too bad because otherwise, the food won’t do anything. Anyway, I made enough you can have half of it, just let me know when you get here so I can send down the elevator for you.” You said, whipping your hands off and walking towards the door. 

“I’m actually just parking,” Sam’s voice came sheepishly over the phone. In the background, you heard the unmistakable sound of her car being locked. She always insisted on clicking the lock button twice so it would beep, like she didn’t trust it to lock the first time. 

You shook your head and left your apartment to buzz her into the building. “You’re telling me that at 3 am, before even checking to see if I was awake, you just decided to come to my apartment because you couldn’t sleep?”

“Yes?” 

“You’re insane,” you said, hanging up the phone as the elevator door opened to reveal her tall frame. 

She ruffled the hair at the back of her neck, grinning. “I knew you would be awake?”

“Bullshit.” You led the way back to your apartment and grabbed two plates from the cabinet. “You want soy milk?”

“What?” 

“Soy milk. I’ve got vanilla or dark chocolate.” For some reason, soy milk helped reduce the insomnia nausea more than anything else most days. Still, the omelet smelled amazing. 

“Um sure, vanilla please.” She shrugged, and you rolled your eyes. Vanilla was for the weak. 

You pulled out both cartons and two glasses, before cutting the omelet in half and handing her a fork. 

“Don’t I get my own plate?” Sam whined, cutting off a piece of the Omelet and popping it into her mouth. 

“People who come barging into my apartment at 3 AM have to share with the host. Unless you wanna do dishes?” You raised your eyebrow at her, pointing your fork in her direction, smirking when she emphatically shook her head no. 

She quickly changed the subject, avoiding your eyes as she ate. “So how are you liking your apartment, it’s new right?”

“Yeah, I moved in four months ago, you know when I suddenly got traded to North Carolina,” you said, a very bitter edge in your voice. How Mark could let you leave the thorns you would never know, but at least Hinkle was retiring. 

You took another bite “So why couldn’t you sleep? At camp, you’re usually snoring like a freight train by now.” 

Sam paused mid-bite, fork in the air. She looked like she was debating how to answer then, stuffed her last piece of omelet in her mouth. “I donb snowe.”

“You totally do. Rose even sent me the video evidence if you wanna see it,” you smirked, standing to go get your phone. 

“No!” Sam jumped up and you sprinted across the kitchen to get out of her reach, grinning. “You really don’t have to do that, it’s not a big deal.”

“Oh, but I really don’t mind,” you taunted, starting for your phone before Sam tackled you. Well, it wasn’t a tackle so much as a grab, but she had a good foot and a half on you, so same difference really. 

“Put me down. This is highly unnecessary,” you sputtered, laughing from Sam’s shoulder. “I’m not supposed to exercise within an hour of bed. My therapist would be unhappy with so much activity.”

“Yeah cause eating an Omelette at 3 am is totally something she would approve,” Sam rolled her eyes, as she tossed you onto your couch.

“Lies and slander. I won’t get the alleged snoring video, but seriously. Why are you here?”

Sam sighs, and slouches onto the couch next to you, dropping her head into your lap. You smile down at her, liking this new angle. While you certainly didn’t mind being the baby of the team, it was kind of nice to do the petting for once.

“I don’t know,” Sam said, furrowing her eyebrows.

“You were never a good liar. It’s why everyone catches you when you try to pull pranks. I hear it helps if you talk about it,” You murmured, using your thumb to smooth out the crease that formed between her eyes. 

“Fine, I couldn’t sleep because I kept having nightmares. It felt like, I was tossing and turning for hours, and then every time I dozed off, my brain came up with these fucked up images. Like, silence of the lambs shit. I could sell some horror film director the plotlines and make bank, I’m telling you. And since Rose and Wilma moved out, my place has felt so empty. It felt like, the panic attacks I used to have before games. When I had to always bring a bag with me to hyperventilate into before I could get my mind on the game.”

You frowned. “I don’t remember that.”

“Once you became my bus buddy I didn’t have that problem. You got me out of my own head with fun word games and stupid jokes. Remember that time you gave me the sentence ‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog?’ You kept grinning telling me to stop stressing out, it would be alright, to just guess a letter.” 

“Because whatever you guessed would be right.” You hum smiling down at her. 

 “You couldn’t take that shit-eating grin off your face, you jerk, but like, it helped me stop second-guessing myself. Sitting on the bus with you, I’ve never felt more calm going into a season. And so I just thought. It’s dumb but I hoped coming here would help.” She shrugged. 

“It’s not dumb Sammy. You help me sleep too. Why do you think all the vets insist I sit with you?” You said softly, leaning down to kiss her forehead. 

“Because you used to fall asleep literally everywhere and they hoped I could get across the aisle and catch you before you hit your head?” She giggled and you snapped her shoulder lightly. 

“Wow. Thanks.” You said in a monotone, “Or maybe it’s ‘cause you’re my favorite teddy bear.”

“If anyone is the teddy it’s you. You’re like half my size,” She giggled. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” you muttered, playfully pushing her head off your lap. “Come on you giant.”

“Where are you going?” She asked, allowing you to pull her to her feet. 

“To go grab you a toothbrush and a fresh pillowcase for the bed.” You said, your tugging getting a little more insistent. You really wanted to get to sleep tonight. You had been so good lately (ignoring the random omelet you cooked tonight).

“Oh, um. I was hoping we could just watch television on your couch and I would fall asleep,” Sam rambled, eyes wide. “I mean, not that I mind, but I didn’t want to like, invade on your--”

“Just come up to my room. It’s no big deal, it’s large enough for both of us, and I honestly don’t think that couch is even big enough to fit you. Besides, maybe it will help you sleep to be on a mattress actually purchased in this century.”

“Hey, I like my mattress!” She grumbled indignantly, crossing her arms. 

“You flip it twice a month because it keeps forming an indention where you’ve slept!” You said exasperated. That sleepover had been a terrible idea and you stood by that. At least your bed didn’t spit out feathers when you turned over too fast. 

“Well, I. um. No comment.” you hear her say as you go to take your turn in the bathroom. 

When Sam gets back from brushing her teeth you’ve done everything except turn out the lights. You look up from your side of the bed as she pauses in the doorway. 

“Is this… Welcome to Night Vale?”

“It helps me ignore my thoughts. Can you get the lights please?” 

You had to replay the podcast the next day after Sam left. You couldn’t remember anything after “Wednesday has been canceled due to a scheduling error” because within moments you were asleep.

*****

You thought that sleeping with Sam was only supposed to be a one-night thing, but it wasn’t. One night turned into two, which turned into the two of you usually crashing at each other's places. 

If you were being honest, it was the best sleep you had ever gotten. It was nice to have someone there to hold onto, to protect you from the bad dreams. The problem was that your feelings were edging past the line of friendship, and you had no idea what to do about it. 

It started with a team party you both went to, where Sam offered to be the designated driver. After she dropped everyone else off, you told her she might as well stay the night at your place since it was already so late and she did. And you both slept great. And then you had your usual Saturday spa night the next night, and you were several shots in and it wouldn’t have been responsible to drive home. And you both slept a solid seven hours. 

Not that Sam was a magical cure to your insomnia. You still had nights where your brain was like a train running off the rails, unstoppable no matter how hard you tried. Yet, having her there helped. She made sure blue lights went off when they were supposed to, and your late-night breakfast-making was kept to a minimum. AND after the first few nights, you realized that she was amusingly clingy in her sleep. Which meant that occasionally if you woke up and tried to get out of bed, she would sleepily grab you and hold you in place murmuring about whatever was happening in her dream. Since you couldn’t get up you had to just lay there, which normally might have been boring, but with her was amusing as you listened to her rambling state of consciousness. 

You sighed, staring up at the ceiling. You really needed to get your shit together and just ask her out. But what if she said no, and you lost your cuddle buddy? That would suck royally, and if you lost your bus seat it might completely curse the USWNT. 

“Alright, I can practically feel the steam coming out of your ears, spill,” Sam groaned, rolling over and throwing an arm around your waist. 

“Isn’t it weird?”

“What?”

“Time. Like someone decided that seconds were a thing and a certain number of seconds equaled a minute and there were a certain number of minutes in a day. Like someone just decided it was a thing, and everyone went along with it and now we all have to plan our lives around this arbitrary system. I wonder if that asshole realized that people would use it to put kids in detention and force them to cram so they could regurgitate facts in a specified amount of his made-up system. And like the Romans made a Calendar and the Mayans did one too…” Your rambling was cut off by Sams’s soft lips touching your own in a quick peck before she collapsed back into the pillow. “Just blame capitalism babe.”

You stared at her for a minute, shocked, before she bolted upright. “SHIT. Sorry, I just. I forgot to ask for consent. I just forgot--”

“I consent, yes, more of this please,” you said, leaning over to kiss her again. Your hands cupped her cheeks and her fingers tangled into the baby hairs at the back of your neck. 

After a few minutes, Sam broke off the kiss, both of you breathing heavily. “Um, wow. You know, I’m not sure this is helping you get to sleep, love.”

You smirk, biting your lip and straddling her hips before you lean in to kiss her again, slowly. “You’re the one who said you needed to sleep with me more often.”

[oscar-wilde-the-dog]

Never Settle

Matthew Fairchild x Reader

Summary: Reader shows up at Matthew’s door in the middle of the night

Word Count: 1.4k words

Taking a deep breath you raise your hand to the door of flat six of Whitby Mansions, knocking twice. You shouldn’t be here, you think, if anyone saw you you’d be ruined. Your family would likely disown you, but you didn’t know where else to go.

Swaying a little, you grab a hold of the door frame with one hand, your other clutching your aching heart. Your eyes were swollen, but your tears had stopped flowing some time ago. You could not bear to think about what had happened earlier that night.

You had been having a pleasant evening with your partner, Peter, at your family home. Your parents had joined you two for dinner and then left you alone to speak privately. You had been courting for months. Everyone had been telling you he was going to propose soon, and with your father’s not so subtle wink to your partner as he left the room, you had been convinced it was going to happen tonight. Once both your parents were out of the dining room, you looked towards your partner expecting him to be nervous or excited, but instead he was looking straight at you a stoic expression across his face. You automatically knew the rest of the night would not turn out how you had expected it, but you couldn’t prepare yourself for the words that came out of his mouth.

Before you could continue down your thought spiral, the door swung open revealing your best friend Matthew Fairchild. He wore only emerald green pajama bottoms made from silk, his chest was bare and his muscular arms were on display.

“Y/n what’s wrong?” His voice brought your attention to his face. He looked bewildered to find you at his doorstep. You had never been one to break rules, whether clave or societal, so it surprised him to see you, especially at this hour. No young lady should be out at nearly 2 a.m.

You opened your mouth “I-,” but before you could explain tears welled up in your eyes and and your throat closed as a sob racked your body. You moved your hands to cover your face, trying to hide your pitiful state.

Another sob came out before you felt Matthew’s soft hands pulling you into the flat and into his chest. His arms wrapped around you a second later as you continued weeping. You removed your hands from your face, burying it into his bare chest as your arms clutched around him.

Matthew stroked your hair whispering calming words to you as he closed the door and walked the two of you to the couch in his drawing room. He unwrapped your arms from around him and lightly pushed you to sit down. Your tears had slowed and your breathing was becoming more normal.

“Would you like some tea? I’ve recently learned how to use the kettle,” Matthew asks, trying to lighten the mood, walking through the door and across the hallway into his bedroom. Before you respond he comes back in the drawing room, now wearing a matching green pajama shirt and a concerned look in his eyes.

“No, thank you, Matthew.” You start taking a deep breath glancing at your lap where your hands are gripping each other.

“Something must definitely be wrong then, you turning down tea? Almost as shocking as the time Oscar got out and came back wearing a different bow tie than when he had left!” Matthew joked going to pour you a glass of water from the decanter on the mantle instead.

“I’m sorry for waking you I didn’t know who else to go to.” You let out a choked laugh looking up into his deep green eyes. He stares at you a moment before walking towards you.

“Drink this,” he says handing you the glass, “It will help with the hangover tomorrow.” You widen your eyes in response, shakily grabbing the cup from his hands.

“I did not realize you could tell I have been drinking,” you glance away taking a small sip of the water. The sip making you realize how thirsty you’ve become and you down the rest.

“I am an alcohol connoisseur, love. Of course I’d know you’re drunk.”

“I am not-"

“Yes, you are drunk y/n. And that’s okay, because you are here now and safe, thank Raziel, but what did he do? What did Peter do to make you think it was okay to get drunk and walk around the streets of London?” Matthew says exasperation clear in his voice.

“Math how do you know Peter did something?” You scrunch your brows together. You had not told anyone except your parents that you were no longer together, but not even they knew what he had said to you. You did not wish for them to see you in the same way, so when they thought you had gone to bed after crying yourself to sleep, you climbed out your window and scaled the side of your home. You glamoured yourself as you walked through the streets of London and found your way to the Devil Tavern. There, you sat at the bar and drank until you could not feel anymore, the barmaid, Polly, feeding you cheap spirits with no questions asked. You frequented the Devil Tavern often with your group of friends, but it was odd for you to show up unattended and request drinks until you did not know your own name. She did not question your intentions which you were thankful for, but when you stood up to leave she tried to convince you stay in the room your friends had upstairs. You ignored her saying you needed to see your best friend and left, stumbling through the streets of London to get to Marylebone.

“Because, y/n, he’s a piece of shit and it was only a matter of time before he was going to hurt you!” Matthew raises his voice throwing his arms up. “Why else would you be at my door at two in the morning, clutching your heart and crying your eyes out?” He rhetorically asks raising a hand to run through his hair while the other goes to his hip. “I’m sorry, but you know it’s true!”

“He said he did not love me.” You whisper closing your eyes, trying to prevent more tears from falling out.

“He’s an ass, y/n/n. He didn’t deserve you, he never did. How could he not love you? You’re the most lovable person in the world,” Matthew continues, shaking his head and waving his hands around, not realizing you had started to cry again. “I will murder him, well I might get James to do it because you know how I am about murder, but we will end him so help me- Hey, no, don’t cry y/n, it will be okay.” Matthew notices your body shaking and moves to sit next you. He gently pulls you into his chest, gathering your trembling hands in his.

“He said that I am a bitch and no one will ever love me.” You let out through your sobs, leaning further into Matthew. He holds on to you tighter, kissing the top of your head lightly.

“Well, he is entirely wrong.” He says after a few minutes of just your crying filling the silence.

“What- what do you mean?” You stutter out. Looking up at his face. His golden hair a mess on top of his head. His deep green eyes poring into your own.

“I have loved you since the day you stumbled into my life and I will love you until the day you stumble out of it, and after that I will still love you.” Matthew whispers cupping your face in his hand that’s not around your body. Your eyes begin to swell with fresh tears, but tears of pure happiness this time.

“I love you too, Math. I was settling with him, but I’ve always wanted you.” You exclaim. It was true, you had always longed for the man sitting next to you, but you were too nervous to make the first move. Over time you gave up on your feelings and turned to Peter to fill the space. Now, in Matthew’s arms, you wished you had confessed years ago and saved yourself this heartache.

“Never settle y/n.” Matthew murmurs before his lips crash into yours. The feeling was like nothing you had experienced before. Previously it was always as if you were making out with the ground, but with Matthew you were kissing the spark that makes your heart beat. You were glowing with the love and emotions going through the two of you. You never wanted this to end, you never wanted to settle for less ever again.

[thewritewolf]

No, Really

Summary: Adrien can no longer deny it - he is in love with Marinette! The only problem is, she has made it absolutely clear that she is definitely not interested in him. But when he discovers that Marinette might be harboring feelings for Chat Noir, Adrien decides that there is only one way to get together with her: Reveal his identity.

Trouble is? She doesn't believe him.

Hello and welcome! This fic was written for the @totographszine, which was publish for free here. Go check it out, the wonderful @anna-scribbles even did some excellent art of this fic in there.

Read on Ao3

Without any further ado... Enjoy!

Adrien was in love with Marinette. There was no getting around that any more. But, unfortunately, it didn’t seem that she felt the same way.

Ever since he had come to terms with his feelings, he’d been trying to flirt with her. A few cheesy lines here. Some lingering touches and eye contact there. Compliments scattered throughout the day. Although, as he had realized now, it was harder to compliment her more than he already had been. How had it taken him so long to figure out his feelings?

The worst part of it was that she even flirted back! Which may sound great, but his experiences with Ladybug had taught him that flirting back could also mean friendly banter. It was a frustratingly similar experience, which he chose not to dwell on too hard.

And just like with Ladybug, he was at least appreciating the friendship that he could share with Marinette. Now that she had begun to open up to him, he was learning all sorts of things about her. Her favorite foods, what exactly tickled her most, her little mannerisms.

One day he learned the most important little fact about Marinette of them all.

“What is it with you and crushin’ on celebs, girl?”

Adrien recognized Alya’s voice at once and his eyes widened when he realized who she was likely talking to on the other side of the locker.

Sure enough, Marinette let out an irritated groan. There was a sound of a locker opening.

“What makes you think I have a crush on him? Just because I drew him in my notebook—”

“Oh sure, if you were just drawing him, that’d be one thing. But the hearts and kissy faces tell a whole different story.”

Adrien stood stock-still, listening as intently as he could. It felt as if his heart had

stopped beating. Had he failed to win the hearts of both his crushes? Would he ever get a lucky break just for once?

“They weren’t—that’s—no! Those were …” Marinette sputtered and eventually mumbled something that sounded a lot like “spades.”

“Spades.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m just saying, girl, if you want I could probably mention your name the next time I see him. Sure it’d be harder to pull off than with blondie, but I’m down.”

“Drop it, Alya,” Marinette said half-heartedly. The locker door was shut and they walked toward the entrance. For a moment, he was scared they would turn around and see him eavesdropping. “I’m sure Chat Noir doesn’t want to have my number pushed into his hand.”

Adrien’s eyes widened as he suddenly jolted to life. Chat Noir?

“Maybe. We’ll only find out if we give it a shot.” Their voices got more distant as they walked away. “At least we know you’ve got a type now.”

“Alya!”

In his heart of hearts, Adrien hoped that type included boys with green eyes and blond hair. Would it be too much to ask that she fall for him a second time? Not just as Chat Noir but as Adrien?

It was there, standing alone in the locker room, heart pounding in his throat and feeling light headed, that Adrien was suddenly struck by a plan. And while he was no Ladybug, he was pretty confident about this one.

After all, he didn’t need to make her fall for him twice. She just needed to find out who Chat Noir was.

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

His first opportunity took way too long to arrive. The need to confess his secret identity to her had been weighed against his duty not only to Paris but to Ladybug. He was as certain of Marinette’s trustworthiness as he could be, but he needed to be sure that she and only she heard him.

Besides, it made confessing his feelings a little easier too, which was honestly weighing just as heavily on his mind. Sure, safety of Paris and fighting Hawkmoth and all that, but there was also his poor battered heart to take into consideration. Ladybug had been gentle with her rejections, but they still stung as much as being tossed into a wall by a dozen akumas.

It took over a month for a golden opportunity. The four of them had been studying in Marinette’s room when Alya had left to go babysit her sisters, taking Nino along with her. Adrien watched them slowly pack up and amble over to the trap door, silently screaming every time they stopped for another little chat. But eventually, they did leave. Nino’s cap disappeared below the floor and the trapdoor shut behind them. It was late enough that Sabine and Tom had gone to bed already, but not so late that Adrien would have to leave yet, at least not for a couple hours.

Swallowing against the suddenly dryness in his throat, Adrien looked at Marinette. All thoughts of the physics homework in front of them banished the moment he saw her tongue poking out the side of her mouth, her brow furrowed in concentration.

How could one person be so cute?

Her bright blue eyes flickered up at him. “Something wrong, Adrien?”

There wasn’t going to be a better time. It was now or never.

“Marinette … I’m Chat Noir.”

The sound of her pencil scratching along the paper stopped as she stared at her homework. There was a long moment of silence wherein Adrien silently panicked. After a few seconds that stretched into infinity, which Adrien spent praying that she would say something, anything, she finally spoke.

“Yeah, okay.”

She said it with a snort and a chuckle. It was like when he was experimenting with different jokes for her and he found one that didn’t quite land but didn’t completely fall flat.

She returned back to her homework, and the sound of the pencil resumed.

“Okay? That’s all you’ve got to say?”

“Um … I suppose I can add a ‘haha’ in there too? If it makes you feel better?”

“You’re not supposed to laugh!”

“Then it’s not a very good joke.”

“It isn’t a joke,” Adrien said, crossing his arms haughtily. This was not going how he had planned in the slightest.

Marinette raised an eyebrow as she sat up. “There is no way you are Chat Noir.”

“Why not? I’m cool!”

“Exactly, and Chat Noir is a massive dweeb.”

Adrien gasped, scandalized. “Take that back!”

“I will not. Besides,” she continued, raising her hand, “there are plenty of things Chat Noir is that you aren’t and vice versa.” She raised a finger for each point. “Chat Noir is loud, outgoing, with a sharp tongue, and he’s a flirt to boot. Plus the whole massive dweeb thing.”

“And what about me?” Adrien pouted, almost dreading the answer. “Adrien Agreste me, I should say.”

“You’re quieter, to start with.” There was a faint blush on her cheeks. Maybe it was easier for her to describe someone who she thought wasn’t present. “You’re considerate and kind and a perfect gentleman.” She smirked and chuckled. “At least, you usually are.”

Adrien put his hands together and brought them next to his lips as he took a deep breath. He was suddenly reminded of all the times he’d made reservations or tried to set up an account on some website under his own name, only to have it deleted because it “couldn’t possibly be actually Adrien Agreste.” By this point in his initial planning stages of confessing to Marinette, they were already organizing their first date between passionate spells of making out, not trying to determine if he really was himself.

But Adrien was nothing if not adaptable.

With a wide, toothy grin worthy of his alter ego, he leaned forward, putting himself dangerously close to her face. The faint blush she’d been sporting flared to life and spread across her entire face. Her eyes went large as he purred out a reply.

“What an unfortunate alley cat I am, baring my soul to a beautiful princess and she doesn’t even believe me. Whatever shall I do?”

“W-wow, you’ve … you’ve really practiced this, h-haven’t you?” She put on a brave face and scooted backwards.

“You could say that. You could also say I’ve got a lot of experience with the whole Chat Noir flare.” The smile became more genuine as he added teasingly, “And it looks like you think Chat Noir might be more than just a massive dweeb, hmm?”

“Y-yeah?” She got back some of her composure—not much, but enough to start bantering back at him. “And what else is he then?”

“A cool cat, maybe,” he said, tossing his hair and running a hand through it. “Or, even better, a fine feline.” He grinned and finger gunned at her.

Marinette snorted. “You’ve definitely nailed down some of that Chat Noir full-of-yourself stuff. Congrats on getting your research done at least.”

“Not research. Just living the life, Pigtails.” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Very creative nickname.” She smirked and crossed her arms. “Then again, it’s better than princess or my lady, so I’ll take it.”

“Hey now, Ladybug likes me calling her that, even if she tries to hide it.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Somehow I doubt that. But seriously, whose idea was this? It feels like Alya had a hand in this. I just know it.”

“Why would Alya get me to try to tell you I’m Chat Noir?”

“She never gives up on her ships is all.” Marinette’s eyes went wide and she threw her hands over her mouth. “Forget I said that!”

“But I—”

Her hands went straight for his mouth. “Forget!”

He held his hands up in surrender and she backed off.

“Come on, though. What’s so hard to believe about me being Chat Noir?”

“I just can’t see you and Chat Noir being the same person. You’re both so different!”

“Okay, first off—yeah, I can be quiet sometimes,” Adrien admitted. “But you’ve seen how I am with my friends, when I’m comfortable. I can be just as outgoing as I am in the mask!”

Marinette massaged her temples. “So what, you’re saying you have to be with close friends to be as confident as you are making terrible puns in front of all of Paris?”

“Well, the mask helps a little,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “After all, then I don’t have to think about how what I say will impact the company or get yelled at by my father. I get to just … be wild.” He gave her a timid smile. “I suppose sometimes I go a little overboard, huh?”

Her blush deepened. “Y-yeah. I guess you do sometimes.” She cleared her throat and schooled her expression back into a skeptical one. “Assuming you are Chat Noir, of course.”

“Of course.” Quietly, he added, “You know, Adrien me isn’t the only one who is ... kind. I’ve done it plenty of times in the mask.”

“I mean, yeah, you do the heroics and everything, but I was talking about something—”

“Gentler?” he said with his best Chat Noir grin, which made her eyes widen like saucers. His voice was still barely above a whisper. “Like when I comfort akuma victims or sponsor animal shelters?”

“I—yes, like that,” she admitted in the same soft tone. A little stronger, she poked his chest and gave a small smirk. “But don’t you think Ladybug will be mad that you revealed your identity? You promised not to do that, you know. Assuming you really are Chat Noir.”

“Maybe I should have asked her about it first,” he admitted, even as something tickled at the back of his mind. How did she know about the promises between them? “But I’m sure she’d understand if she knew. The value of love is something we both agree on.”

“I mean, I guess, but—wait, what?”

“And I suppose you’ve noticed how, no matter what side of the mask I’m on, I love to flirt with the person I love?” She gasped, but he just shook his head and laughed. “Finally get there? I mean, I’ve been flirting with you nonstop for like a month.” He smiled. “Maybe you and Ladybug should hang out. The everyday Ladybug and the real-life Ladybug. Both of you can be really dense when it … comes to … realizing … oh my god.”

Adrien saw the exact moment that she realized that he had figured her out. One moment she was watching him attentively. The next, her eyes had widened in panic, her pupils shrinking down to tiny pinpoints. He knew that if he did nothing, she’d start flailing her arms around and denying it.

The distance between them turned to nothing as he leapt toward her, laughing. She grumbled as he pulled her close, squeezing her tight against his chest, but she didn’t try to break free.

“Don’t be so proud of yourself. You only got lucky,” she said as she returned the hug.

“Luck or not, I finally found you … my lady.”

He looked down at her face at the same moment that she looked up into his. A moment laden with meaning passed between them before they both broke down laughing again. At long last, they had finally found each other.

[seungmvnnie]

Slytherin! Reader x Slytherin!Donghyuck

word count; 1.7k word

warnings; suggestive kissing, female reader, bullet point au, friends to lovers, not very good but i’m sorry i tried :( friends to lovers is not my forte but give me enemies to lovers anYDAY

Donghyuck had been one of your best friends since first year

He had sat next to you during your first banquet after you were sorted into Slytherin and from sheer, ‘we’re both new, help,’ panic, you ended up talking to each other, with no one else to talk to

you were both very chatty, you had discovered, and you were glad you had found the one person in Slytherin who seemed to have the same energy as you

you thought maybe your conversations with him had been a one off experience 

but the next day you had discovered he had stood at the bottom of the stairs of the girls dormitory waiting to walk to breakfast with you

he was incredibly nice to you at first, but began showing his true colors 3 weeks into the year, and sometimes you wished he didn’t because lord knows that boy was annoying

he loved annoying you to no end

you would have never guessed that the boy you sat next to on the first day would turn out to be such a little shit

It was kind of you and Donghyuck against the world until your third year when he made friends with his roommate Jaemin, and then Chenle, Jisung, Mark, Renjun and Jeno

You didn’t really know them very well, but because of your friendship with Donghyuck you would hang out with them from time to time

the only one you were really friendly with was Jaemin and that was because you were both on the Slytherin quidditch team

you didn’t really start to see Donghyuck as anything more than an annoying brother until your final year at Hogwarts

you hadn’t seen him all summer so when he entered the compartment you and Jaemin had found together with the rest of his friend group, he seemed different 

or more you seemed to feel differently about him

he looked different - he had always worn his hair in what you eloquently described as, ‘a lego hair look’ but now his hair was parted and styled perfectly

on top on that he seemed to have dressed differently - his previous jumpers and jeans had been swapped for a t-shirt, jeans and leather jacket

furthermore he appeared more mature, and while previously, you had to admit he was good-looking, this was different

it was like he had grown up over summer

you were a little bit,,, taken aback to say the least

by taken aback I mean Jaemin had to push your mouth closed and mumble, “Stop eye-fucking him perv.”

Despite this new attractive maturity you saw in him, you had quickly realized he was pretty much the same personality wise

considering the fact the first thing he did was poke you in the side, causing you to cry out and squirm away from him

but the way he laughed and let his hand linger on your waist was no longer a simple token of friendship that you would shrug off in joke annoyance after he tickled you or poked you

now it sent jolts of electricity throughout your body

which caused you to jumped out of his grip causing him and his friends to stop and look at you concerned

“Sorry, I have a bruise there,” you had covered up, rubbing your side to mimic pain

“Oh, sorry.” Donghyuck had apologized, before returning back to his conversation with Chenle

You had thought you had gotten away with it until you made eye contact with Jaemin, who had the ghost of a smile on his face as he glanced between you and Donghyuck

stupid ass jaemin and his sixth sense

You watched him on the train ride to school, hating the way your stomach flipped when he smiled or looked at you

and so you came to the conclusion

you fancied your best friend

that shouldn’t be allowed

it felt as if you were breaking the law or something

so much so, that for the entirety of the first day you did not make eye contact with him

you lay in bed that night, thinking about the situation you found yourself in

it was just a phase

it was only a phase brought on by his new look and outfit and tomorrow, he would be standing by the staircase of the girls dorm in his uniform waiting to walk with you to breakfast and the stupid butterflies that wouldn’t leave you alone would dissipate when you saw his stupid and ugly face

the next morning, you were running late

which meant you had precariously balanced your bag on your shoulder and your books were clutched in your arms as you ran downstairs, scrambling to cram them into your bag, when you missed and dropped your bag, the loud thud echoing through the stairwell

today was not your day

you had just bent down to pick up the book, when there was a loud wailing sound and the steps melted into a smooth, stone slide, causing you to slide down to the bottom, clashing into another body that lay crumpled at the end of the stairs

upon closer inspection, the body who’s limbs had entangled with yours was Donghyuck

you shot away from him

“What the hell were you doing!” you had cried out

he groaned as he sat up, stretching out

“I heard a noise so I wanted to check if you were okay.” he explained

the butterflies in your stomach ached, but you couldn’t show that, of course

“The stairs turn into a slide if a boy tries to go up it, dumbass.”

“Funnily enough, I noticed.” He looked at you and stood up, offering his hand to you

“I was just worried about you. I care about you.”

oh

you thought that your newfound feelings were entirely because of his new look, but looking at him now, you felt as if maybe you had always felt this for him but hadn’t realized it

“You’re my best friend, you know.”

And there it was, the barrier that would forever be between you and Donghyuck

your friendship

you were just best friends, he saw you like how he saw the boys, nothing more, nothing less

but you couldn’t deny the way your heart ached for him now, a feeling that you had never experienced before

and it was a feeling you decided you weren’t allowed to experience anymore

and so, you spent months, attempting to distance yourself from him as much as possible

never anything huge, you didn’t want to cause a fight and have the reason for your distance to come out

by march, you had successfully managed to pretty much stop talking to him, although you hadn’t manage to avoid the residual tension which remained between you two as ex-best friends, particularly in the classes you sat beside each other in

it wasn’t until the last quidditch match of the year, that the situation came to a climax

As the team captain in his last year, Jeno was itching to win the quidditch cup for Gryffindor

the Slytherin team had been defeated by Hufflepuff a few months earlier which had completely knocked you out of the running for the cup, (much to yours and Jaemin’s annoyance) so you were rooting for Gryffindor to win

the Hufflepuff team captain was ruthless, and if you had to be honest, had crazy sexual tension with Jeno but anyways

miraculously, Jeno pulled through last minute and caught the snitch

in true Gryffindor fashion, they had to throw the craziest party of the year, with crazy amounts of fire whiskey and dancing, and due to your association with Jeno, you, Jaemin and Hyuck were invited

You were a little tipsy, but Hyuck had been steadily drinking the second the party had started

which is how he gained the courage to march up to you and demand answers

“Why aren’t we friends anymore?” he questioned, his words clear enough but slurring every now and then. he had to shout to be heard over the pulsating music

“I- I don’t know. I guess we grew apart?”

“Yes you do! You’ve been blowing me off since September and I want to know why! I ask Jaemin about it and he said you had a reason, but it was stupid so we didn’t just, ‘grow apart,’” he ranted, and your eyes softened as you could see how upset he was getting

“It’s because I’m in love with you, Hyuck.” You revealed, the alcohol loosening your tongue, speaking as quietly as the music allowed you to

“Okay, and? I’ve been in love with you since first year, give me a better reason.”

you nearly choked on you drink as you stared at him with wide eyes

“Hyuck.”

“What?”

“Kiss me.”

He didn’t have to be told twice, dropping the plastic cup he clutched onto the table next to him, he grabbed your waist, pulling your body towards him and crushed his lips to yours

you wrapped your arms around his neck, kissing back as enthusiastically, only breaking apart as the room filled with wolf whistles and cheering

“ABOUT TIME.” Jaemin shouted from across the room

“OH GO SCREW A SNITCH, FUCKER.” you shouted back, arms still firmly wrapped around Donghyuck’s neck as he hid your head in your shoulder

the transition from friends to relationship was a difficult one for you two

mostly the transitioning how you acted around each other

you could go on dates and make out, but the biggest issue was getting used to not going,

“shut up, ugly.” or, “fuck off, dicko.”

in fact, neither of you realized that’s an inappropriate way to be in a relationship with someone until Chenle said,

“I thought you two were dating?”

you tried the whole, ‘speaking kindly,’ to each other for a while, but you realize that just isn’t you

you both know you’re in love with in each other so if you want to affectionately call Donghyuck a wanker, you could

Donghyuck was almost inappropriate with the insane amount of PDA

the only reason people realized that you had transitioned from best friends to relationship was the fact that he would kiss you anywhere, anytime

he tried to go for in once in your transfiguration class, but he soon regretted it 

you both spent most of your time in the Slytherin common room, despite the stereotypical, ‘uncosy,’ décor 

nothing was better than wearing Hyuck’s t-shirt and a pair of pajama shorts and cuddling on the couch in the common room

overall you both still bicker with each other all the time and while you love that about your relationship, your favorite moments were those stolen sweet moments in front of the fire in the common room, curled up into Hyuck’s side and having him mumble, ‘I love you,’ in your ear.