#{ Her face claim sadly looks too young since she's older but it's the best I got so far. }

[chronosbled]

THINK FAST: * throws an onion ring at one of your muses *

☩ — IT WAS A GOOD THING SHE HAD QUICK REFLEXES, free hand reaching up to catch the object that was thrown towards her (snatching it with ease), otherwise she would have gotten a face full of what she believe to be an... onion ring? Now who in god's name thought throwing food, an onion ring no less, was a good idea? First off, the thing didn't even fly that great due to there being a hole in the middle... because it certainly wasn't a frisbee. Second off, it was extremely salty and all that salt wasn't good for one's skin — she's already older than most people within the BSAA, she didn't need something gross to make her look even older. "Hey, hey! You there," she calls out rather loudly to the other without much concern for how things would go, "stop throwing food at people! It isn't a toy nor is it a polite thing to do. If you aren't going to eat it, give it to someone who hasn't eaten."

[fairyoftbz]

it's never too late... | b. jacob

🏀 pairing: crush! basketball player! jacob x fem!reader 🏀 genre: high school!au, fluff, (sort of) strangers/acquaintances-to-lovers 🏀 word count: 5.2k 🏀 tw: very cliché 😳 and it goes kinda fast lmaoo 🏀 a/n: lisa I'm sorry I took this long to do your request, but I hope you'll like it nonetheless!! ALSO: to my fellow Americans, here football = soccer!! 🏀 requested: yes! thank you lisa!! @skrtbabe

╰☆☆☆☆╮

You had waited for this time since the beginning of your academic journey there. Graduating from high school was two months away, and it felt just as exciting as weird.

It felt like you had started your first year last week, but the amount of work and time spent in those dull buildings makes you feel like you’ve been there for at least five years.

It was exhausting to attend classes and see the same people every single day of the year, with repetitive subjects, annoying or cool teachers depending on your luck and everything that followed. The homework, the assignments, the small -or not so small- fights between classes or groups of people, you were praying that university wouldn’t sound like that.

However, at the same time, you were almost starting to feel nostalgic for this time. The last years where you could remain a bit silly before entering the adult world, being in your last teen years with people that you appreciated and met there. You chose to do this before letting them go and live your own lives, memories that will disappear if you don’t cherish them enough.

So, with Soyeon, your best friend, you decided to enjoy the time that you had left to do things together while still studying and revising for the exams, which was sometimes not easy to do. Yes, you shared classes, but personal and private activities sometimes came in the way and prevented you from hanging out.

“It’s life after all,” she said one night over the phone as you shared your opinion on this topic, “it’s good that we can be together almost 24/7, but sometimes, things don’t allow us to be together. It might be for the best, we never know,” she said, trying to be positive no matter the situation she was in, but you knew her well. As much as she wants to appear strong, you had found her many times crying on her own. But it was her personality, and no matter how hard you tried to change her, what's bred in the bone comes out in the flesh.

Soyeon wasn’t your only friend, you were getting along well with most of your girl classmates, as well as the boys that weren’t suffocating under the number of pick-me-girls that were populating your school and your class.

Sadly for you, you’ve been eyeing the most popular (and prettiest) boy in your whole school since you crossed gaze with him at the very beginning of your first year there. Jacob, your crush, was also the star basketball player of your school, and constantly surrounded and attracting cheerleaders or rich, random, good-looking girls, which had a knack for getting on your nerves. He was always spending time together with his pals and teammates, but other people as well. Everyone wanted to be his friend because you know, he had a promising career ahead of him, so it was always nice to be friends with a potential future celebrity.

As defeated as you were, there was still a small voice in your head telling you to do something before he left to go back to his home country, South Korea, where he had a career already planned and traced out.

You were confused as it was almost impossible for you to get a chance with him since you were not one of those girls and you simply couldn’t compete against them, but Soyeon and her boyfriend Sunwoo were always there to praise you and reassure you about your potential chances of dating him. Never convinced by your friends’ words, you had tried many times to get him out of your head and focus on someone else, but it never worked. Everything came back to him. He was unique and oh so nice, everything reminded you of him, and it was sickening at this point.

“He won't get out of my head, it’s getting on my nerves,” you shared your thoughts to your best friend as you braced your head in your hands, slapping your cheeks as if it were going to change anything and help you throw Jacob out of your brain.

“Why do I keep this stupid boy in my head when I know I don’t stand a single chance against those girls,” you slapped your cheeks harder and whined as Soyeon’s hand landed on your wrist.

“Y/N, stop your nonsense. You are perfect, you don’t need to change anything for him!”

“It’s easier said than done, you pulled the football star player!” you exclaimed, and she rolled her eyes, shifting closer to whisper.

“He pulled me because he knew that I am pretty, and that wouldn’t change a single thing for him. If he’s not happy with who I am, he can leave,” she shrugs, signalling you to do the same if you dated Jacob.

Sunwoo was also among the popular boys, but your friend remained the same, not even trying to fit in with the popular girls. She claimed that Sunwoo fell in love with her for her true self, so she didn’t see the point of changing to please other people. And you wished you had her confidence and her strength, admiring her for not changing anything about herself to please others.

Back to the present.

You felt stuck, desperately in love with an unapproachable boy who was too popular and way out of your league to be lucky to have his eyes sparing you any sort of attention. Even if he was a sweet young man, he was always surrounded by popular people, who were trying to hook up or use him for his school fame and sharp features.

One day, while studying with your best friend at the library, Sunwoo and one of his friends, Hyunjae, the football captain, burst into the library and come not so quietly to your table.

“For the love of God, can you both be quiet for once?” Soyeon whispered-yelled but her voice got toned down by Sunwoo vividly pressing his lips on hers, an arm wrapping around her shoulders. Hyunjae laughed but quickly gagged as they didn’t stop the kiss as quickly as the captain wished.

“Gosh, please, get a room,” he mumbled before hugging you, your knee resting against his as his arms pressed you against his chest.

Your friendship with Hyunjae felt more like siblings, he was genuinely nice and caring with you, making sure that you were okay and that you had enough of everything before allowing you to go home. Despite all the teasing and a few rumours going around school, you were not dating and didn’t have any romantic feelings for each other. He simply checked that you had an older brother figure since you were the first-born child, and it felt relieving.

The thing you did not know was that Jacob and a few of his basketball teammates, Juyeon, Eric and Younghoon, were a few tables away from yours, your back facing them, the future star looking at you and Hyunjae from the corner of his eyes. He nodded at his friend at your table, who gave him a wink as an answer, Jacob’s eyes burning holes into your back as Hyunjae was close to you. Too close to you for the basketball player not to feel something churn in his stomach.

Two long, manicured fingers snapped in front of his eyes to get him out of his reverie, lazily looking at the girl that sat across from him, who he was supposed to get help from.

“Jacob please, pay attention to meeeeee,” she whined and pouted, giving him puppy eyes that he couldn’t give a single fuck about, too busy in his mind to hear what she had to say.

She had volunteered to help him study History, but she wasn’t any better, probably worse than he was. It was already the third time Juyeon corrected her basic knowledge without being an expert himself, not even caring about the death glares she kept sending him. It only made him smirk as he knew it irked her dearly yet amused the rest of the table a lot.

They all sighed as she finally took the hint and left their table, Jacob bitterly chuckling as Hyunjae rolled his eyes when she walked past your table, his demeanour making you laugh.

╰☆���

“Bro, do you think I should ask Y/N for help? Isn’t that a bit… lame?” Jacob sat on one of the soccer balls, hands joined and panting as Sunwoo practised his dribbling skills before shooting the ball in the cages, aiming for the up-right corner. He trotted to his friend and collapsed on the grass next to him, the last rays of sunshine offering his skin a wonderful, honey glow. He ruffled his hair after plopping down, checking his phone for any message before answering.

“If you need help, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask her. I mean, she’s super smart in every subject, but she’s just the boss in History. Her presentations are always golden, and she explains things a lot better than some of the teachers.”

“I got Smith as a teacher,” the basketball player grimaced, his left hand holding his right wrist as his gaze wandered in the grass.

“We’ve got Antal, and I can tell you that she’s always mad when Y/N does a presentation because they honestly just sound better than her lessons,” Sunwoo chuckled as Jacob pondered his friend’s words, the gears of his mind working at full speed.

How is he going to be able to approach you and get to talk to you?

╰☆╮

“Bestie, no. I swear I saw that in the other book,” you said as you found yourself back in the library the following week, bending over the table to grab the book your best friend was resting hers on. You started flipping some pages when a loud, masculine chortle followed by some whispers of annoyance drawing your attention.

“Hi, babe! Hi Hyunj- Oh hi Jacob!” your neck almost snapped as you abruptly lifted your head up at the mention of your crush’s name, a small, embarrassed smile making its way on your mouth. You were a bit sad that your brother best friend was not here with Sunwoo, but you weren’t going to complain to have your crush instead.

“Can I sit here?” the basketball player asked in a soft voice while pointing at the empty spot next to you, making you quickly nod and gather your stuff to make him some space.

You resumed searching for the precious paragraph you were searching for your project as if it were nothing, trying to ignore your stammering heart in your chest and the couple eating each other's mouths. The only thing you hoped was that Jacob couldn’t hear the loud, irregular beats in your ribcage because it would give in your attraction to him.

“Hum, Y/N?” the voice next to you made you flinch, surprised that he knew your name and that he said it aloud.

“Y-Yes?” you said, cursing in your head as you stuttered.

“I heard that you were the Ace when it came to History,” Jacob started, and you couldn’t look at him in the eyes, fire spreading in your chest up to your face.

“I can’t really say that I’m the Ace, but I really love that subject, so yeah I have some… knowledge,” words tripped over your tongue, and your best friend pulled away from Sunwoo and scoffed.

“Some knowledge? Are you kidding?” she said, Sunwoo placing a hand on her mouth as she was louder than intended. She removed his palm and furrowed her brows at him, before turning her head back at you with the same angry expression.

“She knows so fucking much that Antal hates her because she feels humiliated compared to Y/N. So let me tell you one thing, Cobbie, if you need help, you’ve come to the right person. Y/N is just a living encyclopaedia,” your best friend proudly smirked as you glowered at her, Sunwoo chuckling at his girlfriend’s behaviour before immediately stopping.

“Wait, did you call him Cobbie? How come you call him like that when I get nothing other than babe or baby?” Sunwoo argued while pouting, and your best friend sighed, ruffling his hair before pressing her lips against his one more time, making you slightly grimace as envy flooded your veins.

You sighed and dared to look at Jacob, who was reading the beginning of your essay written on your computer, leaving Sunwoo and your best friend bicker like the cute couple they were.

“Do you have this project too?” you asked, and he shook his head, eyes remaining glued on the computer screen.

“It’s so interesting what you wrote, I like your way of writing and explaining stuff,” he offered a small smile as he looked at you, clearing his throat. For someone that was super popular and constantly surrounded by friends or people at parties, he behaved and sounded quite like an introvert.

“W-Well, thank you,” you said with a smile and turned your head to the side for a second, taking a deep breath before looking back at him, opening a new tab on your computer after he gestured to you that he was done reading.

“What do you need help with?”

╰☆╮

You were astonished at how quick-minded Jacob was. Behind his fit, muscular appearance and obsession with basketball, he had the soul of a thinker and grasped the knowledge of historical concepts quite easily and rapidly. He just wasn’t good with the way Smith was teaching, the method not suiting him.

“You retain things well for someone who hates History,” you joked, and he shyly smiled, scratching his neck. His smile looked gorgeous, and you were pleasantly surprised at how much of a genuine person he was.

“Well, History is not my cup of tea, but it might be a bit more thanks to you,” he said, and you tried to stifle a smile, thankful that your best friend was no longer sitting across from you because she wouldn’t have let you two live.

“It’s nothing. You can come back to me if you need help, I really don’t mind. I actually like explaining things,” you said, and he nodded, clicking your pen close before placing it in your pouch.

“Thank you, really. Sunwoo was actually the one that told me about you, so I have to thank him as well,” you stood up and slowly started to pack your stuff, shutting down your computer with a smile.

“I’m glad he did so, I just hope it was positive,” you giggled, and he quickly joined you, twirling his pen in between his fingers as he cleared his throat.

“You know, it’s Sunwoo. It can only be nice and positive,” you genuinely smiled at him and fall in silence, throwing glances at each other from time to time as the conversation was slowly starting to die down.

“And... How’s basketball going by the way? Is everything going well?” you asked, and his heart skipped a beat at your question as it took him off guard.

“I-It’s going pretty well, I’m excited to finish high school to be able to focus on basketball. I’m gonna have to take some of my last finals in South Korea because the season and the training start pretty early in Summer so…” his voice trailed as his eyes widened, a hand slapping his mouth as you both stood up.

“What?” you quizzed, confused by his sudden change of behaviour.

“I… was meant to keep this a secret,” his voice trailed, the end of his sentence falling in a whisper as he started panicking. “Can we pretend you didn’t hear what I said?” he asked as you placed your bag strap on your shoulder, taking your sweater before pushing the chair against the table.

“Said what?” you replied with a smile, and Jacob sighed in relief, somehow feeling like his secret was safe with you, even if you’ve talked to him for the first time at the beginning of the afternoon.

╰☆╮

The rest of the month rolled off smoothly, yet the stress and the revisions became more intense as the days went by. You didn’t hear anything back from Jacob, but you’ve caught him staring at you a few times, offering him an awkward wave and a smile as not to get noticed by some of his “fan girls”, as they called themselves.

You still had a whole month left before finals, and you felt blessed as summer decided to start a bit earlier this year. It was only the beginning of May, but you were already able to wear shorts and dresses. It felt good to see the blue sky and being surrounded by the warmth of the sun hitting your exposed skin after the cold, lonely winter and spring you’ve just got out of. Everything looked prettier and warmer, and it did nothing but make you happier and brighter, despite the stress of the finals piling up on your shoulders.

So, to get rid of this pressure, you decided to leave town with Hyunjae and let him drive to one of the lakes that surrounded your town, knowing that the beach and parks would get crowded in no time. It was a place that you used to go to with your parents when you were still a child, memories that you shared with your friend coming back flooding in your mind.

Hyunjae and his family tagged along to give you some company and take care of you as your parents were busy looking after your newborn twin sisters, Hyunjae and his younger brother acting like elder siblings to you.

After driving for a few dozens of minutes, you settled your stuff in the shade, right under a weeping willow that offered you freshness throughout the entire day. Your best friend napped almost the entire time you were there, hand lingering on his abs while the other plucked out some grass until he dozed off, trying to store as many hours of rest as possible before finals. By his side was you, reading a book and enjoying the chilly water to cool down from the hot temperatures of early Summer, playfully nudging the young man next to you each time he was starting to snore.

It’s near the middle of the afternoon that you heard another car pulling up near the lake, a bunch of excited teenagers coming out of a van. You didn’t pay much attention to them, only sighing as your peace was about to get ruined, their screams when they jumped in the water woke your best friend up.

He abruptly sat up next to you and rubbed his eyes, some sleeping marks lingering on his face, making you giggle. Being the short-sighted idiot that he was, he squinted to try and recognise some people, but he didn’t have to.

A young woman screamed and started jumping up and down, waving her arms above her head in your direction, hearing her scream something towards you.

You looked at each other with Hyunjae, confusion painted on your faces, hearing your phone buzz in your small bag hidden by your folded clothes.

“Hello?” you said as Hyunjae’s phone started vibrating too, picking up the call as well.

“Y/N, it’s us! We’re on the opposite side of the lake! Come and join us!” you heard your best friend yell in your ear, hearing her as well through Hyunjae’s phone, who picked up a call from her boyfriend.

“Okay, we’re coming!” you excitingly said as you hung up, waving at your best friend from your spot as you started packing your stuff to get back in the car and meet up with your friends.

Your best friend excitingly jumped in your arms as soon as you got out of the car,

“Tt’s crazy how we’re so connected! Did you also think that the beach would be crowded?” she asked, and you nodded with a smile, happy to see her this joyful to see you.

The inseparable duo was here, as well as Younghoon, Jacob, Eric, Juyeon and Sangyeon, the striker of the football team. They all engulfed you in a tight hug, Jacob staying in the background the entire time.

“Hi Jacob!” you brightly said and wrapped your arms around his neck, hugging him close. “Hi Y/N,” his answer vibrated in his chest and had repercussions in yours, sending your heart flying in your ribcage.

You looked so good being this carefree, it was thankfully a sight that he managed to imprint in his mind despite the shortness of the moment. Being surrounded by all your friends felt so good that you forgot to be awkward and worry about the stupidest things, and Jacob adored seeing you this natural and smiling in the company of your friends. He was a bit sad that he wasn’t fully the reason for your smile though, but he still managed to enjoy the rest of the day with you and your mutual friends, whether you were on the ground or in the water.

Sangyeon, Younghoon and Juyeon copied Hyunjae and joined him in a restoring nap, while Eric, Sunwoo, Jacob, Soyeon and you played different games in the water, improvising a volleyball match with an imaginary net and the ball Sunwoo took with him as the volleyball, but it did the job. It was just a bit hurtful for the liberos since it wasn’t as soft and bouncy as a volleyball, but the joy of the moment allowed any type of pain to become bearable.

The evening eventually started to settle in, and you all got out of the water, drying yourselves before deciding to spend a part of the night here. You helped Sangyeon build a bonfire in the safe area by bringing some different branches, the eldest placing them correctly before lighting them with his pocket lighter.

“Hyung! I didn’t know you were a boy-scout,” Sunwoo exclaimed and made everyone laughed as you all were sliding some marshmallows on a stick, Sangyeon smiling with modesty at everyone.

“Ya, don’t say this,” Sangyeon mumbled, and you smile, rubbing his upper back as he sat down next to you, thanking him when you handed him over his marshmallow stick.

“Oh no! Mine burnt,” Soyeon pouted when she retrieved her snack from the flames, and her boyfriend was quick to give her his sweets, Eric cooing at the gesture of affection.

“Give it to me, I like them burnt,” he mumbled as he bit in the fluffy texture, immediately regretting it as it was boiling. His girlfriend handed him water as he stood up, bouncing up and down to try and reduce what felt like flames in his mouth.

“Oh my, thanks babe,” he muttered with his mouth stuffed when he gulped down everything with a pained expression on his face. Eric’s eyes filled with boredom locked into yours and you both chuckled, your friend shaking his head.

“When is it gonna be my turn,” he huffed and Sunwoo hit him playfully in the back as you all laughed around the bonfire, relating to your friend.

“When you’ll stop being obsessed with football and mango juice,” Eric grunted and folded his arms over his chest as Sangyeon called him out, making you coo and playfully run to him, holding him against you as he fake-cried on your chest while everyone was laughing at him.

Except for Jacob, who only offered a weak smile, but you didn’t catch it, too busy having fun and being light-hearted with your friends.

After your stomachs were filled with sweets and soda, Sunwoo pulled out his guitar and strummed a soft melody until some became heavy-eyed or fell asleep against the other, his girlfriend succumbing to his musical talents first. Jacob looked exhausted as well but forced his eyes open, finding him even hotter with hooded eyelids and his hair slightly curling with the humidity of the air and the lake water.

When it was time to go home, Hyunjae, as well as Younghoon, Sunwoo, Soyeon and Eric decided to jump into Hyunjae’s car to go to the beach, feeling the urge and the thrill of going skinny-dipping. On the other hand, you and the rest of the boys were too exhausted and modest to do this, only wanting to go home and get some good rest.

Just like they had arrived, Sangyeon was behind the wheel while the rest was either next to him or in the back seat. And you didn’t know how it happened, but you got stuck between the window and Jacob, who was struggling to keep his eyes open.

“You good?” you asked, and he turned his head towards you before offering you a tired yet sweet smile, moving his head up and down.

“I'm just exhausted, tonight was simply amazing,” he mumbled, and you expressed your agreement by a happy hum and a nod, bringing your attention to your eldest friend.

“Are you sure you’re awake enough to drive?” you enquired on the current situation and Sangyeon looks at you through the inner rear-view mirror, eyes forming two crescent moons as he smiled.

“I just jumped in the water, I’m nothing but awake,” he clapped in his hands to motivate himself and started the engine, your best friend’s car already gone.

Jacob rested his head against the headrest and closed his eyes, his head rolling to the side each time Sangyeon took a turn. You settled yourself on the window and let the vibrations of the car lull you to sleep, the small talk that Sangyeon and Juyeon were having in the front seats acted like a background noise, which helped you dozing off.

However, when the car pulled up in front of your house, they didn’t expect you to have your head resting against Jacob’s shoulder, his hand on your knee. The two men smiled at each other before Sangyeon got out of the vehicle, drawing the door open. As he was about to carry you to your doorstep, Jacob’s arm was quick to wrap itself around your waist, keeping you close to him.

You woke up confused, blinking a few times as you saw the striker standing next to you with a wide smile on his face. He removed a limb around your body, and you felt someone groan under your right shoulder, noticing in dread that you snuggled up to Jacob for some warmth in your sleep.

“You gotta go before the beast wakes up,” Sangyeon joked and winked as he helped you get out of the car, closing the door behind you. It opened again a few seconds later, Jacob looking just as confused as you were.

“Come on, lovebirds, we don’t have the night.”

“Lovebirds?” Jacob and you asked in unison, the basketball player rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. He jumped out of the van and gestured to Sangyeon to get back in.

“You can go, I live just around the corner,” he drowsily said as he vaguely gestured behind him.

“You sure? Your house is on my way back home, I can drop you off,” Sangyeon suggested but he refused, offering a handshake to the striker before letting him go.

Being more awake now, you waved at your friends driving away before turning to your crush, who looked even more adorable as he was super sleepy and just woke up.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay? You look really tired,” you asked, voice still laced with sleep yet sounding caring, which made Jacob’s heartbeat fasten. He nodded and weakly smiled, taking a step closer to you. His attitude was a bolt from the blue as he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you to him, nuzzling his face in your neck.

“You felt so warm during the ride, it’s almost like I could get used to this,” he tiredly said with a smile, gently pulling away to stare at you, his fingers leaving your back to come and slide a wild piece of hair behind your ear. Your whole body stiffened at his words as he stared at you in the eyes, noticing a small, washed-out smirk plastered on his face.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit... late to start something with someone? I mean, we have finals and then y-you’re le-leaving for South Korea and-” you started stammering as his thumb gently stroked your cheek, loving watching you lose your composure at his display of affection.

“It’s never too late when you love someone,” he whispered, feeling his warm breath tickling your lips in such a delicious manner that you have to resist the urge to move forward and press your lips against his.

His words punched the air out of your lungs, leaving you breathless as he kissed your cheek, mouth slowly moving to the side until it reached your lips. The kiss was soft yet a bit on the rougher side as if he wanted you to understand every feeling he had for you. Instinctively, your arms wrapped around his shoulders, and you kissed him harder, deeper, his hands on your lower back pulling you flush against him.

You had dreamt, wondered about what it was like kissing Jacob, but it never felt as good as you were experiencing it now. Fireworks and butterflies were erupting in your stomach, leaving you dizzy with love and passion as one of his hands came and cupped your cheek, the pad of his thumb gently caressing the skin.

Once you pulled away for oxygen, you held onto his shoulders for your dear life and he chuckled, his mouth slowly travelling down to your neck.

“I-I think my… my- oh my god, my parents will worry,” you gently pushed him away and he stared at you with a smile before diving in to capture your lips in another soft kiss.

“I'm only letting you go if you're free tomorrow. Let's put that off to tomorrow, shall we?” he asked, and your eyes widened at his suggestion.

“We can go back to the lake if you want, but only if we’re alone,” he said, his hand caressing your cheek while the other was busy stroking your upper back up and down.

“I want to enjoy this with you and you only,” he added, mumbling against your mouth and this time, you’re the one pulling him for a kiss.

“Come and pick me up at 10, then,” you said as you pulled away.

“I’ll be there, I promise,” he answered and started walking towards your house, closing the front gate behind you, waving at him with a smile.

He sent you a flying kiss with a smile and you waved at him one last time before closing the main door of your house behind you, both sighing with a huge smile and warmth painted on your faces.

You peeled the clothes off your skin and went straight to the bathroom to take a shower, shaking your head left to right while chuckling as you recalled what just happened in your last month of high school.

Nothing was making sense, you didn’t know how you got there, but you were happy.

And that’s what mattered the most.

[snipsnsnailsnwerewolftales]

Blue Moon - Part 1

A/N: See masterlist for prompts used. (And the list of amazing people who have helped me with this.)

I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.

Warnings: See Masterlist

Word count: 2,746

Xxx

“So what’s it like living with a Hale?” Stiles asked, turning away from your locker after you shut it. Both of you fell into step with Scott as you made your way to your next class. 

You must have grimaced or made some face with a slight slant of your eyebrows only a Stilinski could read, because Stiles let out a snort. “That bad?”

You shrugged, sighing. “I mean, it’s not like I expected it to be a walk in the park, it is Derek Hale after all.” Scott chuckled with a gentle shake of his head, making you smile before you continued. “But I didn’t expect it to be this…. easy….. either.”

“Easy?” Scott questioned, making the same face you must have initially as Stiles let out another snort of laughter.

“Yeah, I mean, the first few days were awkward. If we weren’t training we weren’t doing anything. The man is silent, had no TV, or any of that-”

“Wait, ‘had’?” Stiles held out his hand, effectively cutting off your sentence and your steps, your shoes screeching on the floor at the sudden stop. 

“Yes, had. He now has a TV, streaming services- yes, Stiles, services as in plural, if you keep your eyebrows that high they may stick that way, and it’s not the best look for you…”

“So at least there is something to fill the silence at least.” Scott resumed walking, you followed a few steps behind, Stiles lagging, jaw still dropped in shock. 

“Well, yeah,” you agreed with Scott, and this time you felt your eyebrows making the face.

“But….?” Scott’s prodding was gentle, but his face held a smirk.

“But somewhere along the way we went from off handed comments during a news broadcast, or some show we were watching, to actually pausing it to have some discussion, or referencing some situation later and asking if the other had had something similar happen, or just opening up about random experiences and stuff. It’s…”

“Weird?” This time Stiles prodded, earning a glare and gentle whack on the arm from Scott.

“Well, maybe it’s because you’re…. new.” Scott opted for a more discrete word for ‘werewolf’ in the crowded hallways. “He may feel like opening up more because of the pack mentality and all.”

“No, it’s not because she’s…. new.” Stiles raised one eyebrow on the word as he addressed Scott, earning a sigh and eye roll from the young Beta. “The man is a brooding wall of leather and growls.” You chuckled at the description, making Stiles grin. “I think we finally found our miracle cure for our Sourwolf!”

“Woah, woah, woah, hold up.” You held up your hands as if to physically stop their words. “What?”

“Oh, come on, Y/N. We know you two like each other. It’s so obvious.” Stiles immediately closed his mouth, his lips a tight line, eyes wide and eyebrows in his hairline in his signature “I was not supposed to say that” face.

“What?” you deadpanned to your friend. 

The bell rang, and Scott, wide eyed and smiling too broadly, gave Stiles a shove on the shoulder in the opposite direction of your next class as Stiles muttered, “Oh, look. The bell.” They both began to walk quickly the opposite way. 

“Guys!” you yelled. “This is not over! But I am not responsible for you guys missing another class, what does that make, like fifteen already this semester?”

Your two friends stilled and turned on their heels, ushering past you quickly, avoiding your glare, Stiles looking at Scott and muttering, “See, Scott? I told you our class with Miss Blake was this way.”

“Ugh,” you mumbled under your breath. The sour expression stayed on your face even after you sat at your desk in the back of the class.

Chuckling, Stiles chanced a glance your way from beside you, hoping to change the subject from his ultimate fail in the hallway. “You still don’t like her?”

“I still don’t like her.” You overlapped his last few words, matching his gentle nod with one of your own as you stared straight ahead at the teacher’s still vacant desk. 

“What is it about her you don’t like?”

“I just have a really bad feeling whenever I see her. Something just isn’t right.”

Scott chuckled, opening his book to the proper page. “You’re just mad that she gives you a little bit of a harder time.”

“You mean she gives me ‘more attention’?” you asked, your words rising to a ridiculous octave as they repeated Jennifer’s words she had used when she assigned you some extra credit to help raise your grade so you could stay on the lacrosse team. Your friends chuckled at your words. “I’m sorry, not everyone can be amazing at everything, being a wer-” you stopped yourself, clearing your throat before continuing- “new-” you looked at Scott pointedly, earning you a glare and Stiles’ laughter on your other side- “doesn’t allow for a whole lot of extra studying time.”

“Oh, come on, Y/N. I know you feel that way now, but it will pass,” Scott said with a smile as Miss Blake walked in, setting things on her desk, and he chuckled as you glared at her. “This is all ephemeral.”

You looked at Stiles, your face blank, voice a deadpan. “You ever buy him a word of the day subscription thing again, and I will rip your throat out.” You flickered your yellow eyes at him discreetly. “With my teeth.”

“With your teeth,” Stiles mumbled, overlapping your words, both of you nodding in agreement again. “I asked what it’s like living with a Hale, and now I got my answer.” He looked at you, shaking his head mockingly. “You’re becoming one of them. It’s contagious. We’ll call it ‘Sourwolf Syndrome’.”

Xxx

Due to your parents’ professions taking them all over the place constantly, like Allison, you were actually a year older than your friends, having to repeat a year a few grades back. But you wouldn’t change it for anything, because that’s how you met your best friends. 

It helped that your parents were away on business most of the time, so no one questioned your staying at Derek’s loft for so long. You stopped by every few days to get the mail and check on the plants around the house, packing some new clothes if needed, Derek sitting outside in his car the first few times, but lately he had taken to coming in and helping you do the few things you had to do.

You told yourself it was just because of the increased threat that he wanted to be closer to his newest Beta. He didn’t have too many of those these days, you thought bitterly, smirking to yourself. You stared blankly as you rinsed out your coffee cup in the sink, and a wave of sadness washed over you as you thought of Erica, her absence still fresh and raw. The two of you had never really been close; just acquaintances at school, then pack members briefly, before she was gone. 

Boyd had really withdrawn himself after that, and you didn’t blame him. You knew he probably felt how you did times ten. When Cora had been here briefly she mentioned losing a pack member was like losing a limb, and she hadn’t been wrong. 

Then Derek had kicked both Cora and Isaac out of the loft, claiming it wasn’t safe with the Alpha Pack around. Isaac was staying with Scott, but you didn’t know where Cora had disappeared to. Peter was a wild card, so you didn’t even try to factor him in, and Scott outright refused to be a member of Derek’s pack. He was an Alpha with Beta eyes, and an enigma for another time.

The point was, Derek was running low in the Beta department lately.

The only reason Derek had you staying at the loft and followed you around the house when you had to go was because you were the newest, or so he said. Deep down you knew he just didn’t want to be responsible if something happened to you. He wanted to control the situation as much as possible which, you guessed, you were kind of glad, being new to this whole werewolf thing, and admittedly not wanting to stay home alone again, human or werewolf.

At least at the loft, even in the times before Derek brought home the TV and stuff, the silence had been comfortable. You’d never admit it to anyone, but just being in the presence of another living, breathing being, even one as brooding and somewhat annoying as Derek Hale, was nice. 

And you sure as hell weren’t going to think about how he had helped you with your homework sometimes, especially with that English extra credit. He had a side he didn’t share often, and you were glad you got to see it. It was like a rare spotting of a mythological creature. 

You smiled to yourself, watching the water in the cup filling clear now, the mug long clean, and you let your feelings wash away down the drain with the water as you turned it off. 

Setting the mug in the sink, you took a deep breath, letting the feelings whirling around you fully roll off your back, rolling your shoulders back as they did.

Stepping into the doorway to the living room you saw him delicately watering some houseplant your mom babied. The first few times he had just poured water at its base, and you had to stop him, showing him how it had to be done, otherwise he’d over water it. And since then, though he had said initially that it was stupid under his breath, he took meticulous care to check if it even needed watering, and then watered it properly, like you showed him, even bringing books home to the loft about how to care for the various types of plants your mom had around the house. You found it endearing. 

Smiling softly, you gently shook your head. One second you were bitter towards him, the next finding little things that made him amazing. “I’m going to go grab some clothes, my stuff got torn to hell last week when we dealt with what’s his face,” you said offhandedly, starting up the stairs. So many baddies came through this town, you got them all confused. 

Derek chuckled. “Okay. You know you can always borrow some of my clothes if you need to.”

You stopped midstep on the staircase, each foot on a different step, and your grip on the bannister tightened, your knuckles turning white. 

This. 

This is why you had such conflicting emotions about this man. Wolf. Wolfman.

“Are you sure?” You kept your voice even, smiling softly. 

He shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, makes more sense then driving all the way over here.” His voice tried to be neutral, but it was evident he was trying to cover up something he had let slip before really thinking about it.

“Thanks. I’ll remember that next time.” You nodded once to each other before you took two steps calmly and then practically ran up the rest of them to your room. 

Holding a hand to your chest, taking deep breaths to try and stabilize your heartbeat, you slumped against the door after you closed it, sighing. 

You tried not to over analyze what he said, but failed. 

You knew he probably was making some underhanded comment about your abilities, “coming all the way over here”, really he wanted to say, “you suck at being a werewolf, you’re always getting hurt and your clothes destroyed in the process”. 

“You too, wolfman. You too,” you mumbled under your breath as you angrily rifled through one of your drawers, grabbing a few things. 

You chuckled a dark laugh. “But I’m an Alpha, Y/N. I’ll heal faster.” You mocked his deep tone, your search in your drawer turning into an aimless activity, the contents totally mixed up now.

He had never been around whenever you had gotten in a hit or takedown on the baddies you guys had encountered so far in your short time in this world. For some reasons you ended up on opposite sides of the battle fields, and he never said it directly, but you knew he probably thought you sucked. How else does one end up with torn shirts from claw marks and blood being covered by your jacket?

Everyone else had called you a badass, but Derek had yet to compliment or even comment on your fighting ability. But maybe, since he trained you, that spoke more to his ability and not yours, you thought with a smirk. Satisfied with the thought, you grabbed a few clothes out of the drawer before snapping it shut.

After a few steps toward the door, you slowed to a stop, absently staring at the clothes in your hand as your thoughts cleared a little from your earlier anger. 

If it was a reflection on how he thought he was, that was kind of sad. Did he really think so lowly of himself and his abilities? 

You had only been in this world a short time now, but even you had to admit he was a good Alpha. A good wolfm- werewolf. A good man. He was a great person to have at your back in a fight and in mundane things like math, which was also a fight, but that was a thought for another day. He was a good friend to have, period. 

Shaking your head and chuckling gently at yourself, you wondered why your thoughts were everywhere. Glancing at your calendar on the wall, you saw the full moon was coming up soon and rolled your eyes. Of course. 

This would pass. This was ephemeral. You groaned softly as you made your way back down the stairs. Stiles was going to pay.

Derek met your eyes when you made it to the last step, hopping the last few inches to the first floor. He set down the watering can softly.

“Do I really sound like that?” His lips twitched upward slightly.

Screwing up your face in confusion it took you a second to realize he had heard your mutterings as you disorganized the contents of your drawer upstairs. Realization crossed your face before your palm slapped to your forehead, the groan passing your lips before you could stop it. 

Derek laughed, and you looked at him apologetically, to which he motioned with his hand as if waving it away and smiled at the floor where his gaze was focused. “Don’t worry about it. I just always thought my voice was deeper than that.”

He chuckled even more as you swatted his arm, laughing gently yourself. He grabbed your wrist playfully before you could withdraw your hand, and you found yourself pulled closer to him, almost toe to toe and having to crane your neck to look up and meet his eyes that looked down at you with some emotion you couldn’t decipher. 

That comfortable silence hung around you two like a blanket… Until his phone rang. 

As he fished it out of his pocket, you softly cleared your throat and took a small step back, feeling Derek’s gaze on you the whole time. 

“Hello?” His voice was gruff and annoyed, and he was still staring at you. It almost seemed like he was upset at whoever was on the other end for interrupting his moment with you.

But that thought quickly evaporated. 

“Jennifer!” He said it with a broad smile on his face, his voice a total about face from his greeting, and his eyes moving from you to the wall behind you. 

It couldn’t be who you thought. There was no way. That would be too much of a coincidence.

“No, I’m not busy,” he said, turning to the door. 

Grabbing his arm to stop him, he turned to look at you, eyebrows raised in question and, if you weren’t mistaken, slight annoyance.

“What?” he mouthed. 

“Who is that?” you whispered. 

“A friend,” he hissed. 

“Who is it?” you hissed back at him. 

“Your English teacher, Jennifer Blake.” He shrugged out of your grip and out your front door, motioning you to the car.

You seethed as you turned off the lights, grabbing your bag of clothes, and locking the door after you. 

Reason number five hundred and sixty two to hate Miss Jennifer Blake.

Xxx

Tags: @mayahart02, @palaiasaurus64, @shydinosaurcandy, @lucyqueenofthestars, @c-breanne1999, @l4life, @ethereallysimple, @teenwolffan-with-nolife, @bellabadacadabra What’s This?

[racheloveyunho]

Till Death do us part - 1

Y/N grew up in a wealthy family, she always was seen as a beautiful and smart kid and was most likely to take her father’s place as the CEO of one of the most important companies in South Korea. However, after the death of her mother, Y/N’s family slowly started to break apart. Her father was always working to forget his uncalled pain while his kids were left alone at home.

She was 17 years old when her life took a sudden turn when she met him in a dark alley. He was a bloody mess, bruises everywhere but behind blood and dirt, she could see his beautiful features and his addictive gaze. Maybe she should have walked away, maybe she shouldn’t have helped him, but the moment his gaze locked with hers, she was already his.

Choi San was his name.

Genre: Mafia AU, angst, fluff, stranger to lovers

Words: 2486

 TW: Y/N is described as an OC. Please be aware that this story will contain a lot of triggering content such as smut, blood, death, murder, drug, kidnapping, etc. Do not read if you are under a legal age!

Chapter 1

 I still wonder what would have happened if I didn’t meet him during this gloomy night? We were young and I was way too brave for my own good. Maybe it was my faith or maybe it was a sheer coincidence but now, I know that I will love him till death do us part.

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 5 years ago.

 "Hey Y/N, wake up sleepyhead! It’s time to go to school and I will surely not wait for the princess to wake up" my brother yelled loudly from the first floor, waking me up in the process.

I groaned and shifted uncomfortably in my bed; it was too much noise at such an early time of the day. My long-browned hair was messy from the last night, as always. I was the type of girl to move a lot during my sleep and my morning head was always a funny one, swollen, with small eyes and with some of my lightly curled hair stuck in my mouth. After five minutes of rethinking my life decisions, I found enough motivation to get out of my bed and walked down the stairs.

"Why the hell did I agree to help other students during holidays, huh?” I asked my brother as I lazily rubbed my tummy.

“Maybe because you are too dumb to say no to your teachers?” he answered, his mouth full of food.

“Do you mind keeping your mouth shut while you are eating? It’s disgusting.” I shook my head disapprovingly.

I headed toward the kitchen to get a cup of fresh milk. Jin, my brother, childishly opened his mouth wide to show me the content of it. I let out a long “Ew!” before smashing his arm playfully.

“No, but seriously Y/N. There’s no use to be brilliant at school if that means you have to help your classmates with their studies during holidays” Jin said after taking a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah, but the teacher who asked me this favor told me that he will write a recommendation for me if I agreed to help him” I answered.

“You don’t even need a recommendation, we’re from a rich family” Jin mumbled to himself but it was loud enough for me to hear it.

 He wasn’t totally wrong and I knew it. We were born with a silver spoon in our mouth. We were “cake eater” as the other kids used to call us when we were younger, we never knew what it felt like to run out of money and everyone at school was jealous of me because of that.

But they didn’t know. No one knew how hard it actually was for me and my brother.

My mother passed away 2 years ago, and since then, my father didn’t stay at home with us longer than a week straight. He was always working, working, and working again, his job had literally become his life. He was one of the richest men in Korea and still, he was always eager for more and worked every day and night for it.

He wasn’t a good father for me and Jin. He never made any compliments to us, all he was able to do was to pressure us to be as perfect as possible or at least perfect enough to not ashamed him and his reputation. Unlike my brother, I wanted to hear my father say that he was proud of me, just for once. That’s why I was trying hard to be the perfect daughter, with good grades, good manners, and good appearance but even if I tried my best, it wasn’t enough for him.

 “Do you know why I’m working so hard, Jin?” I asked him, voice as soft as a whisper, almost not daring to tell the truth.

“Why?” Jin put a hand on the top of mine, a sign of comfort since he already knew my upcoming answer.

“I don’t want to follow his rules forever. I’m still a minor so I had to stick at them but when I’ll turn 20, I will leave this house and will never come back” I sadly stated, “I want to marry a man I’m in love with, I want to do a job I like and most of all, I don’t want our father to commend my life.”

 Jin tightened his grip on my hand. He understood me, he understood me too well. We were indeed rich but we were far from being happy. Jin was 6 years older than me which means he was already an adult. He wanted to leave this house as much as me but couldn’t bring himself to do so and leave me behind.

Unlike me, Jin has never been a good student, he always has been considered a failure to our father, and even if he finally was able to run away from here, he stayed there for me. I was really lucky to have a brother like him and I was well aware of that.

 I took my breakfast and came back to my room to take a quick shower and get ready for this day I knew would be exhausting.

My brother was already waiting in his car. Jin took me to school as often as he could. He was working on a supermarket he owned and even if he was pretty busy, he wanted to spend his mornings with his “sweet baby sister” as he liked to call me.

I am indeed lucky to have a brother like him.

 8 pm, it was already late when I heard the bell ring for the last time today. I was the last one to leave the class as I helped my teacher with the preparation of some material for the next day. It didn’t bother me too much, I wasn’t in a hurry to get home since I knew my dad was finally coming back home from his work.

In all honesty, I didn’t want to see him. I didn’t miss him at all, even after all this time. I wandered here and there even though the street was already pitch black.

 “Oh! It’s been a while since I last went to the haunted alley!” I happily exclaimed to myself.

I knew every nook and cranny of Seoul, I grew up there after all. My favorite place was the haunted alley. As its name suggests and according to some beliefs, that path would be haunted.

It was an old story I heard with my friends when I was less than 10 years old. A grandma from our neighborhood scolded us and told us not to stay there because there was a woman who had been murdered in the walkway and that since then, one could hear her cry every night.

A simple way to scare naïve kids you may think, and you are more than right. However, this story is known by everyone, not just by kids. That’s the reason why I love this place, thanks to all of these rumors, no one uses this path except me. It was like my secret place.

 I walked around the alley with heavy steps, thinking about my father and his upcoming lecture about how to be a good girl. My thoughts were suddenly stopped by the voice of two men who seemed to be fighting each other. I stayed still for a moment, trying to figure out where the noises were coming from.

“You piece of shit! And you claim yourself as the Boss” son?” One voice laughed.

I hid in the dark and saw what could have been mistaken with a scene from a horror movie. Between two old houses, a tall man was beating up a boy who seemed to be around my age.

I felt shivers down my spine but before I could even think straight, my body started to move with its own will.

“Hey! Let him go!” I shouted, my voice betraying me by showing how scared I really was.

 I moved closer to the two men, I could now see them more clearly.

The young boy was sitting on the ground, badly bleeding, whereas the tall man was standing in front of him, blood on his hand and his nose broken.

They were watching me. The silence was heavy, the only thing I could hear was the beating of my racing heart and the shake of my knees that were begging me to run away from this place. The silence was soon replaced by an ominous laugh.

“Wow. What a beauty! Is she your girlfriend? Huh?” The tall man laughed and hit the youngest on his stomach before coming closer to me.

He came closer, until he was in front of me. I had a better view of his poor state. He wasn’t less bleeding than the other man, his blood was actually covering his whole face.

I don’t know what had taken into me at this exact moment, the adrenaline was rushing in my veins and even though my feet were stuck on the ground, unable to move, my hand reached the pepper spray I always carried in my bag. Before the man could react, I used my weapon against him.

When the chemical product had reached his eyes, he screamed and placed his hands on his face, trying desperately to soothe the pain. I took advantage of the situation and kicked him as hard as I could on his crotch before he fell loudly on the ground.

I quickly grabbed the boy by his arm and helped him stand up. He was badly injured but followed me without any complaint.

 I was panting when I reached a lighted street. We stopped there, trying to catch our breath.  I turned around to face the man I was still holding and my breath hitched in my throat, not from the run I previously had but because of how beautiful this man looked.

“Are you okay? What is your name?” I asked him but he simply stayed silent, staring at me with his piercing eyes.

I took a better look at his features, he was really handsome with a well-defined face. He wasn't older than me but he hadn't the body of a teenager either. His broad shoulders and his arms muscles could be seen without any effort from him. His dark hair was harmonizing with the dark of his eyes and his dimples were visible as the border of his lips turned upright in an inviting smirk.

How can someone like him be involved in such a fight?

“The sight is at your taste?” he giggled, his smile spreading wider.

I finally took notice of my staring when I heard him laugh. I must say it was the most beautiful laugh I ever heard, slightly high-pitched but almost bewitching.

“I wasn’t staring!” I shouted from embarrassment. Fortunately, the darkness of the night was covering the redness on my cheeks.

“Sure, you weren’t” He added, amused by my reaction “I’m San. Choi San. I didn’t need your help earlier but thank you, I’m glad you rescued me”

He came closer to me and gave me a sincere smile, showing even more his dimples.

My heart was going crazy in my chest. This boy seemed small earlier compared to the other man but he was way taller than me, maybe 7 inches taller.

“You’re welcome”

I was a bit intimidated by him but I dared not to look away. He had something special, an aura that seemed as dangerous as comforting. His gaze was intense and deep, it was like he was looking through me, memorizing every detail of my face.

He didn’t move and didn’t talk for at least 2 minutes and even if I was feeling uncomfortable, I did my best not to let him know.

“Where is your house?” he finally asked after what felt like an eternity.

He startled me with his sudden question, I didn’t expect him to talk this soon. Why did he want to know where I lived? He probably wanted to walk me home and I would have gladly let this handsome guy walk me home if I hadn’t met him in an odd situation.

‘But he is really handsome…’  I thought, sighing softly, making San arch an eyebrow.

“It’s okay, I live near here, no need to walk me home. You can go ahead…” I said “Go ahead to…the hospital, your house or…go murdering someone…whichever comes first” I added, lowering my voice at the end of my sentence.

His face changed into a surprised expression “I wasn’t going to walk you home, don’t worry”

I sighed in relief even if I felt a bit disappointed, maybe he wasn't that bad after all.

“I want to stalk you” he stared at me with his beautiful smile as if it was the most natural thing to say.

‘What the fuck?’

“Sure, stalking me haha, it was obvious, silly me!” I gently hit my head and laughed awkwardly, taking a step back from him.

He laughed sweetly and took my chin between his thumb and his index to lift my face up. His mouth came closer to my ear and he whispered a small “Just joking” before turning his heels back and leaving me, alone, in the dark street.

  I was finally back home. Fortunately for me, my dad hadn’t noticed me since he was already sleeping on the couch.

I quickly went upstairs to my room and collapsed on my bed, my mind still processing what had happened earlier. It was scary to say the least but fascinating at the same time. I was still confused even after showering. This San had a deep effect on me, not only mentally but physically too.

“Choi San…” I muttered before closing my eyes and drifting into a deep sleep.

---------

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This is my first story, it’s bad but I’ll try to improve myself!

This series will be uploaded slowly since I don't have a lot of time.

Thank you for reading!

[robininthelabyrinth]

Tedious Joys - Chapter 3 -

- Ao3 link -

“Truly, Lao Nie, you are blessed to have such a talented son,” Wen Ruohan said, and if it were anyone else it might have even been a compliment, sincerely meant.

But Wen Ruohan was an ancient monster, two generations older than Lan Qiren – though you couldn’t tell by looking at his smooth young-seeming face, and only his eyes told the truth of it – and possessed of both a longstanding grudge against the Nie sect and the apparent sense that all good things in the world ought to belong to him and him alone.

He had only two living sons at present, the younger one only a little older than A-Zhan, now called Lan Wangji, and neither of them had yet displayed any particularly fine qualities – understandable for little Wen Chao, who was little more than a spoiled princeling, but the tone in Wen Ruohan’s voice boded no one any good.

“It is, no doubt, a credit to Sect Leader Lan’s excellent teaching,” Wen Ruohan added before Lao Nie could respond, and he raised his cup to toast Lan Qiren. Etiquette required that Lan Qiren acknowledge the toast, which he did with a stiff nod, but he disliked this line of conversation more and more.

“Starting to regret not sending your own boy there, are you, Hanhan?” Lao Nie laughed, and Lan Qiren devoutly wished that his friend would leave him out of whatever strange ongoing thing he had developed with Wen Ruohan, half rivalry and half challenge, hatred and affection both. Who in their right mind would call the fearsome Sect Leader Wen such intimate things like “A-Han” or “Hanhan”?

Lao Nie, that was who.

Wen Ruohan bared his teeth at Lao Nie in something that might be mistaken for a smile. Lan Qiren averted his eyes from the whole debacle, thinking to himself that he would need to advise Lao Nie that he could either invite their fellow sect leader into his bed or have Lan Qiren as a friend but not both. Lan Qiren’s entire life had been thrown into chaos by other people’s choices in that regard and he was not inclined to endure any more of the same if he could help it.

The jade pendant he had taken to wearing on his belt for easy access was warm against his leg, as it often was when he was thinking ungracious thoughts – he’d had something of a breakthrough with Jiwei shortly his affirmation of friendship with Lao Nie, achieving perfect resonance between blade and pendant, and he was very pleased even if he didn’t actually have any evidence that it was helping. He’d tuned a similar pendant with Baxia for Nie Mingjue, who wore it around his neck to help seep off Baxia’s rage, and though there were no dramatic effects, Lan Qiren thought that he seemed steadier for it. Though that might also just be how Nie Mingjue was starting to grow into himself, both in terms of becoming a teenager (Lan Qiren’s best estimate was around thirteen) and in terms of his ever-increasing height.

Children at that age were especially tricky to convince to listen, so Lan Qiren had allowed Lan Xichen to select the pendant and act as messenger to hand over the gift, thinking to himself that their mutual friendship would do more to convince Nie Mingjue to wear the thing than any esoteric explanation relating to cultivation. He had been proven right, and the fact that Lan Xichen smiled brightly every time he saw his friend wearing it was an unexpected but welcome bonus.

Sadly, Lao Nie was not so easily convinced, but again then he was an adult, with his habits set in stone, harder to change. His style had always been simple and stringently austere; he hated having any sort of weight on him but for his saber, his guan and his braids, and not even the threat of his pending eventual death would change his mind about that. As a result it was Lan Qiren who wore the pendant for him, meditating with or playing for Jiwei whenever he could and doing all he could to strengthen the resonance between the two items even at a distance.

It was Lan Qiren that wore the jade, even though it hung heavy and swollen with Lao Nie’s spiritual energy, and Wen Ruohan that glared each time he saw it, and really, if Lao Nie could just stop whatever dangerous game he was playing, Wen Ruohan could go back to disregarding Lan Qiren as the mediocre replacement for the far more dangerous Qingheng-jun.

Instead of…well, whatever wrong idea Wen Ruohan had gotten into his head about him.

About them, perhaps.

Some people thought everything was about sex, he thought disdainfully, and then had to suppress a flinch at the abrupt stab of pain – He Kexin had died earlier that year, fading away suddenly and unexpectedly, and for all that Lan Qiren had not liked her it was still a shock to think that she was gone.

He had been the one to find her, which he supposed was lucky in comparison to the alternative. It had been during one of his visits, coming as he always did to report to her at the midpoint between her children’s monthly visits, and even now, months later, he found himself starting to walk towards her house on those evenings, found himself mentally making a note of things his nephews did as if he were still preparing the reports that he would have given to her if she had still been there.

His brother had never cared for such reports.

His brother…

Lan Qiren had had to tell him that the wife he had sacrificed everything for was gone, talking through the door in the hope that he would be listened to and heard, and perhaps the only benefit of his brother’s cold and endless seclusion was that he didn’t have to hear his brother’s response to such news.

(Sometimes he wondered if his brother was already dead and rotting away in there, only to scold himself for such inauspicious thoughts. In the end, despite everything, it was still his brother, and surely they had been close, once, the way Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji were, even if Lan Qiren could not remember it.)

He had hoped that Cangse Sanren would somehow hear the news and come to find him, to commiserate – even more than Lao Nie, she could put a smile on anyone’s face – but she did not come to the Cloud Recesses. Lan Qiren hoped it was only that she was busy, or else perhaps had not had reason to hear such gossip as a traveling rogue cultivator, but he feared the worst. The last time they had met she had reminded him, as she did every time, that she had a doom hanging above her head which could not be escaped, and as always they made sure to part on good terms as if that time would be the last. And yet, despite that, he still hoped desperately that he had not lost her, too.

“– such a talented niece,” Jin Guangshan was saying ingratiatingly to Wen Ruohan, who looked pleased – they must be discussing Wen Qing, who was around Nie Mingjue’s age, perhaps a little older, and who already showed all signs of being an extremely talented doctor. She was not Wen Ruohan’s direct niece, being a child of the Dafan Wen branch family, distant cousins at best, but Wen Ruohan had claimed her as his ward and therefore, technically, her skills were his merit, no matter that she had developed them before her abrupt relocation to the Nightless City to accompany the main family line. “Perhaps you might consider sending her to Sect Leader Lan’s lectures next summer, instead.”

“There are separate lectures for women,” Lan Qiren demurred, going for the easy excuse of his sect’s customs. “I believe she has a younger brother? You are welcome to send him once he is old enough, if you like.”

Wen Qing was not at all to Lan Qiren’s taste, as much as he was loath to say such a thing about a girl little older than a child. She had inherited the arrogance of the Wen sect in full: proud and unwavering, convinced of her own viewpoint regardless of any evidence to the contrary, and unwilling to compromise or listen, determined to have her own way. While in her case the traits shaded closer to virtue, such as with her absolutist refusal to use her sword to engage in any of Wen Ruohan’s skirmishes with small neighboring sects, Lan Qiren could see a future in which that very same arrogance would bring her nothing but problems.

If there was one thing that he’d learned from Jiwei, it was that it was not good to be too rigid, too set in your path, or else you would ignore any other solution in favor of walking step-by-step down the path you’d created to your own destruction. It was something he himself was constantly trying to correct in himself, with his love of the rules and very particular habits, and perhaps that was why he could recognize it in others.

Still, she was young, and there was time yet for her to learn better. Maybe he should recommend her for some classes…

“I will consider it,” Wen Ruohan said with a not-smile on his lips. “Perhaps there’s something that the boy can learn from Sect Leader Lan’s…wealth of experience.”

Lan Qiren did not flinch at the jibe, clearly aimed to remind him that he had never left the Lan sect to gain experience the way so many young men did – Wen Ruohan had discovered that particular sore spot years ago, and however skilled he was at picking at old wounds, they would eventually toughen into a scar – but he was somewhat gratified to see Lao Nie’s frown deepen when he heard it.

Still, since Lan Qiren didn’t actually want to get in the middle of the other sect leaders’ personal business, he interjected, “There is still time before we need to think of such things. The children will be grown sooner than we like; we should cherish the time when they’re still young.”

Wen Ruohan rolled his eyes at the platitude, but the conversation moved on to other matters. There was always business to discuss at these discussion conferences, even in the parts that were nominally meant as social events, and of course some of the social discussions were also in their own way business. The birth of a son for Tingshan He clan, yet another daughter for the prodigious Yingchuan Wang clan with all their concubines…

The pendant on Lan Qiren’s thigh burned hotter than ever, and he slid a hand out of his sleeve to press down on it, wondering at the cause. He glanced over at Lao Nie, at Jiwei, and found him scowling in a way that seemed more intense than the usual, his eyes on Wen Ruohan – had he truly just noticed the other man’s disdain of Lan Qiren? Surely not.

Perhaps he was simply responding to Jiwei’s own response, but why the saber would be upset at Wen Ruohan, Lan Qiren truly did not know. There was only so much he could understand without the lived experience of cultivating saber spirit himself, which for all his effort he did not and could not have.

Lan Qiren sent his own spiritual energy to the pendant, trying to press the feeling of calm there in the hopes that the resonance would also help calm Jiwei, and thus in turn Lao Nie, but he had no idea if it was having that effect. Perhaps he would try to play for Lao Nie himself as well as for Jiwei tonight.

Assuming of course that Lao Nie was not otherwise preoccupied…

A loud noise came from the arena below – a giant wave of cheering – and Lan Qiren turned his attention there: it appeared that, as Wen Ruohan must have foreseen, Nie Mingjue had just defeated someone one and a half times his own age in a clean sweep. He was practically glowing with joy and youthful enthusiasm and, yes, sheer overwhelming spiritual energy - had he managed to advance his own cultivation during a performance spar?

Of course he had. Geniuses.

And of course, just as predictably, Lan Xichen was the first one by his side when he left the field, the two of them talking avidly and enthusiastically – perhaps a little too much so for Lan Xichen, just edging outside of the Lan sect rules, but Lan Qiren could forgive the small misstep under the circumstances. Normally he tried to be as strict as possible when teaching his nephews, erring wherever possible in favor of orthodoxy out of his fear that they would end up indifferent to their sect or blinded by passion the way their father was or too mercurial and easily deceived the way He Kexin had been. Still, Lan Xichen had only just become old enough to attend the events and it was only another year before he could participate, albeit only in the most junior capacity; some enthusiasm was understandable.

Truly, he thought as he watched them, it had not been a mere platitude to say that a child’s youth needed to be cherished before it disappeared forever, and all the more so when it was your child. With their mother’s death, his nephews were now wholly in his custody and care, and he thought that he could not have loved them any more if they had been children of his own body.

Unexpectedly, he felt someone’s gaze on him and turned his head to catch Wen Ruohan studying him thoughtfully. When their gazes met, Wen Ruohan did not look away, but only smiled and raised his cup – the second time now he had tried to catch Lan Qiren in a toast. He would probably try to force them all into drinking later. Lan Qiren would refuse, as always, and take his leave early so that he could sleep, and Lao Nie would stay and probably get himself into trouble.

Perhaps Wen Ruohan had some sort of scheme to force the issue. That had happened a few times, although the move was more typical of Jin Guangshan, who liked to set important business meetings in the evening and then insist that they might as well have the conversation at a ‘tea house’ or ‘wine shop’ that barely bothered hiding the fact that it was brothel. On a few instances, he had steered the conversation in such a way that left Lan Qiren no choice but to either drink, lose face, or give Jin Guangshan no face, and of those three options the most palatable was clearly the first. Lan Qiren would therefore drink and, true to his bloodline, almost immediately become extremely dizzy and confused, losing all his senses.

Presumably that had been Jin Guangshan’s goal the first time around, except unfortunately for him Lan Qiren, when drunk, did not become easier to manipulate. Instead, it appeared that he simply lost all control of his ability to moderate his interest in the Lan sect rules or obscure musical theory and would therefore proceed to talk about those subjects at monotonous and excruciating length to anyone who would listen, and several who would really rather not. Lao Nie had told him about it after one such incident, claiming that he had nearly burst a rib laughing at Wen Ruohan’s worsening expression as Lan Qiren earnestly hung off his arm all evening, refusing to be shaken off, and dictating to him the entire history, development, and applicable exceptions of just one of the rules regarding the use of the Lan sect forehead ribbon.

With quotes.

(In his embarrassment, Lan Qiren had responded by muttering something about the importance of citing appropriate authority, causing Lao Nie to nearly burst another rib.)

He wasn’t sure why Wen Ruohan would bother inviting that sort of behavior again, especially when he had already requested in advance that should such circumstances ever occur again, Lao Nie was to have pity on him and drag him back to his bed before he went on too long. And yet – reviewing the day’s proposed schedule in his mind – it seemed likely that Wen Ruohan did have such intentions.

For some reason, it made Lan Qiren worry.

[samissosexyyy]

Tumblr thought it would be hilarious to delete all my work and not let me answer requests :').

YES I SHALL WRITE THE PLATONIC ANGRY PARENTS-

And thank you-I woke up and was talking to my friend in the morning and my brain just: jojo villain yandere dads. Mudad mudad mudad mudad anger.

Anyways, here they are- Do these even count as headcanons???? I dunno-

Dio, Part 1

Vampire form of course.

First thing first, We all know he'd be a great dad. Protective already, But make him a yandere platonic father? Oh boy, Trust me, You'd be spoiled and treated like royalty.

Now, I'm gonna say in this scenario you were on of his victims child. I'll say you'll be around 5 to eight.

Somehow you managed to catch his eye, Is it because your parent was just as bad as his? You reminded him of his mother? Or maybe you resemble him, and have three moles on your ear. Or, perhaps, A younger joestar? Either way, You somehow had him feeling like a father, and, according to one of my friends, Araki had said DIO would treat his children like they were royalty, And they would be so spoiled.

So, Mudad would end up taking you in, kidnapping, whichever honestly. He'd be holding you like a loving pet owner would, if you got scared, he'd probably be confused. Honestly he'd have you turned into a vampire quickly, as he knew he wouldn't be able to have children as a Vampire.

Truthfully, I think you'd end up never noticing how he'd occasionally pull you closer, or how he'd glare at anyone your age or older going near you. Or how he'd give you some strict rules, Like no dating anyone. E v e r. And why would you ever want to hurt your papa like that?! You wouldn't want to do that, right?! Of course you wouldn't! Dio knew you'd never betray him like that!!

Truth be told, he'd guilt you if you tried to go against his words. But punishments? No no, He'd never actually purposefully hurt you, Unlike his love interest, he'd NEVER want to cause you pain ever. He'd hate himself and wouldn't forgive himself for years. Centuries. Infact, he'd beg for your forgiveness.

The Pillarmen

And satannnaaaaa

First of all, You aren't a pillarchild. You'd most likely be some kind of god, vampire, or a young hamon learner. Or even related to the Joestars or Ceasar.

So, Let's say you're immortal who can walk in the sun. We all know you'd be the joestar side, Right? So, That means you'd end up hating or feeling pity for the pillarmen. First, You'd probably end up trying to make Santana hally when he awakens. Unlike with Joseph, He'd probably know not to attempt to attack you. Let's say you have symbols like Dio Over heaven, We all know how that would work.

You'd end up as a being worshipped by them, probably kidnapped after they destroy the Joestars.

Let's say they defeated Joseph and the others, and you were still a deity, You'd most likely be weaker then them in this scenario. They'd probably treat you like a kitten at first, like a baby before they all felt a connection. As if you were a child of their own, so they'd give you rules. And we all know how rules go with yanderes.

Let's say uh- you fell for a mortal.

"No. No."

[Crush name has fallen from a high place.]

"DADS WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUU-"

"NO CUSSING IN THIS CHRISTIAN MINECRAFT SERVER!"

or something like that :')

Honestly, You'd have bird dad, and a bunch of other dads. Santana would honestly be like the cool big brother honestly. You'd probably want horns too so-

They would totally buy you halloween horns to put on your head so you'd be happy baby

Now, Hamon user? They'd probably find you like a cute animal at first, probably going easy on you like it was a game of tag. Soon, they'd realize how weak and fragile you are, After all, You are just starting hamon. They'd probably kidnap you to spite Joseph and his side at first, before... Well, You didn't expect to become a vampire and treated like royalty when all you've been treated like is uh... Considering Lisalisa is your coach, I'd say you'd be happy if it was someone else doing this for you.

Josephs sibling? WOAH Joseph, When did you get a cute sibling? Pfft, Not your sibling anymore, They just adopted your ex sibling nerd.

But, All jokes aside, They'd probably be surprised that you were more mature then your brother, and...you sorta resemble a certain Coach... Oh, Humans all look the same, haha.

They'd probably kidnap you infront of Joseph just to make him feel guilt and rage, After all, Why not get their prized treasure and make Joseph angry? They'd give you more rules, until Joseph was gone, of course.

And, sadly, Not even you crying would stop them from making you into a vampire infront of your big brother, breaking both of your hearts.

Don't worry you got ice cream later smh.

Ceasars sibling? Mini pancake? Haha, They'd kidnap you as soon as they felt parent like tendencies. No denying them, infact, they'd make sure you saw ceasar get defeated by the ro ck. But don't worry! You have new parents and a brother-! Haha, Poor you.

Part 3 DIO AKA mudad!

Honest to god you'd probably have to be a stand user with a weak or strong stand, or, you were one of his kids he had with a lucky woman who survived and got a naked polaroid of him as a 'wow you lived! Congrats, now go have my kid lmao' gift. Or, Maybe you were a normal kid who was kind to him, even if he,,,,  did some questionable murder infront of you. And maybe you were a young

Now, Let's say you were a strong stand user. He'd end up wanting to use a flesh bud until he realized... He never had a kid, that he knows of, and decided to raise you! At first he'd be upset you had a strong stand like your mudad, but realized you could protect yourself from those dreadful joestars! Congrats, You became a Brando! :) How unlucky, Considering this DIO would probably force vampire masks onto you, or even using fleshbuds as a threat. Either way, You'll always be papas baby!

Yoshikage kira.

Like I said in my first post of this, He'd want to have a nice average life. You having a stand wouldn't be a problem, Since he'd probably convince you Josuke and the others are awful and rude.

Josukes sibling? Well, He'd end up telling you he can help your brother with his murder issue if you come with him. You don't exactly have a choice since Killer queen would easily overpower you if you had disagreed. You'd end up being a normal and peaceful child before long, Infact, He'd have to pretend he had adopted you behind his 'wifes' back.

Hayotos friend he never talks about? Congrats, You are now stuck with a crazy and loving father! And a mother, I suppose. And you get your best friend as a brother! You'd never be able to leave, how sad. But, You'd have your new mom and your dad to talk to-! And killer queen cuddle time.

Now, Let's say you were his own kid. Wowzers! You think its normal for your father to bring women hands home, after all, You are pretty young and your father told you most adults do this. Ah. How enjoyable.

Doppio/Diavolo

Oh dear. You poor child.

Either you were related to trish, and he somehow felt like you wouldn't be a problem before they felt more of a father love towards you, Most likely somehow getting rif of the traitors and your big sister.

"Where's big sister?"

"Don't worry about her, She's spending time with your mother."

Smh quit LIEING you jERK!

But seriously, Doppio would be like the fun mom asking you if you'd like bake cupcakes in his spare time! Read you bed time stories and whatnot! Diavolo would be awkward and "wanna play baseball or whatever kids like to do these days?" Awkward dad alert.

"My kid is fine!"

The kid they kidnapped/raised:

Casually trying to beat another kid with a baseball.❤💚💛

Honestly they'd insult everyone elses kids while here their kid is, casually scared of baseball.

Pucci

Papa priest! We all know he'd adopt you! I head canon him as gay, considering DIO and him were totally a thing.

So, He'd probably have you study Lord DIO bibles, and casually have you hate Jolyne. Probably even give you a stand, And even show you that DIO is the best! Worship! Protect yourself and all that!

Jotaro would probably scare you,  so I can see you holding onto Pucci while Jotaro appears anytime, so pucci would infact love it when you snuggle onto him lime a cute kitten. Hell, you even Sneeze like a kitten!

Honestly You'd be kept under watch 24/7, but you'd think it was normal, after all, Your father would mever do something so awful like Those Joestars claim...right?

Diego

Oh wow- dino dad :)

Let's say you were a big fan of his, Then, Well,You wouldn't mind having him as a dad, Now would you? He is your idol, Right? Yeah. Yeah!

He'd probably carry you around upside down, Hot pants just questioning his sanity as he drops you a million times. Hot pants would probably end up carrying you most of the time.

Mama hot pants and father Diego. Y es.

And, Let's say you were traveling with Johnny. Congrats. You've put yourself in a even worse situation considering Diego would become worried and paranoid over those two idiots hurting you! And he hates the idea of his baby boy/girl/child being hurt by barbarians!!!

Even though he'd probably hurt you on accident if I'm gonna be honest.

Kidnapping isn't a very easy job, so of course he had to knock you out! What was he supposed to do?! Ask you to come stay with him forever?! No! Maybe! HuawhuKaia-

Honestly not too many rules, just don't leave his side ever! Except when going to the bathroom. You'll be tied to his horse. No whining >:(.

Funny Valentine

Honestly what did you think he was going to do? Pick some random child? No no, He'd choose the PERFECT child! You were so lucky! Wow! The daughter of the mos powerful man ever! Lucky you, Right?

No. You don't get alone time unless it's you sleeping or bathing. You wear what he wants, and no.

Dating not allowed. Bad. No no no no no.

"No. No dating. Your lips will fall off."

"but mommys lips didn't-"

"Your face will melt off."

Basically you'd be bossed around and treated like royalty, as long as you listen to you dad!

Honestly I don't know if this is headcanons, if if it isn't feel free to scream at me in the comments-

AND I AM SO SORRY ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO ACTUALLY ANSWER, SO I HOPE YOU SEE THIS AND ARE ABLE TO ENJOY IT??? I GUESS???

[moonculus]

terrible things ~ wilbur x reader

angst

warnings: death, weapons, kissing (all non-descriptive)

pronouns: implied she/her

notes: inspired by the song, terrible things by mayday parade. i apologize in advance <3

☾　‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙　☽

that’s when i met your father, the boy of my dreams. the most beautiful man that i’d ever seen.

“mommy?”

you looked away from your coffee cup to meet your child’s bright eyes staring back at you.

“yes, honey?” you asked, smiling softly.

“what happened to my father?”

immediately, you felt your heart tighten. you had put off talking about your husband for as long as you possibly could. phil, techno, even tommy. everyone who cared for you worried about you. you had thrown yourself into caring for your child, barely even giving yourself time to feel.

“when you’re older, baby,” you tilted your head sympathetically.

the daughter clung to your leg, pouting up at you with puppy eyes. the same her father would make whenever he wanted a hug or kiss from you. you were never the disciplinarian. to be honest, neither of you were. you hoisted your daughter onto your lap, preparing yourself emotionally.

“well, since i was your age, i was convinced i would be a leader. no one could ever tell me i needed a husband, i thought boys were frivolous. while my friends would talk about crushes and cooties, i would talk about sword skills and the inner workings of our country. i never thought i’d need anyone. until i met your father…”

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

you swung your wooden makeshift sword at a tree, grunting as it was stuck in the bark. you pulled at the handle, kicked at the stump, and eventually plopped down in the grass beside it, frustratedly.

“need some help?” a soft voice asked you.

a small boy your age crooked glasses and a yellow sweater he seemed to be quickly outgrowing.

“no. i can do it myself,” you huffed, brushing yourself off and attempting to pull the sword out again.

“my dad says it’s always best to accept help, even if you think you don’t deserve it.”

“my dad used to say if you can’t do things on your own, you shouldn’t do them at all.”

“your dad’s wrong,” the boy shrugged, leaning against the tree.

“do you mind?”

“i’m wilbur,” he grinned, sticking his hand out for you.

“i’m tired of this,” you folded your arms against your chest.

“well, tired of this. do you want to be friends?”

“my dad said friends make you weak,” you muttered, shifting from foot to foot.

“your dad’s wrong,” he repeated, smiling. “anyways. sometimes, everyone needs a knight in shining armor.”

with a swift hit to the handle in exactly the right place, the sword fell to the grass. your chest rose and fell as you glared at the weapon.

“thank you,” you mumbled.

“i’ll take a friendship as an apology.”

you rolled your eyes at him, a smile threatening to cross your face.

“fine.”

wilbur’s face lit up with a toothy smile.

“but,” you began, pointing a finger at him. “only because i owe you.”

“oh, of course,” he nodded, stifling a grin.

“y/n. my name. i’m y/n.”

“y/n,” he repeated. “i like it. i’ll see you around, y/n.”

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

“and then what happened?”

your curious daughter that had been squirming in your lap, now settled, relaxing in your arms.

“well, a few years passed, and we became practically attached at the hip. inseparable…”

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

i can tell by your eyes that you’re in love with me

“stay together- be safe!” phil called after the two of you, as if you would’ve gladly left the other alone.

“we will!” you chorused, already bolting away.

the once short and underdeveloped boy had grown into a lanky, somewhat scrawny teenager. stretch marks dotted his knees from an unexpected growth spurt at twelve. he had long since ditched his glasses, claiming that he was too mature for his crooked lenses. suspiciously, he had adopted the spectacles back once he had overheard a conversation between niki and yourself in which you told her you thought boys with glasses were cute.

the two of you flopped onto your backs at the same willow tree you had first met. it had become a memorial of the start of your friendship, a place you visited often.

clouds drifted through the sky, the both of you pointing out ones that looked like ducks and cats.

“d’ya ever think about your future?” wilbur asked you out of the blue.

“yeah. i’m gonna be a ruler. you can be one of my royal consorts,” you shrugged.

“what’s a consort?”

“i dunno, i heard my mom use it once. i suppose it’s like an advisor of some kind. you’re my second in command!”

“well, i’m fine being your second. as long as you don’t let it go to your head,” he nudged you, smiling.

you rolled your head to the side, meeting gazes with wil. his eyes searched your face, and for a second you were confused. you had barely even acknowledged the thought of crushes- you didn’t know what they felt like. later on, you could assume it felt a little like this.

the two of you leaned in, connecting your lips gently. neither of you had any clue what you were doing, it was both of your first kisses. as soon as it began, you pulled away. you didn’t miss the blush creeping into wilbur’s cheeks, just as he didn’t miss the smile you tried to hide behind your hand.

“i- crap. i li-“ wil stammered.

“i know.”

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

“ew, cooties!”

“you’re right, cooties. that’s why you never kiss boys,” you pointed at your daughter.

“anyways, we loved each other. we had since the day we met, just were too young to know it…”

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

im asking you, please. you know that i love you, will you marry me?

“gods, you look beautiful, honey,” niki cooed as she placed flowers behind your ears.

“you think so?”

“i know so! wil is going to be speechless.”

“we haven’t been out for weeks, with all of the battle preparations,” you sighed, placing your face in your hand.

“don’t remind me. there you are, perfect!” niki smiled, squeezing your shoulders gently.

“thank you so much, i owe you.”

“oh, hush. you owe me nothing,” she dismissed. “now, hurry! he’s waiting.”

there was a calm breeze as you walked to your willow tree. the air smelled floral and familiar, like it was curated just for you. you heard the soft strum of a guitar, and your steps quickened.

a grin plastered itself across your face as you saw your love, surrounded by blue petals and lanterns, plucking the strings of his instrument. it was a scene out of a movie as you took a seat in front of him. he smiled at you softly, not speaking until the melody finished.

“i love you,” he began, clasping his hands around your own. “i have loved you since i’ve known you. you are my muse, my meaning. without you, i’d perish beyond means. i promise i’ll care for you when you’re sick, when you take up half of the bed, when you insist on midnight walks- i’ll take it all.”

by now, tears of happiness were falling down your face, you practically already nodding.

“y/n y/l/n,” he started, pulling out a dark ring.

you interrupted him, throwing your arms around his neck and all but tackling him to the ground.

“will- you- marry- me-“ he laughed in between kisses. “i’ll take that as a yes.”

“yes, yes. of course it’s a yes, you idiot. i love you,” you smiled.

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

“but if you lived happily ever after, where’s dad?”

again, your heart felt pained. your eyes filled with tears as you squeezed your daughter’s hand.

“sometimes, it was just never meant to be…”

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

please don’t be sad now, i really believe, you were the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

you were married as soon as possible, only your close friends and family invited to the wedding at the willow tree. a few months later, you were expecting. once you told wilbur, he was ecstatic. your family was growing. alas, the past few weeks had been strained. wil had grown further apart from you, feeling as if he were worlds away while he laid next to you. it all became clear, all the pieces clicking once the three of you stood in the final control room.

“wil, please. you’re going to have a child- you have me! you can’t do this, think of everyone,” you pleaded as phil held your arm.

“i’m sorry, my love. truly. i wish there were another way. i will never stop loving you. never,” he smiled sadly, his fingers dancing across the button that would annihilate your entire nation.

“it was never meant to be.”

phil held you close as you sobbed, his shouts at his son drowned out by the sounds of explosions. once the dust settled, you saw your boy, the same one who had always had the brightest eyes, dull and lifeless as he stared at you.

“i love you,” he mouthed as he nodded at phil.

you didn’t quite understand what was happening, not until it happened. your hand flew to your mouth to muffle your screams as the man’s blade plunged itself into it’s target. you scrambled to your lover, his soul already left his body. you cradled him in your arms as long as you could before his father had to carry you away from him.

from that day forward, you pledged to throw everything you could into daughter- the legacy of your late husband. you swore you’d never leave her.

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

don’t let it get you, i can’t bare to see the same happen to you.

“he’s gone?” she breathed out, tears falling down her little face.

“yes,” you sniffled, failing to hold back your own tears. “yes, he’s gone. but he loved us very much, even if he never got to meet you.”

your daughter clung to your shirt, not fully understanding everything. you would explain to her later more in depth, when she was old enough to understand.

“you were his unfinished symphony. his little melody,” you smiled down at her.

melody would learn to understand her father through stories from you, her uncles, and her grandfather. the two of you continued to visit his final resting place- the willow tree you had buried him at. for a while, it had only reminded you of misery, memories you’d never get to relive. but, ever since melody had been born, the tree was rejuvenated. it even seemed to sway as if it were listening when you spoke.

your wilbur, his love, and your baby, melody.

your symphony.

☾　‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙　☽

[prettyboyjackhughes]

-Little Crosby- |D. Cozens| [Part 1]

It’s finally here! @workhorsefromwhitehorse24​ and I have been working on this for a while now and I can honestly say that this is probably my favorite thing we’ve collaborated on! This was a little outside my comfort zone but I enjoyed writing it so much! Hope you enjoy! Let us know what you think!!

“Ava Grace I’m home!” Dad calls from downstairs. I sit up and grab my sweatshirt off of the floor. 

“Coming!” I say as I pull it over my head and run out into the hall. I attempt to make it down the stairs without dying but almost fail as I get to the bottom step. “Whoops! Sorry!” I yell as I knock one of the pictures off the wall. He stands in the kitchen doorway and watches me, amused, as I fix the picture then turn to face him, a grin on my face. He had been gone for 2 weeks on a 5 game road trip, resulting in the Penguins going 4-1. Dad scored a pair of goals in the first two games. But sadly, it wasn’t enough of a push to get them to the playoffs. 

“Hi Daddy!” I say, running to hug him. He lifts me off the ground and kisses the top of my head. Dad and I have always been super close. It’s been just him and I for years. Ever since I was born, it’s just been Dad and I. Grandma and Grandpa were always in the picture too, along with Aunt Taylor. The 4 of them have been my entire world and my family for the past 17 years. My mom has never been in the picture since she and Dad had me when they were super young, before Dad was in the NHL. Dad had moved from Nova Scotia by himself when he was 15, down to Faribault, Minnesota. Mom and Dad met within his first week of school. Dad tells me I look just like her but from what I can tell, the older I get, the more I look like Dad. But basically one thing turned to another, Dad had his first taste of freedom, being away from his parents and all, and 9 months later, I was born. As soon as Grandma and Grandpa found out, they moved Taylor and everything else down to be with my dad and help out with me. But one Saturday, Mom dropped me off with Dad and told him she had decided she wanted more than raising a baby and my dad so she left me with Dad and left. I’ve never heard from her, except for one birthday card when I turned 6. Grandma and Grandpa raised me alongside Taylor until Dad’s first season in the NHL. That’s when he moved me to Pittsburgh with him. I mean, before he was in the NHL, he made sure that he was a part of my life and made sure I knew that I was his little girl. But it hasn’t really been that big of a deal that Mom hasn’t been in the picture since I’ve had Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Taylor, plus all of Dad’s teammates through the years. It’s been a ride, having a dad like I do. I mean, he’s pretty much the face of the NHL and one of the greatest players to ever play hockey, being Sidney Crosby and all. Everywhere we go, he gets recognized so it was always hard for him to come to my things as I was growing up. But he always made sure that someone was there for me, whether it was one of my grandparents or Aunt Taylor. But even through all of that, my dad is my best friend. I’ve never needed anyone else. 

“I missed you so much!” He says, setting me down and looking at me. I smile and nod.

“I missed you too! Nice set of goals by the way. Sorry about the playoffs...” I say, smiling as he walks into the kitchen. He shrugs as I follow him into the kitchen and sit down at the table, watching him wander around the kitchen, making one of his shakes he always drinks.

“It was a long two weeks for sure, but I’m glad I have you to come home too.” I nod and smile.

“Oh Sweetheart, before I forget, we’re going up to Toronto next weekend for the Leafs’ first playoff game, for your birthday. We’ll spend two weeks up in Toronto.” The Penguins missed out on the playoffs, ending their season early. But my Leafs made it to the first round of the playoffs. He smiles as my face lights up. The Toronto Maple Leafs are my favorite team. As disappointed as Dad was in me when he found out, he still supports it, just happy that I like hockey. My favorite player is Mitch Marner, which is a player Dad approves of. He raised me on the ice, around his team and made sure I loved hockey as much as he does. I played for 6 years but I decided I liked watching hockey better than playing. 

“Really? We are?” I say, giddy. 

“Yep, I think Tanger and Geno are going to come with us. I invited Taylor too, figured we could make a whole vacation of the trip. We can go out to dinner, shopping, all the fun, girly stuff you love. Oh and there’s a surprise flying out to see you too.” Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin are Dad’s alternate captains and my honorary uncles. Up until about 4 years ago, I had 3 honorary uncles. Marc-André Fleury, the Penguins' goalie and now the Vegas Golden Knights’ goalie was the third. He and Dad are still close which means he still claims the third honorary uncle spot. When he got married in 2012, I was the flower girl. I’ve actually been in all 3 of my “uncle’s” weddings. They’ve been a huge part of my life since I was little, even when Dad was trying to keep me out of the spotlight.  I smile, pushing my hair out of my face. I think the thing that everyone always finds so interesting about Dad and I, is that he did such a good job keeping me out of the spotlight up until I was old enough to understand what was going on. But as soon as I started going to events with him, everyone knew I was his daughter. I mean, I look and act like a female version of Dad so it makes perfect sense that I’m his daughter.

“Ava girl, do you want to see if one of your friends wants to come with us? Might be a little boring to spend your birthday weekend with a bunch of old people.” Dad says, finally sitting down with his gross shake. I nod and laugh, thinking of who I could invite. I go to Shady Side Academy in downtown Pittsburgh, which is a big, fancy private school. There’s a little over 1,100 kids that go to my school, but only about 70 of them are in my grade. 

“Oh, I’ll invite Carter. Let me text her and see if she can go.” Carter James has been my best friend since 2nd grade. She’s my total opposite and somehow, it works. 

“Okay Honey. I’m going to go lay down for a little bit. Our flight left pretty early this morning so I’m pretty tired. Go ahead and order something for dinner. Anything but pizza please.” I pout a little, my bottom lip jutting out. He smiles and drops a kiss on the top of my head as he walks out of the kitchen and up the stairs. I walk out to the living room and flop on the couch, getting on my phone to watch Tik Tok for a while. Suddenly, the door to the house flies open and my Aunt Taylor waltzes in.

“Hello my absolute favorite niece in the entire world!” She calls, dumping her purse and everything in her hands onto the bench by the door. Grandma decorated the entire house. Dad was going to hire a decorator but Grandma insisted and somehow, Dad ended up liking what she did with the place. 

“I’m your only niece so I hope I’m your favorite. But hey Aunt Tay. What’s up?” I asked, sitting up.

“Nothing much. Just came home to drive my big brother crazy and talk about your birthday trip with you. How excited are you? Hey wait, isn’t it your 18th birthday?” I smile and nod again. Aunt Tay is a little scatterbrained and once forgot how old I was turning and bought me a 13th birthday card. I was turning 11. But of course, she always means well and loves me a ton. 

“Carter is coming with us. Do you know what the surprise is? Dad just told me there is one but didn’t say anything else.” Taylor grins as she nods.

“I’m not telling you but just know this, you’re gonna be really really excited.” She says, sitting down on the couch by my feet. 

“So how’s things at school? Still thinking about going to UPenn?” She asks, tapping her thumb against my knee. I sigh.

“Ugh I don’t know anymore. I fell in love with UPenn when I visited there with Grandma last fall but I don’t know if I want to be that far away from everyone. I mean, it’s only 4 hours but going from how things are now to that? That’s a lot to process.” She nods, watching me. 

“Well Honey, you know your dad would make sure you had a car on campus and everything. So you can always come back home and visit. But I mean, it’s been you and your dad since you were a baby. Maybe it’s time to go out on your own a little?” I cringe a little at the thought.

“I don’t wanna leave!” I say, falling into Taylor’s lap and drawing out the end of the word. She laughs and smooths my hair down. 

“We’ll figure something out. You’ve still got time, Ava Grace.” She says and somehow, those words make all the anxiety I have about college and everything else coming up in my future fade to a dull roar instead of the screams it has been for the past couple weeks. I’ve always been able to talk to Dad about anything which is why he and I have such a good relationship now. But the one thing I haven’t been able to talk to him about is college. Dad went straight from high school into the NHL. He always claims to understand but I’m pretty sure it just confuses him sometimes. 

“Okay you two, it’s very hard to sleep when all I can hear is laughing and carrying on.” Dad says, coming back downstairs. 

“Yeah yeah, keep it down, Patrick.” Taylor says, looking up at Dad. Dad hates being called by his middle name which is why Taylor calls him that. He rolls his eyes and bats her hand away as she reaches up to poke him. When the two of them are together, Grandma always says they act like they did when they were little. 

“Have you girls figured out everything for us leaving on Thursday? Ava, is Carter going with us?” I grab my phone off the arm of the couch and turn it on, quickly reading the notifications on the screen.

“Yeah she’s going. And she’s gonna be here in 3, 2, 1!” I count down as the door bursts open again. Carter and my Aunt Taylor are two peas in a pod. They’re practically the same person which is why I love them both so much.

 “Hello Crosby family!” She shouts, sliding across the floor and landing on top of me.

“Oh this is going to be a long two weeks.” Dad says, laughing and rubbing his forehead. 

“So we’re going to Toronto for your 18th birthday? And to see the love of your life? Hell yeah this is going to be a great trip.” Carter says, looking up at me. 

“Okay, Carter James, slow down please.” I say, patting her head. 

“Wait, isn’t the legal drinking age in Canada, 18?” Carter asks, sitting up and looking at Dad.

“Oh my God Sidney Patrick. You’re taking your daughter to Canada to drink for her 18th birthday?” Taylor says, looking over at Dad with a smirk on her face. 

“Taylor Jane, you’d better cut it out or you’re not going anymore.” He says, shaking his finger at her. Carter and I laugh and Taylor rolls her eyes.

“She’s responsible enough to handle this. You two are the ones I have to worry about.” Dad says, pointing at Carter and Aunt Taylor. 

“Tanger and Geno are going too? Oh this is going to be a blast!” Taylor says, rubbing her hands together and grinning evilly. Dad’s head drops into his hands and the 3 of us burst out laughing. Carter and I spend the rest of the evening planning our trip out while Dad and Aunt Taylor watch the St. Cloud game. The week leading up to our trip to Toronto flies by, but my excitement for the game only builds. It’s not the first time I’ve been to a Leafs game, nor is it the first time I’ve gotten to watch my favorite player play. But it’s happening on my 18th birthday and that makes it even more exciting. 

Thursday morning, two days before my birthday, Carter wakes me up by bouncing on my bed. 

“We’re leaving today!” She sings, bouncing more. I roll over and groan. 

“Carter James, it’s too early!” I say, shoving her. She laughs at me and I sit up.

“Come on, we’re going to dinner with the love of your life tonight!” She says. I jump out of bed and look at her, eyes wide. I’m 100% a Mitch Marner fan girl. Carter thinks it’s hilarious but she’s the exact same way for Patrick Kane. We ran into him at the Stanley Cup Finals one year and she was speechless. 

“What are you talking about? Dinner with who?” I ask. Dad walks in and is now standing in my doorway.

“I called in a few favors and we’re going to dinner with Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly tonight. How does that sound?” He says, as my mouth drops open.

“Oh my God thank you thank you Daddy!” I say, running over to hug him. He smiles and Carter laughs. 

“She’s gonna faint as soon as she sees him. Total freak out.” Carter says, crossing her arms and laughing. 

“I am not! I’ll be perfectly fine. It’s just another hockey player. Not like I’m in love with him or anything.” I say, pointing at her. She rolls her eyes and we both laugh.

“Where my favorite birthday girl?” I hear a deep voice call from downstairs.

“Geno, it’s too early for you to be this loud. Shut up.” I hear Taylor say.

“I take it G and Tanger just got here?” Dad calls and Taylor groans in response. 

“Alright girls get ready and we’ll leave in a little over an hour. Go down and say hi to everyone first though.” I nod and follow Dad downstairs, Carter tagging along behind me. 

“Hi Uncle Geno, Uncle Kris!” I say, running to hug both of them as they stand up from where they were sitting on the couch. Taylor is taking up the other end of the couch, facedown in a pillow. “Are you excited for your birthday trip?” Kris asks, patting my back as he hugs me.

“I’m so excited. Do you know what my surprise is? Dad still won’t tell me.” Geno laughs, still too loud for Taylor apparently because a pillow goes flying across the room and just misses his head.

“Tay, go drink some coffee please, you’re being a brat right now.” Dad says, patting her head.

“I know surprise. You like a lot.” Geno says, crossing his arms and looking down at me. I raise an eyebrow. I’ve been the victim of one of Dad’s surprises before and let’s just say he doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to surprises. 

“Is it bad that I’ve been your best friend for 12 years and I still can’t understand what he’s saying?” Carter asks, leaning over to me. I laugh and Geno looks between the two of us.

“Who you? You Ava’s best friend?” Carter rolls her eyes and nudges Geno, who laughs again and hugs her. “Alright, Little Crosby, let’s get this show on the road.” Kris says, pointing towards the stairs. I smile and rush upstairs to get dressed and grab my bags. I pick out a pair of black leggings and a peach colored Adidas sweatshirt. I change into the clothes and put my pajamas in the dirty clothes. I put on mascara quickly, finishing everything off with some lip gloss. I grab my Birkenstocks and slip them on. 

“Okay, I’m ready!” I call as I drag my bag down the stairs behind me. I again attempt not to die on my way down the stairs. But yet again, I fail.

 “Oh God, Little Crosby.” Kris says, somehow managing to catch me as I trip down the last 3 steps. 

“Your daughter is a human wrecking ball. You know that, right Sid?” Dad laughs and nods.

“I haven’t killed myself yet. So far, we’re safe.” Everyone laughs and I smile. All these people filling this house are my entire family. They’ve raised me and I wouldn’t be who I am without all of them. 

“Okay, let’s get going! Our flight leaves in 45 minutes!” Dad calls, attempting to herd us all towards the door. Taylor has finally had her coffee and returned to the world of the living. 

“Toronto here we come!” She calls as we all get out the door and into the two cars we’re taking. Dad locks the door behind us and turns to look at me.

“You excited, Ava Grace?” I nod and he hugs me to his side.“I hope this lives up to your idea of the perfect 18th birthday.” I laugh and nod again as we head to his car. 

The drive to the airport and the flight to Toronto are pretty boring but Kris and Taylor keep everyone entertained the whole trip. Carter finally crashed after the Red Bulls she had while we were waiting for our flight to get called in the airport, leaving me to my own thoughts pretty much the entire flight. When we land in Toronto, everyone is pretty excited for the next two weeks. 

“Little Crosby surprise time!” Geno calls from the back of our group.

“Geno, we’re still in an airport. Keep it down a little please?” Carter says, patting his arm. Dad scoffs and looks between me and Carter.

“He’s right though, your surprise is right through those doors.” Dad says, pointing towards the exit of the airport. I see Taylor pull her phone out of her pocket and start recording me. I hand my bag to Kris and look over at Geno who motions me towards the door. I walk towards the doors, which slide open. I glanced around then back at Dad and Taylor who followed me out.   

“Little Crosby!” I hear a very familiar voice yell over the buzz of the airport.

“Oh my God! Uncle Flower!” I shout, rushing towards my uncle Marc and hugging him.

“Surprise!” Dad calls, smiling as I hug Marc.

 “So you were my surprise?” I say, stepping back and looking at him.

“Yep, I was the big wonderful surprise. Hope you weren’t too disappointed.” He says, smiling as his arm rests around my shoulders.

“I figured you’d want all of your uncles here for your big 18th birthday. So we worked it out and got him here for you.” I smile, quickly hugging Dad before returning to hug Marc again. 

“Alright well, it’s time to get heading to the hotel. We’re going to dinner at 6:30 tonight. Geno, Flower and Kris are taking Tay to something that I know nothing about. And you’re okay with Carter going with us?” I nod as Marc leads us and the rest of our group to the waiting van. 

“I’m taking a nap when we get to the hotel. You woke me up too early this morning.” I say, nudging Carter as she slides into the van next to me. 

“Sounds like a plan. The Red Bull ran out.” She says, laying her head on my shoulder. The two of us manage to fall asleep on the 20 minute drive to the hotel. Geno shakes us both awake when we get to the hotel. We sleepily wander into the hotel and wait in the lobby while Dad and Tay get everything figured out. The adults herd us all over to the elevator and into it, somehow managing to get us all to the conjoined rooms we have for the next two weeks. As soon as we make it into the rooms, Carter and I collapse onto the bed we’ll be sharing and fall asleep. 

About 2 and a half hours later, Dad comes in and wakes us up.

“Girls, we have about an hour before we have to leave for dinner. Go ahead and start getting ready.” He calls as he closes the door behind him. I sit up and stretch, the excitement building in my chest all over again.

“Okay, I think I’m gonna curl my hair and wear that frilly, layered red skirt with the white sweater and my little brown boots. What about you, Carter?” I ask, looking back at her who is still laying in bed. 

“So I have to dress nice right? I think the army green pants romper thing with my jean jacket, Vans and straight hair. Sound good?” She asks, finally sitting up. I nod and get started curling my hair. She gets started on doing her makeup while I work on my hair. Somehow, we both end up being done with plenty of time left to spare. So we do what typical teenagers do and spend the extra 15 minutes we have, on our phones. Dad comes in and the two of us follow him down to the elevator and out to the car. It’s some super nice, fancy car; just like the one that lives in our garage except on home game days. Dad lets Carter play music which automatically, I can tell, he regrets as Cotton Eye Joe plays for the third time. Carter is having the time of her life and I can’t help but laugh along with her. When we get to the restaurant, it’s one Dad and I came to, back when we came to Toronto for some charity event a few years ago.

“Alright, how excited are you?” Dad asks, as he parks the car and we climb out. I squeal a little and Carter laughs. Dad smiles, draping his arm around my shoulders as I link arms with Carter. The 3 of us waltz into the restaurant and walk up to the hostess.

“Hello, Mr. Crosby. Your two guests are already seated.” I squeeze Carter’s arm and we squeal a little together. As we follow the hostess to our table, back in the back, we pass a table with two teenage boys. One looks Carter up and down, obviously checking her out, while the other locks eyes with me. I smile, forcing myself to look away as we disappear into the back, private room Dad reserved for us. 

“Holy crap, did you see those guys?” Carter whisper-yells into my ear. I nod, trying to focus on the fact that Mitch Marner is standing a few feet away from me, a grin on his face, instead of the guy I just saw.

“Hey Sid. This must be Ava and Carter. Nice to meet you girls.” Mitch says, reaching his hand out. I shake it, the smile on my face impossibly large. Morgan Rielly stands next to him and shakes our hands as well. As we all sit down, I happen to glance around the room and see that both of the boys are looking into the room. As much as I want to pay attention to what Mitch, Mo and Dad are talking about, I can’t. I’m too distracted by the boy I saw. Carter, apparently can’t either. 

“Ava, they were literally so hot. Can I please go get their numbers?” She asks, nudging me when she catches me staring again.

 “No! Dad will kill me if he catches me talking to a boy!” I whisper-yell, glancing up at Dad and Mitch. 

“Ava Grace, that could be your freaking soulmate and you’ll never know because you won’t let me go get their numbers!” I roll my eyes and glance over my shoulder at the boys’ table. Sadly, they’re gone and I sigh, looking over at Carter.

“They’re gone anyway. Not like we’re ever gonna see them again anyways.” I say, glumly, resting my chin on my hand. She shakes her head. “There went your soulmate.” I sigh, knowing she won’t let me live this down. Dad clears his throat, pulling Carter and I back to the conversation happening at the table.

“So Ava, I hear you’re a pretty big fan of mine.” Mitch says, leaning on his elbows against the table. I smile, taking in all of his features.

“Yeah, you’ve been my favorite since you came into the league. Dad’s always a little disappointed when I don’t tell people he’s my favorite player.” Mitch and Mo laugh. The rest of the evening, conversation flows easily and Carter and I both have a blast. As I glance at my Apple watch and see the time, Carter nudges me again. 

“Your dad is looking at you funny.” She says, nodding her head towards Dad. I look up, my eyes meeting my dad’s gaze.

“It’s getting late, are you girls ready to head back to the hotel? Your aunt and uncles should be getting back soon too.” Carter and I nod and I turn to look at Mitch.

“I’ll be wearing your jersey on Saturday night. Don’t disappoint me. Also it’s my birthday so a goal or two would be nice.” Mitch and Mo laugh as Dad smiles down at me. 

“I will try my hardest. Glad we could spend the evening with you lovely ladies. See you on Saturday after the game? There’ll be passes for your whole group at the ticket desk.” My face lights up and I know Carter’s does too.“Okay great! See you then! Good luck!” I say, standing and hugging Mitch. Mo shakes Dad’s hand and then the two of them head out. 

“You two seemed very distracted all during dinner. Was everything okay?” Dad asks as the 3 of us head back out to the car after he pays.“Yeah everything was fine. Dinner was super good and fun. Carter just saw some cute boy and wouldn’t shut up about him.” Dad laughs and rolls his eyes.

“Hey, in my defense, your daughter was looking too so it wasn’t just me.” Carter says, crossing her arms. Dad’s head whips around as we climb in the car.

“A boy? What?” I groan internally and elbow Carter. I’ve never been that into boys. I mean, I’ve thought plenty of boys were cute and had quite a few guy friends but I’ve never had the time or the effort that comes with having a relationship. So it’s never been a topic of conversation for Dad and I. 

“Nothing, it was nothing. Don’t worry about it, Dad.” I say, trying to avoid the topic. 

“It’s interesting though. I was just talking to your uncle Kris about how you’ve never had a boyfriend or anything like that. Which is fine with me because I know what boys are like.” Dad says as we drive back to the hotel. Carter is dying sitting next to me, her hand pressed against her mouth to avoid laughing out loud.

“I-I know...I’ve just never had the time or wanted one.” I say, burying my head in my hands. 

“Well you don’t need one. You have all the guys you need in your life. Me, your Uncle Geno, Uncle Kris, Uncle Marc, and Grandpa.” Carter finally bursts out laughing and Dad looks in the rearview mirror at me. 

“I’m serious, Ava Grace. Why do you need a boyfriend?” Dad has never really been the overprotective dad. He’s protective for sure but he kind of lets me do my own thing most of the time. He knows if I need to, I’ll come to him or one of the other main adults in my life. But he lets me make my own decisions and figure life out by myself. This whole ‘no boyfriend’ thing that he’s doing right now is new. 

“I guess I don’t. You’re right.” I say, putting an end to the conversation by turning and looking out the window. Thankfully, Dad doesn’t push any farther. The 3 of us ride in silence, the radio off, the rest of the way back to the hotel. Once we get into the hotel and up to our rooms, I tell Dad goodnight, give him a hug and a kiss then follow Carter into our room. Carter distracts me from the disaster of a conversation that was with Dad and forces me to watch some cheesy rom-com with her. I fall asleep midway through and sleep in late the next day. Taylor takes Carter and I out shopping all day on Friday while my dad and the uncles do who knows what. The topic of boys is avoided all day, All night at dinner on Friday, we catch up with everyone. I fill Marc in on what Dad’s latest old person moment was, even though he’s only 33. Everything seems so perfect and happy but I keep replaying the conversation with Dad over and over again in my head. 

Saturday morning, my birthday morning, Carter wakes me up with cake in bed. It’s a tradition we started when we were 12. Every year on our birthday, the other girl brings the birthday girl cake in bed. It’s one of my favorite birthday traditions. 

“Happy birthday Little Crosby! You are adult now!” Geno calls, leading the rest of my family into my room. Dad brings up the end of the line and walks over to the bed. He hugs me, pressing a kiss to my forehead.“Happy birthday my sweet girl.” He says, smoothing my hair down and getting all teary-eyed. 

“I can’t believe the young lady you’ve grown into. You are beautiful, strong, independent and so responsible. I...I didn’t think things would end up this way, especially with your mom not being in the picture. But I look around you and I see all these people who helped raise you and I know, you’ve turned out more than okay. I love you Ava Grace and will always love you. Happy birthday.” Dad says. I take another bite of the cake Carter brought me and smile up at him.

“I love you so much, Daddy. Thank you for everything. Thank you everyone for everything you’ve done for me. I love all of you.” They all share a sappy smile and I keep eating my cake. The rest of the day, we hang out at the hotel, lounging around before the game tonight at 7. Marc and Geno see how many pieces of pizza they can eat while Dad keeps score. Taylor paints Carter’s nails and I pick at mine. Kris sneaks out to buy me ice cream and comes back with at least 10 different kinds, all of them my favorite in one way or another. 

Carter and I start getting ready around 4:30 so we’re ready to leave by 5. I straighten my hair and do just light makeup. I dig my Mitch Marner jersey out of my bag and put it on with some black leggings. Carter wears the jersey of the only Leaf she likes, Frederik Andersen. She opted for black ripped jeans instead of leggings. Everyone else is just dressed casual. Marc did wear a Leafs hat just to please me. The drive to the arena, Carter gets to play music again. She plays our ‘Hockey Game Hype Up’ playlist, something we made a few years ago. Even though I’m the music person, she’s much better at putting playlists together. I’m only really good at finding one or two songs I love and just playing them over and over again. As the songs ‘Auston Matthews’ by Svdvm and ‘Toronto Maple Leafs Anthem’ by JDME play back to back, we pull into the arena parking lot. No matter how many times I’ve been to Scotiabank Arena, it never ceases to amaze me. I think I’ve been here a grand total of like 15 times in the last 10 years, solidifying it as my favorite arena. 

“Come on Ava, let’s go watch your boy play.” Carter says, linking her arm through mine. She leads me and the rest of our group into the arena. Everyone else heads to the box but I decide to stay down in the main area and wander around a bit, making sure I get the full experience again. All around me, Leafs fans are hurrying to one place or another. I take everything, wanting to remember this for the rest of my life. As I’m walking down a small set of stairs, I collide with a pretty solid body. And of course, with my human wrecking ball abilities, I manage to take both of us down, all the way to the ground. “Shit! I’m so sorry, are you okay?” I ask, sitting up and looking at the boy I collided with. He sits up, looks at me, down at the ground, then back up at me. His eyes are huge.

“I-Oh my God. Yeah-Yeah I’m okay! Are you?” He asks, jumping to his feet and reaching his hand out to help me up. I take his hand and he pulls me to my feet. “Yeah I’m all good. Sorry for taking you out. I’m known for being clumsy. Like the jersey by the way.” I say, pointing to where the number 16 is stitched into the arm of his jersey. The same number sprawled across my back.

“Hey, I like yours too. Marner your favorite player?” I nod, pushing my hair back out of my face.

“Yeah, I grew up a Penguins fan because of my dad but the Leafs are my favorite team.” He smiles and nods. He looks so familiar but I can’t place where I know him from. Talking to him comes so naturally and it seems like the world just goes on around us while we stand there and talk. Before I know it, they’re starting the lineup announcements.

“Oh shoot, I gotta get going. Enjoy the game!” I call over my shoulder as I run back towards the box we’re all sitting in. Of course, I trip up the steps and almost fall. As I glance over my shoulder, I see the boy with a smirk on his face. I blush and mentally kick myself for first off accidentally tackling a cute boy then tripping and almost falling in front of him. As I rush back into the box, Dad eyes me with a raised eyebrow. I huff and flop into my seat next to Marc and Carter. Carter glances at me out of the corner of her eye and smirks.

“Why are you all red and bothered about?” I bite my lip and Marc looks over at me.“I accidentally tackled a cute boy…” I say, burying my head in my hands. Carter and Marc laugh and Marc pats my back.

“There there, Little Crosby. I did much worse to your aunt Véronique.” I laugh and lean my head on his shoulder. Geno and Kris are behind us, teasing Taylor as Dad watches what’s going on down on the ice. His hand is resting on my shoulder, absentmindedly squeezing and releasing in a protective way. As I sit there, watching the game, all I can think about is the boy. But as I do, I think about the conversation Dad and I had last night in the car. Did he really mean what he said? Would he really get upset if I did ever decide to have a boyfriend?

[ohhipstaplease]

Sunrise Salutations [AU]

One-Shot Modern AU - As the sunflowers bloom year after year, Naruto tends to the garden his childhood friend, Hinata Hyuga’s family left behind in hopes that his almost love returns one day.

Pining | slight angst | Modern AU | Rated T | 2K+ words | AO3

For Naruhina week 2021 @nhweek | April 12: Sunflowers / “Good morning!"

Having been somewhat of an early riser for the better part of his young life, Naruto Uzumaki always woke before his alarm went off. This wasn’t without reason, especially not as sunflower season rolled around once more.

Naruto sighed as he kicked off the tangled covers and stretched out his tired limbs. He could’ve used ten more minutes of sleep, but, he knew today was the day the flowers were finally going to bloom. It was the one day he looked forward to all year.

After his childhood friend, Hinata Hyuga, suddenly moved away years ago, he found that continuing to tend to the garden her family left behind helped him make some sort of sense of the unresolved feelings he had towards her. He was only seven when his friend had left his side, but still, it felt like it was yesterday that he realized that maybe girls weren’t gross and that perhaps holding Hinata’s hand wouldn’t be the worst thing he could do.

Back when they both fit into overalls and found fingerpainting fascinating, the pair used to wake up at the crack of dawn and watch the sunrise from the Hyuga garden under the watchful eye of her mother, Hitomi. Naruto’s mother was not a morning person, but his father always made sure to rouse him awake right before the sun rose so he could be out the door and right next to Hinata tending to the sunflowers as morning unfolded upon the city of Konoha.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Hitomi would say as she refilled her watering can.

The children would look at each other and smile, always in wonder of Hitomi. Whether it be as simple as a sunrise, or a perfectly shaped petal on a sunflower, the way she found beauty in everything around her was contagious. Every morning she had something new to show them, something to teach them. Every morning Naruto looked forward to the warm embrace of the sun as he learned what made the flowers he and his mother so adored thrive.

This was their routine, summer after summer, until Hitomi suddenly passed away one morning. Naruto remembered it well, the cries of his mother, when she received the call, the arms of his father, tightly wrapped around him as he tried to explain what had happened. But the one thing that always stood out to him the most? Hinata’s stoic stare as she held her younger sister’s hand at Hitomi’s funeral. He wanted to reach out and hug her like his father had embraced him. But she was too far away, always too damn out of reach.

Heartbroken, and unable to tend to two daughters alone, the head of the Hyuga household, Hiashi, decided to move his family closer to his brother’s home so he could grieve without the weight of having to take care of two young girls as a single father.

They disappeared the day after Hitomi’s funeral, without a single goodbye being said. If the fully bloomed sunflowers hadn't been left behind, you never would have guessed the Hyuga family had ever lived there.

Naruto’s mother, Kushina, woke at sunrise a few days after the Hyugas had gone. She paced the hallway leading to Naruto’s room until she decided it was an acceptable hour to get him out of bed without concerning him. Gently rousing her son awake she whispered, “Good morning, sweet boy. It’s time for sunrise salutations.”

He didn’t question why she was up so early, didn’t dare. Instead he let her wrap his hand in hers as they made their way into the backyard of the now deserted Hyuga home and quietly began watering the flowers. When the sun was fully out, and the flowers were completely watered, Kushina brought out a pair of gardening shears and cut one single sunflower from its thick stalk.

“For Hitomi,” She said, as she placed it in Naruto’s hand and smiled sadly. She already had a vase inside their home with a picture of Hitomi and her daughters from the previous winter when they had come over for the holidays. A makeshift altar.

“You know, Hitomi once told me this beautiful story about why sunflowers turned to face the sun on their own,” Kushina said as she brushed her son’s hair back.

“Yeah?”

“Mhmm,” She nodded, “It was some sort of Greek myth. Like the one you learned about in school last year?”

“Oh.”

“Yes, let me see if I can remember,” She tapped her chin before pulling the wild strands of her fiery red hair up into a messy bun, “Ah yes. Well there was a nymph that was in love with the sun god Apollo. You know who Apollo is right?”

Naruto nodded.

“Good, well, Apollo didn’t love her back. The nymph was so sad at his rejection that she didn’t eat or drink anything, she would only stare at the sun and imagine a life where he too felt what she did.”

“Yikes,” Naruto said, tilting his head.

Kushina let out a laugh, the first one she had genuinely had since the funeral, “Stop it. Let me finish,” She took a breath before continuing, “Well, the gods took pity on the nymph and decided to turn her into a sunflower because it would always face the sun god’s path.”

“So the flower is a woman?”

“Metaphorically, yes.”

“Metaphorically?”

“It means it’s like a symbol. So the sunflower is a symbol for love and adoration, no matter what Apollo did, the nymph would always face towards him and follow his path until the day he realized her feelings for him.”

“That’s really sad. You said it was a beautiful story.”

Kushina tapped her chin, “I guess you’re right, it is kind of sad. But that’s life, buddy. Sometimes you fall in love with someone who barely knows you exist, but you’d follow them to the ends of the Earth anyways. Something beautiful can still blossom from the pain, you know? I think that was the best part about Hitomi...she always saw the beauty in everything.”

Kushina didn’t take the sunflower away from the makeshift altar until it completely wilted, and to this day, the framed picture still sits in the same place.

Naruto didn’t quite know how to feel, he was too young to understand loss, but old enough to understand that his best friend was gone, that she was sad. That this was something he couldn't fix. Eventually he moved on and made friends with kids at school, but he never once was able to look at a sunflower without remembering Hinata’s lavender eyes peering through her blinds, trying to make sure Naruto was up every morning to meet her in the garden.

He had asked her one day why she always peeped on him through her window, and she bashfully looked away, “I just want to make sure you’re up for our sunrise salutations.”

“Sunrise salutations?”

“That’s what momma calls them. Y-you know. When we say good morning to the plants.”

“Good morning? Why not just say that?”

She thought about it for a second before saying, “I think it just sounds better. Don’t you?”

He smiled to himself as he recalled how she went out of her way to say good morning to by waving to him through her slightly opened window everyday since they had that conversation. Their own little version of sunrise salutations. He especially missed her little quirks on days like today.

Naruto couldn’t help but wonder how she was, if she was still as painfully shy as she had been before, if her annoying cousin had finally stopped picking on her. He hoped she was happy, eating well, that she grew to love the hair she demanded her mother chop off because it was too heavy on her neck and too hot in the summer.

If he didn’t know any better, he’d venture he was in love with the Hyuga girl he barely even knew anymore. Just like the nymph from the Greek myth Kushina had shared with him, he had been left listless, simply trying to gather enough warmth from the sun to keep moving on, but never forgetting the girl who made his heart race a little faster for the first time.

For good measure he peeked out of his blinds and in the direction of Hinata’s former room just to feel something. But all he felt was a pang in his chest as he saw the blinds had been taken down and the room was barren.

The family that had lived there since the Hyugas moved away had also packed up and gone this past week. They were kind, that was without a doubt. An older couple with grandchildren who would visit over the summers. They’d been nice enough to let Naruto continue gardening on their property, claiming their arthritis would prevent them from keeping the garden as nice as it was.

In reality, though, the woman had known of the family who had lived there before and had a hunch the young blonde boy before her was smitten. How could she deny him the last connection he had to a first love he’d most likely never get to see unfold?

“Naruto! Breakfast!”

Naruto perked up at the sound of his mother’s voice. He knew she too wanted to see the blooms, although she'd leave the gardening to him. All she’d ask in return was that he cut one single sunflower for Hitomi.

“I think I’ll eat a little later, don’t want to miss the sunrise,” He said as he snagged the cup of coffee from her grasp, took a swig, and ran out the front door.

Kushina shook her head as she looked down at her mug, peering through the kitchen window to watch her son as he slipped on his favorite gardening gloves and began turning on the hose to fill the beat up watering can he had used since she could remember.

She waved at him through the window, a slightly devilish grin upon her face as she waited for him to notice her, and once he did, she took her mug and sat at the little table they kept in the kitchen, leaving Naruto to his sunrise salutations.

Naruto breathed in deeply as he saw the sun slowly rising in the horizon, felt that pang in his chest once more as he remembered how Hinata had fearlessly interlaced her fingers in his and led him through the garden when all the flowers were in full bloom. Hitomi’s laugh intermixed with the birds chirping and the wind whistling was the perfect soundtrack to summer.

Nonetheless, his music would have to do now. He popped in his headphones and blasted his latest favorite song to try to shake the melancholia he woke up with this morning.

His music was so loud that if anyone were to approach him, he surely would not have been able to hear them. And that, in fact, is exactly what happened.

As he turned to refill his watering can, he screamed out as he fell backwards. A hand reached out to grab him, only for him to pull the girl down with him.

Naruto, clearly startled, panicked as he felt her upon his chest. They were a tangle of limbs, he could almost feel her rapid heartbeat on his as she laid upon him.

“Holy shit, are you okay!?” He tried to sit up and pull her up with him, only to find inquisitive lavender eyes staring back at him.

He was at a loss for words, the eyes he had so missed, he didn’t think it could be real.

The girl rubbed her head, cheeks flushed and hair askew, she attempted to get up, but stumbled back onto the grass. Naruto quickly lept into action and helped her get back on her feet, leaving his headphones and watering can strewn upon the ground.

“This wasn’t how I planned for this to go...” She said as she dusted her dress, avoiding his gaze.

“W-what?”

She smiled at him, meeting his gaze for the second time that morning, “I just wanted to...um...to say good morning to you...like we used to.”

“H-hinata?”

She nodded, “We were told you kept up the sunrise salutations, I made papa drive us back in time to see the flowers bloom.”

“Y-you’re back?”

“Moving back in this week.”

“You’re back...” He whispered, taking her in. She was ethereal, the sunlight illuminating her like a halo. Her hair had grown past her waist, her face as beautiful as he had remembered it. Wherever she went, he wanted to face her, he had no doubt now.

“I’m back,” She said, shyly pushing a strand of hair back behind her ear.

Now he understood his mother’s sly smile as he slipped out the door that morning. She had not risen to see the flowers bloom, rather she had gotten up early to ensure her sunflower would be ready to face the sun when it rose.

Naruto reached for her hand, leaving Hinata a tad breathless. He had never been the one to initiate contact all those years ago, it was always her leading the way. The only time she had felt brave enough to assert her feelings was when she was around him.

“Good morning,” He said, interlacing his fingers in hers. His hands were large, callused. She noticed immediately the difference in size between them, both in the width of their hands and their heights.

She had to look up to meet his gaze, “Good morning, Naruto. Can I help you tend the garden today?”

He squeezed her hand and relished the light her shy smile exuded, “Hinata...that sounds perfect.”

From the window in the kitchen, Kushina Uzumaki peered towards the garden and saw her son reunited with the eldest Hyuga. She raised her mug in cheers towards the photo of her friend, and finally, decided to rejoin her husband in bed.

It was far too early for her to be up anyways, and she was sure her son would wake her when he was finished with his sunrise salutations anyways.

“We have a lot to catch up on,” Naruto said as he grabbed the shears to cut the single sunflower he had promised his mother.

“We certainly do,” Hinata nodded, “Wait are you cutting them already?”

He blushed, “It’s for your mother...for Hitomi. We always give her the first sunflower of the seaso-”

He was taken by surprise for the second time this morning as Hinata wrapped her arms around his waist tightly and pulled him into her embrace, “Thank you,” she murmured into his chest.

Naruto nearly melted as he took in her fragrance, he rested his chin upon the top of her head and breathed in deeply, “You’re welcome.”

She looked up at him and smiled through the tears that began falling from the rush of emotion of being back at her childhood home and reunited with Naruto. Her mother’s memory lived on in every inch of the garden, how could she not feel at peace when she was there? She wished she had never left.

“Do you have an extra pair of gloves?”

Naruto nearly whimpered as she unwrapped herself from him, but he knew that she was back. She wasn’t leaving him again. Her touch would be something he’d be reacquainted with day in and day out if he had his way. All he needed was patience, he had waited more than ten years after all. What was a little while longer?

“For you? Always,” He replied with a large grin.

He couldn’t wait to spend the summer with her in the garden. Just like they used to, but now, perhaps, a little different.

[yutahoes]

Otou-Chan

Yuta Nakamoto x Reader (Y/N) Smut

(Chapter Thirteen)

Summary: 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐡𝐰𝐚 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝.𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐘𝐮𝐭𝐚’𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬.

Warning: Fluff(?), Mentions of Sex

Word Count: 1.9k

Masterlist

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ ❤️❤️

13. Stubborn 

But Y/N didn’t call that night or that morning. Does she even know his number? But Jaehyun said that she didn’t have a phone, right? How can she even call him? Should he drop by her office? Pretend that he’s meeting someone nearby? Or he can just visit Jaehyun. 

Taeyong was just chuckling when he invited him to have lunch and visit Jaehyun. He’s too obvious for his own good. “For a CEO of your company, you have plenty of time in your hands.” He teased that made Doyoung laugh. “He says it’s a withdrawal syndrome.” The younger one explained which made Taeyong laugh. Yuta was annoyed, why are they ganging up on him? 

He was more annoyed when Jaehyun showed up at the nearby restaurant. “Why are you so obsessed with her? Is it because she’s giving you the best head?” Yuta glared at his friends who were just laughing. These blabber mouths. “She called earlier, she’s working from home.” 

“Called?” Yuta repeated. He said she doesn’t have a phone so how can she call the office? And if she can call, why is she not calling him? “Did she say why?” But Jaehyun shrugged. 

Taeyong gave a heavy sigh. “Why are you so worried, Yuta? Did something happen?” If there is one person from his friends who really knew him, that would be Taeyong. Or maybe it’s just too obvious that he’s worried about her. Well, who wouldn’t? He saw how scared she was that day at the police station. He knew that she wanted to run away from her dad and although he didn’t ask much, he knew she was being abused. Why isn’t she speaking up? Why is no one worried about her? Where is her mom? Any relatives? 

Maybe she really is indeed a damsel in distress and he wanted to save her so badly. Wanted to take care of her. To call her his and give her everything she deserved. But how can he do that when she obviously doesn’t want him in his life? This is causing him real distress. Why is she hung up on her when she’s not even crazy for him? Heck, a lot of girls would go to war for him. But why is his mind always drifting to her? 

--

He found himself in the restaurant near her home, that small shop that sells amazing hangover soup. He’s not drunk but this is the only way that he can find something about her. “Aren’t you the guy with (Y/N) last time?” the old woman asked and Yuta nodded, focusing on her rather than the soup she served. “One of her boys?” Her boys? “Well she did bring a lot of guys here.” She shared. “Didn’t you hear that she moved out?” That spiked his attention. Moved out? “I guess she’s living with some of the guys she’s with. That girl will just break your heart.” Funny, he thought, she had done that a couple of times already. But where could she be now? 

Their house is quiet but her father went outside the tiny home, staggering as if escaping something. He really did go out of jail. But if the woman in the restaurant is saying the truth, does this mean that (Y/N) left their home alone? Where could she be staying now? 

It was six pm when Jungwoo went out of the publishing house, surprised to see a guy standing by a shiny, black car. He had seen him only in pictures before and honestly, he’s surprised that (Y/N) drew him well. “Hi. I’m Yuta Nakamoto.” He introduced himself and he chuckled, continuing that he knew him since he’s (Y/N)’s friend. Friend? From one of her boys to one of her friends? “Do you have any idea where she is?” 

The guy handed his phone at the other. “She called using this number. Maybe you can find out where she is.” He said and Yuta quickly copied the number from Jungwoo’s phone. “Can you please take care of her? I’m sick of her not taking care of herself and just letting anyone boss her around.” Yuta nodded. That was what he intended to do anyways. To take care of her. 

--

Yuta found himself in a sauna house because of the address that the cell phone owner gave him. Is she here? Well, if she really did run away from home it is possible that she’s staying here. Since this is his first time here, the older man from the counter was more than willing to help him especially when he said that he’s actually from Japan. Being a foreigner really is a great help during this time. 

He showed him that orange shirt and shorts to use, even handing him the towel he can use for the sauna. But what annoyed him is the fact that the man brought him to the men’s area. How can he find her here? And why are they all naked? Does this mean she’s also naked at one part of this sauna house? Can he really see her here? 

Yuta was getting snacks at the second floor of the sauna house when he saw drawings from a piece of paper, pinned by the counter. “Excuse me.” He said quietly that made the young girl eye him widely, gasping. “Who drew this?” he asked in Korean. 

The girl was just staring at him when another girl went beside him. “Another sikhye.” She said that made Yuta turn to the owner of the voice, (Y/N). “Yuta?” she called, looking surprised that he’s here. “What are you doing here?” 

“Unnie, you know him?” the young girl asked and she nodded as she took the sikhye. (Y/N) ordered the younger girl to give Yuta anything he wants and that she’s going back after delivering the orders. “Oppa, are you unnie’s boyfriend?” Boyfriend? That has some nice ring to it but he’s not. Sadly. 

When (Y/N) returned to the counter with the payment for the sikhye, Yuta was just eyeing her and she just smiled at him. The girl ordered eggs and sikhye for her and him, gesturing to the vacant table nearby. The younger girl helped out in delivering triangle kimbaps to the two of them and the older laughed at how obvious she is. “Oppa, if you’re not unnie’s boyfriend, can you be mine instead?” 

“Yah! Do you want me to tell your mom?” (Y/N) scolded. “Don’t you have cram school to attend to?” The girl pouted making the older girl smile then stared at Yuta. The younger bid farewell and Yuta smiled at her, waving back. “Yah! Are you into younger girls?”

The guy smirked. “I don’t like girls who call me oppa, I want girls who call me otou-chan.” he claimed while leaning closer to her, winking. 

She blushed at that, coughing lightly. Isn’t Yuta so cute? “Is this your first time here?” she asked and he nodded. (Y/N) only giggled as she fixed the towel on his head, “Did you come here alone?” 

Yuta nodded. He wanted to take care of her but why is it the other way around? “I’m worried about you so I asked Jungwoo.” She only bit her lip in answer. “Is it true that you ran away from home?” She nodded then faced the table, away from his inquisitive gaze. “Did your father hurt you again?” Instead of answering, she broke the egg on his head that made him sigh. “Are you alright?” 

She nodded at that, handing him the peeled egg then the sikhye. “You should try this if it’s your first time here.” The girl opened the kimbap and ate some before sipping on her own sikhye. The guy reached out for the other triangle kimbap, staring at it. (Y/N) giggled when she realized that this might be the first time that he encountered such food. “Rich kid.” She teased while shaking her head, taking the kimbap from him and opening it with ease. “Why are you here, Yuta?” 

“To see you. Do you have to ask that?” he asked then ate his own kimbap, humming in delight. “You promised to call me. Do you really like to keep me hanging, (Y/N)?” she revolted that it isn’t the case and he confirmed the fact that she doesn’t really have a phone. Yuta laughed at that, “Excuses. Do you really hate me that much?” 

The girl shook her head which made him relieved. “I did want to buy a phone but I wanted to save up for a tablet to use for work first.” She said then ate the peeled egg. “I shouldn’t have gone to Paris.” She sighed. But that was how they met each other. Is she regretting that now? “Aren’t you busy with your job?” 

Yuta laughed. Well, he left everything in Doyoung’s hand today just to hunt this girl down. To see her and make sure that she’s safe. Luckily, she is. “Come with me.” Yuta claimed, reaching out a hand to her then stood up. The girl had a confused look on her face but took Yuta’s hand either way. 

--

She was forced to change to normal clothes since they’re going somewhere that surprised her. She didn’t even realize that it’s almost nighttime. Where are they heading to? 

The car stopped in front of a large warehouse that made her wonder. What the hell are they doing here? But Yuta kept holding her hand as he talked to the security guards who greeted him. “Don’t be burdened but I want you to choose whatever you want, understand?” it only made her curious. Choose what?

But everything became clear to her when they went inside a room full of electronic gadgets. Yuta brought her to a warehouse to choose a phone? “What the hell?” she blurted out loud and he just laughed, asking the worker the latest designs of mobile phones. “Yuta…”

”Just choose. Our company manufactures these gadgets, we have plenty of these.” He claimed then disappeared somewhere while talking to the worker. So this is their family business? Why is she so surprised? She should have listened to Jungwoo when he said things about Yuta. Now, she seemed too pathetic for him. He owns this much and she can’t even pay for one of the mobile phones displayed. Her eyes stayed at one tablet design. Isn’t this the tablet Ten is using? That’s a last year edition? It would be really nice to have something like this. “Have you chosen?” 

The girl shook her head, pouting at him. “Don’t you have cheaper phones?” But he smiled at her. “I mean I don’t really like calling and stuff, I don’t need a phone.” 

“Okay. I won’t force you to get a new phone if you really don’t want to.” She grinned at that. “But stay with me tonight, until you find a place to stay.” She rolled her eyes at that and he clenched his jaw at that action. Why is her stubbornness turning him on? “I wouldn’t let you stay in that sauna house alone. Have you seen those naked guys?” 

(Y/N) laughed at that. He’s actually worried about that? “Then let me stay in your place tonight.” She claimed that actually surprised him. She actually said yes? “I’d rather see you naked than those guys anyways.” She noted that made him laugh. 

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ ❤️❤️

Chapter 12 / Chapter 14

[unmaskedagain]

Marinette: Crazy Rich

           So in this fic,. If you’ve seen Crazy Rich Asians, you’ll know why as the fic goes on. Also, I totally ripped a few lines from Girl Meets World; fans of the show will recognize them instantly!!!

 They met when they were young; younger than either of them remember. The first time, Marinette and Ali had both in babes in their cribs when their grandmothers’ introduced them. The second time, they just learn to walk and or run, and seemed love making a mess of everything; again not something they could remember but had plenty of pictures of.

The third time, and the one they both remembered, Marinette had been just six-years-old. Ali had been seven. They each were the apple of their grandmother’s eyes. Their grandmothers were best friends having known each other since they were little girls.

It had been a playdate at one of the Young family homes. Ali had worn a dapper grey suit that would look ridiculously expensive on an adult man, let alone a child that just barely learned to tie his shoes. Marinette had worn a darling silvery purple dress that was closer to a ball gown than any dress any other four-year-old girl would wear to a playdate.

           Both kids shyly hid their faces behind their grandmother’s skirts and had to be coaxed softly to greet each other.

Prince Ali bowed regally as he had been taught, “Pleasure to meet you, Miss Young.”  He was a handsome boy with dark-skin, olive-green eyes, and black hair. Ali always wore a charming smile on his face as expected of him. He was a Prince, and while it wasn’t easy, he did what of expected of him.

“It is an honor, Prince Ali,” Marinette curtseyed gracefully. She was a beautiful girl with long black hair and bluebell eyes. She was the essence of a perfect little lady. “We have a wonderful playroom that I would like to show you if you able?”

Prince Ali looked to his grandmother for an answered. She nodded silently, an amused smile on his face. The young prince grinned, “Yes, please.” He held his arm out for Marinette. She took it, a pink blush on her face, and they walked side by side out of the foyer, their perspective bodyguards trailing after them, while their grandmothers’ cooed in the background before departing to have tea.

           The playroom was larger than three apartments combined; it had specific areas dedicated to art, sports, video games, tea parties, a jungle gym built to look like a castle, and even an area just for snacks. In order to get around, there were trampoline paths.

           Prince Ali blinked in awe.

“You get used to it,” Marinette giggled. “Come on!” She grabbed his hand and ran across the trampoline path to the jungle gym. They jumped the entire way, their bodyguard watching from the distance ready to act if something went wrong.

“Call me Marinette,” Marinette said when they made it to the top. She pulled out two foams swords and handed him one. “Or Mari.

“Ali,” He said as he took the sword.

“I’m Pirate Captain Sparkle,” She yelled and pointed her sword. “And you my dreaded rival have come to steal my treasure… Captain.”

“Tiger Eye,” Ali nodded seriously. “Captain Tiger Eye. Engarde!”

           The two pirate captains dueled all over the jungle gym before teaming up to defeat the evil space monsters that came to steal all the ice cream and candy in the world.

           Ali laughed as he jumped into the foam ball pit after a giggling Marinette. They both laid there for a moment trying to catch their breaths as they stared at the ceiling painted to look like the night, each constellation connected.

“You’re not how I imagined,” Ali said.

           Marinette hummed, “Spoiled rotten, uptight, crazy rich brat who only like tea parties and princess things; who’d cry the second I don’t get what I want?”

“Well… yes.”

           She shrugged, “I get that a lot. I don’t know why. If I so much as considered for a moment of throwing a tantrum in public, my grandmother would have me shipped boarding school in Sweden. No matter what my parents said.”

           Ali nodded, “Same. Though, mine would be in Scotland. My mother has a strong fascination with Harry Potter.”

“You’re not what I imagined either.”

“Stuffy prince, that always had his nose in the air,” Prince Ali started, “So he can look down on everyone; that expects everyone to bow and cater to his every whim?”

“That about covers it.”

           He snorted, “My grandmother would have me scrubbing bedpans at one her hospitals the moment I ever said was better than anyone.”

           Both laughed.

“Do you ever get tired of it?” Ali suddenly asked. “Always been told to do this, or that you can’t do that. Always being on your best behavior because of what people would think. I never get to do anything I want.”

Ali was the first grandchild and took after his grandmother Queen Aishwarya with his kind, fun-loving nature, as well as his ability to recognize authenticity in people. Like Aishwarya, Ali would later become a philanthropist who dedicated his time to volunteering at and donating money to child hospitals and leading the go-green initiative in his country. He wasn’t allowed to behave like most kids; never allow himself to be as free as them.

“Shoulders back and stand up straight,” Marinette recited. “Mind your manners, smile for the cameras. Always be clean and orderly. It’s like I’m a trophy. Don’t make a mess. Watch what you say but never let anyone think you can’t say it. Sometimes it sucks. But what I can I do. Can I really cry about it? I’m a rich, only child that gets everything I want… as long as I behave. There are expectations of me, and if I stay, I get shut down.” Hard.

           Marinette spent her childhood split between France and Singapore.  In Paris, she was able to relax as Marinette Dupain-Cheng the daughter of a pair of rather well-known bakers. In Singapore, she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng-Sung-Young or just Marinette Young for short; the granddaughter of Eleanor and Phillip Young, an heir of the wealthiest family in all of Singapore and most of the world. And people, her family mostly, and the paparazzi had expectations of Marinette Young.

           Marinette Young was a Singaporean child socialite. The media referred to her as “The Princess” for her beauty and the impeccable fashion sense she distributed from a young age. She followed her older cousin Astrid to all the fashions, taking her cues from her.

“Yeah…”

           Marinette lift her head to look at Ali, “What do you like to do?”

“I like to help people,” Ali murmured. “I like helping my grandmother at the hospitals and making sick kids feel better. Maybe be a doctor!”

“I like fashion, my cousin Astrid likes it too,” Marinette said. “So let’s make a deal. You help kids. I’ll work in fashion. That’s what we want to do so we’re going to do it. Okay?”

“Deal,” Ali nodded firmly and then looked thoughtful. “Are we friends?”

           Marinette smiled, “Best friends.”

           And so there were. Over the next few years, the two would meet up for playdates frequently. Eventually, Prince Ali would come to know Marinette Dupain-Cheng well too.

           When the playdate ended, Marinette waved goodbye sadly as her new friend left.

           That night, while her grandmother brushed her hair before bed, she asked. “Did you like Prince Ali?”

           Marinette nodded, “Yes. He was very polite and played pretend really well.” She left off the part where he was a dreaded pirate captain because of details.

“Aishwarya and I thought you would like each other,” Eleanor nodded. “I’m glad to see you get along well. Hopefully, you will grow closer as you get older.”

“Why?” Marinette asked curiously. Her grandmother had never cared about whether she would still be friends with her playdates in the future. Normally, the playdates were a way to have a business meeting with it being obvious to the outside world that it was, in fact, a business meeting.

           Eleanor smiled softly down at Marinette, looking less like the elegant scary Dragon-lady the media claimed she was, and more like any loving grandmother.

Eleanor knew she always favored Marinette, her first grandchild; even if she had severely frowned on her oldest daughter Sabine marrying a baker. Though she had frowned less once their bakery became a successful international chain, akin to Gordon Ramsey restaurants. Their headquarters in Singapore. In Eleanor’s defense, they came from a rather wealthy family and with roots of nobility. Who wouldn’t be a little upset if their heir and beloved daughter running off to marry a baker she met in France? Sabine had even gotten Nick and Astrid to help with her elopement.

It would be years before Eleanor manages to quell the snickers and rumors that persisted after Sabine’s departure, and just as long until she was willing to speak with her oldest child again. However, that was mostly because she learned Sabine was pregnant.

Eleanor was in France for the duration of the pregnancy and had loved Marinette instantly the second she was born. Her beautiful granddaughter with hair so black it looks blue in the right light, and bright blue eyes bluer than anyone could even imagine. It’s a wonder, Eleanor, ever let go of her. (But apparently, Tom had the right to hold his child too, or some nonsense like that.)

           Because of her grandmother, Marinette’s childhood was… odder than most. While her parents preferred a more modest lifestyle despite their wealth, her mother’s side of the family… did not.

“Do you know how your grandfather and I met?” The older woman asked. Marinette shook her head no. “We met when we were really young, about you and Prince Ali’s age. Our parents were business partners who believed marriage was the best solidify the partnership, and bring up both of our families statuses. So we were betrothed.”

           Marinette blinked, slowly understanding hit her. “It means engaged right?”

“In a way,” Eleanor nodded. “It meant we were promised to each other and that one day we would marry; uniting our families as one. Do you know why I’m telling you this?”

“The playdate,” Marinette said. “It was a test to see if Ali and could get along. We are to be promised to each other.”

           Eleanor put the hairbrush down. “No. You are promised to each other. We finalized the arrangement today. The official betrothal will be announced after your thirteenth birthday. One day, you will marry Prince Ali. Prince Ali is the oldest child of Queen Aishwarya’s oldest son. Do you know what that means when you marry him?”

           Marinette nodded, not fully understand what being married meant. Or what being betrothed meant but knew it was important. She thought of Snow White and Cinderella, and what marry a prince meant for them. “If I marry Ali, it means one day, I’ll be Queen.”

“You’ll be a princess,” Eleanor correct gently. “Queen Aishwarya’s steps down, which will not be for quite some time, her son and heir will take her place, and then one day Prince Ali will take his father’s place. Then you will be Queen.”

           Marinette grew up dealing with the fact that she would one day be Queen the best way she could; she put it of mind. It wasn’t like her life changed all that much; she just attended more lessons than usual.  Heck, her life changed more when she became Ladybug. So she was engaged to be engaged, so what? All that meant was that she couldn’t date anyone seriously. She could date though, which was what counted.

           She and Prince Ali were still best friends and what girl didn’t want to marry her best friend?

           When Marinette was thirteen, Prince Ali had a surprise visit to Paris under the guise of visiting the local children’s hospital. It was the first time he came to visit without his grandmother with him. And it was the first time Marinette met him without her grandmother there.

           They met at a secluded rooftop restaurant. Prince Ali wore a dark suit. Marinette wore a stylish, elegant red dress, that coincidently matched Prince Ali’s tie. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. When they sat down for dinner and a violin started to play, it took Marinette all but five seconds to realize what was going down.

“This is quite romantic. You could’ve had just asked me on a date, you know?” Marinette raised an eyebrow. “I might’ve said yes.”

           Ali gave her a devilish smirk, “As if there was ever a chance you’d say no.”

           His bodyguard huffed a laugh, “He was too chicken to ask.”

“Really, Kalil! Really!” Prince Ali face-palmed in the face of Marinette’s giggles. “It’s not funny,” He told her.

“Yes, it is.”

           Ali sighed but gave a low chuckle, “It’s a little funny.”

           It went silent as each tried to think of what to say.

“I just wanted to-” Ali started.

“I know that this-” Marinette said at the same time.

           They both gave small laughs. Marinette nodded, “Please, go ahead.”

“We’re older now,” Ali swallowed hard. “You’re thirteen now. And I just wanted to… I wanted to know if it was still alright. If you were still open to marrying me?  If not, we should be mature about it. We should let our grandparents know before the announcement. Then we’ll go our separate ways and never talk or see each other again if you want.”

“Save yourselves and our families the embarrassment,” She nodded. Marinette fought now to glance down; to not show weakness, as her grandmother taught her, as her mother taught her like Astrid taught her. She was a Young. Youngs’ were not weak. “Do you want to marry me?”

“I asked you first!” Ali whined, making his bodyguard snort.

“How old are you? Six?”

           He stuck his tongue out, “Six and a half for your information.” Ali shook his head. “When we were little we made a deal. You’d go into fashion, and I’d help sick kids, help people all over the world because it’s what we wanted to do; not what anyone wants us to do. You’re a fashion designer. I’m a philanthropist. Pretty brave of us considering if Nick ever decides to run for the hills, you’d be shipped off to Harvard business school before you managed to make a protest. And if something, gods forbid, ever happen to my father; my grandmother would have me sworn in as the next king before I even buried him. Medical school or not. So let’s be brave again. Let’s only marry each other if that’s what we want. Deal.”

“Deal!” Marinette nodded. “So do you want to marry me?”

“Mari!” Ali groaned. “I asked first!”

“What point being?” Marinette said innocently. “Fine, let’s start with an easier question. Do you like me… like that?”

“Do you like me?”

           Marinette’s bodyguard, Torivana, snickered in the background. Marinette glared. “I… like you, Ali.” Other than Ali, she had only ever had a crush on two other guys; both crushes were short-lived. Adrien, who was regulated to being the brother she always wanted after she learned he was Chat Noir and her parents all but adopted him. And Luka, she realized quickly, with his dyed hair, rock band, and future tattoos was the type of guy her grandmother would have assassinated before she’d let Marinette seen in a romantic relationship with. Plus, it didn’t help that Luka asked her if Adrien was single.

Ali was different though. Marinette had set out in the very beginning to not like Ali romantically, figuring she could break off the promise between the families if it was seen that there was no romantic feeling between the two. However, the more she fought not to like-like her best friend, the more she did.

“It’s you I like, Ali,” Marinette admitted, her heart beating wildly.

           Ali looked at her for a moment, just really staring at her. “I like you too.” And he did. He fell for the blue-eyed badass that was his best friend. He’d known he liked her for the longest of times but was too afraid to tell her. “And I’d never want you to not be a part of my life. If you don’t know if you want to marry me, that’s fine. We can wait. I can wait. If you want to play the long game and see what happens. Okay. I’ll play the long game. Live your life, I'll live my life, I know you're out there... and I'm out there, too.

“That's your deal?”

“That's my deal.”

“Someday?”

“Someday.”

           Marinette leaned forward, “I have a counteroffer.”

“You are definitely Eleanor Young’s granddaughter.”

“That’s a compliment,” Marinette shrugged. She took a deep breath and said, “I want to marry you; not just because of our families but because of our friendship. I think we’d be good together. We are good together. Maybe, I’m not in love with you now but maybe after some dates, whenever you buck up and ask me on a real one, and being girlfriend and boyfriend for a while, maybe I will be. If sometime in the future, when we get older, we change our minds, we’ll figure it out then. You fight my grandma, I’ll take on yours.”

“I want to marry you too,” Ali admitted, a small smile on his face. “You know you can ask me out too, right?”

“I could,” She stressed the second word.

           They laughed and just looked at each other, olive-green eyes getting lost in blue and vice versa.

           It was the sound of a throat clearing that made them jump out of it. Each blushed red as the waiter looked at them expectantly with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on her face.

“We should order,” Marinette said, opening up her menu quickly.

���Totally!”

           They ignored their bodyguards chuckling in the background.

           Outside of the Marinette Young universe, Marinette Dupain-Cheng found it a lot harder to be nice and amicable all the time. For starters, Lila had come back to school. She didn’t mind most of the lies she told. They were annoying, however, after years of dealing with faux-faced people, she could ignore most of them. She could even ignore that al her so-called friends believed them.

           However, Marinette hated, absolutely hated when Lila lied about Prince Ali. The lies were utterly ridiculous but Marinette was overprotective and had half a mind to use every resource to have the Italian Embassy look into all of Lila’s travel claims. But she was better than that. She would not stoop to Lila’s level.

           …

           It took three months for Marinette to lose all her friends in class. They had simpered after Lila and her lies and believed Marinette to be a bully. They stopped hanging out with her, stopped inviting her places, and sent mean texts to her phone causing her to change her number. They openly declared they weren’t her friends anymore.

           Again, this wasn’t something Marinette batted a lie at.  She didn’t care what they did. Or said. As they long as they didn’t go too far, Marinette was fine with ignoring their existence. Should they step the line, Marinette would use everything in her power to destroy them.

           It was a good thing after all. Her mother, Grandmother, Nick, Astrid, and everyone else in her family always taught her to be wary of fame-seekers and gold diggers.

           It was clear that the class wasn’t really interested in what Lila did but the promises of what she could do for them. And if they had to toss aside a childhood friend to get into her good graces then so be it.

           The class was getting ready to depart for winter break.

“Prince Ali and I are going to winter in Switzerland, you know.” Lila lied, causing Marinette’s eyes to narrow. “Every year since we were children. It snows all the time in Zurich. And he just loves it.”

           First of all, Ali hated the cold. It was why Marinette insisted one of their playdates be in the Alps after he broke her favorite china doll; spite, pure spite. Second of all, it didn’t snow all the time in Zurich; barely at all.

           Anyone could fact check the second one. But no one bothers. Not even the journalist of the class, Alya.

“We go with the Young family,” Lila continued. “One of the richest families in the world. I am friends with Lady Eleanor’s granddaughter.”    

           Marinette nearly fell down laughing right then and there.

           At the end of class, her ex-best friend and the class’s new class president, stood up, “Don’t forget everyone, class party at my house,” Alya cast a quick glare at Marinette and Chloe who sat in the back. “At least for those of you invited.” Their other classmates snickered and threw vicious smiles at the girls.

“As if we’d want to go,” Chloe said. “We have plans for Winter break that doesn’t involve going to a last-minute, obviously poor planed party. That never happened in the last class president’s watch.”

           Marinette smirked. “She’s right. We have plans. Chloe’s coming with me to visit my grandmother in Singapore. My family can’t wait to meet my best friend. Luka and Adrien will be attending as well.

           Alya huffed at not getting the reaction she wanted. Also because she never got invited to go to Singapore with Marinette before, and they had been best friends for the longest time. Shows what kind of friend Marinette was! Lila would never do that to her.

           Chloe, Adrien, Luka, Kagami, Ondine, Aurore, Claude, Mirielle, Nathanial, and Marc would all join Marinette for Winter Break. They were surprised when Marinette had offered to pay. Even more so when it was on a private plane.

           Trust Chloe to be the first to say something.

“So you’re rich,” The blond asked.

           Marinette hummed as she reads her magazine, “We’re comfortable.”

“That is exactly what a super-rich person would say,” Claude laughed.

           When they got to Marinette’s home, that was less of a home and more of a palace, they realized just how right they were. Particularly when they saw the dolphins.

“So you’re crazy rich,” Claude correct.

           During Winter break, once they got to Singapore, Marinette officially introduced her best friend, Prince Ali, to her other friends. They got along well, though he was a bit wary of Chloe at first.

At the Young Family New Years’ Eve celebration; which was closer to a giant festival, it was announced that Prince Ali and Marinette Dupain-Cheng-Sung-Young, the only grandchild of Phillip and Eleanor Young, would marry after Marinette’s 21st birthday. The new article was released shortly after; it was filled with pictures of them as children growing up together, depicting their friendship, each family’s wealth, and it told the agreed-upon lie that Prince Ali asked for her hand, as traditional in his country. The media went wild.

Marinette knew the moment it was announced and her picture was released that things would change. She wouldn’t just be Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of bakers. At least she couldn’t pretend anymore. Marinette would be a princess; people talking about her, Ali, and the future royal wedding for years to come.

Once the celebrations had died down, her friends ganged up on her.

“A prince!” Chloe shrieked. “You’re marrying Prince Ali. How could you not tell me! I get to be the maid of honor to a Princess!”

           Adrien glared, “Why are you the maid of honor. I’m practically her brother.”

“Exactly!” Chloe hissed. “Maid of Honor!”

“Oh, this is not over!”

           That night Marinette, with her grandmother’s blessing, gave Aurore the exclusive scoop on the engagement via an interview and an article. Overnight, her blog became internally famous. Magazines and newspapers citing her as a source.

           Returning to Paris had been wild. The moment they stepped off the plane, they were met with the flashes of cameras from the paparazzi; each one screaming her name.

“Marinette! How does it feel to be marrying Prince Ali?”

“DO you think you’re too young?”

“Are you ready to be a princess?”

           Marinette ignored them all as she got into the limousine with her friends. “So that was pleasant.”

“That was insane!” Aurore laughed. “Is it always this bad?”

“No, Singaporean paparazzi are a bit tamer.”

           The limo didn’t head to the bakery. Marinette nor her parents would be living there from then on. Instead, they bought the empty mansion across the street from Adrien’s home. They purchased it when her grandmother let them know the announcement would happen soon; giving them plenty of time to decorate. The gates were heavily lined with security.

“Oh we are so having our next sleepover here,” Mirielle said brightly when they got into the house.

“Are you going to miss living at the bakery?”

“Yes,” Both Marinette and Adrien said, causing Marinette to glare at her friend, “We talked about this; just because I had a bunk bed, did not make it your room too!”

           Adrien huffed but clearly looked like he disagreed.

           Luka chuckled and wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder, “Aww, babe. Did the mean girl hurt your feelings?”

“You were my friend first,” Marinette pinched her nose. “Where’s the loyalty?”

           When school started back up again,  Marinette’s limo literally went straight across the street to pick up Adrien.

           Gabriel opened the door before Marinette even had the chance to knock. “Miss Dupain-Cheng-Sung-Young, an honor.”

           Marinette eyed the man. He, while always polite, seemed nicer than she’d ever seen him before. Normally Marinette would fill the urge to fix her casual outfit. But today Marinette didn’t do casual. She wore a tan Cashmere sweater dress, stockings, with black Burberry heals, and a look of boredom on her face. Gone were the pigtails, instead Marinette’s hair flowed down her back. “Is Adrien ready for school, Mr. Agreste?”

“He will be down in one moment,” Gabriel answered. “Congratulations on your engagement. You and Prince Ali make a lovely couple.”

“Thank you.”

“I was unaware there was a Young in Paris,” Gabriel chimed. “I would have loved to arrange a few playdates between you and Adrien.”

           Marinette smiled coldly, “Adrien is one of my dearest friends now. And while an official date hasn’t been set, I do hope I can count your attendance at my wedding. Despite recent… difficulties.”

           Gabriel stiffened, “Difficulties? With Adrien?”

“With Lila Rossi,” Marinette corrected. “A model of yours. She has made several outlandish claims both towards the Young family, Prince Ali, as well as several celebrities. I fear the actions that would need to be taken to… rectify this. I sincerely hope the Agreste brand isn’t hurt in the process.”

           Despite the subtly of her words, the threat was loud and clear. Fix Lila, ditch Lila, or we’ll destroy you.

           Adrien came down the stairs in a rush, not noticing his father’s pale face. He and Marinette, and Gorilla left the older man still standing stunned.

           Gabriel called for Nathalie, “Fire Miss Rossi immediately. Sever all connections, now!”

           After Adrien, they picked up Kagami, whose mother was an old friend of Sabine’s as they had grown up together. Kagami had always known that Marinette was actually Marinette Young.

           The next stop was Chloe who seemed more at home in Marinette’s limo that Marinette did.

           When the got to school the paparazzi were still waiting. The bodyguards Gorilla and Torivana held guarded the children as they entered the school. Damocles was waiting at the door, a simpering smile on his face, and a greedy look in his eyes at the potential donations he could get from Marinette and her family.

           Marinette cut him off before he could even open his mouth, “You expelled me without a proper investigation. Or going through the proper channel because of an ambassador’s daughter threw a hissy fit. You’ll be hearing my lawyers.”

           The man paled so white Marinette thought he had died right then and there. Until she saw him shaking.

           The bodyguards escorted the kids through the halls, where students stopped to watch the future princess pass.

           When they got to class, they saw most of the students waiting.

           The four ignored them and joined Nathaniel in back where they had been sentenced for not believing Lila.

“Girl!” Alya yelled with a grin on her face. “I can’t believe you’re marrying a prince! You should’ve invited me to your family’s party. I’d have loved to come.”

           The others in class nodded. Though Rose did look a bit teary-eyed. That was when Marinette remembered her ex-friends crush on Ali.

“That party was dope, dudette!” Nino added. “How’d you get Beyonce to perform?”

           Marinette smiled, “Shouldn’t you be hanging of Lila’s coattails somewhere. Where is Miss Rossi anyway?”

           Alya shrugged, “She’s a liar, you were right. Best friends with the Young Heir, yeah right. You should’ve just told me you and Prince Ali were a thing, and I’d have believed you.”

“You should’ve fact-checked,” Chloe glared. “It was obvious she was a liar.”

“No one’s talking to you,” Alya glared from where she sat in her seat. “I’m talking to my bestie.”

“Again, Lila isn’t here,” Marinette said. “And last I checked we are not friends.”

           Alya rolled over what Marinette said, “How could you give Aurore the inside scoop? I totally needed that. Ladybug had been ignoring me for months.”

“Aurore’s my friend,” Marinette said easily. “Which is more than I can say for most of you. How was the class party by the way?”

           A few of the students had the grace to blush and look away. Alya wasn’t one of them, “I’m sorry, okay. I shouldn’t have believed Lila.” Alya shrugged. “You don’t have to sit back there anymore. Me and Nino can make room.”

Marinette blinked. How could she not be getting this? “I wouldn’t sit with you if that seat was only one in school not on fire.”

It was at that moment Bustier and Lila walked into class. Bustier seemed oblivious to the tension that seemed the classroom; though she did know all about Marinette being engaged to a prince.

To Lila’s credit, she didn’t blink at the few glares she received. Her eyes on Marinette, half full of greed, half full of jealously. She knew all about the Young family; insanely rich socialites who were the It family in all of Asia. She cursed herself for not researching into Marinette more before declaring the girl her enemy and doing her best to maker her life hell. And now Marinette was marrying a prince.

Lila frowned. No wonder the bluenette always glared at me, She thought, she knew first hand that I was lying.

“Marinette,” Lila said sweetly. “I was so happy and that you and Ali finally revealed your betrothal. I wish you would’ve told me.”

           Most of the class looked at the girl like she was crazy.

“I don’ t like you,” Marinette stated easily. “You do not know Ali. You were not childhood friends. You do not know the Young family. Astrid did not ever come to you for fashion advice. She does not know you exist. As Eleanor’s only grandchild, I can happily say that we are not friends. Leave alone.” She cast a cold look to the rest of the room. “That goes for the rest of you. You happily declared we weren’t friends anymore. Well, we’re not friends anymore.”

           Her declaration rang through the classroom.

           No one said anything to her for the rest of the morning, apart from her friends in class.

           When lunch came, just before the bell rang, there was a knock on the door. Prince Ali stood there, looking as regal and as handsome as ever. “It seemed, I am a bit too early.” He said with a polite smile, though he had been long aware of the inhabitants bullying way.

           The bell rang.

           Marinette smiled, “Just in time actually.” She got up and walked to the front of the class, most of the students too stunned to move.

           Lila jumped at her chance to actually meet the prince, “Oh Prince Ali; it’s wonderful to see you again. My mother spent some time in your country. She worked was an ambassador.”

“And you are?” Ali asked, causing Lila to flush red as another of her lies were exposed.          

           She knew she could’ve easily spun to the class that Marinette was just jealous of her. They’d believe anything. It was a lot harder with the prince there to deny everything.

           Neither him nor Marinette waited for a response.

           They long since vowed to only ever wait for each other.

[erinhime83]

So…so, since someone managed to get my muse all Sailor Moon happy, I figured I’d take the time to complete a couple of design sheets I’ve had sitting around for, like, a couple of years.  So, yeah, while this seems like this might have been an undertaking, they were all pretty much done around the same time as when the Sailor Aeolus design went up, except the last two.  I just had been too lazy to really finish them to be put on deviantArt.

I mean, it wasn’t that much of an undertaking to begin with, seeing as they’re all basically the same design, so it involved a lot of copy/pasting.  ;P

The only thing that I did to them for this was change their casual designs from their school uniforms to actual clothes because I had the idea of taking the school angle away and just make the story take place on, say, Aeolus, but I decided that doesn’t work 100% with what I have planned, but still.  Maybe they don’t have uniforms?  

I also did up the last two recently, but again, it didn’t take that much effort.  I just wanted to design the main villain, and then figured I might as well toss in her teammate as well.

Sailor Aeolus/Aeris Anemone/Erin O’Colley – CLEARLY, I didn’t do much to her since the last design other than changing up her civilian outfit like I mentioned.  I still love the idea of her hair being magically altered so no one knows she’s actually the princess Aeris (and I like how Aeris and Erin sound close enough that it’d make sense for her to adapt a more common name in hiding), but then the Millennium Crystal negates the magic and reveals the Aeolian royal family is quite alive and well.

Basically, when Aeris was young, her planet was attacked by the previous Sailor Nemesis, who did a hell of a lot of damage before the previous Sailor Aeolus (Aeris’ mother) faced her down.  The explosion that ended the fight ended Nemesis, and the common belief was that it ended Aeolus as well.  And since her family was nearby, they thought they had all died as well.  Aeolus took her family and hide them in order to protect them because of this, and the general idea was that the power of Aeolus was lost.

And yet, no one really thought much about the fact that this girl who was around Aeris’ age shows up at the Academy with the power of Aeolus, go figure.  They really just thought the power transferred to her instead of simply being reborn.  Erin (Erin being the nickname her commoner father gave her when she was born) is actually unremarkable as far as students are concerned – she’s a model student, sure, but she’s honestly just another face in the crowd to most people.  At least until it’s discovered she’s the lost princess of Aeolus.  For some odd reason, despite just having the power of Wind, Aeolus is considered extremely powerful and people want her power.  Doubly so with the Millennium Crystal.

Sailor Gaios/Terra Fitz – I think it’s funny how this character is now required to be dark skinned, no matter what form it is.  ;P  I like her eyeliner, and I have no idea why I gave it to her, lol.

So Terra is Erin’s best friend/roommate.  They started at the Academy at the same time, and have been together ever since.  Terra actually comes from a species that’s, like, 75% women, which, of course, changed the gender dynamic.  Since there’s so few men, no one really settles down with them because they need to be available to, you know, continue the species and all that.  Most couples are lesbian, obviously.

Terra comes from a different sort of family.  Her parents settles together, and even had another child.  Full blooded siblings are highly unusual.  As such, Terra’s upbringing was different than most of her people, and while she’s definitely a tomboy, she’s not exactly one-of-the-guys, either.  Mostly, this is important just because the previous Gaius was her aunt rather than her mother.  Her aunt never had any children, which is why the power went to her instead.

Terra is fiercely loyal to Erin, and people always think she has a crush on the redhead, but they’re really just BFFs.  Due to her tomboy nature, Terra is very hands on with combat, and is a bit of a tank in the group.

Aegir/Nereus Knight/Seamus Triteia/Patrick McHaley – Yeah, he’s got a lot of names.  >.<    But I guess it makes sense considering it’s the only male and he’s a villain hiding amongst the heroes.  Sorta.  

So before the attack on Aeolus, there was an uprising on Nereus that ended up displacing the Nereis royal family on Aeolus.  Seamus and Aeris basically grew up together because of this, resulting in them becoming super close.  However, when Aeolus was attacked, Seamus was captured and brought to the evil people in order to be brainwashed into helping them.

A little spoiler alert, but the brainwashing actually didn’t take full effect. He just sort of acts like it did because it makes his life a little easier. He developed a dark form of his power and took on the name Aegir, and fights alongside the villains for a while. However, they decided to have him infiltrate the Academy, and he took on the alias Patrick McHaley.  (Due to the fact that Nereids don’t believe in marriage, no one actually knows who Seamus’ father actually is, except for Seamus and his mother, so he adapts his father’s surname as his alias.)  

While at the Academy, he ends up becoming really close with Erin (of course), and decides to join her even before it’s revealed that she is actually his first love.  When he gains his own Millennium Crystal, it wipes away the evil form and reveals him to be Nereus Knight.  Except, like I said, he was never evil to begin with, so…yeah.  

Sailor Helios/Angelia De Helios – I really could have given her a more ‘alien’ form, but I figured I needed to separate her from Aerona, sadly.  

Sadly, I don’t have that much on the last members of the team.  She’s bubbly and happy and optimistic.  The only bit of drama she has going for her is the fact that her sister disappeared some time ago, and she’s been searching for her off and on when she can.  

Sailor Aethos/Sunny Colours – I really love Sunny’s design.  I think it’s funny I took the Iris name from her, but still gave her the rainbow hair, go figure.  But hey, she’s a soldier of light, and like refracts and it still totally works!  I really like her civilian outfit.  While it was stolen from someone else, I might have to find a use for it elsewhere…well, in this form, to be precise.  ^^;

Sunny probably has the most normal life.  Her sister doesn’t care for her very much, but otherwise, no much has happened in her life other than her becoming Sailor Aethos.  She enjoys being the guardian of her planet, and I believe her claim to fame is the fact that she’s the first to get a Millennium Crystal.

Sailor Erebus/Melody Draga- Melody is Erin’s cousin through her mother/Erin’s father.  Which is impressive, since her father is, like, 1000 years old.  Basically, her parents met because Seren has business on Aeolus, and Amelia was visiting her brother, and sort of caught the eye of Seren briefly.  They had a bit of fun which resulted in Amelia becoming pregnant and Seren bringing her back to Erebus with him.

Except she was one of many concubines/wives.  Melody was raised sort of separated from the rest of her half-siblings, although her father did care for her.  But she was a Halfling and the child of a commoner, so she was looked down upon.  So everyone was surprised when it turned out to be her that inherited the Erebus power.  

Melody is actually the only one who knows Erin’s true identity, but that’s mostly because she guessed/knew of Aeris’ nickname.  Aeris was pretty much her only friend growing up until her ‘death’, so she and Erin became really close at the Academy.  She’s also the second one to gain her Millennium Crystal.

Sailor Thanatos/Alex Lea – It’s sort of obvious that I based her hair off the Earthia Thanatians. I just thought it would be funny.  But I differentiated them by giving her normal skin.

Thanatos was an unknown member of the team until very recently.  They hadn’t known about the Academy or the other members for, like, ever, so the previous Thanatos’ have just sort of been winging it. They were rather surprised to learn they were actually a part of a team and very eager to send Alex off to the Academy to meet them.

The previous Thanatos is Alex’s grandmother, since the power skipped a generation.  She actually joined the Academy at the very start of the story, which is why her first form is a lot older than the others.  She hadn’t figured out her second form yet, but she figures it out very quickly with the help of the others.  She generally feels out of place because she hasn’t been around the whole time, but the others are very exciting to have her around and love being with her, and are very welcoming.

Sailor Nemesis/Topaz – Ugh, I love this design!  It absolutely sucks that she’s a villain.  >.<  Don’t ask me why I gave her species horns while trying to make everyone human-eque. I just thought it’d look cool.

So, obviously, Topaz lost her mother in the attack on Aeolus, and she one hundred percent blames Erin for this fact since she’s the one who now holds the power her mother sought.  Her entire reason for being is to get revenge for her mother’s death, which is one reason she sends Aegir to the Academy to get dirt on her.

She’s also completely in love with Seamus, which is one of many reasons he was abducted in the first place.  He obviously shows no feelings for her, since he’s always been in love with Aeris, but that doesn’t stop her from acting like they’re destined.  

She’s actually a very competent villain, but once Aeolus started to get involved in her schemes, she’s started to get a little sloppy, which is why, of course, the guardians are always able to get the upper hand over her.  I was thinking about giving her a Millennium form as well, but decided to keep that to be something only Aeolus and her team can achieve.

Sailor Eris/Morrisa de Helios – Again, I love this design sheet, and hate that the best designs are being used for the villains, lol.  This one has the best concept to boot.

So, obviously, Eris is Helios’ lost sister.  Basically, she was rather angry about the fact that her younger sister is the one who inherited the Helios power, and ran away.  She ended up coming across the previous Eris over there, who decided to bestow the power to her.

See, while the other powers are always inherited, usually between family members, the Eris power is always given.  It’s the reason why her secondary color is different from the previous form. Morrisa sort of hates playing second fiddle to Topaz, but she also doesn’t mind because she considers Topaz a close friend.

(I got a laugh at the thought of Topaz making them have sort of matching dressed and then wear the same shoes because she 100% would do something like that.)

Morrisa isn’t necessarily a bad person, just misguided and a little vengeful, which is why she works well with Topaz.  She’s not a huge fan of Aegir, but tolerates him for the most part, but feels hurt when he does got and betray him, since he was just always…there.)  Oh, and she does care for her little sister, which makes her missions interesting when she’s around.  

I was enjoying thinking about this story and was actually considering maybe doing a fan-fic for NaNo this year, lol.  But I figure I might as well toss up the designs somewhere rather than sitting on them for another three years, and it might as well be Tumblr, right? (Tumblr tends to keep the file size and not just have the shrinked version years later XD)

[powerful-niya]

So I've been doing a lot of editing on my Naruhina stories, mainly on my Naruhina fanfic 'Enemies Or Lovers.' And so far, I truly like the result. It's wonderful!

Warning: Violence-Dark Themes. Supernatural/Vampires.

Before:

Hinata's P.O.V

"Mmm." I moaned out as I drunk from a young girl's neck, far into the woods, late at night.

I suck vigorously, my hunger getting the best of me.

My eyes closed tightly as my best friend stood beside me, monitoring me and watching out for werewolves..

Our arch enemy...

Vampires.. Arch enemy..

Her blood tasted so good, I just couldn't stop.. I knew I should but...

"Um Princess, I think that's enough." My best friend, Sakura warned me.

I didn't stop though, I couldn't stop.

Her screams were drowned out by me.. All I focused on was erasing my intense hunger for...

Blood.

My eyes shined a dark purple which was very different from my normal lavender.

I held the girls head tightly as my razor sharp fangs sunk into her neck, drinking up all of her blood, making her fall limp.

I finally removed myself from her neck, my teeth shrinking back to normal.

I breathed heavily and then backed away, my eyes now catching a glimpse of the now dead, innocent girl below me.

My eyes widen as I stared at the wide-eyed black haired girl that laid dead on the grass below.

Her neck bloody and completely torn out..

I, did that.

Oh no..

"O-Oh my goodness. I killed her. I killed her." I screamed and wiped my mouth that was covered with her blood.

Sakura sighed and shook her head "Damn. I knew I should've never brought you out here. You was just hungry Hinata. It's normal for us vampires." She informed and bend down and helped me up, grabbing my hand and pulling me up.

I stumbled onto my feet, my red and black long dress following my movement.

I sighed sadly, the cool, night air blowing through my long midnight blue hair.

I looked down at my feet, feeling tears prick my eyelids "I'm so bad at being a Vampire, Sakura. My bloodlust just gets the best of me.. And I can't help it.." I admitted to her and then looked up at her concern expression "I'm so weak." I continued but she waved her hand at me, reassuring me.

Her pink, short hair swaying in the night wind also as her emerald eyes stared at me intently.

She shook her head at me, a smile etching her lips despite my terrible behavior "It's okay, Hinata. That's why I'm here to help you. It's just you're so innocent, My Princess, it just can't be helped." She said and guided me back to my Mother's palace.

I nodded slowly to her claim "Yeah, I guess. It's just, I'm still, so hungry." I said yearningly, my eyes turning back to a dark purple again, just thinking about getting my hands on some more blood.

Sakura frowned and rubbed my back, calming me back down.

I gasped quietly, my eyes turning back to my normal lavender.

I laughed nervously when Sakura shook her head at my behavior "Let's hurry, inside." She quickly instructed and nodded at the vampire guards who were standing watch.

They nodded back and opened the gates to the vampire palace.

I smiled and walked into the palace with Sakura by my side.

I sighed exaggeratedly and looked up at the same, old boring chandeliers and paintings that's been here ever since I was born..

I groaned and parted away from Sakura to go to my room, which was located, up a flight of stairs.

She waved at me and made her way to hers.

I sighed sadly and entered into the same room I've been seeing over the past 100 years.

I blinked wildly at the darkness and cut the light on, but dimmed it.

I sighed and decided to lay on my bed for now away from the drama that goes on outside.

I laid down gently on my freshly made bed and just stared up at the ceiling with sadness.

As I carry on through life.. I feel like, there's something.. missing.

Because I'm a little older now.. I just think the empty feeling in my heart is thirsty for someone to care for, to love.

It's more of a longing feeling and I've noticed it gets stronger and stronger by the days processes on...

After:

{Edited}

Hinata's P.O.V

"Mmm." I moaned out as I steadily drunk from a young girl's neck, far into the woods, late at night. I suck vigorously into the flesh of the human who had unfortunately wandered in the woods too far, entering the territory of the beasts; where we vampires lived.

With my razor-sharp teeth, I had torn two holes into the girl's neck, and from there, I drunk and drunk, drinking her blood in a daze. I didn't know what I was doing anymore, reality was not my own. All I wanted was to satisfy the aching hunger I felt. My eyes were shut off from the world, my arms wrapped tightly around the whimpering girl, my body huddling on the ground.

My best friend stood not too far from me, constantly monitoring me as well as watching out for werewolves. Our arch-enemy. Vampires, arch enemy.

I moaned once more, steadily taking more and more of the human girl's blood, unknowingly taking her life. The taste of her blood was divine on my tongue, to my taste buds, I just couldn't stop... The voice in my head continuously told me to but I chose to ignore it.

"Um Princess, I think that's enough." My best friend, Sakura warned me cautiously. But I didn't stop though, I couldn't stop.

The human girl's screams and desperate cries for help were drowned out by me. All I focused on was erasing my intense hunger for; Blood.

My usual innocent lavender eyes had now changed into a different color due to my body transforming because of the strong hunger I felt. Now in my feral state, my eyes were darkened, turning to a dimmed purple almost black color. Horrifying was the word to call me but at the moment, I didn't care about anything. Only when the girl fell limp in my arms did I come back to reality.

Finally regaining some sense of control, I removed my bloody canines from the black-haired girl's injured neck, my teeth shrinking back to their normal size which looked less frightening. I breathed heavily as I slowly came back down from my high, backing away but when I shifted in movement, my eyes, unfortunately, caught a glimpse of the now dead, innocent girl below me.

My eyes widened drastically, tears instantly forming in my eyes at the horrifying display before me. The young girl's neck was completely covered in blood, her eyes hooded and dull. Her frail body laid limply on the green grass. She was dead. Gone.

I, did that! It's all my fault! Oh no.

At that realization, I began to freak out, "O-Oh my goodness. I killed her! She's dead!" I screamed out into the cool night air, one of my pale hands moving up to wipe the blood from my mouth, cleaning it for my own sake.

Sakura sighed from where she stood, her light green eyes staring down at what I caused in regret. She shook her head, "Damn. I knew I should've never brought you out here. You were just hungry Hinata. This is normal for us vampires." She informed encouragingly, "You'll get the hang of it eventually." She added on, trying to cheer me up which slightly worked. But because I was quite selfless and innocent, I was still completely devastated by my actions. I couldn't believe it.

I whimpered shakily the entire time as Sakura worked to help me up, bending down to grab my hand. With it, she pulled it upward bringing my petite body to a stand. I stumbled on my feet, my wavy black dress following my unstable movement.

I sighed sadly, the cool, night air blowing through my long midnight blue hair rapidly.

I looked down at my feet, feeling tears prick my eyelids. The awful deed I had just committed kept running through my head like a broken record. A tear fell down my cheek, "Sakura, I-I don't know if I can do this. I'm so b-bad at being a vampire. I can't do anything right. I fail at everything and t-the bloodlust I feel is too much to handle. I-I... don't know if I can do this." I admitted to her, pouring my feelings out. They were words I always wished to say but never did. But now, I felt no reason to hold them back anymore. I had a right to feel this way. I am certainly a disappointment to the entire vampire species.

I looked up at the pink-haired vampire who had a very concerned expression on her pale face. I pouted, "I'm so weak." I continued dejectedly. But by my last self-loathing comment, she waved her hand at me, reassuring me. From where she stood, her short red dress flowed peacefully within the wind revealing her shiny pale legs. For her feet, she wore black flats, just like I did.

She gave her head a shake at me, a smile pulling at her pink lips despite my terrible behavior, "It's okay, Hinata. That's why I'm here to help you. It's just your nature is so innocent and virtuous, my princess. That's why it's so hard for you to grasp the techniques vampires have to commit. But, you're strong, you'll get through this." She said favorably, her hand diving around my neck to guide me forward, back to my Mother's kingdom.

I nodded slowly to her claim, a small smile slowly appearing on my slightly bloody face, "Y-Yeah. Maybe you're right. I need to have faith. B-But." I paused in my words, the lust for blood rushing back, calling for me. I growled underneath my breath, "I'm still, so hungry." I gritted out yearningly, my eyes turning right back to its purplish-blackish tinge again. Once again, I was losing the battle of control.

Sakura frowned upon that and began to rub the center of my back in circles to calm me down as we walked; which did the trick nicely. Her comforting action distracted me from the blood lust I felt. I gasped quietly, my eyes turning back to my normal lavender.

I laughed nervously when Sakura shook her head at my behavior, "Let's hurry and get you inside, girly." She said with uneasiness in her tone, our feet steady walking through green grass and tall trees. We didn't stop walking until we made it to a large but dark kingdom that stretched high into the sky, touching the clouds. The vampire kingdom could be seen from afar and we, walked straight towards the gates; the entrance of the grand kingdom, side by side.

Sakura nodded at the vampire guards who were standing watch in front of the colossal-sized double doors. They nodded back, receiving the memo from my friend, and with that, they opened the gates to the vampire palace for us. I smiled to see the doors of my home open up for me and with that, I walked into the palace with Sakura by my side.

As I entered, I couldn't help but groan. There was nothing but the same old, doddery furniture placed about, same dusty rooms, and the same boring chandeliers and paintings lying about which have been here ever since I was born. Actually, they've probably been here in the castle longer than that. Mother's taste was quite old-fashioned, after all.

I groaned but parted ways from Sakura, not before sending a quick wave in her direction.

"Bye Sakura! Thank you so much for the lesson!" I yelled out from afar which brought a joyous smile to her face. By revealing such gratitude it made my best friend feel very appreciated.

She waved back happily, walking to her own room which was located in a different part of the kingdom, "You're welcome, girly! We will definitely meet back up tomorrow night! Be ready!" She yelled back informing me that I had yet another lesson for tomorrow. I couldn't help but grimace but I gave her a nod, hiding the dread I felt.

"Okay!"

After I said my final goodbyes to my cherry bestie, I turned and went back on my journey to my room which was located up a flight of stairs. My smile instantly shifted into a frown upon arriving at the same room I've been seeing and lying in over 100 years. After seeing the same thing over and over again, you will surely get tired of it. That, is how I feel about everything.

I sighed sadly but approached my room in no time, turning left from the long flight of steps. One single black door greeted me, closed shut so none of the other vampires in the kingdom could lurk in. After all, we vampires live together and some do not believe in the word privacy or space.I rolled my eyes at such thoughts but moved to grab a hold of the handle of my door, throwing it open and instantly turning on the lights in my bedroom for it was mighty dark. But I made sure to dim it. See, the light switch in the castle works differently; it has three settings. You can turn the light switch to the right which will grant the room no light. Turn the light switch to the left, the room will light up brightly, and last but not least, if you leave the circular switch in the center, you will have a dimmed room. Because we vampires hate the light, hate the sun, we prefer our rooms dimmed.

That way it is not too light and it's not too dark. So that is the mode I set my room in. Dimmed.

Afterward, I closed my door and walked to my bed, deciding to lie down a bit to rest. Now, I was away from the drama; away from the chaos outside. I let out a delightful sigh once I plopped my small body down onto my large, plushy bed, my body cuddling involuntarily in its warmth. Silence took over my room as I just lied and allowed my brain to think. I had so much to think about anyhow.

I have to improve my skills as a vampire.

I have to make my Mother proud.

And I also, have to satisfy the void I feel within my heart.

As I carry on through my long, immortal life, I feel like, there's something, missing. Because I'm a little older now I just think the empty feeling in my heart is thirsty for someone to care for; To love. It's more of a longing, yearning feeling and I've noticed it gets stronger and stronger as the day's progress on.

I pouted to myself, my lavender eyes rooted on the ceiling above. I wonder.. What is this feeling? Why am I feeling it?

***

It's a big difference, isn't it? I like it so much! 💗

[judediangelo75]

My Bride (Part 1)

Hello everyone~

So... this is going to be very different than anything I’ve written before. For starters this connects to nothing that I’ve previously written.

Two, it doesn’t really take place at Hogwarts per say. I’m including a lot of the characters from the game but that’s the closest I can say it relates to the game.

Three, it’s gonna be in parts because I’m too lazy to write a long post.

I got the idea from @makichaotic where in her headcanon there was a rumor that Talbott was a vampire.

Except Talbott is actually a vampire.

I have no clue what I’m possibly doing to be completely honest. This idea has been floating around in my mind for awhile so I have to get it out somehow.

Let me know what you think!

I also threw in David ( @that-scouse-wizard / @jd-the-anime-fan ) and Vixen ( @cleverglitteryfoxtrot ), two MC friends 😊🥰

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

“Baby girl?” 

Judith turned away from the full body mirror in the direction of her father’s voice. An elegant strapless and backless white silk dress hugged her short, curvy figure. Her long locs were pulled up into a high ponytail, a few hanging around her face. A dark shadow dusted over her eyelids while dark red lipstick covered her full lips. 

“Yes, Papa?” came the soft reply. The older man frowned.

His daughter was beautiful.

Gorgeous even.

Though he wished she wasn’t getting dressed up for this.

Judith just recently turned 21.

As required by law, every young adult that turned 21 were to attend a ball that is hosted every year by the royal family.

Though, there was a catch. 

It was for a way for vampires to find a desirable mate among the human population. If they was able to return home by sunrise, then they were free to live their life as they pleased. If not, they becomes that vampire’s wife or husband.

Most were forbidden from seeing their families and friends ever again. 

Kendrick would know. He never personally saw his best friend Ava again after her ball. Who then later became their queen when the former king and queen died.

Ava’s parents passed away few years after her coronation. They never saw their precious daughter again.

Now that same fate seem to be staring the seasoned Healer in the face.

And Kendrick isn’t ready to say goodbye to his little girl.

“Papa, you’re crying,” Judith whispered, a frown forming on her painted lips. She quickly walked up to the older man to wipe away his tears. Misty gold eyes locked with concerned ones. 

“You’re so beautiful, baby girl,” Kendrick whispered. Judith hugged her father tight as he said this, waiting to prolong her trip to the castle. The older man didn’t hesitate to return it, breathing in the scent he grew accustomed to from when she was a baby.

“I’ll do my best to come back home,” Judith said softly, squeezing the man who sired her. Kendrick shook his head at this.

He didn’t want her to promise him anything. 

Judith was the spitting image of him. His little girl grew up into a beautiful young woman. It would take a miracle for a vampire not to take notice of her.

“Please don’t promise me anything. I don’t think my old heart can take it...” Judith pursed her lips.

“You’re not old, Papa. You don’t look a day over 25,” she said in hopes of lifting the man’s spirits. And she got what she wanted. An inaudible chuckle rumbled in the his chest. 

It’s just like his daughter to try to make him smile or laugh. 

If he could never see her again, he can only pray that she’s mated to a good man.

“Thank you, Judith. I... I love you, baby girl...” Judith forced herself not to cry in front of her dad. 

She didn’t like how this felt like a goodbye. She didn’t want to leave her father forever...

“I love you too, Papa...” The two stayed there for a bit longer until Kendrick pulled away with a soft sigh.

“Time to go baby girl...”

-------

Judith hugged her dad’s waist tighter as they approached the looming castle.

They weren’t rich. Her father spent a good amount of his savings to buy her dress and shoes. 

When he wanted to buy her a carriage to escort her to the ball, she declined. She claimed that she was more than happy to be escorted by her father on horseback. Kendrick agreed, unwilling to deny his little girl anything.

They approached the entrance slowly before stopping a foot away. 

Kendrick dismounted first before helping his daughter off their horse, Nerco Di Angelo. Judith hugged her father one last time before going to pet the dark horse, who let out huff and nuzzled her face.

“I love you, Nerco. Take good care of Papa,” she whispered before kissing the star on the horse’s forehead.

The sound of someone clearing their throat sounded off behind her.

Taking a deep breath, the young woman turned to find a guard staring passively at her.

Time to go.

Without a word, the guard gestured her to come inside. Judith turned to her father.

“I love you, Papa...” It took everything within the usually stoic man not to cry again.

“I love you too, Judith. Never forget that...” Nodding sadly, Judith walked into the castle with the guard in tow.

She sent a silent prayer in hopes of seeing her dear father again.

---------

Talbott was bored.

Extraordinarily so.

He felt the eyes of his parents burning holes into him on occasion and it annoyed him to no end.

The ball started some time ago and he’s already wishing it to be morning. He himself just recently turned 21 and his parents, along with the council, are looking at him to find a bride.

If not this year, then he will continue to socialize with potential mates every year until he does. After all, his father was 25 when he finally found his mother, who recently turned 21 at that time.

Ava and Trent glanced at their disinterested son with slight worry. They knew how much the young man hated social events. He did his best to be polite to his guests but not much more. They would be lucky if he found someone on the first try.

Ava sighed. Although she was happy and grateful with the life that she has, she sometimes missed the old life she once had. Under the old king and queen, they forbade her from seeing her friends and parents.

She missed them terribly. She hoped whoever her son chose that she could help them adjust to life as a part of the royal family. She and her husband even discussed about letting their family to come to the castle. After all, they clearly saw what it did to their relationship.

Despite Trent’s evident infatuation with her, Ava hated him for choosing her. If he never laid eyes on her, she would’ve still be with her parents and dear friends. It took a few years to even consummate their marriage because Ava refused to share a bed with him. She didn’t let him drink from her.

It took Trent years to win the young woman’s heart. With a decent amount of suffering on his part. To be deprived of the one that suppose to complete him drove him to points of madness and bloodlust.

They didn’t want the same thing to happen to their son...

Glancing at her son again, she noticed that he was sitting up a little straighter. Her brows shot up to her hairline. 

He found someone...

Oh dear Gods above, please allow whoever it was to love her son. She’ll do anything to make sure that they’re happy, just as long they were able to love Talbott...

-----------

‘She’s so beautiful...’ 

Talbott’s red eyes were trained on a young dark skin woman in a white silk dress. The dress highlighted her slim, but curvy, figure. Her hair was up in a ponytail, ending around mid-back with a few locs framing her face. Her facial features were delicate and sharp.

Her eyes.

A brilliant shade of gold that would put the coins in the treasury to shame.

Talbott felt his body flush with heat and his gums throb a bit. 

He had to get to know her.

The young woman was conversing with a familiar pair. David Willows, husband to Merula Synde, and Vixen Mcmachen, wife to Barnaby Lee.

Interesting...

With no warning to his parents, Talbott got up and walked towards the trio. 

David saw the prince coming and bowed.

“Your Highness,” the young man greeted. Vixen smiled and curtsied to him, giving him a cheeky wink all the meanwhile.

It was at that point Judith felt a presence behind her. Turning around, she came face to face with the Crown Prince himself. 

Swiftly, Judith curtsied.

“Good evening, Your Highness,” she said, willing her voice to remain steady. She straighten and was minorly surprised to find the prince staring at her.

“Good evening, David. Rosalina. Miss,” Talbott said, taking Judith’s hand and kissing the back of it. 

‘Her scent...’ Talbott’s eyes grew a little heavy, his pupils dilated. It was so inviting... 

Vanilla and along with something else he couldn’t name. He also detected a faint accent in her voice, something completely unfamiliar, but far from unpleasant.

“I don’t believe we’ve met before,” he started slowly, curious to know the name to this enchanting woman. 

David cleared his throat. 

“Prince Talbott, may I introduce to you, Judith Harris. A childhood friend to Vixen and I,” he said.

“Pleasure to meet you, Judith...” The young woman did her best to suppress a shiver. The way the prince said her name...

It was like he was tasting it.

“Please, Your Highness. The pleasure is all mine,” she said, trying her best not to read too deep into how the way Talbott was staring at her. It didn’t help that he had yet to let go of her hand...

David and Vixen did their best not to smirk. Their partners so owe them a few gold coins. They were both happy to find their old friend. Especially since it’s been 3 years since David married to the love of his life and Vixen just a year after him. 

What they didn’t expect was for Prince Talbott to fancy her. 

They was just talked to her about their lives at the castle and their relationships. Judith was just telling them how she was doing, her archery, combat lessons and art. Just as she was telling them that she was hoping that no vampire took an interest in her, the Gods placed Prince Talbott before her.

Seems like she hasn’t quite learned her lesson about speaking certain things aloud. The Gods loved a challenge.

“May I have a dance with you, darling?” Judith sharply inhaled, willing her heart not to race. 

‘It’s just a dance. Nothing more...’ 

“It would be an honor, Your Highness.” Talbott wanted to pout. He wished that Judith would say his name. He wants to know how it sounded like with her faint accent.

Offering his arm, Judith interloped hers in his. Saying goodbye to her old friends, they walked to the center of the dance floor. A slow song started to play.

The two took the initial position. One hand on Judith’s lower back. One hand on Talbott’s broad shoulder. Their remaining hand intertwined with each other’s. The pair moved along with the music.

‘Warm. She’s really warm and soft...’ Talbott was biting the inside of his cheek, willing his hand to stay in that one spot. His heart was beating rapidly now and he was fighting his instincts.

To pull her closer.

To inhale more of the sweet scent that clung to her skin.

To taste her full lips.

To sink his fangs into that elegant long neck, marking her as his.

He bet she tasted divine...

“Are you enjoying the ball?” Her lovely voice brought him back to the present. He cleared his throat.

“I admit, I was rather bored at first,” he admitted. Gold eyes glimmered with curiosity.

“Oh?” she inquired. He nodded before pulling her closer to satisfy his needs a little.

“But with you here, I can finally enjoy the night.” Those pretty eyes widen and pearly whites bit the plump flesh of her lower lip.

Talbott fought back a groan. 

He wanted to be the one doing that...

“Oh! What a... lovely thing to say,” Judith whispered, uneasy. 

She wasn’t going to deny that she felt something towards the tall handsome vampire, but she wanted to go home.

Go back home to her Papa.

And that idea seems bleaker and bleaker with the way Talbott was looking at her. She swears she can see a hint of his fangs every time he spoke.

“Is something wrong, darling,” Talbott asked.

“Oh, no! Just a little thirsty.” Judith knew she was lying through the skin of her teeth but she knew better than to openly reject the Crown Prince. 

She liked her head exactly where it was, thank you very much.

“Come. Let’s get you something to drink then,” the young man smiled. Judith tried not to grimace.

‘Yup, those were definitely his fangs I saw...’ she thought to herself as Talbott led her to the refreshment table. Judith wasn’t a fan of wine and stuck with water. Talbott even hand feeding her some samplers as they converse with one another.

“Hello son.” The pair turned to the masculine voice that spoke. Judith felt her blood run cold. 

The king and queen.

She really may not go home after all.

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

Ava and Trent have been watching their son curiously as he acquainted himself with a young dark skin woman.

Not once has he left her side. The two look at each other and decided to meet the woman who seem to unknowingly captivated their son. They approached the two by the refreshment table.

“Hello son.” The couple turned to them. Talbott nodded at them as the young woman curtsied.

“Mum. Dad.”

“Good evening, Your Majesties.” Ava studied the young woman closely.

She looked very familiar.

“Good evening, my love. And who might this be,” Ava asked. Talbott wrapped an arm around the short woman’s waist, causing her to flush a soft shade of red.

“Mother, Father. This is Judith Harris.” Ava inhaled sharply.

“Did... did you say Harris,” she asked softly. Could it be-

Judith shyly glanced at the royal couple, gold eyes shining.

“You’re Kendrick’s daughter, aren’t you?” Judith blinked in surprise. She knew that her father and the queen were childhood friends, but she didn’t expect her to remember him.

“Yes I am, Your Majesty...” The likeness was uncanny. She looked like the female version of her father. The queen smiled and hugged her. 

Judith stiffen at the sudden hug and hesitantly hugged the queen back.

“I’m sorry, my dear. I didn’t expect a piece of my past to catch up with me...” The queen was eager to learn more about Kendrick’s little girl.

And her future daughter-in-law...

If she was Kendrick’s daughter, she shouldn’t have to worry about Talbott’s mating to her. Kendrick, although cold and aloof, was a very sweet and caring man. She’ll bet her crown that his daughter was the same exact way. 

Though she didn’t like how Judith kept glancing at the entrance every once and awhile.

She understood the girl’s desire to leave but she didn’t want her son to suffer. Especially when he was already showing signs of infatuation towards her. 

‘Please, all I ask is for you to give him a chance’ she silently pleaded.

-------

Talbott was growing restless. 

He was happy to see that the young woman he chose was to the approval of his parents. Especially since she seem to be the daughter to a childhood friend of his mum.

But he wanted to be alone with her.

So when Judith said she wanted to get some air, he jumped at the opportunity to show her the gardens.

The walk there was silent. They reached the heart of the garden, sitting on the lip of the fountain.

“This place is breathtaking,” she whispered. Talbott bit his lip as he stared at her. 

She was breathtaking.

The moonlight bathed her in its ancient glow. 

Her molten gold eyes lit up like embers of a flame.

Her cheekbones, collarbones and shoulders were kissed by the moonlight itself, reflecting the slivery rays.

Her dress took on a silver light, making her take on the form of a goddess.

‘Mine...’

“Yes, it is...” Judith stiffen when she heard the response whispered against her cheek. A cool pair of lips pressed against her cheek for a chaste kiss. 

“I’ll be frank with you, darling. I never would’ve thought I would find my mate tonight, but I’m glad I was wrong,” Talbott said softly before placing another kiss to her cheek. 

Just as he was about to wrap his arms around her waist, Judith pulled away. She was standing, taking cautious steps backwards.

Talbott felt his heart stall, fighting back a snarl.

“I-I’m sorry, Your Highness... b-but I-I can’t be your mate...” A frown found its way on Talbott’s handsome face, as he was quick to stand with her.

“I’m afraid I can’t take no for an answer, darling. I can’t live without you now that I found you,” Talbott said slowly as he approached her, trying to keep his instincts in check. He’s seen vampires being rejected by their mate, and it was never a pretty sight.

A lot of them were driven to bouts of madness and eventually had to be taken out of their misery.

He didn’t want to end up like them.

He’ll give her anything she wants, all he asks in return was her unconditional love.

Judith, feeling like cornered prey, did the only thing she could think of.

Run.

A snarl sounded out behind her, sending a cold wave of fear down her spine but she didn’t dare stop or look back. She found a garden maze and quickly ran inside, in hopes of losing the prince. 

Thanks to her training, she rather light on her feet, even in heels surprisingly. Low growls and snarls filled the air all around her so she could barely tell where Talbott was. 

She wanted to cry.

She didn’t ask for this. 

She didn’t want to become the wife to a vampire, even if he was a prince.

All she wanted was to go home to her Papa.

She let out a scream when a hand grabbed her by the elbow, spinning her around to find glowing red eyes staring down at her.

A pair of lips descended on her soft, vulnerable ones. A sob escaped the back of her throat as she tried pushing against Talbott’s chest.

Though her efforts were futile.

Talbott pulled away to look at his mate’s teary face. Though his eyes spoke volumes of his anger, Judith never noticed the fear there as well.

The heir to the throne said nothing as he laid kisses along the length of her neck.

“Talbott, no! Please,” she cried, squirming to get away when she felt cold fangs brush against her skin.

“I’m sorry, my beloved...” was the last thing Judith heard before the pain of his fangs sinking into her neck took root in her system.

Her cry of pain was broke the peace of the night before everything fell quiet once again.

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

Kendrick watched as the morning rays peaked over the horizon, waiting.

His daughter was no where in sight.

A lone tear escaped his eye as sun made it’s way up in the sky. Accepting the fate he was given.

[nuoyipeach]

Restart

May 21st 2021

4 years later...

“Arin, bring your brother down. We’re about to leave.” Taeyong shouted from the hallway downstairs for the children upstairs to hear. He Just finished putting on his coat then looked at his wife going through her bag one last time, confirming that she had packed everything. He smiled at the sight of her before moving next to her giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“What?” Seulgi chuckled and he shook his head. The couple turned to the stairs hearing footsteps running down, each child carrying their own backpack. Seulgi looked at them and smiled before carrying up the younger. “So I guess we’re all ready to go.”

“Yes mum!” Arin exclaimed as she hugged her father’s arm. “I’ve never been to Japan, I’m so excited! And we're meeting uncle Yuta too!”

Taeyong laughed as he locked up the house and went to the car where Seulgi had just buckled up three year old Hajun, then turned to help Arin in her seat. He went ahead and checked the last bag before closing the trunk and sat in the driver's seat.

The way to the airport was filled with music (mostly Hajun’s songs) and twelve year old Arin helping her younger brother sing the words clearly, followed by Seulgi leading them, and Taeyong's smile never left.

Three months after Hajun's birth, Arin was finally awake after almost two years. She didn't lose her memory, but it seemed the young girl didn't at all care about the sudden change in her life. From having a new father, to a baby brother, nothing made her question what happened while she was asleep. She was surprised at first, no doubt, but she had no hesitation accepting it.

While Seulgi was busy with the baby, Taeyong did everything to help Arin catch up on school and attend rehabilitation classes with her. As always Seulgi was worried if Taeyong felt it as a burden, however he kept reassuring her every day that Arin was his child now too and he loves her.

Of course at some point Arin had to know the truth, and oddly yet not surspisingly enough, it was Taeyong who ended up telling her.

"He didn't want to stay, he..."

"He didn't like us anymore, didn't he? He left us for other people?" the nine year old asked straight away, not wanting her father to beat around the bush. Taeyong sighed and pulled her to his chest, combing her hair.

"I'm sorry Arin."

"Why dad?" she looked up with a sudden but sincere smile. "You don't have to say sorry. You're my dad now, and I'm happy. You're the best dad anyone could ever ask for." she exclaimed hugging him tighter.

On the plane, Arin sat with her father while Hajun with his mother since he still needed extra care from her. It wasn't too long, but the children fell into naps the moment they took off. Both parents lifted off the middle arm rest and let them lay on their laps, Hajun having his milk bottle still in his mouth.

Once landed Arin was quick to wake up and help her mother while Seulgi strapped up a still sleeping Hajun to Taeyong's front. They went across the airport until they came to the baggage claim.

"Mum, can I go to the toilet real quick?" Arin suddenly asked, to which Seulgi nodded directing her to the nearest restroom. Knowing her child, she wasn't too afraid of her getting lost so she allowed her to go on her own.

After finishing up and washing her hands, Arin was just about to leave the restroom when she bumped into a man coming out the of the male one next to her. "Oh, sorry. Are you OK?" the man spoke and crouched down patting her head. Arin rubbed her nose and smiled at him reassuringly.

Only for her smile to drop in an instant.

She stared at the man, but she knew she had to be quick. "I'm fine. Sorry. Bye." she spoke quickly before running away towards wherever.

Why's he here... I can't tell mum and dad...

"Hey hey hey." she stopped at a halt when she felt a hand grab her shirt from behind. "Where are you running off to young lady?" she turned on her tiptoes and faced her father before squirming out if his grip and suddenly hugging his torso tight. Taeyong stood flustered by her actions before crouching to hug her back, her face in his shoulder as he heard her uneven breaths and knew for sure something wasn't right.

After a minute she seemed to have calmed, his hand combing through her hair and another now pulling her up to carry her away with him. As he neared where his wife sat with their luggage, he stopped and instead sat a little further away, out of her sight.

"Arin." he called calmly and pulled her out of his shoulder, cupping her face in one hand gently. He waited, for her to pick up enough strength to look up at him, which took a minute for her to do. He smiled at her and brushed her hair back. "Tell me. What happened?"

Arin bit her lip, not wanting to ruin their trip on the first day itself. But if there was one person she'd never lie to, it was Taeyong. She took a deep breath, before leaning against her father's chest. "Daddy..." she spoke softly, voice breaking in fear. "I love you."

"I love you too Arin." Taeyong replied softly, petting her back.

"You're my only daddy."

"Yes Arin. I'm your only dad."

"Even if I run into him, I'd choose you any day."

The father and daughter kept it a secret, knowing the last thing Seulgi would want to hear on their family trip is her ex husband's presence in the same town as them. It was already their second day and they were visiting the Universal Studios theme park in Osaka with the Nakamoto family. Taeyong took note of Arin’s emotions, so far seeming overjoyed. He didn’t tell Seulgi this either, but the past two nights they were here, Arin had cried in her sleep, and when he asked why all she could say was seeing her biological father’s face in her dreams.

He didn’t understand why it was taking such an effect on her. Did she actually miss him but didn’t want to say so? Did he do something wrong back then? Did they talk at the airport?

Tonight as they returned, he decided he needed to talk to Arin. He needed her to come clear about this, because that was the only way he could help. As Seulgi washed up and tucked in Hajun, he excused himself to go check on Arin who slept in the room next to them in the hotel suite.

Looking into the room, he saw Arin just getting into bed and stared smiling at her. "How was it today?" he asked taking seat right next to her as she tucked herself in. The young girl smiled wide.

"It was great! I loved the minions!" she exclaimed. Taeyong chuckled combing her hair, his mind however filled with thoughts on how to speak about the topic.

And he decided the best way was to be straight forward. "Arin, be honest with me."

"Yes daddy?"

"Did something happen between you and, uhm... your ex dad?" he realised how badly he worded it, but nothing was coming to his mind. "You've been acting strange since you bumped into him..."

Arin bit her lips, her heart hurting. In all honesty she had no ounce of affection, she never missed him. But seeing him after so many years, especially after coma, it hurt her.

"I really don't know daddy..." she teared up. Taeyong got in under the cover next to her and pulled her to his chest, the young girl letting go of her tears immediately into her father's shirt. "I just, it hurts. I don't know why... When I saw him, he looks so normal, he didn't even recognise me. I don't even miss him, but it hurts..."

He shushed her, making white noise as he combed her hair when she suddenly pulled out and looked at him. "Please don't take it the wrong way." she quickly said before hugging him tight. "I love you daddy, I hate that man. I'm sorry he's making me cry. I know I promised I wouldn't cry over guys, but I can't help it..."

Taeyong chuckled sadly, shifting in his place so that she laid on his chest, head on his shoulder. "I'm not mad Arin. I'm worried about you. You're my daughter, I don't like seeing you sad." he let out a sigh and kissed her hair. "Let's try to forget that from now on, OK. I'll help you."

Taeyong knew that he couldn't just force her to erase the memory of her biological father just like that, no matter how much they love each other. Arin didn't lose her memory, she was a smart child even back then when she knew her father's love was absent. She knew, the moment she woke up and accepted her new reality, that he left them even before Taeyong told her anything. And no matter how much she despised him, it was no surprise that it broke her heart when he really didn't recognise her after all these years, and if Seulgi found out, it would've broke her heart too.

On their last day, they stayed at Yuta's house as Sooyoung was persistent to have them overnight for one day at least. The children played out in the backyard while the dads started the barbeque, and inside the mothers cooked up some ramen and sides. Not too long after they heard an ice cream truck, and soon enough the kids were at the dads feet begging to go.

Yuta wasn't one to resist and took out some money, handing it to Arin who's the eldest among both family's children. "Knock yourselves out. Don't eat too much though, your mums will kill us." he winked.

Arin led the three younger out to the front road where more neighbourhood children lined up. She stood holding her brother's hand while her two friends conversed in Japanese with their friends. She didn't speak much, but could understand.

"Who are they Nako?" a kid asked Yuta's older girl, a year younger than Arin.

"Our friends from Korea. Remember, my mum's Korean."

When it was their turn, Nako helped choose while Arin payed, stuffing the change in her pocket. Yuta's kids were now playing hopscotch on the pavement with the other kids, Nako tugging her and Hajun to join them, though the three year old was mostly running across the lines.

“You are Nako’s friend?” a young boy, seemingly five or six, suddenly spoke to Arin as she stood aside to finish her ice cream. Arin was shocked to hear him speak korean but nodded in response. “That’s cool! I’m half korean too just like her.” he smiled raising his hand for a high five to which Arin responded smiling back.

“How?��� she asked curiously.

“My dad’s Korean. My name is Akito, I’m five.”

“I’m Arin, twelve.” she looked away after responding, turning her attention to Hajun to make sure he wouldn’t get hurt. Nako suddenly called her to go back home and she grabbed her brother. “Bye Akito.”

As the children entered the backyard they heard Nako’s mother yelling. “I swear to God Nakamoto if you send them out alone again I will have your head on the barbeque instead!”

“Arin was with them...”

“She’s new here you idiot!” Seulgi yelled along. “What if they were lost! What if they were kidnapped!”

The kids quickly ran away to the living room, trying not to laugh at both mothers yelling at Yuta and finishing off the last of their ice cream before they were caught. Taeyong soon came in and sighed shaking his head, helping Hajun wipe his face to get rid of the evidence. “Please not one word about the ice cream.” he whispered, knowing Hajun was still too young to understand the concept of keeping secrets.

Luckily the young boy’s attention was taken away by the other kids playing with toys, and Taeyong returned outside to see the others were back to normal, except for Yuta’s slightly sulking face. They finished up with the barbeque and set it on the picnic table they had, the mothers bringing in the ramen and sides. The kids were called to eat, and surprisingly enough they ate more than expected despite the ice cream. Soon Arin and Nako helped clean up, while Yuta pulled out the mini pool for the kids.

While he filled it up, Arin was the first to come out in her swimsuit and helped throw some toys in, when she heard a familiar voice.

“Hi Arin!” she looked to see the young boy from earlier, Akito, waving. She waved back, when her face lost all colour. “Look dad, she’s the girl I told you about.”

Yuta knew all too well, and looked at Arin to see her completely still. He then looked back at the child who’s father now stood beside him, but he could tell he didn’t recognise her. “So she’s your new friend? Isn’t she much older than you?” he joked with his son.

“Arin noona is really nice.”

“Arin?” the man raised a brow once hearing the name, looking back at Arin then smiled.

Yuta could tell Arin’s discomfort, so he dropped the hose and went to her, crouching to her ear. “Go inside. Don’t tell your mother, go straight to your dad .” he whispered to which she nodded and quickly ran inside, not stopping until she reached her father. Taeyong had just finished helping Hajun into his swimsuit and let him run out, when Arin’s body came crashing into him and held him tight.

“He’s here...” she spoke softly, fear in her voice. “He’s outside.”

Taeyong pulled her out and looked at her shocked. “Are you sure?” she nodded.

“Uncle Yuta saw him too, he sent me inside... Dad, what if he takes me from you? I don’t want to go...” tears welled up in her eyes and Taeyong wiped them off and hugged her tight, holding in his own.

“No one will take you from us Arin, not as long as your mother and I are alive.”

Taking her hand, Taeyong walked out to see what was going on so far. He peeked out the main door and saw the kids already in the pool, Yuta and Sooyoung attending them. But his wife was no where to be seen, and upon noticing his presence, Sooyoung ran to him. “Taeyong, he was here. When Arin ran in she saw and came outside to check. They’re talking outside the gate...”

Taeyong let go of Arin and quickly went to the gate and, as bad as he felt, eavesdropped over their conversation.

“Well, I married and moved here now. It is my wife’s hometown.”

“I see...”

“Arin grew a lot.” his muscles tensed hearing her name from the man. “Glad to see her up and healthy. How long did it take?”

“Two years.”

“Does she remember me?”

The question made both the couple tense up even more. If Seulgi said yes there’s a chance he’d ask to see her, and if she said no he’d be sceptical about it and still ask to see her.

Hearing his wife silent for a minute, Taeyong decided it was time for him to step in. “Seulgi come, Hajun’s looking for you.” he walked out as if he heard nothing, pretending to be surprised by her ex’s presence. “Oh, hello. Long time no see.” he said extending his hand to shake. The man nodded with a smile taking his hand.

“You too. I see you two married, Hajun must be your child. Glad you moved on quick.” he chuckled. Seulgi nodded, still a little uncomfortable, before Taeyong took her hand and held it reassuringly. She looked back up at the man and sighed.

“He’s also Arin’s father now, I asked him to adopt.”

“That’s good.” the man replied, his face seemingly without much care. “Well I best be off, don’t want to ruin your party. Bye.” he bowed before walking to where his son was, and the couple watched him take his hand and head back home.

The rest of the barbeque went on as if nothing happened before. Arin seemed to have enjoyed herself to her parents relief, and they themselves stayed optimistic not wanting to ruin the mood. As night fell, the kids were all sent to bed. Taeyong tucked in both his children into bed and noticed Seulgi standing next to Arin, the mother daughter simply exchanging gazes. He could see both love and hurt in their eyes and moved to their side of the bed. Taking Seulgi’s hand he gave it a chaste kiss before bending to Arin and kissing her forehead.

“Sleep well. We’re going back to Korea tomorrow, and to your grandparent’s house after so it’ll be tiring.” Arin smiled at her father as he did so after whispering, before he got up and walked out the room with his wife. Once in the other guest room where they were sleeping in, the two sat on the bed sighing.

“Why here...” Seulgi mumbled. “Everything was going great, and he just had to appear...”

Taeyong turned to his wife and moved closer, holding her hand in both his. “Nothing happened Seulgi... Honestly I don’t know why we were so scared? It’s not like he would actually want to take you or Arin back right?”

“You’re right...” she sighed again before hugging Taeyong, cuddling up into his chest. “He’s moved on even before everything happened. I have no reason to think about it like that. I have you and Arin and Hajun, and that’s all I’ll need for the rest of my life.”

“You should visit us next time. Will you be coming fo Chuseok this year?” Seulgi asked her friend as they stood outside the Nakamoto house, Taeyong putting their lugguage into the back of Yuta’s car.

“Maybe, my parents have been missing the kids a lot.” Sooyoung replied. The women hugged before Sooyoung went back inside after the children said their goodbyes too. Yuta got into the driver’s seat and started the car while Taeyong closed up the back.

“Hey.” he looked behind, freezing for a bit at the presence of Seulgi’s ex again. “I know you probably hate to see me, but I just have something.”

Biting his lip, Taeyong made sure Seulgi and the kids were already in the car before nodding to him. “What is it?”

He suddenly pulled out a bag from behind him and handed it to him. “When you reach home, give this to Arin please.” Taeyong looked at the bag, then back at him and the man noticed the fear before he chuckled.

“I’m not taking her away from you if that’s what you’re thinking. I don’t plan on ruining your lives, I’ve done enough of that I believe. But... one thing I do regret was hurting Arin. I did fall out of love with Seulgi, I won’t lie about that, but I genuinely loved Arin. It was just hard for me to be a good father when I wasn’t in the relationship I wanted to be in. I probably sound like an asshole right now, but I was so caught up avoiding Seulgi and wanting to be with my current wife, I neglected Arin too when I really had no intention to. Then with how you were always around with her, it made me realise that you deserve them more than me. That’s why I was easy admit everything and let Arin go after the divorce. I loved her but I knew I couldn’t make up for what I failed to give her. I knew you were a better father to her than I ever could be, and I was right.”

The man's words didn't leave Taeyong's mind even as they went to bed. After reaching Korea they drove straight to his parents' house to visit and decided to stay the night before going home the next day. What he said in the end was what stuck to his mind the most.

"If possible I'd like to see her again sometime. My family don't know and I don't want them to get involved, I just hope to see her again after all these years. I know I was absent as a father, I just want to see how she feels about me."

He didn't tell Seulgi but he knew without her permission he had no right to decide on this. Arin was still her child, and this case involved the man who stepped out of their life. As he laid in bed staring at the ceiling, his worried face didn't go unnoticed by his wife as she got under the covers next to him. She moved closer and cuddled up to him taking his attention.

"What's bothering you? Looks like something has been in you mind all day."

Taeyong sighed and turned on his side to face her, thinking of a way to tell her everything. "So, you know when I was loading our bags into Yuta's trunk when we were leaving?" she nodded confused. "Well, Jongin came to me, with a gift for Arin I still have on my bag. He told me how much he actually missed her, and regrets ignoring her just because he was with someone else behind your back. He said despite what he felt with you, he still loved her as his child."

Seulgi looked down to his chest biting her lip, fingers playing with the buttons of his pyjama top. He caressed her hair soothingly before he continued. "He said, if it's alright, he'd like to meet her again, properly. He won't take her away, his current family doesn't know about him finding us. He just wants to see her again."

looks like a part 3 needs to happen😅 this is what happens when I write unplanned😐

[anna-justice]

Lost or Found - 17

Summary: As Jay, Hailey, Kim, Adam and Kevin start their junior year in the wake of a tragic summer, the past year of their lives comes back to haunt them. If you enjoyed Pretty Little Liars, this is for you! *UPSTEAD/BURZEK High School AU

...

17 - Dancing On My Own ...

Jay stood on Hank Voight’s porch waiting anxiously. He only had an hour before he had to pick up Hailey and meet everyone to take pictures, but when Hank called him and asked him to come over he figured it must be important. 

The front door swung open, revealing a man that he hadn’t seen in a long time. It was hard for Jay, he had always been close to Hank and without Erin it felt strange to be a part of each other’s lives. Especially since he had been MIA since Erin’s body was found. 

“Jay.” He said, giving him a once over. Obviously surprised by the nice suit and dress shoes. “Come in.” Jay nodded and stepped past the older man into the house, taking in it’s familiarity. He hadn’t been in the house since the night Erin went missing and almost like someone hit rewind on a tape player, all the memories came rushing back. 

It was easy to put Erin out of his mind for the most part, he was barely reminded of her anymore. As terrible as it sounds, everyone had moved on. The pain of missing her didn’t hurt as much anymore. However, being there was bringing back the pit in his stomach. It was a different feeling though, as he walked into the kitchen, it was guilt not sadness. His heart didn’t ache for his lost love anymore, if he was honest with himself it hadn’t for a long time. 

“It’s good to see you.” Jay said, leaning against the counter. 

Hank nodded, “You too.” He said, turning to grab an envelope from above the fridge. “So, what are you dressed up for?” Hank asked, chuckling as he rounded Jay to stand opposite him. 

“Oh, Homecoming is tonight.” Jay said, glancing down at his yellow tie. It was the only clue about her dress that Hailey would give him. 

“You have a date?” Hank asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Jay swallowed hard, he wasn’t sure any teenage boy in the history of the world had been in this position before and he was not happy to be the first: Telling your dead girlfriend's dad that you are going out with (one of) her best friends. “Hailey.” He choked out, watching for the fury to cross Hank’s face. It never came.

“She seems like a good kid.” Was all he said before grabbing the manilla folder once again. Internally Hank was showing a different emotion. Even though he expected Jay to move on, and he hoped he would, he wasn’t expecting it so soon or for it to be the blonde that he had met a few times. 

“Yeah.” Jay said, you could cut the tension in the room like a knife. “Anyway, why did you call me?”

“Right.” Hank said, taking a breath and looking the young man in the eye. “This is going to sound a little crazy, but I need you to work with me…” Jay nodded cautiously. 

“Okay?”

Hank pulled a stack of papers out of the folder, “Jay. I think Erin is alive.”

…

By the time that Jay knocked on Hailey’s door , he had still not recovered from Hank’s news. It was crazy, it couldn’t be true.  They had all seen her body, they had all been to her funeral. Twice. His mind was racing as fast as his heart.

Hank had bank statements, photos of girls that could be Erin, even an eye witness, but Jay still couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t let himself, all it was, was a desperate father trying to deal with his daughters death. And that was exactly what he was going to say to Hailey, but when the door opened he was sure his brain had stopped working. 

Hailey looked absolutely breathtaking and that was exactly what she did, she took his breath away. But not the “subtle gasp” kind of breathtaking, it was the “knocked on your back, can’t move or even see, don’t even know you’re alive” kind of breathtaking. He was stunned, he couldn’t look away. Her blonde hair was falling over her shoulders in soft curls, contradicting her normal messy waves, the top pinned back. Her yellow dress was almost shiny and hugged her waist perfectly, then flaring out. Most importantly, she was wearing a soft smile as she stared back at him and Jay was convinced for a moment that she was an angel. 

“Hey.” She said, a blush gracing her cheeks.

Jay sighed, finally able to breathe again. “Hey.” He chuckled nervously, looking down and noticing her nude heels, something he thought he would never see Hailey wear. He smirked, nodding at her feet. “Can you ever walk in those?”

Hailey glared at him, “For your information, I can.” She said, confidently (and gracefully he might add) walking towards him. She stopped so close to him that their chests were almost touching. “And now I’m almost as tall as you.” She said, grinning up at him.

Jay laughed, knowing for sure that still had at least four inches on her. He smiled down at her. “In your dreams.”

They stayed like that for a moment, smiling at each other, completely unaware that anyone else around them existed, until they were reminded. “Well Jay, don’t you look handsome.” Trudy said from the doorway and Hailey jumped away from him, spinning around to face her aunt, who snapped a quick photo. Hailey felt her cheeks heat up yet again as she watched Jay nod a “thank you.” 

“Let me grab my clutch and then we can go.” She said.

Jay nodded, “I’ll be here.” 

Hailey rushed inside and to the kitchen where she had left it on the counter. She took a moment to take a quick breather. Her aunt was right, Jay looked handsome. Very handsome. In fact, Hailey was convinced that her heart literally skipped a beat when she saw him. Thank God for the pacemaker.

She grabbed her flower print bag and rushed back to the door, “Ready.” She said and bid her aunt goodbye. Keeping up with Jay was harder than normal with her added height as they headed for the truck, however, it was a little easier to get in the massive thing. 

Hailey couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but in the midst of everything being exactly the same as always, something felt different. Jay was smiling a little bigger and she swore she caught him sneak a glance at her before they pulled out of her driveway. At this point her brain was just a big pile of Jay Halstead related mush.

“Can you put the arboretum or wherever we are going into waze?” Jay asked, chuckling as Hailey laughed and nodded. In the perfectness that was the last ten minutes, Jay had completely forgotten about Erin and her possible resurrection. He almost said something, but after one glance at Hailey and how happy she looked, he couldn’t do it. He could give her this night, he could give all of them this night. He was sure that whatever problem existed now would still exist tomorrow, and at the moment, he wished tomorrow would never come. 

…

Kevin stood in his living room in front of their decorative mirror, fixing his tie for the hundredth time and attempting to forget that he was flying solo. Something that he had become very used to over the past few months. However, even though he was feeling extremely alone romantically, he was still married to football.

Thankfully his terrible performance in the second half of the first game of the season was terrible, he managed to recover well. He was an absolute beast on the field and he proved that time and time again. The forced point shaving had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It had lit a fire under his ass burning hotter everyday. 

He was headed for the door when his mother intercepted him, claiming to want just a few more pictures. “Ma, I’m gonna be late.” He said, brushing down his suit jacket. 

“You’ll be fine.” She said, capturing her son's aggravated expression with a glare on her face. “Smile.” Kevin obeyed, flashing a bright smile for the camera. 

Kevin was attempting to leave again when Vinessa came running toward him. “Kevy!” She yelled as he scooped her up into his arms.

“What’s up little girl?” He asked, tickling her gently.

Vinessa laughed loudly, “Kevy, I haff to tell you a secet.” She said, not quite hitting all the right sounds. Kevin stuck his ear out to her as to say “continue.” His little sister leaned him and whispered in his ear, “Your fiend Erin told me to tell you dat she will see you soon.” She said and giggled. 

Kevin looked at her in shock. Whoever was talking to Vinessa was pretending to be Erin and now they were sending threats through her! He was terrified and mad as hell all at the same time. Looks like school dances would have to wait, he had to get to the bottom of this. 

…

Kim hung up the phone and frowned at her friends. “That was Kev, he can’t make it. He said it was a family emergency and to not worry.” She said sadly, leaning into Adam’s side. 

“What? No.” Hailey said, looking at Jay. “I hope everything is okay, with Vinessa and Jordan.”

Jay placed a comforting hand on her exposed back, trying not to notice how smooth the skin was. “I’m sure they are fine. He would tell us if there was something wrong.” 

Hailey nodded as Kim smiled big. “Well, we can still have a good time without Kevin, just not as good of a time.” She trailed off.

“Yeah, who is going to line dance with me now?” Adam asked, acting distraught. He cocked an eyebrow at Jay, who held his hands up.

“Don’t look at me man.” They all laughed before turning to Kim’s mom who had offered to help out with photos, along with Sylvie’s. She and Matt had tagged along with their group. 

Thirty fun (and painful) minutes later, Hailey stood posed with just Jay as Kim took their picture. His arm was around her waist and hers was on his back. She smiled brightly before shrieking as Jay tased her. She heard the camera click as she fell into him, no doubt looking like a crazy person. Hailey hated being tickled. 

“Hey!” She yelled when she finally got her balance. 

Jay shrugged, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” He reached out or her hand, catching her off guard again. He spun her around, Hailey laughing as Jay watched her. She was too gorgeous for her own good.

“That was so cute!” Kim called from behind the camera. Hailey blushed, feeling reality set in again. Her and Jay always seemed to get interrupted, not that there was anything really to interrupt. Jay laughed behind her, distracting her once again. He had gotten really good at doing that, it was a miracle she had an A in criminal justice. 

Jay watched Hailey walk towards Kim. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked over and found Matt standing beside him. “Tell her.” He said and Jay looked at him in shock. Matt chuckled, “Trust me man, just tell her.” Jay looked at Hailey as Matt headed for his date. To him, she was the only girl in the room and he wanted to tell her just that, but how could he risk it when he had so much to lose?

…

Hailey was sweaty, her curls were already gone and at this point she couldn’t even feel her toes. It had only been an hour and it had already been an eventful night, complete with Adam pouring his drink down the front of Kim’s dress and Kim changing in entirety. Going as far as to change her hairstyle to “better match the new dress's neckline.” It had been a whirlwind. 

Hailey had barely caught her breath at one of the standing tables before Jay approached. They hadn’t spent as much time together as she would have hoped, it was loud and they had a lot of friends, not to mention all the girls that wanted Jay all to themselves.

The music changed suddenly and soon the dance floor was only filled by swaying couples. Jay held out his hand, “Dance with me?” He asked.

“Jay-”

“One slow dance, Hailes.” That was it, she was done. She was literally melting in his hands. “Just one.” 

Hailey nodded sheepishly, letting her hand slip effortlessly in his. He led her to the floor, pulling her close. Hailey sucked in a breath, she wasn’t prepared to be this close. 

“Did I step on your foot?” Jay asked, panicking slightly as she tensed in his arms.

Hailey shook her head, “No, you’re perfect.” Jay cocked an eyebrow at her words, he almost thought that he had imagined it. Hailey’s eyes went wide, “Uh, I mean, you’re a good dancer.”

Jay didn’t say anything in response, he just let his hands fall to her waist, pulling her a little closer. Hailey finally relaxed, wrapping her arms around his neck. She let her cheek rest against his chest, just focusing on him.

As much as Jay loved the feeling on Hailey’s head on his chest, he wished she would move it. He was sure that she could feel his heart thumping, and at this rate he wasn’t sure it was going to slow down. 

They swayed gently to the words of Journey’s “Faithfully.” Hailey let her mind wander, she wasn’t exactly sure how she ended up there, dancing (literally) around her feelings. This wasn’t her.

Maybe it was the song or the way that he was holding her, but Hailey's feelings became overwhelming. She couldn’t think of anything but him, she wasn’t aware of the crowd around her. It was just them. She lifted her head off his chest and looked at him for a moment. His green eyes searched her blue ones, never breaking contact. Hailey lifted one hand to cup his cheek and let her gaze fall to his lips before meeting his eyes again. She stood on her toes, reaching up and connecting her lips to his.

Jay held her close to him, kissing her back immediately. He couldn’t believe that this was happening again. Hailey arched her back, pulling him with her. Finally the two had to come up for air and they reluctantly pulled away. Jay smiled brightly, bringing his hand to cup Hailey’s face. He was about to lean again and show everyone in the room that she was finally his, but something in the distance caught his attention. Someone in the distance.

It was only a brief moment, a glimpse of a familiar face, a red dress popping out in the crowd. “Jay?” Hailey asked.

“I-I’ll be right back.” He said, taking off in the direction of the figure, leaving Hailey alone in the middle of the dance floor. 

…

A/N: Sorry for the long wait and don’t worry, the dance is far from over! ALSO, I actually remembered my tag list haha

@lissethsrojas @fuckyeahkillianemma @puckluck28 @chilly7188 @thebigapocalypsewolf @karihighman @upsteadheart @ruzek-halstead