#DESPITE MY DAD AND BROTHER AND I PRACTICALLY BEGGING HER TO DO SOMETHING

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Legends Chapter 3: Challenges

18+ Minors DNI

Hi Riders, I decided to post early this week since the chapter is done and I won't be able to post on Wednesday like usual. Starting next week I will be moving my posting schedule to Thursdays. So this will be the longest time in between chapters. Please feel free to ask any questions or just comment on the story so far. I love hearing from you guys! And remember to let me know your opinions on a love interest!

Chapters 7-9 in Fourth Wing Pairings: Xaden x Younger Sister, Liam Mairi x Best Friend, Sawyer x Reader Warnings: Swearing, Violence, Smut (First time writing smut, definitely needs work lol), Oral M receiving, Unprotected Sex, Spoilers from the book series Word Count: 8,785

Legends Masterlist

I can't wait until next year when we get to join the riders quadrant. Not because I'm eager to become a rider, but because I'm excited to finally see you again. - Recovered correspondence from Liam Mairi to (Y/N) Riorson

A few days have passed since assessment day. Sawyer and Rhiannon have been teaching Violet sparring and the four of us have been studying history and physics together. Violet hasn't taken up my offer of teaching her sparring but she has been talking to me more, so at least it's a step in the right direction.

Now that dinner and classes are finished, we're back in the sparring gym along with the two other squads of flame section, fourth wing. Rhiannon is teaching Violet while Sawyer and I are on the mat next to them.

Sawyer and I aren't going full out, but more testing each other just to do something. "When did you learn to fight?" Sawyer asks.

"Pretty much since I could walk." I throw a punch that Sawyer dodges. "Living beyond the wards, my dad always wanted us to be able to defend ourselves."

"Makes sense, no wonder you're so good on the mat." Sawyer throws a punch of his own but I use his momentum against him, sending him to the ground.

"What about you?" I try to pin him but he uses his size to roll from underneath me.

"I learned pretty early on, plus last year in the quadrant helped." He shrugs, trying to sweep my legs from under me.

I hum, "You know? I kinda admire you."

"Admire me?" His eyebrows knit together, using the distraction I tackle him to the ground. "Shit!" I laugh as he struggles beneath me, his arm locked between my legs. "Why would you admire someone who didn't bond and had to repeat a year?"

"Because," I grunt as he finds a way to wiggle out of my grip, rolling so he's on top of me. "You didn't give up. Despite knowing that this college is a death sentence and you'll have to be here an extra year, you came back. It's brave."

Sawyer has me pinned between his hips, "Brave? That's a new one." The right side of his mouth curves into a smirk. "Do you yield, (Y/N)?"

My own lips pull into a smirk, "Why would I yield when I have multiple ways to make a man beg for mercy?" Sawyer's eyes widen at my words. I push my full weight off the ground, switching so I'm now on top of him, "And if I did yield I never would have gotten to see how good you look underneath me."

A smile lights up Sawyer's face, "I must say, I like this view myself."

"(Y/N)!" Sawyer and I look to the side, Xaden has his arms crossed, watching us fight. He crooks a finger at me beckoning me over.

I look back at Sawyer, "Duty calls, but you're not allowed to move from this position. I expect to finish this when I come back."

"Sure thing." Sawyer laughs as I stand to walk towards my brother.

I follow Xaden to the corner, out of the way of passing cadets, "Practicing or flirting?" He asks.

I smile, "Why can't it be both?"

Xaden rolls his eyes, "Don't do it in front of me."

This time, I roll my eyes, "I didn't know you were here, Xade. With that being said, deal with it. I can die at any point in here and if I want to fuck someone I will."

Xaden's face quickly morphs into one of disgust, "I don't need to know." Xaden pulls shadows around us, shielding us from prying eyes and ears, "I called you over here to tell you we're meeting tonight, midnight." Xaden already told me where this first meeting between the marked ones will take place, I guess he finally got the chance to confirm a time.

I nod, "Okay, I'll see you tonight then." I move to walk away but he grabs my arm, stopping me before I get far.

"You'll be able to make it out by yourself?"

"Duh, I'm not incompetent. I'll be fine. Liam and I already planned to meet when you got a time so we could head over together." He nods before letting me walk back to Sawyer, the shadows falling away. I smile at the taller first year, who is still laying on the mat where I left him. "Awe, you listened."

"I was thinking while you were talking to you brother," he smirks, "I'll yield right now if you want to find a room to sneak off too."

I smirk back, "Say less." I hold a hand out for him to help him off the mat. As we walk out of the gym, my eyes meet Xaden's. He glares at me, knowing exactly why I'm leaving but he doesn't do anything to stop me.

*_*_*_*_*_*

There are a lot of empty bedrooms to choose from considering cadets only get a private room once they bond a dragon. Sawyer and I choose one that's close to the barracks. The minute the door is closed behind us, Sawyer pushes me against the door, hands gripping my hips.

I throw my arms over his shoulders and pull him down, our lips meet in a heated kiss. He quickly adjusts his hold on me, hands skimming down the sides of my body to grip my ass then thighs. I jump up as he presses me even more tightly against the door. Our tongues clash, my fingers tug at the ends of his hair as his hands feel my curves. "More," I whisper against his lips.

He quickly adjusts his hold, moving one of his hands to fit in between our bodies. He unbuttons my pants, sliding his hand underneath my clothes. "Fuck," he pants. "You're so wet."

I whimper at the pressure of his fingers against my clit, kissing down his neck. I tug at his shirt wanting more access to his skin. We slightly pull away from each other so I can pull his shirt off. He removes his fingers from my pants, carrying me to the bed. I take off my own top before he throws me on top of the sheets. "You're beautiful." Sawyer whispers, a smile lighting up his face.

"Mm, you're not too bad yourself." I run my hands up his toned stomach, pulling him down once more so his lips crash into mine. I roll the two of us over so I can get on top of him. "Wanna taste you," I mumble as I start kissing down his body.

Once I reach his pants, I snap the button open, tugging them off him to get access to his cock. Sawyer watches me with wide eyes, waiting for my next move. I smirk up at him before I lick the tip of his cock. Sawyer groans above me, "(Y/N)." I smirk once more at the sound of his voice, it's rougher now compared to how it usually sounds. My lips wrap around the tip, and I swirl my tongue around it causing Sawyer to groan once more. "Feels so good." He reaches a hand down, gathering my hair and lightly tugging.

I hum around the tip before slowly sinking more of him into my mouth. What I can't fit, I wrap my hand around before slowly starting to bob my head around his length. I look at him through my eyelashes, seeing his blissed out face. I can feel him getting closer but before he cums he grips my hair tighter, pulling me off of him. A string of drool connects my mouth to him. I pout, "What was that for?"

"Want to feel your pussy wrapped around me. Don't want this to end yet." Sawyer lets go of my hair and reaches for my pants, indicating he wants them off. I step off the bed to shimmy out of the tight pants. Once off, I climb back on to the bed, straddling Sawyers hips.

The minute I sink onto him, we both moan from the pleasure. I slowly lower myself, sinking inch by inch until his cock is fully inside me. "Gods, you feel incredible." I moan.

"And the view is definitely perfect." Sawyer smirks, referencing the conversation that started this. I let out a breathy laugh.

"It is," a smile lights up my face. I start to move, Sawyer's hands gripping tightly onto my hips to help me. They'll probably end up bruised with how tight he's holding me but I don't mind.

After a few agonizingly slow minutes, Sawyer starts to roughly fuck up into me. The action causes me to gasp and I fall forward, one of my hands splayed on his chest, the other lands on the pillow by his head. I turn my head to kiss and suck at his neck as our hips meet.

Breathy moans and groans escape our lips, "Are you close?" He asks me. I nod, not being able to form words, "Me too. Cum for me, (Y/N)." He reaches a hand between us to rub at my clit, helping me climax faster. I slam my lips on his as I cum, Sawyer following right after.

When we ride out our highs I roll over so I'm laying beside him, "That was. Amazing." I sigh.

Sawyer laughs, "Agreed." He turns his head to look at me, "Want to go for another round?"

I bite my lip, because yes, abso-fucking-lutely I want to go for another round, but I need to go meet Xaden and the others and if I don't leave now I'll be late and Xaden will be pissed. "I have to go meet my brother, he'll be pissed if I'm late. But if you stay here, I'll be back soon and we can go for however long you want."

Sawyer smirks, "Sounds like a plan to me." I give him a quick kiss on his jaw before standing up to put my clothes back on and heading out of the room.

*_*_*_*_*_*

I meet Liam by the parapet. He's sitting on the same bench where he helped me put my shoes back on on conscription day. "We're going to be late." Liam whispers, standing up when he sees me, handing me a cloak.

"We'll be fine." I brush his concern off, moving past him to the stairwell as I slip the cloak over my shoulders and pull the hood onto my head.

"Did anyone see you?"

I purse my lips, "Technically no."

Liam's eyes narrow, "What do you mean? Technically no?"

"I was with someone. That's why I'm running a little late. They just think I'm meeting Xaden, so they won't say anything considering he's my wingleader."

"Care to share who you were with?"

"Why? You jealous?" I smirk.

"No." Liam shakes his head, holding the door at the bottom of the stairwell open for me. "Whoever it was, bet I'd be better."

I quietly laugh, "I don't know. I had a great time tonight."

Liam smirks, "But you've never been with me." We stop talking as we see the figures ahead of us. Xaden and the others are gathered by the Iakobos River, under a tree.

"Finally," Xaden says, seeing us approach. "You're late."

"Maybe you're just early." I tilt my head.

Xaden rolls his eyes, "I don't care what you do in your free time, but don't let it delay our meeting." I smirk, Liam and I aren't even a minute late, I know he's just being protective and doesn't want to think of me sleeping with someone. Understandable though, considering I don't want to know what he does in his free time either.

"Well, let's not delay anymore, big brother."

Garrick starts the conversation, "We've already lost Sutherland and Luperco."

"We're here to make sure as many of you survive as possible." Xaden continues.

"Like it or not," Imogen says, "We're going to have to stick together if you want to survive until graduation."

Carolyn Bennett, a first year with olive skin and dark brown eyes speaks up, "And if they find out we're meeting?"

"We've done this for two years and they've never found out," Xaden responds. "They're not going to unless one of you tells. And if you tell. I'll know." He narrows his eyes at the group, "Like Garrick said, we've already lost two first years to their own negligence. There are only forty one of us in the Riders Quadrant, and we don't want to lose any of you, but we will if you don't help yourselves. The odds are always stacked against us, and trust me, every other Navarrian in the quadrant will look for reasons to call you a traitor or force you to fail."

There's a murmur throughout the group, I lean against Liam, not wanting to stand up straight anymore. He wraps his arm around me as Xaden continues, "How many of you are getting your asses handed to you in hand-to-hand?" Four hands shoot up, Carolyn is one of them along with a tall dark-skinned gangly guy named Dmitry Harper, a guy with shoulder length black hair and tanned skin named Julian Rizzo, and a pale woman with blonde hair named Carina Steiner.

I made it my mission to know all of the marked ones names even if I didn't have a lot of contact with them growing up. Their parents all fought with my father, and just like Xaden, I feel some responsibility towards them. "Shit," Xaden swears, lifting a hand to his face.

"I'll teach them," Garrick assures.

Xaden shakes his head, "You're our best fighter-"

He gets cut off by Bodhi, "You're our best fighter," He corrects.

"Dirtiest fighter, maybe," Imogen says, smirk on her face, "You and (Y/N) don't know how to fight clean."

"Ruthless more like," Garrick corrects, "Both of them."

I smile, "Thank you."

"Garrick is our best fighter," Xaden continues like he wasn't interrupted, "but Imogen is right up there with him, and she's a hell of a lot more patient." He pauses, "So the four of you split yourselves up between the two of them for training. A group of three won't draw any unwanted attention. What else is giving you trouble?"

"I can't do this," Dmitry says, he hides his face behind his hands.

"What do you mean?" Xaden's voice is hard.

"I can't do this! The death. The fighting. Any of it!" His voice pitches, "A guy had his neck snapped right in front of me on assessment day! I want to go home! Can you help me with that?"

"No." Xaden bluntly answers, "You're not going to make it. Best accept it now and not take up my time."

"That was a little harsh, cousin." Bodhi says, but we all know Xaden's right.

"What do you want me to say, Bodhi?" Xaden cocks an eyebrow, "I can't save everyone, especially not someone who isn't willing to work to save themselves."

"Damn, Xaden," Garrick mumbles, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Way to give a pep talk."

"If they need a fucking pep talk, then we both know they're not flying out of the quadrant on graduation day. Let's get real. I can hold their hands and make them a bunch of bullshit empty promises about everyone making it through if that helps them sleep, but in my experience, the truth is more valuable, and I know for a fact (Y/N) agrees, that's why she looks bored as hell right now."

I nod in agreement. "We knew coming in here that death would be common, best get used to it and be prepared to welcome Malek with open arms."

"In war, people die. It's not glorious like the bards sing about, either. It's snapped necks and two-hundred-foot falls. There's nothing romantic about scorched earth or the scent of sulfur. This," He gestures around us, "Isn't some fable where everyone makes it out alive. It's hard, cold, uncaring reality. Not everyone here is going to make it home... to whatever is left of our homes. And make no mistake, we are at war every time we step foot in the quadrant." He leans slightly forward, "So if you won't get your shit together and fight to live, then no. You're not going to make it."

Everyone's quiet except for Garrick who mumbles, "Fucking Riorson's."

Xaden sends him a look then addresses the group once more, "Now, someone give me a problem I can actually solve."

"Battle Brief," Lydia Savel starts, her bunk is a row over from mine, "It's not that I can't keep up, but the information..." She trails off.

"That's a tough one," Imogen says. She turns to Xaden for his answer.

"You learn what they teach you," Xaden replies, "Keep what you know but recite whatever they tell you to." In other words, don't say anything about the truth of what's beyond the wards and memorize what the professors want you to know. "Anyone else? You'd better ask now. We don't have all night."

"When do we get to kill Violet Sorrengail?" Ashton Matuli asks from the back of the group. I stand up straight, my head snapping towards him, a glare on my face.

"Yeah, Xaden." Imogen says, a seemingly sweet smile plastered to her face, "When do we finally get to have our revenge?"

Xaden turns his head to Imogen, "I told you already, the youngest Sorrengail is mine, and I'll handle her when the time is right." I roll my eyes at my brother.

"Didn't you already learn that lesson, Imogen?" Bodhi asks, "What I hear, Aetos has you scrubbing dinner dishes for the next month for using your powers on the mat."

Imogen turns to face Bodhi, her eyes set into a glare, "Her mother is responsible for the execution of my mom and sister. I should have done more than just snap her shoulder."

I open my mouth to respond but Garrick beats me to it, "Her mom is responsible for the capture of nearly all our parents, not her daughter. Punishing children for the sins of their parents is the Navarrian way, not the Tyrrish."

"So we get conscripted because of what our parents did years ago and shoved into this death sentence of a college-"

"Violet's in the same death sentence of a college, if you haven't noticed," I cut her off, "And her mother forced her to come here as well. She was originally training to be a scribe. So looks like she's not doing much better."

"Don't forget her brother was Brennan Sorrengail," Xaden adds, "She has just as much reason to hate us as we do her. And I'm not going to tell you again. She's mine to handle. Anyone feel like arguing?" There's a moment of silence before Xaden speaks again, "Good. Then get back to bed and go in threes."

"Go ahead, I'll catch up." I whisper to Liam. I wait for the group to disperse, Liam lingers a bit farther away. I look towards Xaden, "You can't kill her."

He raises an eyebrow at me, "Yeah? Why not?"

"Like Garrick said, we don't punish the children for the sins of the parents. I hate General Sorrengail too, but Violet did nothing wrong. Leave her out of this." I don't wait for him to reply, I turn around and head towards Liam. We walk back together, Liam heading for the barracks and me towards Sawyer.

*_*_*_*_*_*

The next morning Sawyer and I are up early so we can make it back to the dorms before everyone else starts waking up. Just as I'm about to open the door I hear voices, I pause to listen, "We have curfew for a reason, cadet."

I whisper to Sawyer, "It's Dain. We should wait until he passes." Sawyer nods in agreement, moving closer to also listen.

"And you know that no one is supposed to be in the private dorms until after threshing." Dain scolds.

"Maybe we were just up early," We hear Rhiannon answer, "You know, like you are right now."

Dain sighs, "Just get back to the dorms and pretend you slept there, will you?"

"Absolutely!" Rhiannon agrees, footsteps move away back towards the dormitory.

"Monitoring the sex lives of first years was not what I had in mind when I applied to be a squad leader." Dain's voice fades as he walks further from the door.

I slowly creak the door open, peaking my head out to check if it's clear, "All good." I smile over my shoulder at Sawyer, "Luckily it was Rhiannon that was caught, he so wouldn't have let me get away with it."

"You think so?" Sawyer asks.

"Oh, definitely, Dain hates me. He thinks I'm out to get Violet and when we first met I called him an asshole."

Sawyer smirks, we make it to his dorm first, "I'll see you at breakfast." He whispers before opening the door and stepping inside.

Once I make it to my own dorm, Rhiannon is sitting up in bed tying her boots. "Where were you?" She questions.

I smirk, "With a friend."

She wiggles her eyebrows, "And that friend would be?"

I giggle, "I'll only tell you if you promise not to tell anyone. I don't want things to be weird."

Rhiannon nods, suddenly serious, "Promise."

I lean closer, "Sawyer."

Rhiannon's eyes light up, "I wondered where you two ran off to last night. I saw you talking with your brother so I thought maybe you were doing something with him but it makes sense that you and Sawyer left together. Was it good?"

I smirk, pulling a shirt over my head to put a fresh one on, "Well considering we went multiple rounds..." I trail off.

Rhiannon laughs, once we're both fully changed she hooks her arms around mine so we can head off to breakfast, "Well, your secret is safe with me."

*_*_*_*_*_*

After breakfast the next day, all of the first years are in Professor Kaori's classroom. Kaori is our professor for Dargonkind. I sit with my squad, Sawyer to my left. Liam sits beside me to my right, the rest of his squad close by. I'm taking notes as Kaori talks about the different dragon types. "Keep the temperaments of each specific breed in mind when you decide which dragons to approach and which to run away from at Threshing."

Professor Kaori is an illusionist. He can project different images of things he's seen to show others. Currently there is an illusion of a Green Daggertail in front of the class but Kaori quickly replaces the image with a Red Scorpiontail.

"Red Scorpiontails like Ghrian here, are the quickest to temper," Kaori looks at the dragon with a smile, then his eyes quickly scan over the cadets, "So if you offend him, you're-"

He gets cut off by Ridoc, "Lunch." The class laughs, even Jack Barlowe, who I was beginning to think only knew how to glare at Violet.

"Precisely," Professor Kaori smiles, "So what's the best way to approach a Red Scorpiontail?"

A first year from Second wing speaks up, "They prefer that you approach from the left and from the front, if possible."

Kaori nods in approval, "Excellent. For this Threshing, there are three Red Scorpiontails willing to bond." The image changes in front of the class to another dragon.

"How many dragons are there in total?" Rhiannon asks.

"A hundred for this year." Kaori changes the image again, "But some might change their minds during Presentation in about two months, depending on what they see."

"That's thirty seven fewer than last year," Violet says.

Kaori nods, "Yes, Cadet Sorrengail, it is, and twenty six fewer than the year before that."

"Wonder why there is less bonding." I mutter to Liam. He nods, his eyebrows knitting together.

Another voice from across the classroom asks, "Will they tell you why they won't bond?"

"No, jackass," Jack sneers, "Dragons only talk to their bonded riders, just like they only give their full name to their bonded rider. You should know that by now."

Professor Kaori sends Jack a pointed look that shuts him up, "They don't share their reasons, and anyone who respects their life won't ask a question they're not willing to answer."

"Do the numbers affect the wards?" Aurelie asks. She's tapping her quill against the desk, never happy sitting still. Can't say I blame her though, my leg is bouncing up and down as I focus on the conversation around me.

"We're not sure," Kaori's jaw ticks, "The number of bonded dragons has never affected the integrity of Navarre's wards before, but I'm not about to lie to you and say that we're not seeing increased breaches when you know from Battle Brief that we are."

The wards are faltering quite frequently, which begs the question are we growing weaker or our enemies growing stronger. I personally think it's our enemies growing stronger, which kind of terrifies me to think about. Either way, all that means is that I need to train harder and do better so I can make sure myself and my loved ones survive.

Kaori changes the image to Sgaeyl, "You won't have to worry about how to approach blue dragons, since there are none willing to bond this Threshing but you should be able to recognize Sgaeyl if you see her."

"So you can fucking run," Ridoc drawls. The class laughs, as I share a look with Liam.

"She's a Blue Daggertail, the rarest of the blues, and yes, if you see her without her bonded rider, you should... definitely find somewhere else to be."

"Xaden said she likes me." I say with a proud smile.

"Consider yourself lucky then," Kaori smiles, "Ruthless does not begin to describe her, nor does she abide by what we assume to be what the dragons consider law. She even bonded the relative of one of her previous riders, which as you know is typically forbidden, but Sgaeyl does whatever she wants, whenever she wants."

"Badass," I whisper to myself.

"In fact, if you see any of the blues, don't approach them. Just.."

"Run," Ridoc finishes for Kaori.

Kaori nods, "Run. There are a handful of other blues in active service, but you'll find them all along the Esben Mountains in the east, where the fighting is most intense. They're all intimidating, but Sgaeyl is the most powerful of them all." And my brother bonded her.

"What about the black dragon?" A first year in Jack's squad asks. "There's one here, right?"

Jack's face lights up, "I want that one." I roll my eyes.

"Not that it's going to matter," Kaori sighs, he flicks his wrist replacing Sgaeyl with a massive black dragon. "But just to appease your curiosity, since this is the only time you'll ever see him, here is the only other black dragon beside General Melgren's."

I suck in a breath, I hate General Melgren and his dragon more than the Sorrengail's. And that's saying a lot. Liam notices me tense and grabs onto my hand, gently rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. "You okay?" Liam asks, causing Sawyer to look over and notice how tense I am. He reaches down, placing his hand on my thigh, squeezing gently.

I nod, "Fine."

"He's huge," Rhiannon says. "And is that a clubtail?"

"No, a morningstartail. He has the same bludgeoning power of a clubtail, but those spikes will eviscerate a person just as well as a daggertail."

"Best of both worlds," Jack calls out, "He looks like a killing machine."

"He is," Kaori agrees, "And honestly, I haven't seen him in the last five years, so this image is more than a little outdated. But since we have him up here, what can you tell me about black dragons?"

"They're the smartest and most discerning," Aurelie answers.

"They're the rarest," Violet adds, "There hasn't been one born in the last.. century."

"Correct," Kaori nods, "They're also the most cunning. There's no such thing as out smarting a black dragon. This one here is a little over a hundred, which makes him about middle-aged. He's revered as a battle dragon among their kind, and if not for him, we probably would have lost during the Tyrrish rebellion." The marked first years around the room pull there sleeves down and squirm, except for Liam and I. We both hold our heads high, unfazed by the gazes of our fellow first years. "Add to it that he's a morningstartail, and he's one of the deadliest dragons in Navarre."

"I bet he powers one hell of a signet. How do you approach him?" Jack asks, sitting forward in his seat.

I loudly laugh before I can stop myself, "Oh please try to approach him. I'd pay good money to see what happens." Liam and Sawyer smirk beside me.

Jack glares over his shoulder at me but doesn't say anything as Kaori starts to talk, "You don't. He hasn't agreed to bond since his previous and only rider was killed during the uprising, and the only way you'd ever be near him is if you're in the Vale, which you won't be, because you'd be incinerated before you ever got through the gorge."

"Someone should ask him again," Jack states.

"By all means, Jack. Why don't you. Maybe he'd say yes if you ask him nicely." I pout, the rest of the class laughs, except for Jack and his gang of misfits.

"It doesn't work that way, Barlowe." Kaori says, bringing the attention back to him, "Now there is only one other black dragon, which is in service..."

"General Melgren's," Sawyer says, "Codagh, right?" Sawyer's hand is still resting on my thigh, lazily tracing patterns. He's not taking notes in this class, which makes sense since he already took it last year.

"Yes," Kaori nods, "The eldest of the den and a swordtail."

"But just for curiosity's sake." Jack speaks up once more, causing me to roll my eyes. "What signet ability would this guy gift his rider?"

Professor Kaori closes his fist, the illusion disappears, "There's no telling. Signets are the result of the unique chemistry between rider and dragon and usually say more about the rider than the dragon. The stronger the bond and the more powerful the dragon, the stronger the signet."

"Fine. What was his previous rider's?"

"Naolin's signet was siphoning. He could absorb power from the various sources, other dragons, other riders, and then use it or redistribute it."

"Badass." Ridoc's tone has a little more than hero worship.

"He was," Kaori agrees.

"What kills someone with that kind of signet?" Jack asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

Professor Kaori glances at Violet before quickly looking away, "He attempted to use that power to revive a fallen rider - which didn't work, because there's no signet ability capable of resurrection - and depleted himself in the process. To use a phrase you'll become accustomed to after Threshing, he burned out and died next to that rider."

There's a brief moment of silence then Kaori flicks his hand once more, "Last dragon of the day." A huge white dragon appears in front of us. She looks to have a daggertail but the image is slightly blurry, making it difficult to see. "This image is also a bit outdated but since we are going over every kind of dragon, I figured I should mention her."

"She's beautiful." I say.

"I've never seen a white dragon before," Liam tilts his head.

"She is, and she's the only one of her kind. She's never bonded before so we don't see her very often. But she is just about one hundred years old and we believe she's incredibly powerful. It's possible that if she chooses to bond, that she will die with that rider. Which is why she either doesn't want to risk bonding or she is waiting to choose wisely. Of course we can't be certain, as nobody has ever talked with her."

"Is she coming to presentation this year?" Lydia Savel asks.

"No, she has not said that she's willing to bond this year." The bell rings signaling the hour is up, we collect our things, putting them in our bags, before heading out of the classroom. 

*_*_*_*_*_*

I stand next to Xaden in the gym watching as Rhiannon faces off against a guy from Second Wing. She quickly gets him in a headlock, cutting off his air supply. "She's good." I say, tilting my head. Xaden hums, a look of boredom on his face.

"You're better." He states.

I smile, "Not many people here will be better than me."

"Don't get cocky, that's how you lose."

I roll my eyes, "I'm confident, not cocky. I know not to underestimate anyone and I know not to let my emotions get the better of me, I'll be fine."

"I know you will be," His eyes flicker to me as the guy in Rhiannon's hold passes out, "I'm not worried about you on the mats."

Both of our gazes our drawn towards Jack and Violet who are arguing, "Gods, I want to kill him every time he opens his mouth." Violet throws two daggers at Jack just missing him, causing me to snort. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Xaden's lips twitch as he fights off a smile. I smirk but don't say anything.

Xaden turns away when Violet makes eye contact with him, "I'm going to watch some of the other Fourth Wing matches, but I'll be back over here when you're called up."

"No need, you're a Wingleader, focus on the cadet's that need help."

"You're my baby sister, I'm going to support you in your first challenge. Kick your opponents ass and don't disappoint me." I smile and nod, moving to stand beside Rhiannon as Violet moves onto the mat.

Violet is against Oren Seifert. He looks like he's going to be sick, Violet may get lucky. "Don't take this personally, but you'll only be a hazard to your wing." He says, palming a dagger. He charges at Violet but he's sluggish. She lands a punch to his kidney's before spinning away. They taunt each other, swinging their daggers and dodging.

When Oren goes for Violet once more, she waits until the last moment to dodge, nicking his side in the process. She kicks him in the back, sending him sprawling to the mat. Violet takes advantage, digging her knee into his back and placing her dagger at his throat, "Yield."

"No!" He calls out, he retches, bringing up everything he ate that day.

"Ew. Gross." My face scrunches up in disgust.

Beside me Rhiannon mumbles, "Oh my gods."

"Yield," Violet demands once more.

"He yields," Emetterio calls out, ending the match. Violet stands up, sheathing her blade, than taking the one that Oren dropped on the mat.

"You won!" Rhiannon exclaims.

"Good job!" I smile.

"He's sick," Violet shrugs in response.

"I'll take being lucky over being good any day," Rhiannon counters.

I nod, "True, but you can't just rely on luck. Keep up with training and you'll be fine."

"I need to find someone to get this cleaned up." Dain mutters, walking away and getting a first year to clean up the mess.

The group moves to another mat to continue matches, "Riorson and McCall." I move towards the mat, a girl slightly taller than me but with less muscle steps up. She was the one who was originally in Dain's squad but got switched out. She nods at me, "Weapons?" Emetterio asks.

"Swords?" She asks, noticing I have a short sword strapped to my hip. I nod pulling mine out, causing her to do the same.

"Begin." I keep my weight balanced, waiting for Scarlett to make the first move. When I don't know how my opponent fights, I like seeing their style first. She lunges, swinging her sword towards my neck. I quickly block it with my own, pushing her arm up and spinning underneath, ending up behind Scarlett.

She moves quickly, not wanting to have her back towards me. She charges again, feigning left before attacking towards the right. Once again, I quickly block, I kick her in the stomach, causing her to stumble backwards. She gasps in pain but comes at me again.

I dodge, swiping at her legs as I pass her. My sword nicks her ankle causing her to stumble once more. Before she can recover, I attack with a flourish of swings, each one sending her closer to the edge of the mat. I send a quick kick to her sword hand, she loses her grip, the sword tumbling to the mat. I quickly raise my sword to her throat.

Scarlett sighs, "I yield."

I smile at her, "I'll take a dagger, keep the sword." She smiles back at me, reaching into a sheath on her thigh to hand me a dagger and picking up her sword once more, before stepping off the mat and heading back to her squad.

As I step off the mat to stand once more beside Rhiannon and Violet, I glance up at Xaden, he has a proud smile on his face. He nods to me before turning to watch another match.

Week after week passes, I win every match thrown my way only ending up with minor bruises and cuts. Liam and Violet are also undefeated at the moment. Every time Violet is up against someone though, they have something wrong with them. It's easy to tell that she's poising them but I'm starting to think I'm the only one who notices. It's not like I'll tell anyone, surviving the Rider's Quadrant takes more than being strong, and Violet is smart enough that she may just survive.

It's early September and I've collect five new weapons from challenges. Professor Emetterio looks down at his roll seeing who's to fight next. "(Y/N) and Liam." Multiple heads turn, trying to find each of us in the crowd. One of us is losing our winning streak and it's not about to be me. 

*_*_*_*_*_* Liam

I slowly make my way to the mat, just because I'm going against (Y/N) doesn't mean I'll take it easy. I make it to the mat first my eyes scan the room for her. My blue eyes land on her just as she hands her corset halter that carries three of her daggers, to Violet. My eyes narrow in confusion but quickly widen as I watch her reach down to pull off her shirt, leaving her in just her work out bra and pants.

She flings her shirt at Ridoc who's standing beside her, gaping like a fish. "What are you doing?" I hiss once she's across from me. I know every eye in this room is on her right now, and it makes my blood boil.

She smirks, "Using all of my assets to ensure a win."

I roll my eyes, "Fighting me without a shirt isn't going to be a distraction."

"You say that now, but I know you better than that. Using daggers okay?" She asks.

I nod, but don't take one out. I want to win, but I don't want to harm her, and without an extra layer covering her that goal got a lot more difficult. "Begin." Emetterio calls out.

She tilts her head at me, beckoning me over, a small smirk on her face. I know she won't make the first move, and I want to end this quick so I comply with her wishes. The smirk on her face grows as I lunge but (Y/N)'s quick and dodges out of the way. Gods do I want to wipe that look off her face. She uses her foot to trip me, but I catch myself before I fall.

I turn to face her again, she raises an eyebrow, unfazed by the eyes on her. My jaw ticks, I just know Xaden is seething on the side of the mat. I charge once more, her dagger grazes my side as she dodges, but I grab her arm before she can fully get away.

I twist her around, throwing her to the mat, she let's out a gasp of air. I squeeze her hand open, causing her to drop her dagger. Our faces are close, neither one of us have broken into a sweat, "I love being manhandled." She whispers, her breath gentle on my face.

Before I can reply, she knees me in the groin, "Cheap shot." I groan, as I fall off her.

She gets another dagger out, pinning me to the ground, "All is fair when you're at war. Do you yield, Mairi?" She's straddling my thigh, one leg pinning my right arm down, the other knee pressed to my groin. The dagger she holds is pressed to my throat, and her other hand is holding my free arm to the mat.

I clench my jaw, about to move her off of me, but her dagger presses closer to my neck and her knee moves pressing more into my groin, and I know I'm trapped. "I yield." I say loud enough for the room to hear me.

(Y/N) smirks once more, she kisses my cheek as she sheaths her dagger, then pulls a dagger from one of my sheaths, "Thank you for this." She winks before getting off of me, offering her hand to help me up. Once I'm up, she turns around, twirling the dagger she took from me around as she heads back to her squad. My eyes follow her as I slowly back off the mat.

Just as she reaches Ridoc, grabbing her shirt back from his outstretched hands, a hand grabs tightly onto my shoulder, "Undress my sister with your eyes again and I'll cut them out of your head." I blink, my head whipping to Xaden who's glaring at me. I gulp and nod, turning around to properly head back to my squad.

"Mairi, I know you just lost your first match, but damn. You're so lucky. I'd gladly let (Y/N) do anything she wants to me." My eyes sharpen into a glare as I look at my squad mate, Augustus.

"Fuck off." I growl.

Augustus smirks, "What? I thought you two where just friends. And (Y/N)'s hot. Every guy and some of the girls were eye fucking her when you guys were fighting."

Lyra, another first year in the squad nods, "Even Barlowe looked like he wanted to have a go with her." She tilts her chin in his direction, "He's still trying to sneak glances."

I look in the direction Lyra indicated, my eyes finding Jack, he's laughing with his squad, and sure enough his gaze passes by (Y/N) multiple times. I feel like throwing up. Instead of answering, I march over to (Y/N) and her squad.

*_*_*_*_*_* (Y/N)

I make my way back to my squad after winning against Liam. Ridoc holds out my shirt, I slip the dagger I won from Liam in an empty sheath before I reach to take my shirt back from him, "You might want to put that on fast, your brother looks to be seconds away from killing everyone in this room." Ridoc says.

I snort, "He won't do shit."

"Well, you looked hot and everyone here can agree on that. I swear everyone was eyeing you like they wanted to take a bite." Rhiannon smirks, "Honestly, I wouldn't say no."

"Come find me later," I wink, taking my corset back from Violet.

"I could never be brave enough to fight without half my weapons. Or without at least some sort of barrier between my skin." Violet says, shaking her head.

I smile brightly, putting my corset back on, "The key is knowing your opponent. I know Liam would never intentionally hurt me, at least not severely. So without that extra layer, he was going to be more cautious and not go all out even though it's a subconscious thing, because he would never purposefully go easy on me."

I pause briefly as I tighten the corset, "Plus, like you guys pointed out, I'm hot. So there was a chance he'd be distracted by that as well."

"Incoming," Sawyer whispers, looking behind me.

I turn around to see what he's talking about and find Xaden's eyes locked on me and Liam marching over, a glare on his face. I open my mouth to tease Liam about losing but he beats me to it, "Never fucking do that again."

My eyebrows knit in confusion, "What? Win?"

Liam rolls his blue eyes, "Fight shirtless in a room full of horny cadets. Jack fucking Barlowe was eye fucking you and if I have to see him do that again I'm going to murder him than gouge my own eyes out. Don't even get me started on having to hear what my squad wants to do with you."

I smirk, "Oh, was it anything fun? Maybe I -"

"(Y/N)!" Liam scolds, grabbing my upper arm, but I only smirk more.

Before either of us can reply Garrick appears at our side, "I'm going to separate you two before you're brother comes over and hurts Liam." Garrick looks Liam in the eye and nods at him to get back to his Squad. Liam's jaw ticks once but turns on his heel, walking away from us.

"Why does Xaden want to hurt Liam?" I ask.

"He wants to hurt everyone that was looking at you, Smiley. He's showing a lot of restraint at the moment."

I snort, "I'm sure he is. Does that mean you weren't looking at me?" Garrick smirks but doesn't reply.

"Smiley?" Violet asks.

"She was always smiling and laughing as a kid so I started calling her Smiley." Garrick answers.

"If any of you try and use that nickname, I will break your nose. Garrick's the only one allowed." I say, watching the match in front of me.

"She's not lying. She broke Xaden's nose when we were thirteen because he tried to call her it."

Rhiannon laughs, "I would had loved to see that." The girl on the mat knocked out the other cadet with a swift kick to the head. She takes one of the cadet's daggers then moves back towards her squad.

"They were thirteen, I was eleven." I clarify.

"I'm sorry, Violet," Professor Emetterio speaks up, causing our group to face him, "You were supposed to challenge Rayma, but she's been taken to the healers because she can't seem to walk in a straight line."

Violet winces, "That's... Too bad," She pauses, "Should I just..."

"I'm happy to step in," Xaden says from across the room, causing me to smirk.

"You sure?" Professor Emetterio asks, glancing over his shoulder.

"Absolutely." Garrick and I exchange a look. We know he's already pissed because of my stunt so it's going to be fun seeing him against Violet. I know Violet is probably on the verge of a heart attack but Garrick and I both know he won't do anything on the mat.

Xaden steps forward, "You are all in for a treat," Professor Emetterio says, clapping his hands, "Xaden's one of the best fighters we have. Watch and learn."

"Well that's going to go right to his head," I mutter to Garrick, rolling my eyes.

Garrick's lips twitch into a smirk, "Please, he already has a big head, Emetterio saying he's one of the best fighters isn't going to change that."

Violet steps onto the mat, facing Xaden. "A little out of her league, don't you think?" Dain calls out, trying to protect her.

"Relax, Aetos." Xaden looks over his shoulder at Dain as he begins to take off all his weapons, handing them to Imogen. "She'll be in one piece when I'm finished with her."

Dain raises his voice, "I hardly think it's fair-"

Xaden cuts him off, "No one asked you to think, squad leader." Garrick and I both snort, turning away to hide our laughs.

"You don't think you'll need those?" Violet asks, watching Xaden remove the last of his weapons.

"Nope. Not when you brought enough for both of us." He grins, stretching out his hands, "Let's go."

"This is going to be fun," Garrick whispers.

"He's not going to hurt her, right?" Ridoc asks.

"No." Garrick and I both say in unison.

"You both seem confident about that." Sawyer says, watching the match.

Violet attacks Xaden, he blocks her easily, and slowly starts to disarm her, kicking each of her weapons towards Dain who stands at the edge of the mat. "We know Xaden, he won't harm her." Garrick replies.

Xaden and Violet are talking as they fight, Xaden offers Violet a hand, "Don't take it." I mumble.

"She's going to take it." Garrick says. Sure enough, Violet takes my brother's outstretched hand. He tugs her up then twists her arm behind her.

"Damn, thought she'd be smarter than that."

Xaden keeps disarming Violet until finally she snaps, "You've made your damn point." Imogen gasps, but I just smirk. Xaden crosses his arms, unbothered, and Violet starts letting her emotion into her fighting.

Xaden has Violet pinned to the mat, he moves her hands to grab her last dagger, showing her where to attack an opponent. "See, he's just teaching her. No harm done." Garrick says to the rest of the squad.

The two exchange a few more quiet words before Dain speaks up, "I think she's been taught enough today."

"Awe, he's jealous." I whisper to Garrick. Garrick's shoulder's shake in a silent laugh. Xaden stands, walking away from Violet and gathering his weapons from Imogen.

Violet moves towards Dain in order to collect her weapons, "Aetos," Xaden calls out, turning to look at the second year, "She could use a little less protection and a little more instruction." Dain nods.

Xaden makes a beeline for me, "Good luck." Garrick whispers to me, he nods at Xaden then walks away.

Xaden is glaring at me, he then grabs my arm, pulling me away from my squad and out of the gym. "Challenges aren't over you know." I say, a smirk on my face.

Xaden remains silent as he walks me through the halls, glare never leaving his face. I know why he's mad, but I don't care. We make it back to the dormitory, heading straight for his room. Once he closes the door behind us, he finally lets go of my arm. "Sit." He says, gesturing to the bed.

I sit on the edge of his bed, biting my lip to keep from smiling, but it's easy to tell that I find his anger amusing. Xaden's eyes flare, "It's not funny. What the fuck where you thinking?"

"I was thinking it's Liam and I could distract him. When you fight an opponent that's bigger and stronger than you you need to use everything in your arsenal to win. That's exactly what I did."

Xaden rolls his eyes, "Oh, so you'll just walk up to a random enemy, take your shirt off, and fight them in hopes they'll be distracted."

This time I roll my eyes, "If I know my enemy is attracted to me then yeah, maybe." Xaden's glare hardens, "Xaden, I'm not dumb. I know how to win and get what I want and that's exactly what I did. I'm still undefeated in challenges, you should be proud of me. I don't see what the big deal is."

Xaden raises his voice, "The big deal is that you were just shirtless in front of almost the whole quadrant and half those people were eyeing you like a piece of meat. You're my little sister, I don't want anyone looking at you-"

I cut him off, "That's why you sent Garrick to me. You wanted him next to me to scare off anyone eyeing me. Well, Liam already informed me about the colorful commentary on my behalf and I don't give a fuck. Let them talk. Let them look. More than half of those people are going to be too scared to do anything anyways."

"That's not the point!"

I stand up, "What's done is done, Xaden! We can't go back in time and stop me from taking my shirt off and you know what? Even if we could, I would do it again. Because I. Won. I did what I needed to do and I don't regret it."

Xaden pinches the bridge of his nose, "You're going to be the death of me." He says causing me to roll my eyes, "Just don't do it again. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Xaden's jaw ticks but he doesn't say anything else. 

[iovevrse]

broken clocks, p. bueckers pt. 3

broken clocks masterlist

pairings: paige bueckers x fem reader

synopsis: when you met paige, you thought the two of you would have one of those cheesy high school love stories that lasted for years. you were wrong.

cw: slight smut (theyre 18), hs p, angst, first personn

1 Year Earlier

After that night, Paige and I talked at the pizza place. It had been as if we’d immediately become a more significant part of each other’s lives. We did everything together, and from that point on, it had been rare for me to miss a Hopkins game day.

Today was no different from the usual routine we’d adapted. It was a Friday night, and Paige had a late practice, so I’d made my way to her house to wait in her room for her. Coming over despite Paige not being there herself had been Paige’s idea. She still wanted me to come over but didn't want me to have to drive so late at night. She said her dad wouldn’t mind, but that didn’t make him any less confused when I’d shown up on his doorstep for the first time, and he told me Paige was at practice. I informed him I knew that and that his daughter said I could come over and wait for her to get back. Nonetheless, the man let me in, still confused, but he didn’t doubt it was something his daughter would do.

I sat on her bed waiting, typing away on my computer in an attempt to add something to my English essay that was due Sunday night before Paige came back. Despite Paige claiming it would be time to “lock in” on schoolwork, I knew nothing would get done tonight. She, in fact, never locked in. She just put on music and took a nap.

Like usual, Paige barged into the room with her two backpacks slugged over her shoulders. She threw them on the floor and immediately crashed into the bed, wrapping her arm around her pillow. “Hey P,” I muttered, still typing my essay, “how was practice?” I ask. She mumbled a “good” response before turning around in the bed and pulling me down with her. She wrapped her arms around my waist and cuddled me, resting her head on my shoulder. She had always been the kind of friend that was touchy, but this was different than usual. I just figured practice had tired her out completely. Maybe they had to run laps or something. I closed my computer and set it on the floor before laying in her arms, not saying a word. We’d both fallen asleep like that and a few hours later, we’d woken up.

Paige yawned and checked her phone. The time read 2:30 AM, and I rested my head on the blonde’s chest. That’s when she looked at me. I looked back, and I felt this tight feeling in my chest. I’d always noticed it happen when it came to Paige’s gaze. She had this ability to make whoever she was with or talking to the main thing her eyes were set on. We’d stayed looking at each other for what felt like forever until she leaned in, kissing me softly.

That soft kiss had escalated, and as soon as I knew it, the tall blonde was on top of me, kissing me harder than before. Paige then made her way down my body, planting light kisses. Before she had made it between my legs, her blue eyes looked at me with that same gaze again, more intense and clouded than before. “Is this ok?” the blonde whispered, her voice as raspy as it always was after waking up from a nap.

I just nodded in response, and she continued to trail kisses on my thighs, inside and out, before sliding my shorts and baby pink undies off. She looked up at me again, same as before, begging for my approval again, and once she got it, her tongue started to slowly lick at my folds, her middle finger sliding in and accompanying her tongue’s movements. Before I knew it, I was covering my face with a pillow to stay quiet and not wake up Paige’s parents or brothers.

Current Day

Seeing Paige again had brought back every negative and positive emotion I’d ever felt or had about the girl. I thought I’d done so well to forget about her until it came to having to see her again. I cursed myself for not playing it normal and acting unbothered when I saw her. You prepare yourself mentally for so many situations, telling yourself that you’d do one thing or another just for the time to come and nothing will go as planned. As I stood there, quickly texting Alexa that we needed to go, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Once again, I whipped my head around to be met with a tall, blue-eyed blonde. The same one I gave my everything to.

Almost on reflex, I shrugged her off. “Look, I’m so sorry,” Paige started. I rolled my eyes in response and continued walking in some random direction. “Please, hear me out,” pleaded the blonde as she grabbed my arm, pulling me towards her. I almost fell for it again. Her gaze made me feel like I was the only thing on her mind. Like the most important person in her world. I force myself to look away and pull back from her. “I’m not tryna hear shit of what you got to say right now, Paige.” The blonde groaned softly before stepping closer, “Just listen to me, please.”

“Nah, not today,” I mutter, forcing myself to look into her eyes again. She looked hurt, and I couldn’t help but want to take back what I said. Maybe even forget everything she did to me because the Paige I knew before would never hurt me like that. I almost opened my mouth to speak again before a taller girl pulled me away.

I guessed Alexa had finally found me, and she wasted no time dragging me away from the blonde. I wondered if maybe she’d been there longer than I thought and heard Paige’s pleas. Either way, I thanked her for getting me out of that situation. I just hoped I wouldn’t have to run into the blonde again. I knew that wouldn’t be the case though.

[uh-velkommen]

Coming out as Trans, I feel like I've unlocked a new minigame section of life, like I now have access to a world I only ever watched from the sidelines. It's funny how I used to wish I could be part of this community. I always related to the stories I'd hear. So often would I stare at my body in the mirror wishing I could've been born differently. I always felt like there was a part of me missing or that something was wrong. All the stereotypical Trans thoughts were there. I just kept telling myself I only hated the patriarchal norms that were being forced upon me. I only hated my body because of how sexualized it always was. I always wanted to hang out with my brothers friends because they were the only people my age who would come over often. But the past few days, I've been thinking about all the silly things I'd think and do that should've been clearer indications as to who I was/am. (I'm probably gonna continue updating this as I think of more stuff)

I used to try on my brothers clothes, put my hair up in caps and try to look like a boy in pictures.

I tried training myself to speak in a deeper and calmer voice because I hated how high and girly my voice sounded. (I loved having a sore throat because it made my voice deeper while being sick actually made it higher)

I overcompensated when it came to dressing and being girly as a way to bond with my mother despite having no real interest in make up and pedicures. (There's a lot of things that I'd do or want that initially made me think I was cis but we're really just ways that I'd beg to be treated decently or show that I was loved)

I never felt like I was a Lesbian but had no other way to explain my attraction to girls.

I struggled a lot between wondering if I was just a tomboy or butch but found myself relating to Gay men more than butch women.

I literally never ever ever took off my bras because I felt super uncomfortable with the girls moving around.

A lot of the time I worried about upsetting my dad because he was so happy to have finally made a daughter after 4 sons.

My uncle used to have a friend who I could never figure out if she was a boy or a girl (I still don't know to this day) and yet I could never get her out of my head/admired her for being so confounding.

I would get reeeeeaaaaally jealous of Trans women for being beautiful women with boy parts. Sometimes I couldn't fathom why they would give up being a boy as if it were a slice of cake they were refusing "while kids in Africa starved."

I often struggled with questioning if I was dysphoric because of my AGAB or if it was insecurity from my brother calling me fat and ugly all my life.

I was always too scared to come out as lesbian because I knew it felt wrong and on top of that, it wasn't my sexuality that was the big secret I had been keeping. It was something much worse.... my gender.

When I was about 14, Disney released a TV show where the main character was a girl named Dylan and I felt a cosmic shift in learning that women could also have boy names.

I always wanted to do rugged things with my brother. I practically lived vicariously through him, letting him teach me about fighting, parkour, video games, "boyish music" like dubstep. Everything that I didn't have access to. Nowadays I think about how I really just wanted to be him.

I even tried hanging out with my male cousins and family friends more than the women because it felt like this other world that I desperately wanted to understand.

I used to HAAAATE when my uncle would joke around by calling me "little boy" because it felt like he was making fun of my internal struggles.

Sometimes when I wore my hair a certain way I would angrily compare myself to a "little Mexican boy" because why couldn't I look like a pretty Hispanic woman?

The torturous anxiety I'd feel about wearing makeup in public (I literally had a panic attack at prom because my hair stylist put eyeliner on me).

I loved hanging out with the neighborhood Gay kid even though he was like 4 years younger than me because he would let me ride his skateboard. (We found solace in each other bc he got bullied alot and we were both queer - whether I knew it or not)

All my life I've just wanted male friends but I could never obtain a friendship without being sexualized or viewed as an ultimate romantic interest. At the same time I only knew how to interact with boys in a flirtatious manner though it was never intentional.

Shopping for clothes was a whole can of worms in itself but I used to feel sooo uncomfortable going down the aisles of the women's section. All I wanted was to see what the boys section had to offer but I also thought it was entirely off limits to women. Sometimes I pretended I was shopping for my brother or I'd encourage him to let me style him so I could have an excuse to buy the clothes I liked/wanted.

Sometimes I'd want to date boys but only in the way that boys would date boys.

When I found out about intersexuality I got super obsessed with it, wishing that I could've been born with both male and female parts. Sometimes I'd think that maybe I had a hormonal problem where I was just producing too much testosterone and that could explain why I felt like a boy.

The visceral reactions to ANY comments about being a good housewife, a clean girl, a future wife, not being able to do a man's job or otherwise putting men first simply because I was born a girl.

God the constant comments about my butt, my mom used to hate that I'd let my pants sag.

The way I'd get SUPER emotionally affected from reading about the AIDs crisis (along with Stonewall) and the way Trans people were treated. I mean before I was even learning about Lesbianism, I was getting enraged about the way it was handled. I'd cry more reading newspaper articles than at actual funerals. I was completely obsessed with learning more and more stories from real trans people.

Overall, I think I tended to carry myself and walk in a more masculine manner. I feel like I was never this dainty feminine being until adulthood when I'd started becoming reclusive and turning further in on myself.

[adhesive-king]

if there's one thing you're not good at, it's anything in the kitchen. cooking, baking, prepping; you're bad at it all. so bad in fact that you require supervision when you want to cook or bake! but it's sero's birthday and you want to make it special..

you enlist the help of your mom (by begging with big puppy dog eyes for her help) and spend the weekend working on the cake. the first one was a fail but thankfully, the second one was perfect! you carefully put it into a container and walk so cautiously back to the dorm.

it doesn't take long for you to find him, smiling wide as ever with braces on full display as you hold out the box for him to take. inside is a tres leches cake with a variety of fruit on the top and everything was made using gluten free products out of caution. even the fruit was organic and the chocolate curls were vegan!

once he takes the box, you sing a very out of tune rendition of the classic happy birthday song while clapping. reaching out, you pinch his cheeks and make obnoxious kissy noises as you do. "happy birthday! i-i won't smash your face into the cake, e-even if i kinda want to. it's a tres leches cake t-that me and my mom made. i-i hope that it's okay.. if you d-don't like it, i'll buy a cake! um."

you pull out a small notebook from your pocket. the notebook has a sweet note on the first page written by you. "here's this too. it's j-just to have on hand in case you want to use it. i-it, well. it feels a bit silly now but i-i don't know.. i guess i wanted us to match. i-it's a bit nerdy, huh?" [birfday ask from izuku mwah i love u both

Sero's Birthday Bonanza!!!

@4heart with Birthday Wishes!!!

Hanta was used to having rather chill and uneventful birthdays. Not to say that his dads and his brother didn't put in effort to making the day special, but it was always something lowkey. A store bought cake and a little celebration in the kitchen with some of his favorite foods. Maybe going out to dinner at a restaurant of his choice with a nice gift waiting at the end. They were intimate and special moments, always a gentle kind of experience. It's what he loved most about them.

Living at the dorms, he thought to himself, that other than the well wishes, it was going to be much more quiet than he was used to even with how lowkey celebrations always were. He was chilling in the common room, taking up a majority of the couch with his lanky figure and reading a manga he had borrowed from his dorm neighbor.

When Midoriya walked in with a box, he sat up to offer some help but before he could even say anything he had deftly realized the box was for him. He grinned, his own bright orange braces peeking out from behind his lips and shining in the shared light of their joy. He peeks under the lid and his smile somehow becomes impossibly wider seeing the cake and despite the out of tune singing and the quite painful (watch your strength Midoriya) pinches to his cheek it doesn't at all damper his happiness and excitement. Midoriya had put in all this effort to do something so kind for him, a homemade cake of all things, and how could Hanta ever be anything but filled with an overwhelming glee and adoration for his friend?

The notebook is the last straw and Hanta can't help but, carefully as to not harm the cake, practically throw himself over the back of the couch to wrap his friend in a hug, even pulling him down slightly into the cushions as a barrage of kisses to the top of his head strikes down.

"It's perfect! The cake is perfect, the notebook is perfect. Thank you!"

[eenochian]

not to family-post on main…… so i’m putting it under a cut lol (it’s also just long af bc i needed to rant)

but, today is my father’s birthday. 53 years on this planet and he’s probably about to have the most miserable birthday of his life.

the dumbass cheated on his wife. three marriages and he’s managed to ruin every last one with cheating (amongst other things). no idea when she found out, but it was sometime after the 14th, at least. she’s already moved out of their house and is going to rent it to him since she owns it, apparently. i was woken up yesterday (it’s 8:08 am as of me posting this, i haven’t slept) with the news.

my father’s soon-to-be ex wife had my mom blocked throughout her entire relationship with my father. we knew he was feeding her some bullshit lies about my mom and what actually happened between them. he told his wife that my mom was turning my brother and i “against him” and making us hate his wife. meanwhile, my mom was practically begging my dad to introduce her to his wife, because she wanted to meet the woman who would be spending time around her children.

even before i was born, my father was just a disappointment… cheated on my mom while she was pregnant with my brother and claimed he was “feeling depressed and unwanted” whilst my mom was suffering from a cocktail of issues, was always unemployed or under-employed, cheated while she was pregnant with me, then couldn’t be assed to take care of his children while my mom was working and going to college full-time. she had to pay for daycare despite the asshole being unemployed.

she left him a couple weeks before i turned 4, i think. i don’t remember it very well cause i was so young, but i remember him yelling and punching the door she was standing in front of. broke his hand. she rightfully called him an idiot. my family laughs about it now, but i used to call him “my trince” – it was supposed to be “prince,” but i couldn’t say it properly y’know. my mom told me that he started crying because i looked at him and said “you’re not my trince anymore” lol. broke his heart, i guess.

the spring before i turned 6, my mom, brother, her boyfriend at the time, and i all moved from california to texas. my dad stayed in cali. my brother and i visited him for a week during the summer when i was 7, but that’s the only time we saw him until shortly before i turned 11.

we talked on the phone to keep in touch. i don’t remember how often we talked, i think weekly, but i do remember sprinting to the phone and feeling so giddy whenever he called… i just wanted to talk his ears off for hours, my father almost felt like a novelty throughout my childhood. i learned earlier this year that my mom often had to force him to call and talk to us.

i remember the day he moved out to texas. the beginning of my 6th grade year, i was about a month away from turning 11. my brother and i were talking to our mom, she said someone special was stopping by. the sun had already gone down, but it wasn’t too late in the night. we guessed our dad, she said we were wrong. she was lying, obviously, and we learned that after we got a knock on the door and my father was standing on the other side.

i remember crying. hugging him so tight. thinking that finally, finally i’d have my father in my life. instead of being a novelty, he’d just be there. he was living close by, too.

my mom’s then-boyfriend (the same one from when we moved) was horrible. he was an abusive, loud, mean, all-around ugly man. i had it the easiest since i was the youngest. i don’t remember much from him, just a lot of yelling. so, so, so much yelling. him standing over me, being the 6-foot 300-something pound guy he was, taking joy in making a little girl scared of him. he never put his hands on me, but the intimidation was enough.

i still can’t handle a man raising his voice or even getting angry around me. my stepdad knows about the trauma my mom, brother, and i share. my mom easily had it the worst. i still sometimes refuse to acknowledge that i have trauma, even after being told by my mom and brother that i do. the first time my stepdad got angry and raised his voice – he was trying to install a transition slip on crooked floors because my mom and i kept cutting our feet on the edge of the carpet, got frustrated, slammed his hammer down and yelled – i was standing in the kitchen a few feet away….. i left my breakfast in the microwave and pretty much ran to my room.

i didn’t know why i started crying and struggling to breathe while talking to my brother until my mom came in a few minutes later. it was the first time she said the words “you have trauma” to me. she told me the next day that my stepdad cried after they went to bed because he felt so awful over scaring me. we joke about it now, but it’s been 3 years and he still feels horrible whenever we talk about it. i feel bad that he feels bad. my mom says we’re both silly.

back to the main point, though…. my mom finally managed to kick that bastard out shortly after i turned 11. it was midnight on a school night. my brother ended up climbing into my bed because i was crying from listening to all the yelling. her ex tried coming into our bedroom after my mom came in to grab something of his that we had in our closet. i remember watching her fight to hold that door closed and keep him out as he tried to talk to us.

she called my dad to come guard our door while she finished packing up all his stuff and throwing it out. my dad managed to do a 20-minute drive in, like, 10 minutes. maybe less, i can’t remember, but it was fast. her ex tried picking a fight with my dad, things nearly got physical, but my dad stayed right in front of our door. he had work the next day, but he still rushed over to keep us safe.

he was in my life a decent amount after that. we’d spend weekends with him, i’d text him daily, he’d take me and my brother to the movies, out to dinner, we’d play games and sing our lungs out in the car together.

he also dated over 20 women in a single year. he introduced us to at least a quarter of them and insisted that every single one was “the one.” he’d ignore us for the sake of whatever woman he was with. then, he’d come crawling back once the relationship inevitably fell apart. he told my mom that he could pay child support or “have money to spend time with the kids” – meanwhile, he’s always made more money than her. he couldn’t put us on his health insurance because it was “too expensive,” meanwhile my mom was working two jobs (in secret, she never told us about the second job until after she lost it) and making herself sick just trying to take care of us.

when i was 14, he had to move back to california because of his work. i thought him crying while telling us was proof that he cared… until i found out that he wasn’t going to tell us at all. he told our mom, but didn’t want to tell my brother and i until he was about to move. my mom had to threaten to tell us herself if he didn’t do it.

he visited around christmas. he was engaged to a woman he barely knew who happened to live in the same state. my brother and i thought he was there to see us. turns out, all he wanted to do was see her. my mom had to force him to spend time with us. i didn’t know this until years later.

after that engagement fell through and he managed to move back to texas… he met his current wife. he was also living even closer, in the same fucking apartment complex as us. the happy feeling over him being so close didn’t last. his wife (then-girlfriend) was…. nice. we tried not to get attached because we thought it wouldn’t last, like usual. i think i was 15 or 16 at the time.

we ended up moving in with my stepdad, who lived about 45 minutes away. my dad ended up moving in with his wife. we lived an hour away from him, i think. we stopped seeing him as often because the problems only continued to grow. his wife only encouraged him and blindly took his side in everything, too.

about 2 weeks before my 18th birthday. my father took my brother and i to the movies. he brought up how close my birthday was and asked if we wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate. we said yes, of course. he asked if his wife could come, since they had just gotten married about a week ago. i said yes, of course. i didn’t mind sharing the celebration. i remember excitedly telling my mom about it the second we got home.

a couple days before my birthday, my father texts to confirm the plans…… suddenly, we aren’t celebrating my birthday. no, no, the dinner was to celebrate their marriage and my father’s new office, and it “just so happened” that my birthday was around the same time, so we were celebrating that, too. he denied it when we said the whole dinner was planned because of my birthday, even though my whole household remembered it being that way. i cancelled the plans.

my cat got really sick right after my birthday. it was just a stomach bug that she recovered from within a day after taking her to the vet and getting her rehydrated (plus some appetite stimulants), but we thought for a minute that it might be her time. it was the first time i had to face the thought of death. my father tried to make new plans and, when i told him that we didn’t want to leave her even though we knew she was okay, he didn’t care. zero empathy. we never made any plans after that.

i think i’ve only seen him once since that movie. august 2021. he stopped by to drop something off for my brother earlier this year, stayed for a few minutes to talk to us. we hugged, i cried after he left.

my phone’s been having issues for some months now. it can’t charge properly. my mom and stepdad bought me a wireless charger that fixed that issue, but when my brother and i messaged our father about getting new phones (since my bro was also having issues with his), my father decided to say no and accuse us of only coming to him for money.

mind you, paying for our phones and making sure we had working phones was literally the last promise he made to us. he never paid child support, so he and my mom worked out a deal. he pays her car insurance until she has a paid off car, he pays for my bro’s and my phones, she forgives the rest of the several thousand dollars he owes her. he took her car on the first say of my senior year of high school. he refuses to get us new phones unless we pay for it.

i’m aware of how spoiled i sound. my phone works just fine, even if it is slower and has a broken charging point. my issue isn’t with that… it’s just the fact that he’s managed to break every. single. promise. he’s ever made to us. not a single one has been kept. not one. my mom told him she’d take care of it and us, like she always has. he’s just paying for the insurance until we get new phones atp.

i sent him a message pouring my heart out. a lot of it was pent-up anger from years of trying and trying, giving him chance after chance, and getting zero results. he read the message and didn’t respond. a couple days later, i sent him another. i just felt defeated at that point. i begged and begged him to finally care, and what do i get in response?

“I understand what you’re saying. Things are not always as they seem. Maybe one day we can sit down and truly listen and understand each other but it won’t be in a text. I love you no matter what you might think or feel.”

right. yeah. “maybe one day” AKA “when i feel like dealing with this” which is never. i cry and beg him to change… and his response is to say that MAYBE one day we’ll deal with it. and he moved on. my first message was 1,623 words. my second was 784. and i got jack shit in return.

it doesn’t matter what i say or do. he’s destroyed my self-confidence. he’s the source of my insane abandonment and attachment issues. i’m convinced no man will ever love me because of him – if my own father can’t, then why would anyone else? i get so stressed out and worried that it makes me sick; my family thinks i have ulcers, and he’s the #1 trigger of them. i’ve had panic attacks over him. i’ve thrown up from it. my mom said my depression getting so much worse is probably linked to him.

and, despite all the bullshit…. i’m still staring at my phone debating on texting him happy birthday. wondering if i should reach out and console him over the marriage he destroyed. i don’t want him to be alone, even if it is his own doing. i’m terrified of something happening to him. what if he has a health issue or injury and needs someone to call 911? what if he’s depressed? what if it gets so bad that he kills himself? what if he keels over and dies tomorrow? what if, what if, what if… it’s all i can think about.

my family says me worrying over him despite it all just means i’m a good person. their primary concern if my father taking advantage of me – of my kindness and my concern for him. my brother has him blocked, he’s not giving our father any more chances. i know i shouldn’t. he’ll just throw me away once he finds another woman, which he probably already has, considering he cheated on his wife in the first place. he has that habit; messaging other women when he senses a relationship going south or gets bored. moving on before it’s even over so he doesn’t have to face loneliness.

i don’t know how to feel. my dad’s wife reached out to my mom to clear the air and apologize. my brother celebrated the split with his friends. my stepdad said it was deserved. i agree, but……. i just can’t stop worrying. about everything. i wish i could. my father doesn’t deserve the tears i’m still shedding, or the lump and bile building in my throat, or the tightness in my chest, or the space in my thoughts… i hate it. i don’t know what to do anymore.

[gaybae1021]

Dimitri and Naoko (Nekoette)

Sharing some art and headcanons about my favorite half-siblings!

Mystreet Designs

The fact that they weren’t in mystreet was a crime!

More art and Headcanons under the cut!

Dimitri is a very active kid, he enjoys karate and the occasional game of soccer. When not in school he spends a lot of time at his mom’s gym, and is her biggest cheerleader during her boxing matches. They have a pretty good relationship, Nicole is pretty hands off with him, and he appreciates the independence, but it leads to him being pretty disrespectful the few times Nicole has had to go mom mode on him

Dante and Nicole dated in high school, where Nicole accidentally got pregnant. Dante did the best he could to help out, but they eventually decided they should go their separate ways. Dante hasn’t seen Dimitri since he was around 2.

When Dimitri got a bit older and Dante got settled with KC, Nicole and Dante decided try more of a coparenting situation. Dimitri was apprehensive at first, but quickly became friends with Naoko. After that, bonding with Dante and KC came pretty quickly.

When first meeting her, Naoko was as much of a girly girl as a person could be. Princess dresses, tea parties, dolls, the works, all of which she begged Dimitri to do with her. This was embarrassing at first, but he eventually got used to it.

One day Dimitri showed her his videogames, and she immediately hyper fixated on them, quickly matching and eventually surpassing her brother’s skill. She enjoys the cute little farming sims but is equally into more combat based games.

Imagine this sweet little seven year old suddenly dropping into professional gamer speak

Videogames quickly become their favorite bonding activity, as it’s something they enjoy equally !

Get Back! (Redraws)

This. This right here. This is my favorite dynamic. This rabid “get away from my family you bitch” energy.

Season 3 Designs

Dimitri (12) and Naoko (9)

I wanted to keep their basic armor vaguely matching, but not just pink and blue copies like the og skins. Since Naoko showed interest in the bow and arrow I gave her a lot of ranger inspired details, with the hood piece and leather bracers. I kept her outfit practical but still a bit femme, despite her serious expression here she’s still very much a little kid who likes pink and flowers.

For Dimitri I wanted him to have pieces of both of his parents. So he has some samurai inspired tunic and shoulder plates like Dante and arm wrappings like Nicole. And while in season 2 he uses his dads old katanas, in season 3 he’s switched to his own pair of short swords, he kind of wanted his own thing rather than copying his dad.

They’re mostly trained by Katelyn, with some occasional lessons with Dante. The art is definitely a bit misleading, they’re far from cool and composed warriors at this point. But they love training together, and are both eager to learn.

[di-daynamic]

@fluffbruary Day 2

Annabeth had been at Camp Half-Blood since she was seven, and never had it felt so incredibly quiet.

She could even pick out the sound of the falling lava from her demigodly enhanced senses. Harpies weren’t scuttling. No swords were clashing in the arena. Nobody was laughing. Nobody was scolding the Hermes Cabin for pulling another stupid stunt or prank.  

It was so quiet it gave rise to too many memories.

The memory of screaming, of hitting Luke over and over, begging to go back and save Thalia gave her nightmares even now, even knowing that Thalia was brimming with life, running and hunting and leading, practically immortal.

She considered her knife. She’d long since washed the blood off it but it still dripped red in her mind. Despite there being no trace of it physically, the knowledge that this weapon had been the one to kill Luke, the one who had promised her a family, the one who had given her the gods damned knife in the first place haunted her.

She shuddered and held onto her knees.

Here she was, sixteen years old, feeling like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders (she ought to know, she’d carried it once).

“Hey, Wise Girl,” She heard from behind her, and turned, smiling suddenly, to the only person who called her that.

“Hey Seaweed Brain,” she greeted, as he came to stand in front of her. The grey streak in his hair was brushed to the forefront. “Bored without me already?”

“Hardly,” Percy smirked. “Tyson’s way too excited, and I love him, but his hyperactivity is worse than mine and is going to kill me.”

Annabeth blinked in surprise. “Excited? For what?”

Percy shrugged, not answering. “What were you doing out here?”

She hesitated. “Thinking,” she answered finally.

He nodded knowingly. “Memories?”

She smiled slightly. Percy Jackson – the person who knew her better than anyone. Her twelve-year-self would’ve shrieked with horror. “Memories,” she agreed softly.

Percy hummed slightly, coming to stand beside her and wrapping an arm around her waist. He’d always been a tactile person – something she attributed to his being raised by his mother – but was also wary of anyone within six feet distance – something she attributed to his asshole of an ex-stepfather – but since they’d begun dating, it had reached a whole new level. He was always standing beside her, near enough to feel body heart, holding her waist, hugging her, cupping her cheeks when they kissed.

Annabeth had to admit she loved it.

“When I was six,” he began. She turned a surprised gaze on him. He was staring out at the sound, face wistful. “My mom and I went to see the Rockefeller Christmas tree. She took me on a boat ride and to see fireworks and all the cool toys in the shops, and then after the lighting we ate tons of blue candy and she sang me to sleep.”

A warmth spread through her, replacing the sting of her previous thoughts. She imagined six year old Percy in a food coma – drooling, obviously – lying on a bed with Sally, smiling and having happy dreams. She was fiercely glad Gabe Ugliano had not ruined her boyfriend’s entire childhood.

“When I was nine,” She replied in kind, nudging his shoulder slightly. “I went to Mal’s home for Christmas vacation. His dads took us on a tour of City Beautiful and all the art museums. Then we had a cake for his sister’s birthday and we slept under the stars.” Of course, Wright’s architecture had become less and less something she modelled hers on after the segregation and the decimations and all the stats Jude - her history and mathematics focused brother - had collected, but it remained one of her fondest memories.

“Remember that time we tried to team up for the arts and crafts project? The statue making one? We ended up nearly destroying the pavilion?”

“That was mostly your fault,” Annabeth decided, grinning.

“Me! We tried marble carving because you’re the most ridiculously ambitious person on earth!”

“You had a simple job! We were only working on the mould—”

“The laurel was your idea and that’s what started the whole mess—" Percy argued.

“Yeah, well, it’s better than how the baking fiasco went and that was your fault,” Annabeth changed the subject, because she knew the arts thing had been because she was too much of a perfectionist.

“I never said that we had to do it while you were hungover,” he grumbled. “Nor that you had to invite Thalia and Parindra and the Stolls. The Stolls, Annabeth!”

“Oi, Chosen One!” She heard Connor Stoll howl. “We sent you there to get her! Not join her to flirt and badmouth us!”

“We’re not flirting, Stoll!” Percy called back annoyedly. “No wonder you can’t get a date if that’s how you think it works.”

Several Greek curse words were his answer.

Annabeth hid an amused smile. Percy was closest to her and Grover, but he was also friendly with pretty much everyone (though mostly the Stolls, Katie, Lou Ellen, and …. Silena and Beckendorf). His friendship with the Stolls was admittedly entertaining to witness. She’d grown up with them and hence was used to how irritating and yet loving they could be. Watching Katie and Travis insult one another was a camp pastime - along with watching her and Percy, as she’d learned later. She promised herself once more she’d skewer whoever had suggested that.

“Why did they want you to get me?” She asked curiously.

Percy grinned crookedly. “Same reason Tyson’s so excited.” He held out his hand. “C’mon. Let’s go meet our annoying, eavesdropping friends.”

Annabeth snorted. “Unfortunately, that’s the only kind of friends we have.”

Before he started, she tugged on his hand and leaned up to kiss him. She felt the same pleasurable thrill she always did. He laughed, sounding surprised, his thumb tracing her cheekbone, and tilting his forehead to press against hers.

“We should probably get going if we don’t want our idiot friends not to tease us.” Percy sighed.

“Toooo late,” Rachel Dare said in a sing-song voice. She grinned, her green eyes twinkling as she turned around the wall. “Come on, lovebirds.” She made a gesture practically commanding them over, and Annabeth considered not obeying just to irritate her, before remembering her phase of irrational hatred against the other girl was over.

“Coming, Rach,” Percy rolled his eyes, sounding amused.

“What is going on in here?” She asked, half horrified, half amused as they entered the Big House’s movie room. “Does Chiron know?”

“What Chiron doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Miranda Gardiner flipped her hair, as well dressed and groomed as she always was. Lou Ellen stared at her with heart eyes as always. Will Solace was chatting with his friend Cecil. Nico was sulking and trying to pretend he wasn’t listening in on that conversation. Thalia was with several girls from the Aphrodite, Hephaestus and Hermes-turned-minor-god cabins. The Stolls held court. The Apollo kids – Kayla Knowles and Gracelyn Johnson in particular – were using the things around them as instruments, though all of them were unusually subdued. Not surprising – they’d lost four members to the battle.

Annabeth herself had lost one, and she wasn’t surprise to see her remaining siblings either fiddling with something, reading a book, or in Mal’s case, dribbling a ball.

“They’re here!” Tyson cried out, noticing them.

“Finally!” Malcolm rolled his eyes. “Percy, we sent you ages ago!”

“Oh, don’t bother them, Mal.” Valentina Diaz chirped from beside Miranda and Thalia. Aphrodite’s daughter batted her eyelashes at them. “It’s so romantic!”

“I think they need another dip in the lake.” Connor declared.

“So they can spend another hour kissing in there while we wait for them to make a scene?” Clarisse snorted. “I think not.” Chris laughed and kissed his girlfriend’s temple.

“Well, it was your fault for tossing them in there,” Grover said logically.

“What G-Man said,” Percy nodded, falling in the couch next to Nico. No surprise there. He was ridiculously protective of the younger boy. “Besides, aren’t you wasting even more time?”

“Wasting time for what?” Annabeth demanded, temper beginning to flare. Her boyfriend rubbed circles on her back, which made her ease back. Nico was watching them with an odd expression.

“Well, Chiron’s only locked out for a little while,” Travis said. Annabeth raised her eyes to the heavens and decided not to question it.

“So we decided to watch a movie!” Mirabelle Fleamont, daughter of Tyche chirped.

“A movie,” Annabeth said flatly.

“Yep,” Everyone chorused, even her traitor of a boyfriend. Percy grinned at her.

“Shove up, squirt,” Thalia said, coming to squeeze herself next to the three of them. Nico sighed and grumbled audibly. When Will offered to let him sit on his couch though, he shut his mouth and leaned against Percy, cheeks pink.

“What are we watching?” Gracie demanded, bouncing on her feet.

Immediately, a chorus of variegated answers greeted her, the answerers turning on one another in scorn and rejection and in some cases joy and agreement instantly.

“This is ridiculous,” Annabeth heard Clarisse mutter.

She had to agree. They’d just fought a war five days ago. They were all tired, grieving, traumatized messes. They were child soldiers.

And yet.

Nico was arguing passionately for his very old movie. Nyssa had spirit back in her eye Annabeth hadn’t seen since Beckendorf. Sherman was challenging someone to a duel in a way he hadn’t since the Ares-Apollo feud. Drew made an incredibly catty comment that a couple people giggled over in a sense of fun and camaraderie unfelt since the Labyrinth. Malcolm was bossing everyone around, unseen since he’d had to take on the mantle of Assistant Strategist. Thalia, Percy, Katie and Jude were in agreement over which movie to watch but still felt the need to argue edition.

They were happier than she had seen in a long time.

Wasn’t it in the end what they had fought for? Their right to love one another, to be messes, to argue and be passionate and run and be free and fight and live?

Who was Annabeth to stop them?

Annabeth leaned back into her seat, and called loudly for Roman Holiday. There was a moment of silence, then Percy and Thalia shook their heads in disbelief and lectured her about taste and pandemonium broke out again.

So many people she loved, happy, with her, surviving.

What more could she ask for?

[inkandpen22]

The Princess and The Pogue (pt. 6)

Pairing: JJ x Female!Reader  / Topper x Female!Reader  

Word Count: 3.7k

Warnings: Swearing, mild smut, fluff, angst, mentions of abuse (wow a lot) 

Part Summary: The aftermath of the bonfire is pushing you to your limit. Meanwhile, JJ is slowly losing himself in his grief. 

Masterlist

You and Topper meet your friends at the Ocean Club for lunch as arranged over text after the chaos at the Boneyard. You, Rafe, Rhett, Kelce, and Topper are all gathered around the table on the patio of the club. Despite looking put-together, you're all discombobulated in the head. All of your Kook friends are startled, to say the least by the events. More than half of them have never been close to a gun and all of them share a hatred of Pogues. 

Your brother Rhett invited his "friend" Crystal.  She's been fawning after him since their freshman year. They hooked up one time and she was practically picking out an engagement ring. She hangs around Rhett, Rafe, and all of their friends, hoping one of them would show a slight bit of interest. Her bottle black hair and bottle tan scream more New Jersey than OBX, but she throws on a Lily Politzer dress calls herself a Kook. She's always been low-key intimidated by you and envious even. She wants your title of the Princess of the OBX, but she struggles to get past being an associate. In summary, Crystal thinks acting like a stuck-up brat is how to be a Kook. She's delusional.

"Last night was unreal,” Kelce exhales deeply as he leans back in his chair. 

“You know how Pogues can be,” Topper remarks bitterly, placing his arm across your shoulders. 

"Where were you last night?" Rafe questions your brother from down the table. 

"My dad had me in Charleston on business," Rhett explains with a roll of his eyes. 

Crystal places her hand on Rhett's arm, giving it a supportive squeeze. The sight nearly makes you gag. Never in a million years will you call her your sister-in-law. 

"Lucky you," Kelce chuckles. 

"Yeah you really dodged a bullet," Rafe makes a pun. 

"Nice Rafe," Topper nods his head slowly, giving his friend a disapproving look. 

You toss around bits of lettuce around your salad, not exactly hungry. You wouldn't be here right now if Topper didn't already say you two were coming. It's not that you dislike your friends. You just don't feel like a review of last night and a Pogue roast session. Topper notices your lack of voice and interest in the group. He rubs his thumb over your shoulder, gaining your attention. You offer him a weak smile, your mind elsewhere. 

“At least Maybank has what’s coming to him. Apparently, the police are looking for him," Crystal announces to the table. 

Your fork slips from your hand accidentally, causing everyone to stare at you. “Wait, what?!" You glance between the girl and Topper to see if it's true. Topper doesn't react despite seeing your worried expression. Did Topper already know this? Did he not tell you? 

Rafe frowns at your reaction and his flicker to Topper before he answers. “Yeah, people told their parents what happened and the parents reported the incident to the police," he explains hesitantly. 

"As they should!” Crystal adds with a scoff of disgust, wearing a smug expression. “Who knows what that good-for-nothing white trash would’ve done to us if given the chance!" She justifies from across the table. 

“Oh my God, shut the fuck up, Crystal!” You snap. 

Everyone's jaws drop, astounded that such a vile sentence could come from your lips. 

“Ugh! Excuse me?!” Crystal gasps. 

You lean forward in your chair, turning your body to face the entitled girl. 

“What? Are you deaf all of a sudden?" You wear a mocking grin. "Wouldn’t be surprised with your big loud fucking mouth going constantly!” 

“What’s up your ass Whitfield?!” She fires back, drawing the attention of some other patrons. 

“Your piece of shit attitude!” You bark. 

"Ohh," Kelce drags out. 

"Wow," Rafe struggles to hide his amusement. 

Topper places a warning hand on your shoulder which you shake off. 

“Why are you defending him? He pulled a gun on Topper! On you!” Crystal reminds you in a shout. 

“I know that, Genius! Considering I was on the other side of said gun!” You hiss between your teeth. 

“Then what possible justification is there for what he did?" She huffs. "JJ Maybank is insane! A trash Pogue!” 

You slap your palms against the table, making everything raddle. “No, he’s not!” 

"Y/N!" Your brother warns. "Remember where you are!" 

You don't give a shit about where you are! If this girl continues to run her mouth, you're going to do a lot worse than yell. 

“What? What is it about him, huh?" Crystal presses with a wicked smirk. "A charity thing? Wealthy guilt? Rooting for the underdog?” 

“Crystal!” Rafe barks her name defensively. 

“What?” The girl giggles. "It's true, isn't it? She's got a thing for the bottom feeder!" 

“Back off!” Topper warns her, finally backing you up. He may agree with her, but once she starts making digs at you he doesn't hesitate to put her in her place. 

Then, a lightbulb snaps on in her head. “Oh wait... or is it that you have the hots for him? Have you officially run out of guys on this side of the island? You a Pogue whore now?” She laughs mockingly. 

Having enough of her, you impulsively pick up your full glass of white wine and toss it in her face. She gasps as the liquid covers her, her mouth in the shape of an "O." The boys' jaws hit the table as all they can do is watch you toss your drink at her white tube top. 

"Y/N!" Topper utters your name in shock. This is nothing like you. You never lose your cool. You're always the calm and put together one of your friends. 

"You bitch!" Crystal nearly cries. "This is designer!" 

You groan, tossing your head back. "Oh my God! Get over yourself!" 

“JJ Maybank should be sent to jail with his dad and if he rotted in there I doubt anyone would miss him!” Crystal remarks with a snarky smirk. 

That's it! Without a second thought, you fly up from your chair, causing it to toss backward onto the floor. You leap across the full table, reaching your arms out for the girl. Kelce and Rafe move out the way as Crystal screams. Glasses and silverware fall off the table onto the wood-paneled floor patio floor. Topper moves quickly to wrap his arms around your waist, pulling you back, but not before you get a good slap across her face. 

“Woah, Woah, Woah there!” He pants, struggling to get a good hold on you. 

“Let me go!” You scream, wiggling in his arms. 

“Nope, not letting you get arrested today,” he grunts, stepping backward away from the table. 

“You crazy whore!” Crystal yells, holding her cheek. 

 “You’re calling me a whore? That’s ironic considering your name is Crystal! You were practically named for the corner, bitch!” You fire back, tossing up your middle fingers at her while Topper drags you toward the exit. 

“Damn!” Kelce laughs, covering his mouth to hide it. 

You don't care who's watching. Crystal had this coming a long time ago and she's pushed your patience to its limit the moment she touched JJ. She'll know now to never speak of him. 

“Fuck you, Y/N!” Crystal screams one last time. 

Rhett grabs her arm, quietly begging for her to stop. He's certainly pissed at your impolite actions and will likely run to tell your parents. 

“No thanks! I’m not into insecure, loudmouth, prostitutes!” You snap out one final dig before Topper gets you out the door. 

You never noticed Pope cleaning a table just yards away, you were pretty preoccupied. He watched in awe as you quite literally flew across the table and slapped a girl because she spoke wrongly about JJ. After Pope saw you with Topper, he wasn't sure what to think. He was just as confused by your relationship as JJ. The turn of events he's just witnessed sealed the deal in his mind, you're in love with JJ, whether you know it or not. 

________________________________

After his shift at the Club, Pope immediately went to John B's, knowing that's where his friends would be waiting to go out on the HMS Pogue. 

“You guys! You’ll never believe what happened at work today!” He rushes out as he jogs down the dock. 

“All the Kooks got swallowed up by the ocean?” JJ remarks bitterly in a grumble as he lounges on the front of the boat in his swim trunks

“No!” He pants as he slows to a stop. “Y/N and Crystal got into this huge fight!” 

“What?!” John B gasps. 

“What do you mean? Is she okay?!” Kiara questions as she helps Pope onto the boat. 

“Yeah, yeah, she’s fine, but it was insane!" Pope laughs in amazement. 

“What about?” Sarah inquires, eager to learn more. 

“JJ!" Pope explains with the utmost enthusiasm. "Crystal was talking shit and the next thing I know Y/N throws her drink in her face and jumps at her. She slaps the hell out of her! Topper literally had to carry her out!” 

“Holy shit,” John B mutters, wide-eyed. 

“God I would’ve paid big bucks to see that,” Kiara chuckles. 

“I can’t even envision Y/N doing something like that,” Sarah shakes her head in disbelief. 

“I know, she’s usually so polite, calm, civilized," Kiara lists. 

“You should’ve seen her guys. It was so badass. Lesson learned, don’t piss of Y/N!" Pope settles down on the bench beside Kiara. 

“It was over me?” JJ finally voices quietly. 

Pope hums. “Crystal wouldn’t stop and Y/N told her to “shut the fuck up.” 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard Y/N swear,” Sarah admits. 

 “That’s because she rarely does,” John B adds. 

“So she’s not pissed at me?” JJ questions, his tone steady and expressionless. 

“Based on how she was going to claw a girl’s eyes out in your defense, I vote no,” Pope determines. 

JJ stands up in a rush, moving to hop down into the boat. “Well, where did she go after that? Did Topper take her home or did she-" 

“She went looking for you,” you call out from the opposite end of the dock. 

Everyone's heads snap in your direction. All of their eyes are wide with surprise. They all smile, honestly glad to see you. JJ, however, just stares blankly with an unreadable reaction. 

“Hi JJ,” you greet timidly, doing your best to smile but you fall short. 

The boy never breaks his eye contact with you as he jumps off the boat. He marches toward you and you're not sure what to expect. You haven't spoken since last night and you wouldn't exactly call that a conversation. "What do you want? Come to gloat?" He sasses. 

“Okay, that’s our cue!” John B announces, starting up the engine. 

“Yep! We'll catch you guys later!” Pope rushes out. 

“Good to see you Y/N!” Sarah adds.

The Pogues desert JJ, leaving you two to work out your problems. JJ doesn't even turn around or react in the slightest as John B hurries the boat away. An ounce of you wonders if it's because he wants to stay, to talk to you. 

Your eyes flicker down to his chest and torso. The bruises you saw last night as a tad more healed, but still, look awful. Now that his body is more exposed, you start to notice more marks and cuts all over his arms, chest, ribcage. The sight makes your heart sink. Without thought, you place your hand on JJ's stomach. "Did Top do this?" You worry. JJ's muscles clench under your touch. The feeling of your fingertips glide across his bare torso makes him go weak in the knees. 

"No, got into a fight with a bobcat. You should see the bobcat," he smirks slightly, making light of the situation. 

Your face falls as your eyes meet his. "Don't joke-" 

"Sorry!" He steps back. "Can't take you seriously when everything you say is a lie," he scoffs. 

Your brows scrunch together in confusion. "What are you even saying right now?!" 

"It was all bullshit!" He snaps. "All of it! Everything you said! You're no different than the rest of them!" He exhales deeply, taking a moment to stare at you. He immediately regrets yelling considering how guilty he felt after what he did last night. Yet, JJ's hurt and he's pent up these emotions for days now. They're driving him nuts. "You lie, cheat, you take what you want when you want it no matter the consequences or who you hurt!" 

"I never lied to you, JJ!" You defend, equally as passionate as him. "Every fucking word was true!" JJ's brows rise slightly at your use of language. It appearing so foreign coming from your mouth. You sigh, "Jesus, JJ you can be so oblivious sometimes!" You turn on your heels, marching back down the dock toward the yard. 

"At least I'm not playing both sides of the fence! I know what I want and where I belong!" JJ fires. 

You whip your head over your shoulder and stomp back toward him. "You freaking psycho!" 

"Psycho! How am I a psycho?" JJ laughs, astonished. 

"You pulled a gun!" You remind him. 

"He was drowning me, Y/N!" JJ screams, getting in your face. You swallow hard. Despite the intensity of your arguing, you can't help but feel a rush of satisfaction having JJ so close again. JJ looks to the side, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "I'm not gonna be your little plaything while you wait on Topper of all people to fuck you again," he shakes his head, meeting your gaze again. "I won't do it." 

Your lips part, not believing the words coming from him right now. "Fuck you, JJ," you hiss between your teeth before turning again to walk away. JJ stays where he is and watches you stomp away. A part of him wants to beg you to stay, the other tells himself that you deserve everything he's saying. 

You come to a slow stop as your mind races. You're Y/N Whitfield, you don't have to take this shit, especially from JJ Maybank of all people. You spin on your heels and JJ glances up as you do. "For someone so smart you're an idiot!" You clench your jaw. "Topper is my best friend, that's it!" You reason. "Whatever Sarah told you, that was before I met you! He could never be you!" 

JJ simply stares at you blankly. The silence kills you. One minute he won't shut up and the next he stands there like an idiot. 

"The way I feel when I'm with Topper..." you sigh, unsure how to describe it. You're not entirely what to call it. "It's comfortable, sure, but it's not anything glorious. There's no excitement there, just a sense of security from knowing each other for so long." You hesitate to continue, but since you'll probably never speak again, you might as well lay everything out on the table right? "You don't even have to touch me, your glance is enough to make me feel alive. When I went to bed, I thought of you. When I woke up, I thought of you. You're... you're it for me, JJ. I can't imagine there's anything better than when I'm with you. But... I guess we already fucked it up didn't we?" 

There's a pause between shots and you prepare to walk away from JJ forever. Then, something in him sets off and he starts rushing up to you. Startled, you begin to shuffle back. 

"What are you doing?" You question, placing a hesitant hand up. 

"Showing you how much of an idiot I really am," he replies swiftly as he brings his hands up to cup your face. 

He pauses for a second, looking at you with hooded eyes. You lose all capability of breathing, melting into his hands. You glance down at his parted lips, waiting for what's next. JJ smashing his lips to yours hungrily. Without hesitation, you reciprocate the action, combing your fingers through the hair on the back of his neck.

 You meant every word. Being with Topper can be great and there's so much history there. Yet, being with JJ is entirely different. It's new. It's organic. It's what keeps you awake at night in the best way. You imagine exploring every inch of his body and never letting go. 

JJ breaks from you, pressing his lips to your forehead as his eyes fall shut. "I'm so sorry, Baby, for everything!" He whispers against your cheek before planting a kiss there. 

"Me too," you reply. 

He pulls back, meeting your gaze. "I don't think you're a slut." 

You laugh, "I sure hope not!"  

"You're too good for me," he shakes his head as he still wonders if this is all in his imagination. 

"Quite the opposite actually," you debate. 

"No, don't say that." He shakes his head frantically, hating it when you speak badly about yourself. "You're everything to me!" 

You place your hands over his on your cheek and plant a kiss on his palm, making JJ totally simp for you. 

"Do you... would you maybe wanna have a little hot tub night?" The boy asks nervously, still kinda unsure of himself when it comes to you. 

"I'd love that," you smile, wanting to spend every moment with him from this day forever. 

_____________________________

Settling in the hot tub, JJ tugs at the rim of your panties, pulling you to sit across his lap. You drape your arms on his shoulders, resting your forehead against his. 

"Are you warm enough?" He whispers, placing a gentle kiss on your cheek. 

Hum as your eyes falls shut, pondering the closeness. 

"You're so soft and warm. You're like a human Pillow Pet," he comments with a slight snicker. 

"Excuse me?" You lift your head to look at him. 

"Minus the furry part," he elaborates. 

"You're such a goof." You laugh, placing your palm against his head and pushing it away playfully. 

"Only for you, Baby," JJ grins. 

You place a quick peck on his lips before shifting to move off of his lap. 

JJ pouts, letting out a minor whine. "Uh uh, don't leave." 

"I'm just grabbing my drink," you giggle at his childlike expression. As you take a sip from your beer, you can feel JJ watching you. You glance over your shoulder and sure enough, his eyes remain locked on your ass. "You're starring," you smirk. 

"You bet your amazing ass I am," he mumbles, reaching across the water and grabbing your ass, giving it a squeeze. 

"JJ!" You gasp, swatting his hand away. 

He tilts his head back, exposing his sharp jaw as he wraps his arms around your waist, bringing you back to him. "Couldn't help myself! It was practically begging for a squeeze." 

"Right..." You nod, straddling his lap. 

As an act of retaliation, you press your palm to the center of his boxers, making the boy jolt lightly from surprise. 

"Holy shit," he swallows hard. 

"Couldn't help myself, it was practically begging for it," you smirk, repeating his words. 

"You're too good to be true," he whispers, bringing his lips closer to yours. 

"Dido," you grin, leaning in to kiss him. 

_____________________

After pondering the bliss of you and JJ finally being reunited in the hot tub, you two make dinner together in the Chateau's kitchen. You two move in sync as you prepare the oh-so-difficult meal of pizza rolls. You share a place of them while cuddling watching Goonies. During it, JJ comes up with the idea that you two should be Andy and Brand for Halloween. It makes you smile and all warm inside to hear him making plans for two months from now. It makes you fully realize how much JJ sees a future with you. Somewhere before Goonies was over, you fell asleep in JJ's lap while he was playing with your hair. The last few days have worn on you emotionally, mentally, and physically. 

The Pogues came home and when they saw you and JJ on the couch, especially you, they quietly stayed outside. Except, John B lingered, smiling at the sight of his friend doting on you. He's never seen JJ be so gentle and patient in his life. 

“You’re different with her," John B whispers not to wake you. 

JJ glances up from observing you look at his friend with a satisfied smirk. “She makes me want to be better." His fingers comb through your Y/H/C locks, utterly content. 

“I think she’s really good for you,” John B nods in agreement.  

“She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I want to change, to be worthy of being with her," JJ confesses quietly as he returns his focus to you. 

"You two deserve each other," John B assures his friend. 

"You think?" JJ wonders, still unsure of his place in your life. 

John B snickers lightly. "I mean, she did leap across a table in front of all her friends and slap a girl to defend you." 

"Yeah she did, didn't she? Pretty badass," JJ chuckles, still amazed that you did that. 

"She loves you man," John B concludes with a shrug. 

"Really?" JJ narrows his eyes with curiosity at his friend. 

"Well, it's obvious isn't it?" John B laughs breathlessly with a crooked grin. 

"I thought it was all in my head," JJ confesses with a childish fall of his lips like he just learned some overwhelming news. 

"It's not," his friend shakes his head, happy to see his friend finally have some hope. "She looks at you the same way you look at her." 

JJ's brows scrunch together and he looks up at John B. "When you and Sarah said it to each other, how did you know it was the right time?" 

"You'll know. You'll feel it," he describes confidently.  

"What if I feel it now?" JJ asks softly, glancing down at you. 

"Then say it. Say it whenever you can, as often as you can," John B advises before stepping away quietly to give you two time. 

JJ sits with your head cradled in his lap. He's not eager to join his friends around the fire outside. He's content with you here with him, whether you're asleep or not. You're enough for him. You're everything to him. 

JJ leans down, planting a kiss to your temple, then gliding his lips down to your ear. "I love you, Y/N," he whispers while you sleep.  __________________________________________________

Masterlist

Tags: @starkeythinker @bethii1 @thegunnerkelly@cc13723things@hockeybabe87 @jolomez 

[underthebednotebook]

Sam would be able to handle a sex curse.

Let me tell you what I mean.

Weecest era, Dean is pacing around the room as John is checking Sam up and down, flashlight to the eyes and having him stick his tongue out because Sammy here had been hexed.

It wasn't something deadly, Dean would have stabbed the witch instead of shooting her if it had been deadly, but it was something rather problematic that, from the look of John's face, they didn't necessarily need right now.

Dean had just gotten used to the smells left behind witch hexes. All of them had a bit of sulfur beneath them but mixed in with different things. Sulfur and blood? Death hex. Sulfur and sage? Paralysis hex. So he didn't necessarily know what to think when he smelled sulfur and cut apples.

Not like he could think much of anything when Sammy was still hurt despite the shoving and exclamation that he was 'fine' and that he didn't need to be checked over like a kid.

John puts him in quarantine for a day while he goes to track the witch down, Dean skips target practice to spend time with his baby brother and everything is suddenly alright in the Winchester household.

Except that it isn't, because Dean is waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Sam should be doubling over right now, itching to get into something and quell the ache in his gut. His hands should be sweating and feeling numb because they are not touching skin. He should be ripping the clothes from some pretty thing and asking her to please please let him inside, because his Sammy is very polite always has been polite, only for arms to be wrapped around him and dragging him closer and closer and deeper and deeper.

Or maybe...maybe Sammy needed something in him.

Maybe Sammy needed something someone big and strong to man handle his scrawny self, shove him to the nearest surface and tear his mouth open with their tongue while quickly working him out of Dean's hand-me-downs so that Sam's body could finally get the touch that it needs so that his body would stop burning itself from the inside out. His baby brother, in the meantime, would be begging for this man Dean hates that his brain thinks it would be a man but the image won't leave his head to shove his legs upwards, pointing at the ceiling so that the man's fingers would press against that pink it had to be pink, everything about Sammy was so pink sometimes rim and then--

"Hey Dean."

Sammy slaps him away from that train of thought, bringing him back to the couch where he was sitting right next to Sammy.

"...hm what?"

"Wanna know why I'm not affected by the hex?"

Dean probably can't ask for any clarifications because Sam is straddling him, putting his entire weight down on Dean's crotch as the couch dips under them even more. Dean's hands land on Sam's thighs as his baby brother grabs both side of his face and pulls him close.

"I've had to live with you parading around in front of me all of my life. You touching me, caressing me, treating me like a fragile little object despite Dad wanting to break me every chance he gets. I can't remember the last time I had a wet dream and it didn't involve you shoving yourself so far inside me that it almost felt like I could get pregnant."

His ears burn. Dean's ears burn because Sammy did not just say 'I' and 'pregnant' in the same sentence.

"Every single part of me wants you, with our without hex, so whatever that bitch thought she could make me feel for you is not even close to the need I feel for you on a daily basis. So stop worrying because unless you are going to do something about it you're only making more trouble for me by being so close. Trust me, Dean..."

Sam moves closer so that his mouth is ghosting over Dean's ear, all while Dean forgets how to breathe.

"This is child's play."

Almost like it never happened, Sam gets off of him and grabs the pizza box from the floor, heading out of the room. Dean almost reaches out for him but the last string of his sanity is working so hard to keep him a good big brother.

"Sammy."

"...yes?"

Sam opens the door but stops when he hears the bed creak, looking behind him as Dean felt whatever thread holding him together snap like twine.

"...close the door and come here."

[heyitsyn]

MANAGER!SEIJOH AU

a/n: this is kind of an au like what if you were

for more seijoh content, check this masterlist out!

anon:

- 🥺👉🏻👈🏻 i would like to request a seijoh!manager reader who’s a first year and is siblings with ushi and the team’s reaction to finding out that she was supposed to go to shiratorizawa with ushi and their reaction with her getting along with the shiratorizawa volleyball team and maybe the manager is a small cute soft little energetic ball of sunshine 🥺🥺 also hewwo, hope youre doing well! ☺️ -🎷🐛

- Ir seijoh manager series is so gooood. Can we get something where by some weird reason yn-chan is close to ushijima and tendou and the seijoh boys dont know about it and how they'd react to her being so affectionate w them ahahwindkdn

EVERYONE SHUT UP AND LOOK AT HOW FREAKING PRETTY TENDOU IS LIKE AKLFDJLASKFJDLSKFJDSFLKD

okayokayokay

so this is a what if thing

like what if ushijima was your older brother

SLKFDJADFLIJSDKLDF I CAN ALREADY IMAGINE OIKAWA SCREAMING

you didnt exactly have the best relationship with your mom

you remember when you were younger that she used to yell at your brother for using his left hand and you got angry a lot because you were fiercely protective of your brother

this caused her to yell at you too for being nosy and being involved in something you shouldnt be in

duh we know that ushi’s dad takashi actually supported him for this and protected him too and you were also a papa’s girl so you always ran to him

he understood you both better and while your mother worked, he was at home taking care of you two

then when they mentioned wanting to separate, you were very sad but somewhat relieved

mostly because you hated hearing your parents arguing and you felt bad for your brother as he constantly did whatever to get you out of the house

thats what brought on your love for volleyball

you werent exactly the best player but you were interested in it and often watched matches with him

but you also liked volleyball because your brother liked it

you liked whatever your brother liked

he adored you too and he was a boy who didnt talk much due to your mother but he was always a talker with you

especially when you couldnt sleep, he would sneak you out of your room and you both would run to the kitchen and eat ice cream

even with just a 2 year age difference, he looked as if he was older than you due to his massive height

‘just wait nii-chan! i will drink enough milk to reach your height!’

*insert lenny face*

AKLDJFSLDKFJDF I HATE MYSELF

CAN I PLEASE DIE

however

when they divorced, you thought your father would take both you and ushi

like the lady at the court even asked you where you wanted to go and not a breath of hesitation you chose your father

you weren’t very concerned because you knew your brother was going to choose your dad as you both were closer to him

so imagine your surprise when he said he didnt care and naturally, the mother would get the child

lowkey you felt hella betrayed and when your dad whisked you away overseas, there was this grudge you held against toshi

yall youre like 5

i would be hella mad too if my brother chose the person who yells at him all the time

in california, your father made sure you still remembered your brother and you tried to detach from the japanese lifestyle to your new one but you just couldnt

maybe around 6 years you were already fed up with the hot california heat and you wanted to go back to japan to see toshi again

you got over that grudge years ago but your mother refused to have any contact or anything to do with your father and so that included you too

she refused to let you both video chat and any type of connection

your dad obviously noticed your sad expressions and your obvious longing to go back to your brother again and so he arranged something

you shut the door gently before taking off your shoes by the doorway

the large house was often quiet except for the constant typing of a keyboard in your father’s study

‘tadaima’

you meekly mumbled but his sense of hearing never wavered so he heard your voice

‘oh? y/n?’

his voice echoed through the hallways and you heard his chair squeak as it was moved back so he could stand

your sock-cladded feet padded against the hard wood floor and you walked towards his study where indeed he was standing there

your father has definitely aged yet his job as a coach made him as fit as he was decades ago

as much as it disgusted you, you could tell what your friends meant when they said your dad was good-looking

they actually said your dad was hot but you refuse to acknowledge that

you and your friends are like 12 tf

you closed the door and sat down on the loveseat at the corner of the room as it was your designated spot

‘hey, papa’

you greeted with a smile and he gave you the same grin

‘i ordered f/f (favorite food) for dinner tonight so try and listen for the bell to ring, okay?’

you nodded

there was bit of small talk and you asked about his team while he asked about school and you both arranged to hang out over the weekend at some ice cream shop

the conversation dragged on until you heard the doorbell and you ran to the door to answer the delivery man

your dad put out the plates on the table and you excitedly dug in

‘also, you remember your grandmother? and her terrible back?’

oh god of course you did

they lived about 30 minutes away from your house in japan and she constantly worried your father bc the woman was approaching 90 and was still picking peppers!

with old coach ukai

‘what did she do now?’

your father chuckled at the exasperation in your voice

‘she misses you. says something about the family’s princess needing to go back to her country or something’

there was a smile in your face

your grandmother was your favorite and she always said you were the princess

she hated your mother because of how insensitive she was so she only acknowledged you as the only other female in the family

obviously your brother was also liked but there was just a special bond between you and your grandmother

‘so when are we going back?’

you asked and it was clear that you were excited at the thought of going back to japan as you havent been back since you moved due to your father’s busy job and your school

takashi swallowed his food before revealing the news

‘actually, if you want, you could finish your schooling there. but only until college first though because your old man needs you over here too’

nah bro you didnt even care about the last part

literally your fork fell to the table and you shrieked 

‘WHAT?! SERIOUSLY?!’

and thus brought you back to japan

you stayed with your grandmother on your dad’s side and you quickly got accustomed back to japan life

OH

your BROTHER!

okay

so waka-chan def heard you coming back

your mother was grumbling about it the other day and he was sure he heard your name in there

‘sdkfjkdslfjdkslfj y/n dkfjlsdkfjldkf’

LMAO THATS ME TRYING TO SAY THAT WAKA COULDNT UNDERSTAND WHAT SHE SAID SINCE SHE WAS MUMBLING SHE WASNT KEYBOARD SMASHING LMAO

there was a mutual giddiness in there too and he was excited to see you again after many years without contact

however

there was a bit of fear in there that thought back to when you were younger and his choice of not really having a specific parent despite your pleads to stay together with him

but he was going to make sure your bond was still intact!

he would do anything in his power to do so!

when you arrived

your dad accompanied you back to japan and you both were walking out to the exit of the airport when you saw your grandmother excitedly waving a sign around

in bold sparkly letters, it said ‘USHIJIMA’

okay wait i love grandma usui 

you quickly ran over to her and she grasped you into her arms

‘nana’

you sobbed and she hugged you tightly

‘im so happy youre back home’

your father shook hands with the friend she brought to help drive you guys back home

old man ukai was basically the chauffeur but hes really good friends with your nana so it was okay

the entire ride you guys basically caught up with each other and you couldnt help but laugh whenever your dad would go on a rant about your grandma being too reckless and your nana defending herself

‘oh stop it, takashi. i was only given one life and if it’s over, it’s over. for now, ill live it how i see fit!’

your old family home was exactly as you remember it but you didnt expect the 6′2 boy in the living room

‘nii-chan’

you meekly whispered and he let out a soft smile before opening his big arms

you ran into them and he held you tightly

‘i missed you. so much’

he whispered and you nodded 

it was def such a nice thing to have your brother again

oooo your dad been knew that you would be sticking to waka like you did when you were itty bitty young

so when you practically begged waka to stay at your nana’s house the entire summer, he couldnt refuse you

duh your mom went to see you but you just quietly sat there and smiled at her

polite but distant

due to being around waka so much, you naturally went to his volleyball practices and their training camp

there

you met his friends and you guys quickly got acquainted especially with tendo bc he was just so fun

and he was your brother’s boyfriend best friend

the others were still kinda distant with you ahem ahem im looking at you shirabu

but they were mostly amazed at how powerful the genetics played in your appearances because wowza you were beautiful

lmao dont let waka hear them say that bc they would be benched all season in a single snap

during training camp, you usually sat at the sides or you would be their stand-in manager

goshiki absolutely LOVES you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOSHIKI MY SON MY BABY

him and you were the same age so there was an easier way of being friends and your energies just matched so well

he would run up to you whenever he got a play right and you would ruffle his hair affectionately

LADKSJFLDSKFS FLASHBACK TO TENDO!SISTER X GOSHIKI

‘y/n-chan!’

‘y/n-chan!’

‘y/n-chan!’

hell even ushi was getting annoyed at goshiki’s constant need for you

tendo would steal you away and he would be giggling to you about how adorable you were and you just giggled along bc wow this beautiful man is really talking to me right now

ALKSDJFLKSF CAN YOU TELL IM ALSO A TENDOODOO SIMP?

‘cmere, y/n-chan. i taught toshi this the other day and he was very impressed and wanted me to do it again. okay so it goes in a rhyme, ya ready?’

you nodded along and he shot you a close-eyed smile before starting to draw on the dirt with a stick

‘there once was a man with-’

lets just say

you were definitely your brother’s sister

sometimes though

you would try and go towards the calmer players to get away from the rowdiness from baby daddy tendo and baby goshiki

you would find them at the gym just doing drills and at the sight of you, they would turn red but continue playing

they didnt really mind seeing you there bc youve always been such a positive energy and cheered them on which gave them strength

‘NICE ONE OHIRA-SAN!’

‘WAHHH SO COOL YAMAYAMA-SAN!’

you were like a cute ball of serotonin >o<

‘wah, of course its expected for you guys to be the top in the prefecture. youre like,,,,, silent but deadly~!’

duh a compliment from a girl?

dead

shirabu’s bangs would get in the way of his vision sometimes yall i will never stop making fun of that ridiculously adorable haircut so you would use a clip and tuck it away for him

this big babie is so awkward that he turns red when you whisper in his ear that you were done

semisemi baby and you got along bc you guys had a similar taste in music and because you lived in california, he was fascinated that you were in the music capital of america

‘did you see celebrities down the street?’

he asked you excitedly one day during lunch

you stopped then smiled softly

‘semisemi-kun, i didnt live at that part of california’

nah to him, america is just filled with celebrities

OH DEAR BABY BOY KAWANISHI

taichi is a generally quiet guy

like you thought he was actually selectively mute when you first met him

but you gradually got him to talk and you would help him whenever he would want to practice

usually it was during the ungodly hours of the morning

you woke up and went to grab a drink from the common room but you noticed his large build exiting the door so you followed him into the gym

‘kawanishi-san?’

you called out and felt guilty when he jumped 

‘oh, hey’

he aknowledged

‘wha-’

you stopped to yawn causing your eyes to close making you miss the brief second of softness that flashed in his eyes

‘what are you doing?’

you tiredly asked

taichi dusted off his trackpants after kneeling down to rummage through his bag and you couldnt help but gawk at his height

‘im training early’

he answered

‘why? is it because you want to keep up with the others?’

you mumbled and he was surprised for a second but reverted back to his stoic expression

‘i have to make sure i am able to reach my seniors level for next year’

taichi turned away to grab a stray ball and you moved to go to the storage room for the ball cart

‘oi, what are you doing? go back to bed’

he said from the other side of the gym but you just looked back at him with a tired grin

‘meh, i want to spend time with you, senpai’

you reasoned

he shook his head before walking over to you then ruffled your hair

‘no wonder youre so tiny. you dont sleep enough and let your body grow’

yep that was the closest youve gotten to taichi joking with you

usually, hes training and when hes in the zone, nothing else has his attention but the ball

maybe thats why the others ahem goshiki has said that he was very scary

his game face was practically a mean face

basically you spent the entire training camp with them and then soon, you were going back to school

duh everyone hmm maybe not shirabu bc he most definitely read the school book of rules thought you would be going to shiratorizawa with them 

but you broke the news to them one afternoon and imagine the tears from both tendo and goshiki

‘WHHYYYY!!!!’

‘NOOO!!!!!’

‘why can’t you?’

semi asked and you were about to answer when shirabu beat you to it

‘the school doesnt allow late transfers’

oh right

the american school system was set in a different schedule than a japanese school system

it was considered the summer for them yet school already started a few months ago

since shiratorizawa was a very academically and physically prestigious school, they refused anyone who would potentially be late or behind their curriculum

‘so where ya headed to then, chibi?’

tendou pouted and you leaned against his arm

‘hmm some school named aoba johsai? i dont know its near my grannie’s so that’s all that mattered’

oh dear

USHIJIMA NO Y/N WILL NOT ASK TOORU TO GO TO SHIRATORIZAWA

they consider seijoh a rival bc theyve played against them practically in every prefecture tournament and they were worried for that infamous setter

‘ne, y/n-chan, promise us that you won’t be swept away by them! especially a guy named oikawa tooru!’

uhhh

well

tendou’s warning was kinda ignored bc you ended up being seijoh’s manager

hehe

surprise?

but they weren’t really really shocked tho bc they knew you liked volleyball so you would naturally be in the volleyball team

even as a manager

meanwhile in seijohhh

OooOOOoOoOooooo sEiJOOhHHHH~~~~~~

okay so you were actually registered under your father’s last name usui rather than the ushijima last name

therefore you werent exactly immediately known as HEY! USHIJIMA’S SISTER!

you still became the manager the way you did as mentioned in part 1 

and you still are their adorable baby manager

you were aware of their oikawa’s hatred for wakawaka so you try not to talk about him even though youre literally the closest person to him

was it traitorous? 

maybe

but you actually even help them when they practice

duh the boys are like eyebrow raise emoji 

‘wow youre really into volleyball, huh, manager-chan?’

matsukawa commented and you just smiled

‘hmm, my family likes it so ive picked up a thing or two’

LMAO

little do they know your brother is literally the best volleyball player around and is a member of the under 19 team and your father is a volleyball coach in america and would someday be someone iwaizumi hajime (19) would apprentice under

there was a lot of times you thought you would slip up like your home screen was of you and waka but youve been careful to cover it up

BUT

you cant always be sneaky

it was during the first day of the tournament and you were filling up their water bottles I SWEAR WHY IS MANAGER-CHAN ALWAYS FILLING UP WATER BOTTLES when you found a familiar bunch of boys at the end of the hallway just chatting

you havent seen tendou and the boys in so long so you placed the bottles down and rushed over there so quickly

‘TOMUTOMU!’

you shouted and the oddly-haired boy turned and he gasped before grabbing you into a large hug

this grabbed tendou’s attention and he cheered then hugged you too

your giggles and happy cheers were so infectous and they just absolutely missed you so much 

these tall boys were at a advantage so someone scooped you up and you were just affectionately being talked to and hugged and LKDSJFSLDFJ SO LUCKY SO LOVED

meanwhile

the plant babies were wondering where the heck you went to 

‘y/n-chan?! where is she?!’

oikawa panicked quickly while iwaizumi hit him to shut up

‘be quiet! you won’t find her if you’re too busy freaking out!’

‘ill find her’

matsukawa volunteered and they nodded, feeling at ease of him being capable to find you if you were in trouble

but when he returned empty-handed and with large eyes, they knew something was up

they ran behind mattsun to stop and copy his shocked expression at the sight in front of them

is that

you?

with

shi

ra

to

ri

za

wa

oh my god

‘y/n-chan!’

oikawa shouted, being the first to speak

you jumped and your own eyes widened

‘oh. oh no’

you mumbled

the others were so stunned and seijoh itself was so hard to make speechless but they were just shocked

period

‘what is happening’

iwaizumi mumbled

yea the others were just shocked period

‘hey guys’

you waved and you motioned them closer

‘uhh,,, well,,, um they are my friends’

you smiled uneasily and they could see that

‘aaand?’

oikawa signalled you to say everything bc he knew it wasnt the whole story

you sighed

‘ushi,,, jima is my brother’

you mumbled the last part

but they heard you

‘HAH?!’

you cringed and the shira boys were about to move to protect you but they saw you glare at them

‘what? what about it? hes my brother? and?’

you babbled

‘but,, why are you,, in seijoh? dont get me wrong! its just,, youd naturally go to shiratorizawa right?’

mattsun waved his hands around and asked the question thats bugging the team

‘i came to the country late’

‘THE COUNTRY?!’

well,,

turns out you havent exactly told them everything about you yet :/

even when youve cleared the air and introduced waka as your brother, seijoh still didnt say anything

they were stuck in this shocked and surprised moment even at the end of the day and when you went straight to the shiratorizawa team,

they watched with wide eyes as you laughed with goshiki and was jumping around with tendou

‘AH! TOMU! MY HAIR!’

‘TORI-SAN! SATORI-SAN! TAKE THAT!’

wow you were actually really beautiful when youre happy

‘i dont think ive seen her this happy with this much energy’

makki said and they nodded

it was true

you were usually calm and collected and was the perfect balance to this chaotic team

so seeing you so free and loose with them was so refreshing, even if it was with damn ushiwaka

you finally went back to the seijoh boys and they all sent glares to the violet team before sending you a smile

‘you ready to go, manager-chan?’

watari ruffled your hair before handing you your bag to start walking to the bus

‘yea. lets go home’

as you all walked, oikawa was already starting his tantrum

‘y/n-chan~! why aren’t you that happy around us? are we not enough for you?’

oikawa whined and pouted

but you just turned to smiled at him and stopped walking to pat his head

‘im not their manager, therefore im not pressured to act like anyone except as a friend and a spectator. but i try to be as professional as i can with you guys to make sure you dont appear bad to others. and you guys are perfectly chaotic enough, adding me into the mix will just about kill coach’

oikawa didnt seem satisfied though

‘but! thats not fair! they get to see you smile and i dont!’

iwaizumi growled at him to be quiet but you beat him to it

well

you smiled at tooru but your eyes shone maliciously

‘i knew you would act like this, oikawa-san. as punishment, i gave nii-chan your phone number. good luck avoiding him now’

oikawa screamed

a/n: AAWWWWW LETS NOT KILL COACH IRIHATA OKAY? HES LIKE OUR GRANPAPA AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LEAVE OIKAWA ALONE WAKAWAKA-KUN!

[accioxreparo]

ink stains

synopsis: soulmate au in which every mark that appears on your body also appears on your soulmate’s body including, as you discover one day, drawings. Needless to say you’re determined to make your soulmate smile, even if you haven’t found them yet.

pairing: George Weasley x ravenclaw!reader

warnings: none

a/n: Hi I’m late to the party but @thoseofgreatambition is doing a soulmate theme night and I’m a ho for soumate au’s so hopefully mine is decent enough lol also I may or may not be writing one for fred too but it’s taking me ages so 

tagging: @the-hufflepuff-of-221b

~~~~~~

When you were six years old you woke up one morning to dark stains splattered all over your face and arms. You were confused and quickly grew panicked, absolutely positive that you had contracted Dragon Pox overnight. It had taken an hour for your dad to calm you down enough so he could explain with a small grin that your soulmate must’ve spilled an inkwell on themselves. 

“What do you mean?” You had asked with wide, curious eyes.

“Well,” Your dad had reached for the bedside table and picked up a quil. “Everybody has a soulmate, Y/N. One day you start being able to see the marks that appear on your soulmate's body, permanent or temporary. For you, that day happens to be today.” He dipped the quil in a well filled with bright blue ink and handed it to you. “Why don’t you give it a try? Write your soulmate a message.”

“What if they don’t write back?” You had frowned then, suddenly worrying that maybe this mystery person on the other end would want nothing to do with you. 

“Well that’s okay,” Your dad had been quick to reassure you. “They might not be able to see the marks yet. But one day they will and I just know they’ll be ecstatic to know you’re here.”

After that day there was a constant stream of doodles all over you. Vines snaking up your ankle. Twisting patterns winding around your fingers. Planets and stars littering your collarbone area. Stripes of random colors all over your palms as you mixed new colors. The most detailed pictures were always on your left arm though, that was where you practiced new drawings. 

Occasionally you wrote a message but mostly you drew. Then one day you bought a book about charms to cast on drawings in Flourish and Blotts and you begged your dad every chance you got to cast them for you. After that at least a few pictures were always moving up and down your body.

When you got your very own wand at the age of eleven they were the first spells you practiced. By the end of your first year at Hogwarts you had mastered the whole book. Since then there was always a constant supply of different colored inks in your bag and pockets. The array of multicolored moving pictures that changed every day was your one connection to your soulmate. 

They had yet to write back. 

It had been ages since you first found your connection to your soulmate. You’d dealt with scars and bruises and occasional scribbled reminders but never once had you ever received even an acknowledgment of anybody seeing your drawings. 

You tried not to let it bother you, you really did. But it seemed like every single person around you had known their soulmate for years, in one way or another. Some days the smile you wore wasn’t quite genuine, the longing you felt growing a little deeper at times, but never once did you fail to decorate your limbs with gentle reminders that you were there for your soulmate to find on themselves. 

Not until that day. You were set to leave for school the next morning and your father had taken the week off of work to see you off. The two of you, your older brother, and your younger sister were probably too focused on the quidditch match you had going against each other in the backyard of your house. So much so that the bludger hit your way completely blindsided you. 

The match ended with panicked shouts, a trip to St. Mungos, and your left arm wrapped tightly in cloth bandages as it rested in a sling while your bones healed. 

It was only when you were sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express that the strangest thing happened. Words scrawled in letters that weren’t your own had appeared on your right arm. 

Nothing new today? 

As you stared at the writing with wide eyes, more words appeared underneath those. 

I’m sure this is bending the rules but I had to know. Something’s wrong isn’t it?

Frantically you dumped out the contents of your bag, scattering them all over the floor of the compartment. You dug around the mess you had made until you found a self-inking quil. Just as you were about to write your response you caught sight of the bandages on your arm and gave a defeated sigh. 

“Would you like some help?” 

You looked up and saw Luna, a friend of yours a couple years below you, watching you with an amused smile. The two of you would always sit up late in the common room together, swapping theories and stories about anything and everything. 

“If you don’t mind,” You gave her a sheepish look and she only smiled before moving to sit next to you. 

“What would you like me to write?” Luna asked as she took the quil out of your hand. You smiled and told her, watching as she took your arm and wrote out your words for you. 

What makes you think something is wrong?

It was seconds later when you received your response. 

Not once in the six years since I’ve been able to see your drawings have you let a day pass where you don’t add new ones. What’s wrong? 

A smile graced your face and Luna was kind enough to help you continue the conversation happening on your arm. 

I’m fine. Just a Quidditch injury. I’ll have the bandages removed by tonight, don’t worry. 

Take your time. I don’t want you to hurt longer than you have to, love.

You were sure it was cheating, talking to your soulmate by writing messages on your arm. But if whatever soulmate forces were out there didn’t want you to talk to them then there shouldn’t have been such a simple loophole. 

That’s what comforted you late that night, now gently scrawling messy words quickly on your arm that had been broken only the day before. Never before had you been more thankful for Skele-Gro. 

Can I ask you something?

The print you wrote with was small on purpose, trying to keep as much room available as possible. It didn’t stop you, however, from doodling new little pictures on the back of your hand. 

Go for it.

Why haven’t you ever said anything before? Why now?

You stared at the words you had written for a few moments before sighing and heading to the bathroom that was connected to your room. Only after staring at the words covering both arms now for a minute or two did you start washing away the ink you had put there. 

For a minute you thought that you shouldn’t have asked. You stood in silence, watching as the remainder of the ink, the part written in your soulmates handwriting, was slowly washed away leaving only faint ink stains. Then to your relief a response came after it was all gone. 

I was worried. And let’s just say I’m not as artistic as you are, my talents lie in other places. 

For a second the writing stopped but then more words appeared, quicker than they had before. 

Also I may have missed seeing you draw new pictures for me a little too much.

You beamed at the words and walked back to your bed. After the curtains were pulled around it you lit the end of your wand and picked up your quil again. 

Do you like them? The pictures. 

The response was almost immediate. 

I love them.

***

“Miss Y/L/N.” 

You jumped in your seat at the sound of a voice calling your name. Slowly you looked up from where you were taking notes on nonverbal spells. Professor Flitwick stood only a few feet away with an exasperated look on his face. Meanwhile both of the Weasley twins sat at their desk looking quite satisfied with whatever they had just done. 

You’d been correct to assume they were behind whatever loud noise had been going on only minutes before. The desk the twins were sitting at was now charred and the other Gryffindors surrounding them were chatting excitedly about whatever it was you missed while your nose was buried in your charms book. 

Neither Fred or George Weasley missed the fact that you were trying and failing to keep back an amused smile.  

“You’ll be getting a new partner to do your project with,” Professor Flitwick lifted his wand and with a single flick a bag and a pile of unused textbooks was flying across the room and into the empty space next to you. “Mr. Weasley.” 

Both boys stood at the same time wearing matching smirks and chorused, “Yes, Professor?” 

You covered your mouth with your hand to stifle your laugh when Professor Flitwick sighed and shook his head upon realizing that he really should have seen that coming. “Mr. George Weasley. Come meet your new partner.” 

Oddly enough said person didn’t look disappointed by the new assignment at all. Instead he grinned as he approached you, sliding into the chair beside you easily. 

You could count the number of times you had spoken to George Weasley on one hand. The first time had been during potions when he’d asked to borrow some foxglove for a pompion potion. It wasn’t the potion you’d been assigned to brew but you hadn’t questioned it. The second time he’d walked up to you and your friends after a quidditch match to congratulate Ravenclaw on their victory against Slytherin despite the fact that none of you were on the team. And the third time was only a few weeks before when he asked to borrow a spare quil in transfiguration. 

You doubted he remembered any of that though. 

“So partner,” George leaned on the desk, head resting on one of his hands as he looked at you. “What do you know about,” He reached over to look at the piece of parchment you’d been taking your notes on. “Nonverbal spells? That’s our topic?” 

“It is,” You nodded and reached for your notes, hoping he wouldn’t flip over the parchment to see the drawings you’d absentmindedly doodled during the lecture. “Is that a problem?” 

“Not at all,” George’s smile turned softer then as he stared at you, a fact which you noticed. You turned away quickly as you felt your face burn, hoping silently that it wasn’t too noticeable. “On the contrary. From what I hear you’ve already mastered a few nonverbal spells yourself Y/N, dearest.”

You froze then, not sure which revelation surprised you more. The fact that apparently you had developed a reputation without you knowing or the fact that George Weasley of all people knew your name. 

You tried your hardest to fight the temptation to ask how he knew you and why. 

“Class is almost over,” Your words came out rushed and a little too loud to sound natural. It wasn’t a complete lie. In just ten minutes you’d all be dismissed and that was hardly enough time to make even a small dent into your project. “We should meet sometime before our next class to get started if we want to have it done by the due date.”

“You’re so...ravenclaw,” George spoke after a few moments. When you looked at him again he was still giving you that same soft smile, a different sort of glint in his eyes than the one you were used to seeing every now and then.

For a second your thoughts drifted to the words scrawled on your right arm and the pictures on your left. They were covered up by the sleeves of your sweater as they usually were but you could picture the words you and your soulmate had written to each other earlier that day clearly. 

“Is that a bad thing?” You found yourself asking, for some strange reason not being able to bring yourself to pull away from George’s gaze. 

“No,” He shook his head gently almost immediately. “It’s perfect.”

***

You had to give credit where credit was due. When it came down to it, George Weasley could in fact step up to the plate. 

Even now, an early Sunday morning the day after a trip to Hogsmeade, he sat right in front of you. 

You knew for a fact he had been up late the previous night causing his usual mischief alongside his brother. One of the Ravenclaw prefects had been patrolling the halls and you overheard him complaining about having to send the twins back to their dorm for the fourth day in a row when he entered the common room.

It had made you smile. 

You’d spent at least a couple hours each day alongside George for the past two and a half weeks. Some of that time had indeed been spent on your project but you found it easier to talk to him than you thought it would be. You couldn’t even begin to count the variety of tales he told you just to hear you laugh.

That, however, meant that the two of you had developed a tendency to avoid your work resulting in you being behind. The next day the two of you would have to present in front of the class. You had already gotten away with postponing the presentation twice. 

The first time you had told Professor Flitwick that you needed more time to gather as much information as the topic deserved. The second time George had eaten one of the products he had told you he was working on, one he called a nosebleed nougat. It had worked like a charm and the moment you left the classroom with him he ate another candy and it stopped.

It was the only reason the two of you had woken up at that godforsaken hour of the morning on a Sunday. There was simply no other option now.

“I think all of our research is done and I can write up some notes for us to remember during the presentation,” You reached for another roll of parchment from your bag to do just that before dipping your quil in an inkwell filled with bright blue ink. “But we still need to practice some nonverbal spells for the practical demonstration. What do you think we should -”

It wasn’t until you looked away from the pile of books in front of you and at George that you realized he had dozed off.  His head was resting on his arms which were crossed on the desk in front of him and he looked almost peaceful for once. 

The corner of a piece of parchment was sticking out from under one of his arms and suddenly you couldn’t help yourself. Slowly you leaned forward until you could reach the parchment and you began to sketch a field of flowers on the paper in various ink colors. 

You didn’t notice your own smile as you did so. 

Then the end of your quil brushed across George’s face and he almost immediately bolted up in his seat. After rubbing the sleep out of his eyes once more he looked over only to find you biting your bottom lip to keep from laughing. 

“You look suspicious,” George narrowed his eyes at you playfully when he saw the look on your face, still not noticing the addition to his parchment. 

“Do I?” You smiled then as you leaned back in your seat, crossing your arms in front of you. 

“You do,” He leaned forward on the desk again and the grin you’d come to see on a regular basis returned. “May I ask why?” 

“No reason at all. I’m just excited to learn some nonverbal spells is all,” You laughed as you stood from your seat, squinting a little at the late morning sun shining through the windows. “Speaking of, I’m gonna go search for some books a friend of mine recommended with some spells we could use.” 

“Do we not have enough of those here?” George said as he glanced at the pile of no less than seven books, none of which he could remember anything about. 

“Those are all on history and theory. We need something on practical application.” 

“Right,” George let out a sigh as he reached for one of the unopened books. “You’re lucky I like you. I can’t remember the last time I did this much reading for a project.” 

You hummed and then shook your head, a soft smile playing on your lips. “Don’t I feel honored.” 

“Just get on with it,” George glanced up from the pages of the book he’d been flipping through and at you again, this time with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Faster we finish with this, the sooner we can sneak into the kitchens for a late breakfast.” 

You were quick to agree. George watched as you disappeared behind one of the bookshelves. It was only when he was sure you were gone that he rolled up the sleeve of his sweater and reached for a quil, quickly scribbling a message to his soulmate on his right arm. 

When he was done writing the message he caught sight of the flowers that you had drawn on the corner of his parchment and he grinned. Almost absentmindedly he started drawing flowers around your own, albeit a little simpler than the designs you had made. It took a minute for his eyes to widen, quil falling out of his hand, realizing that the flowers you had drawn on the paper he had already seen dozens of times before. In fact, a variation of them sat on his left arm now.

***

Finally four hours later you and George sat in the kitchens which you’d found surprisingly empty. Breakfast and lunch had come and gone and the two of you had gladly accepted a variety of foods from a couple of the house elves. 

You were completely oblivious to the way George was studying you closely, trying as hard as he could to see if he was right. 

“Puddlemere United,” He said when he caught sight of the patch sewn onto the jacket you were wearing. “I take it you’re a fan?” 

“I sort of have to be,” You laughed a little when you saw the confused look flash on George’s face. “My dad is Puddlemere’s captain.”

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not, promise,” You smiled as you shook your head. Without hesitation you pulled off your jacket, flipping it around so the back was visible, and pointed to a navy blue crest with the Puddlemere United logo and the word ‘captain’ across it in bold, golden letters. “Has been for a few years now and here’s your proof.” 

But when you looked at George he wasn’t looking at the jacket at all. Instead he was staring at the variety of words and pictures covering your arms. You could see his eyes darting back and forth and quickly pulled your arm away and under the table. 

“Wait,” He reached across the table and took your hand in his, slowly turning your arm around so he could see all every single stroke of ink. You could only watch as he gently traced the designs with his free hand. 

The moment was soft, intimate in the purest way. You swore you could hear your own heart thumping louder each second that passed. It reached its peak when George placed your arm on the table in front of the two of you only to pull off the sweater he’d been wearing. It was then that the breath you were holding in left you. 

Every single ink stain on your arms was perfectly reflected on his. Now that you looked closer you wondered how you hadn’t recognized his handwriting right away, you’d spent the last few months writing back and forth after all. You’d been so focused on the drawings and the writing that you hadn’t noticed what, or rather who was right in front of you. 

“I knew it was you, you know.” 

Your laugh was light when you finally dared to look at George once more. He was looking at you with pure and utter adoration and you were positive you wore the same expression. “Did you now?” 

“I did,” George grinned as he took your hand again, more confident than he had previously been. “Remember our first year when I asked you for that foxglove? I was supposed to nick it from one of the shelves but you had your sleeves rolled up and I swore I saw the edge of the stars you had drawn earlier that day. I went to get a closer look but they were covered again.” 

“And I suppose it was the same thing in transfiguration a month ago?” You shook your head with an amused smile as you thought back to the encounter. It all seemed so obvious now.

“It was. Same thing with the quidditch match a few years ago too,” He leaned forward as if what he were about to tell you were a secret. Suddenly it was like he couldn’t let you go, not that he’d ever want to now that he’d finally found you. “What made me almost certain though was the little drawing you left on my parchment earlier. I knew I’d seen those before.” 

“Well I suppose it’s a good thing you’ve kept your eyes open unlike me apparently,” You were beaming as you glanced down at the matching pictures present on both of you. “What do we do now?” 

“I’m glad you asked,” George immediately stood, pulling you up with him. He grabbed hold of your jacket still sitting on the table and started pulling you out of the kitchens. “Now that we’ve found each other we’re going to make up for lost time.” 

“By doing what exactly?” You asked, eyebrows raised questioningly and a slight smirk on your face. 

“Head out of the gutter, love,” George laughed as the two of you walked back up the stairs still hand in hand. He looked down at you with a wild grin on his face. “We’re going on our first date if you’re up for it.” 

You agreed instantly and happily followed to wherever it was George would take you, just as you knew you always would from that moment on.

[uwuwriting]

Osamu, Sugawara and Kuroo w/ multiple babies

Request: HI YOU WRITE HAIKYUU NOW OMG! Chose whichever Hiakyuu boi you want honey i just want some more-than-one baby action. The reader is pregnant and they find out that they are having more than one baby. KOOMBAYAA. - anonymous

I LIKE YOUR ENERGY ANON. I already know who I’m going to write for and oh this is way too cute. I love twins. I wanna have twins. I wanted to be a twin but oh well. Love yaa. 💖💖💖

rules

warnings: fluff, pregnancy

Miya Osamu

-You two ran the shop as a happy married couple for the past couple of years now. 

-You stopped helping when the smell of the onigiri made you sick.

-Osamu believed that it was his fault, maybe his cooking was deteriorating. 

-But when he bought your favorite snack and you threw up, he knew that something was wrong. 

-Going to the doctor was the first course of action and boy were you shocked when you were given the news. 

- “It seems that you’re three weeks pregnant. That would explain the vomiting and your sensitivity to smell. Congratulations.”

-Osamu was so happy he even called his brother despite knowing that he would be at practice. 

-He’s so careful with you from that point on. 

-He cooks everything himself and tries new things trying to find what doesn’t trigger your vomiting. 

-Loves to feel the baby when you two are cuddling. 

-As much as he doesn’t want to bring it up he believes that you eat a lot. 

-Like a lot a lot. 

-He doesn’t want to tell you because your mood swings are starting to get worse and he hates seeing you cry. 

-So he tries being more sly and he arranges a doctor’s appointment. 

-His plan was to ask the doctor when you were out of earshot. 

-He didn’t get his chance immediately so he decided to ask after the sonogram. 

-Everything was fine until the doctor furrowed his brows and squinted at the screen. 

-You knew something must be wrong and you were starting to panic.

-Is the baby alright? 

-Is there a problem?

-You squeezed his hand and he reciprocated the action. 

-His own thoughts were running wild but he had to stay calm and collected.

-For both of you. 

- “Seems like....you’re going to have twins.” 

-You both let go of the breath you were holding and were about to celebrate when....

- “Actually no... triplets!! You’re having triplets.”

-The room was silent for a few moments. 

-Then the doctor points out each baby individually and congratulates you again. 

- “You’re in for a tough ride Mrs. Miya.”

-Osamu called Atsumu again in a state of shock. 

-It was like he was living in a haze and he can’t quite snap out of it. 

-His fingers were laced with yours as your other hand was rubbing your stomach, your mind going wild with the revelation. 

- “What do you want Samu you know-”

- “Triplets.”

- “What?”

- “We’re having triplets.”

- “WHAT?”

-The rest of the months were hectic. 

-The nursery had to be changed to fit three babies and you had to buy triple the supplies. 

-Your stomach was ready to explode by the ninth month and you were begging Osamu to do something to end this misery. 

-Then your babies were born and yall.....I’m wheezing. 

-Identical triplets???

-What are the odds????

-And they are all girls?????

-Excuse me are you playing a prank on their poor father?????

-He already was stressing over the fact that he might have a daughter and he would have to chase the boys away. 

-But now it was times three???????

-He is really happy though. 

-Atsumu buys them matching onesies.

-Power ranger onesies, Powerpuff girls onesies, Sailor moon onesies. 

-Anything that had a powerful trio really. 

-You did confuse them at times. 

-And when I say at times I mean all the time. 

-I see Osamu calling them food names.

-Like its Soba, Tofu and Onigiri. 

-When they get older and can help at the shop they become the mascots. 

-One is on the cashier, the other is taking orders and the last one is giving out the packages. 

-Plus everyone knows the Miyas from the infamous multiplying girl joke a critic made. 

-He gave his order to one Miya girl and then another one emerged from behind the counter and as he turned around he was met with another one bring supplies into the shop. 

-The man almost had a stroke. 

-They are angels though and are an immense help.

-They love their dad to death. 

-Good luck though trying to separate them when they start fighting. 

Sugawara Koushi

-This sweetheart of a man.

-I love him so much.

-And so do you. 

-You have been trying for a baby for the past three months. 

-One morning you wake up and rush to the bathroom, throwing up. 

-You both knew what was going on but before you got too excited Koushi went to get a pregnancy test just to make sure. 

-When it came out positive you went out to celebrate with your friends from high school. 

-They were all so happy for you.

-Daichi and Asahi both promised to be the best uncles this baby will ever have while Kiyoko started planning baby shopping. 

-Everything was perfect, your morning sickness had died down as the months passed and your doctor assured you that everything was well. 

-During one of your appointments, Suga couldn’t make it being held back at the school because of a parent-teacher meet up, so you had gone on your own. 

-You were fine with it reassuring him that it was fine and you would update him when you were done. 

-So when the doctor said you were expecting twins everything started to turn.

-You didn’t know which one was the cause of this dizziness.

-The happy news or the shock from the news.

-You called Daichi to come pick you up because you didn’t want to bother Suga.

-Which was a stupid move since he would move a freaking mountain for you. 

-Suga called you later and asked you how it went. 

-He was met by just a plain ‘come home please.’

-He was panicking. 

-He was almost sure that something happened and you lost the baby. 

-But when he was met with all of his friends at home smiling with happy tears in their eyes, he knew that he should be expecting good news. 

-You skipped to him and kissed his lips, a large grin on your face. 

- “Do you remember how we said that we shouldn’t buy any baby clothes since we don’t know the gender yet?”

-He nodded at your words, waiting for you to tell him if he was going to be holding a little boy or a little girl in a few months. 

- “Well the wait was unnecessary, we’ll be needing both anyways.”

-It took him a few moments before the realization hit him. 

- “Twins.....We are having twins....Oh my god I love you so much.” 

-He picked you up and span you around once before carefully putting you down, tears cascading down his cheeks. 

-When the babies are born he is so damn happy. 

-The type of teacher who constantly shows photos of his kids.

-Since they are different genders you both get satisfied with having a child favoring you. 

-You have a daddy’s girl and a mamma’s boy. 

-They both love you equally in reality they just know who to ask when they want something. 

-Suga adores them. 

-And they adore him. 

-You have come home one too many times finding the three of them sleeping on the couch, the twins on his chest curled up into one another while their father’s arms circle them. 

-Adorable all three of them. 

Kuroo Tetsuro

-You two already have one daughter.

-You have been together since the first year of university and your daughter was born while you two were 27.

-She wasn’t expected. 

-Kuroo wanted to marry you first and he was planning on doing so before you announced your pregnancy. 

-It caught him so off guard poor baby had to do a double take. 

-But he couldn’t be more glad for his babygirl. 

-He loved her so much.

-So much that he hated watching her grow up and soon leave his embrace. 

-That’s why you were now throwing up in your bathroom, a pregnancy test laying on the counter the two lines facing the ceiling. 

-Kuroo and your daughter were so excited. 

-Your daughter had no idea what was going on but her dad’s laugh and large smile was enough for her to start giggling and clapping. 

-Kuroo became extra careful with you, looking after your daughter and taking care of her more than you. 

- “You shouldn’t lift heavy things or bend down much.”

- “You mean she’s heavy?”

- “No no I didn’t-”

-Cue the waterworks.

-Your mood swings were bad during your first pregnancy and he wanted to forget those times. 

-His brain legit blocked  out those memories after your daughter was born. 

-So having those bad times in mind he tends to not provoke or piss you off. 

-All three of you went to your appointment, wanting your one year and a half year old to see her sibling. 

-Now since you already had an experience with sonograms you were looking for the small lump. 

-The thing is that you saw two small shadows .

-You were confused but just scratched it up to you not being able to clearly see your baby. 

- “It looks like you are carrying two babies Mrs. Kuroo.” 

-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-This man was both terrified and super excited. 

-Terrified because how would he deal with two rascals at once? 

-I mean your first daughter was already kind of a handful. 

-And excited because he was going to be blessed by two angels. 

-He immediately calls Kenma and Bokuto to share the news.

-They both drop by your house to give you their congratulations although Kenma’s did sound more like condolences. 

-Bokuto is over the moon because yay he was going to be an uncle again!!!

-Then they are born and everyone has a heart attack. 

-Identical girls. 

-He was leaving in a house with four women now. 

-Four women. 

-FOUR!!!

-He is the type of dad to get them onesies with a 1 and a 2 on the back so he can tell them apart. 

-Suggests to give them different haircuts when their hair grows so they can actually tell them apart with some ease. 

-You see another problem you are facing are the similarities between those two and their older sister. 

-They are a year apart and while they are toddlers your first daughter is bigger than them. 

-But once they hit the ages 7,8,9 you have really try and tell all three of them apart. 

-They get confused for each other at school all the time. 

-By teachers  too. 

-Somehow they became friends with the Miya triplets and you should see them playing at the park. 

-It’s the most hilarious thing seeing the other parents trying to understand how many of them there truly are. 

-They see one Miya triplet accompanied by the Kuroo twins and then after like five minutes the see one Kuroo girl with two Miyas. 

-It’s confusion x6. 

-And if someone else has twins too???

-And they are spotted by the same face squad???

-You can add another set of identical faces in the mix. 

-The twins always buy the same clothes and have the same haircut so they can mess with everyone. 

-They always prank their uncle Bokuto with switching their clothes and pretending to be the other. 

-They force their sister into it too and now you are trying to understand which ones are the twins and which one is the eldest sister. 

-When you find out you’re pregnant again, Kuroo is begging for the baby to be different this time.

- “Please have a different face.”

-Little did he know......

-Poor guy. 

-When the girls go to the hospital while you have appointments they totally mess with yalls colleagues psychology. 

- “No i’m (first D/N)!!” says the youngest of the bunch. 

-A moving circus that’s what yall are. 

TAG TEAM AY:

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

[sequinsmile-x]

Day-to-Day

Part of the Whatever Tomorrow Brings series.

Chapter 2: Theo 

This chapter is all about Theo coming out to his family, which I know can be a sensitive subject for people. So I just wanted to give fair warning before anyone reads it. 

Word count: 4.7k

Read here on ao3, or below the cut.

Let me know what you think! 

January 2010

Emily was nervous as soon as the school called, Theo’s teacher, a kind woman called Ms Gorman, wanted to speak to her as soon as possible. Aaron couldn’t make it, a meeting with his superiors running over, so she had a cranky Amelia in her lap as she sat in a slightly too small chair in Theo’s classroom.

“Mrs Hotchher, I understand that the circumstances around Theo’s recent absence from class was...unusual to say the least.” Ms Gorman says kindly. “But I do have a couple of concerns.”

Emily frowns, her heart constricting in her chest, fears about her son being held back a year taking root. She shushes Amelia as she cries out, holding the small toy she had brought to entertain her infront of her.

“I did try my best with homeschooling, I know it wasn’t ideal but we did ok.”

“That’s not what I mean, Mrs Hotchner. Theo is a very bright boy, and he is doing very well academically.” Ms Gorman reassures, and Emily feels a brief moment of relief. “My concern is more around the social side of things.”

“Oh.” Emily says. “He hasn’t said anything. What about Ollie, and his other friends? You couldn’t get them to spend 10 minutes away from each other before.”

The truth rolled around Emily’s head. ‘Before’ was back prior to their world being torn apart and a serial killer almost murdering Aaron in their old home. Before she had spent 6 months in a cramped apartment with her kids, allowed no contact with her husband or anyone else in their lives.

“6 months is a long time when you are their age. They’ve all moved on.”

It felt like a gut punch to Emily, guilt spreading through her body quickly. She swallows against the lump of emotion in her throat. “Does he talk to anyone?”

Ms Gorman smiles sadly at her before shaking her head. “He tried at first, but he just sits alone now at lunch and at recess. I’ve tried to encourage him to play with the others, but all he wants to do is see you or his older brother.”

Emily closes her eyes briefly and takes a deep breath before she looks back at Ms Gorman.

“Thank you for letting me know.” __________

Theo doesn’t want to talk about it at all on the way home from school, despite her attempts to bribe him with ice cream. Jack isn’t even able to pull him out of it with promises of a few rounds of MarioKart. Theo solemnly eats his dinner before going to his room early, asking if he can just go upstairs to play alone.

Emily sighs as she gets Amelia out of her high chair, kissing the sleepy baby’s head as she pulls her into her arms. “Bed time for you I think, sweet girl.”

Aaron walks over to them and smiles, kissing his wife on the lips and his daughter on her head.

“Why don’t I put her down and you go speak to Theo?” He says, a tightness in his voice that had been there since she told him what the teacher had explained to her. He was already lifting the 11 month old from her arms as Emily started to protest. “We both know you’re the only one he’ll talk to.”

Emily opens her mouth to argue, but Amelia interrupts her, mumbling into her fathers shirt as she sleepily lays her head against him.

“Dada.”

Emily rolls her eyes as she relents. “I fed her almost exclusively with my body for 10 months and you’re the favourite.” She says, eyebrow raised but no malice in her voice. They both knew she didn’t really mind, that she was delighted that the once strong bond between father and daughter had been repaired after their long separation.

She kisses her daughter’s head again, whispering goodnight and words of love against her skin before she heads upstairs to her son’s room. She knocks lightly on the door.

“Theo? Can I come in?”

There’s a sniff through the door that makes her heart twist in her chest. “No.”

“Theo, baby. I want to make sure you’re ok.” There’s a pause. “Please?”

“Ok.”

Emily walks into the room to find Theo sat on his bed, tears streaming down his face and Archie held tightly in his arms. “Oh my sweet boy.”

She walks over to the bed and sits next to him at the head of it. She wraps her arm around him and he immediately curls into her embrace, his wet face pressed against her shirt.

“I have no friends.” He cries, and she shushes him, pulling him fully into her lap so she can hug him properly.

“Your teacher said you have been having some problems with Ollie and the others.”

“They don’t want to talk to me anymore.” He sniffs. “They said I’m weird.”

Emily immediately stiffens, anger spiking in her veins. She hears a voice in the back of her head, that sounded suspiciously like her husband, that was telling her she couldn’t tell off a bunch of 7 year olds for upsetting her son.

“That’s not very nice of them.” She says, kissing the top of his head, surprised at how even her voice sounded. “Have you tried talking to anyone else?”

Theo sniffs again. “There’s a girl called Lucy that seems ok.”

“Well, why don’t you talk to her?”

Theo pulls back from her enough to look at her, an indigent look on his face that she just knew was all her. “Because she’s a girl, Mommy.” He says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well, I’m a girl.” She replies, fake indignation in her voice as she pokes his nose. “You speak to me all the time.”

“You don’t count.”

“Oh I don’t, huh?” She says, tickling him until he relents. He is laying against her again and she runs her hand through his hair. “Just try talking to her, baby. You never know she could end up being fun. Even if she is a girl.”

Emily stays with him until he falls asleep, slipping out from under him with years of practice at not disturbing him. She goes in search of her husband and finds him in their room, laying on their bed, one hand under his head, still fully dressed from his day at work.

“Is he ok?” Aaron asks as soon as she enters the room, his voice tight and his eyes are fixed on the ceiling.

She sighs, joining him on the bed. “I think he will be.” She looks at him, biting her lip when she sees the barely suppressed emotion on his face. “Are you ok?”

“It’s my fault.”

“Aaron, it’s no-”

“Don’t say it’s not my fault.” He says, his voice too close to begging for her liking. “I goaded a serial killer and he came after me, after us. And now our kids are traumatised, and our son doesn’t have any friends left.” Emily grabs his hand and tugs him towards her. He doesn’t resist, rolling onto his side until he is pressed up against her, his head on her chest. She wraps her arms around him, scratching her nails through his hair.

“Honey.” She punctuates the pet name with a kiss to his forehead. “I’m not going to let you blame yourself for any of this. It’s all George Foyet’s fault. All of it.” She almost feels her own resolve slip when she feels his tears through her shirt, opposite to the side that Theo had cried on only an hour earlier. “Ok?”

“Ok.” He says, his hand moving to her hip to squeeze it. “Ok.” He repeats, sounding more sure.

They lay there for a while, taking comfort in each other that two months after their reunion still felt precious.

“What would we all do without you?” Aaron asks into her shirt, his voice sounding lighter than it had done all evening.

Emily laughs. “I don’t know. I think our kids would all have less of an attitude though.”

“You’ve got that right.” He replies, and she can feel his smug grin against her chest.

“Jerk.” She says, unable to stop herself from laughing. He looks up at her and they kiss, his hand on her hip tightening. They pull back and she leans her forehead against his. “I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.” __________

November 2020

Theo wants to get it off his chest, he wants to tell his family before he leaves for college. He decides to tell Penelope first. Aside from his parents she had always been his biggest supporter, his confidant. Her friendship with his mom and dad had served him well before, a rare teenage tantrum about them being over protective turned around in moments as she reminded them how much they had been through to have him, and to keep their family safe. She had driven him home, his head lowered as he apologised to his mother for their crossed words. Now he needed her advice.

He had sent her a text the day before asking if he could come round after school for a chat, saying he needed some help with something, his insistence that it would be kept a secret from his mom and dad clear. Penelope replied, almost immediately like she always did, with the affirmative and Theo found himself unable to concentrate throughout this classes. His mind focused elsewhere.

Penelope answered her front door in a flurry of bright colours and barely concealed anxiety. She ushers him into her home, a hug and a greeting in quick succession as she guides him into her living room.

“Now, you have got to tell me what this is all about.” She says, already passing him his favourite soda before he can ask for it. “I know you said you wanted to keep whatever it is between us, but if you’ve done drugs or killed someone or something else illegal, I don’t think I can keep it from them.”

“Aunt Pen-”

“Your dad has this way of looking directly into my soul or something. And your mom is terrifying when it comes to you guys. I’d have to go into hiding-”

“Aunt Pen.” Theo says more firmly, finally getting her attention. She stops ranting and stares at him, an expectant look on her face. “It’s nothing illegal. I promise.”

She seems to notice how serious he is and she instantly calms, the concerned look on her face melting away into comfort. “Theo, you know you can tell me anything.”

He takes a deep breath, and he says the words he had never said out loud, but had known were true for as long as he remembered. “I’m gay.”

Penelope doesn’t react for a second, no emotion passes over her face, and Theo very briefly wonders if he had somehow made a mistake. Then all of a sudden he’s in a bone crushing hug, and he can almost feel the relief pouring out of him.

“Am I the first person you’ve told?” She asks, still holding him tightly.

Theo swallows against the lump in his throat, tears of relief on his face. “Yeah.”

“And you want my advice on how to tell your mom and dad?”

“Yeah.”

There’s a beat of silence. “Oh.” Penelope suddenly exclaims, pulling back from Theo, making him jump slightly. “I have an idea. You could get one of those confetti gun things, fill it with rainbow confetti and just let it off at dinner.”

Theo stares at his aunt for a second, the enthusiasm rolling off of her in waves. “Yeah, I’m not going to do that.”

“A cake?”

“Aunt Pen.” He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m not going to do something over the top. I just want to tell them.”

“Teddy Bear.” Penelope says, using the nickname she had used when he was small. She was, without a doubt, the only person he would let get away with calling him that now. “Your mom and dad love you. Nothing will ever change that. You should just tell them, whenever you feel ready.”

He nods, a smile on his face. “Ok.”

She sends him home with enough baked goods to feed a small town, and a fierce hug at the door. “I am so proud of you, Theo.”

It’s the only secret Penelope Garcia ever keeps. __________

The next day Theo comes home from school to a package, Penelope’s recognisable handwriting on the label. He takes it to his room and opens it, something like a mix of a laugh and a sigh coming out when he pulls out a handheld confetti cannon.

There’s a small note attached to it that simply says ‘in case you change your mind.’

He hides it under his bed. ___________

Emily is surprised when she looks up from her never ending stream of paperwork to a knock on her office door to see her son standing there, nerves rolling off of him. There were times when it was hard for her to accept that so many years had passed. That her once tiny baby who refused to be separated from her in the first few weeks of his life, although her husband would argue it was years, was now this 18 year old standing in front of her.

Her nerves were immediately on edge. He would only have finished school just less than an hour ago, meaning he had come directly from school to Quantico. The kids used to visit her at work more when they were younger, Aaron bringing them in on evenings when she was still Unit Chief and they were fresh back from a case, paperwork too behind for her to go straight home. He would walk into her office, Theo and Jack by his side and Amelia resting on his hip with a bag full of food prepared for them all. This was rare, just one of them showing up unannounced, and a number of worse case scenarios were already tumbling around her head.

“Theo, hi.” She immediately abandons her work, pen forgotten on her desk as she approaches her son. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah.” He chokes out, sounding anything but ok. “I just wanted to talk to you. Alone.”

“Of course. Give me one second.” She walks past him, a hand briefly on his shoulder before she pokes her head out of her office and tells her assistant to give them some time. She then closes the door and pulls the blinds shut giving them total privacy, already completely prepared to hunt down whoever had Theo this upset. She sits on the couch she keeps in her office and pats the seat next to her, encouraging him to join her.

At first Emily just sits there, watching Theo intently as he avoids looking at her, worry all over his face. She lets five minutes of tortuous silence pass. She sees how he is picking at his cuticles, a habit he had inherited from her, how his left knee was bouncing constantly, anxiety rolling off of him.

“Theo, honey.” She places a hand on his knee to stop it from bouncing. It makes him look at her and she gives him an encouraging smile. “You can take as long as you need to tell me whatever it is you want to. I just need to know if you’re ok, because I’m worried.”

“Sorry.” He says, trying to smile at her.

“Oh sweetheart, no.” She cups the back of his head. “Don’t apologise. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Theo suddenly closes the gap between them and hugs her tightly. He’d always been the most affectionate out of her children, even throughout his teenage years he had still consistently sought her out. A bond between the two of them that Aaron often said even teenage hormones couldn’t fracture.

Emily hugs him back, frowning at what almost felt like desperation in his embrace. “You’re ok, Theo. You’re ok.”

“Mom?”

“Yes, honey?”

He pulls back from her, and she instinctively wipes the tear away from his cheek. Something she had done countless times in his life. Something she would do as long as he needed her to.

Theo takes a deep breath. “I’m gay.” He says, his voice shaky but his words certain.

Emily had known this was coming, she always had. She had seen how anxious Theo had been lately but waited for him to come to her, for him to be ready. She smiles at him and wipes another tear away from his cheek. “Thank you for telling me. I love you and I’m so proud of you.”

There’s a beat of silence before Theo furrows his brow, looking so much like Aaron it makes her smile wider. “That’s it?”

“Were you expecting something else?”

“No.” He says, shaking his head. “I don’t know. Lucy came out to her parents lately and it didn’t go well. I guess I was worried.” He swallows the lump in his throat. “Do you think Dad will be ok? What about grandma?”

Emily smiles at him again and pulls him back into a hug and kisses the side of his head.

“Sweetheart.” She soothes, her hand running up and down his back. “Your dad loves you, no matter what. It’s kind of part of the whole being a parent thing. I can be with you when you tell him if you want.” Emily smiles when she feels him nod against her. “Just take it one step at a time. And as far as your grandmother goes, if she says anything even slightly awful you leave her to me. I’m long overdue for a fight with her anyway.”

Theo laughs at that and pulls away, and wipes the few remaining tears from his face. “Thanks, Mom. I don’t think I could go head to head with her.”

“Lucky for you I have 50 years of practice.” She smiles. “Do you want to go home? Talk to Dad?”

“Don’t you have work?”

“You’re more important than any of that.” Emily says gesturing to her desk. “It’s completely up to you though.”

“Let's do it.” __________

Theo is grateful for his mother as she sits next to him on the couch, close enough for him to reach out for if he needs her. She’d always been his favourite person for as long as he could remember. His memories of the time they had been separated from his father were slightly fuzzy, and at this stage when he dreamt about it he wasn’t always sure what was real and what his brain had made up to torture him. What Theo did remember, however, was his mother. How she had held it together, the way she had still let them all know how much they were loved.

It was only as he got older, and he realised how disgustingly in love his parents were, it occurred to him how difficult it must have been for her. He had seen how miserable either of them were if they were separated for a few days at a time, and every time they hugged a little too long in the foyer of their home, only breaking apart at Amelia’s protests, he wondered how they had managed it for 6 months.

When he tells his dad his most closely guarded secret he feels instant relief at his supportive reaction. It was almost, word for word, the same as his mother’s, and a small part of Theo wondered if they had practised it.

__________

He tells his brother over the phone a week later, Jack’s working schedule as a resident at the local was difficult and made getting together tricky at times.

Theo takes a deep breath as he walks into the living room, a small smile on his face as he finds his younger sister sitting on the couch, her head buried in her phone.

“Mills.”

“Yeah.” She doesn’t look up from her phone.

“Can I talk to you?”

“Yeah.”

Theo pauses when she still doesn’t look up at him. “Amelia.” He says, the use of her full name finally drawing her gaze from her phone. “It’s important.”

She holds her hands up and makes a show of locking her phone and putting it down in her lap. “You have my undivided attention.”

Theo takes a seat next to her on the couch. “I’ve already told Mom and Dad, and Jack, so I thought it was important to tell you too. I’m gay.”

Amelia looks at him for a second, expression blank before she picks her phone back. “Are you free right now, or are you doing this with everyone tonight?”

Theo furrows his brows at her. “Sure...I’m free.”

“Cool.” She stands up, furiously texting someone. “Jack thought you wouldn’t come out until after Christmas, and now he owes me $20. Can you drive me to his place?”

Theo stares at her for a second, his car keys already in his hand. “You guys bet on that?”

“Yeah.” Amelia replies, smiling at a text he assumes is from Jack. “Can we go to Taco Bell after?”

“Why?”

She rolls her eyes at him. “To spend my $20. Obviously.” __________

Amelia sits next to him, her feet on the dash of his new car, eating what appeared to be her third taco in as many minutes. She reaches into the paper bag in the passenger seat footwell and passes him one. Theo takes it with a smile on his face.

Amelia nudges him with her elbow. “I’m very lucky to have you as an older brother.” She briefly rests her head on his shoulder, and Theo is taken aback by the out of character sentiment from his sister.

Then as quickly as it happened, she removes her head from his shoulder and takes a sip of her Baja Blast. “So, what’s your type? Big and muscly like Uncle Derek, or nerdy like Uncle Spence?”

“Mills.”

“What? I’ve got to be on the lookout for you.” She takes another sip of her drink. “You’re terrible at flirting.”

“You’re not even 12. You shouldn’t even know what flirting is.” He deadpans.

“Oh come on.” Amelia says, rolling her eyes. “I’ve known what flirting is since I could talk. Mom and Dad do it constantly. It’s disgusting.” __________

“It’s rare we get the house to ourselves.” Aaron says as he wraps his arms around Emily’s waist from behind, kissing the side of her head. She was standing at the kitchen counter, cutting up some vegetables for dinner. It was the closest thing Aaron would let her do to cooking, his claim that she could burn water always quickly following his protests that he could prepare meals by himself.

Emily smiles as she briefly leans back into him. “Careful, or it will be your fault when I cut myself.” To make a point she purposely pushes the knife down a little harder than necessary. “And we both know you can’t cope if I’m hurt.”

“That’s unfair.” He says squeezing her a little tighter.

“Do I need to bring up the time my appendix nearly exploded, again? Or do you remember that differently to how I do?”

He takes the knife from her hand and turns her round so she’s facing him. Her arms automatically wrap around him, her hands trailing up his back to rest at the edge of his shoulder blades. Aaron leans down to kiss her, determined to wipe the smug look off her face, when they hear the scrape of a key in the front door. He groans and rests his forehead against hers.

Emily laughs and briefly presses her lips against his. “We’ll carry on this conversation later, Mr Hotchner.”

“That better be a promise.” He says, pulling her slightly closer, hearing Theo and Amelia’s voices drift into the house.

“Always, my love.” She kisses him again before extracting herself from his grip. She walks towards where she can hear the kids talking, and she arrives to find Amelia going upstairs.

“Does she not want dinner?” Emily asks Theo, watching her daughters retreating figure up the stairs.

“I think Mills just ate more tacos than anyone ever has in one sitting.” Theo says, smiling at the look of bewilderment on his mother’s face. “She bet Jack $20 that I would come out before Christmas, she made me take her to Taco Bell to spend her winnings.”

Emily raises an eyebrow. She knew Ameila had very little tact, and a part of her was concerned at what she could have said to her brother. “Do you need me to have a word with her?”

“No it’s ok.” Theo shakes his head. “Mom, did you and Dad already know?”

Emily flushes slightly, averting her eyes from her son before she looks back at him. “Yes. We did. We were just waiting for you to feel comfortable enough to tell us.” She laughs at the look of confusion on his face. “Honey, I think you sometimes forget what your dad and I both used to do for a living. Plus, your first ever crush was Joe Jonas from Camp Rock.”

Theo laughed at that, the relief blooming in his chest. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It wasn’t our place, honey. This is your story to tell.” She opens her arms up for a hug which he gladly accepts. “We’re both so proud of you.” ______

After dinner Aaron goes to the home office to mark some papers for the class he taught at Quantico. Full retirement had never quite suited him, so he taught one class a semester. Theo finds himself standing outside the office just before he went to bed, after watching a movie with his mother, knocking to say goodnight to his father.

“Come in.”

Theo opens the door and walks in, hovering in the doorway. “I’m off to bed. Mom says she’ll meet you in your bedroom to finish the conversation you started.” Theo says. Aaron tries to hide the smile on his face, but obviously fails when his son makes a noise of disgust. “I should have known that was something gross.”

“Sorry, you know she thinks it’s funny to freak you out.” Aaron laughs, his amusement at his wife's antics still as strong as they were when they first met. “If you need me as backup the first time you bring a boyfriend home let me know. We both know what your mother is like.” Aaron says, smirking as Theo’s face pales, images of Jack’s first attempts at bringing a girl home flicking through his brain.

“Oh God, she’ll find a way to bring up the you vs Foyet thing won’t she.”

Aaron smiles as he takes a sip of his drink. “Without a doubt.” __________

Aaron sneaks into his bedroom a couple of hours later, well aware that his wife was likely fast asleep by now. He smiles when he sees her curled up in the middle of the bed, mouth slightly open as she snored lightly, her hand under his pillow.

He quickly gets ready for bed before joining her. The movement of the bed wakes her enough for her to make a disgruntled noise before she moves closer to him, her thigh pressed over his waist.

“Go back to sleep, sweetheart.” He soothes, securing her to him with a hand on her back.

“I think I promised to do something dirty when you came to bed.” She mumbles, face pressed into him.

Aaron chuckles, his hand drifting under her sleep shirt to press against her skin. “Another time, baby. You’re tired.”

She hums into him. “I’m glad Theo is ok, he seemed happier at dinner.”

“I think he’s just relieved it's out there.”

They lay in silence, and he thinks she may have fallen asleep until she speaks again. “He told me that Penelope sent him an explosive prop to come out to us with.”

“She did what?” __________

[thesquishyrogue]

Rogue's relationships with the rest of the mercs

Scout:

Almost like a brother-sister relationship. They're always goofing off together, joking around, getting on Spy's nerves. Just being the chaotic force of the team. Scout constantly convinces Rogue to play baseball with him, especially after seeing that they both use bats as a weapon (albeit Rogue's has nails driven through it).

Scout: "Aw man, sick bat! Say, you ever actually played baseball? If not I could teach ya. Though, you should probably use a different bat. I'll let ya borrow one of mine!"

Soldier:

He's definitely sort of a weird uncle figure to her. She's always giggling at his ridiculous antics, and he's surprisingly protective of her. Although at the same time he's always impressed by her ability to fend for herself, and fight off men larger than her despite her size.

Soldier: "Hell yeah, look at her go! Kicking ass just like a true American! She makes me proud!"

Pyro:

Oh my goodness. These two. Rogue almost always puts on a tough attitude, especially around the other guys. But around Pyro? They're probably the only person Rogue will be a softie towards. They're constantly seen platonically hugging and cuddling, and Pyro loves when Rogue covers their mask in stickers. They always return the favor by covering her face. Once they come off she treasures them. The others will always comment on how adorable the two are, usually followed by Rogue telling them to fuck off.

Rogue: "If anything were to ever happen to Pyro, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself."

Pyro: (灬º‿º灬)

Demoman:

Their relationship is quite explosive, to say the least. When Demo isn't trying to get Rogue to try some of his alcohol (which always results in Rogue gagging and choking from the bitterness) they're always assisting each other on the battlefield. Mostly in the form of Rogue catapultng Demo's bombs at enemies with her slingshot. They always share a laugh when a BLU team member is blown to bits.

Demoman: "Boom, right in the head! Look at all that blood! Yer aim is getting better and better, lassie!"

Heavy:

Just looking at these two stand next to each other is almost laughable. With Heavy being incredibly larger than everyone and Rogue being incredibly smaller, he practically dwarfs her. He's extremely gentle with her though, and takes care of her in sort of a protective big brother kind of way. Whenever the team is lounging around, she's often either cuddled into him or resting her legs in his lap. He doesn't mind it. He's also let her beat him in arm wrestling numerous times. She knows he lets her win, but she still take the opportunity to boast to the other mercs about it.

Heavy: "Little girl is so strong. You've beaten me again."

Rogue: 😏😏😏

Engineer:

He's also like an uncle figure to her. But unlike Soldier, he's more of the chill laid-back uncle that she can go to for advice. And she often does. Sometimes when she's bored she'll go into his workshop and talk with him as he plays his guitar or she helps out with whatever he's working on. Even if that help is something as simple as just handing him tools, he appreciates it. He appreciates the company too.

Engie: "Alright darlin', can you hand me the screwdriver?"

Rogue: "Uh... which one?"

Engie: "The Phillips."

Rogue: "Uh..."

Engie: "The pointy one."

Rogue: "Oh! Yeah sure I knew that."

Medic:

Like with Engie, Rogue will often go into the infirmary to talk with Medic as he works (she also makes sure he takes a break once in a while and doesn't overwork himself). He also does what he can to help with her depression once that's out in the open, prescribing her any antidepressants he can get his hands on. Though when she first joined the team and he gave her her first annual exam, he was astounded by how many fractures and injuries he'd found that were just left to sloppily heal on their own. The sadistic doctor was actually kind of worried for her, though honestly impressed by her high pain tolerance.

Medic: "Goodness fräulein, this is the fifth fracture I've found! How are you even walking?"

Rogue: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sniper:

Despite having quite good aim from using a slingshot for years, Rogue was quite inexperienced with guns (not including when she killed her old caretaker at the end of her fighting days). So naturally, Sniper took it upon himself to teach her. He educates her on different types of guns in order to find what works best for her, and the two partake in target practice together. Of course, the two end up bonding during the lessons. She tells him all about her life in the ring, and he tells her about what life was like back in Australia. One thing that Rogue wasn't anticipating, however, was how strong the recoil of a gun can be. She was so unprepared she was thrown right onto her ass in shock.

Sniper: "Crikey! You alright there, mate?"

Rogue: "Yeah I'm fine... fuck, what was that?!"

Sniper: "Recoil, love. Did you not know guns did that?"

Rogue: "...no..."

Spy:

Although she and Spy certainly took the longest to warm up to each other, the two are as close as can be now. Once they finally accepted each other, Spy took her under his wing as his apprentice. He helps her perfect her thieving skills and educates her on how to take tough situations in stride. She really looks up to him, and they almost have a father-daughter relationship. And of course, when her depression comes to light, he's her biggest means of support. He's always available when she needs him and he does whatever he can for her.

Spy: "You make me so proud, mon cheri. You've captured the intel once again, our training has really paid off. Great job."

Rogue: "Thanks dad."

Spy: "Excuse me, what was that?"

Rogue: "....nothing."

Bonus!

Miss Pauling:

Miss Pauling is literally the first woman Rogue has ever been close to in her life. Throughout her entire childhood she's been surrounded by creepy older men, and even though things are different now with the mercs... they're still men. There are just some things Rogue isn't quite comfortable talking to them about. But with Miss Pauling, going to her for help with things like clothes shopping and feminine problems almost feels natural. Hell, there were so many things Rogue didn't even know about periods until Miss Pauling explained them to her. And of course Miss Pauling takes the time out of her busy work day as often as she can to make sure Rogue is stocked up on sanitary items, and whatever else she needs. Rogue is always extremely greatful for it. And while part of her sees Miss Pauling as sort of a mother figure...another part sort of has a crush on her. Yeah, Miss Pauling was pretty much Rogue's bisexual awakening. But she hasn't said anything about it, one because it would just be awkward and two because she knows Scout also likes her, and she doesn't wanna stand in his way (but little does either of them know, Miss Pauling is a lesbian 👀)

Miss Pauling: "Rogue, honey, you don't even know what a pad is? Or a tampon??? What- what do you do when you get your period?"

Rogue: "What, you mean that weird time of the month that I start bleeding? I just... live with it I guess? Maybe put toilet paper in my panties if it gets too messy-"

Miss Pauling: "Rogue. Come with me, I'll get you stocked up on the things you need. And we'll get you some new panties too."

Rogue: "But don't you have things to do?"

Miss Pauling: "This is more important. You shouldn't have to suffer every month just because no one ever properly taught you about periods. I'll help you out."

Saxton Hale:

Rogue thought he was obnoxious upon first meeting him. Called him a "corporate clown" to the other mercs. But, she had to  earn his approval in order to join the team, so Miss Pauling insisted that she be on her best behavior around him. But, even when on her best behavior her spunkiness still shined through, and Saxton noticed it real quick. However, that spunkiness only raised his interest. He commented on how he, "Hadn't met such a scrappy sheila in a long time." Truth be told, she reminded him a lot of Maggie, but he wasn't about to mention it. During their one on one meeting, he demanded that she punch him in the face to test her strength. After a short hesitation, she did so. Saxton was impressed that she actually hit him hard enough to dislocate his jaw and bust his lip, and gave her the job on the spot with the promise that she keep up that energy (and learn to use some weapons, of course). Miss Pauling and the mercs were shocked to see the two of them come back with Saxton's arm slung around Rogue's shoulders and his face dripping with blood, and the two of them laughing with each other. She took back what she said about him being a corporate clown. Although, the only thing she still doesn't like about him is how he treats Miss Pauling, considering how close she is with her. She has a mind to call him out on it, but Miss Pauling begs her not to.

Saxton: "Let's see just how strong a little gal like you can really be. Go on, hit me RIGHT here! Hard as ya can!"

Rogue: "Uh...Mr. Hale, I really don't-"

Saxton: "Oh don't wuss out on me girly, you want this job or not?!"

Crack.

Rogue: "Oh my god- Mr. Hale! I am so-"

Saxton: "Now that's what I'm talking about! You pack a hard punch for such a cute little thing!"

Rogue: "You're bleeding..."

Saxton: "Consider yourself hired!"

Administrator:

Doesn't trust her. Not one bit. She only respects her because she has to, and even then her "respect" is so shallow that anyone could see right through it. She hates the way she berates, overworks, and oftentimes gaslights Miss Pauling, and the fact that even all the other mercs seem to be intimidated by her concerns her greatly. She knows something's going on with her behind the scenes, and she's determined to figure out what. In the few times she actually saw her in person, Rogue definitely smarted off to her more than once, despite Miss Pauling practically begging her to watch it. The Administrator, however, almost finds it adorable. Almost. She kind of views Rogue as a bratty child. A bratty child with skill and talent that is essential for her team. And for that, she lets the sassiness slide...for now. Luckily these two don't butt heads often though, considering the Administrator is rarely seen.

Administrator, over the loud loudspeaker: "Well done, let's see some more."

Rogue, mumbling: "Bite me..."

[phykios]

honesty and promise me part 6 [co-written with @darkmagyk] [read on ao3]

Ah, the age old question: what to get for the guy who has everything and also when you’re trying make up for the fact that you actually missed his birthday entirely while spending as little money as possible?

“Where the hell are you taking me?” Percy asks as they wait their turn to disembark. “I haven’t been to Staten Island in ages.”

Annabeth has never been at all. She knows there’s a handful of Greek revival buildings in the Historic District, but she’s never had a car to get there, or the stomach to get on the ferry. Percy had practically climbed onto the bow, his own personal reenactment of Titanic, arms thrown out to the wind, while Annabeth attempted to keep her breakfast down.

Having spectacularly flamed out last week in Philadelphia, she can’t let Percy’s birthday go without some sort of commemoration. The Staten Island Ferry is just part one. “All in due time,” she says, checking her phone for directions. They still have a bus they need to board, and Annabeth is getting sweaty in her leather jacket. Thank God Percy volunteered to carry the backpack with all their gear; otherwise, when this jacket comes off, it’s going to smell worse than his tights at the end of a long day.

Like a magnet, his gaze is glued to the strips of the bay he can spot through the bus windows, his head resting on his chin, a soft, serene smile lifting his lips. All the tightness, all the stress he’s held in his shoulders the last few times she’s seen him, it melts away at the sharp, salty tang of rust and sea air which suffuses every corner. She doesn’t even mind that he isn’t looking at her. 

Hand in hand, finally, they get off the bus, and walk to the overlook. Slinging the backpack off his shoulder, he sets it down at his feet, eyes fixed on the strip of shoreline which can be seen, even all the way over here. “What is that?” he breathes, shielding his eyes against the glint of the sun on the water.

“That,” says Annabeth, “is the Staten Island ship graveyard.”

Still stewing in her guilt over how she missed his birthday--despite the fact that he didn’t even tell her--Annabeth decided to swallow her pride and ask for help. It took an inordinate number of coffee orders and one instance of her actually getting down on her knees and begging, pleading to their long friendship together and swearing that Annabeth would never use this information for evil, but she had finally wheedled the secret out of Thalia: Percy’s greatest love, after the ballet, was sailing. Ship construction, naval battles, maritime history, they were, according to Thalia, the only things which could entice Percy to actually set down the tights and “get some frickin’ sunshine for once in his life.” Annabeth hadn’t believed her, until Thalia had dug up an old photo which had never been posted to his socials--and Annabeth had certainly scoured them for long enough, she would have recognized it had she seen it before--of Percy, on a glittering, jewel-like sea, a rope wrapped around his fist as he leaned over the side of a sailboat, eyes squeezed shut, mouth wide in a graceless, unrestrained joy. 

“Back in the eighties, there used to be over four hundred ships down there,” Annabeth says, coming up beside him. “A lot of it’s been scrapped or sold, but there are still maybe a hundred or so boats, including the USS PC-1264, one of the--”

“One of the two predominantly African American crewed Navy ships from World War II,” he interrupts, eyes light. “No way!”

“Yes way,” Annabeth grins, unzipping her jacket. The midday sun beats down on them, the air sticky and heavy, and she needs this thing off, pronto. “And, there’s a ship that was supposedly the command post for the General Slocum disaster.” Not that she really knows what that is.

He whirls around. “The Abram S. Hewitt is there? Holy sh--”

His jaw drops. His eyes bug out. 

Part two of his present was the ship graveyard. Part three is the outfit.

Annabeth, one hand on her hip, slings her jacket over her shoulder with the other, the leather hot against her bare skin. She has chosen to forgo a shirt entirely, wearing nothing but her nicest pair of black jeans with the thick suspenders and a shiny, red bra. And yes, she had Thalia touch up her hair, five inches of curls lopped off on one side, undercut sharp and severe. 

“I thought we could have a picnic here,” she says, a smile curling her lips without her permission. “Then, if you want, we could do some light trespassing? See the ships up close?”

Percy swallows. He breathes in through his nose, shuddering. “Sure,” he whispers, hoarse. “Sounds good.”

Dropping to the ground like a rock, studiously not checking her out, Percy unpacks their picnic, laying out the blanket, something blue, old, but soft Annabeth had knitted in a fit of pre-finals’ anxiety in college. Annabeth had hinted the night before that he should make them some food, as no one could make a grilled cheese like Percy, and she sure as shit wasn’t going to buy them some prepackaged, tasteless garbage. 

Percy’s sandwiches, just like the man himself, are stacked: thick, sourdough slices (which she suspects he made himself), bacon, turkey, apple, tomato, lettuce, avocado, mayo for her but none for him. She’d always been under the impression that dancers needed to watch what they ate, endlessly in pursuit of some unattainable ideal of beauty. Nope. Percy eats everything and anything he can get his hands on, high carb and high protein and high everything else. It makes sense, she guesses, for someone who basically has to bench their own body weight daily. Every inch of him is tailored for power and velocity, to propel him out of the grasp of gravity--rabbit food just isn’t going to cut it here. 

Munching down, he maneuvers himself into a number of splits and stretches, unable to give up his routine for a single day. “When I was probably thirteen or fourteen,” he says, halfway through a tirade of reminiscence, “my dad took me and Triton and Kym to Cyprus, for some family bonding time.” He rolls his eyes. “You can probably imagine how well that went. Most of that trip was… well, Cyprus was definitely the best part. We went to Kyrenia Castle, which has this amazing museum that holds one of the oldest known ships in the world. Like, this thing was operational during the lifetime of Alexander the Great, and it sank about a mile away from the harbor.” He takes a heroic bite, chewing with his lips firmly shut.

“Cool.”

He swallows. “Very cool. I love really old ships, but you can imagine how few of those are still left, and not just because we haven’t found them.”

Annabeth feels her neck heating up, despite the shade they sit in. “Well, I hope these ones are old enough for you.”

“Oh, these are incredible--don’t get me wrong! I had no idea there was anything like this so close to home. Who needs Cyprus when you have Staten Island?” He grins, placing his sandwich down, throwing his arms in a stretch.

“I know it isn’t Tokyo or Moscow or anything…” she trails off, self-conscious even as she doesn’t actually ask the question that’s on her mind. 

Shamefully, she has found that she still thinks about what Will had said at his apartment over a month ago at this point: Percy Jackson, boy toy of the rich and famous. But if she actually asks, it will make her look like some totally jealous girlfriend or something, like she honestly cares about Percy’s past sexual conquests.

She doesn’t care. She doesn’t. 

He’s just led a really interesting life, and she wishes she could relate. That’s all. 

“It’s not,” he agrees, bending his back with an audible pop. “It’s better.” 

“Really? A little ship graveyard is better than the sites of Tokyo?”

“I didn’t see any sites in Tokyo,” he said. “Mostly just Mittie’s hotel room.”

“Mittie?”

Percy looks at his sandwich, suddenly very interested in the crust. 

“She’s someone important, then?” 

Silence. 

Annabeth laughs to break the tension. “Okay, I'll bite--who’s Mittie? Another model?” 

Taking a small bite of sandwich, he chews, methodical and deliberate. He swallows, clearing his throat. “Margherita Savoy.”

The name doesn’t ring a bell. “Who?”

“Princess Margherita Elisabetta of Sardinia.” 

Her mouth drops open a little. “A princess?”

Percy shrugs. “Technically. The throne of Sardinia doesn’t exist anymore, obviously, but she’s big into the money and the titles and stuff.”

A princess. A fucking princess. “But she lets you call her Mittie.”

He looks a little constipated. “She didn’t… until she took me to Tokyo.” 

“Oh,” she says. Because what else is there to say? She’s certainly no princess. 

“She was nice,” Percy says, softly. “You know, eventually. Once we got to know each other.”

Her phone is hot in her pocket, like it’s preemptively searching Google for pictures of Margherita Elisabetta of Sardinia, downloading them all so Annabeth can scribble all over her face like a bad high school movie. “A pretender?” She scoffs, exaggeratedly, her fists tight against the grass. “Talk to me when you get a real princess.” 

His ears go red. “Um…” 

No way. “No fucking way.”

“Look, Eugenie was just kinda pissed when Triton broke up with her, and so she just thought that we’d have some fun.” 

“Oh my god.” She says, looking at him in something like horror. And telling herself at least it wasn’t her distant cousin Madeleine. 

“It was only for like a week or two,” Percy protests. “We went to a club in Berlin she knew Triton liked to go to so he would see us and get annoyed.” 

“A princess dated you because she was pissed at your brother?”

“Only twice,” he says, casual, like any of this is normal and not absolutely insane. “Eleonore is one of Kym’s friends. And she’s technically, like, an archduchess, not a princess. But I don’t know. A couple of his other girlfriends wanted to get back at him, and I was in Europe and available, so we just…” He trails off. She can hear the ellipsis, hanging hot and heavy over them, each dot dropping like a stone. What is this, fucking Mamma Mia? 

“When was the last time this happened?” she asks, not really wanting to hear the answer.

He rubs a hand over his mouth, gaze unfocused as he thinks. “Um… not since the week after Frank left, I think. Mittie wanted to go to Bora Bora but she didn’t want to go alone, you know?” 

“No, I meant,” she pushes through as her stomach flutters, tight and uncomfortable, “girls using you to get back at your brother.” 

His face falls, just a bit. “Oh. Last year, I guess.”

“Who was she?” And where is she so Annabeth can punt her off a building?

“Calypso Atlas.” He sighs, wistful, with more reverence than he had given any of the princesses, and Annabeth’s stomach flops, different from the flutter. Painful this time. “She actually liked me.” 

“Everyone likes you,” she says, faintly. Maybe wearing the leather jacket is giving her heatstroke.

“You know, they really don’t. Not how it counts, anyway.” He picks at a blade of grass, rubbing it between his fingers. “Most of the girls who wanted to use me to get back at Triton only did it because they knew how much he liked to bitch about me--the ‘half-breed bastard.’” He rolls his eyes, huffs a laugh. “And even Kym’s friends didn’t actually like me. Like, yeah, they’d fly me all over with them, but they didn’t want to be seen with me. Mittie and I were on and off for years, and she gets photographed constantly. I’m not in any of them.”

Annabeth thinks she might actually be sick. 

But he doesn’t stop. “It wasn’t so bad when they went around saying that I was a dancer with the Paris Opera, because I was, and I was proud of it. But it wasn’t… I don’t know. It wasn’t like with Frank, whose family does have a ton of money, but who only ever dated me because he liked me.” He picks another blade of grass, tearing it between his fingers. “Calypso, though. She was different.” And he smiles, a little.

“How?”

That smile grows wider. “She just called me one day, out of the blue, and very publicly asked me to be her date to Milan Fashion Week after she and Triton broke up and he immediately turned around and got engaged. She was super up front about it, didn’t try to sleep with me or anything, even though I know she was friends with some people and probably heard about my various talents.” 

She knows exactly which talents he means. He winks at Annabeth, ironic and self-conscious, and she forces out a little laugh, as though the idea of him going down on someone else is charming. 

“But then we actually had a good time together, and a few weeks later, she called me up again, and again, and again, until eventually she introduced me to her father--which was a hell of an experience, let me tell you. The Atlas family puts the Olympianides family to shame as far as dysfunction goes. But it was nice, in its own way; if I’d ever asked Mittie to introduce me to her dad, she’d have laughed in my face.” 

“Sounds like you were pretty serious,” Annabeth manages.

“That was the problem.” He looks away, towards the sea. Always towards the sea. “She wanted to leave Paris, travel the world. And she wanted me to go with her.” 

“To leave the Paris Opera?”

“To leave ballet entirely. I just…” He holds the silence for a moment, lost in the fog of reminiscence, the mist of possible futures long since dissipated. Sighing, he shakes his head. “I couldn’t do it. So, in March, she went to Dubai, and I started making calls back to New York.”

“You broke up with her this year?”

“She broke up with me,” he clarifies, turning back to her. “It was all very romantic. I always left my comp at the box office for her. She didn’t come to my show, but she showed up at the stage door the day before she was set to leave, telling me that she had an extra ticket with my name on it. I turned her down.” And then he looks her in the eye as he says, “I don’t regret it at all.” 

She swallows, her face flushing, tongue numb as she searches desperately for something to say to that. “Atlas, you said her family was? It sounds familiar.” 

“Oh, you’re probably thinking of Zoe Atlas,” Percy says, easing off for the moment. “You probably know about her because she and Thalia were archenemies in boarding school. Or maybe girlfriends? I have yet to get a straight answer.” Annabeth’s eyes nearly bug out of her head. Thalia, in boarding school? What? “But I like Zoe. She’s an activist, and absolutely hates her father. Like I said, there’s a lot of dysfunction. And she came to my first show way back when, and she wasn’t even weird when I dated her sister when we ran into each other in Paris. So that was nice.” 

“She went to your first show?” What in God’s name is up with these one-percenter families? It’s like they all overlap in one big incestuous slurry. And as the daughter of the Chases and the Pallases, she tries not to think where she might fit into that. 

“Thalia brought her. Her first not-date. It was Thalia’s first ballet ever, too. It… it meant a lot.”

“What show was it?”

He smiles, wistful. “The Nutcracker. I was one of the kids at Clara’s party. Most scared I’ve ever been. When I got out backstage after intermission, Thalia was waiting for me with my mom. She punched my shoulder, called me ‘Kelp Head,’ and told me I did great. Then I hugged her,” he says, snickering. “She punched me again.”

Annabeth laughs, huffing through her nose. “Good to see some things never change.”

“That’s our Thalia for you--looking out for everyone, even when it kills her inside.” He glances at her pointedly.

It’s her turn to share. 

Annabeth’s mouth is dry, like sandpaper.

She grabs her backpack, pulling out a sketchbook and a pencil. Beside her, Percy sighs, deflating a little.

Annabeth flips open a new page, and starts drawing. 

Each sketch delivers a challenge: bringing order to the whole through design, composition, tension, balance, light and harmony. Sometimes, buildings spring to life on the page, fully formed. Sometimes the page stays blank, an empty pencil.

Pencil to paper. Letting whatever wants to come out, come out. “My mom invited me to lunch one day,” she says. Her eyes follow the line of her pencil, ninety degree angles and symmetrical shapes. “I had moved to New York like six months before. Single girl, in the big city, to follow her dreams.” She’d gone to boarding school in New York before that, but it wasn’t the same as picking out her apartment and taking the train to the Manhattan skyscraper her office was held in. Sometimes she’d walk down the street, feeling like she was smack dab in the middle of Sex and the City, which she and Piper use to watch in secret, huddled under the covers in the dorms at Miss Minerva’s. “Unfortunately, my mom didn’t love my dreams.”

“She didn’t approve of anarchist architecture?”

Annabeth’s laugh is hollow. “She thought I should have been charting some new path in business for a woman. But not in a feminist way. In, like, a capitalist way. But architecture was not really negotiable for me. And once that became clear, she had her own expectations about that, too.” 

Annabeth has always been a prideful know-it-all. If all her mother had wanted from her was ambition, they probably could have made it work. Annabeth wanted to reshape the skyline, she wanted her name on buildings that would last and impress. 

But even Annabeth couldn’t do that in six months. 

“She wanted the best schools, the best companies, the best projects.” She sighs. “I was lucky to find a job in New York that wasn’t just carrying coffee.” She had gotten a bigger offer from a more well-known firm where she had interned one summer, but it had been for an assistantship, heavy on the assistant. Her eventual Junior Architect label hadn’t been great, but it had been something, being a rising star at a smaller firm. It seemed like a good fit. “I did not make my mother proud. I… she lived in New York, and I lived with my dad all over.” 

Percy frowns. “Your mom didn’t have custody of you?”

“My mom didn’t want custody of me,” she laughs, bitter. God, it feels weird to tell someone else this. Piper and Leo and Luke knew, obviously, but they had witnessed it all firsthand. Telling someone else, out of the blue… Well, Percy had divulged his tragic backstory without complaint. It’s only fair that she does as well. “I mean, my dad didn’t either. But when it became clear my mom wasn’t an option, well, there we were. He stepped up as best he could. That wasn’t always a lot, but when compared to my mother, he seems like a perfectly involved parent.” 

“Are you trying to make my parental situation seem more reasonable?” 

“Is it working?”

“If you ever meet my dad, we can compare notes.” He shudders at the thought, playfully. “So, what happened with your mom?”

“She made her displeasure known.” Annabeth sighs again, shading a corner. “I mean, she’s always made her displeasure known. I wasn’t getting good enough grades, I wasn’t in the right activities, I wasn’t going to get into the right school, yadda yadda yadda. But for a long time… I don’t know, it at least seemed like she was worried about me.” She thinks of the Eta party, of the man in the brown suit, tutting about Athena Pallas’s druggie daughter, and scowls. “My mother has always had an all or nothing outlook. If I wasn’t the best, I might as well be nothing. But the thing was, this time I thought I was making real progress. And when she invited me to lunch after six months in the same city, I thought she would see that.” 

She had not. Because to Athena Pallas, having a daughter who was an architect instead of an executive Vice-President on her way to CEO, having a daughter at a small but growing architecture firm instead of the best one in the country, was like having a daughter who was drunk in a gutter somewhere. 

And Annabeth had realized as much that lunch. 

All her work was never going to earn her mother’s love.

And suddenly, she wasn’t sure what work had been her’s and what had been her mother’s ambitions. 

She’d started crying. In the cafe and right now, on Staten Island, with Percy. “I’m sorry,” she sniffs, wiping her nose on her arm. “Wow, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He reaches over and wraps an arm around her, gently, rubbing her shoulder, and she more or less crumples into his side. “It’s fine. Take your time.”

Her arm, still free, keeps moving. The drawing takes a shape that she can’t quite name yet. A tree, maybe, in a box. A window to another world, possibly. She spills tears on the paper.

“She disowned me.” Her thin line trembles, before righting itself. “I ran out of there. I stumbled into the first tattoo parlor that didn’t smell like piss, and got my owl done.” She brandishes her left arm, the grey shape blurry and faded against her elbow. She had had a stuffed owl as a little girl, her protector against the spiders in the closet. “I cut off my hair, got my eyebrow pierced, found a club, and just… had a rough couple of days. Got really really drunk that night.” Like, too drunk. Crying on the floor of a filthy bathroom drunk. “Thalia found me under the bathroom sink, took me back to her place, helped me kick the hangover the next day, and that was that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not,” Annabeth says. And most of the time, she isn’t. She wipes her eyes, smudged makeup getting smudger.

“Your mom sounds like she sucks.”

“She does.”

“What about your dad?”

She sniffs. “What about him?”

“You just haven’t really mentioned him. What’s he like?”

Shrugging, she wipes a tear from her cheek. “He’s a history professor.”

“And?”

“That’s about it.”

“I mean, do you like him?”

She shrugs again. “Sure.” There was a lot to like about Frederick Chase. “I haven’t really spoken to him in a while.”

Mouth in a sympathetic twist, he brushes the curls from her eyes, a gesture so sweet it makes her heart pound. “You should call him,” he says. “I’m sure he misses you.”

Her phone burns in her pocket, heavy with the weight of unread texts. “Maybe.”

“Do you want to change the subject?” he asks.

“Please,” she blurts out, digging the heels of her hands into her eye sockets. “God, please. Let’s go back to your cute backstory. Tell me more about your first ballet. I want to hear all about the time you were in the Nutcracker.”

Percy fishes out a napkin from somewhere, handing it to her. Grateful, she blows her nose into it, wet and disgusting. “I hate to tell you this,” he says, “But I have been in the Nutcracker, like, fifteen times.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously,” he nods, “It's the big moneymaker. Have you ever seen it?”

“It's a holiday classic,” she scoffs, a little wetly. “Of course I’ve seen it.”

He snorts. “Like, for real, or the recorded one they play on Netflix with Macaulay Culkin?” 

“I've seen it live! My dad lived in San Francisco when I was in high school. They have a fancy ballet there.” She’d seen it as a little kid in NYC, she thought, too. Maybe when her parents were still married, or her mother was still willing to take her for Christmas. 

“Would you be willing to see it again?”

“Like, for real,” she parrots back at him, “or the recorded one they play on Netflix?”

“Ha ha. I mean for real.”

“I mean… maybe if they switched things up a bit.” 

“It's a classic!” He protests. “I mean, it isn’t like we do the Balanchine everywhere, every time. But… it's a classic.” 

“I’m sure the dancing is fine.” Annabeth says. She remembers going with Luke in Boston and thinking it was nice, but also hoping Luke would kiss her at the end of the night, so she hadn’t really paid attention. “But they get to design a land of magic and sweets and fairies, and every time the costumes and the sets are just, like, pink glitter and white gauze mixed with weird racial stereotypes. There’s no imagination.” 

“Well, okay then.” There’s something in his smile, in the turn of his head that she can’t quite identify. “What would you do?” he challenges.

She holds his gaze for a moment, looking into those eyes that almost reflect the color of the sea around them. Her eyes feel a little puffy still, but he doesn’t look away. Then, without breaking away, she flips open a new page in her sketchbook. 

“Space,” she says. “It needs space.”

“Outer?”

“Negative. Lots of space for dancers to move around.” Her pencil scratches over the paper, familiar blocky shapes springing to life. Doric fluted columns split the wings, because of course. “It’s Christmas, so we want color: no sterile, snowy landscape. We know it’s all frozen over--we don’t need to see it again. Obligatory Christmas tree here,” she sketches a crude triangle off to one side, approximately along the golden ratio, “and a big fireplace in the center, preferably a functional one.”

“You know there was this dancer in the nineteenth century that died because her costume caught fire, yeah?”

Annabeth tilts her head, capitulating. “Fair point. We’ll raise it up on a pedestal, keep it out of the way.” She draws a little platform beneath it. “But color is key.” Up above, she draws a pediment crowning the proscenium. She scribbles in the empty space, a placeholder. “Everyone knows the story, so you lay it out up here, episodes merging into each other from start to finish.”

Percy peers down at her page, his chin perilously close to resting on her shoulder. She can’t draw like that. “Kind of reminds me of the Parthenon.”

“You’ve been?”

He nods, his hair tickling the side of her face. “Couple of times. I thought you said you wanted color, though. The Parthenon’s all white, isn’t it?”

“Not originally,” she says. “Do they not explain that on the tours?” 

“Um…” Sheepish, he looks away. “I, uh, I’m not always great at listening.”

God. It’s so endearing. What the hell. She kisses him on the cheek, enjoying the way he flushes lightly. “Me either.” He is so fucking handsome. “But no, the original Parthenon, all those white statues, they were painted. Ergo, color.” 

He blinks, momentarily stunned. “Wouldn’t--uh, wouldn’t that distract from the dancers? People would just be staring at the ceiling.”

“Then… it’s only lit up before and after the show. During the show, you turn the lights down, bring the focus back down onto the stage.” She considered it. Something she’d worked on for a production once, a fashion show Piper had done at Pratt. “Or, you set it up so the colors are mostly lights. Lights that shine through during the snowflake dance and when Clara rides off with the prince. But then you also get the white for the frosted look. But, they’re still too pink, so I don’t think some color variety is bad.”

“So, not to kill your vibe,” Percy says, pulling back a bit, “but I gotta say, I don’t see how this is that different from the billion other Nutcrackers out there.”

She glares, lips pursed. He’s trying so hard not to laugh. Dick. “The set is only half the problem,” she says. “You'd need to redesign the costumes, too.”

“Tell you what. Why don’t you come see my show in December, and then you can tell me all about how you’d fix it.”

“Me and every tourist in New York at Christmas time?”

He nods, like he was expecting it. “Then come to my current one. September isn’t Christmas, so it’ll be a lot less crowded.”

“I don’t know,” she grimaces, sketching a star in the corner of the page. “I don’t really think I’d fit--'' Fit in with those people like the ones from the Eta awards, who thought not being her mother’s lackey was the same as being in rehab.

“Annabeth.” Percy takes her drawing hand, lifting it off the page entirely. The pencil is caught between them, an ineffectual barrier to the sweet, rubbing thumb on the mound of her palm. “I want you to come to my show. I’ll leave you a ticket. No one will care what you look like, I promise.” He stares at her, baby seal eyes in full effect.

Fuck.

“As long as you leave me a ticket,” she says, weakly. “I mean, I wouldn’t be able to afford a good seat.” The lie slips out, easy as anything. She can’t help it.

He smiles, soft and warm and way too inviting. “And in the meantime,” he says, softly, you can come with me tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“I’m going to my parents’ for dinner. It’ll be just my mom, Paul, and my sister. They’d love to meet you.”

“I can’t,” she replies, immediately, almost without thinking. “I’ve got--I’ve got work to do.”

She doesn’t. But boys don’t bring girls like Annabeth home anymore. She isn’t meant to settle down. She’s meant for grimy bars and ship yards. She'll leave it to the princesses to be brought home.

He deflates, just the slightest bit. If she hadn’t had so much up and personal time with his naked chest and the movement of his shoulders, she probably would have missed it. “Maybe next time, then?”

“Yeah,” she agrees, not entirely certain if she means to follow through. “Maybe next time.”

[sarah-writes-marvel]

Family Matters: Bucky x fem!Reader

S.S: Hello again! Another fic for you folks! This one was really based off myself and my persepectives for my future but I hope that you all like it.

Warnings: Slight panic attack, not much, mentions of children (is that a warning?) showering together but nothing sexual

Word Count: 1,636

MASTERLIST

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

“Uncle Bucky!” Morgan’s sweet voice entered the room before she was in sight. The sound of her feet running against the linoleum of the compound echoed just as loudly.

I smiled at Bucky as he stood up to greet the little girl running towards him from the hallway, bracing himself for her hug.

“Hey there MiniMo. How's it going?” He asked as he knelt to her height watching her smile grow on her face as she bounced on her toes.

“Can we go to the park? Daddy said it was alright while he worked.” Morgan begged.

“You just got here Maguna. Take a chill pill.” Tony said as he finally showed up in the common room.

“But dad, it's so pretty outside!” She whined turning towards Tony.

“And it'll be just fine a little later too. You need breakfast first missy.” He smirked as he readjusted his sling. “Say Hi to Aunt Y/n/n too. She’s looking a little dejected.” 

I smiled as Morgan enthusiastically waved at me with her toothy grin before turning back to Bucky.

Despite their differences, Tony and Bucky had created a peaceful relationship. Tony still had some precautions but after speculation he realized where he had been mistaken and had finally accepted Bucky’s profuse apologizes about Hydras doing. Though Tony was very protective over Morgan, especially after his snap, Morgan had been the one to really connect the two parties. She broke Bucky out of his shell even more, probably even helped him more than I had through Steves leaving. 

Bucky was amazing with Morgan. He treated her as if she was his younger sister like in the 40’s with Becca. He had told me once that Morgan’s smile reminded him of her. Other than Tony he had become the most protective of the girl. It was adorable. He always offered to babysit if Tony and Pepper had business or just needed a night off and if there wasn't a mission that had to be done.

Tony pulled Morgan along to the kitchen and Bucky had rejoined me on the couch, watching me complete the sudoku puzzle I was working on. I could feel the nervous energy coming from him as if he wanted to say something.

“What’s on your mind Buck?” I asked, not looking away from my puzzle.

“Huh, oh. Just thinking that's all.”

“Want to indulge me? I can feel your anxiety radiating from you.” I teased him, turning to see his sweet face.

“Do you want kids?” he asked bluntly. My heart dropped to my stomach and the smile that was on my face had faded as soon as the words left his mouth. “I mean like after we get married or something. I know we've only been dating for like a year or so, but we've never talked about this.” he said his hands fiddling in his lap as he watched my reaction.

“I- uh. I- well ummm I-”

“Uncle Bucky! Lets go to the park! Please!! Daddy said it was alright now!” Morgan interrupted my flustered stuttering.

“Ok MiniMo. I'll be right there. Go put on your jacket.” He smiled as she skipped away back to the door. “I didn't mean to upset you. We can talk about it later. I’ll see you in a bit.” he said before kissing my head and following Morgan out the door.

I watched his retreating form with tears glazing my eyes. My vision shifted from the hallway to see Tony standing in the doorway of the kitchen, his arm crossed over his chest and a sympathetic look on his features.

“Need to talk about something? I don't have to be in the lab yet.” He offered, moving towards me.

“I- I- He’s gonna hate me.” I whispered.

“Why’s that?” he sat down next to me, his good arm slug around the back of the couch.

“He asked if I wanted kids, probably because he wants them but I don't. I can't. He’s gonna hate me.” I turned to Tony.

“Did he explicitly say that he wanted kids? That he wanted to start a family with you.”

“No but -”

“EH- stop. If he didnt straight up say he wanted kids then don't be so worried. He’s asking what you want in the future.” he said.

“But what if he wants a family. I can't give him that Tony. I can't give him what he had, what he might want.” 

“And if he truly loves you it won't be a problem. He might want a family but there are other ways to have kids.”

“No Tony, you don't understand. I don't want to have children at all. I can't deal with the stress of raising someone. I don't want to have a child just to mess them up because I’m not mother material.”

“Pepper thought that for a while. She doubted her ability but now look, we've got this amazing daughter.”

“You're not listening to me. I'm not mother material. I'm a mercenary. Pepper is an executive Business woman. She knows what it's like to have a family, how a child should be raised. I have no idea what that's like. I didn't have that luxury, I wouldn't know where to start. She doubted herself for a moment in life, I on the other hand have known forever that I will never be good enough to be a mother, whether it was my own child or adopted. I'm not made for that life.” I argued, the pain settling in my chest.

“Come on Y/n/n, you can't seriously believe that.” Tony said.

“I 100% do. I was raised as a killer, not a lover. I don't nurture things. I manage to kill everything I touch in time.” I stated, “I'm gonna go shower. Good luck with your projects.” I said before walking out of the room.

----------

I closed the bedroom door behind me and tossed my sudoku book onto the unmade bed. I looked at the clock on the wall watching the hands move. I began pacing along the carpet lost in my thoughts. Bucky's face ingrained in my memory, the way his eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, the lines creased on his forehead, the way his eyes flitted to mine after he asked the question of curiosity swimming within and a hopeful gleam.

Of course he would want a family. He grew up with a sister and a loving mother. And Steve was practically his brother. Why wouldn't he want a daughter or a son of his own. He loves Morgan and he loves spending time with her so of course he's pictured himself with his own children one day.

I ran a hand over my face trying to wipe away the worry. I pulled my shirt over my head dropping it onto the floor with my sweatpants before walking into the bathroom. I turned the water to the hottest setting possible watching the room fill with steam almost immediately.

The water cascaded around me, trailing off my fingertips and dripping from my hair. The cool tile of the floor underneath my huddled form wasn't noticeable with the steaming water hitting my back. My arms were wrapped around my legs as I sat on the floor of the shower, my head leaning against the wall reimagining the look that Bucky had given me. It had morphed to a pained look, one of disgust, of hatred. 

“Hey Y/n? Everything alright? Tony said you needed to talk to me.” Bucky's voice broke me from my trance. I heard the bathroom door open and close behind him. He knocked against the tinted glass door to the shower. “Can I join you?”

“If you want to.” I said quietly, pulling myself off the floor as he got undressed and stepped in. His hands wrapped around my waist.

“What's going on doll?” HIs deep voice whispered as he left kisses on my shoulder.

“Maybe we should break up.” I said quietly. His grip loosened a little and his kisses stopped.

“What are you talking about?”

“I just don't want to hold you back from something you want.” I said.

“Is this about what  I asked earlier? Because I didn't mean that we had to have kids now. I know that our lives are still kinda hectic. We can wait. I don't mind.” he said, his hands turning me to face him.

“I can't have kids. Even if I could I don’t want kids. And you obviously want a family. I can't give you that. I can't give you what you had growing up. I can't give you a loving family like you want.” tears were freely streaming down my cheeks.

“We don't need kids to have a loving family. I have you. That's enough for me.” he reassured, his hands cupping my face.

“But you want kids. I see how you act with Morgan. You adore her.” I said.

“I do adore her, but that doesnt mean I want kids. I adore you much more than risking losing you over wanting children. I'm fine without kids. We can have a dog instead.”

“But- I-”

“Stop. Listen to me closely; I don't need children to have a family with you. It can just be me and you. I don’t care just as long as I’m sharing my future with you.” he said gently but stern. “Now come on, let’s get out and go play with Morgan, ok?”

I simply nodded and followed his lead out of the shower. He took my towel and dried me off gently, finishing by placing a kiss on my lips.

“I love you, you know that.” he smiled tilting my chin up to meet his gaze.

“I love you too. I'm sorry.”

“There's nothing to apologize for, doll. Nothing at all.” he said with another smile before crushing me in a hug.

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

S.S: Hope you like this! I saw a tiktok with Sebastian being amazing with kids and it was adorable but like at the same time I lowkey despise kids because they come from a special place in hell so this story came out. Anyways.... thanks fro reading!!