#I do have at least one of his books (ironically?) and who can’t get down on some of his music?
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floral-hex · 1 year ago
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I’m so over emotional right now. read that Jimmy Buffett died surrounded by his friends and family and started crying. not that he died. that everyone he loved, that loved him, was there with him in his final moments. and his dogs! his dogs were there, too! something about it is so beautiful and nice and fuck, I am bummed he died, but that he went out surrounded by his loved ones makes it seem okay. I’m glad he got that in the end. That knowing you’re loved and you’ll be remembered. I think that’s all we can really hope for in the end.
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pumpkinbxtch · 6 months ago
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— 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗮?。⁠:゚ headcanons
are the HoO boys afraid of falling in love with you? (ft. apollo)
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☆ radiostar is playing… warrior by aurora!
who's here: percy jackson, leo valdez, frank zhang, jason grace & apollo. warnings: none, philophobia is the fear of falling in love. a/n: This is super based on their profiles according to the books, because well, let's talk honestly to others, I decided to do this, it's interesting.
percy jackson;
Percy isn’t afraid of loving or being loved. His mom raised him with a lot of affection. But, he does get scared of not being loved back or not being good enough for you. This is because of his obvious self-esteem issues. Doubting love is the only thing that makes him rethink and overthink things. So, sometimes you have to talk to him when you see he's down about something he doesn’t want to tell you. But he never hesitated when he fell for you and wanted you to know as soon as he realized it.
leo valdez;
Yes. The answer is yes, he is scared of falling in love. But he doesn’t realize it until he’s totally in love with you, and it’s too late for those feelings to stop growing. Leo isn’t fully aware of it because he likes having girls around, but it never goes beyond the surface until it did with you. He realized that imagining a future with someone isn’t something to take lightly. Is there something he can’t fix with his magical pockets?
Leo spent most of his life running away and being from nowhere, so he ends up with an avoidant attachment style. He’s working on this now to open up more with you because at the beginning of the relationship, it seemed like he was running away from you. In reality, he’s full of love to give and wants to receive it too.
frank zhang;
He’s never scared of falling in love or feeling something as genuine as that. He’s a son of Mars, who’s associated with passion, so Frank has never had to face love head-on. The only problem might be feeling like he’s too much or too annoying because he would die for you and kill an entire nation to be with you. Frank is careful when he realizes he likes you or is falling in love because he knows some things just can’t be, but he never hides his feelings. He’ll tell you he loves you and respects if it’s not mutual. He almost explodes with happiness knowing it’s mutual.
jason grace;
Jason isn’t great at showing his feelings. It constantly overwhelms him and keeps him up at night, trying to solve it like a math equation when it’s the complete opposite. He’s supposed to be the voice of reason, or at least that’s what he’s thought all this time. But when you get close to him, his gears go crazy, spark, and break down. Is he scared of falling in love? Not exactly, but he’s afraid of not expressing it properly because he knows how important communication is. After getting to know you better, he realizes it’s better to go with the flow, which isn’t easy for him, but he finally has an answer. He was born to love and wants to be loved.
apollo;
Yes, yes, yes, yes. All his exes ended up as plants or dead. How could he not develop a fear related to love after that keeps happening? So it’s a nightmare when you come into his life because, unfortunately for him, he’s a hopeless romantic. There’s nothing more ironic than that. He tries to avoid it at all costs, but in the blink of an eye, he’s holding you tight and kissing you with a goofy expression on his face. Even though he’s so scared, his longing to find the one outweighs it...
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peachdues · 1 year ago
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BIRTHDAY SURPRISES — NSFW
Sanemi Shinazugawa x Reader
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A/N: there is nothing redeemable about this. It’s just 7.9k words of pure filth in honor of my man’s birthday.
My husband got a boner reading this, so enjoy you whores.
CW: MDNI • Explicit sexual content • daddy!kink • elevator blowjobs • creampies • rough sex • kinky sex • brat-taming/mild dumbification • overstimulation • fluff at the end followed by more smut • not proof read lmao
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Sanemi Shinazugawa has never liked the month of November.
For starters, the stupid month can’t decide what damn season it wants to be. It’s somehow too cold to really qualify as autumn and the leaves have usually fallen to the ground, brown and dead and useless, but it’s also still too warm to snow.
And November is such a tease — smack dab between two great holidays yet offering nothing but a restlessness that persists until the end of the year.
So no, Sanemi Shinazugawa isn’t fond of this time of year. But the universe has never shied away from giving him the middle finger, so Sanemi supposes he shouldn’t be surprised his birthday falls during such a bullshit month like November.
He’d been content to spend the day of his birth like he did every other year — hunkered down in his apartment with some cheap takeout, alone, without anyone to make a big fuss about it. That was the plan — his goddamn plan.
So how the fuck did he end up here?
The “here” in question is a suite at one of the city’s most exclusive hotels. The room is stuffed full of faces, some familiar but most not, packed together like sardines. The music is loud and pulsing and it threatens to give him a nasty headache.
It was Tengen who convinced him to allow this — though, Sanemi doesn’t suppose he was given much of a choice in the matter. But his friend group learned of his impending birthday a few weeks earlier, and before Sanemi could level a few, well-backed threats against any party planning, Tengen had booked the massive suite in which he now found himself, and promised Sanemi that he wouldn’t have to buy a single drink.
Sanemi agreed only on the condition that he be allowed to book a separate hotel room — several floors below where this godforsaken party now raged.
At least Tengen had meant it when he promised Sanemi wouldn’t have to spend a dime on alcohol. He took care to run up his friend’s tab by ordering several shots of Grey Goose, throwing them back as easily as water.
Hey, it was his birthday, after all.
The hotel suite is a blur of lights and colors and bodies pressed together in dark corners. Truthfully, Sanemi really can’t find any one thing to pay attention to; it’s ironic that this party is supposedly for him, and yet he feels like the most invisible person in the room.
But then he spots you — beautiful, witty, and charming you — seated in the lounge area, surrounded by both shared friends and strangers, and it’s like a spotlight has been pointed directly at you. All else seems to fall away, recessing into the shadows of the room, and his attention is locked solely on you; the star of the show that is his birthday party.
The feelings swirling in Sanemi’s chest are dangerous; lethal. He knows he should look away and accept the fact that you, with your endless pick of eligible women and men, would never deign to chase after someone like him, someone with as many scars on his heart as are seared into his skin. He knows that. He knows he’s only setting himself up to get more pissed off — to hate his birthday more than he already does.
But he can’t stop watching you.
And even if he could, he doesn’t want to. He’s only been in love with you since the moment Shinobu tugged you into a booth at a bar they all frequented. There hadnt really been any room for you to sit — not with seven of them already packed tightly onto the bench — but you’d taken one look at him and grinned, something that could only be described as mischief lighting your eyes.
“You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?” You’d asked him sweetly as you plopped your ass right down on his lap. “You look like you’re the comfiest one here.”
Sanemi, who was known for having a quick temper and an even quicker mouth, had been stunned into silence by the presence of a beautiful woman, perched on his knee like it was the most natural thing to sit on a stranger’s lap. His friends had been hard-pressed to suppress their smirks at the way Sanemi gaped at the back of your head, and he was fairly certain it was because you’d been so ballsy that you’d secured a permanent spot in their weekly bar rotation.
That had been over a year ago, and Sanemi’s infatuation with you grew deeper by the day.
Not that he’d ever done anything about it — even though, at times, it felt like you were all but baiting him into acting on his feelings. He wanted to believe the way your eyes followed him wherever he went in a room meant something, that your lingering touches were an invitation for more, but he could never bring himself to find out.
That cowardice, he supposed bitterly, was exactly what led him here, sitting alone at the suite room bar, watching as countless others flirted with you and you, right back.
A few times your eyes had tracked him across the room; one time, you looked as though you were about to push through the throng of people shoved into Tengen’s suite to come talk to him, but a hand on your bicep caught you and diverted your attention.
It’s then that Sanemi snaps. The moment he watches as the asshole in question pulls you against him for a slow grind, that jealous, monstrous thing in his chest rears its ugly head, growling and gnawing to be let free.
He’d hoped, for one pathetic moment, that you would push the man away, shake your head, do something that indicated you weren’t the least bit interested in him, no matter how fascinating his multi-colored eyes were, or how charming his feral grin was, but you didn’t. And the moment he sees the douchebag pull your hips flush against his, Sanemi knows he needs to get some air.
So with less grace than he knows he probably should show, Sanemi shoves his way towards the door leading out the suite and into the hallway.
Fuck it, he decides. He would go back to his room, several floors below, take a shower and hit the fucking hay. His birthday was bullshit, anyways.
He storms towards the elevators, slightly tipsy and certainly angry. He stabs a finger against the down button, his leg bouncing as he waits for the elevator to come and save him from his own party.
“What’re you doing out here, birthday boy?”
His stomach sinks to his ass at the familiar cadence of the voice behind him. Reluctantly, he turns and sees you making your way down the hallway wall, a smirk on your pretty lips and looking downright sinful in that flimsy, silvery dress that barely reaches the middle of your thighs.
That damn elevator can’t come fast enough.
“Go back to the party,” he says tightly, though he still won’t look you directly in the eyes. “Don’t let me interrupt your good time.”
You draw up short. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Sanemi only scoffs and jabs frustratingly at the elevator button, willing for the telltale ding that will allow him to step into the lift and get far the fuck away from this rager he didn’t want.
From you.
“What’s wrong with you? Did something happen?” You push, resuming your advance on him and shortening the space between your bodies. “Sanemi —“
“Save it,” Sanemi bites, and because he cannot help himself, he adds, “I just don’t particularly feel like watching you spread your legs for some lowlife asshole who can’t be bothered to remember your name.”
You blink, comprehension dawning on your face before melting to anger. “That’s what you’re so pissy about?”
Sanemi silently begs the elevator to hurry the fuck up, because now you’re only a few feet away from him and he doesn’t want you to see his fraying restraint.
You fold your arms across your chest, hip jutting out to the side. “You’re acting like a bitch because some jackass tried to grind on me? Why do you even care?”
Sanemi dodges your question with ease.
“You’re the one who fuckin’ followed me out here.”
The elevator dings and Sanemi is damn near falling to his knees in gratitude at its timing. The double sliding doors have barely finished opening before he’s already inside, jamming his finger into the button marked 26, praying it’ll move faster than it arrived.
The doors start to close but a pair of hands slam against both sides of the doorway, preventing them from joining in the middle.
You stand in the center of the threshold, eyes bright and nostrils flaring, the elevator doors half-closed around you.
“It wasn’t easy to throw this party together y’know,” you snap at him, and dully, Sanemi thinks the glare you give him is strong enough to wither plants. “Everyone went out of their way to try and make you feel special, but you’ve been nothing but an asshole about it.”
“I didn’t ask you all to do this — I begged you not to,” Sanemi retorts just as hotly, his arms folding across his chest. “I didn’t want a fuckin’ party.”
“Well, what do you want?”
the silence that stretches between you is more telling than any answer he could have given. By the way your lips part, you seem to realize it at the same moment he does, and that’s when Sanemi knows he’s fucked.
The two of you stare at one another for a moment, the weight of Sanemi’s unspoken admission hanging above your heads like the sword of Damocles.
But then, the blade drops, and it must impale you both, because suddenly your hands fall from the elevator doors and are tangling in his hair at the same moment Sanemi’s fingers latch onto your waist, and your mouths slam together in a fiery clash of lips and teeth.
The elevator doors slide shut behind you right as Sanemi presses you up against the paneled wall and slides his tongue into your mouth.
At the first stroke of his tongue against yours, you tense, and for one panicked moment, he fears he’s gone too far. But then you’re melting against him, and the way you tug on his hair and whimper his name against his lips makes Sanemi loses his goddamn mind.
Time stands still and there are no thoughts in Sanemi’s brain but the feel of your hands running down his arms, his chest, pushing under the open collar of his shirt to dance along his burning skin.
They can’t get to the 26th floor fast enough, no matter how fast the numbers tick past, bringing them closer and closer to privacy —
The elevator jolts to a stop, somewhere between the 29th and 28th floors, and does not move.
It’s just his fucking luck; the girl of his dreams is pressed flush against him, her lips at his ear as she begs for him, and the goddamn elevator has forgotten how to work. If his hands weren’t so busy pushing under the hem of that slip you call a dress to fondle the curve of your ass, he might’ve put a hole through the one of the doors.
He punches the button for the 26th floor again and again, his sanity fraying with each urgent jab of his fingers, yet the elevator still does not move.
If the idea that the pair of you are stranded in a metal box of death suspended over twenty stories high bothers you, Sanemi wouldn’t be able to tell — not when you’ve decided to turn your attention someplace else.
“What’re you —“ Sanemi’s voice is hardly more than a croak as your hands busy themselves with the buckle on his belt, fumbling and tugging until the leather fastened around his hips gives way.
“Shhh!” A press of your index finger to his lips silences him. “Birthday boys shouldn’t worry!”
Your fingers hook under the waistband of his pants and suddenly they’re following you down as you slide to your knees before him.
Sanemi’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head at the way your half-lidded gaze drifts from his face down his body, coming to rest on the tent of his briefs, jutting out from between his thighs.
Your voice is syrupy and warm as you whisper, “I guess I should let you have your first gift,”
Sanemi forgets how to breathe when you peer back up at him, your eyes suddenly round and wide; he nearly forgets how to stand when you lean forward and press your cheek against the side of his cock where it strains against his underwear.
Sanemi sucks in sharply through clenched teeth at the sudden rush of cold elevator air against the heated, sensitive skin of his bare cock, your fingers having tugged him free from the confines of his briefs.
“F-first?” He can’t stop the way the question stutters out, not when your lips, just barely gazing against him, drag from his base to his tip. The soft exhale of your warm breath up his length has his hands shooting behind him for something — anything — to grip.
You hum in confirmation, and Sanemi’s vision almost blacks out when your tongue peeks past your glossy, red-stained lips to trail over his leaking head.
“But you’ll have to wait ‘til we get to your room before you can unwrap the next one.”
Sanemi swears he’ll set the entire hotel building on fire if the elevator doesn’t start working in the next fucking minute. His vicious promise, however, fades to the back of his mind, along with every other coherent thought he’s ever had as your lips part around his head and you take him into your mouth.
“Holy fuck,” Sanemi hisses and his head falls back against the elevator wall with a dull thump.
You him pleasantly around his cock and Sanemi nearly cums right there, the vibrations from your mouth too sweet, adding gasoline to the already raging inferno of his desire.
At first, you keep your hands primly folded behind you, only allowing your mouth to work his shaft. Every time you slide up off him, you curl your tongue against the underside of his cock and every time, Sanemi has to draw upon every morsel of self-restraint he possesses to not buck further down your throat.
But soon, your hands pat their way to his, and you bring his hands against either side of your head. You hold them there for only a moment, just long enough for Sanemi’s stomach to flip as he realizes what you’re giving him permission to do.
You peer up at him with those big eyes, so wide and deceptively innocent, and he knows you’re trying to kill him.“Motherfucking — Y/N,” he moans, threading his fingers through your hair. “Fuck.”
With his grip in your hair secure, Sanemi begins to fuck your mouth. His cock slides in and out of your heat, every push shoving a little more of himself further into your mouth. You only relax your throat, your tongue still curling against the underside of his shaft in a way that makes Sanemi see white.
Sanemi’s hold on your hair tightens. “Fucking take it,” he pants, hips bucking against your face. “My little cock whore.” From his position over you, Sanemi can see the way his words make you squirm with need, your answering moan long, and deep.
Your hands flutter to the side of his thighs, and Sanemi almost winces at the prick of your nails against his skin. But despite the saliva steadily trailing down your chin and the guttural sounds choking in the back of your throat, you’re tugging him closer, your fingers inching around to grip his backside, pressing him closer and closer to you until your nose brushes his groin.
The elevator jolts with movement and resumes its descent, but neither of you notice. All Sanemi can focus on his the way his tip bumps against the back of your throat, and how your cheeks hollow against him as he ruts into your mouth.
Sanemi makes a strangled noise in the vague shape of your name. “I-I’m gonna —“
You only need to swallow around him once before Sanemi is filling your throat with his cum. With a deep groan, his head drops back, his hand splayed across the back of your skull, keeping your nose pressed against his base as he rocks his hips, his cock twitching violently in your mouth.
His eyes fly open when he feels the wetness from your tears against the sensitive skin of his groin, and he’s quick to pull out of your mouth. Your hands bracing against his thighs as you gulp down air in heavy, shuddering gasps.
“Fuck — I’m sorry,” his hands smooth worryingly over your hair. “That was too rough, I’m so fuckin’ sorry-“
Your head snaps up, and Sanemi feels a brief moment of panic at the sight of your mascara, streaked down your cheeks from an onslaught of tears. Bht then you’re smiling at him, a big, triumphant, radiant smile, and Sanemi feels almost as dumb in the head as he had when your mouth was around his cock.
The elevator slows and Sanemi hastily tucks himself back into his pants. The moment his belt is refastened, his hand is on your arm, gently guiding you up to stand right as a ding! sounds, and the doors slide open to reveal the 26th floor.
You step out first, turning back to him expectantly. “Well? What room?”
Sanemi’s heart falls to his ass as he beholds the assured confidence blazing in your eyes. “2602,” he manages to croak.
You tug him out of the elevator and for a few moments, he’s dumbstruck by his good fortune. It almost feels like a dream, that your here, leading him down the winding hallway of this oversized and overpriced hotel, eager to get back to his room and do whatever the hell it is that’s lit that fire in your eyes.
Sanemi’s awe is short-lived, replaced by a crashing wave of need and boiling desire, hot and furiously bubbling under his skin. His hand tightens around yours and he jerks you around, spinning you until you’re caged tightly between the hallway wall and his chest.
His mouth attacks your neck, biting and sucking his claim into your skin, no matter how temporary. Your leg hikes up to hook around his hips, your foot pressed against his calf, and it seems neither of you care that you’re very much still on an open hallway as opposed to the privacy of his hotel room.
“I’m not holding back with you,” he whispers against the hollow of your throat. His hands slide hotly down your sides, fingers toying under the absurdly short hem of your dress, kneading just beneath the curve of your ass. “You asked me what I wanted — I want this. You.”
Your sultry giggle in his ear chokes off as Sanemi’s finger dips under your ass from behind to run firmly over your clothed slit. A breathy fuck falls from his lips as he feels the wetness seeping through the fabric of your underwear.
“That’s your main gift,” you’re tugging on his hair again until you’ve pulled him away from your throat so that you can slant your mouth over his. “Me. However you want me.”
You take his bottom lip between your teeth and suck, and Sanemi swears he’s died and gone to heaven. “As many times as you want.”
“And in whatever positions you want.”
Sanemi has never been a particularly religious man, but he thinks he’s about one nanosecond from dropping to his knees in worship of you.
Sanemi wastes no time in hauling you over his shoulder, throwing any and all cares to the wind of being seen as he slaps your ass and books the remaining trek back to his hotel room. Youre lucky his room is only around the corner, given that you won’t stop groping his ass.
Somehow, Sanemi manages to fumble for his keycard and swipes it, and he has you inside his room and pushed up against the door before it even fully latches shut.
You’re moaning and panting just from his hands, and Sanemi can feel himself already growing hard once more. His lips are feverish as they roam from your lips, to your neck, and down to the hem of your dress concealing your soft breasts from sight. His hands are even greedier, bunching the tissue-paper-like fabric of you dress between his fingers as he explores the curves and dips of your body.
“God you feel so fucking good,” he mutters against your lips between kisses. “I can’t get enough of you.”
From the way your hands drag down his chest, fingers sliding between the undone buttons of his shirt to explore his chest, he knows you’re just as starved as he is.
With a slight whine, you push him back, breaking your kiss. Sanemi looks at you, but the question building on his tongue does as you kick your heels off, your fingers flying to the straps of your dress.
Sanemi feels locked in place by the heat of your gaze, and he swears he can feel his pulse tick in his neck. One by one, you push the straps of your dress from your shoulders, letting the satiny material fall down your waist and puddle around your feet.
If Sanemi thought he was losing his mind before, he knows for certain that he likely needs to be committed now.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Sanemi’s stare is unabashed and gaping. For beneath that flimsy scrap of shiny fabric pretending to be a dress was not your bare skin, but dark green lace and mesh and corset paneling.
A teddy.
You twist slightly so you’re looking over your shoulder, fully exposing your ass and the thong-like back of your one-piece to the slack-jawed birthday boy.
“I figured you would like this one.”
Your words knock Sanemi right off his axis, his head spinning so fast, it’s a miracle it’s still attached to his shoulders.
You’d worn fucking lingerie for his party.
For him.
You’d gone out of your way to wear something you thought he would like on the mere chance you’d end up as you were now, here in his room. You’d planned for it.
You didn’t leave him any other choice; he was going to fucking ruin you.
His hand flies behind his neck to grip his shirt, ripping it over his head and throwing it unceremoniously to the side.
Sanemi doesn’t fail to notice the way your tongue darts out to wet your lips, your pupils blowing wide at the sight of the sculpted planes of his chest and abdomen.
He kicks off his shoes and his hands shove his pants quickly down his legs, grateful that he hadn’t bothered to refasten his belt or button after the stunt you pulled in the elevator.
“C’mere,” he orders, roughly. Left in just his black briefs, he lunges forward to take you into his arms once more.
Your peal of laughter as Sanemi throws you onto his king-sized hotel bed is the prettiest thing he’s ever heard. He wastes no time pouncing on you, eager to reconnect your lips, to kiss you until you’re left as breathless and wanting as he is.
Between messy kisses, Sanemi’s hands make their way down your body, squeezing and marveling at the way your body seems made for his touch. And as if the feeling of your skin beneath his palms isn’t enough to drive him wild, you’re so responsive to his touch. Every stroke of his hands seems to bring you alive until you’re practically thrumming with want and begging him for more.
His fingers slide over your lace-covered cunt and he swears at the dampness he feels clean through the fabric of your teddy.
“Eager, are we?” He hums, his lips following down the path he traced with his hands. “Tell me what you need, sweetheart.”
Your hips buck impatiently against him as his face settles between your thighs. He grins at your desperation, trailing open-mouthed kisses across your inner thigh until he reaches your covered slit.
He lets his tongue peek out between his lips and drags it over until he reaches your other thigh, groaning at the faint taste of you dampening the lace.
Sanemi’s fingers push under the edge of the teddy, a breath blowing past his lips when he connects with your dripping cunt.
“Look how fucking soaked you are,” he says in awe, marveling the way your slick coats his fingers. “Is this all for me?”
You groan, pushing your hips down to grind harder against his hand.
“Just fuck me already,” you huff. “I’m ready now.”
Sanemi tsks softly at you. “You need to ask a lot nicer than that, sweet girl.”
Your impatient demands taper off into soft moans as Sanemi sinks a single finger into your entrance, his cock growing impossibly hard at the feeling of you clenching easily around him.
Sanemi practically trembles at the thought of sinking into your heat, of how you might feel clenching and pulsing around his length while he fucks you the way he’s been dreaming since he met you.
But while he might be pent up, Sanemi isn’t so much of an asshole that he wouldn’t make sure you were good and ready to take him.
So he simply tugs the crotch of your teddy aside and without any further teasing or torture, he latches his mouth to your cunt with a deep moan.
As his tongue darts between your folds, Sanemi realizes that all the cake in the world couldn’t compare to how fucking sweet your pussy tastes.
You cry out, his name stuttering out between a staccato of moans and cooes for more. Your hands twist in his hair, alternating between pulling his face closer to your core and pushing him away, the pleasure almost too much for you to bear.
Sanemi thinks he could get drunk on your taste. His eyes open to watch the way your face pinches, how your jaw goes slack to let his name drip from your tongue.
Your hands unwind from his hair to tug at the sinful draping of lace fitted against your body like a glove. “Off,” you whimper. “Off.”
It takes him a moment to realize what you want. But after another plea of “off,” Sanemi’s hands are already working to push the teddy down your lithe form.
“I’ve got you, baby, I’ve got you,” he soothes, dragging the lingerie off your legs. Sanemi swears softly at the sight of you, bare and spread out on his mattress, your body pliant and ready for him to use however he chooses.
“S-Sanemi,” he can’t suppress his grin at the apparent whine in your tone. “I feel so — so empty —“
He doesn’t try to hold in the groan resounding deep from his chest. Youre asking — practically begging — for his cock, and Sanemi doesn’t have the willpower to deny you.
“Fuck this,” he snarls, and suddenly your body is caged under his, his hips slotting perfectly into the cradle of your thighs. “I need to be in you.”
His lips dance feverishly up the side of your neck until they reconnect with yours.
For a moment, your kiss slows to something more sensual and passionate, as opposed to the heated and frantic kisses you’d exchanged earlier. The sigh you exhale against his mouth is the sexiest thing Sanemi has ever heard, and the feeling of your fingers latching in his hair is a sensation he never wants to forget.
Your tongue swipes along his lower lip in a silent request for entry that he’s only too happy to grant. You moan against the taste of yourself on his tongue.
Sanemi knows he’s been head over heels for you for a long time, but the way your tongue dances languidly with his has him utterly undone.
If you wanted to, he’d let you swallow him whole.
Your kiss melts into something more needy and frantic, and Sanemi feels your wetness grind down against his thigh, a pleading whimper building on your lips. With an eagerness that makes his head spin, your legs shift to lock around his waist, and one of the hands you’d had latched in his hair drifts down his abdomen until it finds his cock, heavy and hot in your palm.
“I’ve got a condom —“ Sanemi manages between desperate kisses. “In my wallet —“
But your legs tighten around his hips and your hand pumps harder at his stiffened length. “Don’t need it,” you murmur against his lips. “On the pill.”
Sanemi thinks he might pass out. “Fuck — are you sure?”
You nod, eyes bright and alert even in spite of your sleepy, fucked-out smile. “Wanna feel you, baby.”
Don’t have to fucking tell him twice. Especially not when you’re calling him baby, even if it’s a pet name you’ll only use on him for the night.
With deft hands, Sanemi flips you so that your front is pressed against the mattress. You scramble beneath him to plant your knees, raising your ass high in the air, your cunt held out in an offering he could never refuse.
He gives one of your pert ass cheeks an appreciative smack before he shuffles forward on his knees. He rests one foot on the outside of your leg, parallel with your hip, and slots his other knee between your parted thighs. One hand grips the base of his cock while the other kneads at your hip, holding you steady while also keeping your limbs relaxed as he lines his tip up with your dripping entrance.
“Unless you say otherwise, ‘M goin’ hard,” he warns, his voice rougher than gravel. “Been waiting too long to do this.”
Ever the devilish little minx, you wiggle your hips back against him, and his breath chokes in his throat when your wet heat catches him at his tip.
You look back over your shoulder and Sanemi’s gaze darkens at the challenge in your eyes. “Give me everything you’ve got.”
Sanemi decides to respond to your taunt not with his words, but with his body. In a single, fluid movement, he plunges his cock deep into your heated core, his fingers tightening around your hips with bruising force.
“Jesus fuck,” he pants once he’s fully embedded to the hilt inside your warmth.
It’s unreal; the feeling of your silken, pleasure-soaked walls moulding around his cock like you were made to take him sends a bolt lightning surging down his spine, making him shudder.
A cross between a cry and a scream tears from your throat, muffled only by the press of your mouth against the starchy blankets of his hotel bed. He’s about to ask if you’re okay, if you want him to go slow for a bit since he knows he’s a larger than average. but then you’re throwing your hips back against him, circling and grinding and mewling for more.
“Fuck me,” you moan. “Fuck me, Sanemi — please.”
“God fucking damn,” Sanemi hisses through clenched teeth. And he knows he can’t deny you, not when your whining so prettily for him; nor when your pussy feels this fucking good.
He draws back, his cock sliding out of you until only his tip remains. He lingers there, for just a hair’s breadth of a moment, teasing.
Your impatient whine doesn’t last long as Sanemi slams you back onto him, the sound choking off in your throat. He doesn’t give you time to recover; he digs his fingers into the flesh of your hips and drives his cock into you again and again, pounding a relentless rhythm into you that has you sobbing into the mattress.
“Yes, yes, yes!” You blubber, your fingers fisted into the blankets below for purchase as you push yourself back to meet his frenzied thrusts.
Sanemi can’t tear his eyes away from where his cock, shiny with your wetness, disappears in and out of you. “You’re taking me so fuckin’ well,” he says in awe. Your pussy is gripping him like a vice, practically sucking him back into your heat. “You like letting me use you, huh?”
Sanemi shifts so that his weight is on the knee resting beside your leg, allowing him to push harder and deeper into your cunt. You try to lift your head, but Sanemi’s hand leaves its place on your hip to press down on the back of your neck, squeezing lightly.
“Oh f-fuck,” you groaned, voice slightly muffled from where your face was half-pressed into the mattress. “Oh god — just like that — D-daddy, yes —“
Sanemi’s hips stutter. Daddy. No one has ever called him that in the bedroom before, but fuck if it doesn’t somehow make him harder than a fucking diamond.
Especially because it seems like it slipped out of you without much thought, your eyes too busy staring at the back of your skull as every punishing thrust of Sanemi’s cock into your pliant cunt makes your body bounce against the mattress.
He likes it. A lot.
“Should’ve known you’d have a daddy kink, filthy little thing,” he groans, his hand reaching under you to toy with your swollen clit.
You only moan in response, and Sanemi can’t help but to swirl his fingers around that nub, savoring the way it makes your thighs quiver beneath you.
The hand still pressing against the back of your neck slides up to grip your hair, and Sanemi pulls your head up from the bed. “Do you call everyone ‘daddy,’ sweetness, or just those who fuck you the way you like it?”
“Not everyone” you gasp, voice strained against the tight arch of your neck. “Just you — ah! Only you.”
With a growl, Sanemi’s arm locks around your middle and hauls you up until your back is flush against his chest. One hand wraps around your jaw, his fingers squeezing your cheeks to keep your head back as he continues pounding into you.
“Look at you,” his exhales hotly against your ear, his teeth grazing your lobe. “Daddy’s pretty little toy.”
Your thighs quake in their effort to keep you up. Your moans raise an octave, warbling out of your throat as you settle heavily against him, utterly helpless against the pleasure rolling through your body.
Sanemi’s hand drops from your jaw to drag teasingly down your torso. When he reaches your lower belly, he presses his palm flat, the pressure allowing the blunt head of his cock to rub against that sensitive spot that makes you sing his name.
“You feel that, baby?” And the whine that slips out of you is one he wishes he could bottle up. “That’s all me — that’s how deeply I’m fucking you.”
He’s practically holding you up, your limbs little more than jelly, but he doesn’t mind. He only increases the pressure of his hand, rubbing slightly over the softness of your stomach.
“And that’s where I’m gonna fill you up, ‘til you’re nice and full, hm?”
A stilted cry of his name is dragged from your lips, and Sanemi swears he’d marry you tomorrow, if you’d let him.
It’s not lost on him that this is likely a one-time thing; that you’ll likely leave his hotel room and the two of you won’t speak of it again, but he can’t find it within himself to give a shit.
It doesn’t matter if this is just a slightly drunken hook up — it doesn’t matter to him if it’s just sex. You’re letting him use your body for his pleasure, and that thought is enough to make his brain turn to liquid between his ears.
Sanemi falls back against the bed, bringing you with him, your back still pressed against his chest. He winds an arm around one of your thighs, holding it open to allow himself to continue fucking up into you with the speed of a racehorse.
“God you’re so fuckin’ tight — don’t want me to leave, do you, precious?”
He chuckles in your ear, catching your lobe between his teeth. His hand wedges between your thighs to play with your clit again, and the way your pussy flutters around him signals that you’re right on the precipice of your orgasm.
The first of the night, if he had anything to say about it.
“Maybe I should make you my own personal cocksleeve — would you like that, sweetheart?” You’re mewling, nodding frantically as you squirm and thrash atop him.
“Would you like to sit on Daddy’s cock all day, keep him nice and warm?”
“Yes!” You sob, and Sanemi’s fingers circle your clit even harder, determined to to make you cum. “Yes, ‘Nemi, please! I’ll be your good girl — I’ll be so good —“
Sanemi’s pace falters slightly at your words, a new idea — a wicked idea, forming fast in his mind. “You will, huh?”
He abruptly pulls out of you, though the anguished cry that rattles out of you at the loss of his warmth tugs at his heartstrings. After all, you’d been so close.
Sanemi wastes no time flipping you under him, hooking both your legs over his muscled shoulders until the underside of your thighs press flat against his chest.
“You’ll cum when I say so,” he shoves his painfully hard cock back into your pulsing warmth, his knuckles turning white under his grip against the rumpled blankets as he fights to keep his eyes from rolling back at the feeling of being sheathed back inside you once more.
“And you’re gonna fuckin’ look at me when i fill you up,” Sanemi snarls between ferocious snaps of his hips. “I wanna see that gorgeous face when I cum inside this pretty little pussy.”
“Yes! Yes s-sir.”
“Yeah? And who’s fucking you this good?”
“Y-you,”
He ducks his head down to nip sharply at your breast. “Try again.”
“You are — D-daddy,”
Sanemi’s pace only increases. “Still not what I’m looking for, princess,” he’s borderline cruel and he knows it, but he also knows what he wants. “Tell me whose pussy this is.”
You don’t answer; you can’t, given how slack your jaw has gone, your mouth frozen in a perfect “o” as Sanemi pushes the head of his cock right at that spot deep within you that makes you seize down on him hard enough that he sees stars.
He growls your name and when you still don’t respond, he snaps his hips particularly hard against yours.
“Say it.”
His hand shoves between your bodies, and Sanemi pinches your clit harshly between this thumb and index finger.
“Sanemi!” You wail, writhing under him. His fingers rub soothing circles against your clit, though the relentless thrust of his cock does not ease.
“That’s my girl,” he praises, and the pressure of his fingers against your throbbing nub increases. “Now cum on this fucking cock.”
That does it.
Your back arcs sharply up off the mattress, thighs tightening around his hips as your cunt clenching around him with earth-shattering force. Sanemi feels a smug wave of pride as a surge of fluid springs forth and coats his abdomen and groin.
You fall back against the bed, limp and spent, but Sanemi isn’t done with you yet; you won’t be, not until Sanemi has left his mark.
He shifts over you, his full weight pressing you down into the mattress; his hands pushing your knees up until they’re level with your chest. You sigh and hum, still wading through the haze of your orgasm, but given the way you let your thighs spread a little wider, you’re aware enough to know that Sanemi is readying you to take his release.
It’s not enough; Sanemi doesn’t want you lost in the aftermath of your euphoria — he wants you crying out for his.
His hand grips your face, your cheeks squishing together beneath his fingers as he forces your head to tilt toward him. Your eyes flutter open, bleary and unfocused before the clouds part and your attention is locked wholly on him.
“Beg for it,” he grits out, his hand smacking against your clit until you howled. “Beg for my cum.”
“Please!” Your cry is shrill and desperate, your hands tightening weakly around his shoulders. “Please f-fill me up — oh, Sanemi —“
He nearly loses it at the way you say his name, like it’s some damn prayer and he, your salvation, but he holds back. It’s not enough — he wants you as filthy and wanton as him.
“Use your words,” his words leave him in a single, inexorable command.
Your lower lip wobbles. “Your cum — please, please fill this pussy up. Fill me up, fuck it into me —“
Sanemi cuts off your babbling with a single, bruising kiss. He feels his balls tighten, and the prickle at the base of his spine grows hotter, signaling just how close he is to nirvana.
His hand finds one of yours where it clings to his shoulder, a fruitful attempt to anchor yourself, and he pulls it away. Sanemi presses your hand back against the mattress, interlacing his fingers with yours.
Your pussy flutters around him in time with your thumb stroking over his knuckle, and that’s all it takes.
“Oh fuck —“ Sanemi grunts before he feels himself explode. With a strangled yell, Sanemi’s hips slam into yours, pushing his cock as deep as it can possibly go, and his release crashes into him with mind-blowing force.
it’s the hardest and the most he’s ever come in his entire life. Nothing else has ever or will ever compare to this.
But even as his release spurts heavily inside your honeyed core, Sanemi doesn’t relent in his pace. His hips keep rolling steadily into you, prolonging his release to the point his toes curl, and he wonders whether his nose might start bleeding.
The corners of your mouth tilt up, a pleased groan vibrating loud and wanton in your throat as you feel him fuck his hot seed right into the Eden of your body.
Despite the mind-numbing pleasure of his orgasm, Sanemi won’t let himself look away. The face you make as he fills you up is the prettiest damn thing he’s ever seen.
Sanemi stays buried in your heat for several more moments as he comes down from his high, his head dropping into the crook of your shoulder. With a grunt, he pulls out, dropping down next to you in a flurry of messy blankets and pillows.
You push yourself to your side, a hand coming to push the sweat-dampened ends of his bangs from his eyes. “Good birthday?” You tease, your cheeks flushed bright red, your eyes bright.
“The best,” Sanemi agrees, his eyes scanning your face, committing every detail of you and your post-sex glow to memory.
The two of you lay next to one another for a little while, talking and quietly laughing. Neither one of you seems eager to leave the bed, and Sanemi in particular finds himself hoping today never ends.
Eventually, nature calls and he excuses himself — reluctantly — to the bathroom. When he emerges, he’s greeted with the sight of your ass, bare and exposed as you nestle into the bed, one leg kicking lazily up into the air behind you.
Fuck, you’re too beautiful, and he is far too weak.
He approaches the side of the bed, stretching out one hand to drag teasingly down your spine, until he reaches your ass, knuckles kneading the soft flesh.
His eyes flit to the small clock perched on the hotel nightstand. Sanemi’s grin turns lupine as he reads time reflected by the green-tinted digits.
Sanemi’s fingers skirt down to your ankle, gripping it firmly in his hand. He tugs you over the side of the bed until your head dangles off the edge, your hair stretching towards the ground. “Looks like it’s still my birthday, darling. I ain’t finished enjoying my present yet,” he grips the base of his half-hard cock and taps it against your lips. “And I’ve been dying to cum all over this pretty face of yours.”
—-
True to his word, Sanemi takes him time ravishing his birthday gift. When the clock on the nightstand finally reads 12:01 AM, he flops down next to you, chest heaving as he works to catch his breath.
You lay beside him, panting in tandem with him from the exertion of the night’s activities. There isn’t an inch of you that isn’t sticky as a result of the heady mixture of your sweat and Sanemi’s cum.
You feel his eyes searing into you as you trail a finger through the milky white splattered across your chest — a favorite place of his to cum, as you’d learned, second only to spilling inside of you.
Sanemi hardly holds back a whimper at the way you bring it to your lips, letting your tongue lick your finger clean of his pleasure.
“You’re trying to drive me wild, woman,” he throws a tired arm over his face, shrouding his eyes. “You torture all your hookups like this?”
He’s surprised at how quickly you sit up in bed, your eyes flashing.
“Hookup?”
Sanemi props a fist under his cheek. “Well, yeah,” he winces slightly, searching for more careful words. “I don’t expect anything from you. I appreciate the birthday surprise, though.”
Your gaze is leveled, and your voice even. “I don’t buy lingerie for one-night stands, Sanemi. That shit is an investment.”
His eyes blow wide, and he feels the erratic thrum of his heart stuttering in his throat.
“I want you,” you say firmly. “And I had every intention when I followed you in here tonight for this —“ your hand waves back and forth between your chests. “— to continue.”
It’s a miracle Sanemi is able to speak at all. “I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give.”
You grin. “Well, now that you’ve fucked me, I guess you should take me on a date.” You pause, trailing one delicate finger down his chest. “But I won’t make you wait until we’ve been on three before I let you fuck me again.”
Your hand dips below the edge of the blanket and glides teasingly over his cock, already beginning to stir once more. “You’re far too delicious.”
Sanemi snatches your hand and rolls you under him before you can blink, your answering giggle the sweetest music ever to grace his ears.
“Y’know, in other parts of the world, it’s still the 29th,” he murmurs huskily, grazing his lips against yours. “So by that logic…”
You nod, eyebrows drawn together in seriousness. “We’re obligated to keep celebrating.”
Sanemi’s lips are already trailing down your body, savoring the taste of himself on your skin. He settles back between your legs, marveling at the way your thighs fall to the side so easily to accommodate his mass.
He presses a sweet kiss against your clit. “You’re just the gift that keeps on giving, aren’t you, darlin’?”
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ellecdc · 9 months ago
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A Man With a Plan.5
prologue // p1 // p2 // p3 // p4 // p5 // p6 // p7 // p8
Remus Lupin x whimsical!reader - Hogwarts Era (no Voldemort) - Soulmate AU
CW: swearing, self-deprecating thoughts, James losing his ever-loving mind.
“Okay. Start again, from the beginning.” Remus heard James say as he made his way back down to the common room with the Marauder’s Map held fast in his iron grip.
Regulus sighed something that sounded a lot like for Salazar’s sake, Potter as he looked at the ceiling of the Gryffindor common room for patience; jury’s still out on whether he found any or not.
“She was supposed to meet me in the library after the game to study.” He muttered plainly.
“Right.” James said as he paced near the fire, arms crossed and one hand up near his mouth as he chewed on his cuticles. 
“She never showed at the library, but I didn’t think anything of it as she often gets-”
“Distracted, right.” James agreed readily.
Regulus had lowered his head and was now looking at the floor. “I still had her books though, so I went to bring them to her dorm, or at least drop them off for her. Her roommate-”
“Which one?” James interrupted.
“What?”
“Which roommate?”
Regulus scoffed and levelled James with an incredulous glare. “I don’t know, Potter. Why would I know her roommates? The lot of them are tosser’s anyway.”
“Did Reggie just refer to someone as a tosser?” Sirius stage whispered to Remus. 
“Was it Mary-Ella?” 
“I don’t know who that is, Potter.”
“Did she have glasses?” James tried again.
“No.”
“The red head?”
“No.”
“Okay so it was Jill, then; the blonde.”
“Fine. Yes, Jill,” Regulus started, obviously antsy to get this conversation over with. “Said she had packed a small bag and said, and I quote,” he emphasized, obviously already having gone over this with James, “it’s better that she stays away from the castle for the weekend.”
James had since stopped his pacing and stood in front of the fire as he pieced the facts together.
“Okay...” he started as he looked to Regulus again. “One more time.”
“Potter!” Regulus shouted at the same time Sirius whined “Prongs!”
“This is awful. This is just awful.” James said as he resumed his pacing.
“Okay, well, relax Potter. She’s more clever than people give her credit for – I’m sure she’s fine.” Regulus said as he rubbed his temples.
“I know she’s more clever than people give her credit for.”
“Then why are you so wound up?” Sirius asked. Big mistake.
“Because, if she’s not here, who will stop the nargles, Sirius!?” James shrilled. 
“What the fuck is a nargle!?” Sirius shouted back.
“I don’t know! All I know is that Y/N’s not here, and now the nargles are going to steal my stuff!”
Remus was fully convinced that dogs two counties over could hear James at this point.
“Guys? Has anyone seen my shoes?” Peter interjected as he stood from his spot on the carpet where Sirius had abandoned their card game. “I swear they were just here.”
“Oh gods, it’s starting.” James cried miserably.
“Oh relax, Potter. The nargles aren’t interested in smelly running shoes.” Regulus added with derision. “They’d much prefer a nice wizarding pair of dragonhide boots.”
Suddenly, realization seemed to dawn on Regulus’ face as he turned quickly and exited the Gryffindor common room.
“Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, oh gods.” James muttered as he resumed his pacing.
“Alright, are you going to tell him? Or should I?” Sirius said as he turned his sights to Remus.
“Tell me what?” James said immediately, looking between his two friends.
Remus’ face was pale and clammy while Moony was screaming in his mind at the thought of you being gone, not being safe, being hurt, hiding.
“Tell me what?!” James asked again.
Remus just shook his head.
“Remus.” Sirius warned.
“What did you do? What did you say to her?” James accused, immediately on the offensive as he stalked towards him. Lily stood swiftly to block James’ path.
“I...I can’t...I-she’s,” Remus stuttered miserably.
“Oh, for Godric’s sake.” Sirius muttered as he stalked up to his dorm room. He returned swiftly with the book Hairy Snout, Human Heart and tossed it to James who caught it easily. 
“She is his soulmate.” He said simply.
“SOULMATE!?” Lily, Peter, and James all guffawed in unison.
“I thought that was just a myth.” Peter muttered as he took the book from James’ hand and began flipping through it.
“Apparently not.” Sirius muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. “It’s had this guy wound up for weeks.”
“Holy shit.” Peter muttered as he held the book out for James and Lily to see as well. “It’s true. It’s here.” 
“How do you know it’s her?” Lily asked Remus.
He snorted and shook his head as Moony shouted MINE.
“Just a hunch.” He muttered miserably.
“Is this why you’ve been so upset, recently?” Peter asked quietly. James scoffed and shook his head angrily.
“So upset... to have such an odd girl as your soulmate, Moony?” James spat furiously.
Remus felt the colour drain from his face as Moony started arguing angrily in his head. IS MINE. IS MINE. MINE, GOOD. MINE, GOOD. 
James scoffed and threw the book onto the table. “You know, out of everyone, Remus, I thought at least you’d be more understanding. That perhaps maybe you would know what it’s like to be different from everyone else – treated differently than your peers.”
James looked down his nose at his friend as he began to stalk out of the room. “Turns out you’re just as bad as the rest of them.”
Remus felt a tear fall as he turned back to regard his friends.
“Sirius.” He whispered miserably.
“I know, Moons. I know that’s not why; I’ll talk to him - but I don’t blame him for being angry.” Sirius offered solemnly before he followed James up the stairs.
“You know...it makes a lot of sense.” Peter mused aloud.
Lily and Remus turned to face him with matching expressions of bemusement. 
“A witch who believes in nargles ought to believe in soulmates. She’s probably the perfect person for you.” He said simply with a shrug.
Mine. Miss. Missing. Where? Mine. Moony whimpered.
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James was officially missing one half of two pairs of socks, his watch, his school tie, and his new quill set that his mom had sent him.
Oh, and also his sanity if you asked Sirius. 
Sirius was starting to feel like he was losing his sanity too, between Remus’ brooding over your ‘disappearance’ (which sounded so dramatic considering you told people you were leaving and that you’d be back after the weekend), James’ (and admittedly, Regulus’) fussing over nargles, auras, and something other entity Sirius has never heard of, and Peter’s complete lack of help with any of the above. 
“All this over a bird.” He muttered to himself as he handed James one of his extra ties.
“Moony, up. We’re going to breakfast.” He barked over his shoulder. Remus just shook his head.
“Get up.” He demanded. 
“M’not hungry.” Remus muttered petulantly.
“Don’t care, Moons – we’re going to breakfast.” 
“Leave me alone.”
“Oh, for fucking fuck!” Sirius said as he stomped his feet. “Lupin, I swear to fuck if you do not get your arse down to the Great Hall right now and eat - because I know you won’t eat later and then you’ll have the moon tonight and then you won’t eat tomorrow morning which will have meant you haven’t eaten in over 24-hours – I will find your bird and bed her myself.”
Sirius felt ridiculous for a) his temper tantrum and b) threatening to steal his best mate’s girl – but it appeared to have its desired effect when Remus stood abruptly from what Sirius had officially dubbed the brooding chair with a growl and stalked out the dormitory door, shouldering Sirius as he went. 
It was going to be a long day.
Unfortunately for Sirius, it was an even longer night. 
James and Remus still weren’t speaking as the four of them made their way to the Shrieking Shack for Moony’s transformation. Peter, the poor sod, kept trying to make conversation, though it was all in vain as Remus was still too broody to engage and James just offered the occasional grunt of acknowledgement. 
And unfortunately, Moony wasn’t in better spirits.
After Remus’ transformation, Sirius – now Padfoot – had the unenviable task of watching a Werewolf in mourning.
The Wolf spent most of the night making pathetically sorrowful howls at the moon, and when he wasn’t crying, he was trying to gnaw angrily on his ankles. When Padfoot tried to get him to stop, or encourage a playful romp, Moony snapped at him.
Padfoot huffed to say “fine, you sod”, but his whimper as he laid on the opposite end of the room betrayed his haughtiness – Padfoot’s heart was breaking.
It was breaking for his Moony – his pack – and it also broke for Remus. Remus, who finally had a shot at something wonderful but let it slip through his fingers because he was too full of self-loathing to accept an opportunity. Remus, who deserves love and compassion, because lord knows he doesn’t give enough of it to himself. Remus, who found probably the most openminded and understanding person in the world. Remus...who found his soulmate. 
His soulmate.
Moony found his happy ending.
And Padfoot was not going to let him lose it.
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Remus blinked against the harsh brightness of the infirmary the following morning – his body aching in ways it hadn’t since before the boys started joining him for the full moons. As he stretched, the bandages that pulled at his wrists and ankles explained why.
Moony had been angry. And he’d taken it out on Remus.
Remus couldn’t blame him. All of the floundering, grasping at ridiculous straws, the planning he’d been doing all week. For what?
To use a poor girl for sex and distractions? To cheat Moony, and himself, from what he really wanted? To fight and argue with his friends, his pack? To have you take off for two nights?
He hated himself.
He hated himself, he hated himself, he hated himself.
And Moony hated him too.
Remus groaned as he pushed himself up in a sitting position.
“Feeling better?” James muttered as he fluffed Remus’ pillow for him. His face and tone remained angry despite his kind gesture.
“No, not really...” Remus admitted.
“Me neither.” 
“James, I’m sorry.” Remus sighed as he settled back into his pillow. “I swear I...it’s not her, I-”
“It’s not you, it’s me. Really, Moony?” James sneered.
“Yes, Prongs. You know this.” Remus stressed. 
“Uhm, no. What I know, Moony, is that you are a wonderful, caring friend who loves his people so strongly, and has more love to give, and certainly deserves more love than he allows himself. That’s what I know.
“I also know that I have a very wonderful, lovely, caring friend who deserves the same amount of love she gives to everyone else, and you wouldn’t even give her a chance!”
“James. I know.”
“And anoth- what?” James stopped in his tirade. 
“I know.” Remus repeated as his eyes welled with tears. “I tried to fight it because I didn’t want to drag anyone else into my mess; I didn’t want anyone else to feel responsible for me. I’ve already damned my mum and dad, I’ve already dragged you three into this – I couldn’t do it again. I thought I was strong enough to ignore it, but I can’t.”
“Rem, you didn’t damn your parents. That’s what happens when you have a kid; the kids’ job is to be who they are, and the parent’s job is to love them regardless. And we chose to help you through this Rem – and it was the right thing to do!” James cried as he lifted his hands in the air.
“I just don’t want you guys to regret it one day or decide I’m too much. Then what would I do?” Remus admitted quietly.
“Oh, for- You know what, Lupin? Only way you’re getting rid of me is through death. Got it?” James said with all the sternness he could muster.
Remus huffed a laugh and nodded. “Okay Prongs.”
James deflated and offered a curt nod. “Good. ‘Cause I need your help finding Y/N. I cannot risk losing another one of my quills – my mom is going to kill me.”
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Padfoot felt like he may have scrapes on his nose from how long he’s been out here following your scent. But he knew it would be worth it when he found you and got you back to Moony.
His ears perked up when he heard movement, but he swiftly hid behind a large oak tree when some Centaurs stepped onto the path.
“Now, if you continue West from here, you should find the rest of your path to Hogwarts unhindered. Stepping off the path brings the chance of new adventures and grave danger.” A centaur proclaimed.
“Thank you very much, Firenze. Best of luck on your search for the Snidgets.” An airy voice called back. 
Padfoot knew that voice! That was Moony’s soulmate! Padfoot tried to hide his excitement (i.e., he tried to stop his tail from wagging) until the centaurs all left.
Suddenly, Padfoot shifted and bolted out from behind the tree to stand in front of you.
“Y/N!” He shouted as he grabbed your upper arms in his hands, scanning you from head-to-toe for any signs of injury. 
You seemed surprised by his appearance, but not startled. Sirius figured you probably should have been startled – it was a pretty startling thing for him to do.
You had no injuries, but a few branches and leaves were caught in your hair and on various parts of your body. You were also not wearing shoes.
“Well, hello Sirius. It’s very nice to see you.” You said plainly.
“Nice to see me? Are you- where are your shoes?” He decided to settle on first. Not the most important question – but it took priority in Sirius’ mind.
You looked down at your feet like you weren’t fully aware they were bare. “You know, I’m not quite sure. Not to worry, though; I’m sure they’ll turn up. Lost things often have ways of finding their way back to us, if not always in the way we expect.”
Sirius had no idea how to respond to that – so he didn’t. “Do you have any idea how worried everyone has been?” He sputtered at you.
Your eyebrows furrowed at that, and you almost seemed upset as you responded, “Oh dear, I didn’t mean to concern anyone.”
Sirius immediately regretted saying anything; now he could see why James was so sweet on you.
“Well, let’s go to the castle and tell them all that, then.” He acquiesced as he hooked your arm in his and began the path back to Hogwarts. You did not seem concerned nor feel the need to object to his manhandling you. But Sirius knew he would not be letting go of you until you were back in the castle – maybe not even then. He was not going to deal with Remus, James, and Regulus like this again.
“Regulus was perhaps most concerned.” He lied, knowing very well he was far from the most dramatic through all of this. “Very worried about the nargles in your absence.”
You hummed in acknowledgement. “As he should; they’d be quite interested in his dragonhide boots.”
“You don’t say.” Sirius murmured, unadmittedly becoming increasingly concerned with the state of his beloved Doc Marten’s stowed in his school trunk.
“Better hurry then.” He said as he all but dragged you up towards the castle. 
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Remus tried not to get too caught up on the fact that he was sitting in the infirmary with James and Regulus Black of all people as they scanned the Marauder’s map for any sign of you. He also pretended he didn’t notice the fact that Regulus was holding a duffle bag that appeared to have everything he owned jammed inside it.
“She said she’d only need to stay away from the castle for the weekend, right?” James asked as he continued to scan the parchment.
Regulus rolled his eyes. “Yes, Potter. Like I said.”
“Okay, I can’t look at this anymore – I’m going cross-eyed.” James moaned as he leaned away from the map and rubbed his eyes from behind his glasses.
Remus felt awfully guilty. He didn’t know how you would know - though he wouldn’t put it past you at this point - but he didn’t think it was a coincidence that you left for the full moon. He doesn’t think he’d ever forgive himself if something happened to you because of it.
“Oh, thank Godric.” James finally breathed as he stood from his chair.
“Godric had nothing to do with it, Prongsie.” Sirius called out as he waltzed into the infirmary – your arm in his. 
James all but shoved Sirius aside as he enveloped you in his arms. “Where have you been!?” 
You smiled sweetly – that damned dimple making an appearance to taunt Remus – and patted your friends back.
“Oh, I wasn’t far Jamie.”
Sirius let out a pfft from where he was now leaning against the wall at the end of Remus’ bed. “Not far she says. I found her with a herd of centaurs.”
“CENTAURS.” The three other boys shouted, earning them a dramatic shushing from the matron.
“Y/N, centaurs are very hostile towards wizard-kind.” Regulus spoke severely, albeit more quietly for Madame Pomfrey's benefit. 
“I don’t agree.” You said simply as you turned to look at Remus. “Are you feeling much better?” You asked him.
Your voice was so tranquil compared to the conversation with the boys, and even with Madame Pomfrey – Remus was sure if he was hooked up to a muggle heart monitor, his blood pressure would be dropping just from listening to you speak.
Keep smiling at him like that, though, and it might pick right back up.
“I am, Y/N. Thank you.”
You sighed in relief as you sat on the edge of the foot of Remus’ bed. “Oh good. I figured it’d be easier if I was gone.” 
Sirius and James’ necks looked like they might have snapped as they turned to look at you. The room fell painfully quiet as Sirius, James, and Remus all looked at each other and then to Regulus. 
Regulus seemed to understand his intrusion. “Uhm, right. Well, Y/N L/N, you are to never take off like that again without informing me. Got it?” He said severely. Remus is sure most people would have cowered, but you smiled sweetly and brushed his cheek.
"Okay, Reg."
Regulus offered you a curt nod and left the infirmary. Remus supposed that was likely as loving as Regulus Black could ever get. 
“What would have been easier if you were gone, Y/N?” James asked quietly.
“Well, the moon, of course.” You responded.
That muggle heart rate monitor? It’d be showing no signal at this point.
“I’m terribly sorry if your bond to me is causing you problems, Remus.” You offered solemnly. Remus thought this might be the most emotion he’d ever seen from you.
“It’s...it’s not your fault.” Remus croaked.
“Y/N, how much do you know?” Sirius asked.
You considered Sirius for a moment before responding. “About what?”
Sirius looked between the you and Remus before arching his brow at the latter. Remus grimaced and leaned forward to tap his finger against your hand that was closest to him to bring your attention to him.
“How much do you know about me?”
 “Well, I know your name is Remus Lupin. You’re from a town outside of Cardiff. You’re a Pisces, a Gryffindor, a werewolf, and a prefect. And you have a magical connection to me, it seems.” You said all too simply, head tilted as you searched his face for something.
Remus’ mind was reeling; it was reeling that you apparently knew he was a werewolf, and it was reeling at the fact that in a list of things you knew about him, that fact fell between him being a Gryffindor and a prefect and was not as important to you as his birth sign. 
“What’s his name?” You asked suddenly.
Remus shook his head as if to wake himself up. “I’m sorry?”
“The Wolf; what’s his name?”
Remus looked to Sirius who was staring at you with a terrified sort of awe, and then to James who looked both proud and smug that you’d figured it out.
“It’s Moony.” Remus whispered.
You smiled greatly at that. “A wonderful name.”
Sirius smirked at that – clearly chuffed his hard work was appreciated. 
“It’s fitting too – should have seen him mooning over you this weekend – this month even!” James said.
Remus threw a chocolate wrapper at him from his bedside table.
“I’m sure it’s difficult, feeling tied to someone so odd.” You offered quietly, and any friendly banter drained from the boys immediately.
“Y/N, that’s-” James started, but Remus interrupted.
“I’m so sorry to have made you believe that Y/N, but it’s just not true.” He said emphatically.
You tilted your head at him in intrigue. “No?”
He shook his head. “No. I was trying to keep you away from...Moony, from my infliction.” He admitted shamefully.
“Hm. Well, that didn’t work very well.” You said plainly, causing Sirius to bark a laugh.
“Most of his plans don’t, dollface.” He said through a chuckle.
“Oh, plans aren’t always a bad thing: it’s good to be prepared. But it’s important to plan to be spontaneous as well.”
“Plan to be spontaneous?” James asked incredulously.
“Oh yes,” you said severely. “I get my best work done that way.”
James seemed to consider this as Sirius sighed. “Yes, and, if you plan too much, auror’s throw around words like premeditated.”
You nodded in comradery. “Very true, Sirius.” 
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Continue to chapter six here.
Taglist: @hanniejji, @y0urm0m12, @c0nsc10usworld, @aphrcdites, @starsval, @thepunisherfrankcastle, @anuncalledbridge, @unstablereader, @rai-strangebr, @klazina-couch-potato, @cancelledkaley, @fandom-crashlanding, @ttulipwritezz, @boo8008, @daisiesformylove, @frostooo, @myriadmoons, @aremuslupinsimp, @simars3, @stargurl99, @dreamingofts18, @iwannabeinthesequalmrghostface, @agent-tempest, @xxrougefangxx, @serenadingtigers, @adhxmoony, @spokenfolk, @hufflepufffangirlqueen, @thebiggestnaturaldisaster, @urmomw4ntsme, @b4tm4nn, @jamieolivia27, @stqrgirlies-blog, @loving-and-dreaming
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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 6 months ago
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Seeing that Epel and Rook used their unique magic, it makes me think everyone is gonna use their unique magic. Like imagine Kalim using his magic against his enemies or Jade use shock the heart for answers. Imagine reaching to Heartslabyul where everyone but Ace use it. This makes me think of Ace since he is a mysterious character and unclear motivation compare to the rest. What will be his dream? Will his unique magic be shown?
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That’s true! Looking back, every character that is now “awake” has used their UM at least once:
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Malleus uses Fae of Maleficence/Fae Maleficence to 7-37; this is the source of all our troubles in book 7 💀
Silver uses Meet in a Dream in 7-51, then again multiple times to dream hop and to wake up various students.
Lilia’s Far Cry Cradle is revealed in 7-81’s battle map via a flashback sequence. It is thanks to his UM that he understands the origins of the lone infant he finds in the ruins of Castle Wildrose. He blesses the baby and takes it under his wing as his own son… Silver.
Sebek’s Living Bolt, shown in 7-84, allows him to reach Silver and pull him out of the darkness that has swallowed him.
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Idia uses Gate to (the) Underworld to open the gates to Tartarus and escape it in 7-114.
Book 7 confirms that Ortho is not capable of a UM, but is is his uniquely robotic ability to transfer his consciousness that allows him to adopt his Cerberus Gear in 7-50, infiltrate Sage’s Island, and return with valuable information to combat Malleus.
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The magical glass coffin that Epel conjures with Sleep Kiss/Crimson Slumber in 7-135 protects Neige. It also (theoretically) slows the effects of Vil’s curse (the poisoned apple juice).
Rook uses I See You in 7-135 to tag Vil (who is sinking into the darkness of his dreams). This makes it easier for the gang to locate where Vil has gone.
Finally, in 7-138, Vil’s Fairest One of All allows him to poison Neige (who, up until this point, has been keeping tabs on him and preventing him from escaping the grasp of the dream) and rejoin with Yuu and co.
I guess since this is such a climactic book, the devs decided to go all out and have each boy show up and show off their own special power. This means we’ll most likely see the rest of the main NRC students using their UMs to help us out in the dreams! (Sasuga power of friendship…)
As for Ace! Now would be such an opportune time for him to develop his UM 😳 I believe the popular fan theory is still “Ace’s UM will allow him to copy others’ magic” since he mimics voices well and has a talent for quickly learning new skills (like dancing, as seen in book 5). And hey, if that’s the case then maybe Ace is the one who will be able to reverse Malleus’s magic if Malleus won’t willingly do it himself. Just spitballin’ here. Maybe Ace is frustrated that he can’t contribute in any way…? And then that feeling manifests as something?
How poetically ironic—the first student we meet ends up being the last to get their UM but also one of the final pieces of the puzzle to take OB Malleus down. It works out really well for Ace’s character too; he is the only character of the main cast who sees through the bullshit and calls people out, not caring about how influential or powerful they are.
I don’t actually think he’s that mysterious relative to other characters—we still barely know anything significant about Rook or Jade, for example (despite already diving into Rook’s dream). Rather, I think it’s more accurate to say that Ace has more simple desires. He just wants to be able to do what he wants when he wants, to not have to worry about his future plans. I don’t think his dream would really be anything that drastic; I see it as Ace living a chill life with his friends.
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pokegalla · 6 months ago
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Haven’t watched this in awhile but I hope I do this some justice!
Request/trade from @neko-rose888
How do the bad sanses (+ Dream) deal with an S/o just like Yor Forger?
Dust:
* You two are literally the quiet duo. You would think that’s a bad thing right? Nah. Introverts just have their own way of communicating. So he actually understands you best. Which much to your relief helps you a lot.
* Now seeing you in battle is a whole ‘nother story. He didn’t think you had it in you. Even under the hoodie you can see his eyes go wide as you easily take down a group of strong men easily- you just earned this man’s instant affection-
* But if there’s one thing he’s more terrified of, it’s your cooking. He doesn’t panic but he’s pretty creative on getting rid of the evidence. Thank god he can teleport this away. No offense to you…he just can’t do it. But at least he’s discreet so he doesn’t hurt your feelings.
* To him you are a beautiful strong and independent woman…and he’ll protect you even in the shadows.
Killer:
* He thought you were the cutest damn thing ever. Teasing you with sweet words and gentle gestures to flirt and see your face turn red. Stars he can never get over that sight.
* But man seeing you in action just makes him fall in more love. Fighting side by side as people drop down to the floor as you dance together with your blades? Can he really think of anything more romantic than this?
* Your cooking is one thing he’s a little….scared of. He still eats it. He loves you that much! But man his nonexistent stomach hurts so much- worth it-🥲
* He still loves you though. His perfect thorn princess…he’ll be sure to dance again with you
Horror:
* Ironically both of you are pretty similar: both of you are absolutely precious but a little terrifying if necessary- Horror is like a big ol teddy bear who likes to tail you around to make sure you don’t hurt yourself and you make sure he’s ok too!
* But man both of you are RELENTLESS in battles. Downright chilling to the bone (pun intended-) with your cold glares and shocking strength. The switch up even makes the others nervous-
* But nothing more terrifying then Horror actually eating your cooking without any hesitation and even asking for seconds- thanks to him, you strive to do better in your cooking!
* He can’t help but have a soft spot for you. Just please do be careful. He worries a lot….
Error:
* Don’t let this tsundere act bullshit you- he finds you annoying but speaks up for you instantly? That man will glare anyone down if they try to take advantage of you-
* And despite being a little surprised at how capable you are in battle, he does still watch over you and assists you anyway he can. What? He knows you’re still a klutz. He’s not wanting to have to swoop in and save you because YOU aren’t paying attention- (he was being a worrywart-)
* He doesn’t really eat anything other than his chocolate bars but you swear someone has been tampering with your cooking….oh well. It does seem to taste better now!
* He might be a little jackass but that’s only because that’s what he wants you to see. He’s no softie dammit-!
Nightmare:
* He hired you for your services as your reputation exceeded you. But he was…not expecting someone so…well soft. He thought it was a facade but nope- purely that is your true character. Which was odd to him….could someone this innocent really do anything useful?
* Oh man but you shut him up with your actions. Your speed, your elegant skills, your raw power, he was mesmerized by it all. Could you really be the same gullible quiet girl….? Well you’ve earned his respect.
* With cooking, he actually helps you. At first you spoon feed him a taste and instead of panicking at the taste, he gives you an honest opinion, some advice, and even a cook book for you to follow. He does linger longer than he should have….
* He can’t help the soft spot that’s grown so fond of you. He’s hesitant but he can’t ignore how nice it feels to be with you….
Dream:
* He heard rumors of your deeds and wanted to put a stop to you. But when he first saw you…well he didn’t expect you to be so reserved. And kind. And sweet….he actually heard your story and you gained his empathy as he understood how you would feel the need to work hard for your sibling’s sake.
* He doesn’t agree with your work but he doesn’t stop you. Because he knows how important this is for you. But expect him to constantly make sure you’re ok and ready to heal you if necessary.
* As for cooking, he usually ends up cooking with you. Mostly because he smelled your cooking and was a little…concerned. But he decided to make this kinda like a fun dating activity while he teaches you! And oh how fun it was. You both couldn’t stop giggling.
* He really cherishes you and despite living different lives, you both make it work….
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ninzied · 10 months ago
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and patience, and pining
in which alex is determined to flirt so hard that henry can no longer resist him. a modern au. based on the prompt: surprise kiss/impulsive kiss. ~1.8k.
Between the two of them, Alex has always thought he’d be the one to cave first.
They’ve both arrived at the same time. Henry looks stupid-good in his well-fitted tuxedo. His hair is just over-styled enough that Alex wants to mess it up, and badly.
How one man can be so like this is frankly upsetting. No, scratch that; it’s illegal, is what it is. Criminal law is not Alex’s domain, but he’s pretty sure being this tempting in public is a certifiable offense.
“Alex,” says Henry, and he blinks, at least some sense returning to him.
“Right,” he says. “Shall we?”
Henry gives him a look like he’d rather be anywhere else on the planet, which, the reception is not even open bar, so Alex can’t say he disagrees.
“After you, Your Majesty,” he says, stepping from the door with a flourish, then, “I saw that.”
“Saw what?” asks Henry, already shouldering past him with his chin turned up.
“If I had a dollar for every time you rolled your eyes at me—”
“Good taste still can’t be bought, Alex.”
“That’s ironic,” Alex shoots back, smiling and nodding at one of the guests as they enter. “Considering my tie is way better than yours.”
Henry lifts his hand at another in greeting, and even his wave looks fucking majestic, the asshole. “I trust you’ll be at least somewhat behaved this evening?”
“You sure that’s what you want, sweetheart?”
Henry’s expression turns very dour, and Alex wonders, not for the first time, why that particular look on him makes Alex so crazy. The more severe Henry gets, the wilder Alex’s impulse to kiss him, and the urge to just give in.
Alex licks his lips.
Henry takes a cautionary step back. “Let’s do try to make it through the rest of the night without much carnage, yes?”
“I don’t know,” Alex muses. “When you threaten me with a good time like that…”
Henry mutters something under his breath and Alex can’t help but grin. Maybe the night holds some promise after all.
.
He decides he’s going to have to walk that back after a while.
The music is decent, and he was wrong about the open bar, thank God, but he’s barely seen Henry since some crusty-looking Wall Street types whisked him and Pez away to talk business, and Alex is bored.
He wants to dance. He wants to dance—with Henry. And because that’s not going to happen, Alex wants to do the next best thing, which is to dance while Henry pretends not to watch, but he’s not even facing the dance floor right now so there would be no fucking point. He’ll have to think of something else. Hmmm.
Nora shimmies up to him then with two new flutes of champagne. Bless. “Still pining?” she asks.
Alex whips around to glare at her, wounded. “What? Nora, no,” he says. Is it that obvious? Fuck.
Nora shrugs. “You do the thing where you look him when you think he won’t notice. Both of you. You guys kind of have it down to a science.”
Alex brightens immediately. “You’ve seen him looking at me?”
Nora sips her champagne. “Right now, for example.”
Henry looks quickly away when Alex glances over, which is as good an invitation as any in his book. One of the suits is talking at Henry, who seems about as engaged as a teapot right now. Pez has dialed up the charisma, distracting them easily from Henry’s silence. But to Alex, Henry looks downright miserable in comparison.
Well, Alex is here to do something about that.
He plucks the second flute from Nora’s hand. “You’re the best. Gotta go.”
She raises an eyebrow. “I thought you weren’t pining?”
“For that guy?” Alex gazes at Henry again, then says, quite honestly, “Always.”
.
It takes exactly two minutes for the Wall Street guys to politely excuse themselves. Alex watches them practically dissolve their way into the crowd, like a creepy bunch of Mr. Smiths from The Matrix, and he suppresses a shudder.
The look on Henry’s face is an appealing combination of annoyed and relieved. “Let me guess,” Alex deadpans, “you’re so grateful you could just kiss me right now.”
Henry’s expression turns distinctly disapproving as Pez chimes in, “Be patient and Hazza might even learn to admit it someday.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.” Alex grins sideways at Henry, who’s flushing the loveliest pink despite also frowning. “You’re welcome for rescuing you from the most tedious conversation known to man, by the way.”
“Actually, darling dearest,” Pez says lightly, “we were speaking with potential investors in the foundation.”
Oh. Shit. “Do you want me to charm them back over?” Alex wants to know, jerking a thumb in the direction they’d gone. “It is well within my power.”
“Not necessary.” Henry pulls a face. “I would’ve felt dirty about taking their money.”
“I would’ve felt wonderfully about it,” says Pez. “But now that you’ve freed up my dance card…” He cranes his neck around.
“Nora’s over there,” Alex says helpfully.
“Brilliant.” Pez’s eyes are the definition of sparkling. “Ah, and I see your sister’s about to join her. If you boys will excuse me—”
He helps himself to the rest of Alex’s champagne before sashaying off.
The two of them remain standing there a careful few feet apart, not looking at each other. Not that it matters; Alex is so hyperaware of him that he could reach over without even looking and take Henry’s hand if he wanted to. He won’t, but he wants to.
Knowing that he can is enough for now.
Henry looks askance at him after a moment. “You’re making this very hard, you know.”
Alex somehow manages not to smile at that. “Am I?”
Henry’s face screws up in faux concentration. “Let’s see. You’ve been a merciless flirt, even more so than usual. You wore the tie I bought you, which means you don’t hate it—”
“What? I love it,” interrupts Alex, just to be clear.
“—and you just drove off a very lucrative, albeit morally questionable, investment opportunity.” Henry’s also holding back a smile. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to not kiss you for that alone.”
“You still could,” Alex points out.
“And lose your silly bet?” Henry straightens, adjusting his cufflinks, and that might be the single hottest thing Alex has ever seen. “I think not. We both know you’ll be the first to give in.”
It’s true, Alex thinks; he’s pretty irresistible, but Henry is also far more controlled. Still, there’s a certain satisfaction in knowing that Alex gets to be the one who stretches him to his very limit. The level of restraint it takes Henry to resist him is a pretty big turn-on, if he’s being honest. Even when Henry wins, it will be no great loss on Alex’s part.
“Considering what’s at stake here,” Alex says lowly, leaning in just enough to catch the way Henry’s eyes darken, “I think I win either way.”
Henry does smile then, soft and warm and way too tempting not to kiss, though Alex perseveres. “I think we both do, darling.”
“That we can agree on,” says Alex. “So, do you want to…not…dance with me?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
.
He slips up, once.
It’s in a goddamn photo booth of all things, and Alex would feel like such a cliché if he weren’t so busy feeling annoyed at the fact that he can’t hold Henry’s hand or kiss him in front of the camera. Instead, he lets Nora and June wedge in between them, grinning gamely when they take turns kissing Henry on the cheek.
At the literal last second before the flash is going off, Alex feels Henry take his hand from behind, lace their fingers ever so gently together, and squeeze.
In the photo that prints out, June and Nora are doubled over in laughter, eyes closed, unaware. Henry has his chin tipped up, his face doing some smoldery thing at the camera, and Alex is turned, simply gazing at him.
He takes it before anyone sees, tucking it safely into his wallet because bet or no bet, some things really are too sacred to share.
When he shows it to Henry later, Henry gets the same lovestruck look on his face as Alex does in the photo, and that’s all he needs.
.
It’s the cake that finally does it.
Pez, Nora and June are all crowded around the same piece, and it makes Alex sigh a little wistfully to think about how much better it would taste if he were sharing his with Henry.
He can’t help it. He peers at Henry’s own slice, squinting. “What flavor is that one?”
“Strawberry,” says Henry. There’s a crumb on his lip, and Alex doesn’t mean to fixate on it, but he’s now gone hours without kissing his boyfriend and he’s kind of mad about it even though it’s also kind of his fault. “Do you want a bite?”
Oh. Yeah, that’ll work. Alex can feel the others’ eyes on them as he leans closer, fully expecting that Henry will yield to his instincts and feed him a piece off his fork. It’s not a kiss, but it could definitely qualify as losing the bet. And then once Alex has won, he can not only kiss Henry as much as he likes, he gets to take Henry home with him and—well.
He frowns when Henry only holds the plate out. “Here, have some,” says Henry, gaze lifting to his, then just a bit lower. “Oh. Hang on, you’ve got a—”
In a move that’s beyond Alex’s wildest dreams, Henry cups his jaw and kisses the side of his mouth, with just the slightest bit of tongue.
Alex grins as Henry freezes against him, realizing his mistake too late. “Thanks, baby.”
“Bollocks,” says Henry. He pulls back and sighs, licking the rest of the buttercream from his lips. “I’ve lost, haven’t I.” Then, accusingly, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you.”
“I’d say I don’t kiss and tell, but.” Alex puts his hands on Henry’s thighs, using that grip to scoot their chairs closer together. “I am gonna kiss you now, so.”
“You’ll be getting to do a lot more than that,” Henry points out.
“Ew, did not need to hear that part,” June groans at the same time that Pez puts down their cake and says, “Please, I need to hear more.”
“There’s a legally binding document and everything,” says Alex, to Henry’s chagrin and Pez’s delight. “Drafted it up myself.”
“You two were pining that hard and you were already together?” Nora wants to know. “Actually, that tracks. Carry on.”
Henry has gone as pink as the cake now, but he’s smiling when Alex swipes up some more buttercream, touching it to Henry’s mouth before leaning the rest of the way in.
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phoenixinthefiles · 10 months ago
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Wear My Love
Miles 42 x reader 💜...🖤🔗 (my first Miles 42! fic be gentle) @dolligent
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There’s a Laffy Taffy wrapper about two feet ahead of you on the library floor, with sticky bits of the candy still in it. You can’t see the riddle but you can see the hearts scattered on the wrapper and the to-and-from tag on the front.
So many teachers handed out Valentine’s candy bags today, it was really sweet. DIdn’t help out the littering problem that so many students seemed to have. 
A sneaker came down on the discarded wrapper, a purple and black sneaker.
Miles stood in front of you with a confused look on his face.
“What are you doin?”
Zoning out so I don’t have to confront the reality of you hating my gift.
Obviously you don’t say that. 
“What are you doing standing on a candy wrapper instead of picking it up? That's not very eco-conscious.”
He gives you a flat look and you give him one right back until he smacks his lips and bends down to pick the trash up. He flips the wrapper around and smirks before looking back up at you.
“What kind of tea is hard to swallow?”
“I don’t know, what kind?” You ask with an eye roll.
“Reality.” He huffs a small laugh, because of course he doesn’t know how ironic that joke really is.
“That’s funnier than half the jokes you tell me, maybe you should start eating more Laffy Taffys.”
Like the mature 16-year-old he is, he throws the wrapper at you before sitting down.
You roll your eyes and crumble the paper up and stick it in your pocket. Presumably to throw away later but you would most likely forget. 
He keeps shifting in his seat and tapping his fingers on the table as you try to continue reading. You already can barely focus on your book not knowing if he’s seen your gift or not, now he’s decided to become a drummer. 
“Miles please.” 
“Yeah? Oh I’m distracting you, my bad.”
“It’s fine I couldn’t focus anyway.” You said as you turned slightly to slip your book back into your backpack.
“Y’know somebody dropped something into my locker?”
Your hand froze on your zipper, when you twisted to face him again Miles was watching you with his eyebrows raised.
“Really, what was it?”
He gave you a deadpan look and you sighed.
Your eyes widened when He started fiddling with the collar of his shirt before pulling out a silver chain.
You immediately started trying to get a read on him; eyes darting from the necklace to his eyes and back. Surely he likes it if he’s wearing it?
Right?
He doesn’t say anything though and you clear your throat. 
“Do you like it? You can be honest, it won't hurt feelings, I just want to know.”
It absolutely would hurt your feelings. More so from the thought that you had overstepped not that he didn’t like it.
Miles reached back and unclasped the dog tags from around his neck. He didn’t look upset, more like he was trying to figure out how to look. 
“I like it, I swear.”
Your breath doesn’t come rushing out of you, but the tightening in your chest loosens and you do take a deep breath. 
“I like it a lot. How’d you get all the information?’
“I asked your mom.”
It was surprisingly easy to find someone who makes custom dog tags. The hard part was psyching yourself up to ask Ms. Río about her husband’s birthday. It took you 15 tries in front of your mirror to come up with the least insensitive way to phrase your question.
It paid off though. Miles likes it.
10 months ago you would’ve thought he was completely unemotional about it.But over time you learned to read him a little better.
Right now he was fiddling with the dog tags and twisting his lips around. 
He was fighting a smile.
He lost the battle against his facial expression and a smile broke out on his face.
You matched it and let out a nervous laugh when he looked at you again. 
He huffed a small laugh and you tried to tame the grin that felt like it would split your face. 
“Thank you.”
You nodded a bit too quickly and you ignored the ache in your cheeks from smiling so hard and the warmth you started to feel in your face.
“You’re welcome, I'm just glad you liked it.”
He nodded and a little smirk took shape on his lips.
“Yeah I like it a lot. Just don’t know why somebody I’ve been dating for 10 months would slip a gift in my locker instead of just giving it to me.” 
Your eyes widened for a split second before you rolled them in an attempt to brush off your embarrassment. 
“I was just adding a layer of mystique.”
“Uh huh, or you was just scared.” He said with a shrug. 
You scoffed but he was dead on. 
“Me? Scared? You must have me confused with somebody else?” 
He rolled his eyes and slipped his hand into his jacket pocket.
You watched him pull out a small box and reach it across the table to you.
He rolled his shoulders back and forth as he watched you pick it up. 
Seems like you weren’t the only one scared.
“What is it?”
He deadpanned again, “What’s the point of telling you instead of you just opening it?”
You rolled your eyes and refocused on the gift.
Gasping as you opened the lid, you pulled out the locket necklace sitting inside.
You looked up at Miles and smiled.
“It’s so pretty.”
He smiled hesitantly and cleared his throat.
“Open it,” he rasped.
You did and your smile grew wider. Inside the locket was a sketch of you from the day you and Miles went to the arcade. It was the only one in the city with a full set of games that still worked.
“I haven’t drawn in a while y’know so…” He trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck.
You can count on one hand the amount of times you’ve seen or heard him talk about drawing something. You can also name everything he drew. Being able to add yourself to that list feels…amazing. 
Trying to calm yourself down and not embarrass yourself by doing something like leaping across the table to hug Miles, you run your hand along the chain of the necklace.
“I don’t know if I look as good as you drew me.”
When you look back up at him he’s staring at you with an expression that’s much too adoring for you to focus on.
“Nah you look better.”
You immediately looked back down at the necklace in your hands and ignored Miles’ snickering.
As you continued to run your fingers along the chain you noticed something and your lips quirk up.
“Did you make the chain yourself?”
He rolled his shoulders again, “It’s that janky?”
You shook your head and tried to match the way his signature smirk. 
“Nah, it’s that good.”
He immediately caught on and let out a small laugh.
“I see what you tryna do, but you just not as smooth as me.”
Your eyes roll again but you laugh a little too, “Whatever Miles.”
You stood up and took the few steps to his side of the table and turned your back towards him. He took the que and stood behind you, taking the clasp and leftover chain and securing it. 
When he finished, you turned to him smiling.
He smiled back at you and straightened his necklace around his own neck.
Before you could second guess yourself you took a step closer and wrapped your arms around his neck.
“Happy Valentine's Day Miles.”
His arms came up around you and you could feel his chest heave.
“Happy Valentine's Day, mami.”
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orchidyoonkook · 2 years ago
Text
To What We Were Before, And All The Things After | JJK | Ch. 1
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Title: Assembly’s and Introductions 
Pairing: Prince!College Student!JK x Fine Arts Major!(F)!Reader
Series Rating//Genre: (M) | College AU, Smut, Angst, Fluff, S2F2L, Mild Indiffernce to lovers, sloooowwww ass burn
Summary: There’s a new kid at your prestigious university, he’s tall, tattooed and muscular, and oh yeah, he’s the Prince. 
Warnings: PG13, mild swearing, a general ‘lets get the ball rolling’ first chapter
Word Count: 5410
Release Date: January 26, 2023, 12:40PM
A/N 1: I’ve been working on this since September 2022, got 80K in, and have accidentally taken an extended break from Dec 1st until now. I need a kick in the pants to continue writing it so here’s the first chapter. I hope you enjoy as I have read this about 400 times and I’m sick of editing it.
A/N 1.5: it’s pronounced ‘Nehl” not “Neal”
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“Come on, come ooooon!!” Yuri says as she drags you by one arm down the corridor, the other filled with books and study notes. You’re being dragged from your mid morning study session and she's starting to stretch your favourite sweater from how hard she’s pulling.
Slipping from her grasp to save it from any permanent damage, Yuri uses her new freedom to take the lead.
“Not everyone cares as much about this as you do,” you say, rolling your eyes. “I get you’re here because your parents put you here but I worked for it. I can’t just abandon my study plans for some guy,” voice echoing in the corridor as you succeed in keeping up with her quick pace.
Yuri mocks your words in gibberish, matching your tone, just more nasally.
She’s heard this hundreds of times since becoming your best friend in first year after being assigned your roommate. She may force you to go to places and parties you don’t find nearly as important as she does, but you also know she’s the only reason you’ve had any fun since starting university.
That doesn’t deter you though.
“I’m serious,” you insist, refusing to back down.
A look you know well flashes over her face. One that’s a mixture of absurdity and exhaustion— specifically at you.
“You know, sometimes I can’t even believe we’re friends. He’s not just some guy YN,” she looks over her shoulder to make eye contact. “He's the prince.”
Ah yes, the prince.
How could you be so foolish?
The fancy name given to the poor bastard who doesn’t get to decide his future—or work for it for that matter. Just has it handed to him because he was born at the right place, right time.
The prince who’ll be king to the biggest nation in the west one day.
The prince everyone freaks out over.
Sure, he’s cute enough, and will eventually have lots of money and power, because those are so important for someone like him.
But what’s money and power if you’re miserable or an asshole or you don’t know what to do with it? What’s money and power for someone who’s never known poverty and helplessness?
The title of Prince means nothing if you don’t earn it. Means nothing if you don’t know how to use it properly.
Who knows if this one does? So why should you particularly care?
Unfortunately, most people can’t get past the ‘young, handsome, future king of the Western Shores, hunk-a-hunk of dreamy’—blah, blah, blah, the media splatters over every magazine cover they possibly can, earning the prince a hefty social following of adoring, screaming—slightly brain dead if you had any say about it— ‘followers’ aka fans.
And Yuri, like every other girl on campus, is one of them. Minus the brain dead and screaming.
Well…Sort of minus the screaming.
She has screamed, in the past at least. So maybe just minus the brain dead part…
Anyways, she’s grabbing your wrist and you sigh, wringing yourself free of her near iron grip, again. But you can’t blame her.
Yuri’s focused on one thing, and one thing only.
And it’s beginning in 15 minutes.
“Plus I want good seats!”
You scoff.
“He’s just a person, Yuri. I get he’s got an important title and fancy job, but that’s all that separates him from us.”
She glares at you as you reach the courtyard of your school.
Trees surround the perimeter in evenly placed lines, a large running fountain at its center. There’s plenty of open grass space the students use to study, picnic or throw a ball around on. And its cobblestone walkways are currently covered in rows upon rows of filled up seats.
Most of those filled seats are in the middle though, which surprises you. You would’ve thought girls would be lining up at the front row to see their prince.
“Yeah, just the title and fancy job,” Yuri says, taking her turn to scoff and opens her hand to count on her fingers. “Let's not count the fact that he’s insanely hot—have you seen his body? His face? Or what of the land he’ll inherit on top of the land he already owns? And money! Can’t forget that. Or clothes. Not enough? I can keep going,” she switches to her other hand. “How about control over the largest kingdom in The West? They don't call him ‘Prince of the Western Shores’ for nothing, Sweets. Also the mass of adoring fans, security and advisors following his every move, nice cars, fancy vacation houses…should I keep going?”
You’re pretty sure she only stopped because she ran out of fingers and you don’t deign her with a reply. Yuri seems content to have made her point and she did. 
But you’d never admit that to her. Instead you keep walking, taking in the sights around you.
Your school is The Royal Academy of Business and Fine Arts. Anyone can study here if they have the cash, or the brains, though one method is much more abused than the other.
It’s one of the most prestigious schools in the world because it’s where nearly every royal on this half of the continent goes to university. Hence the “Royal'' in the title.
Ladys, lords, dukes, duchesses, princesses and yes, princes all go here—are most of your classmates, actually. But there is only one prince everyone cares about. The one who, in the next few short years, will not only be at your school for whatever it is his father deems appropriate for him to study in his post secondary education, but the one who is also first in line and heir to the biggest kingdom in The West—if it hadn’t been mentioned before.
His Royal Highness, Prince Jeon Jungkook.
Okay… look.
It’s not that you don’t like him, he hasn’t done anything to make you hate him, and you’re sure he’s a decent guy once you get to know him.
It’s just that you don’t really feel any type of way about him, positive or negative. And that confuses so many people around you.
Which in turn, confuses you.
Most people seem to think he’s some sort of god sent angel carved by the hands of whoever created the universe. Fawning over him and thinking he can do no wrong. But what they all fail to see is that he’s just like them.
Got a bit more of a leg up on life than most, sure, but still human. Like you, or Yuri.
He eats and showers and uses the bathroom. He gets a runny nose and puffy eyes when he’s sick. He has bad hair days and ties his own shoes… you think.
He’s just a regular guy with an irregular job. So no, you had no opinion on him other than disinterested neutrality.
But if you had to feel something? You guess you probably felt pity.
You worked your ass off in highschool to get where you are. You and your mom screamed until your voices were hoarse when you got your acceptance letter two and a half years ago. One of 25 scholarship students accepted on a full ride every year.
You were doing a major in fine arts and a minor business, wanting to milk your education for all it’s worth on their dime. Lucking out that your two areas of interest were not only at one school, but at one of the best schools in the world for both subjects.
You chose what you wanted for your life and you worked for it for years. And now you sit comfortably at the top of your class in both fine arts and business, not taking your opportunity for granted for a second.
Jungkook though? He’s expected to go here. Doesn’t have much of a choice about it, and he doesn’t have to work for it either.
A small part of you that has yet to mature envies him for how easy he has it, for the privileges he is given simply because of one six letter word in front of his name. That he didn’t have to put in 60 hour weeks and give up his teenage years just to prove he was good enough to be here.
He was born good enough.
But that’s a small part of you, and you can ignore it if you try hard enough.
The point is you felt pity because he’s probably never had to work for something a day in his life. He doesn’t know the satisfaction of working towards something, to not only succeed, but to be the best.
To earn what he has.
He won’t know what to do when real life hits him.
Yuri lets a baby scream loose as she spots her desired seats and yanks you out of your thought spiral. 
The front of the courtyard is still relatively empty, middle still filling up faster than anything else.
“Yes! Score! First row, left side, that’s perfect! He'll definitely see us.”
She grabs your arm a third time and it’s an effort not to drop your books and groan at her.
Yuri’s like you in the sense where she is not royalty, but unlike you she—or should you say, her parents—are loaded.
Family business perks.
She’s here because she can be, because her family can afford to send her and make donations, not because she wants to be or because she worked for it.
But don’t misunderstand that, Yuri works hard. She just happens to party more than she studies most days. That and plan her future with a very rich and handsome guy who has yet to be determined.
You’d jokingly deemed her a royalty hunter after about an hour of meeting her for how badly she wanted to ‘marry up.’
“See you,” you correct, or has she forgotten about Nel, your boyfriend of 5 years? Your high school sweetheart and who is currently, much to your dismay, at school about 5000 miles away.
“I’m sure Cornelius wouldn’t be mad if the prince charms his girl just once, seeing as his royal highness can do that to most people just by breathing near them,” she quips. ”And even if he would get mad, Jungkook can just have him thrown in a dungeon for being overprotective and jealous.”
“The royal palace doesn’t have dungeons, but they do have a series of interrogation rooms on the third lower level,” you inform her. You did a project on the history and architecture of the royal palace in tenth grade—and Nel really wouldn’t care, he knows where he stands, just like you do.
“How do you just know that!”
Yuri didn’t know you in highschool and you used that to your advantage every single time you could, laughing bright and loud.
She starts dragging you down the walkway again, a habit of hers. Like she’s worried you’ll try to slip away if she isn’t forcing you where she wants you to be.
It’s a good instinct on her part.
You're nearly there, so you focus more on the trees just starting to turn colours overhead, casting slightly pigmented shadows on the ground. Fall is just starting to creep up on the heels of summer, the days of sunscreen and chlorine slowly being replaced by pumpkin spice and crisp apples.
She sits exactly where she wanted too, and you plop beside her, glad you’re wearing a light sweater and tights. They are just warm enough to keep the slight breeze from giving you chills, but also keep your legs from sticking to the plastic seats.
For such an expensive school to go to you’d think they’d have better assembly furniture.
You notice a news camera off in the distance and suddenly understand the empty front seats. No one wants to publicly embarrass themselves on national television from seeing the prince, rewindable and replayable, forever seared into the internet.
It’s times like these you’re happy you’ve never been one to get starstruck. They’re all just people, why be shocked or surprised when they exist near you?
Opening up your books on your lap, you figure you can kill the next ten minutes in a productive way, considering what happened to your original plans for the mid morning.
And as you do, you feel the seats around you begin to fill, not a single one empty by the time the event starts.  Not even the ones up front.
A jerked movement catches your eyes and you see that two seats closer to the pedestal from Yuri is Adaline.
Great.
Adaline Dupree is basically a princess from the Eastern Shores. ‘Basically’ because she’s not, but she certainly acts like she is. A fake princess, an even bigger royalty hunter than your best friend and your not so secret arch nemesis.
She’s in your fine arts classes—all of them, unfortunately—her proper title being ‘Duchess of…’ some province you never bothered to learn the name of, and she’s one of the most well known people on campus.
Tall, with beautiful blonde hair, hazel eyes, freckles, a slim figure and quite the socialite. You’re surprised she went into fine arts and not modeling. She’s got the ego part of the job down pat.
Good for her for being pretty. But anyone could be beautiful on the outside with enough money and a surgeon. That’s not why you considered her your nemesis, you don’t give a shit about any of that.
She was your nemesis in the academic world. Because not only was she beautiful, she was also brilliant at her craft.
Which happened to also be your craft, and it pissed you off to no end.
Where you were first, she was second and where she was first, you were second. Always neck in neck with one another, always trying to one up each other.
You only considered yourself better than her because unlike her, you hoped at least, Adaline was a complete and total bitch. She took what she wanted without remorse and she wasn’t above sabotage to get it.
You learned that the hard way in your first year. And you’ve always wondered if that was her privileged upbringing speaking or if she’s just like that naturally, so unused to not getting what she wanted that she’d take it.
Therefore, it is of absolutely no shock to you that she’s sitting as close as she possibly can to where the prince will be standing. Directly in front of the pedestal at the base of the fountain in the center of the courtyard.
A door opens to your right followed by a couple screams, and you can only assume the man of the hour has arrived. A red camera light flicks on in your peripheral vision and you take that as your confirmation and cue to close your books.
The Dean of Schools, a few advisor looking people, a good handful of terrifyingly large security guards, and a head of black hair you conclude to be the prince all make their way towards their destination.
A smirk graces your face at all the girls batting eyelashes or screaming his name, as if that would get his attention. You’re about to mention that exact thought to Yuri, but you notice her eyelashes looking awfully similar to those around you and can’t help failing to stifle a laugh.
She catches it. “What?”
“Nothing,” you say. “You might just want to pick your jaw up off the ground.”
Her response gets cut off when a voice comes over the speakers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for such a warm welcome,” says the Dean, calm and assured. She knew exactly the welcome they'd receive. “I’ll keep my introduction short. Today, I present to you not only the newest addition to The Royal Academy of Business and Fine Arts, but the future King of our great nation. He has requested to formally address the student body before he starts classes this fall semester, so without further adieu: His Royal Highness, Prince Jeon Jungkook.”
Riigghht. Did you mention he was the prince of the country you’re living in?
Well…he is.
The crowd soars in volume once more, a couple “I love you’s” thrown in for good measure as the prince steps up and you zone out.
From your angle, you can see his whole body from the side, and that even though he’s holding cue cards, he doesn’t use them, placing them face down on the pedestal.
His dark hair is swept back in a suave styling and he’s wearing a simple navy long sleeve button up, black dress pants and matching leather shoes.
The outfit makes him look ever so princely and very much not like a student. More like one of the faculty.
However, what you don’t expect are the small patches of ink on his arm peeking out of his right sleeve. Or just how tight the clothes he wears are on his apparently very muscular form.
You remember Yuri’s words from earlier, only now registering. You knew he had muscles, no one ever shut up about them. But seeing them in person… wow.
You kind of want to sketch him—for anatomy practice, of course.
The prince begins his address to the crowd and an eerie silence replaces the roars from earlier. You take a quick look around and notice that not one person isn’t completely transfixed on him. Even the dean can’t keep her eyes off him.
You give him credit for not balking under the intense gazes of literally everyone. You know you sure as hell would have, never being one to like being the center of attention. At least, not like this.
You clue into his speech as you look back at him. He’s talking about how he found himself as a teenager thinking of what he wanted his future to look like and what he wanted to do with his schooling, which is not only why he took a couple years to explore the continent before enrolling, but why he will be doing a major and a minor at the school.
One for his career, and one for his heart.
You won’t admit to yourself that the sentiment very closely resonates with you.
He continues.
“All that said, I asked to address you all today for one very simple reason, being that, for my time here at the academy, I wish to be treated like any other student. I am not unaware of my celebrity and how I am seen to the outside world. It is not lost on me my place in the world and who I am to become. I know for some that it may be… difficult to see me for anything other than who I am, and this is why I ask you humbly, just for the short while that I’m here, you all treat me no differently than you already do one another,” he pauses for a moment. “I extend my request most deeply to those who will be studying alongside me in my business administration major and photography minor, as I don’t want it to affect my studies.”
Yuri slaps her hand down onto your leg causing you to jerk forward and you clamor to not drop any of your books. Business administration is her major. Her parents want her to take over the family biz after school.
That was probably why she partied so much. Living as much as she can before being thrust into a job she doesn’t want for the rest of her life.
Pity creeps back up your throat at the thought.
Jungkook notices your jerking movement, but only for a second. His eyes meet yours and you hope yours convey ‘sorry for interrupting’.
You may not care about him, but just like him you are not unaware of his status in the world outside the walls of your school.
Yuri, of course, thinks he’s looking at her and not only does her grip on your leg tighten to the point of circulation cut off, she returns to her earlier routine of batting her eyelashes.
You roll your eyes away from her sight, but unbeknownst to you, well within the gaze of Jungkook.
He suppresses a smile at your response to your friend's clear attempts to gain his attention.
You, on the other hand, seem indifferent to him. He has the entire student body watching his every move with hawk-like precision, enraptured. Normal, for him.
But you?
You just seem to… not care. Like he wasn’t anyone special. Like the word in front of his name meant nothing.
And if it wasn't the most freeing feeling he’s felt in a long time.
“Thank you so much for your time, and I’ll see you all around campus,” he finishes before stepping down, security wrapping around him again until he’s barely visible. The dean pops up to conclude the gathering but you aren’t paying attention anymore, too busy trying to peel Yuri’s hand off your thigh.
“Yuri, retract the claws please!” you whisper-yell to your friend. And she does in fact, retract instantly.
“Shit, sorry. My brain is running a million miles a minute,” she says as she pinches herself, shaking her head and smiling. “I’m three years ahead of him in his major. His major YN! But he’s still older than us, which is so hot. I'm so glad he did that tour in the east and whatever else that kept him back for a couple years, it makes this whole situation even better,” you start to worry at the look in her eye as she continues.
“What if he needs a tutor? What if I become his tutor, and we fall in love like a cliche romance movie. I could be the future queen. YN, this could actually happen for me. I could actually get the prince, it’s not some wild dream anymore. I could talk to him and he would talk back and this could happen.”
You can feel that she’ll just keep spiraling, nothing being able to stop her train of thought at this point, so you try your best to at least have her do her thinking in her head.
“Maybe! I wish you nothing but luck!” And you mean it. You don’t think it will happen the way she does, but you never know. And you don’t want to give her false hope.
You’ve always been the realist to Yuri’s optimist.
With the assembly over, most of the crowd files out of the courtyard quickly, prior plans calling to them or classes starting soon.
Only a few stragglers are left behind. You and Yuri are two of them, as well as Adaline, and a couple more you don’t know.
Security starts to spread out and you watch as Jungkook makes his way to the people farthest from you, much to their delight.
It’s a group of guys, all of whom look muscular enough to be varsity athletes. Maybe Jungkook will want to do sports while he’s here. You know that he’s an accomplished rugby player, greatly to his fathers dismay, but to the pleasure of anyone who has about $10 and has access to magazines or wifi.
“Oh my god he’s making his way over. Do. Not. Move. I want him to come to us,” Yuri says, forcing you to stay in your spot. It would be fruitless to try anything anyway. Another lesson you learned the hard way in first year.
She starts fluffing her hair and asking you to check her teeth. You do. She’s in the clear.
Unfortunately, you two would most likely be the last people he greeted, so you had to watch as he made his way down the line of people.
He greets the guys with a handshake and a clap to the back, and the girls with a kiss to the top of the hand.
One thing you notice as he meets more and more people is that everyone still calls him ‘prince’ or ‘your highness.’
It’s automatic for them, they’re not even thinking twice about it, but it’s also completely besides the point of half of his whole speech. He wanted to be treated like everybody else.
It especially irked you when it was Adaline’s turn and she put on her most feminine, formal, and ridiculously overly flirty, “Hello, Prince Jungkook,” before curtseying, blasting her full facade of charm and courteousness.
Ever the dainty, prim and proper duchess, she’s all small laughs and less than subtle flirting, never impolite, and never speaking out of turn.
You wanted to gag, and you’re quite sure that’s exactly what your face conveyed. But Jungkook smiles wide for her, and is as kind to her as he was to everyone else prior. He even flirts back a little bit.
Yeah, you definitely want to gag. What a match those two would make.
But just as soon as he greets Adaline and her friend, he politely steps away and moves on to you and Yuri.
“Hello ladies, what might your names be?” he asks ever so formally.
You gently laugh at being called a lady and Yuri shoots you a look. Jungkook doesn’t appear to take offense though.
“Hello, your highness!” Yuri chirps in the most ‘I'm trying to flirt but trying to not sound like I’m flirting’ voice you’ve ever heard her use. “My name is Yuri Yeun, and I’m actually a business admin major too, just a few years ahead.”
Jungkook lifts her hand to his mouth, giving it a light kiss and she looks like she’s about to explode.
“It’s lovely to meet you Yuri, I’ll look forward to seeing you around the halls,” he says in the same tone he’s used for everyone else. He’s about to face you, but Yuri cuts in quickly.
“If you ever need any help with your studies, just let me know. I’d be happy to help you with anything you might need help with. Having already been through it, I may be able to give a students insight versus a professors.”
“I’ll keep that in mind for the future. Thank you for your generosity.” Again that same tone, you mentally dub it his ‘greeting the public like the ever so good royal I am’ voice.
He turns to you and extends his hand for yours.
You reach for it, twisting it so that instead of a hand turned upright to be kissed, it’s a regular handshake. If he wanted to be treated like anyone else here, you sure as hell were going to.
“I’m YN, it’s nice to meet you Jungkook.” At the mention of his name untitled, he pauses, eyes widening ever so slightly. It’s not a bad pause, just a surprised one. And by the looks of the small smile on his face, a good one.
Yuri's eyes, on the other hand, almost bug out of her skull at your informal greeting.
“Likewise,” he manages to get out, completely unlike his usually composed self.
You're the only one who hasn’t addressed him with his title, and it’s the most like him he’s ever felt.
Twice in one day—in one hour—you’ve managed to make him feel more human and more like himself than he ever has. With your distinct indifference to him of all things.
Jungkook decides then and there he’s very sure he wants more of it in his life.
He still hasn’t stopped shaking your hand, and you don’t know why that’s the only thing you can focus on. His hand is firm and calloused, the kind that can only be built over years of hard work.
Releasing you the second you think it, he looks as if he hadn’t realized he was still holding on too.
Quick to step back into his princely role, Jungkook says, “Pardon my forwardness, but I just have to say that the two of you are beautiful, and that it’s been lovely to meet you both.”
You swear you see Yuri’s soul ascend from her body at his words. “Thank you, Your Highness! That means so much coming from someone as well met as yourself,” she nearly fawns, and you roll your eyes out of her sight for the second time today.
And for the second time today, Jungkook does not let the gesture go unnoticed. How you hold no fear in showing how you feel in front of others, even those you’ve just met. As if it holds no consequence. 
It doesn’t for you, he realizes. 
You can freely show how you feel without worry of anyone over-analyzing your every facial tic. No fear that a slight misuse of a lip quirk or eyebrow raise could give away national secrets or offend a visiting diplomat.
He envies you for it. For having that freedom he so rarely does.
“You’re most welcome, Yuri. I’m glad you hold my opinion in such high regard.” He flashes her that well practiced bright smile and you already know what she won’t be shutting up about it anytime soon.
“I’ve always been told I have my fathers bone structure but my mothers beauty. I’ll be sure to let them know their Prince thinks the combination is worth complimenting,” you respond, not braggadocious or sarcastic in the slightest.
You know it would make your mom so proud to hear the future king found you pretty, even if you knew the compliment was given to every girl here.
Your father wasn’t in the picture, but that didn’t matter and the prince didn’t need to know.
“I hope they won’t mind a stranger's compliment on their daughter then,” Jungkook says, ducking his head slightly and giving you a smaller smile.
This one felt genuine, like he wanted to hold it back but couldn’t. So you return a small one of your own, to let him know this was an even exchange. You may not feel any type of way about the prince, but you were raised to be kind.
“Any praise for their daughter from the future King would be welcomed any day, I’m sure,” Yuri cuts back in, killing his smile along with it.
You’re sad to see it go.
“I’m relieved to hear it,” he responds, princely public persona back on. Stupid flashy smile back on. “What will you two be heading off to do now?”
“What I wanted to be doing for the last half hour in the first place before being hauled down here by this one,” you point a thumb at Yuri. “Finishing my study hour at the library,” you add quickly, before Yuri can get out her answer. You almost wish you hadn't because the hand that had your thigh in a death grip earlier now only somewhat playfully swats your shoulder.
“YN!”
“What!? I’m just being honest. He wants to be treated like anyone else right? That comes with people being honest to you instead of glazing over their answers with pretty little white lies to appease you.”
Yuri looks ready to rip you a new one, but she’s cut off again before she can open her mouth. This time by the prince.
“No, no it’s okay,” Jungkook says before she can swat you again. She stops mid swing at his words, eyes as wide as saucers at being stopped. “YN’s right, I appreciate the honesty, and I apologize for the interruption. I hope your studies will not be too greatly affected because of it.”
“Guess we’ll find out during midterm season,” you say with a smirk that turns into a genuine smile as you see Jungkook look panicked, like he actually thinks he messed up your education by disturbing your study session.
Relief quickly replaces the panic when he sees your smile and realises it was a joke.
Being treated like a regular person also meant being joked with at their expense, and he takes it in stride as his small smile from earlier makes a comeback.
“Well I have class in half an hour,” Yuri says, finally answering his question, “So probably grabbing a coffee from the cafe near the biz-admin building… I could show you if you want?”
“That sounds great actually, I’m still trying to figure out where everything is.”
“Great! Let’s go.”
Jungkook, ever the gentleman, lifts an arm for her to take and you watch them walk off, Yuri absolutely beaming as she glances back at you. You give her a thumbs up before collecting your books and heading back in the direction of the library.
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Chapter Two: Unknown Numbers and Sharp Tongues
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A/N 2: and so it begins.
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rendy-a · 8 months ago
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amh if possible could hoy make hdcns for the dorm leaders ( separately ) reacting to their mc fem explaining the marvel universe and then puts them to watch the movies hehe ( ..also mc's fav hero is dead-pool ;) bc it gives me laugh imagine their reactions about this xd) , thanks in advance and take care<33
This certainly ended up being a little bit of a crack fic but it ended up amusing. Hope you enjoy it.
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At first, he scoffs as such a time-wasting thing as wanting to watch dozens of movies.  Where is the educational value in this?
He is just too polite to refuse to listen, so he’ll end up letting you describe all your favorite scenes to him.
You are better off if he doesn’t take an interest because, if he does, he is going to turn into the worst sort of comic book geek.  Be ready to have him quote lore from issues of source material at you during any discussion on this from now on.
What do you mean who would win?  In Volume 3 #3, Thor clearly defeated Iron Man.  Don’t get upset Prefect, I don’t write the lore, I just recite it.
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Doesn’t appear to be interested but, if you pause long enough, he’ll prompt you to go on.  It’s important to you, so he’ll try to care at least a little.
You’d never tell him this, but you love to banter with him because it reminds you of your favorite character.  Sometimes you wonder if he’d be pleased or offended to know who you remind him of.
Movie marathons?  Not only is he willing to do them with you, but he is also often the one who suggests them.  Don’t be deceived though, it’s not for the movie but for the quality nap time on the couch with you. 
Don’t turn that off, Herbivore, I’m watching it.  What do you mean I don’t know what’s going on?  This is the part where we learn her mom isn’t dead after all.  So quiet down and keep the lights off.
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Please, he is in Board Game Club with Idia. You think this is the first time he has hmmm’d himself through a conversation about fictional characters?
Wait, you say that this makes a ton of money?  Tell him more about this merchandising and licensing.  Especially that, what do you call it…ah, Happy Meal.
You can eventually talk him into watching the movies with you for ‘research purposes.’  When you do, you can’t help but notice how teary-eyed he gets at the sad scenes.  He’s just so sensitive!
Deadpool is also his favorite character.  He feels a sort of connection to certain parts of his story.
So, she chooses to stay with him even though he looks like that?  No, I’m not blubbering.  No, I don’t need you to cuddle with me.  Ok, fine.  Just for a little while. 
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He doesn’t get it, but he still loves it.  Sure, you have to explain everything to him three times, but he gets excited over your excitement.  Call him any time to talk about your theories on how things would have gone if Thanos had made a different wish on the infinity gauntlet.  He doesn’t mind if it’s 3 AM (just don’t let Jamil find out).
Movie marathons turn into parties.  Why just watch the movies when you can have themed snacks and dress up too?  Hulk smash cakes and Black Widow berry cobbler?  Yes, please.
His favorite part of any film is the soundtrack.  If he hears a song he likes, he gets up to dance along.  It’s pretty disruptive when you are watching the movie but when you see how much fun he is having, you find you don’t really mind after all.
Sorry Prefect, Jamil says we can’t have dance battles in Scarabia anymore.  Ooh!  But come by the Pop Music Club later.  I’m going to play all my favorite songs for Cater and Lilia. Ahaha!
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You were worried Vil would dismiss your favorite Marvel films as inferior art, but he is actually rather generous about it.  He believes the film should suit the audience and, as so, there is nothing wrong with films like this that serve to entertain the masses.
Still, he can’t help but be critical of everything while you watch.  He doesn’t criticize the things you’d talk about with your friends but topics you’d hardly even notice while you watched like the set design and lighting.
You notice Vil seems secretly fond of Loki.  You think the idea of the Villain that survives the main movies to get his own spotlight series appeals to him.
No, Potato, I’m just saying the angle isn’t right for this sort of tone.  A shot from below would be more effective.  Plus…wait, are you having more popcorn?  I don’t think so, it’s past the time you can snack before bed.
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You had expected Idia to be all in on the Marvel Universe but, at first, he is oddly resistant to it.  He’d rather recommend you one of his own favorite hero movies.  If you disagree on which is better, he is more than willing to fight with you over why his is best!
After a heated argument, he puts on some of the movies to watch so he can come up with targeted points about why his own shows are better.  This does not work out for him as he gets sucked in himself.  Next time you meet up, he wants to go over tiny bits of lore and speculate on future plot lines from hints in the past movies.
You might think his favorite would be Iron Man because they both are innovative engineers, but he is a fan of Ant Man.  Shrinking down to a size where you can hide from everyone; it’s an introvert’s dream!
Prefect, this is serious business!  I’ve drawn up plans.  So long as we sleep only 2 hours a day and avoid taking any breaks for food, studying, and showers, we can finish at least three seasons this weekend.  True fans like us need to be ready to sacrifice for the shows we love!
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There are many things Tusnotarou doesn’t understand, and this is one of them.  For starters, he barely knows how to use his smartphone, let alone how to stream movies and shows.  So, before you can even start explaining the plot, you must explain the whole concept of series and interconnecting shows to him.
He doesn’t get it, but he is happy to watch with you.  Your reactions to the show are far more amusing to him than the actual show.  Plus, he feels like he learns so much about the human world from your conversations.  A subway, how intriguing an idea.  Humans are so fascinating.
Even though he watches politely, he isn’t very impressed.  They can fly?  Well so can he.  Magic, lightning, superstrength?  All just part of being a dragon.  Perhaps instead of being interested in these superheroes, you’d rather learn more about him?
 Lilia, do you think I am a superhero?  The Prefect has been explaining this concept to me in great detail lately.  I can’t help but notice the many things I have in common with these so-called heroes.  Why yes, Lilia, now that you mention it, I am wearing a cape.  Another point in my favor. Fu fu fu.    
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munson-blurbs · 2 years ago
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Eddie, diary, detention ^^
Oh, y'all are getting sick of Eddie fluff fics? Too bad, sorry xoxoxo 💚
Warnings: none, all fluff!
WC: 1.2k
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“Goddamn Carver,” Eddie mutters to himself, slinging his backpack onto the desk and plopping into the attached chair. “Always running his goddamn mouth and then pulling the ‘But I have basketball practice’ excuse to get outta trouble.” He brings his voice up to a grating falsetto, mocking the jock’s whiny tone. “But does Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson get the same courtesy for his Hellfire campaigns? No, sir, he does not.”
“Wonderful monologue, Mr. Munson,” Mrs. O’Donnell says dryly, heels clacking as she walks through the open doorway. “Perhaps you’ll be a playwright in your next life.”
“Like one lifetime isn’t enough,” Eddie grumbles, low enough so his least favorite teacher can’t hear him. 
O’Donnell peers at him over her horn-rimmed glasses. “You know the drill better than I do, Mr. Munson,” she scoffs with a wry smile. “One hour. No talking, no music, no funny business. You may do homework if you’d like, though I don’t anticipate you choosing now to act like a star student.” 
Eddie slumps down into his seat. He’d already counted all the ceiling tiles last week when he ended up here after shoving Patrick for picking on Dustin Henderson. Guess I’ll start on the floor tiles now, he thinks grimly. 
He makes it to 28 before something catches his eye. In one of the baskets underneath a desk is a purple leather-bound notebook. The way it’s resting halfway out of the basket looks like it had fallen out of a backpack or accidentally left behind. It’s too fancy to only be used for school, and it piques his curiosity. 
“Uh, Mrs. Oh-Dee?” Eddie blurts out, shooting his hand up in the air. “Can I grab a textbook? I think I’m gonna take you up on that homework offer.”
The teacher rolls her eyes. “Fine,” she quips. “And for the last time, stop calling me that.”
But Eddie’s already scrambling to the seat, plucking the journal from its spot and shielding it with a history book. As soon as he opens the cover, his eyes widen. 
This diary belongs to is printed on the first page, with a name handwritten in neat cursive underneath. 
“Shit,” Eddie breathes, earning a scowl from O’Donnell. This is your diary. 
Eddie doesn’t have too many classes with you; you’re in mostly honors courses, while he’s in his third senior year. But you do take health together, and he constantly finds himself stealing glances at you whenever he can. 
He knows he shouldn’t read any further; he can close the diary and turn it into the Lost and Found box. But Eddie Munson’s never been known for his impulse control, and before he knows it, he’s skimming the pages. 
Most of the entries don’t draw too much of his attention. There’s one from a few weeks ago about an argument you had with your best friend, but Eddie’s seen you two laughing together since then, so he assumes all’s well. A few days ago, you’d just written, “that history test was a bitch” accompanied by a frowning face. Eddie laughs quietly, knowing you’d probably aced it. 
It’s the entry after that where he finds what he’s looking for. 
Mr. Ellison paired me up with Eddie today! We had to work on an anti-smoking poster together, which was ironic, because he reeked of cigarettes. He asked me what I was doing this weekend, and I thought he was going to ask me out, but he didn’t. Guess he’s not into shy nerdy girls. Then again, who would be?
Eddie’s heart sinks into his stomach. If you only knew how much he wants to take you to dinner, hold hands across the table, maybe kiss you after splitting an ice cream sundae. He had planned on asking you out that day, only to wimp out at the last second. 
He hastily tears out the page and pulls out a number two pencil that’s sharpened down to a nub. In the margins next to your entry, he draws and arrow and writes:
He’s definitely into shy nerdy girls, but he didn’t think you’d be into loud metalheads. Meet me at my locker tomorrow before health?
He slips the diary into his bag, vowing to put the note in your locker after his prison sentence—erm, detention, is over. 
~
The next day, Eddie waits by his locker in between second and third periods. His heart pounds in his chest, and his stomach is doing that flip-flop thing it does before a gig. He relaxes a bit when he sees you walking towards him, note in hand. 
“Hey,” you say softly, holding up the sheet of paper. “Did you…”
Eddie laughs nervously. “Y-Yeah, that was me,” he admits. 
Your ears heat up, suddenly bashful. When you found the note, you’d assumed it was some prank by one of the jocks. The fact that it actually was Eddie gives you heart palpitations. “I didn’t know you felt that way about me,” you manage. 
“I didn’t know you felt that way about me till, y’know, I read it,” Eddie mumbles, hoping you’re not too angry about that. 
You cross your arms over your chest. “So, we’re just snooping through diaries now? A bit juvenile, dontcha think?” But your tone is light, despite the truthfulness of your statement. 
“It, um, wasn’t my finest moment,” Eddie’s cheeks turn pink as he reaches into his bag, “which is why I wanted to show you this.” He pulls out a tattered composition book and hands it to you. “It’s not as cute as yours—oh, which I also have, heh.” He offers you your beloved purple journal. 
“Thanks,” you mutter, ensuring that it’s now safely stored in your own backpack before bringing your attention back to his notebook. “What’s this?”
Eddie bites his lower lip anxiously. “It’s my lyric book,” he explains sheepishly. “But not the one I show the guys. This has all my lovey-dovey songs in it. Y’know, shit they’d kick my ass for.” Another nervous chuckle. “They’re, um, they’re about you.”
“Me?!” you ask incredulously. 
“Yeah,” he smiles, letting his fingertips graze your hand. “Figured it was only fair, since I totally read your stuff.”
You flip through the pages, heart warming at the words etched on them. Lyrics like, her smile melts me like snow on my tongue/grow old together but we’ll always feel young make you giggle. “These are really good,” you muse. 
Eddie wrinkles his nose. “Not too corny?”
“Oh, no,” you tease him, “they are extremely corny. But I’m a sucker for a good rhyme scheme, so…” You trail off as Eddie grins. 
“Maybe I could play them for you sometime? Like after school today?” He winces, hoping he doesn’t sound as desperate as he thinks he does. 
You nod. “I’d like that.”
“Cool.” Eddie closes his locker and turns to you slowly, a mischievous twinkle in his chocolate brown eyes. “Actually, what do you say we ditch health and hang out at mine? I promise I’m a lot more interesting than whatever Ellison is going to lecture us about today.”
You peer around the hallway, making sure it’s clear of teachers before slipping your hand into Eddie’s larger, calloused one. “Let’s blow this joint.”
“That’s my girl.”
--
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lucky-clover-gazette · 5 months ago
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prince's gambit highlights & annotations
chapter 14
indented text is from the book. some quotes have commentary, some do not. some comments are serious, and some are definitely not. most of them will only make sense to people who have read the series. and, like, there are spoilers. so please read the books first if you're interested!
also: part of the reason i'm doing such a close reading is to study cs pacat's style, especially in terms of how she does romance and erotica. there are "craft notes" that might seem weird, like i'm being redundant or restating something rather than analyzing, but those are more things that i want to remember/take away from the writing!
i'm going to tag these longer posts with "sam reads capri" in case anyone wants to read them all at once.
this is a google doc i wrote with overall content warnings for the captive prince series. it's not perfect, but i do think it's important to include.
No Laurent. All signs of recent occupancy had been a handspan away from his own body, suggesting a night spent in close but not transgressive proximity: some kind of self-preservation had apparently prevented Damen from rolling inward during the night; from throwing his arm over Laurent’s torso and drawing them together to make the small tent seem larger than it was. As a result, Damen was in possession of all his limbs, and even had his clothing restored to him. Thank you, Laurent.
The embroidery came later, in the retelling, as the story was told again and again by the men, taking on its own character as it passed over camp. The Prince had ridden out, with only one soldier. Deep in the mountains, he had chased down the rats responsible for these killings. Had ripped them out of their hiding holes and fought them, thirty to one, at least. Had brought them back thrashed, lashed and subdued. That was their Prince for you, a twisty, vicious fiend who you should never, ever cross, unless you wanted your gullet handed to you on a platter. Why, he once rode a horse to death just to beat Torveld of Patras to the mark.
like how this ironic misunderstanding of the events is similar to how damen viewed laurent in book 1 and some of book 2. except now he gets the irony
He looked at Laurent’s tent of silks, the pennants unfurled in the breeze, their starbursts undulating. The distant voices of the men swelled briefly, then dropped away. It would not be like this. It would be a systematic campaign moving southwards towards Ios, building on the support he had from the kyroi factions. He would not be stealing out of camp at night to spin mad plans, to dress in unfamiliar clothes and forge alliances with rogue clans, or to fight alongside pony-riding warriors, capturing bandits improbably in the mountains. It would not be like this again.
:(
‘Keep the prisoners alive, keep the women on side, keep my men from the women,’ said Laurent, as though reciting from a checklist. ‘Come over here and talk geography.’ He came as he was bid, and took a seat opposite Laurent, across the map.
they’re so cute i can’t stand them. “come over here and talk geography” SHUT UP
Laurent did not tend to show any of the usual outward signs of fatigue. The control that he asserted and maintained over the troop was an extension of the control with which he ruled himself. A few tells existed. The words, perhaps.
“the words, perhaps” is such a funny line here. because like yeah no shit, but also how is damen supposed to know when laurent’s words actually reflect his true feelings?
Instinctively, Damen brought his hand up to squeeze Laurent’s shoulder gently—and then stopped. Laurent went very still, as Damen became aware of what he had just done, and that his grip was still on Laurent’s shoulder. He felt the locked muscles like hard wood beneath his hand. ‘Stiff?’ said Damen, casually. ‘A little,’ said Laurent, after a moment in which Damen’s heart knocked twice against the inside of his chest.
one thing i really appreciate about capri is the way that laurent is written, as a character with trauma/baggage who experiences intimacy in a way you wouldn’t expect from the love interest in a romance novel. he doesn’t make anything easy, for himself or for damen. his physical and mental reactions to things are very telling and consistent, and i appreciate pacat’s commitment to honoring that aspect of the character. that way it’s so much more rewarding when we finally see laurent let go of control and experience love that doesn’t hurt him.
i won’t do an official count for “laurent intimacy issues,” since it’s not nearly as clear-cut as “laurent leans,” but if there’s something that strikes this chord with me, i do want to make note of it. just… stuff that i personally appreciate, especially from a love interest in a romance novel, whose whole narrative job—one would expect—is to love the protagonist and have hot sex. but sensitive and traumatized people deserve love and intimacy, too, at their own pace and on their own terms. and laurent has a lot more going on than what damen perceives, or what the romance genre dictates. it’s nice to point out little moments where his issues affect his physical and emotional reactions, because it’s nice to know that those moments 1) exist and 2) don’t make him any less of a romantic lead.
He applied a gentle pressure with his thumbs. He said, ‘You brought me ice, last night.’ ‘This,’ said Laurent, ‘is a little more—’ It was a word of sharp points: ‘—intimate,’ he said, ‘than ice.’ ‘Too intimate?’ Damen said. Slowly, he was kneading Laurent’s shoulders. He did not usually think of himself as someone with suicidal impulses. Laurent did not relax at all, just stood unmoving. And then, at the apsis of his thumbs, a muscle shifted beneath pressure, unlocking a sequence all the way down Laurent’s back. Laurent said, unwillingly, ‘I . . . There.’ ‘Here?’ ‘Yes.’
a lot going on here! made even more complicated by damen’s pov!
damen takes physical intimacy much less seriously than laurent. prior to book 1, he has always enjoyed willing and enthusiastic partners (some of whom were conditioned into that enthusiasm, but we’ll deal with that later), and to him, sex is not a means of abuse or power. prior to book 1, intimacy was never used to disempower damen. laurent, obviously, is very different. pretty much all he knows of intimacy is abuse and disempowerment.
so, being aware of laurent’s trauma and also being fairly perceptive of the signs pointing towards it, i can see here that laurent is fighting a massive battle with himself. because, like, he does want this. but he doesn’t want to want this, because this is something he doesn’t have control over. the fact that he doesn’t throw damen off, and even explicitly asks him to massage a certain spot, is a demonstration of vulnerability that damen doesn't really understand.
which isn't bad or wrong of him, at all! if he did understand more about laurent’s trauma and responses, he’d almost certainly be less confident with initiating intimacy, which is something laurent needs from a partner. it's a lot harder when they're both completely terrified (which damen is, in a different way, but lesser so.) damen is afraid that laurent will bite his head off because he’s a bitch, not because he’s traumatized. and i think that’s a good place for them to be, at this stage of their relationship.
also, the “suicidal impulses” quip is great.
He felt Laurent subtly give himself up to his hands; yet as with a man closing his eyes on the edge of a cliff, it was an act of continuous tension, not surrender.
yeah
‘Like this?’ ‘Yes.’
“he likes that. do it harder.”
Laurent’s head had dropped forward a little. Damen had no idea what he was doing. He was distantly aware that he had had his hands on Laurent’s body once before, and couldn’t believe it, because it felt so impossible now; yet that moment felt connected to this one, even if only in contrast, his current caution against the unguarded way he had let his hands slide down over Laurent’s wet skin.
damen, meanwhile, has recently developed his own intimacy issues/trauma in book 1. these two are a mess
‘Is it so hard to relax?’ said Damen, quietly.
YEAH. IT IS.
‘You only have to walk outside to see what you’ve accomplished. Those men are yours.’ He didn’t pay attention to the signs, the slight stiffening. ‘Whatever happens tomorrow, you’ve done more than anyone could—’ ‘That’s enough,’ said Laurent, pushing himself away unexpectedly.
damen he’s not stressed bc of the war stuff, he’s stressed bc another human being is showing him physical affection and he actually wants it to be happening
When Laurent turned to face him, his eyes were dark. His lips were parted uncertainly. He had lifted his hand to his own shoulder, as though chasing a ghost touch there. He did not look exactly relaxed, but the movement did look a little easier. As if realising that, Laurent said, almost awkwardly, ‘Thank you.’ And then, in wry acknowledgement: ‘Getting tied up leaves an impression. I didn’t realise being captured was so uncomfortable.’
ohhhhh my god. oh my god. so fucking real, every line is so fucking real. the relief of no longer being touched, being back in control. the fuckin, phantom touch on the shoulder—an assessment of the massage, yes, but also… whose ghost is it? damen isn’t asking that question, but i am, and it’s sad. and then the awkward thanks, and the immediate snarky comment to follow up. it’s just so real.
‘I promise I’ll never tie you to the back of a horse,’ said Laurent. There was a pause in which Laurent’s mordant gaze was on him. ‘That’s right, I’m still captured,’ said Damen.
says the protagonist of the “captive prince” series
‘Your eyes say, “For now,”’ Laurent said. ‘Your eyes have always said, “For now.”’
ohhh this line is juicy. because like, yeah, there’s the melancholy yearning context of the last 10 or so chapters, but before? when they were enemies, when laurent was actively hurting and trying to disempower damen? even then, he never showed laurent submission. and laurent clearly noticed. they make me so crazyyyy
‘If you were a pet, I would have gifted you enough by now to buy out your contract, many times over.’
this is more a flaw in my understanding of the pet system, but is he saying that he’s done damen enough favors that if the favors were monetary he could afford to pay off his contract? that’s my best understanding of the line at this point.
‘I’d still be here,’ said Damen, ‘with you. I told you that I would see this border dispute through to its finish. Do you think I’d go back on my word?’ ‘No,’ said Laurent, almost as if he was realising it for the first time.
they drive me insane. the whole “suffering alone” theme—laurent is realizing that he hasn’t been suffering alone, lately, because damen is intentionally staying by his side. laurent may be great at strategic thinking, but he is so used to being manipulated and abused that he doesn’t even consider that someone could be genuinely devoted to him, as a person.
But I know you don’t like it. I remember how much it maddened you in the palace, to be bound and powerless. I felt yesterday how badly you wanted to hit someone.
another interesting re-contextualization of book 1! although it’s not quite an apology, bc i’m sure laurent was aware of the maddening and was probably like “good. this guy killed my brother”
Damen found he’d moved without realising it, his fingers lifting to touch the bruised edge of Laurent’s jaw. He said, ‘The man who did this to you.’ The words just came out. The warmth of skin under his fingers in that moment took all his attention, before he became aware that Laurent had jerked back and was staring at him, blue eyes huge with pupil. Damen was suddenly aware of how out of control he was—he felt—and called violently on his faculties to try to put a stop to—this. ‘I’m sorry. I . . . know better than that.’
“i know better than that” is an INSANE thing for him to say here, by the way. they’re both so compelled by each other and afraid of each other. the amount of work pacat has put into their arc/characterization so far means that scenes like these can have something going on between every single line. honestly i think there’s more going on here off the page, than there is on it
‘No. Wait. I . . . wait.’ Damen stopped, and turned. Laurent’s gaze was edged with indecipherable emotion, and his jaw was set at a new angle. The silence stretched out for such a long time that the words, when they came, were a shock. ‘What Govart said about my brother and I . . . it wasn’t true.’ ‘I never thought it was,’ said Damen, uneasily. ‘I mean that whatever . . . whatever taint exists in my family, Auguste was free of it.’ ‘Taint?’
fascinated by the possible reasons for laurent to say this, in this moment. he uses it on the page to then say that damen is a good and honorable person like auguste, so that’s the easy answer. but if he was just experiencing some ptsd flashbacks, i wonder if this is also something of a grounding statement for himself. because we know who he’s referring to, when he’s talking about bad people on his family tree. it’s almost like he’s trying to figure out how to frame this situation, more for himself than damen—laurent feels protected and cared for in this moment, and the last time he allowed himself to feel that way after auguste’s death, his uncle had taken advantage. so of course he’s picturing his uncle. but this statement, a reminder to himself that damen is more like auguste than the regent, and auguste would have never done anything with laurent in the way the regent had… augh. laurent your brain.
‘I wanted to tell you that, because you,’ said Laurent, as though he was forcing the words out, ‘You remind me of him. He was the best man I have ever known. You deserve to know that, as you deserve at least a fair . . . In Arles, I treated you with malice and cruelty. I will not insult you by attempting to atone for deeds with words, but I would not treat you that way again. I was angry. Angry, that isn’t the word.’ It was bitten off; a jagged silence followed.
this is a laurent apology! no “sorry” necessary. and he’s the closest to telling damen the truth as he’s ever been, but still he stops himself. i wonder if it’s partially out of shame, for how he treated damen. a refusal to make an excuse, because he understands the cruelty of his actions regardless. and of course he has cognitive dissonance to maintain and tactical reasons for keeping the lie going. but still, this is honest.
Then, with a return to his more usual tone, ‘And you don’t need to take watch,’ said Laurent. ‘You sleep prudently.’
of course he can’t just say, like, “sleep well” or “good night.” prudently means carefully, or in good judgment… so like, he’d wake up if something dangerous happened? laurent trusts that? i can’t tell if the statement is an observation or a command. it’s either, “[i want you to] sleep mindfully” or “you sleep mindfully [so you don’t need to stay awake on watch].” hmmm
Damen searched his face, but found nothing in it that he could read, which, he supposed, as he lifted his hands to the laces of his own jacket, was typical.
buddy there is so much subtext going on here it’s okay just get some rest
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matchabears · 2 years ago
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notes on falling in love
pairing. alhaitham x reader (feat. kaveh) synopsis. it’s in the little things, really. wc. 1k themes. angst, unrequited pining, modern au(ish) because i barely give any description lmao, this is mostly about feelings, feelings tw, alhaitham is a robot science man allergic to the human spectrum of emotion now playing. hoax by taylor swift note. the way i’m shit at writing angst but am incapable of writing anything else
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“you don’t like me very much, do you?”
alhaitham pauses, in the middle of shelving the stack of books in his arms. he doesn’t look down, but he can see you blinking curiously up at him in his peripheral. 
he’s relieved that he’s at the very top of the ladder, so you don’t notice the way his fingers tighten around the spine of the book and how he has to shift his weight so he doesn’t lose his balance. when he opens his mouth to respond, he draws in a shaky breath. 
“i have no reason to like or dislike you,” he responds curtly. “so long as you do your job properly.”
that’s right, he has no need for such useless sentiments; he’s a man of science after all. flowery language and cursory emotions are a waste of energy and all detract from his ultimate goal of pursuing concrete, infallible knowledge. 
so he steadies himself and climbs down the ladder, ignoring how tightly his heart constricts when he sees you smile. 
it’s just an organ. 
“i guess i walked right into that one,” you grin before nodding towards the stack of books in his arms. “need help with those?” 
“no,” he simply says, pulling the ladder to the other side of the shelf. with his back turned to you, he’s much more at ease. if he can’t see you, then he can’t find another attribute of yours to commit to memory.  
you don’t listen, though, because you never do. instead, you snatch the books from him and climb the ladder yourself before he can react. 
“what are you doing?” he furrows his brows.
“trying to get on your good side,” you hum.
“is this why you’ve been following me around all day?” he sighs. 
you wince sheepishly. “was it that obvious? i thought i was being pretty subtle.” 
alhaitham, with traitorous eyes trained to notice and analyze every little detail, follows the movement as if it had a magnetic pull, dragging his gaze across your features. he drinks in the color of your eyes, the slope of your nose, the flutter of your eyelashes, the glow of your skin, and the tinted sheen on your lips like he were studying a textbook on astrophysics.
but it would be amiss to compare you to any branch of science, he supposes. sciences produces results, logic, and answers.
you are loud and obnoxious, ironic for someone who works in a library. you are a hindrance more than help to most of the daily tasks, cutting down productivity by at least fifty percent with your chattering and penchant for distraction. you are person with a naturally alluring disposition that draws people in. you are able to speak to patrons of the library with a charm that seems mystical to him. you are a warmth that only exists in the confines of fantasy. you are everything he finds to be a waste of time in a person, and you are everything that he is not. 
you are the only anomaly he can’t solve.
“you are many things, but subtle is not one of them.”
that makes you laugh, and the ladder, as old and rickety as it is, trembles just like the stupid organ that is his heart. as if it were a reflex, alhaitham reaches out his hand and steadies the ladder. 
it’s a pointless gesture, really. him holding the ladder still doesn’t eliminate the risk of you falling. yet, he grips the wooden material so tightly that his knuckles turn white. 
“is it so wrong of me to want to be friends with my new boyfriend’s roommate and also my co-worker for way longer than that?” you whine. 
what ridiculous titles, he thinks to himself. he and you can barely even be regarded as acquaintances, but you’ve somehow found a way to establish a connection. alhaitham doesn’t even want to be acquaintances with you, most certainly not friends. 
he despises that you are almost nothing to him. why couldn’t you be something or just nothing? you’re almost. almost something and almost nothing all at the same time. that gray area makes him feel, feel, feel—that damn word—like he isn’t in control; it’s an ugly, dark sensation that coils in the pit of his stomach like a venomous snake.
“i don’t want to be friends with you,” he chokes out, a desperate tinge to his voice that he hopes you don’t notice. 
“well, i’m a lot more stubborn than you think, so just you wait,” you reply in a teasing manner. 
a muscle in his jaw spasms just as someone calls out your name, sparing him from having to respond. 
alhaitham watches as your face, the one he’s been enraptured with since the moment he’s laid eyes on you, lights up with an expression that he will never be able to bring out of you. 
you hurriedly climb down the ladder, your conversation with him long forgotten, and he doesn’t need to turn around to know who it is. 
“kaveh!” 
logically, it makes sense that you ended up with kaveh. he leads with his heart instead of his head, he lets his personal attachments get in the way of rationality, and he’s a person that will consider your feelings first and foremost. and above all, he has the capacity to love you. 
love, a mere chemical defect of the brain. love, needless self-sacrifice for a temporary high. love, a concept that alhaitham will never understand. 
the way you smooth out the non-existent wrinkles in your shirt,
the way you aimlessly fidget with your fingers and bounce on the balls of your feet,
the way you drink the can of black coffee he hands you even though you dump at least five spoonfuls of sugar in your normal cup, 
the way you suck on your bottom lip to hide the bitterness and smear away the lip gloss you put on especially for him,
the way your breath hitches when he laces your fingers through his and brings your knuckles to his lips,
the way you look at kaveh just like how alhaitham looks at you.
“you don’t like me very much, do you?”
no, he doesn’t.
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frozenjokes · 3 months ago
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commence slutfan135 (this goes just about as well as you’d expect)
“Hello, Mumbo!”
“Hey,” Mumbo mumbled without looking up, and it’s not that he was upset or anything, just very focused, adjusting the accents to the sides of one of his new buildings. Playing with color, with size, location, all of the things. He’d gotten really into building these past couple seasons, but in ten specifically he’d really been putting effort into the details. It was paying off too, he was truly very proud of his improvement. Wait, was that Cub?
Mumbo looked up and frowned in more of a baffled kind of expression, knowing very little of what he was seeing.
“What..? What.” Mumbo supposed he could answer that question for himself, though Cub seemed content to answer for himself, once again with his slow falling.
“You were impressed with me last time, I thought I might convince you. You sure you don’t want a potion? You’re an influential man, Mumbo, I’d like to have you on my side.” Cub smirked, and Mumbo was quite sure they both knew that is not what Mumbo had been asking about.
It seemed Cub had taken a page out of Scar’s book, wearing the tightest short shorts Mumbo had ever seen; honestly, Mumbo might’ve thought they belonged to Scar if he and Cub were the same size because Mumbo had never seen Cub show any skin in his entire time on Hermitcraft. He was also wearing a crop top, which, upon second glance was actually a binder, ‘135’ decorated across the front in blue sequins. Cub didn’t ditch the lab coat though, still stained top to bottom in dyes from his firework shop. Well. Maybe he was trying something new; Mumbo wasn’t going to be the guy to shoot him down if he was going out of his comfort zone.
“You look good, mate. But no, I’m okay on the potions.”
“Thank you,” Cub looked outwardly pleased, a nice expression on him, one that made you feel good as well. Maybe that was true of all smiles, but Cub’s was not one Mumbo saw often, not unless Mumbo was being sold something, which.. Well, that seemed to be where this was going to say the least. Mumbo turned back to his project, content to let Cub talk if he wanted to.
That is, until he realized Cub was falling directly over his head.
“Uh, might want to move over a smidge.”
“No can do, Mumbo, no can do,” Cub sighed, like this was a great inconvenience for the both of them. Mumbo stared, and Cub stared back. He wasn’t falling very fast.
“You sure? You can’t move?”
“Can’t.” Cub said, solemn, “You might have to catch me, I think that’s the only way.”
Mumbo got the distinct impression he was being tricked, immediately looking around for Scar or Grian or maybe even Skizz; who knew what the guys in the permit office were getting up to, they’d already taken down his permanent iron shop, named so because it was permanent, thank you very much.
Instead, politely, he said, “Oh, that’s alright,” and moved a step to the left. Cub looked utterly, genuinely crestfallen, like it had not occurred to him this could possibly happen. Mumbo chuckled as he turned away.
“Hey, wait a minute there-“ but Cub’s composure seemed to have left him once whatever he’d planned had gone awry. “I’m going to fall!”
“Seems like you’ve got a lot of practice falling, I believe in you.”
“But my potion’s going to run out- I didn’t set a timer, I don’t know exactly when, but- I need help, Mumbo. Help a guy in need, won’t you?” Cub extended his arms, and Mumbo was amused at how much he sounded like Scar, if Scar paused awkwardly between his sentences, but it was endearing nonetheless. Well, it would be endearing if Mumbo wasn’t 100% sure that Cub was exactly the kind of person who set timers for his potions, and knew exactly when it was about to run out. Also, Cub had an elytra.
“You’ve got an elytra, you’ll be fine.”
“Mumb-“ But Cub didn’t get to finish, yelping at he fell a few feet out of the sky, just barely catching himself with his hands, then grunting and rolling over, wearing an expression so resigned that Mumbo couldn’t help but laugh after he was sure Cub was alright. But he didn’t get the chance to help Cub to his feet when he sat up on his own, looking mildly miserable, “This is terrible.”
“You could have used your elytra, I don’t know why it didn’t activate.”
But Cub only repeated himself, “This is terrible,” before getting to his feet and flying away. Honestly, the whole ordeal was a bit baffling, but soon enough Mumbo was back to his build, and by the next day it was forgotten. Until Cub came around again.
“I made you something,” Cub called, landing normally this time a few feet away, though the voice out of nowhere still startled Mumbo, who hadn’t seen him coming. “Sorry,” Cub laughed, giving Mumbo time to wonder what in the world was going on. The last time he’d seen Cub three times in one week- he’d never seen him that frequently actually, especially not face to face. Well, Cub was in his typical get-up today; Mumbo hoped he hadn’t said anything that made him self-conscious.
“Made me something?” Mumbo mumbled, partially out of shock, but that quickly turned to suspicion when Cub set down a light blue shulker box, painted crudely with white clouds. “Are these slow falling potions?”
“No.”
Mumbo opened the box. They were slow falling potions.
“Maybe,” Cub shrugged, a sheepish smile wafting across his face, “And an elytra. In case you need an extra. They’re in the shape of a heart, see?” Cub pointed. Mumbo nodded, a little awkward. These attempts to get Mumbo to join Cub’s crusade of trendsetting were starting to feel a little sad. Alas, pity won over.
“How much?”
Cub brightened, which was a relief, “It’s free! Free for my good friend Mumbo Jumbo, yessir.”
Mumbo snorted, rolling his eyes, “You drive a hard bargain, but I accept. Thank you for the elytra.”
“Don’t forget the potions!”
“Uh, right.
Cub stared at Mumbo. Mumbo stared back. Cub put his head in his hands.
“Terrible,” Cub mumbled, “This is terrible.” And then before Mumbo could say a word, Cub flew off. Mumbo had no idea what to do. He’d meant to say something to Scar, but he didn’t run into him before the next day when Cub returned.
“Do you want to make out?” Cub had hardly landed before he asked the question, and somehow the startling nature of Cub coming out of nowhere and the content of his words seemed to cancel each other out.
“Oh,” Mumbo said, almost casual despite his internal surprise, “I’d rather not.” He didn’t like kissing very much. Matters of the mouth had too much to do with eating, and he found the sensation uncomfortable, even when he wasn’t overly hungry. Second to that thought was the sentiment that he probably wouldn’t want to make out with Cub anyway, they weren’t exactly close like that. Mumbo supposed he didn’t want to make Cub feel too bad though. “I don’t really like it.”
“Oh, yeah, I don’t really love it either,” Cub mumbled, but it sounded so thoughtful, so genuine, that Mumbo couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Then why’d you ask?” Mumbo laughed, not unkindly, just surprised, “And aren’t you and Scar like, married? Dating?
Cub snorted, raising his hands, “Married? I don’t think so. At least I hope not, because no one told me if we were dating either, though,” Cub shrugged, “Sometimes we take rituals from old books in woodland mansions, and neither of us read the language. We just follow the pictures and see what happens. That’s how we summoned Impulse on accident in season four.”
“Impulse? But he joined in season three, didn’t he? He was in season three, I remember him.”
“Oh yeah, we also sent Impulse back in time while trying to un-summon him. It’s pretty wild that you guys got those memories of him retroactively, Scar and I were really confused. We thought we’d done it, then imagine our surprise when we found Impulse back at spawn and everyone remembered him being there the whole time. Wild. Great guy though.”
Mumbo couldn’t help himself from gaping, a small laugh escaping him from the absurdity. He wondered if he was being extremely gullible right now; surely Mumbo would remember if Impulse came out of nowhere from the future. He would have said something, surely. Mumbo shook his head, letting it go. “So you think you got vex married?”
“I think it’s possible. Anything’s possible. We almost never do those things right though, we can’t read the instructions, you know.”
“Uh huh.”
“Wanna hold hands?”
“Not really.”
“We could have sex.”
Mumbo snorted, undecided if he was baffled or a little annoyed, “No thank you. If you’re pent up then you’ll have to find someone else.”
“I’m not pent up.” Cub huffed, like this was an offensive assumption for Mumbo to make, “I don’t even want to. I just want to hang out.” Mumbo was back to feeling confused, but Cub didn’t sound defensive at all, more genuinely frustrated, and none of this was making any sort of sense in Mumbo’s head.
“Well fine, if you want you can hang out.” Mumbo didn’t pretend he was all too particularly thrilled about this, he was uncomfortable, but he didn’t find Cub to be disingenuous either, so if things straightened out, Mumbo didn’t think he’d mind.
Cub, who was fidgeting unhappily, didn’t seem to share the sentiment, “I find you extremely difficult to talk to.”
“Well I can’t say I know why you’re trying so hard, mate!” Mumbo said, exasperated, and while the words had come out harsher than he meant them to, he really didn’t understand what Cub wanted. This didn’t feel like normal behavior, and it’s not like Mumbo knew Cub well enough to know, but that was just it! He didn’t know Cub! So why was he suddenly all in Mumbo’s business being awkward and weird when Mumbo had done nothing to warrant it! They weren’t even working on a project together! Their bases were nowhere close! Cub was going so far out of his way, and for what?
Cub said nothing, flying off in a huff of frustration that similarly made Mumbo’s blood simmer. What was Cub’s problem? What the hell did Cub want from him? Maybe Mumbo wouldn’t be so irritated if he wasn’t so damn hungry all of the time, but he was and he couldn’t do anything about it, especially not when Cub insisted on coming around and putting him in a weird mood.
Mumbo took a deep breath, struggling to calm himself down. A voice, no, an instinct at the back of his brain was egging him on, tapping on his nerves and riling him up, letting anger override sense and shame because it was just easier, easier to lash out, hurt, drive away. What would happen, he wondered, if Cub stomped off instead of flew. If Cub turned his back on Mumbo, open, unsuspecting, ripe for the taking. Mumbo would watch him go, he was sure of that. He could be meaner, give Cub a real reason to leave in a huff, he could hurt him, then find him at his spawn and do it again and again, silence him with a slit throat until the only screams he could manage were gurgled coughs as Mumbo systematically took him apart until he suffocated, over and over.
No one would believe him. No one, though maybe Scar, maybe a few others, but Mumbo had been here longer, Mumbo didn’t have a violent bone in his frail little body and Cub was a vex, a trickster and a liar known for holding his tongue, no, no one would believe him, not against Mumbo’s word.
A bead of saliva dripping off his chin roused Mumbo from his daze. He closed his eyes, hands shaking. Keep it together. Keep it together. He needed to get away. He wanted to change, he wanted to change so badly into something non-sentient, something that wouldn’t think and feel and hurt, but then it would be over. His time on Hermitcraft would end. Mumbo wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to throw away everything he’d made here, not yet.
He left immediately. He wasn’t sure where he was going, not off the server, but far, he just needed to be far away. He’d spend as much time as he needed to cull the hunger, keep himself together and sentient and whole. He’d stay far away from Cub for the rest of the season, avoid him at all costs. It was too appealing, too tempting- Mumbo couldn’t let that happen.
(And at the end of season ten, Mumbo knew exactly where he would start. Not even the fear of being completely overcome by a human murder in a human body frightened Mumbo; if anything, he desired it more than anything in the world, he wanted to be overwhelmed, paralyzed, choking on the feeling. He wanted it to hurt. Maybe then he wouldn’t feel the throb of starvation, always present, always at the back of his mind. Maybe it would feel good. If he endured it, maybe he would feel full.)
Mumbo was gone for nearly a week and he didn’t feel better. The relief was so temporary it could hardly be counted as relief at all, his only respite being the brief moments of thoughtlessness that overcame him when his sole focus was swallowing a large meal.
He wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he came home. Anxiety insisted there would be a confrontation, loneliness hoped Grian would be waiting for him, wondering where he’d gone off to for so long. Would Scar be around as well, looking for him? In truth he’d much prefer Grian; Grian never asked questions, only happy to goof around in the present, a respite Mumbo could really use right now. Scar’s questions weren’t even pushy, they came from a genuine place of interest that made Mumbo’s heart squirm, but Grian didn’t bother with small talk, he didn’t much like it, which was Mumbo’s preference in the end. Though, if Scar was around, Mumbo could ask him to have a word with Cub..?
No one was there. No one was waiting for him, as was typical. Mumbo wondered miserably if they even noticed he was gone, though he knew the thought was a product of his own secret heartache. It wasn’t unusual for hermits to disappear for weeks at a time for the sole purpose of shoveling sand; no one would assume anything was wrong if Mumbo didn’t say something, which.. Safer to have them all believe everything was just peachy. Far worse to have anyone keeping close tabs on him.
Mumbo dumped his things in the chest outside the entrance to his moth ball, ready to curl up and wait for the worst of this to pass.
“Mumbo,” Cub’s voice made Mumbo shriek, swiveling around to see him perched on the top of the moth ball where he was not seconds before, or maybe Mumbo had just missed him, but whatever the case Mumbo found himself stumbling backward, then directly into the death pit he used to get into his house. When he woke up in bed, Cub was perched on the chests across from him, unmoving, almost like he’d teleported, but the illusion was broken when Cub replaced the block wide hole in his ceiling.
“Get out. Get out.” Mumbo whirled on him, sensing Cub’s fear on his palate, open mouthed, breathing it in, and Mumbo had to forcibly snap his mouth shut against invisible hands that were desperately trying to keep it pried open.
“Are you alright?” Cub asked, meek, though he shook his head, almost embarrassed, “Obviously not, I know it, I just-“
Mumbo didn’t remember moving, but Cub’s ribs cracked under his hand all the same, the same traitorous fist taking Cub’s shirt collar, drawing him back from the wall just to slam him back against it, head slamming into the wall. Mumbo smelled blood amongst the fear, teeth grit against the allure but lips drawn back in a snarl.
“It’s okay,” Cub wheezed, fighting a cough that would shake his whole trembling form, “Do what you have to do.” Their faces were so close, too close, but when Cub opened his eyes, forced them open, lidded and quivering, making himself meet Mumbo’s..
Mumbo whipped Cub through the hole in his floor, jerky and violent because there was no other way he could have done it, no other way he could make this problem go away. It was lucky that Cub landed in the water. It frightened Mumbo when he wasn’t moving at first, laying limply in the small pool, but Cub grunted when the potion of healing hit his stomach from above, then slowly, arms shaking with the effort, brought it to his lips. The strain of Cub’s body relaxed as the potion took effect, Mumbo’s relaxing in turn. Still, Cub took a moment to recover, pushing himself to his feet on shaky limbs, then with a small smile, sighing heavily, like he was appreciating the feel of a deep breath, of holding air in his lungs.
And then he looked up, meeting Mumbo’s eye poked anxiously out of the hole in his elevated home.
“Cheers. See you tomorrow then,” Cub said, casual as ever, waving lazily.
“You-“ Mumbo tripped over his words, alarm driving all rational thought from his mind, replaced with the brain of a cornered animal, “No! No! I will not- Stay the fuck away from me!”
“Ahaha,” Cub shrugged a small laugh, hands snugly in the pockets of his lab coat, “Yeah, bye Mumbo.”
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ramspatula · 1 year ago
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IRON SPIDER| Tony Stark Daughter! Reader
This is the first chapter of my Tony Stark daughter| reader book. If you can’t tell. Reader is going to get bit by a radioactive spider at some point.
You are now part of the MCU! Congrats!
Next part
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2001, 3 days after (Y/b/d)
"JARVIS, these lights are practically blinding me."
"Turning down the exposure, sir."
"I don't know why we have these lights on so bright!"
"I believe your condition may influence you to believe the lights are brighter than they are."
"Just say I'm hungover, I won't disable you over it."
"I wish I could say the same for the lights."
"Well I didn't want such bright lights." Tony groaned, keeping his eyes shut and resting an arm them.
"Mr Stark, your lawyer is here to see you." Pepper announced from the doorway. Tony's face scrunched in confusion, he didn't have a meeting with his lawyer or any of his attorneys for at least a week.
"Am I in trouble?" He asked.
"You should go find out." Pepper said, sternly.
"Are you going to spank me if I am?" Tony smirked and Pepper's face didn't change.
"Your lawyer is waiting on the couch and Obadiah wants to have dinner next week when he gets back, is that all Mr Stark?"
"Yeah, I'll go see what he wants." Tony nodded and swiftly moved out the room.
★・・・・・・★
"James! What brings you to my home? I break something? Someone? Vandalism? I sell something to the wrong people? Get someone pregnant? Noise complaint-"
"Mr Stark, please sit down. This needs to be dealt with in a timely manner." James told him before placing down in front of him an open folder. The folder contained an empty birth certificate and a picture of a newborn baby girl in a hospital crib.
"What is this?" Tony questioned.
"2 days ago, a woman was rushed the hospital as she was in labour and delivered this baby. She gave the hospital no name and no medical information except a contact number and told them to ask for the father of this baby, Anthony Stark." James started and placed before Tony a warn business card that said:
'Call me, Tony ~
P.s the room is payed for and there's a car waiting to take you wherever you want to go outside.'
There was a number at the bottom of the card which was for Happy's work cell. It was no doubt Tony's handwriting but Tony had slept with lots of people and none of them had a kid yet. This wasn't his kid.
"So what does she want? We're speaking if the kid is mine, 50/50 custody? Millions in child support? You know your silence is really nerving me." Tony asked.
"Im sorry, Mr Stark but you haven't heard all the context just yet." James clarified before continuing, "Last night, this woman left the hospital without this baby and no intentions of taking her along. That leaves two options, you claim that this isn't your child and she gets put into the system or your can get a paternity test and decide from there." Tony stared blankly for a couple minutes at the images in front of him.
"Mr Stark, I understand this a difficult situation-"
"She looks like my dad. Right before he died when he became an actual old man only he didn't look as peaceful as she does." Tony found himself smiling, babies has a tendency to make anyone smile.
"Have you thought over your options?" James asked and Tony shook his head.
"If this kid comes with me then there's a high chance she'll become fucked up but the system only produces messed up kids anyway. I think it's better if I'm the one who fucks her up, at least she'll know a sense of stability." Tony closed the folder. "Bring her here, I'll do the paternity test and you guys can be here to see the results. I'm assuming the mother gave up all her rights?" Tony questioned and James nodded, perplexed.
"If you are the father then all the rights for the child will be granted to you but if you aren't she will be put into the system." James told him and he nodded.
"Are we finished?"
"I just need to call the hospital to let them know." James said before standing up and when he was far enough away. Tony threw himself back into the couch and sighed, his hangover felt worse then before.
"JARVIS, what does a baby need and how does a single father give a baby what it needs?" Tony called out.
"Placing an order for baby formula, diapers, clothes and books involving caring for a newborn."
"You're the best."
★・・・・・・★
A newborn mainly only slept, cried, ate, peed, shit and slept again but they're so small. Holding one in your arms made you more aware of your surroundings, more afraid to move even slightly, your thoughts will become so filled with anxiety of things that could happen to them that you feel yourself begin to work up. At least, that's what Tony found out. There were at least 10 people in the room with him, including the baby. Everyone's attention was focused on the two very similar DNA strands shown on the holo-screen.
"Congratulations, Mr Stark. You are a father." Jarvis' voice rung out through the lab and Tony felt a small, overwhelmed, smile rise to his face.
"Well, that settles it. Where's the birth certificate?" Tony asked and Pepper's face dropped in shock.
"You're keeping her, Mr Stark?" She asked and Tony only smiled harder.
"She's my daughter, I'm not abandoning her." He announced picking the newborn up out the temporary crib and nestling her in one arm and turning her around to face the DNA strands. Her eyes weren't open but it didn't deter him.
"You see that? You're my daughter, those are half my genetics. If you're anything like me, you'll understand what that means by the time you're 4." He smiled as Pepper held the birth certificate towards him and a pen. He signed his name and then paused looking at the section where the baby's name would go.
"Leave the room for a bit. I want some time with my baby."
"Mr Stark-"
"Go!" The room soon dispersed and Tony sighed looking down at the little girl.
"What should I name you?" Tony asked but the baby only moved a little hand towards him before silently opening her eyes slightly to look up at him. Her vision wasn't great and wouldn't be for awhile but it still felt as if she was looking directly at him.
"My mother's name was Maria. Maria Stark? Name you after her? She'd like that. No she wouldn't. She’d want you to have your own name okay. Angel? You look like one. Angel Stark? I can't do that to my kid. Uhm... Lets see... (Y/n)? That's cute. I like that. (Y/n) Stark? That's good, nice... (Y/n) Maria Stark? Mom would've liked that. She would've liked you. You might've been able to make your grandad smile. Granted that's if he knew how to do that. My Dad wasn't that loving. He wasn't very nice to be honest but I won't be like that. Although, I do like to drink too so I hope you don't mind. I won't do it often or in front of you! I think I can make this work, being a Dad and a CEO and a inventor. I think my playboy career might take some damage though but that is a sacrifice I'm willing to make as I've seen what it has given me. No offence. (Y/n) Maria Stark." Tony said as he wrote her name on the certificate and smiled.
"You really are about to change my life, you know that?" He whispered and in response all he could hear was the almost silent breaths of a newborn baby.
★・・・・・・★
"Tony! What's this business I hear about you having a baby? You want maternity leave? What are you a woman? Get a nanny and let's get to work!" The voice of Obadiah Stane rang through the living room of the Miami mansion and said man was greeted with shushing.
"I have been awake every 3 hours last night! To feed, rock and cuddle that baby! You will not wake her during my hours of peace, it takes me longer to get her back down than it does to reassemble an engine." Tony's hair was everywhere, his t-shirt has a spot of baby sick on and there was a distressed looking baby cloth thrown over his shoulder.
"You look like shit."
"You don't look much better. How was New York?"
"You've got a baby in the next room and you're asking me about New York?"
"Okay let's settle this. Yes I have a baby. Her name is (Y/n) Maria Stark and she was born on (Y/b/d) at 7lbs. Now tell me why you're here because I could be taking a nap right now- you know I'm supposed to sleep when she does?" Tony told him making his way over the kitchen where his new sterilising invention had sterilised 6 of his new baby bottles and 2 pacifiers.
"No I don't -going into the baby business now?" Obadiah asked, staring at all the new baby inventions.
"I think we should because being a parent is hard."
"You've been a parent for like 3 days Tony."
"A week and half."
"What?"
"She was born 2 weeks ago and I got her 3 days after she was born." Tony told him, grabbing the coffee that Obadiah had brought him and taking a sip.
"You're really keeping her?" Obadiah questioned and Tony scrunched his face.
"Yeah, she's my kid." Tony answered.
"You do realise what a big responsibility this is? No more playboy parties. You can't bring her gambling and partying! Unless you're getting a nanny which I think you should. No one can raise a kid like a woman." Obadiah told him and Tony stared at him with a blank face.
"Just for that, I'm going to prove you wrong." Tony jabbed him in the chest. Before Obadiah could respond Jarvis' voice sounded through the room.
"Miss Stark is awake and hungry."
"You want to meet her?" Tony asked as he prepped a bottle, a little cry could be heard and Obadiah frowned.
"She doesn't sound happy I'm here." He commented and Tony shrugged.
"Be back in a sec." With that Tony left the room and came back with a small figure resting against his chest in a pink sleep suit.
"This is her?" Obadiah asked in shock. He didn't know what he expected but it wasn't to see Tony so comfortable with such responsibility in his arms.
"You think I've got some random baby laying around? Yes it's her, she's hungry. Can't you tell?" Tony asked, gesturing to the way the baby was mouthing. "Want to hold her whilst I sort this bottle out?" He asked and Obadiah looked wary.
"Tony I-"
"Good. Support her head- don't look so awkward. There you go! Now don't move." Obadiah had never looked so stiff. He stood, unmoving, as Tony made his way to the still cooling bottle.
"You know, there's a reason I never had kids." Obadiah commented to which Tony ignored and tested the temperature of the bottle on his wrist.
"Sorry honey, still too hot." He said and Obadiah began to absentmindedly rock a little, the baby was looking up at him with big, judging, eyes.
"She looks like you."
"I thought she looked like Dad."
"Yeah well, I still find it hard to separate you and Howard. Look- she's even got that look you give me!" Obadiah commented and Tony chuckled.
"What look?" He asked.
"Like I don't mean shit." Obadiah told him and he genuinely laughed.
★・・・・・・★
The door to the lab opened quietly. A lone rocking chair could be seen by a desk, a holo-screen was placed in front of the rocking chair where two figures were seated. Colonel James Rhodes made his way towards the chair and paused a few feet away.
"So the rumours are true? Tony Stark settled down." Rhodey said and a quiet chuckle could be heard.
"I didn't settle down, I just had a baby." Tony told him with a smile and from the new position Rhodey could see the little girl.
"God she looks like you. Where's the mother?" Rhodey questioned and Tony shook his head.
"Gone. I have no clue where. I haven't had the time to look into it." Tony told him and looked down at his kid.
"How old is she?"
"1 month. Didn't expect you to be away for so long. What they have you do? Flood out some terrorists?" Tony asked and Rhodey chuckled.
"Nothing as interesting as that or this. She's so small?" Rhodey leaned more towards the baby.
"Do you want to hold her?" Tony asked and Rhodey smiled.
"Really?" He asked, giddy.
"Yeah, come on. Be careful she's asleep. She likes to be against your chest." Tony told him as he helped Rhodey adjust the baby onto his chest.
"I got it- oh she's so small. What's her name?" Rhodey asked and Tony sat back down on the rocking chair.
"(Y/n) Maria Stark." He announced and Rhodey smiled.
"Like your Mom?" He asked and Tony nodded. "That's nice. I didn't think you'd be the sentimental type, Tony." Rhodey commented and Tony smiled.
"Well my Mom meant the world to me and now so does she so it's only fitting." Tony shrugged and Rhodey nodded in approval.
"I can't believe you had a kid." Rhodey shook his head in disbelief and Tony rolled his eyes.
"You do know you're an Uncle now." Tony told him and Rhodey's face dropped, Tony just laughed.
★・・・・・・★
"Todays top story: Tony Stark, Inventor, Millionaire, CEO OF STARK INDUSTRIES and infamous playboy has announced that he has had a child"
"New Stark heir announced: (Y/n) Maria Stark."
"Tony Stark has welcomed a daughter into the world, (Y/n) Maria Stark. The 6 month old..."
"Infamous Playboy is now a single father? Tony Stark has been revealed to have a baby daughter."
"Are we about to see a new Stark generation? More about the announcement of Tony Stark's new parenthood."
"Tony Stark has had a daughter, (Y/n) Maria Stark was born on..."
"No, I didn't know you were going to announce the existence of my infant daughter to the whole world!... No that is not your decision-....I don't care! You had no right to announce my daughter's birth without my approval! At the very least you could've told me you were going to announce her!... I know you announced it. The company doesn't make public announcements like that on its own... I am not going to let my daughter be free publicity for the company!... Obadiah, I don't care what benefit it has for investors to see me as more. What? Domestic. I don't care.... I'm done talking to you. Bye." Just as Tony hung up a cry was sounded through his bedroom.
"Yes honey, I know, I'm upset too." The little 6 month old stared up at him with big watery eyes from where she was sat on the bed next to him.
★・・・・・・★
"JARVIS? Are you recording?"
"Of course sir."
"Come to Daddy. Come on, you can do it!" The 8 month old stared at him for a moment. She was in the position to crawl and had tried numerous times before. "Come on, (Y/n). You've got this, sweetheart- Yeah! That's it!" Tony clapped as the baby crawled slightly towards a toy in front of her and laughed when she saw her father be so ecstatic. She moved to sitting down and clapping with him.
"Da!" She had been saying for the past 2 months. She didn't associate the word with Tony yet but he reacted all the same. Overjoyed and happy. From that moment she crawled she never stopped until she found her father's toolbox. (Y/n) didn't have a clue what any of the tools did but it was a sign to Tony that she was going to have the same brilliant mind that he did. She was a Stark, through and through.
★・・・・・・★
Tony still had to go into work sometimes. No matter how much he hated going to his office nowadays it was still obligation and there's only so much of Pepper's nagging he can take. However, that being said he was still Tony Stark so he was going to bend the rules. That's how he ended up walking into multiple important meetings with a baby on his hip. Sometimes it was meetings with government officials or international ambassadors for militaries that were interested in his technology. It was safe to say they were surprised at the appearance of the baby or at least weren't expecting her.
"Tony, you know you can't bring her here."
"Who says? It's my company, she doesn't effect my work. In fact she helps, she knows what a screwdriver is-"
"Screwdriver"
"-See? My little helper. She's talking a lot now. You should come by more often, you're missing out." Tony pointed at Obadiah as (Y/n) made work of trying to climb over his shoulder to see above the chair they were sitting on. She likes the big glass window behind them.
"Jesus Tony, you sound like a woman." Obadiah chided and Tony chuckled pulling his daughter down and sitting her on the desk where she immediately took offence to some decoration Pepper had put on the desk and kicked it off with a groan.
"I never liked that one either. Thanks, honey. And to answer you, I don't give two shits."
"Shit." (Y/n) repeated with a cross face and both men chuckled.
"You're not telling her off for that?" Obadiah asked.
"No she doesn't know what it means plus I say it too much to kick out my vocab so I'm letting it stay in hers too."
"People are going to criticise you for this."
"The world is cruel to a single father, Obadiah. At least I'm rich." Tony said
"Rich." (Y/n) repeated.
"She already knows she's worth more than me." Obadiah commented and Tony chuckled.
"I've been trying to get her to say millionaire but it's not quite there yet sounds like 'milloner'." Tony told Obadiah who smirked.
"You're close to being a billionaire, Tony. I think this next deal may make that happen." Obadiah told him, placing a folder down in front of him.
"Maybe." Tony agreed and Obadiah picked up at toy on the floor and handed it towards (Y/n).
"I believe this is yours, little missy." He told her and she only frowned and looked upset and he only got an answer when Tony looked up from the file.
"She doesn't like to be handed stuff- just leave it there, if she wants it she'll take it." Tony told him before going back to reading the file.
"The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree, huh?" Obadiah murmured.
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deathmetalunicorn1 · 2 years ago
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I loved your Loki headcanons! They were really cute! If you're still doing requests, what about some more fluff! Maybe some drunk!husband x reader? Just have affectionate do they get when they had just a bit too much and then see their wife?
-Loki- Is a total puppy love type of drunk, as soon as he sees you when he walks in, totally sloshed, he is immediately in your arms, his head in your lap as he was laid out on the couch you had been sitting on, “Y/N~ I missed you so~ much~!!” you can’t help but giggle down at him, seeing how adorable he was acting. He rolled over so he was looking up at you and you smiled down at him. Tears immediately welled in his eyes, a hand coming to cup one of your cheeks, “You’re so happy- why are you happy?” you giggle, holding his hand to your cheek while your other hand fluffed his bangs away from his slightly sweaty forehead, “I’m happy that you’re home.” A few moments later you were dealing with a sobbing Loki burrito who was crying in your lap, overwhelmed with pure happiness that you were just happy that he was home.
-Tesla- On rare occasion, his brother will drag him away from his work to relax and spend time with him, when you don’t have ahold of him. When he arrived home, having a mid-week, mid-day bender with his older brother, he was barely walking, stumbling everywhere before he caught himself on the doorway to the kitchen of your home, seeing you there, making some stew. His eyes widened as a smile spread across his lips, “Y/N~”  you turn, a bit surprised to hear him home before a grin rises to your lips, giggling as he stumbled over to you, reeking of alcohol, but wraps his arms around you, ���I love you so much~ I want to marry you Y/N!” your giggles increase as you squeeze him back, “Nikola, we’ve been married for three years now.” You felt him flinch in your arms before he pulls back, looking at you like you were lying before tears welled in his eyes, hugging you again, “We’re married~~” you laugh, patting his back gently before telling him to go and take a bath and you would have dinner ready shortly.
-Hermes- Drinking with Zeus was always a wild ride, but Hermes felt like death, he was nauseous, dizzy, and just wanted to go to bed. He remembered faintly entering the home he shared with you, but then everything was dark for a bit. When his eyes opened again, he found himself in his bed, his head in your lap and he felt a wet washcloth on the back of his neck. You were reading a book and stroking his hair, soothing his headache and you smiled down at him, “Hello handsome, how are you feeling?” he rolled only slightly, so he could look up at you, his hands coming to cup your cheeks and you did the same for him, your thumbs stroking his cheeks gently, “Y/N…you’re so beautiful, do you know that?” your cheeks redden only slightly but you smile, “You tell me all the time, but it always make me smile when you tell me.” he smiled up at you, adoration in his eyes before you pat his cheek gently, “I’ll go make you some tea.” He grinned warmly, flopping over onto his belly, “What did I do to deserve you?” you giggle but you didn’t answer, leaving him to wonder what he truly did to get you.
-Lu Bu- His liver of iron makes it hard for him to get drunk, as in really drunk, but on the very rare occasion he is totally smashed, he is like a giant, murderous, cat. If he’s around strangers, he’s going to be throwing hands with whoever is around. However, if he’s with you, he will have his head in your lap, his arms around your waist, while you brush your fingers through his hair, basking in your attention. He usually doesn’t speak much when he’s like this, he will occasionally squeeze your waist when your hands stop, which you think is rather cute. When Lu Bu gets drunk like this, you better be on your bed or at least somewhere comfortable, because he’s going to lay there for at least two hours, or if you managed to lull him to sleep, then you might have a slim chance of slipping out of his grip. It’s better to just get comfortable and cuddle with him or nap with him until he sobers up.
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