#I gave it one go to do the text box over my scribbles and hated it so lol - full version or nothing! Haha

[sysig]

*You give him a laptop (Patreon)

[spookyhalloweennights]

The Patterns of You (Artaruk: SFW)

First place fic for @featherednutcase featuring a minotaur doctor! I hope you love it! <3 If you like my work and want to read more, check out my Masterlist! As always, requests and matchups are open!

You had just moved into your own house, excited to have finally been out on your own in the world. The job you had snagged provided you with enough income to live comfortably, and the city that you were in was practically perfect. As your friends would say to you, you had everything going right and it seemed as though nothing could tear you down. However it had seemed that your good luck had run out, after moving completely into the house, you had gotten sick which had forced you to take a day off of work which was something you hated doing. 

After taking some over the counter medication, you had felt good enough to return to your job the next day. Only for you to wind up in bed again with the sniffles and a raging headache, you had called the doctor’s office that was closest to your home while idly drawing patterns on your skin with a pen cap. The small flower disappearing quickly as you did so, which made a smile tug at the corner of your lips. Your friends had spoken positively of their soulmates, each one having already found their partner after scribbling down where they had lived on their skin. But you, you had received nothing back when it came to the drawings, not even an inkling as to if you actually had a soulmate. If you did, they may not have cared as much about the drawings as what you did. 

The thought caused a frown to cross your features and for a moment you didn’t hear the receptionist speaking on the other end of the line. When a long sigh came from the other end of the phone, you were jolted back into reality. Apologizing quickly, you had scheduled an appointment for later that evening with a relatively new doctor. You hadn’t paid close enough attention to what his name was, you just wanted to take a nap before the appointment. Once everything was scheduled, you hung up the phone and curled up under your blanket with a box of tissues next to you. 

When the alarm on your phone went off a couple hours later, you shut it off with a quiet groan, almost annoyed that you had been disturbed from such a peaceful sleep. For a brief moment you could’ve sworn you saw something written on the back of your hand but you dismissed it for the time being as you got up. Making yourself at least somewhat presentable in a pair of sweatpants and a loose fitting shirt you grabbed your keys and headed out to your car. 

The drive to the doctors office was a short one, about ten minutes at tops and you had managed to find a parking spot close to the door. After you had checked in, you had waited in their waiting room, idly messing with different games on your phone. You paused in your game, getting an idea as you began to draw little flowers all over your arm, hoping for some sort of response from your soulmate as the image you had drawn with your nail lightly disappeared in the blink of an eye. When nothing came back, you sighed softly and returned to your game until your arm had become itchy, you glanced down at your arm with a smile. Finally you were getting a response. 

“They’re beautiful.” Was the simple phrase scrawled in sloppy cursive read. You couldn’t help but giggle at the words on your skin. 

“Thank you, it took you long enough to respond.” You wrote back, adding a small smiley face at the end of the statement. It only took a few moments before another phrase was beginning to rise up on your arm.

“I’ve been busy… I love the little notes you give me, my name is Artaruk. I may not be able to respond back, I have an appointment coming up. The work never ends.”  Was the reply, you laughed quietly, looking up as the nurse had come out into the waiting room and called your name. You stood, stuffing your phone back into your pocket as you followed the nurse back into one of the exam rooms. 

She had gone over the basic information before jotting down the symptoms you described to her. After promising the doctor would be in shortly, you began to trace little patterns along your arm, something to amuse yourself in the meantime. Finding out that you did in fact have a soulmate made your day about a thousand times better. 

There was a gentle knock on the door before the doctor had walked in, you had nearly gasped in surprise. He was a huge black and white Minotaur with small horns, smiling at you, he greeted you warmly. 

“Good evening, I am Doctor Trevino.” His voice was soothing with the hint of an accent that you couldn’t quite place your finger on. “I see you have been having symptoms akin to a cold, no?” He questioned as he looked over your file and the notes the nurse had written down. 

“Correct, it’s been going on for awhile now, I just want to get better so I figured it was time I came in.” You answered honestly, watching as he typed on the too small keyboard carefully as if he was going to break it if he pressed down on the keys any harder. 

“Since it’s been going on for awhile now, I’ll send some medications over for the pharmacy to fulfill, you should be better in no time.” He gave you a charming smile that no doubt would have other girls melting. But not you, you were just grateful that whatever it was you had going on would go away soon. 

“Thank you doctor!” You chimed, slipping off of the table that you had been sitting on in the exam room and making your way to the receptionist desk to pay for the visit before you drove to the pharmacy. 

The medication that the doctor had prescribed had worked for a short while before it went right back to square one. And the process had repeated itself several times before Dr. Trevino had made a suggestion during one of your visits. 

“Have you had the house you moved into fully inspected? Sometimes things are hidden and aren’t caught right away, like mold, if you have allergies that could be what’s making this cold linger so long.” He had mentioned to you offhand, the more you had thought about it the more it had almost made sense. 

You had called an inspector out, and it had turned out that the house did in fact have mold in it. It had put a damper on things and your wallet would take a hit with the removal fees, but that was all worth it once the house was cleared. 

In the meantime, you had finally managed to get a number out of your soulmate, finding yourself texting them at all hours of the night when they had gotten off of their shift. While you had drawn them flowers and little notes throughout the day, they had hastily scribbled down reminders that made you laugh. Your soulmate had even gone as far as to ask you to text them every so often to make sure they had indeed done the thing they needed to. 

You had asked them several times to meet up with you, and each one had been blown off as they couldn’t get off of work and you were starting to think you’d never meet them. Until they had texted you out of the blue one evening asking if you had wanted to go on a date with them the following day as they had a day off from work. You had eagerly agreed to it and he had suggested a nice café in town that you swore had the best drinks on the menu. 

What you hadn’t expected was to see Doctor Trevino sitting in a booth. You had glanced around before texting your soulmate, asking where they were sitting. When you heard Doctor Trevino’s phone go off, you grinned as he responded back to the text you had sent him. Shortly after your phone had vibrated with the new text, you walked over and slid into the booth seat across from him. A look of surprise had crossed his features momentarily before he smiled at you sheepishly. 

“I didn’t expect it to be you but this is a pleasant surprise.” He began with a quiet laugh, you nodded in agreement. 

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you Doctor Trevino, or should I call you Artaruk?” You asked teasingly, the waitress swinging by your table to take your orders. 

“Artaruk please.” He answered with a smile. The waitress appeared a few moments later with both of your drinks in hand. 

The date had gone over really well, and you had left the café in high spirits. You had talked about everything and anything that had come to mind. But the main thing had been why he hadn’t bothered to respond to any of your other questions that you had written on your skin for your soulmate to, he had soothed your worries, explaining that he had seen each and every question. But he was a bit of a scatterbrain and would forget to write an answer back, or at times he was too busy to respond. He was a doctor that traveled from one practice to another, wherever they needed him he went.

Enough so that you had eventually agreed to go out with him a second time, and then a third. But eventually, you had managed to get yourself sick again. Catching a cold from one of your coworkers had you bed-ridden for a week. Artaruk had even used some of his days off to come take care of you despite you being rather needy at times. It was worse this time around, and it almost seemed as though as soon as you had started to feel the slightest bit better, it immediately got worse again. Artaruk had scolded you multiple times as you would do things that you shouldn’t be while you were sick. 

“It’s still not going down.” He huffed, checked your temperature for the tenth time that day, a deep frown covering his features as he retrieved the bowl of soup he had made you. You hadn’t been able to keep much down other than the soup and saltine crackers that he had crushed up and mixed into the soup. 

“I’ll be fine, nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” You croaked out, your throat sore from all the coughing you had been doing, the cough drops he had gotten you weren’t helping much either. You had figured that all you would need to do was ride the storm out. 

You had propped yourself up enough that you could take the bowl from his hands, shooting him a thankful smile as you began to eat it. While you didn’t eat much, it was enough to satisfy the minotaur when you had said that you were done. 

“I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you making me food.” You sniffed, the Minotaur playfully rolling his eyes at you.

“Probably not make it through these trying times.” He huffed a laugh before reaching down to ruffle your hair lovingly. 

You smiled and shifted, scooting over in your bed so that he could join you. “Snuggle me?” You asked innocently.

For a moment it had seemed as though he was debating on if he should or not before he finally sighed in defeat. Climbing into the bed next to you, he held open his arms and you had instantly snuggled right against his chest. His fur was short but still really soft and you never got tired of messing with it when you could. He had pressed a kiss to your forehead as you finally began to drift off to sleep, the first time you had felt comfortable since getting this sick. 

With Artaruk taking care of you, considering that he was a doctor after all, you were feeling better in no time. A couple of days after he had started taking care of you, you finally felt well enough to go back to work which was something you were grateful for. Although a couple of nights after you had started going back to work, you had come home one evening to find your minotaur sprawled out on the couch with a dozen tissues scattered around the floor. He had glanced up at the sound of the door opening and merely gave you a half-hearted wave before laying back down with a groan.

“Not feeling so well?” You asked almost teasingly, setting your bag down by the door as you walked over to him and placed your hand against his forehead. He felt warmer than he normally did, so you had begun to set to work. “I told you to take the day off, call in sick and rest up but no, you didn’t want to listen to me and instead had gone into work to help them out.” You huffed at the bull who had dismissed it with a wave of his hand. 

“At least I wasn’t interacting with patients, it was just organizing the files and stuff that day since they heard me sniffing.” He sighed, reaching for a bottle of water that was on the coffee table right beside him. You could only laugh in response to his excuse. Remembering how the two of you had bickered about whether or not he should go to work, you walked into the kitchen and began to make soup for him. 

As the smell drifted throughout the small house, he gave a quiet chuckle. “Thank you.” He hummed, climbing up off the couch and walking into the kitchen, only to rest his chin on your shoulder. You laughed in response and playfully nudged him. 

“Hey now, back up there mister, I don’t need to be getting sick again, I just got better and one of us needs to be bringing in the money for this house.” You teased, Artaruk merely huffed in response before sitting down at the table. It wasn’t long before you felt the familiar itching of your arm, glancing down you noticed there was a little heart and all you could do was smile in response to it. 

“I love you too, but I think you need to listen to me better next time. Especially since I’m the one who gets sick the most.” You chided, the bull laughing in response to the statement before coughing. 

Plopping a bowl of soup down in front of him, you sat across from him at the kitchen table. He eyed the bowl warily before taking a spoonful of soup. You were going to treat him exactly how he treated you when you were sick, and you were going to enjoy  every second of it. When he was done and you had felt he ate enough, you had cleaned up before motioning to the shared bedroom. 

Once inside, he had plopped down on the bed before tugging the covers up over him. Closing his eyes and drifting off into a light sleep, you ran your fingers through his soft fur. “Sleep well Doctor, I hope this passes quickly for you.”

[writingsbychlo]

let me down slow (epilogue)

word count; 2830

summary; it’s moving day, and stiles is getting his dorm all set up with the sheriff, while you and mitch still have a considerable amount more unpacking to do.

notes; I know some of y’all didn’t like the events of part eight, but you’re just gonna’ have to deal with it, because they’re adorable, it was all a misunderstanding, and they deserve the world.

warnings; none, really. some vaguely dirty innuendoes, that’s it.

Smoothing your hands over the poster on the wall, you pressed it flat to the plaster, holding it steady as Stiles pinned it down straight, and you cheered once the final one was up, the collection of Star Wars posters lining the walls making the room seem entirely perfect for your best friend. Hopping down from the bed, you smoothed out the covers, before letting both of your hands fly up to meet Stiles’ in a set of high fives, and the pair of you cheered as you took it all in.

“It’s really getting there!”

The oversized corkboard he loved so much was sitting against one wall, a shelf you’d spent almost an hour trying to put up between the pair of you as the Sheriff laughed was now assembled, with three baskets sitting along it. The first contained bundles of assorted pins and paperclips for putting up the vast assortment of photos and collage pieces that added, the space freshly cleared so that he could build it up ready for the new year. The second basket contained his camera, with a selection of different types of film for interesting shots, and the third was filled with pens and note pads for all the annotations and quotes he would put under each picture. 

The opposite wall was lined with six matching Star Wars posters, showing off the promotional pictures and titles of the originals and the prequels, a prized possession that you’d bought for Stiles as a graduation present, so that he didn’t have to take his collection at home down and travel them across the country. His desk was already cluttered with notebooks and pens, and the closet was brimming with flannelled shirts. The bookcase was stacked with textbooks and DVDs. Above the desk was pinned a campus map, class schedule, time table and a calendar, all for his convenience, because Stiles had already voiced his desire to cram as many college experiences into his first year as he possibly could, he wanted to live life to the fullest.

Along the windowsill were photo frames with his favourite pictures of everyone from back home, and he was proudly staring at the final few boxes on the floor, as his dad carried the last one in, the final clothes he had ready to be unpacked into the set of drawers beside his bed, your hand coming up to wipe across your forehead in false exhaustion as you looked around. 

“It’s fitting for you, kid.”

His voice was a little rough, and you could tell that the Sheriff was holding back his emotions as he sent his youngest son off to college, too. He held his arms out of you both, and Stiles rolled his eyes as he let out a string of curses at the affection, but pressed his face into his father’s neck as he wrapped around one side of his body, not covering the little sniffle he let out as well as he thought he had. You were quick to follow in his footsteps, tucking yourself happily under the older man’s chin, and you squeezed the two men in a tight hug. 

You easily remained that way, knowing that the two were each trying to hide their emotions, and you smiled to yourself at the thought, rolling your eyes softly. “You know, dad, I’m going to be checking with Melissa that you’re still eating healthy. Don’t think you can start eating bacon and fries every day now just because I’m gone.”

“You’re the worst.”

You giggled as he pushed you both away, but he ruffled your hair fondly, and you decided to lighten the mood a little, turning to swipe the camera from its place on the shelf, checking it was loaded with film before handing the polaroid device over to Noah. “I think we need to take the first picture to put up, don’t you?”

Stiles gasped, nodding happily before turning to you, and you pressed your hands to his shoulder once he’d turned back to face his father, and you jumped up as high as you could, sealing you legs above his hips and he gripped at your thighs, letting out a laugh as you landed on his back, your hands wrapping around his neck. With the cheesiest grin that you could muster, the Sheriff gave you a count down, before clicking the camera and waiting as the small piece of paper pushed it’s way out of the device, before handing it over to you both and putting the camera down on the desk.

Holding up the little slip, he waited patiently as the colour began to drip into it, the picture slowly revealing itself, and you let out a squeal once it became properly formed, so that you could see the image clearly. “I love it! Pin it!”

You tapped his shoulders, and he moved eagerly across to the board, selecting a pin and pushing it through the card, securing it to the very centre of the board. Only a second later, he was grabbing a red pen and a yellow post-it note, scribbling down a reminder before adding the note to the photo, and you peaked over his shoulder to read it. 

‘Move-in Day, August 2020’

You grinned, taking the pen and adding a little heart to it, before placing your hands on your hips and looking around the room. The phone you’d left on the bedside table a while ago buzzed loudly, chiming a little tune as it did, and you jumped at the interruption. Stiles moved across the room for you, picking up the device before letting out a long groan, and you chuckled at his reaction, already knowing who it must be.

“It’s my brother. Your boyfriend. Ew, I hate the sound of it, still.” You grinned at his words, sticking your tongue out as you took it from him, scanning your eyes over the message, before reaching for your bag and sealing the device inside, lifting it up onto your shoulder. “Time to go?”

“Yeah, unfortunately. You’re unpacking these last few boxes alone.” You joked, and he huffed, kicking at one lightly with the toe of his shoes. 

“Not alone, Dad is here to h-”

“Dad is going back to the hotel to rest his back and take a shower. Stiles is alone and putting his own laundry away for the first time in his life.” His dad grinned, and the boy let out a whine at it, stomping his foot a little before giving in. 

“See you tonight, at the restaurant?”

“We will meet you there.” His face scrunched up once again.

“I can’t get with the referring to you and Mitch as a ‘we’. I’m not used to it.” You shrugged, but leaned up to press a friendly kiss to his cheek, before letting him wrap you up in a tight hug, and brush his lips to your temple. “I’ll get used to it. I’m just glad you’re happy.”

His dad left the room, leaving you both to your moment, even though you were only saying goodbye for a few hours, but he was a little jittery once the door had closed. 

“Can I tell you something, before you go? I don’t want it to be a big deal, but I do want to tell you first.” You nodded, brows furrowing as he fiddled with his fingers between your bodies worriedly, and you reached up to place your hand over his own, letting him lace your fingers together. “Now that I’m not obsessing over Lydia anymore, and I’m in college and really taking a minute to get to know myself, I think I discovered something.”

“Is it good?”

“Yeah.. yeah, I think so.” He was nervous, biting down on his lower lip, and you squeezed his hand reassuringly in an attempt to tell him that it was okay. “I think I might be bi.”

A blushing tinge spread over his cheeks, his eyes ducked to avoid your own as the heat spread up to his ears and painted his pale skin pink, and you leaned in to press your body to his, your arms wrapping around him tightly, and he let out a deep sigh, before wrapping himself around you once again, his body sagging out of relief. 

“There was this guy in my welcome lecture, and he was really good looking, and while I was still in my Lydia phase I didn’t really think about anyone else that way, so I was pretty shocked when my first thought was about a guy, but then he asked me if I wanted to get coffee before the semester starts, and I said yes. We’ve been texting for a few days, now.” The words came out jumbled and hurried, and you stepped back to look at him, making sure to catch his gaze as he gave you a nervous smile. 

“I’m so happy for you, Stiles.”

“I’m going to tell my dad and brother at dinner tonight, but I just needed some support.” You nodded, before stepping back as he let out a relieved laugh and wiped a hand over his face. “God, I feel so much better. I hate keeping things from you. I don’t know how you did it for months, having secrets with you kills me.”

“It wasn’t without a lot of suffering, trust me.”

He grinned, before nudging you towards the door. “See you in a couple of hours.” You simply nodded, waving your goodbye to the Sheriff as he chatted with the other parents of Stiles’ various roommates for the year, and you made your way to the door, stepping out into the corridor. 

With hurried steps, you made your way down the stairs, knowing it would be quicker than taking the elevator, and you were just glad Stiles was living on the first floor, you really weren’t sure he’d be able to handle hiking up twelve layers worth of stairs to the top floor on a tired day if the lift ever broke. 

It wasn’t a short walk to the place you had promised to meet your boyfriend, and the walk was enjoyable, hot sun shining down and a light breeze carrying through the campus, cooling you down from the heat. Shuffling through your bag, you searched for your sunglasses, lifting them out to place them on your face, and letting out a happy sigh when you no longer had to squint. 

You could already see the man you were waiting to meet, his body coming into view as he sat on the edge of the fountain, scrolling idly on his phone as he waited for you, the bag slumped on the floor beside his feet was spilling out with textbooks and his laptop, and his hair was messy from constantly running through it. Picking up your speed a little, you made your way over to him and took up before him, your shadow falling across him. He glanced up, expression stoic and stony before he realised who it was, and his face split open in a wide grin as his entire demeanour brightened. 

“Thought you were standing me up for a second there. You’re late.”

“Yeah, well, I got caught up. You can believe that I will never just leave you hanging.” You offered, and he scooped up his bag, swinging the strap over his shoulder before standing up, and he took your chin between his thumb and forefinger. 

Pulling you in towards himself, he bumped the tip of his nose with your own, before letting out a sigh. “I know you wouldn't.” He pressed his lips to your own, a sweet kiss that made your heart thud and your mind spin, before you were pushing up into him a little further. Resting your hands on his shoulders, his own slipped down to your waist, holding your body to his as his mouth moved with your own in gentle rhythms, and giving you one final peck when he pulled away. “Ready to go?”

“Absolutely.” He took your hand in his, pulling you away toward the direction of the apartment the two of you had so carefully chosen together, and you leaned your head against his shoulder as the two of you walked. He twisted, pressing a sweet kiss to the top of your head, and you squeezed you hand in acknowledgement of his affections. “Guess who I ran into earlier?”

“Who?”

“The redhead from a few weeks back.” He stiffened underneath you, only relaxing when you paused, leaning up to press a quick kiss to his lips as he fixed you with a worried glance. “Her name is Cassandra, which you never told me, and she’s actually really nice. We arranged to go for coffee.”

He practically choked on his breath, turning to look at you with wide and worried eyes as he held the door to the building open for you, and you slipped through, letting him follow as you laughed lightly at his reaction. “What was she doing there?”

“Her friend was moving into Stiles’ building, and she was helping out.” You shrugged, the two of you stepping into the elevator and you were glad to be alone, leaning back against the wall and pushing your glasses up onto the top of your head to peer at him, raising a brow. “Hey, stop freaking out. I can see the cogs working in your head. She asked about us, you know.”

“What did she say?”

“Just wanted to know if I was all good, and if things worked out.” You shrugged a little, your glasses slipping on your head, and you detangled them from your loose hair and put them away once again. “I told her that we’re doing amazing, and that I’ve never been so happy, and that we have a place together with a whole bunch of plans for the future.”

He finally let his shoulders drop from the tension he’d built up, before tucking some hair away behind your ears and stepping in towards you, crowding you into the wall a little further. “Never been so happy, huh?”

“Totally and one hundred percent in love with you.”

“I love you too.” He whispered the words into your mouth as he leaned down to kiss you, barely getting a chance to do so before the elevator was chiming and the doors were sliding open. You grinned in the kiss as he huffed out, pulling away and letting the two of you walk along, both of you patting down your bags to find your keys, but he found his own first, and lifting the set up to the door to open it.

Boxes still littered the room, labelled with things to be unpacked and brought out, but whereas Stiles had been unpacking only one room, the two of you had been unpacking an entire apartment, and there was still a lot to buy and a lot to set up, the flat-pack furniture box holding the coffee table the two of you had yet to assemble was sitting with coasters out and rings on top from drinks, using it for its purpose before it was even constructed. 

“We’re still on for dinner with Dad and Stiles, right? I don’t think we have any leftovers from last night’s takeout and I’m too lazy to go for a supermarket trip.” He flopped down onto the couch, and you nodded, hanging up your bag on the hooks and taking your phone from it, running you fingers through your hair and tugging on some of the knots that had built up.

“Yes, we are. Are you going to get changed, or wash up?”

“No, I'm going to take a nap.” He grinned, settling along the couch and tucking a hand behind his head, pouting his lips when he felt you lean over him. Pressing a soft and quick peck to his lips, you brushed some hair off of his forehead and out of his eyes, before standing up. 

“Okay, well, I’m going to take a shower before we go.”

You jumped when his eyes snapped back open, and he rolled up from the couch, grinning cheekily as his hands found your hips and he turned you around. “You know what, maybe I should wash up. We haven’t christened the bathroom yet, and I bet you look great on your knees in the shower.”

He tapped your ass cheekily in a light spank, and you gasped at the impact, but laughed anyway as he guided you through the halls, tugging at the bottom of your sundress as you went, until he had the material over your head, dropping it to the floor in the doorway to the bathroom. “You’re incorrigible.”

“You love it.” He teased, switching on the water and waiting for it to get hot as he stripped himself down, and you let out an exaggerated sigh. 

“I love you.”

“Good, because I love you too.”

[ficsandgiggles]

Belonging

Chapter Three - The First Morning 

Previous Next

A lot more fluffier with this chapter, I’ve added Bucky and Nat to the series. Let me know who else you want to join! 💕

I woke up the next morning with a yelp, the unfamiliar surroundings bubbled up my anxiety real quickly. It was strange, I was warm, dry, and inside?

Soon, I remembered everything, including the moment Tony came at me like he was going to attack me. That was more enough for me to decide that I was not going to leave this room. It was comfy enough, I’ve lived in smaller places.

I got out of bed and explored the room a little more, my eyes cast upon a small box with an envelope which has my name on it. Curiously, I went over to see a brand new phone, my eyes widened, observing it closely for a few moments until I opened the letter.

‘Hey Y/N,

I spoke to Mr Stark and he agreed to get you a phone so we know you’re safe. The rest of us are hanging out in the lounge if you want to come join us, the other are eager to meet you. I’ve written my number down so if you don’t feel like coming down yet, text me and I’ll come up.

I hope you slept well!

Peter :)’

I couldn’t help but smile a little when I read the letter, immediately setting up the phone and adding Peter’s number into it. I decided to text him saying I wasn’t ready to meet everyone yet. Bless the kid, he’s really trying to make Stark sound like he doesn’t hate my guts.

A few moments later, there was a knock at my door.

“Hey, it’s Peter.” He called out, so I immediately opened the door and he looked relieved to see me, as if I was going to run away or something. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug. I adored his hugs, because they’re so tight that it feels like my broken parts are being put back together.

“How was your night?” He asked once he pulled away, opening the curtains and giggling when I pretty much hissed at the sudden sunlight shining into the room.

“It was okay thanks, best nights sleep I had in a while...” I replied, letting my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness before cracking my knuckles and stretching. Peter nodded with a smile as he sat on the bed.

“I was just wondering... do you have... anything? Like clothes or just general personal belongings?” He asked. I looked down at my bundle of clothes on the floor, I had been in the same clothes for around a month now, it was all I had.

“Not counting those.” He added quickly as he saw my eyes gaze over my old clothes, so I shook my head, playing with the bottom of the shirt I borrowed from Peter. I also remembered I hadn’t showered from a while, I must be stinking the place out.

“Alright, plan for today then, you keep the clothes you’re wearing for today, have a shower, then I’ll take you shopping. I was thinking maybe Miss Romanoff could come with us, I think you two could really get on well together.” He suggested, smiling gently as he gave me a small bag of bathroom stuff.

I honestly didn’t understand why Peter was being so nice to me, especially after I was such a jerk to him back when I was at school. It was overwhelming, and I didn’t realise I was crying until Peter pulled me into yet another hug. “Hey, what’s the matter?” He asked gently.

“I just don’t understand... why are you being so kind to me after everything I put you through?” I asked quietly, nuzzling into Peter’s shoulder, just really needing to feel some love right now. I felt Peter give me a little squeeze before holding my chin up so I was looking at him.

“I knew you weren’t being mean just for the sake of it, I could tell there was something going on, so in a way I sort of took it, and hoped to find a way to help you release your anger better.” He explained as I broke down in tears again, I remembered how he tried to make conversation with me so many times and I just pushed him away. I was awful.

“But as I said, let’s put the past behind us and move on, yeah?” He said softly as he showed me to the bathroom after I calmed down. “I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready.” He told me before heading downstairs.

The shower was incredible, I felt so clean for the first time in ages, I must have spent at least 45 minutes in there. Once I got dressed, I went down to see quite a peculiar sight.

There was this brown haired guy, who seemed to have a metal arm, pinning Peter down as he tickled the snot out of him. From what I can understand, Peter pulled some sort of prank on him and this man was now getting his own back.

“Squirty cream in the shoes, really Parker?! But who’s laughing now, huh?” He growled as he let go of Peter’s hands to drill into his ribs. I saw Peter’s legs fly everywhere as he broke into hysterical laughter, it was quite an adorable sight.

“Mr Bahahaharnes, I’m sorry! Mr Wihihihilson dared me!” Peter tried to explain through his giggles, but the so called Mr Barnes wasn’t having any of it, he just rolled his eyes and squeezed his sides rapidly.

“Yeah, and it’s his turn later. However, you accepted the dare, so you must suffer the consequences!” He growled, shaking his hand into Peter’s tummy, which seems to be a really good tickle spot on him as he curled up and screeched with laughter.

“FIHIHIHINE, MY FRIHIHIHIEND IS HEHEHERE!” Peter yelped as he shoved the guy away, running behind me and using me as a shield.

The new guy stood up, walking towards me but looking at Peter. “This is the new housemate, huh? Names Bucky Barnes, and you need to keep an eye on this little punk before he destroys your socks.” He warned, looking behind me to glare at Peter.

I bit my lip, nodding silently as I played with my hands, but my nervousness was soon killed by Peter scribbling under my arms, causing me to squeal and throw my hands down. “He’s joking, Y/N, he’s just a big softie.” Peter told me as he nodded at Bucky, not that I could see.

“Ah, ticklish one too?” Bucky grinned and gently but rapidly squeezed into my sides, leaving me trapped in a tickle sandwich. I broke into louder giggles, my nervousness leaving me as I squirmed between the two of them.

“Okahahahahay, quit it!” I laughed, covering my face as I fell back into Peter’s arms. He caught me, pinning my arms away for a second so Bucky could playfully shake his fingers into my ribs, causing me to kick out and laugh.

“I heard you needed a laugh, kid, so here’s my contribution.” He smiled before letting me go and shaking my hand. “Good to meet you, now I gotta go and bother Steve. I’ll see you around.” He said before giving Peter’s side one last squeeze and leaving the two of us.

I turned around to face Peter, who gave me an innocent smile. “You’ll get used to being tickled, it’s kind of a pick me up thing we have here.” He explained as he saw Tony watching them from a distance.

Surprisingly, Tony walked towards us, putting his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “You really can be a jerk to ol’ Barnes, kid.” He chuckled as he then looked at me, his face dropping a little. “I trust that you slept well?” He asked, the lack of expression on his face frightened me a little, but I nodded.

“Y-yes sir... thank you for your hospitality...” I whispered quietly, backing away from him a little as Peter put his hand on my shoulder, giving Tony a look.

“You’re welcome, but if I hear you bullying anyone here, you’re straight on out of here, do you understand?” He said sternly, my body shook nervously as I nodded silently in response.

When Tony left, I looked at Peter with a terrified look, he returned an apologetic look to me. “Sorry... he sometimes.. finds it hard to let go of the past, and he sees me as his son... he’ll come around to you, I promise.” He said gently, smiling as he saw someone come in. “Ah, here’s our shopping buddy!” He greeted.

I turned around to see a gorgeous, yet badass looking woman, there was no way I wanted to mess with her, she looked way too intimidating.

“Y/N, this is Miss Romanoff, don’t worry, she’s actually a real softie, she just pretends to seem cool.” He grinned cheekily as the woman smirked and pulled Peter beside her, skittering her nails all over his belly as she gave me a warm smile.

“You can call me Natasha, or Nat. It’s nice to have another kid to liven things up like this little shit does.” She smirked, casually tickling Peter and ignoring his helpless squeals and giggles.

“Hey Nat, it’s nice to meet you.” I replied with a shy smile, not really taking any notice of Peter’s squealing laughter.

“I’ve been looking forward to this as soon as Peter suggested it, I’ve been meaning to buy a new watch.” She said causally, showing me the watch. “Shatterproof my ass.”

The casual conversation instantly relaxed me, I gave a shy chuckle and nodded. “Shame, it’s a nice watch.” I complimented, looking at the watch as Nat smiled, shaking her fingers into Peter’s ribs, making him shriek with laughter.

“If I can replace the top bit, do you want it? I fancy a new one anyway.” She offered, and I looked at her with wide eyes. “Really?” I managed to squeak out shyly.

She nodded after letting Peter go, ruffling his hair. “Yeah! It’s yours after I sort it out.” She said, looking at Peter who was still recovering from her tickles. “So what are you waiting for? We’ve been ready for ages!” She giggled, winking at me to make me crack a smile.

Peter rolled his eyes as he began walking to the car, I began relaxing a little, I think this was going to be a great day.

[vintagedolan]

mixtape | track three

| masterlist | faceclaims | playlist |

Indiana was sure she’d never had a longer Monday in her life, and Tuesday wasn’t looking any better. Her lecture droned on and she did everything she could to stay engaged, from downing the rest of her water bottle to doodling on the side of her notes. 

Just as her professor started to move into the brachial plexus, she saw a small message notification appear in the top right corner of her laptop screen. A text, from Grayson.

Wyd? :)

It took all her power not to scoff in the middle of the room. The fact that he’d actually sent her a ‘wyd’ was almost too much.

learning, what’s it to yah

She scrolled to catch up with her professor, trying to keep up.

I’m bored

You want a vanilla oatmilk latte later, right?

Or did I not remember that right

Triple texter, of course. She typed out a quick shhh, unless you can teach me about the brachial plexus I gotta pay attention. I’ll text you when I’m out and turned back to her notes, scribbling out the diagram that her professor was drawing on the board.

But she still smiled when she got a p sure you just made that up but okay :) from him. 

Lecture sped up after that, her professor moving much too quickly through the nerves and innervations of muscles within the plexus that she could barely wrap her head around. She was going to have to review all of it again to even begin to fully understand. At least it wasn’t chemistry like it had been last semester - anatomy she could handle because at least it was interesting. Before she knew it she was closing her notebook and laptop, throwing them in her bag and heading out the door in a bid to get to the hospital faster. 

Little did she know, Grayson was waiting in line at Jet’s already, having come to the city much earlier than he needed to, toe of his Air Force One tapping on the tile as his nerves ran wild. He caught his reflection in one of the windows and paused to double check himself, just like he had that afternoon in his mom’s hallway, looking in the mirror that was hanging on the wall. Ethan had caught him in the act, and he knew it wouldn’t slip past him. 

“Alright, spill. You’re being sus.” Ethan’s words were garbled by the PB&J  in his mouth, but it still made Grayson panic a bit.

“Am not.”

“Cut the shit Gray, you only wear belts when you’re trying to impress somebody and I highly doubt you’re trying to woo over the kids. What’s her name?”

“I hate you.” 

“Interesting name.” That earned him a middle finger.

“Indiana.”

“Actual interesting name. She cute?”

“Very. And smart. And funny too. Good with kids.”

“And tick tick tick go the soulmate boxes. You gonna try to make a move?”

“We’ve talked one time bro. That’d be bold.”

“Yeah, and you’re you.You fall in love when somebody blinks at you right. Case made. Let me know when the wedding is.”

Grayson didn’t have a comeback for that, so he just huffed a bit and let out a “fuck off” before he turned to head for city an hour before he needed to. 

“Next… Next.” 

He pulled his head up, realizing the line had disappeared in front of him. He moved up to the counter, hoping he’d remembered her order right since she’d yet to answer him again.

“Can I do a large dark roast, and a large vanilla oatmilk latte please?”

Down the line, a man with an impressive beard and large gauges perked up as Grayson put his card into the reader. 

“Wouldn’t happen to be for Indiana Cross would it?” 

He wasn’t sure what the right answer was, so he just went with the truth. “Yeah, actually it is.”

Based on the way that the man squinted his eyes at him, Grayson realized it was apparently very much the wrong answer. 

“And you are?” He asked.

“Grayson.”

“Grayson.” He repeated, obviously waiting for an elaboration.

“I uh… I volunteer with her at the hospital?”

Right answer. The man relaxed, going back to making coffee with a nod. He tried to run through the possibilities while he waited for the drinks. Brother? Probably not. Ex-boyfriend? Possibly. 

“She’s a good egg, used to work here before school got to be too much. You’re lucky to have a friend like her,” he said after passing over the drinks. 

Protective manager. Not what he expected, but he understood. He had a feeling it wasn’t just him who had gotten attached so quickly.

“Yeah, yeah I am for sure. Thanks, have a great day.”

“You too…” he trailed off, waiting. He didn’t know if he’d forgotten his name already or just didn’t want to admit he remembered it.  

“Grayson.”

“Right. I’m Patrick. See you around.” 

“Yeah man, see you.” 

Grayson headed out the door, balancing one cup on top of the other so he could text her quickly. 

You at the hosp yet?

no, I’m not at the ‘hosp’ haha I’m walking there now

You didn’t text me when you got out of class

I’m hurt

boo hoo

:(

Lemme just 

Throw this coffee away real quick

hey hey now those are fighting words

oh shit I never texted you about the coffee, but you were right, vanilla oatmilk latte

I’ll give you a pass this time since you were learning about the brachial whatever

You’re lucky im awesome and remembered

wow

the most awesome

love to see it

just wait outside of jets, I’ll be there in a minute

Okay :)

He did as she asked, moving out of the steady stream of people that were on the sidewalk to watch people who passed, waiting for her. Every time he saw a head of blonde hair he perked up, until finally he recognized her moving towards him. She was dressed more casually than on Sunday, with a baggy crewneck on with her jeans and Air Force Ones. 

She noticed him a moment after he saw her, so by the time she laid eyes on him he was beaming, putting his phone away and moving towards her. 

“A large? You spoil me,” she teased, taking the cup from him gratefully. It was delicious as always, but she was more focused on his outfit – a tight black long sleeve shirt tucked into a pair of nice maroon pants, a large belt buckle resting on his waist. 

“We match,” he grinned, pointing a toe out to show off his shoes. It was about the only thing that matched – she felt frumpy next to him in her comfy clothes that she wore to class. Even her Air Forces were dingy compared to his, dull and dirty.

“Uh huh, right. I didn’t know that our first joint Buddies meeting was a fashion show, give a girl some warning next time, will yah?” 

“Oh shut up, you look cute.” 

Her eyebrows went up as she looked down at herself, then back at him. He threw her back the same look of disbelief.

“Did I stutter?” He asked, practically daring her to argue with him. She just blushed and shook her head, taking a drink of her coffee as they started towards Frazier. They walked shoulder to shoulder and Indiana was grateful – it was fractionally less common in the colder months, but she always got her fair share of cat calls on the streets. After getting to know him, she didn’t find Grayson even slightly intimidating anymore, but she still had the image of him on that bench, broad and serious, and she knew it was no coincidence that everyone fell silent with him beside her. 

It was a new feeling, having to hold herself back. She’d never had the urge to wrap her arms around someone walking next to her, reach out and hold onto their arm, even just reach down to hold their hand. It made her giddy and skeptical at the same time as she tried to distract herself, watching the cars drive by, honking at each other. 

“Where’d you go?” Grayson hummed, bumping her just barely and pulling her out of her head. Her heart swelled a bit hearing her signature phrase fall so easily from his lips, which seemed much pinker than she’d last remembered as he took a sip of his coffee and waited for her answer. A few moments later he quirked an eyebrow – a very well-manicured eyebrow. Did he get those waxed? She resisted the urge to reach up and smooth down her own that she knew were bushy and definitely not as nice as his.

“Indiana. You good?” He tried again, 

“Hmm? Oh yeah, yeah I’m good, sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize, I was just checkin on you. Do we have a plan for this meeting or do you normally just go with the flow?”

“Depends on the mood she’s in. I’ve got some stuff in my bag – cards, my school stuff cause she likes to help me study sometimes. Other times she just likes to play 20 questions or hang out and talk. You’ll be the new shiny toy, so prepare for a bunch of questions. Especially about your teeth earrings.” 

He balked as they got to the doors, following her quick steps into the lobby.

“I’m sorry my what?” 

“It’s not everyday someone has diamonds in their teeth sir.”

“Okay but they aren’t teeth earrings, give me some fucking credit.”

“Definitely teeth earrings.”

“Jewels.”

“Teeth. Earrings. Oh my god, I’m gonna introduce you as teeth earring guy.” Her laughter filled the elevator as they stepped in.

“Oh god,” he groaned, letting his head fall back against the side of the little box as it moved up to the second floor. Indiana gave her most mischievous grin when the doors opened, walking quickly through the halls. It took Grayson a minute to realize that she was trying to beat him to Bekah’s room and he sped up his steps, trying to keep it casual as he passed rooms of kids and families, walking as fast as he could without full on running down the hall. They didn’t see the nurses laughing at their antics, but they didn’t care. Indiana side stepped into Bekah’s room abruptly, so fast that Grayson almost knocked her over trying to stop behind her. 

Bekah was up walking around in a hoodie and leggings, and when she turned she immediately pointed over Indiana’s shoulder.

“Teeth earring guy!” 

They couldn’t help it – they both busted out laughing, Indiana grabbing onto his shoulder to keep herself from falling over. When they finally got it together he spoke up first.

“My name is actually Grayson, but you can call me teeth earring guy if you wanna.”

“I’m Bekah Newcomb. Mandatory intro spiel, I’m 15, stage 3 leukemia. My parents aren’t pieces of shit, they just work a lot so they’re never here. No siblings because why mess with perfection. Any questions?” 

Indiana bit her tongue – she had forgotten about the spiel, forgotten that it was Bekah’s favorite way to test new people, make them uncomfortable. Her eyes flickered over to Grayson, but he had the biggest smile on his face.

“Only one, but it’s very important. You ready?”

“Hit me with it,” she said, anxiously waiting. 

“Is cereal a soup?” 

Indiana couldn’t have planned a better intro for the two of them – they bonded so quickly right there before her eyes, debating the constituting factors of soup, and it had her melting to see him interacting so easily with the girl who meant so much to her. Bekah didn’t even attempt to put up her usual front, just laughed and joked with him as if she’d known him for years. The hours flew by, games of war and BS passing the time as Bekah sat at the top of her bed and Indiana and Grayson sat at the end of it, knees touching as they resisted the urge to peek at each-others cards. 

The only hiccup came when Bekah got her meds at 7, but she put on her best show for Grayson, managing to keep her stomach settled enough to avoid puking. It was the most fun visit either of them had had in a while, and Bekah fought her drowsiness until visiting hours were over at 8. Indiana had to be the voice of reason, starting the goodbyes before the nurses came to kick them out.

“Are you both coming back on Thursday?” Bekah called out as they headed for the door. 

“Hell yeah we are. Want us to bring anything?” Grayson grinned.

Indiana liked the sound of us.

“Cereal, so we can test our theories.” 

“You got it. See yah Thursday Beks.”

“See yah Thursday, Earrings.” 

His laugh was so loud that the nurses at the desk peeked their heads around to see what was happening – but they were smiling up at the two of them as they signed out and started down the hallway they’d come up. 

As soon as they cleared the ocean hallway, Grayson turned to her.

“Was that okay? Like was that good?” There was genuine concern in his voice, and Indiana had to bite back a laugh. 

“Are you seriously asking?”

“Yeah, ‘course I am.”

“Grayson she loved it. She loved you. I haven’t seen her smile that big since she’s come in for this round of treatment. Were you worried about that?” She didn’t stop herself from reaching out and holding onto his shoulder, squeezing lightly as they stopped walking. 

“A little,” he admitted, relaxing under her touch.

“You’re a natural, I told you that. I promise you did great, I wouldn’t bullshit you.” 

He stopped walking for a minute, and there was an intensity in his gaze that had her stomach fluttering.

She didn’t know what she expected, but it definitely wasn’t for him to say “Can I take you to dinner?”

“Now?” Stupid answer.

“Well, it is dinner time. But if you aren’t hungry I could wait a while. Or if you don’t want to go, that’s totally okay, I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything just cause we’re doing this together and we share a buddy and-”

“I want to go to dinner,” she cut him off, and he could see the hesitation on her face.

“I sense a but coming…”

“But -”

His heart sank a bit - he’d fallen into the trap he always managed to get himself into, falling too quickly, making his move too fast. But it was natural to be next to her, to talk to her, to have her hand stay on his shoulder. He liked the feeling of her there, the sound of her laughter and the brightness of her smile, and he couldn’t quite hold himself back it seemed. It made the rejection he knew he was about to get hurt even worse. 

“But, I have to study tonight,” she sighed, and there was a genuineness to it that had him breathing a bit easier. She actually seemed disappointed, and the hope he felt rose up again.

“Oh yeah, the biceps whatever thing, that shit sounded complicated.”

“The brachial plexus, but A for effort,” she teased. “No but seriously, I gotta get that shit down or I’m gonna forget everything she said about it today. But I really do wanna go to dinner, I’m not blowing you off.” She rushed through her reassurances, dropping her arm and starting to walk again, towards the stairs this time.

“I believe you. How about Thursday, after we hang with Beks?” 

“Yeah, I can do Thursday!”

“Gang.” Fuck. He’d been doing pretty well at hiding all the slang he’d picked up in LA.

“Did you… what?”

“Nothing, pretend you didn’t hear that. Thursday sounds great. Oh, before I forget, can you bring some non-dairy milk with you when you come?”

She paused for a minute, looking up at him from a few stairs below like he’d grown another head.

“You want me to bring milk… non-dairy milk… to dinner.”

“No! No no, for the cereal! I just have a long drive and I don’t want it to get all gross and hot on the way, and since you walked I figure you live close by. I can venmo you for it.”

“Oh! Yeah, I can bring some, you don’t have to venmo me for it, no biggie.”

“Okay cool. Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t ask you to bring milk on a da- to dinner. Bring it to dinner. That would be… weird.” His cheeks burned hotter than he realized they could. The fact that he’d almost slipped and said date had embarrassment and panic coursing through every inch of his body, and he could already hear the way Ethan was going to laugh when he told him the story later. 

Of course Indiana heard it, but the way he was blushing to his ears had her pretending she didn’t.

“Thursday it is then,” she grinned, opening the door of the stairwell and holding it until Grayson passed through. The massive windows of the lobby were painted indigo, washed out a bit by the city lights but dark nonetheless. 

“Damn it’s dark,” he muttered. Even though it was beginning to get dark earlier now with autumn on the horizon, it was still much dimmer than he was used to.

“It’s supposed to storm the rest of the week, probably just the clouds,” she shrugged. She looked small for the first time to him, headed towards the doors.

“Can I drive you home? It’s really dark out.” The words came out before he could think them over - that seemed to be the effect she had on him. 

“Oh, it’s okay! I only live like three blocks from here, by the time you get your car I’ll probably be home,” she reassured him with a smile.

“Can I walk you then? I don’t like the idea of you walking out there in the dark by yourself.”

She paused at the door, and he half expected her to turn and remind him that she was very much capable of walking herself. But she surprised him, as she always seemed to do.

“Yeah, yeah that would be really nice actually. If you don’t care.” 

“No, I’d love to. You ready?”

She nodded and pushed the doors open, hair blowing back in the wind as she walked outside. The temperature had dropped significantly, the true sign of a storm coming through just as she’d suggested.

He took his spot beside her, shortening his strides so he didn’t stray too far from her, standing tall and broad. Indiana felt small next to him, but in a good way for once. It was even more comforting than earlier, and she took slower steps than she usually did, trying to draw it out as long as possible. She tried to convince herself it was because she wanted to procrastinate studying, didn’t want to have to tackle her notes, but in reality she knew it was because she didn’t want the night to end. 

It was a comfortable kind of quiet, the bustle of the city streets creating the perfect background noise as they weaved down the sidewalks. Indiana felt like if anyone looked at them they’d be able to see the little bubble of nervous energy surrounding the two of them - it had her feeling like she was back in middle school, giddy because the cute boy looked at her for two seconds.

Much too quickly, her apartment building appeared, tall and imposing in the dark.

“This is me.”

“Damn, that really was a short walk.”

For once, she wished it had been longer.

“Thanks again for walking me.”

“Yeah, yeah no problem, anytime. Um… have a good night.” He could hear the awkwardness in his tone, felt like it was palpable in the city air.

“Goodnight Grayson. Drive safe.”

“Goodnight Indiana. Sleep safe.”

That earned him his new favorite smile, but only for a moment before she disappeared into the lobby.

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

 “Bro, will you fucking focus?” 

There were few things that annoyed Grayson more than his brother taking too long to finish his reps on the equipment, but that day he’d become his own pet peeve. In his head, distracted, constantly checking his phone - and Ethan was beyond annoyed.

“Alright, out with it. The fuck is goin on in there?” Ethan smacked Grayson’s head lightly, concern starting to overpower the annoyance. 

“It’s nothing, let’s just finish this shit before it rains again,” he huffed, moving to the single pull up bar that he’d built last year and starting his reps. The sky was a dreary gray, the cold of autumn starting to come in and clinging to everything it touched.

It wasn’t nothing. Actually, it was much much more than that, and Ethan knew it too, but he didn’t pry. Yet. He did his best to keep his brother focused for the rest of their Wednesday work out, encouraging him to get more reps, to push a bit harder. It didn’t seem to clear his head at all, and Ethan held his tongue for a few more hours, waited until they were both showered, in fresh clothes and in the kitchen making lunch for him to finally ask again.

“Is it the girl? Indiana?”

Grayson didn’t answer, but the look that he threw Ethan from his spot in front of the stove told him enough.

“What’d she say? Lemme see.” 

He passed his phone over, moving back to stir soup he was making as Ethan read the message. Grayson remembered exactly what it said, even if his twin didn’t mumble it out as he read.

“Hey, about dinner tomorrow. Turns out my sister and brother in law are moving out of my place (finally) because Charlie got a new photography deal and I promised I would help them move :( but we could do dinner on Saturday night if that works for you still? If not it’s okay. What’s wrong with that?” Ethan asked.

“She doesn’t wanna have dinner,” Grayson muttered, watching the soup spin in the pot as he stirred.

“That is so not what that means. Is this seriously what you’ve been pouting about all morning?” Ethan had to bite back his laugh. He hadn’t seen his brother this in his head about something in a while, and he didn’t want to make him feel stupid for being worried. “If she didn’t want to have dinner, she wouldn’t have asked about Saturday.” 

“How do you know? You haven’t even met her.” 

“Cause I’ve had a girlfriend for two years. You just learn what they mean in their texts even if they don’t say it.” 

The last thing Grayson needed in that moment was a reminder that his brother was in a very loving relationship, but he let it slide. Eden had come into their lives a few years back, a fireball of take-no-shit and feminine power unlike either of them had ever seen. It was a learning curve, and Ethan was determined to ace the test. Grayson was glad that he had - she’d become a sister to him, and she brought fun and laughter to their life out in California. 

“Call Eden, see what she thinks,” Grayson said, scooping soup out into bowls for the two of them. Ethan did as he asked, pulling up facetime and letting it ring through until she appeared on the screen, wide smile bright against her tanned skin, California sun bright in the background. 

“Hey baby! What’s up?”

“Grayson’s having girl problems.”

“Oooo I love girl problems, hand him over,” she teased, still beaming when Ethan passed over his phone. 

“Alright hit me with it, what’s the tea?” 

Grayson tried to give her the short version of how he and Indiana had met, but he found himself elaborating with each detail that he remembered, from every word of the text down to the way she said goodbye the last time he’d seen her, only the night before. It felt like longer than that. 

Eden was quiet for a moment after he finally finished the story, but by her coy smile he knew she was just trying to figure out how to word everything correctly. 

“Okay, so first off, just to clear things up, she’s not blowing you off.”

He wanted to believe her, desperately, but the doubt must have still been obvious on his face, because she rolled her eyes before she launched into her explanation.

“She texted you today instead of tomorrow, which probably means as soon as she found out she told you. That’s a good sign. She’s nervous too, that’s why she said ‘if not it’s okay’, cause she’s trying to give you an out if you want it.”

He very much didn’t want an out. He actually wanted an in.

“The fact that she reached out at all shows that she cares, and she’s trying to set up another time which definitely means she’s interested. Most girls would just wait to see if you would set up another one, that’s what I would have done. Tested to see if you were invested. But if she’s willing to do it, that means she must be pretty sure of you. Or totally oblivious to the fact that you like her. Either way, you’re in good shape.” 

“Who said I like her?” He muttered, getting a barking laugh out of both members of his audience.

He let them fall into conversation without him, the quick catch up of their day that they’d been doing lately since they were on opposite sides of the country. It was hard for Ethan, but he managed it well, with plenty of sappy texts and nightly facetimes that would have Grayson gagging but secretly wishing he had someone to talk to like that.

He wondered what Indiana was like on facetime while he ate his soup. He wondered what her favorite color was, why she took oatmilk in her coffee instead of regular, what her class schedule was. Wondered what time she woke up on the mornings when she could sleep in, what she’d want to do on a real date, what her room looked like. He never realized how much mental space he had for someone other than himself or Ethan, and he found himself obsessing the smallest things, trying to ignore the butterflies it brought to his stomach.

Ethan didn’t help once he finished his call and started devouring his luke-warm bowl of veggie soup.

“Bro you’re in deep, I can tell. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get this attached this quick before.” 

“There’s just something about her dude. It’s scaring me a little honestly. I’ve never felt like this about anybody, and I’ve literally only seen her twice. I mean, I barely even know her, but I can’t stop thinking about her. Is that weird?” 

Ethan thought of about twenty comebacks that he could have used, but he bit them back. He could feel his twin’s anxiety, and he wasn’t about to add to it.

“Nah man. It’s not weird. It’s intense, but it’s not weird. And hey, if she ends up being the one someday it’ll make a cute story. You hear all sorts of people say they fell in love the first time they saw their person, who says that couldn’t be you, yah know? But hey, I gotta meet her before you go proposing or some shit.” He bumped his shoulder with a smile, turning back to his bowl of soup so Grayson didn’t feel like he had to respond right away.

He thought on it for a minute, trying to process everything his brother had just laid out on the table. And then he pulled his phone out, clicked on his new favorite thread to check, and typed out his reply.

Saturday date it is

See you tomorrow :)

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

Indiana Cross was never late. In fact, she was usually a minimum 10 of minutes early. But one too many outfits changes had slowed her down and she was cutting it too close for comfort - so close that when she looked out and saw the rain had started up again, she contemplated just running out into it and getting drenched instead of trying to make it back upstairs to get her umbrella. 

She peered out into the street through the lobby doors, trying to decide if the drops would be enough to ruin her outfit, when something caught her eye. 

A hand, waving quite cutely at her through the glass. 

Grayson was outside, massive black umbrella over his head and a wide smile on his face as he walked up to the doors, waiting for her. He hadn’t said anything about coming to pick her up, but her heart fluttered at the sight of him anyways - she’d seen him just a few days ago, on Thursday, where they’d sat on Bekah’s bed again and ate cereal and laughed and joked. But it felt like it had been forever, and with the added stress of moving Charlie and Devin out, and the hard goodbye that she didn’t want to admit was hard, she hadn’t really relaxed since she’d last seen him. 

He made sure there wasn’t a gap between the awning and his umbrella so she could duck under it without getting wet. As soon as she was under she made her move, if you could even call it that, and wrapped her hands around his bicep, trying not to gawk at how big it was. Instead, she looked up at him and scrunched her nose.

“Hi.”

“Hi there,” he beamed, and she could see the excitement in every single one of his features. “Figured I could walk you. You ready?”

She nodded, holding on to him as they started to walk down the sidewalks. His slow Jersey pace mixed with her short legs and quick New Yorker steps kept them perfectly in sync as they dodged puddles and soaked up the feeling of being together again. 

The conversation flowed as easily as ever, Grayson asking her how moving Charlie out went, if she was sad to have her sister so far away. They talked about Cameron going to school in South Carolina, and how he and Ethan couldn’t spend more than a week apart without going crazy. She talked about school, the assignments she had lined up for the week, the exam she had already started studying for even though it was next Friday. Every time they got to a puddle that was too big for both of them to walk around he guided her to the dry part, walking lightly through the water so he didn’t splash her. 

They got to the hospital much too quickly, and she let go of his arm reluctantly so he could pull the umbrella down and shake off the excess water before they made it in. Grayson led the way up the stairs and onto the unit, waving at the kids he saw, giving Andre a high five as he passed and asking the nurses how their shift was going. Indiana couldn’t help but notice the way the younger nurses - actually, all the nurses, seemed to be watching his every move, blushing and smiling at him as he passed.

She fought the urge to reach out and hold his hand, walking just a bit closer to him so their arms brushed against each other as they moved. It sent electricity through every nerve ending on her body, and she got so caught up in it that she almost forgot to stop him before they made it to Bekah’s room.

“Hey, one thing. I know we’re going on a date later, but let’s not have any… like us stuff, while we’re here. I don’t want Bekah to feel like a third wheel or anything, cause we’re here for her. Deal?” 

“Deal.” There was a prideful look in his eyes that she couldn’t quite place, but she didn’t have time to analyze it before she stepped into the room. 

Bekah was in her bed, curled up under the blankets on her side. Her head was wrapped in a light blue scarf - something her mom had brought her a few days prior, sweatshirts pulled down over her hands as she shivered. 

Grayson’s face fell immediately, and he froze at his spot by the curtain. She looked sick, actually sick, for the first time, and it brought on a wave of memories and emotion that he wasn’t quite prepared for.

Indiana didn’t blink. 

“Hey you. How are you feeling?” Her tone was soft, soothing as she moved to her bedside and laid a hand on Bekah’s shoulder, starting to rub against her cold skin.

“S’ cold,” Bekah mumbled, burrowing down further, so far that Indiana could only see her brown eyes and the dark skin of her forehead.

“Want me to go see if I can get you another blanket?”

She nodded weakly, resting her head back on the pillow as Indiana stood up and moved over to Grayson.

“You okay in here by yourself for a minute?”

Grayson nodded, half to answer and half to convince himself. She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before she disappeared out the door. He stood there in silence for a moment, hands shoved in his pockets, unsure of what to do.

Bekah peaked her head out just enough for her mouth to be visible before she spoke. 

“I’m not contagious, Earrings, you can come over here.”

The tension in his shoulders released and he walked over, sitting down as gently as he could on the edge of the bed.

“You’re weird,” Bekah said, eyes still closed. He panicked a bit, trying to keep his voice calm.

“Yeah? Why am I weird.”

“You don’t like being around sick people, but you’re volunteering at a kids hospital. Weird.” 

“I don’t think anyone likes seeing people sick,” he murmured, trying to word everything very carefully.

“Indiana likes being around sick people because she likes to help. I think you like to help too but it makes you uncomfortable.”

There was no malice in her tone, but it still made him let out a dry laugh.

“You’re an observant one, aren’t you.” 

“Not much else for me to do in here but watch people. But seriously, why’d you sign up to make yourself uncomfortable? Did someone tell you to?”

“Yeah, kinda. Someone told me if I could help that I should.”

“Your mom?”

“My dad actually,” he corrected quietly, toying with his fingers. Anytime he said his name out loud, no matter the form it took - dad, father, Sean - it was like he could feel it in his heart, a little tug on the original wound, a finger picking at a scab that wasn’t quite formed yet. 

“I’ll have to thank him for that some time. I like having you around, no matter how awkward you are.”

“Well thanks Beks.”

He was saved from his devolving thoughts by a very excited Indiana coming back into the room with not one, but three blankets stacked in her arms. 

“I declare it movie night,” she said, passing both of them their own blanket and rummaging for a remote, pulling up Emperor's New Groove before settling down into a chair on the other side of the bed. Grayson pulled one up so he could sit back, and without the distraction of conversation Bekah was out within the first 15 minutes, breaths deep despite the winces that she couldn’t hide. Indiana just ran a comforting hand over her arm until she lulled down further, tired muscles finally relaxing.

“She’s gonna be out the rest of the night, we might as well let her rest. You ready to go?” She asked after another twenty minutes, a bit of excitement returning to her eyes. 

He nodded, moving to fix Bekah’s blanket over top of her one last time before he clicked the TV off and left her to sleep. 

As soon as they signed out, he couldn’t hold back his questions.

“Is she getting worse? It seems like she’s getting worse.”

“Not necessarily. Chemo is weird like that sometimes, sometimes she’ll have good days with her meds, sometimes she’ll have bad ones. It’s just her body trying to fight for and against her at the same time. Exhausting, I would imagine. But she’s okay.”

“She doesn’t seem okay,” he said, looking back down the hallway before they went through the first set of doors.

“Hey.” He turned back to her, noted for a moment that her eyes were the same color as the painted jellyfish on the wall behind her. It grounded him somehow. “Don’t carry all this out here with you, it’ll wear you down. She’s in good hands, she’s sleeping, she’s safe. They’re doing everything they can for her, you’ve gotta trust in that.”

He knew that sometimes it didn’t matter how much they did, but he kept that to himself. 

“You want me to compartmentalize.” 

“A little bit, yes. It’s the only way you can survive something like this, trust me.” 

He did. And he knew she was right. So he closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, let himself let go for a moment and breathe a bit easier. Without a hesitation, he reached a hand out for hers as soon as he opened his eyes, linking his fingers with hers. 

“Okay. Let’s go on a date then.” 

“Let’s go on a date,” she repeated, squeezing her tiny hand against his as they started down the hallway again. 

He’d hatched a whole plan, ran the whole thing by both Ethan and Eden. They were going to get dinner at a little vegan food truck that he had made sure would be close by, walk the High Line for the last hour that it was open, and finish off with a late night coffee from Jets. 

“Do I get to know the details of this date?” She asked while he opened the umbrella up outside and offered him her arm, almost as if she knew he was running through the itinerary in his head for the entire walk.

“Nope, you’re just along for the ride.” He grinned, trying to keep his confidence up as he started walking down the sidewalk.

For the first block, everything was fine. The rain picked up slightly, but nothing too bad, and it only made her hold onto him a bit tighter, leaning into him to avoid getting wet. He reveled in the feeling, holding himself back from leaning over and kissing her forehead. 

The second block, things got a bit worse. The wind began to howl, thunder booming so loud above them that they both jumped. It seemed to shake the buildings around them a bit, and Grayson bit his lip, scrambling to think of what they would do if it got worse.

By the third block, all hell broke loose. The rain was coming down in sideways sheets, soaking their shoes and pants as Grayson tried to angle the umbrella and keep Indiana dry. It worked for approximately two seconds before the wind inverted the umbrella, leaving them both entirely exposed. 

“Sorry, fuck, sorry!” He yelled over the roar of the rain, trying desperately to fix it as their shirts became heavy and wet. Their hair stuck to their foreheads, and when he pushed his back he saw that Indiana was laughing, laughing so hard that she leaned back slightly, clutching her stomach.

“C’mon, c’mon!” She grabbed his hand, dragging him along as they ran through the downpour. He followed her blindly, holding tight to her slippery hand as she weaved them through umbrellas and past people huddled under stoops. 

When she pulled him into the lobby of her apartment building they were both laughing, breathless and giddy, so loud that a few people turned to look at them.

They didn’t notice.

“Your teeth are chattering,” Grayson laughed, reaching out to rest a hand on her quivering cheek. He was cold too, but he didn’t care. He hoped the blush he got out of her warmed her up a bit. “Not to invite myself up or anything, but do you care if I get dried off?”

She rolled her eyes at him, just taking his hand and leading him over to the elevator. 

Unfortunately, a perfectly dry woman in her 40’s stepped on with them, and all it took was the sound of the water dripping off their clothes onto the tile for them to both break into a fit of giggles, Grayson’s mouth going wide in a silent cackle that had Indiana having to cover her own to keep from being too loud. She felt like a middle schooler getting scolded in the back of class until they made it to her floor, stepping past the woman with a muttered ‘sorry’ and wide smiles. They stared at each other until the doors closed, and then they were laughing again, holding onto each other’s shoulders as they tried to make it down the hallway and breathe at the same time. 

Grayson was wiping tears by the time they got to her door, still giggling to himself as he started to shiver, his clothes getting colder by the minute. He took his shoes off outside the door, not wanting to track even more water inside as she opened the door

Her apartment was a bit warmer than the hallway, a welcoming and simple space with a small kitchen to the left and a cozy living room in front of him. Without realizing that he had even done it consciously, he had imagined her in a place just like this, with the big windows on the other side of the room covered in rain. 

“Nice place,” he murmured.

“It’s no house, but it’s nice enough,” she teased. “Let me see if Devin left anything here that you can wear, hold on.” 

She disappeared into a room on the right and he made his way into the living room, showing himself around. The picture frames on the top shelf caught his eye for a moment, and he smiled at how cute she looked as a baby, how beautiful she looked in her dress with her sister beside her. The woman holding her hands in the last one looked just like her, and he was about to ask when he felt Indiana behind him.

“That’s my mom. Nicole.”

“She seems like a great mom.”

“Yeah, she was.” 

Grayson froze. Fuck. 

“Shit, Indy, I’m sorry I-”

She put a finger to his lips. “It’s okay. But let’s not talk about it tonight, yeah?”

He nodded, trying to swallow down his guilt. He knew what it felt like to have that sprung on you without a warning, and he wished he could pull the words back out of the air, back out of her mind. 

“Try these.” She passed him a pair of pajama pants. “I’m still looking for a shirt, I might have something that’s big enough for you. There’s a bathroom in my room if you wanna change in there.” 

“I can just go shirtless for a while, it’s no big deal,” he reassured her. Her eyes went wide for a moment, and he saw her swallow.

“Okay. I’m gonna change now.”

“Okay. I’ll wait until you’re done.”

They stared at each other for a minute before Indiana finally moved, going into her room to start rummaging through her own clothes. She changed faster than she ever had, throwing on a pair of leggings and a crewneck with some comfy fuzzy socks before she was back in the living room.

“All yours. Um, do you want anything specific for dinner? I haven’t gone to the store in a while, and I would feel bad making somebody deliver in this weather,” she mumbled. 

“Well, I’m vegan, but don’t worry if you don’t have anything, I can make it till I get home.”

In all honesty, he was starving, but he wasn’t about to end the date early because of a lack of plant based meal choices. 

“I’ll see what I have, go change so I can put your clothes in the dryer with mine.”

He did as she asked, moving into her room. It was similar to the living room - white bedding, simplistic artwork in wooden frames on the walls. But above her bed were an assortment of vinyls, and he actually gasped when he saw the one in the middle.

“You listen to Cudi?!” He yelled, running back into the living room. Indiana was in the kitchen with a cucumber in her hands, but he made her jump so hard that she almost dropped it.

“Yeah, do you?”

“I fucking love Cudi dude, he’s the best artist of all time. I can’t believe you listen to him too.” 

“Do I not give off Cudi vibes,” she laughed, putting the words in air quotes.

“No, you definitely do not.”

“What vibes do I give off then? Or do I not wanna know.”

“You don’t wanna know,” he grinned, flinching when she raised the cucumber like she was going to throw it.

“Go change Gray.”

He went back in, headed to her bathroom. It was much darker than the rest of the house, with a dark gray shower curtain adorned with wildflowers. He locked the door and stripped down quickly - his underwear were still damp, but he wasn’t about to go commando, especially if he was gonna risk having to hide a boner later. He had no idea how far the night was going to go, but he wanted to be ready for anything.

Standing there in the mirror in his boxers, he contemplated it for a minute, and then pulled a very 2016 Grayson move of dropping to the floor and doing a quick set of push ups so that his bare arms were a bit more swollen than they had been. 

He pulled the pants on, groaning a bit at how long they were, and how tight they clung to his ass. Worried that he’d spent too long in the bathroom he picked up his wet clothes and headed back to the living room with the ends of his pants rolled up three times so he didn’t trip on them.

“You didn’t tell me Devin was a fucking giant dude! How tall is that mans?” 

“He’s 6’5”,” Indiana laughed from somewhere he couldn’t see her, popping up with a loaf of bread and putting it on the counter. Her eyes went wide at the sight of him, so much tanned skin stretched over thick bands of muscle that it had her mouth dry. She swallowed again before she spoke. “Just sit those down, I can put them in the dryer.” “I can do it, are yours already in there?” 

“Yeah, it’s over there.” She smiled and pointed to the doors in the hallway. He put them in and turned it on before he finally made it to the kitchen and saw the assortment on the counter. But she wasn’t looking at the food anymore - her eyes were all for him, and he felt himself fall nervous under her gaze again. 

“What?”

“Nothing. You’re just cute.”

“Oh yeah, these pants are what do it for you huh?” He gave her a little spin just to make her laugh.

“Did I stutter?” She tilted her head to the side just barely, and it took all his self control not to lean in and kiss her right then. Instead, he just shook the thought from his head and stood close enough to where her shoulder was against his arm. 

“What’re we workin’ with?”

“Well. I’ve got apples, a few grapes, jelly, some lettuce, bread, peanut butter, a sweet potato and crackers. Sorry.” She was sheepish, and he just shook his head at her with a frown.

“Nothing to be sorry for. You trust my PB&J making abilities?” 

“That depends entirely on if you cut it into triangles or squares.” 

“Oh c’mon, it’s triangles all day,” he scoffed, getting a laugh out of her that had him floating. 

“Then yes, I approve. Do you care if I study while you make them? I just have a few things to go over.”

“Do whatever you gotta do,” he reassured her, moving to open the bread while she went back to her backpack. She was back quickly, with a stack of flashcards in her hands. 

“Here,” he cleared her a spot on the counter next to where he was working. “Sit up here, teach me some stuff.”

“It’s just vocab stuff, nothing interesting.” 

“Just say it outloud, maybe I’ll learn something.”

And so she did, laughing at the way his brows would furrow and the incredulous look he’d give her when it was a particularly long word. He took his time on the sandwiches, moving to cut up two apples and split the rest of the grapes between the two plates that he found after looking through the cabinets. 

He cleared his throat and held out the plate on the palm of his hand. “Bon appetit madam.”

“Why thank you,” she giggled, sitting her cards down and taking it from him gratefully. She stayed perched on the counter and he leaned back against the fridge, taking his own plate in his hands. She complimented the food as she ate, wiggling slightly in the cutest way. Finally, she spoke up.

“Since we’re here, do I get to know what the actual date plan was?”

“Nah, I’m saving that shit for the future,” he smiled, taking the last bite of his sandwich. Even he had to admit it was good despite the slightly stale bread.

“Oh the future huh?” 

“Yeah. Like next week.” 

“I’ll pencil you into my planner then,” she grinned, tossing a few grapes into her mouth. 

“I can’t tell if that’s sarcastic or not.”

“It’s not. Writing everything down keeps me sane I think.”

“Hey, organization is sexy,” he laughed, biting down on an apple slice. 

“Good to know.” Her words were a bit muddled around the bite she had in her mouth, and Grayson put his empty plate aside, content to sit and watch her finish her meal. It was so easy to be around her, and he didn’t second guess anything he did or said - he hadn’t realized until her how much he altered himself around everyone he met.

“10 outta 10 PB&J, I’m impressed,” she smiled at him, moving her plate to the side after a moment. He couldn’t help but notice the tiny bit of jelly clinging to her cheek, purple and sticky against her skin.

“You’ve got a little - here,” he stepped up to her, reaching a hand out and running his thumb over it to get it off. But he didn’t let go - not when she looked up at him with those bright blue eyes, just like the jellyfish on the walls, and then he watched her look at his lips once before he leaned in. 

She tasted sweet, lips soft against his. They were both hesitant, not sure of how far to take it. Short and sweet, they separated and looked at each other. He felt like he could float away when she brought a hand up to his hair and pulled him back in for another. He moved a hand to the counter for leverage, leaning into her as she smiled against him.

“You taste like apples,” she whispered, and then they were both laughing like they had been all night, cheeks and stomachs sore in the best way.

“C’mon you, what do you wanna do with the rest of our date night?”

“We could finish Emperor’s New Groove?” She poised. 

He moved his hands to her waist, pulling her off the counter as she squealed, sitting her on her feet and taking her hand, headed to the living room. Ten minutes later and he was leaned back on the couch, feet up on the coffee table so she could curl up against his bare chest under the blanket while she scrolled through the film, trying to find where they left off.

He hoped that she’d undershoot it - anything to keep them right there, in each other's arms; bliss, as the storm raged on outside.

[eerythingisshaka]

Wish Granted Pt. 2

[Yahya Abdul Mateen II x Black OC]

Word Count: 3.2k

A/N:  I decided to make this a series and instead of reader, it is an original character. Strap in!

( Read Part 1 here)

That morning, Yahya and Corrine bask in the glow of the new morning sun, sharing a table by the front window enjoying eggs benedict, toast, with a stack of pancakes to share.  Corrine dipped some of her bacon into the leftover egg and sauce along her plate, chasing it with the remaining orange juice in her glass.  She goes to grab for more from the pitcher when Yahya’s hand surrounds hers.

“I have a flight tonight at 6,”  he says.

Corrine nods slowly.  “Ok.”

He looks sorry as he continues, “It got changed last minute.”

“Sure...can I ...pour my juice now?” Corrine asks, making Yahya awkwardly rest his hands on the table to allow you access to the pitcher.

“And with traffic, I should probably start getting ready to go now.”

Corrine sips her drink, wiping her mouth gingerly with the cloth napkin and sets it down.  “I gave you back that ring, right?”

Yahya nods.  “And your scarf is in your room at the hotel.”

“It’s not mine but...thanks.”  Corrine says quietly.  She pushes her fork around in the remnants of her plate, squeaking every so often against the porcelain.

Yahya leans forward.  “I still want to stay in contact.  Just because I live out of town doesn’t mean we can’t not see each other, you know?”

Corrine smiles with wide eyes like he just said something offensive.  “If that’s what you think, that is fine.  But honestly how would that work?  I couldn’t keep a guy to get a proposal and I spent at least half of my 20s hanging with him.  Don’t you think this is a bit much?”

Yahya sits back, looking out the window for distraction.

“I mean I am fine with a one night stand.  Thank you for being what I needed at the time, it was definitely a night I will never forget but let’s not make this weird.”

Yahya sighs, looking around for presumably the waitress and pulls out his wallet.  “I can’t believe you’re flipping like this.”

“It’s not a flip, just...this happens.  Like, come on Yahya, we don’t know each other.  Can you seriously say you want to try and make this a long term thing base don our track records?”

Yahya puts some bills on the table.  “I thought you hadn’t done this before?”

Corrine shrugs.  “Ok, truthfully, not since college had I done this before.  Before...him,” she says with a cringe.

Yahya folds his arms across his chest looking at her with amazement.  “So you really used me?  I am your rebound and now you’re backing out?  Or is it because I am not conveniently at your beck and call now that you’re scared to try something new?”

Corrine scoffs.  “I don’t need to explain it, I made it clear.  Long distance will not work.  That’s it!”

“I disagree.  And I want you to see that I am right and you’re wrong.”

“Yahya…”

“Corrine….”  Yahya says, biting his lip playfully.

Corrine rolls her eyes, pulling out her purse to rifle through it.  Not able to find a piece of paper, she takes an unused napkin and scribbles on the front with her dying pen.

“Look, I will give you my number.  Do with it what you want, I’m not holding you to it though,”

She hands it to a confused look Yahya.  “I could just give you my phone to put it in?”

“I’m old school.  Plus, watch you accidentally use it and mess up the ink or ball it up thinking it’s trash.  I wanna know you can be responsible with an important document such as that napkin with my number on it.”

Yahya looks at it, puts it down and grabs a five off of the stack of bills he had set on the table.

“Let me borrow that pen,”  he asks, scribbling his number across the front of Lincoln’s face.

“Whoa!  What are you doing?”  Corrine asks, leaning to get a glimpse for herself before Yahya gives her the defaced bill.

“And here is my number.  If your theory checks out, it shouldn’t be hard to keep up with or lose, unless you accidentally spend it on some shoes or a new purse, right?”

Corrine glares at him.  “Ha Ha.  Here, let me at least put some money back on this since you probably just took the girl’s tip money for this.”

Yahya waves her off.  “Please, it’s still 20% without it, we good.”

Corrine folds the five up in a side pocket in her bag.  “Then that’s it right?”

Yahya stares through the table, nodding blankly.  When he looks at Corrine he fights a smirk.

“I really had a good time.”

“I did too.”

Yahya and Corrine step out of the restaurant, parting with one last hug as his car arrives to pick him.  Corrine holds him close, smelling the fresh soap from the morning shower he took just a couple hours ago.  His shoulders and back solid under her hands, she imagines if she lifts her feet, he wouldn’t bend or fold even slightly.

His hands spread along her back before sliding slowly around her waist, kissing a spot behind her ear that makes her curl back and chuckle.

“I’ll call you,”  Yahya says inches from Corrine’s face as she nods.  “You gonna call me?”

“When you call me, I will,”  she says, putting her hand to the side of his face, trying to memorize every feature and feeling it gave her.  One last kiss would make her fly in the cab with him, so she backs off, waving goodbye.

A month goes by and Corrine has finally packed up all of James’s things in two boxes.  She sits on the couch staring at them sat next to her front door.  His life with her fit in just two boxes?  They weren’t officially living together yet but he spent so much time with her that it seemed like there would be more things.  Most of it is laundry that needs washing and DVDs he brought over because he refused to buy them on digital again.

Corrine scrolls through her phone absentmindedly as she waits.  A message pops up that makes her jump out of the blue.

Hey, how’s your morning beautiful?

It’s fine for now.  Still waiting on him.

Don’t let him bother you.  Just tell him to the left and leave!

Of course girl.  Why mess with a beyonce blueprint?

Works every time!  Also, don’t forget to meet us for our lunch date after.

Sounds good.

Corrine gets up to check out of her patio door and sees his car park outside.  James strolls across the grass, which instinctively makes her cringe.  She always told him to watch doing that so he doesn’t end up walking in dog shit.  

She waits for his knock patiently, not wanting him to know she saw him already.  Her phone chimes again.

Outside, it reads.

Corrine groans at the rude tone of his one word text.  As she opens the door he’s leaning on the frame in a way that reminds you of one of Danny Zuko’s boys from Grease.  Leather jacket on even though it's 85 degrees out, distressed blue jeans that fit snug around his lean legs with some schmegular all white Adidas.  

“I already packed your stuff,”  she says, walking backwards to point to the left as practiced.  James takes one step in with his hands in his pockets and looks to his right at the boxes.

“I could’ve done that,”  he says in a bored tone, looking back at her as if she is visiting him without notice,

“I asked you every week for the past month to come get it.  You think I’m going to wait for you to poke around here and find every little thing of yours on your own?  I don’t think so.”

His fingers find their way around a curl of hair in his high top fade.  “What’s all this energy about though?  I thought we could be cool about it?”

“Why would I be cool about anything with you  after you left me by myself in the city when we were supposed to be celebrating your promotion, right?  But you recall what happened instead?  After 5 and a half years together?”

“I wanted to talk to you in person-”

“You hadn’t done that either for a month, have you?”

James’ jaw flies open.  “Because the only thing you got to say is about picking up my stuff!  You never asked to talk and you didn’t answer my calls!”

“I shouldn’t have to ask to talk!  I’m not the one that said I can’t do this no more!”

“Are you sure Corrine?  Cuz you never acted interested in shit with what I got to do.  You don’t listen to nothing I got to say.”

Corrine scoffs loudly as James kneels to look through the boxes. 

“I never helped YOU?  I got you into a respectable corporate job that paid BILLS for the first time in you life when your cooking career wasn’t pulling weight like you hoped it would!  Now you can earn some capital so you can open your business steadily and not fall flat on your ass!  I gave you so much more mercy than you ever did for me!”

James sucks his teeth and comes to a standing, towering over Corrine.  “I stood by you while you worked to do this lawyer shit you got goin on.  Long nights studying in the living room, out to the library, hell week after hell week to pass your bar.  I barely got a kiss from you at your celebration party.  You always doin the most!”

Corrine grips her temples, completely taken back.  “I can’t believe you’re saying my ambition is a reason to leave me.  I can’t succeed while you’re down and out or you feel less of a man?  Is that it?”

James picks up his boxes in both arms.  “Shut up.”  He walks out the door heading for the steps.

“No, now I got it!  You want me to just stay quiet and patient while you figure things out but I couldn’t carry our relationship for you!  I needed your support too, whether I am studying for hours on end or you’re taking a month long business trip, only to come back unemployed!”

James was out the door about halfway down when he looks back at her.

“You think I wouldn’t know?  I got you that gig, how would I not check into it?  They said you never showed up.  Why?”

James looked off, sighing deeply like a load was taken off even though he was carrying two very heavy boxes.

“You had to get away for a month?  What were you doing for that long that you didn’t tell me?”

James continued to not look at Corrine.  His mind battling with what to say and what not to say was killing her as she looked for him to speak. 

“I won’t take you back James, I just want a good excuse so I can hate you less.  I thought you were going to marry me when you booked that room for us at that fancy spot.  But you broke my heart so bad.”

James continued to walk down the steps without a word.  Corrine watched him pack his car and turn on the engine to peel out.  

--

“Girl, and that’s what he did?”  Simone exclaimed over her half eaten salad.  Her pressed hair pulled back in a bun already gave her a naturally alert look, but Corrine’s turmoil made it that much more apparent.

Corrine pushed around a meatball in her spaghetti.  “That is all he did.  I have no closure to it.”

Bria pats you back gingerly.  “You’ll be fine and he’ll be fine.  It’s just because the break up is still fresh that y’all couldn’t come to an understanding.”

Corrine sits back and shrugs.  “Maybe?  But that’s a big ass lie he dropped on me.  He was gone for a month.  He could have a whole family in another state for all I know.”

Simone points at Corrine, big brown eyes bucking.  “That’s why I told you he look like Cousin Skeeter if he were a real man.  He is just as goofy too.  Nobody should leave for a MONTH without saying anything.”

Bria nods, adjusting her tortoise shell frames.  “He is not worth a thought but you take all the time you need to get past it.  Just move on.  You gave him chance after chance up until the last moment.  It’s time you got to breathe on your own.”

“And speaking of,”  Simone lowers her voice.  “You hear from our hotel daddy yet?”

“Oh God, don’t bring that up now,”  Corrine whines.

“Simone!”  Bria hisses.  “She hasn’t heard from him yet, and honestly by now, there would be some explaining to do instead of dating.”

Corrine lays her head on the table.  “Why is life so hard?  I can’t have a good time with nobody!”

Simone and Bria offer pats as her tears are absorbed by the tablecloth.

“Hey, you know what?  You do still have his number…”

“Simone, no.  I can’t.”

“But!  Instead of cutesy whats up and stuff, you can tell him off maybe?  Give him the lashing every wrong you’ve received deserves.  It might not be constructive but a quick shot of feel good sounds pretty good, right?”

Corrine sits up, dabbing her eyes and feeling the avalanche of snot coming to her nose.  Her cries put all ugly cries to shame.

“I just...it was...he said...he’d call!”  Corrine squeaks out between sobs.

One month turned into two, and so on until Corrine forgot about that night at the hotel.  Busying herself with work was the best thing she could do in order to keep herself feeling good from day to day.  That and happy hours with her girls who vigorously scoped men out for her as her wingwomen.  

Sometimes when she is turning in for the evening, she picks up the base of her little desk mirror to find the $5 bill under it that Yahya scrawled his number on.  The more she looked at it, she wasn’t sure if it ended in a four or a nine, so it’s probably best she kept from calling in order to not look foolish on someone’s phone.

James and her never got back with each other either.  But Corrine is more ok with that.  She figures whatever skeletons he has are bigger than she can manage and she deserves a break.  But Yahya seemed so good and promising, she couldn’t believe she got bamboozled that hard.  He could’ve left that morning, allowing her to sleep away the future but he gave her hope instead and that got snatched away.

So Corrine filled her days digging into practicing law and running errands and not much in between.  But she was ok.  Without the extra baggage of men in her life she felt as if she might’ve unlocked a new level in life.

---

“As you all know, the construction on the new building is being negotiated with several architects in order to get a broad scope of what design would fit the future of our practice the best for years to come.  Let me remind you all that if it weren’t for your dedication to your work around here that we would not be one of the most sought after and winningest law office in the state.”

Applause fills the conference room for Hogel of Garrett, Hogel & Truman as Corrine takes notes on the meetings main points.  Most of the meetings are supplied with a bullet list of the main topics, but she does not enjoy just sitting and staring or she is liable to daydream.

When the meeting comes to a close, it is close enough to the evening and the weekend that she hopes will allow her to get off early and head straight for bed.  Her feet kill her in the stiff three inch pumps she wears for ten hours straight, and her local Chinese spot was calling her name for some springfield chicken.

When she makes it back to her desk, her heart flips with joy as she sees no new files to review and archive, and since she got ahead of her projects for the week, it seems the weekend has finally begun.

She kicks off her heels to slide into her worn in athletic shoes, feeling her feet melt into the dips that the insole has created to mold to her feet.  Her heart beats in the bottoms of her foot from being released from their patent leather binding which is both uncomfortable and satisfying.  But even if they were chopped off at the shin, these feet would lead her to her car and get her to her home paradise.  

Corrine walks down the hall to the elevators, hearing noises from people as she gets close.  She feels a little anxious, preferring an empty elevator at her departure time but is willing to deal so that the exit is quicker.

As the group of voices rounds a corner leading away from her, she sees a man standing head above the whites that surround him.  A navy blue suit fitting tailored to wide set shoulder funneling down to a slim but sturdy waist, made her knees buckle a moment, causing her to slow her pace forward.  He walks away, laughing one of those polite laughs one gives to company they want to impress.  He hits the elevator button, listening to one of the partners speak until his gaze travels over them and spots her.

She feels her brain black out and her heart fall out of her ass and flight took over in her fight or flight response.  

“Corinne!”  he calls after her, but she pays him no attention rounding the corner.  Stairs would have to work, no matter how much her feet her from the day, anything would do over having to see him make up whatever excuse he had to not call her.  And what the hell is he doing at her job?  Is he a lawyer?  Is he looking for counsel?  What if he is a fraud that manipulates women and sues them for some old timey bullshit laws like alienation of affection.

She thanked God that coincidence didn’t find him in the parking garage as Corrine finally made it home but settled on some leftovers she had in the fridge instead of her beloved Chinese food.  At this point she still hadn’t calmed down from earlier.  What if he is at the Chinese place?  Where the hell does he live anyway?  To be in the same area as her work, he couldn’t be far.  She couldn’t remember where he said he was from, if they even covered that much information but she was not going to entertain his presence, he is a ghost to her.  

In her bedroom she takes the five and slips it in her purse to make sure she spends the bill, like it's the reason he is back.  She will have to treat him like a ghost.  He won’t know she ever waited for him or thought about him after that night. 

[p---ink]

Stark Contrasts: Chapter Four

Author’s Note: For anyone following my series on Tony Stark, this is the 4th installment. Chapter 5, will be my last chapter, and it is coming soon. I hope you enjoy this. 

Summary: Tony makes it his mission to find you after you leave. 

Warnings: Angst, (I promise the next chapter will have smut!!!) 

Song: Where’s My Love by SYML

Word Count: 5.9k

Parts: one | two | three | four | five

Chapter Title: The Lengths He’ll Go To

Disclaimer: Gif is not mine.

Some offered looks of worry. Some clutched their guns. Some knew not what to do, as they watched the panic-stricken man search the station for anyone he thought could help him. He had just burst through the doors of the precinct, frantic state of mind attached to his demeanor. He blew past the front desk, despite the receptionists pleas. He could not care less about their waiting line, he could not care less about their protocol. Every minute wasted, was one where you could be getting further away. Every minute wasted was one where he was not with you. 

“Sir, excuse me? You can’t go back there! Sir!” The receptionist yelled, as she followed his movements passed the front gate.

He plopped himself down in the first open chair with a face behind the desk. The woman on the other side of it looked from him to the receptionist before dismissing her. “It’s okay Rebecca, I’ll handle this.” She sat her cup of coffee down before starting. “How can I help you Mr. Stark?” He was no longer surprised when people who he had never met called him by name.

“I would like to report a missing person.” Were the first words Tony had uttered since his being there. 

The detective reached for a free piece of paper and pen among the clutter on her desk. “What is the name of this person?” He told her your first and last name. “And when did you last see her?”

“A few hours ago.” He stated. The detective stopped her scribbling and glanced up at him for a moment. 

“So it’s only been a few hours? What leads you to believe she’s missing?”

“Everything she owns is still at home.” He simply said, believing that alone made sense. 

“Well if anything sir, that should prove she’s not gone.”

“No you don’t understand. She left everything at home. Her car is still there. Her apple watch. Even her phone was still on our entryway table.” He placed the sleek black device on top of the desk to prove he wasn’t lying. You were going to take your phone, but Pepper thought it was best to leave it. “Don’t underestimate the lengths Tony Stark would go to, when it comes to what he wants.” She said. 

“I see.” The detective started, picking up her pen again to scribble his comments down. “Well how old is she?”

“Look I already know where you’re going with this one. Yes, she’s an adult. But she wouldn’t just up and leave like this. Her family doesn’t know where she is, nor her friends. I contacted her professors, and no one at her university has seen her other than yesterday.”

“It seems to me like you haven’t given them enough time to. You said it’s only been a few hours.” The detective— or Danielle Shaw according to her badge, laughed. 

Tony examined her, taking offense to her amusement. “If she’s not missing, why were her things left at home?” His tone was now slightly aggressive, whereas before he could contain his frustration.

“Maybe she doesn’t want you to trace her. You seem a bit controlling.” Shaw stated casually.

“Excuse me?” He was already agitated, but she was just pissing him off now. She had but long abandoned her pen to invalidate him. It was as if she had already given up on searching for you. 

“Listen sir, I am going to say this in the nicest way possible. Often in domestic violence cases the victim will—”

“My girlfriend could be at the bottom of a lake right now, and you’re accusing me of abuse?” He sneered, sitting up in his seat to grip the handles on the chair. He knew you weren’t at the bottom of a lake. He knew you hadn’t been kidnapped. You were gone, and you didn’t want to be found, so all that the detective was suggesting reigned partially true. But he had come with hopes that they could trace your location some how. He knew now, that those hopes were in vain. 

“We just have to cover all of the bases is all, Mr. Stark.” She leaned back in her chair, offering him a tight-lipped smile that failed to reach her eyes. She had even placed the paper she took her notes on in a drawer beside her seat.

“Look are you going to look for her or not?.”

“We’ll do our best to find her.” She assured him, reaching across the desk to grab the phone. 

He placed his hand over hers to halt her actions. He didn’t believe a word she said. “You need her phone to do this? What if she calls it looking for me?”

“Then we’ll call you immediately.” She said snatching her hand away from his, sliding the phone into her desk. “Can I take down all of the ways to get in contact with you?” 

Now feeling defeated, Tony gave her everything she needed from him. “Thank you. We’ll be seeing you soon Mr. Stark.” She affirmed, smiling as she reached a hand out for him to shake. Her attempts at cordiality went ignored. 

Fuck the police. Tony thought as he raised from his seat to exit the building. 

…..

He spent months searching for you since his police visit. It became his routine to call your closest family members. He had even coaxed some of the distant one’s information out. The bastard was crazy enough to visit your loved ones for the first time just to make sure you hadn’t been staying there. 

He spent weeks calling up your friends, making sure they hadn’t heard from you. Making sure they hadn’t posted any pictures of you on their social media pages. They all blocked him, growing annoyed in his desperate attempts to find you. 

He had toured your University twice. Stopping by your old classes to see if your professors had heard anything, leaving his number so they could text him if they had. Of course they knew nothing of your whereabouts, but that was confidential information that they could not share even if they did. Tony knew this, but he offered them a large sum of cash if they found out about anything from your peers.  

Samuel, the maître-d at your favorite restaurant, had seen or heard from him at least every other day. Tony was now one of his most frequent callers. As much as Sammie loved him, the man had become frustrated with his day-to-day nonsense, and banned him from the premises until further notice. 

Everyone was growing tired of him. He couldn’t see why though. Five months wasn’t long to any other person, but to Tony it felt like eternity. 

Five months. That’s how long you had been gone. That’s how long he hadn’t touched you, or seen you smile. Five months is how long you hadn’t talked to him. That’s how long it had been since he had gotten to wake up next to you, or smelled your skin. He hadn’t heard you laugh in five months. He hadn’t heard you nag, in five months. At this point he just wanted to hear you breathe, after five long months, but he knew that was too much to ask.  

There were no more movies. They had all made him depressed. He no longer played his favorite songs. They reminded him too much of you. He would often travel the long way home. This was to avoid driving by your favorite places. When he did decide to eat, he couldn’t even cook for himself; takeout and beer became his only source of food. Most of the time he’d be in the gym, pounding out all of his frustrations into a boxing bag, wishing instead to hold you, before passing out to your memory. 

He tried visiting bars in search of women who resembled you. He never found anyone who could capture your aura, but the one time he got close, he called her by your name. Not like he wanted it to go anywhere anyway. They could never compare to you.  

She’s forgotten about me now. He thought. She’s moved on to someone else. She hates me because of that night. How could I be so stupid to fall asleep. His thoughts often consumed him. They often got the best of him. He was tired of denying them, so he just let himself think the worst. 

His phone began to vibrate for the first time today. He rushed to it, hoping it was you or news of you. Disappointed, he sat it back down when the caller ID revealed Pepper’s name. 

Perhaps the only person who he had not called since your departure was Pepper. Despite knowing for a fact that she was the only one who knew where you were, he knew that she would never tell him. He felt more disdain for Pepper than he had ever felt. They had once been best friends but now all he felt for her was resentment.

She had called him every day. Trying to check in on him, seeing if he was okay. Seeing if he would stop by Stark Industries. Seeing if had forgotten about you. Pepper, despite Tony’s doubts, genuinely thought she was helping him. She genuinely thought she was helping you. Had she known her attempts to diffuse the situation would have left him this miserable she would of thought twice. Overall she didn’t regret what she thought was right.

He was currently sitting on the floor, texting your old number, informing you of how much he missed you. Despite not hearing anything from you, he continued paying your phone bill. He knew you wouldn’t reply. Your phone was still at the Police department sitting in Detective Shaw’s desk. Still, he loved the idea that you might text him back. 

Knock! Knock! Knock! The front door sounded, distracting him from his previous tasks. He thought it was Pepper again, coming to reprimand him for ignoring her calls. He remained on the floor, ignoring the door. 

“Mr. Stark open up! It’s Detective Shaw from the police department!” Shaw shouted, banging on the door once more. Tony ran to fling it open, in hopes that the detective had some updates. 

“Hi Mr. Stark, you haven’t responded to my calls.” Shaw accused, tilting her head to survey him. He looked very different from the last time she had seen him. More rugged. Tired even. 

“That’s because you haven’t called me. I haven’t heard anything from you in months.” She thought that because he was such a busy man, she could get away with lying about contacting him. Had she only known he spent his months consumed in you. 

She quickly recovered from her lie. “Yes Mr. Stark, and I’m sorry for that, but its because we haven’t found anything regarding your missing person’s report. I am just here to return the phone you submitted into evidence. We are calling off the case, so we thought you should have it back.” 

Tony snatched the ziplock bag from her hand, before grumbling a ‘thanks for nothing’, shutting the door in her face. She looked as if she had more to say, but he stopped listening after she said they hadn’t found anything 

He returned back to his seated position on the floor against the couch. Now instead of texting your phone with his, he could use yours to reply back. He turned it on and unlocked the device, surprised he could still remember the passcode.

“I’m going crazy.” He sighed, shutting his eyes and dragging a hand down his face. He had said this upon opening your phone to reveal over 500 notifications. About 70% of them being from him. It took a minute for them all to load. When they did, he went into your messages app, scrolling through the endless gray. Scrolling. Scrolling. Scrolling until he came to a stop at the last messages between the two of you. 

You: Hey, what would you like for dinner?

Tony: I could go for your favorite tonight

You: Okay well, I’ll have it done by the time you’re back. 

Tony: Noooooo, I wanna help! I always help. 

You: Fine! Love you, I’ll see ya soon.

‘Love you’ He read. He remembered that night. It was a few nights after you two had been caught. That night was a calming before the storm, because it was the day before you left him. 

It was one of the most normal times he had experienced with you. It felt like the two of you were an official couple. Your favorite song echoed throughout the kitchen as he helped you prepare dinner. While dancing circles around you, he belted the lyrics out in a dramatic voice in dire need of taking your mind off of Edward. In dire need of hearing your laugh again. Come time to wash the dishes he heard it once he used the kitchen sink’s hose to drench your entire body in water. At first you were pissed, but then you burst into a fit of laughter as you took your revenge out on him.   

‘Love you’ Why didn’t I say it back. I didn’t get to tell her before she left. I didn’t tell her enough. He thought rereading your texts over and over again. He read it so much he tried to imagine your voice saying it. He couldn’t forget your face. So many pictures of you flooded his and your phone. But he had long forgotten your voice. He cursed himself everyday for it too. When he was done dwelling on ‘Love you’, he moved on to ‘I’ll see you soon.’ 

‘I’ll see you soon.’ He read. ‘I’ll see you soon.’ ‘I’ll see you soon.’ What did she mean by that? Does she want me to come and find her? He thought. 

“Ugh!” He groaned out-loud. “I really need some fucking help.” He left the texts between the two of you, about to re-lock your phone, but something bothered him. None of your family and friends had texted you. His texts were the last you had received. Out of the 536 notifications, not one had been a text from your loved ones. 

Twitter. Instagram. Tumblr. Facebook. Pinterest. Even fucking Youtube had sent you more notifications than your friends. What the fuck? He questioned. What puzzled him more however, was the name just below his. Nao? He had never met them. 

He opened the messages between you and the girl, studying every word. You had asked her if you could stay with her until you departed the states. She told you yes and sent her address in return. 

Tony rushed to get up from his spot on the floor. He fled to put on something decent before sprinting out of the house to find Nao. 

…..

Thuack! Thuack! Thuack! Thuack! Thuack! Those were the sounds his slaps made against the door. He barely left a second between each thud, forcing the resident to answer his calls. He hadn’t messaged her ahead of time to make sure she was home. He didn’t even know the girl, who offered you a home away from him. All he knew, was that the person on the other side of that wall was the last to see you. Perhaps even someone who could give him answers regarding you. He continued his desperate knocks, silently begging for God to answer his prayers. 

Nao swung the door open, eyeing the slate of wood as if he had put a hole through it. Her glare turned into a look of bewilderment upon turning to examine her door’s assailant. He had on a pair of tented shades as if to hide his identity, but she knew who he was.“Tony Stark?” 

“Yes. May I come in?” He asked, after pushing past her to invite himself into her apartment. He didn’t even give himself enough time to properly analyze her. 

“Um…no.” Nao answered to herself, dumbfounded that this man just barged his way into her apartment.  She followed him through the tiny living room, watching him inspect the furniture and knick-knacks that were spread throughout the place. She thought he was judging her choice of decorations, but he was really trying to determine what kind of person she was. 

“Can I help you?” She rudely asked, snatching back the journal he picked up from her coffee table. 

An unfazed Tony replied, “Actually you just might be able to. Nay-yoh?” He annunciated “Am I pronouncing that right?”

She was curious as to how he knew her name, as well as how he found her “Yes, how did you—”

“You let a girl by the name of Y/N stay here about 5 months ago?” She was hesitant when she answered yes, very aware of where his questions were going. “Do you have any idea where she is?”

“I can tell you that she doesn’t want to be found.” Nao confessed, informing him of what he already knew. 

“I asked if you know where she is.” He stopped his journey around her apartment, to focus in on her. How he didn’t notice her baby-blue hair before, was a mystery. She had on sea-foam green silk pajamas, and looked like she had just rolled out of bed, despite it being around 1:00 in the afternoon.

“Dude, Ms. Potts told me not to speak to you about this, and so did Y/N.”

At this point, he took his shades off, and trudged closer to her squaring his shoulders to appear taller. It was his attempt to intimidate her. Nao looked more unbothered than ever though; pale arms crossed against her chest. She was close in his height, still a few inches shorter, but in this moment they were equals. She quirked her eyebrows in a ‘try-me’ manner, before speaking again. “If my answer wasn’t clear before, I am not telling you shit.”

His hard demeanor dissipated, and he soon turned into a pitiful mess. “Please. Is it money you want?”

“No.”

“Protection?”

“No.”

“Weed?” He suggested that because it was the first thing he smelled upon entering her apartment.

“Nah. I’ve had my fill.” She laughed

“Then what is it? Just name it and I’ll do it!” She knew he was serious, but her loyalties laid with you. 

“Nothing. I can’t tell you anything.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Tony questioned.

“It’s all in the same isn’t it?” Nao casually countered. 

He was beginning to lose hope again. “Please? I am begging you. Surely you must know that the circumstances surrounding her leave, are bullshit.”

“She did it for you Tony.” Nao looked at him as if he was ungrateful. She was now greatly concerned by your choice in men. 

“I know. I know.” Tony started, deeply admired by your love for him.  “And I love her for it, it’s just…I didn’t ask her to. I didn’t need her to. Could you just please tell me where she is.” 

Pain shined through his ego. She saw this grown man on the verge of breaking. A man who had everything in the world , yet he still could not be satisfied without you. She could only offer her pity. “I can’t man. Maybe you should just leave things the way they are. It’s for the best.”

“I am sick of people telling me what is for the best. I have been on this planet for over forty years now, and I am perfectly capable of deciding what is best for me.” Tony spat 

“Well so is Y/N.” Nao asserted, batting for you since you weren’t there. Growing irritated she walked over to him to begin pushing him towards the exit. 

Surprised by this lanky girl’s strength, Tony kicked up his pleading due to his lack of time.“Please. Please? My life is miserable without her.” 

Though she believed him, she still felt the need to be loyal to you. But If he found you on his own, she could still do that. She stopped to open the door, now speaking again. “I can’t tell you where she is.”

“Oh come on—“

“—But I can tell you to check her twitter.” And with that, she pushed him through the door, shutting it quickly before he could protest. 

…..

Twitter. What in the hell did she mean by that? He thought. Of course he had checked your twitter, it was the first thing he had done when he left the police station.  He followed every one of your social media accounts, and you had been inactive on all of them. There weren’t even any signs of you liking others posts. Pepper practically had you on lock-down. 

He was out of ideas, before, he decided to check your account through your phone. Perhaps something different would show up. 

Still nothing.

He became bored browsing through the app. Then curious as to how it worked. Despite being a genius, twitter seemed like a foreign concept to him. Being the attention-seeking, flamboyant man he was, you would of thought he’d be drawn to it. But he was usually far too busy to keep up with the ever-changing app. Far too busy to even care what anyone had to say about him. Now, however, he had all the time in the world. 

He searched through your profile, wondering if he could find anything in your bio about where you could or would be. You were way too smart for that. So still nothing. 

While searching through your navigation tab, that’s when he finally found something worth searching for. Right across from your profile picture, was another glowing blue icon. 

Tapping on it, he was able to switch to your not-so-secret account, Tonysbitch99.

“Well, what do we have here?” He cheered, as he scrolled through your most recent tweets. Some dated back to as early as yesterday. The entire account was dedicated to defending him.

You had tweets that called out TMZ for spreading fake news. TMZ tweeted comments that speculated Tony being dead, because no one had seen the titan of industry in public for a while. 

Tonysbitch99: @ TMZ, shut the fuck up. You speak of things you know nothing about. Tony’s just chillin. Dealing with invasive idiots like you, sick people, can be stressful. 

There were tweets about Tony being a cradle-robber for dating a woman who was half his age. 

Jer0d_the_g0at: When are we gonna talk about Tony Stark? This man is dating a literal child. She’s only like 10. 

Tonysbitch99: @ Jerod_the_goat, please invite yourself to mind your fucking business. They are both consenting adults, and if she didn’t wanna be with him she wouldn’t be. BTW she’s 24. 

Jer0d_the_g0at: @ Tonysbitch99, you talk like you know her. Did she tell you that? Anyway it doesn’t matter, because Tony either pressured her, or she’s in it for the money. 

Tonysbitch99: @ Jerod_the_goat, look at you doing the same thing you accuse me of. Did she tell you she was pressured? Did she tell you she just wanted his money? People need to stay out of other’s relationships. She’s a grown ass woman. 

Tonysbitch99:  @ zuko-marry-me, I heard her ex was an arrogant p.o.s who always cheated and never gave her the time of day. That was your response to a comment calling the both of you out for betraying Edward. 

zuko-marry-me: @ tonysbitch99, Please tell me how that’s relevant? That’s still his son, nothing Edward’s does will ever make what they did okay.

kayleesinterlude: @ zuko-marry-me, I don’t know about that one, love. I’ve met the guy, he was flirting and practically eye-fucking me in front of his girl. I’d fuck Tony after that too. 

Endless tweets flooded your profile. Whether it was malicious attacks, or harmless thoughts, it was about him. He knew it was you, because they only tweeted things that you could know. Your latest tweet was one that had him in shambles. 

Tonysbitch99: I hope Tony is taking care of himself. I wanna hear from him, but his health is more important right now. Remember to smile today @ therealtonystark. I love you. Hope to see you soon.

His vision became blurry with tears, and his throat emitted a sound that he had never heard through all his years of living. She does want me to find her. He thought. Mentally pulling himself together he kept looking. He scrolled until he finally found a tweet that tagged your location. “What is she doing there?” He asked himself.

“Tony why are you dodging my calls?” Pepper sounded from in front of him, the sudden surprise caused him to drop your device. They were currently in his bedroom, so he hadn’t heard her come in from downstairs.  

“Fucking hell Pepper. How many keys do you have? You’re only supposed to use that for emergencies.” He said gesturing to the the key between her fingers. She stood in the doorway with her usual business attire on: navy blue pencil skirt, white blouse, and blazer. 

“Tony this is an emergency. I need you to come back to the company asap.” 

“Pepper whatever it is, you or Edward can handle it.” Tony assured, before rolling out of bed to get ready. 

“This is about Edward. He’s stepping down.”

“What? Why?” He questioned, shutting his dresser closed before turning to eye her. 

“I can’t tell you why.” She murmured.

“Pepper I have had it with you not telling me shit! If you don’t tell me why right now, so help me God!”

“Fine. I finally talked some sense into him.” She lied. “This is your company, and what he has done to you is unacceptable.”

Not understanding why she didn’t just tell him that, he left it alone before saying “Thanks Pepper, but that was unnecessary. You can tell Edward to come back now.”

“It’s not that simple.” Pepper stated, looking down at her feet. 

“It never is.” He sighed. He didn’t have time for this, he was far too focused on finding you. “Why isn’t it that simple Pepper?” 

“I told him the truth, and now he feels guilty” She whispered. 

“The truth about what?” Growing impatient with her beating around the bush, he raised his voice when he spoke again. “Spit it out, please?”

She was still hesitant, but she rushed her words when she told him, “He isn’t your son.”

“Yes he is my son.” Tony sighed.

“No he isn’t Tony. I cheated on you.” She exhaled, forcing herself to speak faster before she chickened out. “This entire thing is my fault. I feel guilty about this all. Now you’re miserable because of it. You would have never gone through this if it wasn’t for me.”

“Stop.” Tony commanded softly, but Pepper continued her rambles.  

“Y/N would still be here if it wasn’t for me.” She cried.

“I would have never met her, if it wasn’t for you.” Tony’s reassurement went ignored as Pepper continued.

“You should have never had to deal with Edward’s shit. Tony I am so sorry, please don’t hate me, Tony. Please forgive me.” She sobbed, now a whimpering mess. Seeing the usually well-kept woman in disarray, left Tony in shock. This was not his Pepper.   

“Pepper! Calm down” Tony shouted, grabbing the frenzied woman’s shoulders finally breaking through her fit of self-guilt. “I chose to deal with Edward’s shit.”

“You didn’t know he wasn’t yours though Tony.”She cried.  Her eyes were glazed over, and she was pink in the face. 

“He is mine.” 

Now sniveling, she feared he didn’t understand her because of the blubbering. “No you don’t understand. He’s not your biological son.”

“Pepper I do understand.” He confessed, smoothing out her sleeves. 

She shook her head. Her bangs bounced all over the place as she wore her confusion. “What?”

“I hadn’t touched you in months, the night that he was conceived. I know I drank a lot, but did you really think I was that stupid?”

Directing her gaze away from his, she thought about it. “I guess I didn’t think about that. But then why didn’t you say anything?” She asked, meeting his eyes again. 

He took in a sharp breath before he spoke. “Because I wasn’t the best husband to you. I was unfaithful. I was mean. And I was never there. I gave you every reason to cheat. In return, you gave me a beautiful boy. As much as we have our differences, I love Edward and I love you. I failed the two of you, and it’s you I should be asking for forgiveness from. Please forgive me.” He begged her, speaking in soft tones. 

She was speechless. All these years she thought she was hiding a life-altering secret, when in reality Tony had known about it the entire time. He had even went far enough to claim a boy who hated him all his life as his own. Pepper knew Edward hated his father. She trained him to. She felt that if the two weren’t close to each other, her secret could become more bearable. Now she just hated herself for it. “I don’t know what to say.” 

“Then don’t.” He said smiling, pulling her in for a hug. “Well don’t say anything after you tell me where Edward is.” Tony had one stop to make. 

…..  

He pulled up to the building, the sun’s beams bouncing off of the spotless glass. Suddenly his nerves were compromised. Much like his relationship with you, it had been five months since he had last spoken with his son.

Every step he took towards the elevator felt like overcoming mountains. The higher the lift took him, the harder it became for him to breathe. When the doors opened, it felt like the ground would give out from beneath him; would it send him flying back down to become paint on the building’s marble floors?

This was hard. If their relationship wasn’t strained before, it was now. Tony slept with his son’s girlfriend. While you didn’t mean much to Edward, it was the fact that his father could stoop to such low lengths, that hurt him. Tony hadn’t even offered so much as an apology. He didn’t feel he needed to. Edward didn’t really care about you. No. Of course he didn’t. But he still felt disrespected. Foolish. Betrayed. 

Tony took in a sharp inhale. Then a deep exhale. He grasped the the handle to his old office door, pulling open it open to peak his head inside. Because it was the end of the day, relatively everyone was gone. It was just him and Edward. He had to make sure, just in case there was another brawl. 

He saw him, packing his items into a cardboard box with intentions of leaving. “What? You can’t handle the pressures of becoming the CEO.” Tony joked. 

“If you’re here to gloat, I don’t wanna hear it.” Edward didn’t spare his dad a glance, because he knew he was coming. Pepper had called and warned him to be nice. 

“I’m not here to gloat.” Tony paused to fully step into view. “I’m here to ask you to stay.”

“I don’t want your fucking pity, Tony. I know you’re only doing this because you feel like it will make us even.” He bit. “Just so you know, it wont.”

“Do you really think I’d let you run a multi-billion dollar company, because I pity you?” Edward just kept packing, refusing to look up and acknowledge his father’s question. “I did it because you’re my son, and I raised you right. I can trust that Stark Industries will do fine in your hands.”

“So I guess, mom hasn’t told you the news huh? I am not your son. So don’t call me that.”

“You might not be my blood Edward. But you are my son. I am the one that raised you. And I love you–“

“You have a funny way of showing someone you love them.” He snapped, stopping his previous tasks to eye his father

“Edward. What are you really mad at? Who are you really mad at? You didn’t love her. And me and you are also not the closest.”

It was as if he could explode in anger. “I’m mad that you lied to my face! I’m mad that I confided in you, and you told me I had nothing to worry about! I’m mad that you have been doing this out in the open for over a year now. I’m mad that when I confronted you two, you didn’t apologize, in fact you smiled in my fucking face.” He had to calm himself. He took a seat, to stop his chest from rising and falling. His fit of rage had consumed him for a moment, but then sadness washed over his person. “I mean I knew you hated me dad. I just didn’t know to what extent, or even for what reason. Now I do.”

Guilt began to eat at Tony. “Edward. I didn’t know you felt this way.”

“Well you didn’t ask.” He pouted.

“I’m sorry, sweetie.” He sighed. “I really messed up badly this time.” He crossed the threshold, walking to sit on the desk, folding his hands in his lap as he leaned on its edge.  It was a moment before he spoke again. “For the record I don’t hate you. Edward, you are my world. I failed to show you that, but please believe me when I say it's the truth.”

He placed a hand on the man’s back, rubbing circular motions for a round on his middle. “I knew there was a chance that I could hurt you by doing what I did. Yet still, I listened to my feelings and let go of my better judgement. From the bottom of my heart Edward, I am deeply sorry. Do you see us ever putting this all behind us?”

Edward glanced up at Tony, hurt still plastered on his face, but hope glimmering through his eyes. “Sure.” He responded softly, looked down at nothing for a moment, before meeting Tony’s line of sight again. “Dad.”

“Hmm?” Tony hummed, a small smile now playing on his features. 

“If you ever get back with Y/N, don’t marry her. I can’t have slept with my mom.”

Ignoring his joke, Tony asked, “So you don’t care if I continue to pursue her?”

“No. I’m just happy you apologized” He barely gave Edward a second before he belted out a response.

“Good! I am so happy to hear that!” He said as he patted his back and leaped up. “Because I have a flight to catch. Don’t screw things up too much while I’m gone.”

He was practically out of the door before his son yelled for his attention.“Dad before you go, I just have one more question to ask.”

“Yes dear?” Tony questioned, placing a hand on the doorway to leave, turning his head slightly to focus on Edward.

Edward took his time asking, because he was unsure of himself. “If I loved her, would you have still pursued her?”

He only took a second to think about his next words. “Son if you loved her, we would have never been in this situation.” He responded. Edward pursed his lips in response, subtly nodding his head to show his content with the man’s answer. 

And with that, Tony turned to leave. It was time to find his girl. 

  A/N Tell me what you think! Also please do not claim my work as your own. I love you all! @swaggysposts @retroxvailles I hope you guys like this chapter. Let me know if you see any errors.

[angelic-holland]

All Too Well // prologue

Spilled Ink & Blueberry Wine

pairing: Harrison Osterfield x fem!reader

warnings: angst

word count: 1.6k

Y/N accepted a job on the props team for a small rom-com never expecting her life to change completely because of a boy with blue eyes and a bright smile. But as autumn turned to winter, she found herself embracing her vulnerabilities and hoping her love didn’t end when the movie wrapped.

masterlist ☼ taglist

A/N: i would love to hear what everyone thinks of this series! i’m very excited to write this for you all! italics indicate flashbacks! 

Moving to your new apartment was supposed to be the opportunity of a lifetime. The ability to be a part of a major Hollywood movie was beyond your wildest dreams. But it was coming true all over again. 

A chance to forget about the East Coast and all of the painful memories along with it.

Instead, you were sitting on the cold hardwood floor of your empty studio. Saying you were shocked was putting it lightly. 

A box that shipped from your sister’s address sat in front of you. However, it wasn’t from your sister. It was from Harrison. You recognized his handwriting immediately after tearing away the tape and opening the box. 

The letter, your name scrawled across the envelope, was at the very top. You ignored the rest, keepsakes of your time spent with Harrison, and tore the envelope open.

Dear Y/N,

I wasn’t sure of your new address, so I sent your things back to your sister’s address. If you’re reading this I guess it means you got them back. 

I almost packed up that bottle of blueberry wine you gave me with everything but I realized if I was shipping this in the mail I wouldn’t want it to break. And it’s damn good wine. I hope you understand.

I swear I’ve written this letter about a hundred times. I could never find the right words to say, what you wanted to hear. Until I realized that I was going about this letter all wrong. I shouldn’t be worried about your opinion of me or what you'll think of me when you’ve finished this letter. I just need to be completely honest with you. That was always the biggest problem between the two of us. 

I was scared if I was honest with you, you’d run away. I guess neither of us realized it would be me who’d do the running. 

I think I was afraid. I was afraid of commitment and I was afraid of how quickly and easily you were able to make me feel everything. Does that make sense? 

I realize now, that’s love. That feeling of sheer hopelessness when your time with someone is running out. When the clock is ticking and your feelings have a deadline. When you want to smash that clock against the wall to shut it up because our time wasn’t enough. And you didn’t need another shitty reminder of that. 

I guess I’m trying to say that our time doesn’t have to be over if you don’t want it to be. We didn’t have to have an expiration date. 

I love you. And I’d understand if you couldn’t forgive me. I’d understand if this letter ends up in your fireplace or the bin. 

But I hope you’ll hold onto it. Even if it’s just a reminder of the time we had. 

Love,

H

You couldn’t contain the angry sobs that wracked your body, tiring you as the sun rose in the early hours of the day. You cried even harder when you realized you didn’t even have curtains to hang up.

You came to Los Angeles with whatever could fit in your beaten up, old blue Subaru. Curtains not included.

You lugged in a single box from your car thus far, food and of course, another bottle of your favorite alcohol.

And so you got drunk, off of lukewarm blueberry wine at 9am. 

Just the taste reminded you of him. So you managed to curl up on the softest part of your apartment, the small rug in front of the shower that the last tenant left and you cried.

The memory of his blue stained lips, soft and gentle against yours, exploring, yearning, invaded your mind, invaded your heart. 

You glanced at your phone, half expecting a missed call or a text message from Harrison. Your lockscreen was empty.

So you did the only thing you knew how to do when it came to Harrison. You poured your heart out into a letter back to him.

Granted, it was written on the notes app on your phone because there was little chance you had a pen or paper in your car or you’d be able to get yourself up from this spot without taking a tumble.

Dear H,

I hate you. Who am I kidding? I couldn’t hate you. I can’t even say I hated the way you made me feel. Like I was a baby bird getting thrown out of the nest for the first time. Hey, you have your metaphors, I have mine. You’re just better at words than I am. But for the longest time when we were together, I thought I was flying. That’s the best feeling I can use to describe the euphoria of what first love feels like. It wasn’t until all was said and done, and I hit the ground while you just watched, that I realized I wasn’t flying. I was falling. 

But none of that matters now. Because I’m in LA and you’re in London and neither of us are willing to sacrifice our careers for one another. We shouldn’t have to, and that shouldn’t have been a fight. But it was. 

Your mom called me by the way, on my drive to LA. She told me you still loved me, said you came home with that red scarf of mine. For days you contemplated sending it back to me, but she said she found you sleeping with it next to you.

You can keep it.

- I’ll see you on the red carpet,

Y/N

Still no messages from Harrison. 

Sending a quick text to your sister, you let her know you made it to your place and you were safe.

Then you threw your phone across the bathroom, not even flinching when it thudded against the wall and fell to the ground.

With your one way you could reach out to Harrison and amend things now inaccessible, you leaned back against the bathtub, lips stained blue, and delved into the box of memories. 

Blue mittens, ones you taught him how to knit, sat on top. It was humid, even in January, you were sweating. But you held the fabric to your chest as you remembered the playful banter between you that night.

“Why’re you teaching me this?” He asked, setting the knitting needles down with a frustrated sigh.

“Because! Knitting is an amazing skill to have. When you’re bored, knit. When you want to keep your hands busy, knit. Want a cheap Christmas gift? Knit!”

Harrison chuckled, tossing the ball of yarn and needles to the side.

“I can think of a much better way to keep my hands busy.”

“Haz!”

You set the mittens aside, picking up his yellow and brown flannel next.

“Here, take my shirt,” Harrison said, sliding his arms out of the flannel. You glanced up at the red light anxiously.

“No way! It’s freezing. You’ve only got a t-shirt under there!” You huffed, crossing your arms over your chest, glancing over at Harrison’s bare arms, goosebumps prickling under his skin.

“Yeah, it’s your shit car with no heat. But I don’t want my girl to be cold. Here.”

He insisted, draping the flannel over your shoulders. Your cheeks warmed and it was almost enough to bring your entire body warmth, if you weren’t in the middle of Vermont winter, when he called you his girl for the first time. 

“Fine, bossy,” you teased, poking your tongue out at him.

“As if you don’t like that.”

You were pleasantly surprised he gave you the flannel, especially since it was his favorite. But he knew it was your favorite too. 

Next was your photo album; you kept polaroids of your antics on set and the cast. 

You gave it to Harrison as a keepsake, to commemorate his first big film and your time together.

You told yourself you weren’t sentimental, but when you opened to the first page, you nearly cried. 

“Why’re you signing it? It’s not a yearbook,” he teased, watching you scribble your signature and a small heart on the bottom of the first page.

“Because, one day my signature will be worth something. Don’t forget to cash this in.” You shoved the book across the bed toward him, the first picture was one of him snoozing on a chair while waiting for an early morning shoot. 

He shook his head, eyes crinkling as he laughed. “This is priceless.”

You flipped to the back page, where the entire cast and crew signed their names for the keepsake. Your thumb ran over the ink of his signature, the biggest one on the page, written in purple ink, a pen he definitely stole from your room. 

“I love you,” he said as you woke up. 

“I love you too.” You smiled, the usual sleepiness in your voice gone. 

“I’ll see you at the party tonight?” His thumb gently stroked your cheek, your eyelids heavy.

“Yeah, you better kiss me when the New Year chimes in.” 

“Couldn’t imagine doing anything else.” His lips pressed against yours before he kicked the covers back.

“Go get ready for your magazine shoot, movie star. I’ll be here when you get back.”

“Bye, love.”

As you laid down with his flannel underneath your head, you knew that your goodbye to Harrison two weeks ago was never really a goodbye. Not a permanent one, not when you still loved him and he still loved you. 

You could only hope that with time, the pain of what happened would disappear, and you and Harrison could look back on this winter with warm hearts.

***

taglist: @ifilosemyselfagain @youremusicinme @tombob2005 @hazmyheart @softholand​ @serendipitous-amor​

[sassyduckqueen]

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 36

Only three more chapters to go til Heroes Day!! I'm very excited for that one as I think you'll love it. I have a basic plan and it's gonna be good! As you've all probably guessed, Leatherback is going to be one of the next three chapters but the other two will be Desperada and Ikari Gozen. Though Desperada's appearance will be her second akumatization in this universe. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :D

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

Chapter Thirty-Six: Malediktator

Luka hummed softly to himself as he cycled to the Grand Paris hotel. He was on one of his delivery shifts and actually had time to complete it. He had reduced his hours at work now that he was a superhero and going to school but luckily, his boss was pretty cool and understood. He only got two shifts a week and luckily it seemed that Hawkmoth didn't tend to target people on a Thursday and a Saturday. That or his luck was coming into play. Now that he thought about it, it was probably his luck that he hadn't had his shifts disturbed yet but he certainly wasn't complaining. He pulled up at the Grand Paris and jumped off his bike, locking it up. Tikki flew into his hoodie as he took his helmet then grabbed the final box. It was his last delivery for the evening. He walked up to the doorman and smiled.

 "Delivery for Chloe Bourgeois," He stated, making the doorman nod and let him in. He walked through the hotel and checked his phone to make sure she had paid. He got into the lift and rode it up to the floor she lived in. As soon as he exited the lift, he heard screaming and shouting. He frowned as he walked towards the door. Tikki popped her out.

 "Is it an akuma?" She asked, making him shake his head.

 "No, it's someone arguing," He mumbled as the door slammed open. Tikki quickly hid and Luka blinked as Audrey Bourgeois stared at him before lifting her arm and tracing her eyes at his outfit. He could literally feel her judging him.

 "What a trashy outfit," She scoffed, turning her nose up at it before she waved her hand at him in a dismissive manor. "You're fired,"

 "I don't work for you," He stated, making her blink and stare at him before she glared at him.

 "How dare you talk to me like that?! I'm the queen of style-"

 "And I really don't care. I'm tired and I have other things to do so either take this or move out my way," He stated, making her blink again as he took out his phone and send the text to let Chloe know her food was here. 

 "Now listen here, you-"

 "Mum! Could you just not have a go at my school friends?! Go argue more with Dad," Chloe suddenly stated, making her blink for the third time as she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room, closing the door behind them. She let out a sigh before taking the sushi box from him before pointing towards the window. "If you go out that way, you can take the lift into the restaurant and avoid my mother,"

 "Thank you," He muttered, turning to walk out of her balcony doors but he stopped and frowned a little. Chloe had moved to her bed and was slowly eating the sushi but something felt a little off to him. He wasn't sure if it was his best idea but he turned around and cleared his throat, causing her to look up at him. "Uh... are you ok? You seem... off?"

 "Because I'm been nice?" She asked, sharply and defensively. "Well, even I can be nice you know. I am trying to change,"

 "That's not what I meant," He stated, making her look at him. "You seem out of tune,"

 "Out of tune?" She asked, confused. He frowned as it wasn't the right words. "How can I be out of tune? I'm not a musical instrument,"

 "Sorry... I meant like sad... you seem sad..." He replied, making her eyes widen in shock before she looks down, a sad expression coming on her face. Luka sighed and turned to walk away. "Never mind..."

 "Mama wants to go back to New York with me but Daddy doesn't want us to leave Paris," She admitted, making him stop and look at her. "They've been arguing non stop about it for a couple of days. I'm sure you heard the shouting when you got out of the lift. Mama was trying to convince me to go with her but when I said I wasn't sure I wanted to leave, she started to shout at me,"

 "Why aren't you sure?" He asked without meaning to but she sighed and hugged her legs. "I mean Paris is cool but New York would be pretty cool too,"

 "I like Paris..." She admitted, sighing. "I know I don't have many friends in Paris but since the whole Queen Wasp incident, I've been going to therapy and it's really helping just having someone to talk to.... but Daddy is the one paying for it as Mama doesn't believe I need it. I know if I go to New York with her, I won't get the help I need plus she just brush me off like she always does,"

 "Well, it sounds like me that you're not unsure at all. You clearly want to stay in Paris so tell her that," He replied, making her look at him. "As for having no friends, you can always try to make some,"

 "Most people believe I haven't changed," She admits, looking down again. "That's why I snapped at you. I thought you were like them but you seem different,"

 "Well, you still have far to go but I can see quite clearly that you're trying your best so I think it's only fair to give you a chance. Besides, we never really got a chance to introduce ourselves to each other," He smiled before holding out his hand. Chloe blinked and looked at him in surprise. "I'm Luka Couffaine. It's nice to meet you,"

 "Uh... Chloe Bourgeois," She replied, taking his hand and shaking it. "It's nice to meet you as well. I'm right in thinking you're friends with Marinette?"

 "Yeah," He smiled, causing her to look nervous. "You should talk to her and I don't just mean about the dress you've commissioned her for. She is a great person and if you give her a chance, you might find a real friend in her,"

 "I was her bully for years..."

 "Then apologize for that,"

 "She won't accept it,"

 "She doesn't have to," He replied, making her look at him in surprise. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Just by trying you can show her and the rest of the school that you really have changed. Anyway, I should get going as I have some more errands to run but Chloe, don't give up ok?"

 She nodded as he headed to the door and walked over, giving her a nod. Audrey had gone and he could hear shouting in the distance as he walked over to the lift. He pressed the button and waited for the lift to arrive, stepping in it as soon as it did. Once the doors closed, Tikki poked her head out.

 "That was some good advice you gave, Chloe," She smiled, making him smile a little as well.

 "She does seem to be improving but she has a long way to go," He admitted, making Tikki nod. "I just hope she's able to tell her mother that she needs to stay. I'd hate to see revert back to how she was before,"

 "Me too," Tikki admitted before hiding in his jacket as the lift came to a stop. He walked over of the building and unlocked his bike before placing his helmet on. He took out his phone, marked Chloe's food as delivered before using the company's app to clock out. He placed his phone back in his pocket before cycling off. He had one last errant to do and that was pick up some macaroons and cookies for Tikki. He stopped outside of the bakery and parked his bike, taking off his helmet and placing it inside. He walked over to the door and pushed it open, causing the bell to ring.

 "Welcome to- Hello, Luka," Sabine smiled as he walked up to the counter. "How are you?"

 "I'm good, Mrs Cheng. Thank you for asking," He smiled.

 "That's good to know, dear," She smiled back. "If you're here to see Marinette, you just missed her. She just left for Alya's,"

 "That's ok, Mrs Cheng. I'll message her later," He replied, nodding. He would be able to hang with Marinette another day as they both had plans tonight. She was sleeping over at Alya's with the girl squad and he had his shift then had to go on patrol. Of course, he didn't tell her about the patrol part. "I actually came in to buy some cookies and macarons,"

 "You do seemed fond of them. The usual flavors?" She asked, making him nod. "As I recall, they're for your friend?"

 "Yes, she has a huge sweet tooth,"

 "Are you and her close?" She asked as she bagged them up.

 "Yes, she's like a little sister to me," He smiled as he glanced at the rest of the food on display. Sabine smiled a little at his answer. "Can I have two eclairs as well?"

 "Of course, dear," She replied, getting them for him. "You already have a little sister, don't you? Juleka? Was it?"

 "Yeah but I have a habit of kind of been a big brother to people. I basically adopted Rose as my little sister and Tik- Tina... my friend who likes the cookies," He smiled, mentally sweating at almost saying Tikki's name. "Rose is practically my sister in law at this point anyway. How much do I owe you, Mrs Cheng?"

 "You can call me Sabine, dear," She smiled before ringing up the items. "22.45 euros, please?"

 He smiled and paid before taking the sweets and leaving the shop, waving goodbye to Sabine. He placed them in the basket and put his helmet back on before cycling off back to the Seine. The sun was beginning to set once he got to the Liberty. He locked his bike up and climbed on board, walking downstairs as he hummed to himself. Anarka looked up from her notepad as he placed an Eclair in front of her as he smiled.

 "Have you had any dinner yet?" He asked, making her look at the time. She frowned and stretched.

 "Nothing yet," She replied, making him frown. "Been working hard on a new song. Wanna read while I order take out?"

 "Sure, ma," He smiled, picking up the note pad and glancing over the scribbles and notes as she put in their usual order. He put it down as she walked back over.

 "What do you think?"

 "Sounds good so far," He smiled, making her smile. "You'll show me the finished piece right?"

 "Of course," She mumbled, making him nod before she claps her hand. "That reminds me. I have a job interview,"

 "You do?" He asked, frowning a little. Either she's decided to cure her boredom by getting a second job or money is tight. Sometimes that was the case with their lifestyle. Writing and selling songs were good if people wanted to buy them but not everyone did and of course, Bob Roth made it rather difficult for her to sell songs. Sometimes, they were times where it was hard to make ends meet. That's why Luka got his job in the first place but of course, he has reduced hours now. "Is everything ok?"

 "Nothing for you to worry about, Lad," She smiled. "We're up to date with bills and the usual things that cost money but it wouldn't do us any hard if I have a second job,"

 "So what's the job?" He asked.

 "Just some part shop work," She stated, making him frown. "It's nothing to worry about, Lad,"

 "Alright but if money gets too bad, I can always pick up some more shifts,"

 "You don't need to," She explained. "And you have school to worry about,"

 "If you say so, ma,"

 ~Monday~

 "Mr Couffaine, are you listening?" Ms Mendeleiev asked, making Luka look up from his notes and nod. She rose an eyebrow. "Then repeat what I said,"

 "You were explaining the difference between an atom and an ion," He replied, making her look at him with surprise before he lifted his book, showing his notes. Kagami smiled at him as Ms Mendeleiev nodded in approval.

 "Good that you're taking notes, Mr Couffaine," She replied before continuing with her lesson. Luka looked back down and smiled at the text he received from Marinette before sending her a reply, saying that he almost got caught so he'll talk to her at lunch. He slid his phone into his pocket and tried to pay attention to the rest of the lesson. Finally, the bell for lunch rang. He slid his notes into his bag and began to leave for the canteen. 

 "Luka," Kagami called, making him look over at her. She was holding her bag, looking calm as usual. "Adrien mentioned you are joining us for lunch today,"

 "Yeah, Marinette invited me," He smiled, making her nod. "You don't mind, do you?"

 "No, I do not," She tried her best to smile. "Perhaps we can walk to the canteen together?"

 "Sure," He smiled, slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking out with her. They walked in silence, making him bite his lip as he wasn't sure what to say to her but it was Kagami that broke the silence.

 "I'm glad you're not longer sick and have returned to school," She stated, making him look at her in surprise. "Marinette seemed worried about you,"

 "Yeah... Marinette saw why I was off," He mumbled, playing with his strap of his bag. "But I'm ok now,"

 "She cares a lot for you," Kagami stated, surprising him. "And I'm certain you care for her,"

 "I do," He mumbled, looking to the side with a slight blush.

 "You should tell her," She stated, making him look at her in shock. It's not that he didn't like Kagami or that he thought she was bad but in a way, she was similar to Chloe. In other words, an acquired taste and while he was happy to be his friend, he didn't necessarily want to have this conversation with her. It was bad enough that Juleka, Rose, Ivan and Mylene had given him lectures about talking to Marinette about his feelings. Now Kagami was going to. He would not be surprised if at some point, Adrien pulls him aside and tells him off.  "It is obvious that you are in love with her,"

 "She's in love with someone else," He mumbled, looking down. 

 "Yes, Adrien. I'm aware of her crush," She stated in a matter of a fact tone. "But Adrien isn't the only person to have captured her interest and he is unavailable to her. Adrien cares for Marinette but he only sees her as a friend,"

 "Then maybe he should tell her that!" He snapped, making her look at him. "Sorry... I didn't mean that..."

 "No, you are quite correct," She stated, making him frown. "Adrien doesn't understand social ques like the rest of the students here but even so, he should explain to Marinette that he only views her as a friend and that he only ever will. I shall tell him t-"

 "No," Luka gasped, causing her to look at him. He looks down as Kagami frowns.

 "I am confused," She stated. "Having Adrien tell Marinette that he only cares for her as a friend would eliminate him as a contender for her heart, meaning you would be to win her heart. Do you not want that?"

 "Not like that," He admitted, making her look at him. "Marinette deserves better then that. She doesn't deserve to have her heart broken. Yes, Adrien isn't interested in her and he should tell her that he likes her as a friend but not like that. He shouldn't just crush her heart so I can pick up the pieces. I do not want to have her love because of that. I do not want to be her second choice and I would never make a move on her while she was heartbroken. I have too much respect for her to do that. If Marinette wants to love me, I want her to come to that conclusion on her own,"

 "You really do love her," She stated, making him look at her. Was that a test? He rose an eyebrow as they walked into the canteen and shook his head, waving at Marinette when he saw her. She waved back, smiling brightly as she did. Alya was sat next to her, talking to Nino. Luka was glad to see that the two girls hadn't fallen out over the Reverser incident. Speaking of which, Marc had joined their table, happily talking to Nathaniel and Alix. Juleka was leaning on Rose as she gushed about something to Ivan and Mylene. Adrien was sat next to Nino and smiled as Kagami joined, leaving the spare seat next to Marinette. Luka moved over and sat down, happily taking out his lunch as he listened to the different conversations going on. However, the talking stopped as Chloe walked over. She looked extremely nervous and was looking to the side. She looked up and glanced at Luka, surprising him a little but he gave her an encouraging smile.

 "Um... I was hoping I could talk to you, Dup- I mean Marinette..." She mumbled, making Marinette look at her in surprised. Alya crossed her arms and glared at her but Marinette cleared her throat.

 "I'm listening, Chloe," She stated in a calm voice. Chloe took a deep breathe.

 "I wanted to apology for my behavior in the past," She stated, making everyone on the table look at her in surprise. "I was a terrible person and took out my own hurt on you. I understand that you probably won't forgive me and I don't blame you for that. In fact, I apologize to everyone at this table. Mylene, I'm sorry I made fun of your fear, Rose, I'm sorry that I made fun of your perfume and torn up your letter to Prince Ali... Ivan, I'm sorry for teasing you about liking Mylene. I actually think you two make a really cute couple. Nino and Alya, I'm sorry for been mean to you for no real reason or snapping at you. Nathaniel, I'm sorry for stealing your art and making you feel bad about having a crush on Marinette..."

 She turned to face Juleka, who looked frightened.

 "Juleka... I'm sorry that I got Sabrina to trap you in the bathroom. I was so desperate to stand next to Adrien that I didn't care who I hurt but I realize now how wrong I was," She mumbled, causing Juleka to go bright red before she turned to Marinette. "Marinette... I'm sorry for all the years I bullied you and belittled you... I was jealous of you... you are kind, sweet and having loving parents... you had everything I didn't and I hated you for it..."

 "Chloe..." Marinette stated but Chloe shook her head, tears in her eyes.

 "I am a terrible person and I don't deserve your forgiveness so I understand if you reject my apologies," She stated, wiping her eyes. "But I hope that maybe you'll let me earn your friendships and that we can start again,"

 She looked up and held out her hand with a sad smile on her face.

 "Hi, I'm Chloe Bourgeois... it's nice to meet you," She stated in a similar manner to how Luka done to her when he delivered her food but she wasn't expect anyone to shake her hand back. She was just giving them a chance to start again if they wanted. The group look around confused but Marinette was the first to get to her feet. She walked over to Chloe and stood in front of her, causing the girl to blink as she looked at her.

 "I accept your apology, Chloe," She smiled before taking her hand and shaking it. "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It's nice to meet you too, Chloe. I hope we can become good friends,"

 "Thank you," She whispered, more tears appearing in her eyes. Marinette smiled as Juleka stood up and shook Chloe's hand, reintroducing herself. The rest of the class did the same. Though Rose didn't actually shake her hand. Instead she just hugged Chloe, causing the girl to pat her head before she sat down. Marinette smiled as Chloe wiped away her tears before gesturing to the spare seat.

 "Why don't you join us for lunch?" She asked, making Chloe blink and look at the seat before pointing at herself.

 "You want me to join you?" She asked but it wasn't in a malicious tone. She just sounded surprise. Marinette smiled and nodded. "Thank you,"

 "Do you have a lunch?" Rose asked, making Chloe shake her head.

 "Usually I go back to the hotel to have lunch with Daddy if he's not busy," She explained, glancing to the side. Luka frowned a little as he suspected that her father was almost always busy and he highly doubted her mother ate with her. He felt Tikki push a cookie into his hand, causing him to glance down. She smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up.

 "Here, you can have this. It isn't much but it's better then nothing," He smiled, handing her to the cookie. Chloe went to take it but hesitated as she was sure he would snatch it from her but when he didn't, she took it.

 "Thank you," She mumbled before Marinette handed her a croissant and part of her sandwich. She looked up at her. "Are you sure?"

 "Well, a cookie isn't enough to fill you up," She smiled, gently nudging Luka who smiled back. Chloe thanked her and the conversation began again. Marinette turned to Luka. "So I wanted to ask you a favor?"

 "Oh?" He replied, making her press her fingers together. 

 "I was hoping that maybe you could show me the basics of guitar..." She mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. He looked at her in surprise. "If you're not busy... you're probably busy..."

 "I'd love to show you," He smiled but before either of them to could continue, the sound of a helicopter got their attention. All of the students rushed out to see what was going on as the guitar landed in the school grounds. Mr Damocles rushed over as Audrey Bourgeois got out of it. Chloe frowned as Mr Damocles tried to tell her that she couldn't land the helicopter there. However, she just ignored him and walked over to Chloe. 

 "Chloe, get in the helicopter. We're going to New York," She ordered, making the girl frown.

 "Mum, I told you already I don't want to go to New York," Chloe explained, making her mouth frown.

 "Don't be ridiculous, Chloe," She replied in a bored manner. "Of course, you want to go to New York. Now get in the helicopter. I haven't got all day,"

 Chloe sighed and began to walk to the helicopter with her shoulders slumped but Luka frowned and gently grabbed her wrist, making her look at him in surprise before he let go.

 "Chloe, you don't have to listen to her," Luka stated, causing Audrey to lower her glasses and glare at him. "You don't have to go,"

 "Well, trash like you wouldn't understand," She stated, causing everyone to glare at her. Luka crossed his arms and glared at her.

 "I'm not the one who isn't listening to my daughter, Mrs Bourgeois," He pointed out, making her frown as she glared at him. She expected him to back down but he glared back. Chloe frowned and looked at the group, expecting to tell her to go but Marinette walked and gently took her hand, giving her a reassuring smile.

 "Luka is right, Chloe. You don't have to go," She declares before turning to Audrey who was still looking at Luka like he was trash. "And don't call my friend trash! Luka is the most kind hearted and gentle person I know and he is far from 'trash' as you put it!"

 "Melody..." Luka mumbled, looking at her with surprise as a blush came across his face.

 "Oh, I know you. Margret was it?" Audrey asked, frowning. "Well, I'm glad I didn't take you on as my protege in New York if this fashion mistake is your friend. Clearly, none of you understand fashion," 

 "That may be the case but at least, I understand how to be a decent human being!" Luka growled, surprising everyone. "Something that you clearly have no idea about giving how you treat people!"

 "How dare you tal-"

 "How dare I?! No, how dare you!" He shouted, making her step back in surprise. "First, you demand your daughter to go with you, despite the fact that she told you no then you insult me and finally,"

 He pointed to Marinette.

 "Her name is Marinette! Not Margret!" He growled, making him frown. "And I'm glad she never went with you to New York because she deserves better then you and so does Chloe! Both of them have more talent in their little finger then you've ever had in your entire career! You are a selfish and egotistical woman so it's no surprise that Chloe doesn't want to go to New York with you!"

 Everyone stared at him in surprise as both Marinette and Chloe blushed a little. Though Marinette was blushing a little more. However, Audrey looked more angry then she did before but before she could say anything, a man burst through the door.

 "Chloe!" He shouted, making everyone look at him in surprise as he walked over. On his head, he wore a dark blue bicorne and light blue skin. He was wearing a dark blue jacket with a cowl going over most of his head except the bottom of his nose and his mouth. The jacket itself had black and purple markings on the shoulders and his right arm had a yellow armor-like shoulder with black stripes. However, the rest of the arm was dark blue with a bent white and red stripe just below the elbow. Across his chest, he had a blue, white, and red sash with a large blue, white, and red circle attached at the center. Also, he was also wearing white trousers and dark blue boots. Luka narrowed his eyes and quickly glanced around. It was clear he was the akuma but right now, Luka couldn't see a chance to escape. The akuma was looking around in disgust as he walked over before looking at Chloe. "Chloe, my daughter! You are not leaving for New York,"

 "Daddy?" She asked, shocked as he smiled at her.

 "Yes, sweetie," He smiled. "Now I have the power to make sure you have the best possible life. We'll start by getting rid of this awful school and their students. You're above those nasty little rats anyway. Now come with me, sweetie,"

 "Uhhh," Chloe gasped, clearly scared as he held out his hand.

 "André, getting yourself akumatized like everyone else in this city does not make you a 'cool' or 'hip' father," Audrey stated in her usual attitude, causing André to frown deeply before he lifted his two of his fingers to his mouth as she continued to rant.

 "By the power invested in me, I declare that you will be devoted to this family and remain in Paris with me and Chloe," He spoke, creating a small ball of light as he did before he threw it at her. Instantly, she stopped talking and rushed over to him.

 "Oh yes! My dear hubby!" She gasped, leaning against him and rubbing her cheek against his chest. "I'm so happy to stay here!"

 She jumped up and began to kiss his nose as she wrapped her arms around his neck, causing everyone including Chloe to stare in shock at the action. The akuma smirked before turning to Chloe.

 "Now, Chloe, why don't you come here?" He smiled as Audrey leaned against him, hugging his arm. "We can finally get rid of this god awful place,"

 "But... Daddy, I like it here..." She gasped, making him blink. "And while I don't want to go to New York, I can't stay with you as an akuma,"

 "Sweetie, I'll give you one more chance to come to me willingly," He stated in a menacing way. "Come here,"

 "No!" She shouted, making him frown deeply. Luka glanced around as he really needed to get to a place to transform. His luck vision kicked in, lighting up all of the students and giving him an idea. Since the akuma's attention was on Chloe, who was slowly backing away, he leaned over to Nino who was stood next to him, looking shocked and frightened.

 "Hey, when I shout scram, run in a random direction," He whispered, making Nino look at him. "Pass it on,"

 Nino nodded and whispered it to Adrien and Alya, who in turn told others including the teachers. It finally reached Marinette who grinned and gave Luka a discreet thumbs up as the akuma lifted his fingers to his mouth. Luka nodded to Marinette.

 "By the power invested in me, I declare-"

 "Scram!" Luka shouted, causing all of the students to run in a random direction. He grabbed Chloe's arm and dragged her to the locker room as the rest of the students confused the akuma. He pushed her inside and closed the door, leaning against it as he turned to her. "Go out the window now!"

 "Thank you," She gasped before she climbed up and out of the window as the akuma called for her before he began to head to the locker room. As soon as she was out, he moved from the door and hid inside a locker, holding his breathing as the akuma kicked open the door.

 "Chloe! Where are you?!" He growled, looking around as Audrey came in. "She isn't in here,"

 "Don't worry, sweetie. We'll find her,"

 "Of course, we will but let's get rid of this awful school. Maybe then she will see what a wonderful father I am," He replied, leaving with his wife. Luka let out a sigh before opening his jacket, allowing Tikki to fly out.

 "Trouble?" She asked.

 "Chloe's father has been akumatized," He replied before swiping his earring. "Tikki, spots on!"

 A red glow engulfed him, turning him into Anatis. He climbed out of the locker and out of the window before throwing his yoyo and pulling himself onto the roof as the other students began to destroy the school. Anatis narrowed his eyes as he looked around. Most of the students had been affected by whatever order the akuma had given them and were trashing the school but a few of them weren't among them. Marinette wasn't there and neither was Rose. However, Juleka, Adrien, Kagami and the rest of his friendship group were. The akuma smirked as he looked around before throwing a ball of light at Sabrina.

 "By the power invested in me, I order you to find Chloe and bring her to me," He ordered, causing her to bow.

 "Yes, Malediktator!" She declared before running off, causing Anatis to frown as Lady Noir jumped down onto the helicopter's blades.

 "Do you have a permit to destroy this school?" She asked, crossing her arms as she glared at him.

 "I don't need a permit!" He declared, making both heroes frown. "I am Malediktator, the all powerful super-mayor of Paris and this is my city!!"

 "Hate to burst your bubble but Paris doesn't belong to you alone!" Anatis called as he swung over to the helicopter and landed next to Lady Noir. "It belongs to everyone!"

 The two of them dived at him and began to fight him. Anatis threw his yoyo and wrapped it around Malediktator's wrist, pulling his arm back as Lady Noir tried to hit him with her baton but Malediktator blocked it with his free arm and tried to kick her. She dodged it but he grabbed her baton and used it to throw her across the playground. She flipped and landed on her feet as he grabbed a bench and tried to hit Anatis with it but he jumped out the way before it could hit him and landed next to Lady Noir. Malediktator growled and lifted his fingers.

 "By the power invested in me, I declare that your miraculous are my property!" He shouted, summoning to light balls and throwing them towards Anatis and Lady Noir. The two heroes dodged and dived out of the way of them, causing them to head up to the roof and duck down behind the brickwork.

 "Any idea where the akuma is?" Lady Noir asked as he looked around to see where they had gone.

 "I'm thinking it's in his sash," Anatis mumbled before throwing his yoyo up. "Lucky charm!"

 He frowned as he caught the abacus, causing Lady Noir to raise an eyebrow at him.

 "Your lucky charms get weirder and weirder," She replies, making him smile a little.

 "Tell me about it," He grinned before glancing around in his luck vision but nothing lit up. "Nothing up here is gonna help us,"

 "Then let's get a little closer," She replied, getting a nod of him as he went hooked it to his belt but Lady Noir placed her hand on his arm. "You work out what to do with that while I keep the mayor busy,"

 She dived down and threw her baton at him as Anatis looked around, trying to work out how to use the abacus. He frowned deeply as he glanced around the playground and school area yet not a single thing lit up. Frowning, he glanced at the abacus and examined it. What exactly what was he to do with it? Why that particular item? It did look familiar but he couldn't place it. It was probably in one of the classrooms. Either way, he was definitely gonna have words with Tikki when he was done here. Seriously, how was he suppose to defeat Malediktator with this when his power could cause him to literally surrender his miraculous without a fight? If anything, he would need something that would immobile Malediktator first but this wouldn't help him do that. If anything, he would need to go to Master Fu and get the Bee Miraculous. His eyes widen in understanding before he examined the abacus to be certain. It was almost identical to Master Fu's abacus expect for the ladybug pattern. Like the time with the teapot, it became very obvious what he needed to do. He looked up to call back Lady Noir as she dodged a ball of light and jumped up to the first floor. She dived towards Malediktator with her baton, ready to hit him but he spun round and threw a ball of light at her.

 "By the power invested in me," Malediktator smirked as it hit her, causing her to land on the ground. "I declare you are a cat!"

 She suddenly meowed and began to play with a can on the floor, moving it around with her hand.

 "Oh, no," Anatis groaned as he watched.

 "Oh, what a cutie pie," Audrey gasped before she leaned down and called her over. "Here, kitty, kitty,"

 Lady Noir glanced up at her before cautiously moving over. Audrey grinned and began to stroke her hair and ears as she leaned into her. Anatis frowned and took out his yoyo as Malediktator moved over but Lady Noir hissed and hid behind Audrey before trying to scratch him when he went to take her miraculous. Anatis smirked as he watched before frowning. If he wanted to rescue Lady Noir, he would have to get the Bee miraculous. However, he didn't want to leave her with Malediktator. He tried to grab her ring again but she hissed and scratched his hand, causing him to pull back his hand with a yelp of pain.

 "Kitty still has claws," Anatis mumbled as his earrings beeped. He frowned, taking out his yoyo and standing on the edge of the building. "Kitten, I'll be back soon I promise!!"

 He threw his yoyo and swung to another roof before running as fast as he could in the direction of Master Fu's house. He jumped across to another roof and slid down the tiles before throwing his yoyo and wrapping it around a flag pole. He swung across to another roof and landed on it before running and jumping across a gap. He back-flipped off a wall and into an alley near to Master Fu's shop just before his transformation dropped. He caught Tikki before running to the shop and pushing open the door.

 "Master Fu!" He gasped, causing the man to jump and glance at him as he caught his breathe. "A villain has transformed Lady Noir into a cat,"

 "What?" He gasped, shocked before shaking his head. "Perhaps you shouldn't have left her by herself. She's at Hawkmoth's mercy,"

 "I know but the lucky charm told me to come here," He replied, causing Master Fu to make a thinking face. "I think I need help for this mission,"

 "It seems so," He replied, getting up and walking to the phonograph. "After all, the lucky charm never fails,"

 He unlocked the phonograph and took out the miracle box, bringing it over to Luka and placing it on the ground. Luka knelt down in front of it as Master Fu opened it, causing the different draws to pop out and show the miraculous hidden inside. Despite seeing this before, Luka found himself amazed again. It was interesting to watch the box open and to know what the miraculous did. 

 "Luka Couffaine, pick an ally you can trust to fight along side you in this mission," He declared as Luka glanced at all of them but he knew exactly which one to take. He needed the bee. "Choose wisely. Such powers are meant to be serve the greater good,"

 "I need someone who isn't impressed by power and sees people on face value," He muttered, reaching for the bee as Master Fu gave him a concerned look. He hesitated before glancing up at Tikki, who gave him a reassuring smile. He smiled back and picked up the hair comb.

 "Are you sure?" Master Fu asked, causing Luka to nod.

 "I need to trap Malediktator and the bee's power is the best chance at that," He replied, getting up and walking to the draw where the smaller boxes were kept. He took one out and placed the hair comb inside.

 "But is it really a good idea giving it back to... her?" He asked as Luka put the small box in his pocket.

 "Don't worry, Master," He smiled in a reassuring manner. "I know how to make good use of it this time,"

 With that, he left with Tikki and headed to the alleyway.

 "How we will find Chloe?" She asked, making him shake his head.

 "We're not," He replied, making her glance at him as he took out a macaron and handed it to her. "I told Chloe I can't give her this miraculous back and I have to keep to that. Plus Hawkmoth will probably expect me to go to her. Since she is Malediktator's target, the two of them may set up a trap to lure me there. There's also a high chance that Chloe has already been controlled by Malediktator since he sent Sabrina after her,"

 "So trying to find Chloe is a bad idea," Tikki nodded as she ate the cookie.

 "Exactly,"

 "But who are you gonna give it to?" She asked, swallowing the last bit. "You said you need someone who isn't impressed by power and takes people on face value,"

 "Don't worry, Tikki, I know just the person. You good?" He asked, causing her to nod. "Alright. Tikki! Spots on!!"

 He transformed back into Anatis and threw his yoyo up, pulling himself onto the rooftops and running as fast as he could back to the school. He landed on the roof and glanced around. It looked like Malediktator had left, taking his wife and Lady Noir with him but the students were still around, trying to destroy the school. He glanced around and noticed Sabrina had joined them but Chloe wasn't around. Frowning to himself, he looked around and spotted Rose, trying to stop Juleka from destroying the art room. He swung down and landed near by.

 "They've been mind controlled by Malediktator," He stated, making Rose gasp and turn around in surprise. She honestly looked like she was about to squeal at his appearance. "But there is a way you can help them,"

 "There is?!" She gasped, making him nod.

 "This way," He replied, jumping down to the courtyard and heading into the locker room. Rose came in a few seconds later as he glanced around to make sure no one else was in here and that they were out of the way of cameras. Once certain that it was just them, he took out his yoyo and opened it before reaching in and taking out the box as Rose watched before he held it out to her, causing her eyes to widen in surprise.

 "Rose Lavillant, here is the bee miraculous, which grants the power to immobilize your opponent," He declared, making her eyes go huge as she realized what he was offering to her. "You will use it for the greater good,"

 "Me?" She asked, shocked before making a thinking expression. "But doesn't the bee miraculous belong to Chloe?"

 "No, Chloe wrongly took the miraculous and is currently unfit to wield one. However, if she continues to right her wrongs and change her ways, I am willing to give her a second chance," He explained, making Rose nod. "Do you accept the miraculous?"

 "Yes!" She grinned, taking it and opening it. She gasped in surprise as a golden light appeared from within and circled around her before transforming into Pollen, making her coo.

 "Hello, my queen," Pollen smiled, making Rose gush about her cute she is. "My name is Pollen,"

 "You're so adorable," Rose gushed. "But what are you?"

 "I'm a kwami, my queen," She explained, bowing a little. "I grant magical powers that transforms one into a superhero,"

 Rose squealed, making Anatis smiled before he cleared his throat, causing both Rose and Pollen to look at him.

 "Once the job is complete, you will return the miraculous to me," He explained before looking at her. "Can I trust you, Rose?"

 "Yes, Anatis! I will do my best!" She declared with a lot of energy, making him smile.

 "My queen, to transform you just need say Pollen, buzz on," Pollen explained as Rose listened before she fixed the comb into her hair before looking up at Anatis, who gave her a smile and a nod.

 "Pollen, buzz on!" She declared, causing Pollen to be sucked into the hair comb. She threw her head back as it became a more honey blonde then black strips appeared in it. She held up her arms as a golden light appeared from her feet, creating her suit as it traveled up her body. The suit was completely yellow but a second light appeared, creating some detail on her suit. It gave her black gloves, turned part of her legs black and added a couple of extra strips on her suit as well. She had two symmetrical ones on her upper arms and thighs, a pointed strip on on around her waist and a black choker around her neck. Her shoes resembled a ballerina's and she had the spin-top around her waist. She swiped her hand across her face, creating her mask which was mostly black but had a yellow boarder. With the transformation over, she examined herself before squealing. "I'm a superhero!!"

 "You're gonna need a name," Anatis smiled, making her look at him before she pulled her thinking face.

 "Abeille," She declared, causing him nod to in approval.

 "Abeille... nice," He smiled before taking out his yoyo and searching it on it. He frowned as he watched a video of Malediktator who seemed to have taken control of the city hall. He also had Chloe and his wife at his side as well as Lady Noir. He frowned and put his yoyo away before turning to Abeille. "Alright, I'm gonna be frank with you, Abeille. Malediktator is a very tough enemy. He has the ability to make anyone do what he wants and he has Lady Noir captured,"

 "Oh no,"

 "Which is why I needed to get you," He continued before pointing to her spin top. "The spin-top is your weapon. Similar to my yoyo, it has multiple functions and can be used to help you move through the city. You can also spin it really fast to create a shield and use it to tie up enemies. It can be used as a phone and GPS locator as well as other thing. You also have the power to immobilize your opponent. You can activate this by pulling the spin top's string and saying venom but don't do it yet. You only get to use this power once and then you have five minutes before you transform back. Got it?"

 "Yes, sir," She grinned, making him smile. "But how do you plan to get defeat Malediktator?"

 "We need to get you close enough to use venom on him," He replied, making her nod before taking out his yoyo and showing her the footage. "But as you can see, he has taken over city hall and turned it into his fortress. If we go in head first, we'll be captured. We need to get close enough to observe him but not close enough to alert him off our presence,"

 "Why don't we hide on the building opposite city hall?" She asked, making him smile.

 "That's a good idea," He replied, moving over to the window and opening it before jumping out of it. Abeille followed him as he swung across to the city. The two of them jumped across the buildings and ran across the rooftops, causing Rose to want to squeal in excitement. She almost crashed into a wall but Anatis grabbed her arm and pulled her away from it. "Try to keep your head in the game, Abeille,"

 "I'm sorry, Anatis," She gasped as they jumped over another wall. "It's just... this is so exciting!!"

 "I get it," He smiled as they came closer to the city hall. They landed on the building opposite it and ducked down, causing him to frown as he saw Malediktator sat on a throne atop of the building. He had his wife and Chloe sat near him and Lady Noir curled up by his feet. Anatis frowned deeply as he glanced at her. While he was glad she was ok, he felt annoyed at the fact that Malediktator literally had her as his pet. He shook his head and moved his eyes over to the swat team that were acting as his guard. Suddenly, two balls of light flew towards them, causing the two of them to jump away from the hiding place as Malediktator smirked.

 "Did you think I wouldn't notice you there, Anatis?" He asked before creating two new ones. "By the power invested in me, I declare your miraculous are mine!"

 Anatis and Abeille jumped, avoiding the balls of light before the two of them threw their weapons at him but the swat team blocked it, making Anatis frown before they landed on the edge of the building. Abeille back-flipped away as Anatis ran in the other direction, jumping across to Malediktator. He tried to land a kick on him but once again, the swat team protected him. He swung away as Abeille took down some of the swat team but she had to jump away when Malediktator directed a ball of light towards her. He turned his attention back on Anatis as he swung up before turning his body and throwing his yoyo towards Malediktator. For the third time, the swat team blocked him, causing him to jump back as he dodged a ball of light. However, Malediktator stopped focusing on him and Abeille as Hawkmoth talked to him before smirking at the super villain's suggestion. He began to make a new ball of light.

 "By the power invested in me," He stated, lifting it into the air and make it increase in size. "I declare you all my slaves!"

 Abeille gasped as he made the ball of light massive, causing Anatis to frown.

 "We can't dodge that one, Anatis!" She gasped in fear.

 "He's going to take over the city," He mumbled, frowning. Abeille jumped up and threw her spin top at Malediktator but once again, the guard blocked it. Anatis whistled as she tried to kick the guard, causing her to jump back over to him as they hid on the building behind him. "Directly attacking isn't going to work,"

 "So what do we do?" She asked.

 "You need to get past that guard and get his sash. That's were the akuma is," He muttered, thinking before he took out his yoyo. "And to do that, we're gonna need a bit of luck... Lucky charm!"

 He threw his yoyo up in the air, summoning the magic bugs. He blinked in surprise as he caught the large machine gun.

 "Are we going to shoot him?" Abeille asked, making him frown as he glanced around for the answer. He smirked when Malediktator lit up, followed by Lady Noir. He glanced down at the gun and smiled as the laser was highlighted and finally, Abeille. He broke off the laser part and dumped the rest of the gun aside.

 "As if I'd use violence," He grinned, spinning it in his fingers. "I'll deal with the guard, you sting our esteemed mayor,"

 "Aye, aye, Captain," She grinned, saluting him before spinning her spin top, causing it to glow yellow. "Venom!!"

 She caught it as it pulsed before nodding at Anatis before the two of them jumped over to separate buildings. Abeille laid in wait as Anatis clicked the laser near Lady Noir, causing her to notice it and try to catch it with her hand. He smirked as he moved it, causing her to chase it as she repeatedly tried to capture it. He directed it on the back of one of the swat team, causing her to jump on him and knock him down. It also caused Malediktator to notice but he couldn't move as his bubble would become ineffective. Smirking to himself, Anatis moved it across the backs of the guard, causing Lady Noir to take them all out and knock them off the building as she chased the laser. Malediktator panicked and tried to tell her to stop but Anatis continued to move the laser until all of the swat team was off hanging off the building. He blinked it twice, giving Abeille a signal. She jumped out from her hiding place and dived at Malediktator, slamming the spin top into the middle of his chest before landing on the ground next to him as he froze. The giant bubble disappeared as she grabbed the sash and threw it to Anatis. He caught it and broke it in half, releasing the akuma. He took out his yoyo and captured it before releasing the purified version. He picked up the laser part and tossed it into the air.

 "Miraculous Ladybugs!" He shouted, causing it to burst into the magic swamp and fix everything. He smiled as it flew through the city, fixing the school before it came back and fixed city hall and Lady Noir before safely placing the swat team and the Bourgeois family in front of it before disappearing. Anatis jumped down with Abeille as Malediktator turned back to Mr Bourgeois as Audrey looked around confused before she began to shout at him. Chloe looked at them sadly before gasping and rushing over as she saw Anatis.

 "Anatis!" She gasped. "You totally saved me again!! Oh, I can I have a-"

 She stopped as she saw Abeille, causing Anatis to place his hand on his yoyo. She honestly looked like she was about to cry but she swallowed and smiled widely at Abeille before holding out her hand.

 "Hi, I'm Chloe Bourgeois, the previous Queen Bee. It's nice to meet you," She smiled, causing Abeille to shake it.

 "I'm Abeille. It's nice to meet you too," She replied, causing Chloe to break into a massive smile.

 "Would you mind if I took a selfie with you?" She gasped, causing Abeille to look to Anatis. He smiled and nodded as Lady Noir jumped down and leaned on his shoulder.

 "Aww, Annie, you made a new friend," She grinned in a teasing manner, making him laugh and pat her head. She grinned and leaned into his hand, causing him to laugh as Abeille and Chloe took a couple of selfies before their miraculous beeped. "Abeille, we need to go,"

 "Ok!" She grinned, turning to leave before she decided to hug Chloe, surprising the girl before she let go and ran over to Anatis. Chloe smiled and ran over to her parents before telling them off and dragging them away. The three heroes jumped up to the roofs and ran off but Lady Noir stopped and turned to them.

 "I'll let you do the thing, Annie," She grinned before turning to Abeille. "I hope next time he calls on you we get to actually work together,"

 "Me too, Lady Noir," She grinned, hugging her as well. Lady Noir grinned and patted her head before saluting. She walked to the edge of the building before turning around and blowing a kiss towards Anatis, making him blush and Abeille to gush before she hopped away. "Oh my gosh!! You two are so cute!!"

 He smiled but shook his head as they jumped down to an alleyway. Rose called off the transformation and said goodbye to Pollen before taking off the comb and handing it back to Anatis.

 "Thank you for choosing me, Anatis," She smiled. "I hope we get to do this again,"

 "Should there be an occasion that calls for the bee, I will come and find you," He smiled, placing it back in the box and hiding it in his yoyo. "Are you ok getting home?"

 "Yes, I'll be going to my friend's house tonight," She smiled as his earrings beeped. "Besides, you're about to transform back,"

 "Yeah, I'll have to go," He replied, making her nod before she hugged him suddenly. He smiled and hugged back before she pulled away and ran off, waving to him. He waved back and threw his yoyo up to the building. He ran across it as his earrings rapidly beeped before he jumped down into another alley. He caught Tikki and gave her a macaron before taking out the bee miraculous. He fixed it into his hair, causing Pollen to manifest.

 "Hello, my prince," She smiled as he took out a macaron for her. She thanked him and began to eat it as he smiled.

 "Do you approve off Rose?"

 "She makes an excellent bee," She smiled, moving on his shoulder as Tikki sat on the other one. He smiled and walked with them to Master Fu. Tikki and Pollen hid in his hoodie as he walked up to the shop and knocked on the door before walking inside. Master Fu looked up and smiled.

 "You've returned," He nodded, taking out the miracle box. Luka smiled at Pollen before taking the comb out of his hair and placing it back in the box. "I noticed that a new bee superhero made her debut today. Care to explain?"

 "Chloe was never my choice to wield the bee miraculous," He replied, making Master Fu nod. "And when I reclaimed it from her, I made it very clear that she would never have it again and that she would need to earn my trust to even be considered as one of my allies. I wasn't going to go back on my word,"

 "And the new bee?"

 "She's a friend," He smiled, making Master Fu nod. "Chloe is making progress though. She apologized to everyone and is trying to start again,"

 "Maybe she'll prove to be worthy then," Master Fu replied, making Luka nod. "Perhaps if you have some free time, we can go over some miraculous lore,"

 "Sure, Master," He smiled, kneeling down as Master Fu grabbed his tablet and joined him. Tikki flew over to Wayzz and settled next to him as they watched their two holders talk and learn. Tikki smiled with a little pride as she watched Luka name the miraculous and who the kwami was that resided within them. 

 "He seems like an excellent choice to be a ladybug,"

 "He's the best holder I've ever had," Tikki admitted, smiling. Wayzz looked over and smiled as well as Luka pointed out each ability.

 "He would make an excellent guardian,"

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

Next Chapter: https://ultra-sassyduck.tumblr.com/post/636700267461623808/miraculous-rise-of-anatis-37

[justimajin]

It’s a Reverse Basket ◍ Part 15

⇝ Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

⇝ Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Angst

↳ Basketball AU, Crossdressing AU

⇝ Words: 4.2k

⇝ Summary: Basketball is your everything; your passion for it running deep and wanting nothing more then to play the sport. Problem is, the sport isn’t offered competitively to girls and with that, all your hopes immediately fizzle away… …but who ever said that was going to stop you?

⇝ Warnings: pg13; I’m just throwing barrels of fluff into this one

gif credit.

⇝ Previous Parts: Moodboard Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14

⇝ Next Update: Tuesday, June 23 

Tightening your grip, the giant and hefty block of metal is hoisted above your head. Your arms strain and you clench your teeth in agony, but thankfully twenty seconds fly by and you can allow your grip to loosen. 

With an exasperated sigh, you shakily place it back down on the rack and wipe away the lingering sweat from your temples. 

A low whistle sounds from nearby, Hoseok staring at you with wide eyes.

“You’ve gotten really good at lifting Y/N!” You manage to sit up and smile at him, “I think Jungkook might be seeing some tough competition soon.”

Jungkook pauses mid-way from lifting his own weights and raises a brow at Hoseok, only for him to mischievously grin. “What? You’ve got another competitor now.”

Shaking his head, Jungkook resumes his workout as Hoseok helps you up from the bench press, plopping himself down and adjusting your weights. He had decided to assist you since Jungkook was a bit preoccupied with his own routine, alongside with Jimin and Taehyung having long gone out on a run together.

That’s when a head of bleach blonde hair flocks in, roughly setting down his bag and plopping down in a hurry. He flicks his phone out, scrambling through it with attentive eyes.

The unease on his features draws concern out from you. 

“Everything okay?” You ask, his eyes becoming wide once he realizes you were referring to him.

“Uh yeah,” Jackson replies, his usual cheerful demeanour not sparking out. “Actually– Y/N, do you know what girls like?”

Your eyes widen, “Or do you have a girlfriend or a sister? Someone that does?”

A nervous laugh leaves you at that and you place your hand on your racing heartbeat. Meanwhile, Hoseok strolls over in curiosity. “W-Why do you ask?”

Jackson somberly smiles, “I wanted to get something nice for my girlfriend but I’m not sure what….” His eyes perk up at Hoseok, “What about you?”

Hoseok shrugs, hands in his short pockets, “I have a sister but she’s older than me. Probably not the age range you’re looking for.”

Jackson sighs, staring at his phone hopelessly. You catch a glimpse of his calendar brightly lit on the screen, his voice answering your confusion.

“Man….why is Valentine’s Day already here?” He slumps down onto the bench, your eyes frantically widening.

V-Valentine’s Day?

As in, the holiday where people celebrate love?

Your heart starts racing again.

“U-Um, so, you’re buying your girlfriend something?” You hastily question and Jackson glances at you in confusion.

“Of course, all couples get each other things on Valentine’s Day.” He shrugs, however, it only serves to make your eye twitch now. “I just wanted to get my girlfriend something nice, you know? To show how much I appreciate her.”

“Dude, that’s beautiful.” Jungkook says from behind, eavesdropping on your conversation as he lifts weights.

“How long have you guys been together for?” Hoseok questions.

“Roughly a year?” Jackson sadly smiles, “But ever since I came to school, we haven’t been able to see much of each other.”

You hurriedly interject again. “I-Is there a limit on how long you’ve been together?” 

Jackson furrows his brows, “I don’t think so? There’s no rules or regulations, you just get the person you love something or spend time with them.” He sighs, “I can’t do the second one, so I’m going for the first option.”

Hoseok hums, like he was trying to understand as well. That’s when an idea sparks in your mind.

“I can help you then!” You timidly suggest, “Y-You know, with what girls like and all that.”

“Really?” You nod and Jackson’s smile widens, “Thanks Y/N, I seriously appreciate it!”

You smile but there’s something else brewing in your mind, something you’ll have to get started on as soon as you can before Valentine’s Day can strike.

***

You patiently wait outside of the store.

After you had agreed to help out Jackson, the two of you had decided to exchange numbers in order to meet up. Once you had started texting for a while, you gave him a call one day and spilled the beans.

You tell him everything – how this tradition of Valentine’s Day was completely foreign to you, how you were in a relationship with Yoongi and wanted to get something for him but were absolutely clueless on what exactly, how you thought in a way you could help each other, since you would help him find something and then you could also have someone around who was in the same scenario as you.

Jackson agrees, even vouching that he’ll keep everything a secret. However he grows just as excited and nervous as you, glad to not be alone in this either.

“Y/N!” You whirl around to see Jackson jogging over, “I didn’t take too long, did I?”

You shake your head and smile, “Great! I saw this store the other day and I thought we could find something nice here.”

Catching a glimpse of the place, you can see why he chose it.

It seems more catered towards Valentine’s Day than anything. The exterior glass is covered with giant hearts, the smell of chocolate wafting through and a giant banner declaring that all Valentine’s gifts were half off.

You warily stare at it but Jackson doesn’t mind, dragging you over with him in an enthusiastic manner. He ends up getting drawn to one of the first shelves, letting you wander around the many aisles in curiosity.

There’s an abundance of things – obnoxious cards scribbled with hearts, large bouquets and flowers on display, even boxes of chocolate that appear to be recycled.

You keep wandering around and pacing the store when nothing catches your eye and strikes you as something that you would want to give to Yoongi. In fact, you think Yoongi would actually hate more of the Valentine’s catered things here.

With a sigh, you head back to Jackson who is eagerly eyeing a chocolate box that has a bright red bow on top.

“I don’t think I want something from here…” You avertedly whisper. He immediately pivots, like he couldn’t believe what you were saying.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know, it’s just….” You glance around, staring at the bright red balloons floating at the ceiling, “It just seems too much.”

Jackson hums, “I think something practical would be better.”

“Like what though?” He questions. You ponder for an answer, still avertedly glancing around the store when your eyes land on the glass outside of the store. As if a light bulb went off in your mind, you whirl around and grab onto Jackson.

“Come on!”

He hurriedly nods, discarding the chocolate he was going to initially buy and rushing with you. Once you enter the opposing store from the Valentine’s themed one, your eyes instantly light up.

However, Jackson frowns. “Y/N, why are we in a clothing store?”

You’re already eyeing the various articles of fabrics, latching onto a fluffy sweater.

“I think…this is something he’ll like.” You whisper, mind racing.

In the time you’ve known Yoongi, somehow you’ve noticed that he always seems cold. From the way he constantly keeps his arms crossed during practices when he wears your team’s thin jersey , to moments when he keeps a jacket on hand when it gets rather chilly. It’s such a small observation but you’re certain that this is something he would truly appreciate.

However, your moment of sudden realization is cut off when your eyes land on the price, backing away immediately.

“What’s wrong?” Jackson asks, eyes landing on the giant tag as he hisses, “Yeah, I wouldn’t recommend getting that one.”

You filter through the various tags around you, all of them spelling out a similar message. You let out a sigh, wondering how you were going to possibly get Yoongi a sweater when you can’t even afford one.

“What am I going to do Jackson?” You whisper, a defeated silence lingering in the air. Jackson frowns, quickly peering around the range of clothing for another moment. The prices don’t appear to be changing any time soon, but then he stumbles upon one very specific sweater. 

He abruptly spins around, grabbing your attention. “Hey, Y/N?” 

“Yeah?” 

“What if you just made a sweater instead of buying one?” He lifts the particular piece of fabric that’s been covered in carefully woven strings and knots, “You could like knit it or something.”

Your eyes widen in bewilderment, never really considering that to be an option. Truthfully you aren’t a huge craftsman at all, but you suppose in a way making it would be more sentimental and it wouldn’t have your wallet emptying out in despair either.

You pursue your lips. 

Perhaps...you’ve got a solid idea on your hands. 

***

Soon after, you and Jackson head over to a different store to pick up various threads. None of the colours seem to catch your eye until you focus on the black and orange assortments, the idea of making the sweater like your team’s jersey being a welcoming one because Yoongi would then be able to wear it to practice.

You discover that Jackson had ended up purchasing some of his own threads as well, declaring that he doesn’t think giving his girlfriend a mere box of chocolates would be enough and he wants to take up the challenge. You’re ecstatic at the prospect of someone else also working at this with you, not being alone in a somewhat lengthy project.

By the time you head back to your dorm, Taehyung and Jungkook can’t help but be curious.

“What’s that?” Jungkook wonders, pointing to the large bag you had hauled up and planted onto the ground.

“Oh, just some threads I picked up with Jackson.” You softly smile, “I’m going to make a sweater.”

“Who is this sweater for?” Taehyung questions, raising a suspicious brow. You opt out for not telling them just yet, in the hopes they don’t accidentally tell Yoongi when you’re not around.

“Just for someone…” You meekly snatch up the bag, deciding to bring it to your room instead of in front of the prying eyes.

Taehyung pursues his lips, like he wasn’t able to believe you on that. He watches you disappear into your room, tugging the bag alongside with you.

Spreading out the materials onto your bed, you unpackage and begin to unravel the long bundles of thread. You then take out the sharp needles, staring at them and then at the yarn with a blank look.

Although this had initially been a good idea, you can’t help but wonder what knitting would be like for someone like you. You have zero experience with the craft and you don’t know what you ended up making is going to look like, but with a sigh, you suppose that simply the desire to make something for Yoongi should be enough at the end of the day.

***

Knitting is horrendous.

It takes a certain kind of rhythm to get through it, a precise way of weaving the strings to build a cohesive chain. That chain then grows to become a giant sheet, building up to develop into the huggable and cozy appearance you were going for.

Or at least, you had hoped for.

There’s a crease in between your brows when you clasp the needles tighter, attempting to loop them according to the tutorial you had been up all night watching. The man in it was able to easily tie the strings together, letting them effortlessly go through various hoops until he was completely finished. You on the other hand, barely have finished the first row of many, roughly pulling the needles back and forth to create some sort of structure.

When another disastrous knot forms amongst the somewhat okayish row, you let go of the needles in exasperation. You suppose there was no guarantee that you would have been good with this, not accustomed to working with something that required so much care and detail opposed to brute force and strategy.

“Hey Y/N!” You glance up to see Jackson strolling over, a bright smile on his lips, “Are you making it?”

He points to the multiple strings wrapped around your arms, needles poking out of the mess you managed to create. With a somber nod, you sadly smile.

“What about you?” You question, hoping you can get some solace that knitting for the first time was a universal issue and that you weren’t the only one facing its wrath.

Jackson plants his bag on the ground next to you, rummaging through it before he pulls out a clean sheet of perfectly woven strings.

“I think it’s coming out quite nicely!” He grins, “I might just turn mine into a sweater instead of a scarf at this rate.”

“That would be a good idea.” You whisper, still eyeing the way your teammate was able to catch onto the craft much better than you did. In a way, you are happy, however you wanted this to be perfect for Yoongi and so far the future doesn’t look so bright for you in that matter.

Speaking of which, Yoongi steps into the gym. You and Jackson hurriedly scramble as you slide your bob of mixed yarn and his perfected one away in your bags before anyone can see. Hastily straightening up, you jog over to where the members have started to line up and patiently wait.

“Hey Y/N.” Taehyung nudges you with his elbow, “Is the captain alright?”

“Hm?” You stare at Yoongi in confusion when he paces over to Namjoon, his dreary eyes appearing a lot more serious than usual. You recall talking to him about it a while back and he had simply shrugged it off by saying he had a lot on his plate with school and being captain. Although he managed to convince you that everything was okay, the stress lining his delicate features is too easy to read in the single moment.

“I honestly don’t know…” You whisper to Taehyung, but before he can ask you more, Yoongi marches over.

“We’re practicing in teams of four today, separate yourselves.” He simply mutters, eyes coming into your contact with yours for a second. He smiles, but it’s then when you realize how stressed he actually is when it barely meets his eyes. 

When you move to get into teams, Jackson reminds you of the very thing that could help the situation.

“Since the captain is stressed, he’ll probably be really happy when you give him the sweater.”

Although you agree with the sentiment, his words only serve to spike up determination in you.

***

You collapse onto your bed, a sigh leaving your lips.

“I mean, it doesn’t look so bad….” Hyerin encourages over the phone, the overshadowing in her voice being too obvious, “Really Y/N, it kind of looks like a hat– OH! Maybe you could give him a hat!”   

You groan, planting your hand on your face as Hyerin desperately tries to make you feel better. “Yeah, a hat! He could totally rock it, right?”

“Maybe I should just give up on the idea and buy one…”

“Why don’t you just ask that guy for help? Uh what was his name, Jackson?” Her voice blares through the phone and you roll over to plant it against your face.

“He’s already making one of his own Hyerin.”

A tick leaves her, but she still persists, “You can do this, Y/N! It’s really great that you’re putting in so much effort to make something for this Yoongi guy and I think he’d be grateful at the end of the day.”

You stare down at the heaped mess you’ve created, strings poking out in absurd ways.

“Are you sure?” You pluck one the strings, watching it unravel from the loose knot you weren’t able to make.

“Positive!” Her voice turns firm, “Now make sure you finish that sweater and knock his socks off with it!!”

You giggle from that, thanking her and then turning off the phone. Letting your eyes wander back to your failed sweater, you pick up the needles again and give it another shot.

***

Namjoon arrives at practice earlier than expected.

Yoongi had informed him that he would be caught up in some delays because of a late exam the day before, so Namjoon decided it would be best if he came early for the team.

He heads for the gym doors, entering the large court area and jogs towards his office. Grabbing his whistle, he naturally assumes no one is in the gym – until he catches sight of two people.

You and Jackson are huddled together in the corner, seemingly whispering to each other amongst the empty and quiet gym. Namjoon raises a brow, unsure of what was exactly going on as he treads over to you, hovering above your crouched figures.

That’s when he sees it and it leaves him feeling even more puzzled. Strings of yarn are sprayed across the ground, both you and Jackson holding what he assumes to be knitting needles. The pile next to Jackson is an appealing array of white and sky blue, woven together to resemble a cozy scarf.

The pile next to you, however, is a disarray of blank and orange, and what’s worse is that your technique doesn’t seem to be helping much.

“Oh my god, Namjoon!” Jackson suddenly shrieks. Namjoon winces at the high pitch, watching you two instantly scatter away all your belongings and pushing it behind you. “W-We were just uh, you know talking and stuff!”

Namjoon sighs, “Why are you knitting before practice?”

“Oh uh, the thing is–“ Jackson scrambles for an answer.

“I’m knitting a sweater for Yoongi.” You smile, being honest with Namjoon as Jackson gapes at you for letting the secret out so easily. “We were just working on completing so we won’t be distracted when practice starts.” 

Namjoon appreciates that you’ve told him the truth instead of covering it up like Jackson was attempting to, so he decides you could use the piece of advice he offers.

“Do you need help? I’m not great at knitting but I do know the basics since my mom’s really good at it.”

A cord strikes in you at that, mouth falling agape when the source of help you needed all along was actually in front of you. You hurriedly nod, shifting over abruptly as Namjoon chuckles.

When he takes the bundle from his hands, Namjoon frowns, “Why are there so many lumps in it?”

“Lumps?” You crane your neck to see the various bumpy ridges, “Oh, that’s how the tutorial said to do it.”

“I think the tutorial was right but you did it on the opposite sides.” Namjoon plops the ground, weaving the needles on a different side, “It should be like this.”

You attentively watch as Namjoon fixes your errors, the odd lumps in your design beginning to disappear as he continues. Jackson seems to be intrigued as well, dropping his own bundle to observe Namjoon with pure marvel.

“There you go.” Namjoon smiles, having taken a couple of minutes to fix your messed-up rows and passing it back to you. Thanks to him, your design appears much better and smoother, no longer a disarray of chaos.

When he gets up, you sincerely smile.

“Thanks Namjoon.”

He smiles back at you, heading back to his office to grab some paperwork. He swoops out of the gym for a brief moment, both you and Jackson still huddled in the corner as you attempt to recreate the way Namjoon had shown you. That’s when Namjoon runs into him, eyes sparking up in surprise.

“Ah, you’re on time.” Yoongi nods, hand on the bag slung across his shoulders.

“I managed to get some sleep.” He yawns, rubbing his eyes sleepily. His eyes dart over to Namjoon’s hands, “What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s the approval for the next game.” He hands it to Yoongi, who hums before briefly scanning over it.

Namjoon smiles when he gives it back, “If you need any help, just let me know.”

“I wouldn’t worry so much about that, just focus on school for now.” Yoongi nods and Namjoon smiles, patting him on the back before he leaves. “Good things are coming your way so try not to stay too stressed.”

Yoongi frowns and stares at him strangely at that, but he simply shrugs it off as another yawn escapes him. 

***

Namjoon’s help ended up doing pure wonders for you. Because of him, your rows don’t longer are tangled or stringy but aligned and smooth. His help also sparked bundles of motivation in you, the desire to keep going without completing the sweater not being far from your hands.

You end up finishing just on time, presenting the finished product to Jackson with a huge smile gracing your lips.

“It looks great Y/N!” He exclaims, marvelling at the fine embroidery of black and orange, “I can’t believe you managed to make our logo on it!”

He flips the sweater around to show the words Bangtan and the number nine that Yoongi wears on his jersey. You smile at that, though you have to admit pestering Namjoon with a multitude of questions ended up being immensely helpful.

“What about you? Where’s yours?” Jackson places your sweater down and pulls out the bright white and blue sweater, an intricate striped pattern on it.

“What do you think?”

You gape in amazement, fingers faintly touching the material, “It’s beautiful….” You whisper, giving him a soft smile, “Your girlfriend will love it.”

Jackson grins and you take your sweater back. The sound of feet shuffling nearby have you two scrambling again, hurriedly glancing in the direction of the door where Yoongi stands.

He frowns, bag still on his shoulder, “What are you guys doing here?”

Jackson’s eyes light up with the situation, a cheesy smile on his lips when he grabs his belongings and hastily gets up. Yoongi raises a brow when Jackson sends you a thumbs up before leaving, dismay growing in you at how obvious he was being.

“What’s going on?” Yoongi turns back to you, more confusion appearing in his features.

You slowly get up from the ground, bringing the folded sweater in your hands. Shuffling over to him, Yoongi’s eyes perk up at the sight of it.

With a bashful smile, you extend your arms.

Yoongi frowns, letting his bag drop to the ground before he takes the woolly sweater from your hands. It unfolds, revealing the huge logo that matches with the one on his jersey.

When he glances at you perplexed, you clear your throat and smile, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Yoongi takes a glance at the sweater again, the shock across his features not leaving the longer you stare at him. You wonder just how speechless you’ve rendered him, but then he takes the sweater and walks away from you.

Pain flashes in your eyes when he hasn’t said anything, fear dwelling in you at the prospect that he doesn’t like it. But then he emerges from the office with something in his hands.

“I had a talk with Yoonji….” He begins, a small box in his hands, “When everyone’s families were invited to our game.”

You nod, recalling the day being horrible for you until Yoonji had cheered you on. “So I got you this. I wasn’t sure when to give to you but since it’s Valentine’s….”

He hands you the box and you stare at it in curiosity. It feels extremely light and you pick at the tape on the side, letting it peel away to allow the corners to unfold.

Your hand comes into contact with something metallic, pulling it out completely from the bag to reveal the large brown frame.

When you had first earned your position on the team after try-outs, Namjoon had wanted to take a group picture of the team to cement it. He had requested that you all appear serious, but after the first shot, that was thrown out the window once Taehyung had managed to fall over and everything had started laughing. Namjoon had ended up keeping the remaining shots for memory sake, but the one where all of you are laughing the hardest, is the very one in the frame Yoongi has given you.

It spells out one solid message for you, something you didn’t even know you needed.

You will always have your team by your side.

Your eyes grow glossy when you glance up at Yoongi, who’s smiling tenderly at your reaction. He brings the sweater in his hands over his head, looping in his arms in it before it entirely covers him. Snatching up his bag from the ground, he trudges away to toss it aside and to bring the cart of basketballs out.

Taking one final glance at the frame with a smile, you carefully place it back into the box and into your bag. Eventually getting back into the flow for practice, everyone begins to arrive and take notice of Yoongi’s unique sweater, Jackson throwing you a cheeky smile at its appearance.

“They’re so cute.” Jackson dreamily sighs, later on watching you two interact from the window of the Namjoon’s office once practice wraps up.

Namjoon hums, clearly annoyed by Jackson's sudden emergence in his office as he works, but managing to let out a soft smile from the thought.

[leo-gold-hotchner]

The Sinner -2

Any criticism on spelling/grammar mistakes, character description (trying my best to describe them in characters), facts (especially region, I’ve never been to America before), etc. are all welcome! Though, be lenient on me :) 

I had to change ‘mate’ to ‘pal’ lol...

Criminal Minds BAU x Reader

Warning: Explicit description of blood, death, mutilation, swearing etc.

Word Count: 3.1k

Previous parts: 1

“A glutton lives to eat instead of eating to live.” – African Proverb 

 Tik tok. Tik tok. 

The large man cried as the silent room filled with the clock ticking. He wanted to stop the clock, wanted to smash it. But it will never happen, that's what the abductor said to him. He’ll never see the daylight while alive, and it scared him. Regretting ever joining the club. 

 The figure appeared without light, its face covered in a black mask, and a hood. He begged for the mercy, but the figure held out a red bloodied pliers without hesitation. Soon, painful screams filled the dark room along a sound of something being forcefully torn. Both predator and prey knew the pitiful scream can’t be heard from the outside.

2nd Day 

Detective Lee was already at the scene, covering his mouth while yawning. It was a freezing morning of November. The detective greeted the BAU kindly, explaining they were waiting for the CSI to be arrived. The team decided to wait for the CSI too, trying to wake fully from drowsiness. They were at the National Park, where everything looked peaceful except for the bloody body found on the large rock near the small waterfall. The Sun was rising slowly over the dawn sky while Lee explained the situation after scribbling something on his note. 

“The forest ranger found the body while patrolling the area,” the detective nodded towards a young ranger who looked very ill. “He stated there was no one except him when he found the body. The driver’s license says the victim’s name is Benedict Lewis, 46-year-old. Whoever did this, drove a long way to dump a body,” he cringed, “’gula’ is written on the body.” 

“Which is gluttony, just like lust, it’s the Seven Deadly Sins.” Rossi informed the detective. 

“So, the killer is really on an extreme religious mission or something?” Lee asked incredulously. During his 5 years of detective life, he’s never seen such murders before. 

“Maybe,” Reid replied. “Does the victim have any unusual thing other than the word?” His pocketed hand playing with the sobriety coin. The young genius was actually glad he was called in the early morning as he was having a nightmare. The nightmare where Tobias Hankel drugged him. 

“If you mean by a large rat, frog, snake shoved in his mouth, yeah. Is this also the Seven Deadly Sins thing?” the detective asked when Reid’s eyes sparked in realisation, pushing his nightmare to the back of his mind. 

“Yes, actually gluttony is punished by eating rats, snakes, toads eternally.” 

“Gross,” Prentiss frowned along with JJ and Morgan. 

“Prentiss and Morgan, check out the area, if there’s anything call me. Reid and JJ, talk to the ranger. Rossi and I’ll wait for the CSI here with Detective Lee.” After Hotch ordered his team, he called Garcia -who was asleep- to look up the victim. 

                                                         ---BAU---

Just after the agents were dispatched, an SUV parked near the scene. A person with several protections including a face covering mask walked towards them with large rectangular containers in hands. 

“Don’t they at least have courtesy to kill in the daylight?” The person said in an irritated tone with a yawning. 

“F/N?” The detective’s jaw hung up in surprise. “What the hell are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be on leave?” 

“I’ve been resting for two months, Leon. Fucking two months!” F/N held two fingers to the detective with frustration. “And it drove me crazy!” 

“What happened to Harrison?” 

“Apparently, our newbie is sick since he saw the ‘luxuria’ bodies.” The forensic scientist sighed deeply, shaking head. “Anyways, I’ll need your time of arrival and names. Did you touch anything?” 

“Yeah, I already wrote that, you drilled me too much it became a habit.” Detective shrugged as he showed his friend his note. “Had to touch to find his identity, but other than that I was really careful not to touch anything.” 

The scientist just walked into the scene, placing the containers far from the body and the scene. With gloves on, F/N looked through the scene, quickly theorising what to gather first. The scientist quickly but efficiently started to prepare by photographing the scene and the body, scribbling on the note. 

“That’s F/N L/N, one of the best forensic scientists we have. Sorry about the manner, F/N is usually polite.” Lee gave the two agents a sheepish smile. 

“Something happened?” Hotch asked, watching the scientist working, barking orders not to step closer to a young officer. Rossi raised his brows at the younger man, but Hotch ignored Rossi. The BAU leader could sense something from the scientist, but he wasn’t sure what was making him stare at the person. But his gut told him he had to know about what happened to this scientist. 

“Well,” the detective shoved his hands in his suit jacket, sighing deeply. “My partner, he was F/N’s husband. Has been on leave since Nick’s been shot, I’ve never thought F/N would suddenly appear here.” He checked on his watch. “Do you want coffee? I think we have time till F/N finishes the job.” Lee glanced at the scientist who was taking tweezers out from the equipment box. 

“Perhaps later,” Rossi replied pleasantly as he saw JJ and Reid returning from interviewing the forest ranger. 

“The ranger found the body around 5:40, he remembers clearly because he was texting his friend.” JJ informed them. 

“He didn’t see any vehicles while patrolling before he found the body. The UnSub probably visited the park before,” Reid said. “But he said he hasn’t seen anyone at night.” 

“Did you get when and where he patrols the park?” Rossi asked, looking at the pale ranger who was talking to an officer. 

“I asked him to draw on the map, and estimated time.” Reid showed the checked park map. Rossi noticed the trembled writings of the ranger and wondered if anyone can read that. 

Hotch’s phone suddenly rang, and he could hear the scientist curse along with the detective’s. Rossi coughed drily to hide his laugh, but Hotch could see the veteran profiler was amused that the phone call startled them. 

“Garcia, you’re on the speaker,” Hotch replied quickly before the technical analyst say something to embarrass herself from the detective. 

“Hotch, sir,” Garcia said, her voice still covered in sleep, “Lewis was a newspaper reporter before he changed his career to a food blog writer. He was a single, and there are no known connections between the first victim.” 

“Did he write criticisms on food?” JJ asked. 

“Yes, apparently,” Garcia paused for a moment, “a few restaurants closed due to his harsh reviews.” 

“Are the owners still live here?” 

“No, they all moved to other states and never returned to Philly.” 

“Thank you, Garcia.” Hotch ended the call, knowing Garcia will fall asleep as soon as he ends the call. “The UnSub associated the victims’ careers and the Sins, but we don’t know why the UnSub chose these people.” He frowned deeply. “What does UnSub want to tell us?” He saw Prentiss and Morgan returning, briefly informed what Garcia told them. 

“The area is just perfect for family picnics,” Prentiss shrugged, “there’s a wedding mansion, nothing much.” 

“This area is open space; the UnSub knew the body would be found easily.” Morgan said. “The mansion was locked tight, so I don’t think the UnSub used the facility, no hint of forced entry too.” 

“The UnSub could’ve been using some kind of transport. The victim has a large physique, moving the body here would’ve been difficult even for a muscular man,” Rossi hummed. 

“About that, Prentiss and I found tyre marks over there.” The muscular agent pointed over the crime scene. 

The detective went to the forensic scientist and told about the tyre mark and the scientist lazily walked to the scene to take several photos. 

                                                        ---BAU---

“Hey, can we enter now?” Lee yelled impatiently, checking an hour has passed. He shouldn’t urge his friend, but the scientist looked finished from his view, if not he’d just apologise to his friend and will be gladly yelled by the scientist for urging the work. But, without a word, the scientist only gestured to okay to come. 

“Not many insects and the body didn’t even reach bloating stage yet. So, you can say it’s rather fresh. But, you never know in this bitchy winter. I’ll send the traces and the animals to the lab as soon as I arrive.” 

“You finished real quick today, not much?” 

“I’m wondering this guy maybe learned from Dexter or something and thinks himself Dante or what.” L/N rolled eyes, shivering from the cold winter. “I hate winter,” the scientist muttered, “I’ll be in the lab if you need me.” 

“That’s it,” Reid exclaimed as he stared at the scientist’s back. “It’s Dante’s Inferno. In Inferno, after the first circle of Limbo, Dante visits the second circle where Lust is punished by devils. Then, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, Treachery. It’s rather fitting because this victim’s name is Benedict and in Inferno, Pope Boniface VIII is punished due to gluttony and his name was Benedetto which is equivalent to the English name, Benedict.” The young doctor talked fast which the detective watched the agent with his mouth ajar. 

“If the UnSub is killing according to Inferno, then it’s not about the seven sins?” Lee asked with a confused frown, he heard about the classic but never read. “I, I’m not sure about that.” Reid stuttered. “The Seven Deadly Sins are consisting of Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride. So we can’t be sure what the UnSub is imitating until the killings reach to either Wrath or Sloth.”

“Let’s hope we catch the UnSub before that stage,” Hotch mused rubbing his chin. “Rossi and Morgan, could you go and check Lewis’ home?”

“You drive,” Rossi threw the car key to the muscular man who caught it easily.

“I’m going to read Dante again,” Reid shrugged. “There might be hints.”

“I’ll be visiting the M.E., JJ and Prentiss are you going to the station?” Hotch asked.

“I thought about calling the victims’ family and friends,” JJ informed the unit chief. “Emily and I can split the job if that’s okay?” Prentiss nodded next to the blond agent.

“Alright, let’s get going.” Hotch nodded towards his team and everyone was ready for another long day.

                                                        ---BAU---

“Our victim knew how to clean,” Rossi looked around the small apartment. Lewis’ apartment was very clean, everything in order. 

“Hey, Rossi, look at this,” Morgan called the older man from the bedroom. Rossi saw the expensive watches in the drawer. “I wonder where he’d got money.” 

“They’re authentic,” Rossi examined one of the watches. “With salary of reporter or food writer he could’ve afford one or two, but not all of these.” 

“Maybe he was part of something?” 

“It’s possibility. We need to know if the first victims had anything like this, maybe that might be a connection between the victims.” 

“That might be, but the first two earned more than Lewis,” Morgan reminded the veteran agent. “They could’ve afforded as much as this if they wanted to.” 

“Perhaps that’s why they could get clients who’d pay them handsomely. If Lewis was payed for being a part of organisation, Smith and Olson may have introduced to their clients.”

“Urg, if that’s right, maybe that’s why both of them didn’t have any information on their clients.” Morgan huffed, thinking there was no information to gather the first two victims’ clients at all. No memo, no digital logs, none.

“But, let’s focus on Lewis’ life style shall we?” Rossi clasped his hands.

                                                       ---BAU---

Hotch saw the forensic scientist talking with Doctor Bear when he entered the pathologist lab. Surprisingly, the scientist was sitting on the metal table for corpses, and the M.E. was leaning back to another table where a white sheet covered a body on it. The place seemed to be grotesquely peaceful. 

“Agent Hotchner,” the doctor greeted the stoic agent. The forensic scientist just nodded to Hotch, but said nothing. “I sent the toxicology and autopsy report to Detective Lee.” The doctor shrugged before Hotch could reply, “but, I’m sure you’re here to see the body for yourself.” 

“Yes, I wanted examine the body before reading the report.” The doctor hummed. 

“Where’s that young man? He was rather interesting to talk to,” the doctor good-heartedly laughed uncovering the white sheet from the body. 

“I’m going, have fun,” the scientist said sarcastically before exiting the lab. 

“Ah well, F/N is still angry.” Bear said like he was talking to himself. 

Hotch stopped observing the Lewis’ body, and asked why the scientist was angry. 

“We still didn’t catch Nick’s shooter.” Bear frowned deeply. “Nick’s F/N’s husband, and he was a good man and friend.” 

Hotch nodded, but he took a mental note of that. He didn’t know why, but it felt important to know both Hotch and L/N lost their spouse to criminals. But for now, it was time to focus on the doctor’s explanation. 

                                                       ---BAU---

JJ was staring at the board with crossed arms over her chest and Reid was reading Dante’s Inferno with his usual reading pace. Prentiss was pressing her chin on the brown desk, wrapping her head with her arms as she stared at a black phone blankly. It’s only been second day, and everyone could feel this case will take a long time to solve. The BAU knew they will catch the UnSub eventually as they usually did, but nonetheless it was a hard process to find any lead on this UnSub. 

“The family couldn’t find anything strange, or found anything from their homes,” the brunette groaned as she muttered about the first victims’ possessions. 

‘Expensive possession’ was circled and a red question mark was drawn next to it where the white board was filled with words and photos by the agents. 

“Only connection we currently have is, MO.” JJ tilted her head as if she was about to burn the word ‘torture’ on the board with her eyes. “So much anger, but on what?” 

“Smith and Olson’s families say they didn’t have any enemies, and Lewis was a loner, no family, no close friends.” Prentiss tapped her finger on her the desk. The young man closed his book and looked up. “Finished?” 

“Yes,” the genius replied dully. “I don’t think there’s any hint in the literature yet.” 

“We need a break, coffee?” JJ whirled around and asked. 

                                                       ---BAU---

Detective Lee sighed as he threw his jacket off. The BAU was here, but the case wasn’t really cracking as he thought. But it’s only been second day no need to rush. The killer left literally nothing other than the body. Whoever it was, the guy knew how to hide evidence. But still, not even one single hair or fibre? It was so frustrating, killer among people, looking for next victim. It made his skin crawl and wanted to catch this bastard as soon as possible. 

“Tired day?” Morgan asked from behind where he and Rossi returned from Lewis’ place. 

Rossi entered the BAU room, throwing his empty coffee cup into the bin where the younger three agents whined about not having coffee yet to the older man. Morgan quickly smirked at the scene but turned his attention to the detective. 

“Yeah,” the detective replied casually. “I still have other cases to solve. You guys are just like rain during drought for me to help catch this guy.” 

“Hey, we’ll catch this guy,” Morgan encouraged the younger man. “That’s why we’re here, to help you catch this guy.” 

“Thanks, pal.” Lee quickly grabbed several files from this desk and handed to the FBI agent. “Here’s the copies of reports for the autopsy and toxicology of Lewis.” 

“Thanks.” Morgan thanked. “By the way,” he then stopped and asked, “Any recommendation for coffees?” 

“Two blocks right when you exit the station, you see one small café.” Lee used his thumb to point the direction. “If you need a hand, I’ll probably be here till late.” 

Morgan thanked the polite detective and joined his team. “Hey, Lee told me there’s a good café here. Let���s grab some coffee.” 

“I’m in,” Prentiss replied quickly as she grabbed her coat. “You two wanna stay here?” She asked JJ and Reid. 

“I need some air,” JJ followed the brunette and turned to Reid expectantly. 

“Could you grab me a coffee, I still want to see if there’s anything I missed.” Reid asked. 

“If Hotch comes, tell him we’ll get his coffee too,” JJ told Rossi and Reid who nodded. 

                                                       ---BAU---

The BAU unit chief’s eyes swiftly turned to the captain’s office where Detective Lee was having a conversation with the Captain. His eyes met with the Captain’s eyes, the Captain stiffly nodded towards Hotch, but soon he blinded his office. It was none of his business whether the boss and his subordinate to have a talk, but Hotch felt the talk was about this case. This case was something big. He didn’t know why but he was having this strange feeling about this case. It was as if in deep down, he knew why the UnSub was killing these people. But he didn’t know. It was irking him, frustrating him to no end. His sense was telling him most of important pieces of the puzzle were already gathered. 

The team greeted him as he entered the room, Prentiss handed his coffee that was still warm enough to drink. 

“Have you found something?” Reid asked the leader. 

“No,” Hotch leaned back on the wall. “But, Lewis was less tortured than Smith and Olson. Unlike the other two, Lewis’ death was due to blunt force trauma on the back of his head.” 

“Maybe the UnSub is looking for information about potential victims. Torture is the method the UnSub is using to extract information, and Lewis maybe gave the UnSub that information easily without retaliating further.” JJ suggested, thinking back when she was deployed in a secret mission in Afghanistan. 

“That’d be plausible after Rossi and Morgan found expensive watches Lewis couldn’t afford,” Reid nodded. 

“So the UnSub may be annihilating members of this secret group.” Prentiss quickly scribbled ‘group’ on the white board, arrows pointing from the victims’ photos. 

“For now that’s the best theory,” Rossi leaned front, “but we have to be careful not to focus on this theory. We have to be flexible.” Rossi reminded the team. 

Hotch checked his watch that was already pointing 6pm. 

“Let’s grab dinner, and you can work or rest at your room for today.”

[harringtonstudios]

space cake.

plot: being machine gun kelly’s personal assistant comes with some interesting experiences.

A/N: NON-CON DRUG USE!! this was loosely based off something irl LMAO, enjoy ;) v long oops 

please send in any prompts! 

taglist: @iamdorka​ @no-shxt-sherl​ @bakerkells​

Being Machine Gun Kelly’s personal assistant was a unique job. There wasn’t a clear line of duties, and often you would find yourself driving around aimlessly, waiting on a text from the man himself. You’d been hired a few months ago, and it had been so easy to fall into a routine with Colson. He was surprisingly cool for a talented musician, and you’d soon learned that he was looking for more of a chill vibe than the other artists you had worked for. 

In past jobs, you were required to constantly attend to any needs. With Colson, it was more of having your phone on and being in the area in case of emergencies. There were always those days where he would send you a grocery list, and then an hour later, you’d be standing in his kitchen with a mixture of vegetables making dinner. Other days, he’d send you an address, and you would pick up his weed for the week. Sometimes, he’d ask for your help with his room, but you would always grimace and he’d wave it off, knowing that his room was a disaster zone. 

A couple of times he had hit you up to just sit on his couch while he played new songs on his speakers. Those days were your favorite, because you’d both sit in silence, him blowing smoke from his joint and you sipping on whatever drink you’d created in his bar. He would always wait for the song to finish, and then look over at you and raise an eyebrow. You relished in his music, and it was easy for you to tell him any opinions you had. He’d always take them seriously, scribbling notes down. After a good music session, you always felt a little bit closer to Colson, slow electricity building in the air. But you would always remind yourself to shake it off, bringing back distance between the two of you. This was a job, and even if he couldn’t tell, you needed this and you weren’t going to risk it for just anything.

-

You were standing in line for hot dogs when your phone buzzed twice. Both messages were from Colson, the first one had a list of ingredients and the second one had an address with a few leaf emojis. You sent him back a thumbs up before ordering your food and googling the random address he sent. It was a ten minute drive from the grocery store and you climbed into your car, eating one of the best hot dogs they offered in LA.

Grabbing the ingredients Colson had sent you, you pieced together his plans for the night. He was gonna bake a cake? He wanted a shit-ton of eggs, a few tubs of frosting, and boxes of cake mix. A part of you wanted to try and see if you could bake with him, but professional boundaries existed and you needed to maintain them.

- 

A few minutes later, you knocked on the door of the other address, “Hey, here for Kells,” you said to the man standing there. He nodded over at you before walking into his house. You stayed in the doorway as he walked back up to you, giving you a large cardboard box. The box was heavy, and you huffed as you balanced it in one hand before getting in your car, driving off. 

Parking in Colson’s driveway was difficult. There were cars filling up the space, and you could already hear the music coming from inside. Sighing, you decided to open the cardboard box to try and put some of the groceries inside of it. Right off, you regretted opening it. Packets of weed stared right up at you, and your eyes widened at the amount of drugs you’d been carrying. You quickly closed it back up and stacked a few cake mix boxes on top of it. Grabbing everything in your hands, you tried to efficiently close the door, determined not to make a second trip. 

Kicking the front door open, you waddled over to the kitchen counter. It was already covered with solo cups and alcohol bottles and you grew more confused about why anyone wanted to bake in the middle of what seemed to be a party. 

“Hey, Y/N! You’re back,” Colson shouted from across the room. 

You waved him over and started moving all the empty cups into the trash. Coming up behind you, he grabbed the box over your head. 

“Fuck yeah. This is gonna be the best night ever,” he muttered as you turned around to face him. 

“What’s all this even for?” you questioned as he giddily moved around the ingredients on the counter. 

“Don’t worry about it, you’re good to leave if you wanna,” he waved it off and you side stepped as he tried to move closer to the counter. Giving him full access, you grabbed your jacket and turned around to view the scene unfolding in front of you. 

The guys were all in various states of drunk, fumbling around the living room. Slim and Rook were assembling the frosting tubs in a line and you could tell it was going to be a night full of antics. A part of you desperately wanted to stay, to play along with the guys, knock a couple of drinks back and help them bake this disaster of a cake, but messing around with your employer’s friends wasn’t going to do you any favors, so you waved goodbye and walked out for the night. 

-

Two hours later, you were sitting in a bar. Your friends had set you up on a blind date, eager to get you back on the playing field. You didn’t have time in your randomized schedule to go out and dates always made you a little uneasy. 

A few minutes later, you felt a tap on your shoulder. “Y/N? Hey, nice to meet you,” the guy reached his hand out. You shook his hand, but already could feel yourself grimacing internally. It wasn’t that this guy was unattractive, it was more like he just wasn’t your type. He was dressed in a button down and khakis at a bar, it just didn’t work for you. You braced yourself for an evening of careless small talk and grabbed your drink as he led you to a table. 

Half an hour into the date, which was as boring as you’d anticipated, your phone buzzed. At first, you reached for it, but your date threw an unkind glance, so you brushed the notification off. A few minutes later, you got a few more buzzes and then a phone call. Your date threw another look at you. You smiled sweetly before picking up the phone. 

“Y/N! I need you to come over now,” Colson shouted over the noise through the phone. You pulled it back from your ear, before bringing it back. 

“Is everything okay?” you mumbled into the phone. 

“Yeah. Nooo. We’re out of alcohol,” he whined on the other end. 

You rolled your eyes, and spared a glance at your date who was picking at his teeth. Maybe this was a good thing, an excuse to leave this terrible date. 

“Sorry, something’s come up at work and I gotta head over,” you reached for your bag. Not particularly waiting for a response, you pushed in your chair and walked out of the bar. 

-

Walking to the corner store, you purchased a few bottles of Jameson and ordered a Lyft to Colson’s house. 

People were dancing all around, and you spotted Colson sitting on his kitchen counter. There was an impressive looking cake placed next to him, covered in different colors of frosting. You placed the new bottles next to the cake. 

“Fuck yeahhhh!” Colson fist bumped you as you hid your purse under the counter. Grabbing a cup you decided to get a little more drunk tonight. Honestly, you deserved it after sitting through that hellish date. 

Rook cut the cake into pieces to much celebration and soon enough, you had a fork in your hand. Reaching over to share with Colson, he snatched his plate away. 

“Hey no, I wanted that,” you grabbed for it. 

“No cake for you,” he responded and walked away. You stuck your tongue out behind his back before taking your fork and reaching into someone else's plate. 

Taking a few bites, it hit you that the cake tasted terrible. The flavor profile was just off. Everyone still seemed to be eating it, so you brushed it off and took a couple more bites for good measure. 

-

Half an hour later, you bumped into Colson as you walked up the stairway. He looked over at you, grinning until he caught sight of your face. “Y/N? Oh fuck, did you eat the cake,” he rushed out as he grabbed hold of your wrists.

“Yeah, haha. What gave it away?” you responded as you swayed a little. He cursed under his breath before looking around at the swarm of people moving around his house.

“Is there frosting on my mouth? What,” you started as he pulled you along. Following him upstairs, you smiled at the people dancing alongside his walls. Tripping over your own feet, you snatched back your wrists from his grip. 

“Dude, where are we going?” you asked as he moved people in front of him. 

“My room,” he answered and you hadn’t been this confused in a while. Colson knew you hated going into his room. He looked a little frantic, so you brushed your disgust off and stood behind him as he pulled the key out from his pocket. 

Moving into his room, you heard the music muffle itself as the door closed. There were clothes strewn everywhere, and you could see his luggage opened in a corner, things spilling out of it. Grimacing, you kicked a couple of things aside as you walked over to his bathroom. You didn’t feel too good. 

Splashing your face with cold water, you gasped. Everything around you was looking sharper, and you felt your heartbeat rabbiting as you gripped the sink. Your mind was racing, and you tried to take a deep breath as the world tilted just a little.

“What the fuck, what the fuck,” you breathed out as you closed your eyes. 

“Y/N, you okay?” Colson called out from behind the door. You looked back up in the mirror as your heart continued thudding against your chest.

“I don’t know,” you mumbled out. Your eyes looked hazy, and you touched your cheek, trying to feel your face. 

“Hey, it’s going to be fine. Open the door yeah?” you heard him say and you closed your eyes again. You couldn’t really walk, so you sat down on the floor. You shifted yourself to the door and reached up to turn the knob. He stumbled in and saw you on the floor, eyes shut. 

He sat across from you, legs crossed and you could feel his fingers run over your hands. “Hey, hey I’m here,” he murmured. 

“Colson, what’s going on?” you whispered. 

“So, um that cake you ate? It was laced. We wanted to make a space cake,” he responded and you opened your eyes. 

“A space cake, what the fuck is that,” you bit your tongue as your hands shook a little.

“Weed. A shit-ton of weed in that cake. I know you don’t smoke, it probably hit hard,” he explained.You exhaled, and took your hands out of his. Placing them on your thighs, you pushed down a little.

 “Let me get this straight, you made a cake edible, which I ate. And now I am high,” you muttered out, staring at his hands across from you. 

“Yeah, basically,” his hands twitched and you reached over for them again. Your heart seemed to relax when you could feel the weight of his fingers with yours. 

“I don’t smoke because the last time I did, I got crazy paranoid. Bad trip,” you whispered as you played with his hand. Continuing, you blurted out, “I didn’t want you to see all that.” 

“If it makes you feel better, I am really high right now,” he whispered back and you laughed a little. It did help, Colson could handle his weed better than you, but at least you weren’t the only one tripping. 

“Can I hold you,” he murmured, “you’re shaking.”

You looked up at his face and he looked so sincere. Nodding, you leaned in closer as he scooted over to where you were. You turned around, facing the wall as he wrapped his arms around you. His heartbeat was steady, calming, and you felt it against your back. 

“I didn’t want this to ever happen,” you mumbled as you stared at the chipping paint on the corner. 

“I can leave,” he started and you felt his arms move from around you. 

“No!” you shouted a little, and he paused. 

“Shit, I- okay look. I just didn’t want to get this close to you. You’re my boss and I need this job and I can’t actually like you,” you stumbled out. 

He was quiet for a beat and then he whispered, “You like me?” 

The tone in his voice was softer than you’d expected and his arms relaxed against you.

“No, never pfft. Why would I? You’re annoying and you never actually eat any fruits and you’re just terrible,” you rambled on and you could feel him laughing behind you.

“Oh, you totally have a crush on me,” he barked out between his laughs. 

“Shut up,” you felt hot all of a sudden and you closed your eyes again. 

“It’s all good. Honestly, I might like you too. There’s just something about you. It’s why I always wanna hear your thoughts on my stuff. You matter to me,” he said as he moved his thumbs over the back of your hand. 

You didn’t respond. Trying to get his words out of your head, you focused on the feeling of his thumb. After a few minutes of silence, you spoke out.

“Is there anyway I can sleep here tonight?”

“In my messy bed? I thought you hated this room,” he said, leaning his head against the back of yours. 

“It’s disgusting here. I just- I don’t wanna go back out there,” you sighed out. 

“Yeah, of course you can stay here Y/N,” and you turned around to see his grin. 

Even though you were tripping on some serious space cake, you found yourself smiling back. You’d deal with this in the morning, right now all you wanted was a warm bed and Colson Baker’s arms around you.

[artificialqueens]

Gimme Love, 6/9 (Miz Cracker/Blair St Clair) - Grinder

AN: Welp, I'm back from travelling! For anyone interested to know how it went; it was great (if you love stress). Liverpool is a lovely place but I've destroyed my bank account :D

Anyway! We got 4 more chapters of this fic! This is where the conflict begins. I hope yall enjoy.

TW for this chapter: Homophobia, homophobic slurs

2020

The cake was in the fridge. We'd be seeing him later. For now, we settled for some spaghetti. It had become a sort of tradition for Jujubee and me for moments that needed celebrating. But we hadn't done it in so long, what with the stress of work.

"So, Juju, as you can see, I've labelled the pages you're allowed to read, so don't go looking at other shit, OK?" I asked, chopping up a red bell pepper.

"Why? If I do, am I gonna find some porn-y shit?" She quipped, running a hand along with the butterfly print book.

"Honestly, you know all of those details anyway." I gave her a smirk, taking a piece of pepper and throwing it over to her.

I almost expected it to fly past her head, but she caught it in her mouth. Skill.

"OK, but what's in the box, though?"

I almost forgot what she was even referring to. But following her gaze, I saw it, sitting on the kitchen counter beside the fridge. "Oh, that?" I scraped the peppers into the saucepan, "That is my memory box."

"Ooh, that's even more exciting." She beamed.

"No. We're not opening it." I moved on to an onion.

"Aw, why not?" Jujubee whined.

"Because I made my Mom promise me she wouldn't give it to me until I turned 50. But I was weak and begged her to give it back. So now, I've promised myself to not look inside until I turn 50." The air was no longer clean, poisoned with the acid from the onion. My eyes were beginning to sting.

"Aw, Brie, you don't need to get all emotional about it." She had to go and joke about the tear now trickling down my cheek.

"Girl, this is torture," I wipe my eye along my wrist, pretty sure my eyeshadow has been fucked up. "Did I fuck up the smokey eye?"

"Nope." I knew she was lying to me, but she couldn't take her eyes away, "You look absolutely gorgeous as usual."

"Not as hot as you, though." I sniffed. I needed her to focus on reading so I could finish chopping the onion as soon as possible. "Anyway, you wanna read something in there?"

Jujubee opened the book and immediately laughed, "Jesus Christ, Brie, bit dark."

She showed me the first page, childlike scribblings read 'Brianna's Diary. DO NOT TOUCH! Or this will happen to you!' An arrow led to a picture of a grave.

"I never even noticed that before," I chuckled.

"With a warning like that, I better find some crazy shit in here." she cleared her throat, "So starting in 1994, 'Diary Diary, Today, I had a fight with Jujubee. She really upset me, but I upset her too. I should say sorry. That's all. Bye.'" Jujubee lowered the diary, "you bitch, why did you upset me?"

"I have no idea, girl. I mean, didn't we do that a lot back then?" I shrugged.

"I bet you started it though," She lifted the book again, a coy smile on her face. "OK, moving on to 1995," she cleared her throat, "'Dear Diary, today Mommy and Juju's Mommy took us to see Pocahontas at the movies. It was very good. Goodnight.'" Jujubee paused to giggle, "God, I love how detailed this is. You could have added so much more."

"Girl, I was 8 years old. Writing more than 4 sentences was like writing the bible to me." I countered, finally scraping the onions into the pan with the peppers.

"Yeah, but we did so much more that day. We went to McDonald's after, we found that little frog pond in the woods." She pointed out.

I hadn't even remembered that. Now I kind of wished my younger self would have pushed herself to write more.

I was too busy rifling through my messy cabinet for oregano to notice Jujubee just flicking through page by page.

"But, you wrote 3 pages worth of poetry to Blair St Clair?"

Once I found the spice, I spun around to look at her, "Juju, I told you to only look at the pages that were labelled."

She held a hand up, "OK, I'm sorry." She closed the book.

I felt bad, thinking maybe my harsh tone brought the fun to a grinding halt. Squeezing my eyes shut, releasing a sigh, I said, "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

She took a sip of her water while I added the oregano to the saucepan.

"So, did you text her back?" She played with the glass in her hands.

I pursed my lips and shook my head. "Why? Do you think I should?" I asked quietly.

"Nah, not really."

"Well, why not?"

Jujubee shrugged her shoulders and went to look at her nails. "Don't know."

I clicked my heel, my tongue running along the top row of teeth behind my closed mouth. "Well, I've been thinking about it. I mean, maybe that's the problem. Maybe I could be a bit more responsive."

She made a humming sound. I was unsure what it was supposed to mean.

"OK, what's going on?" I put both hands on the counter.

"I don't know. I just think…" she paused, trying to find her words, "I don't see the point because the same shit will just happen again."

"The same shit?" I repeated, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, her speaking all but 10 words to you and then completely ignoring your existence." She put a hand under her chin.

"Well, maybe that wouldn't happen if I actually spoke to her like I wasn't terrified for once," I suggested.

She squeezed her eyes together, "Oh no, Brie. I knew this was going to happen."

"What was going to happen?"

"The whole Blair thing. I thought you were over it. Well, until she messaged you recently, I had a creeping feeling that it was all gonna come back."

"Juju, listen to yourself. You're talking like this is an actual problem."

"I hate to say it, but it is. Do you remember the time she hung out with you in the library? You were so excited the next day. I hadn't seen you so happy in so long. You wouldn't stop talking about how she would probably be there again." She paused, "But she wasn't. And you were so disappointed."

"Yeah, but things could be different now."

"And how's that?"

"Well, I'm a different fucking person now, that's one thing. I'm successful, I'm smart, I'm hot as fuck, rich as fuck - -"

"And you think that's gonna be the game-changer for her? That she's gonna come running into your arms? Because if that's the case, that says a lot about her." Jujubee rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm a big girl, now. If it happens again, I'll just get on with things. I'll move on.

"That's a lie."

I squinted my eyes. "Why are you being like this right now? You're so salty just because I fucked wrote a private letter to her as a child."

"This isn't about the letter, Brie. You know why I'm being like this. You shouldn't need to ask." But she continued, "You've never dealt with never having parents. You think that if Blair was to suddenly be truly interested in you, you'd get over the feeling of being unwanted. Yet you're surrounded by people who love and support you, who'd stick with you to the end. But right now, you don't give two fucks about them because you're too busy panicking about some girl from high school."

I lift my head again, putting one hand on the desk and the other on my hip, "Well, congratulations, Juju. Sounds like you got me all figured out. Hey, you wanna talk about my Grandpa next?"

She only reacted to that with a scowl. And she spoke again.

"You remember the prom? Do you remember what happened? Do you remember how she didn't do anything to stop Trevor?"

My eyes shifted away, just for a second. "She told him to stop."

"Which did nothing."

I wanted to argue how she was unfair. How it was so wrong to blame Blair for the prom incident. But I was distracted by a burning smell. Only now did I notice the onions and peppers blackening.

I quickly moved the saucepan off the heat, feeling it only radiating in my own face. I put a hand on the counter, the other on my hip. "OK, Juju, maybe you should leave."

It was safe to say Jujubee was taken aback. She remained still for a second before pushing her stool out. "So that's how it is? Kicking me out when you're faced with the truth?"

"Juju, just leave, please." I felt my hands clench around the edge of the counter, my nails digging into my hip.

"I am!" She grabbed her coat and stormed from the kitchen. I flinched upon hearing the door slam shut, and only then did it sink in - the dread, the feeling of regret.

I looked at the hob, the burnt vegetables unsavable. So they went in the trash. My stomach grumbled. But I couldn't bring myself to start over again.

Opening my fridge, my eyes were immediately on the cake. And I glanced over my shoulder, looking where she had sat, now feeling a sense of emptiness. Not in me, but the room. Like I was alone.

I was alone.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." I repeated as my hand clenched on the door. The cool air from the fridge felt nice but not enough to stop my panic.

I looked at the cake again, feeling the urge to throw it out the window. Or maybe just send it back to her.

Bitchy, I know. But I couldn't help it. I wouldn't be feeling like this if she hadn't acted the way she did.

I slammed the door shut, kicking it for extra measure. And in my heels, I almost tripped.

Filled with more anger, I paced around for a few minutes, aggressively cussing to myself.

Don't get me wrong, one part of me said she was right about Blair.

No. She isn't. I was going to prove Jujubee wrong.

I picked up my phone from the counter, found the message and began to type with trembling fingers.

"Blair…" I panted, "So sorry...for getting back to you so late... I'm a busy woman, as you...probably already know...Look... I'm just gonna say it...I really like you...I always have...You make me feel so confused...yet so happy at the same time...I feel a connection between us...I always have...I don't know whether you ever felt it or not...but I do hope so...I would love to meet up with you sometime soon...and maybe have a coffee...I don't know...maybe even some wine, if you want. I look forward to hearing back. Brie x"

My thumb hovered over the send button. The only sound I could hear was the ticking of the clock. Not even my own breathing.

I pulled my thumb away, closed my eyes and breathed out. "Brie. You sound fucking crazy. You sound insane. You can't just send shit like that." I repeated words of the same nature to myself, trying to usher myself off the edge before I could do something idiotic.

"Jesus Christ." I opened my eyes again, which were now glossy with tears. I wouldn't blink. I wouldn't let them fall.

Big mistake.

I thought I tapped the chat bar, going to delete the message. But my blurred vision said, "haha, no."

I tapped the button next to the chat bar. The send button.

The little noise my phone made as it was sent may as well have been the same as a gun clicking.

"Oh, God." My eyes couldn't tear away from the small screen. My heart rate increased. "No, no, no, you fucking idiot!" I pressed my thumb down on the message.

There was a delete option.

I clicked it.

'Are you sure? The recipient may have already seen the message.'

I backspaced to check.

There it was, the tiny version of her profile picture falling to the bottom of the screen. She was reading it.

"Fuck!!" I blurted.

I put the phone down on the counter, began pacing for a moment, and looked back at the phone. This went on for a few minutes. I wanted to be as far from my phone as possible. But also needed to know if she had replied.

This was it.

Blair was going to know how I was weirdly obsessed with her.

She was going to know I was checking her out in the library that one time.

She was going to know that I had fingered myself so many times at the thought of her.

What were my options?

Suicide - Not gonna happen.

Running away - But the project.

Reply with 'Hey, sorry! My friend took my phone, haha' - did anyone ever believe that excuse?

Block her before she could reply - then she'd think I was even more crazy.

Call up her place of work and somehow get her phone confiscated - why, though? That would involve Facebook stalking her again, trying to think of an excuse. Even if I did so successfully, she still saw the message.

All of the options just lead to cons. It was hopeless.

With shaky fingers, I switched my phone off and practically threw it onto the counter.

My body sank to the ground, now holding my head in my hands.

What do I do? What do I fucking do?

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

2004

I was shaking. Only slightly.

There was something about the prom that made me feel so on edge.

Maybe it was all the people, all together in one room.

Perhaps it was the fact the chess boys asked to make out.

Or perhaps it was the fear of missed opportunities. Opportunities that involved a certain someone.

I watched from the side of the room as Blair took pictures with her friends on her pink digital camera. There was a feeling of regret causing my stomach to twist, my fists clenching onto my purple dress.

That could have been me.

I felt a hand moving a curled lock of hair from my shoulder.

"Just think, girl; we're almost there," Jujubee appeared in front of my vision, "College is just around the corner."

"I can't wait to be out of here," I spoke quietly.

Everyone turned their attention to the stage as Rosé appeared, announcing it was time to crown Prom King and Queen.

"Well, it's pretty obvious who our queen is." Jujubee crossed her arms.

I knew who she was thinking of. To be fair, it was pretty obvious. But I wasn't complaining.

Trevor was our Prom King, not my King anyway. I scoffed as he cheered, being pushed up to the stage by his team.

"Jesus Christ, who would have thought." Jujubee took a sip of her punch, spilling a drop on her lilac puffy-sleeved dress.

"And your Prom Queen is…" Rosé paused, pulling the result from the envelope.

3...2...1…

"Blair St Clair!"

I smiled for the first time since walking into the place. I applauded her victory as she walked up onto the stage.

Blair hugged Rosé and whispered something in her ear. I had no idea what it was, but I was too distracted as Trevor just stared.

"You wanna make a speech, girl?" Rosé joked into the mic.

Blair laughed, covering her face with embarrassment. She turned down the offer.

"OK. Everybody," Rosé held a hand to Blair and Trevor, "You're King and Queen of 2004."

Blair looked slightly uncomfortable as Trevor put an arm around her waist. Why couldn't he get the hint she was done with him?

The two got down from the stage, Trevor's gaze following her in confusion as she moved far away from him.

"Aren't they supposed to do a dance now?" Jujubee asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, Juju. I've only seen proms in movies, and they're quite obviously exaggerated."

My eyes landed on Blair once more. Trevor was whispering something in her ear, and she shook her head, rolled her eyes and walked away. Yikes, he was desperate.

"Jesus, I'm fucking nervous." Rosé was approaching us now, well, the punch table we stood beside. "Getting up on stage gets my body shaking, you know?"

"Wish I could do that." Jujubee replied.

"Yeah, well, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do." Rosé replied.

I eyed her suspiciously. This was odd; she'd never really spoken to us before.

"But of course," she looked left, then right, before pulling a flask from her bra and pouring it into a cup, "this helps. You ladies want one?"

"Nah, I'm good," Jujubee made a stank face.

Me, on the other hand, having never drank alcohol in my life, piped up, "Actually, yeah. Could you just pour me a shot of whatever that is?"

"Yeah, of course," and she didn't lie. She poured me a shot of vodka. No spitting in the cup, no adding anything sneakily, no hostility.

She passed the cup to me, giving a mischievous wink.

Tossing it back, I was totally shocked by the burning sensation it caused to my throat. I began to cough and splutter.

"Girl, chill out, or you're gonna draw attention to yourself." Rosé looked around.

I placed the cup down on the table, the plastic practically crumbling in my hand.

"This is it. The beginning," Jujubee joked, dabbing the corner of my mouth with her pinky. I didn't even know there was a drop of liquid there.

And I didn't know there was a hair out of place either. Because she was stroking a soft hand down my temple to my cheek.

"Brie, do - -"

"Juju, I'm gonna ask her to dance with me," I said all too loud.

The hand dropped instantaneously, her smile falling in a matter of seconds. Of course, I expected this shocked reaction. Even Rosé had nearly choked on her drink.

"For real?" Jujubee asked after a silent moment.

"Yep," I answered proudly, putting my hands on my hips.

"I guess you've never touched a drop of alcohol in your life, loser." Rosé leaned close to me.

"Something like that." I felt slightly uncomfortable now that she was dangerously close to me.

She snorted a laugh, holding up her hands as she walked away, "I'm not responsible for this."

So this was what they called liquid courage. Yeah, it was one shot, but it was my very first. And I was already feeling it. The buzz.

I turned to make my way to the girl I loved when Jujubee grabbed my hand, "Brie, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Yes," I replied too quickly, tugging to pull away.

"Are you sure?" Her brows knit, "You're not gonna be upset if she says no, right?"

One final strong tug was enough to release her grip on me, "No, Juju. I'll be fine, just...stop questioning me, OK?"

She was silent, her arms dropping by her side.

But I continued on in my mission, vision slightly blurred, insides warmed.

Everyone around us was gone like they had just stepped into another world, leaving Blair and me in this reality. Or maybe it was the two of us who disappeared, somehow falling into the wormhole and ending up in the other world.

Or maybe it was just liquid courage.

There were only a few metres between us now. "Blair?"

She had been taking a sip of her coke when she looked up and noticed me. Wiping the corners of her mouth, she put the can down.

"Brianna!" She beamed. Her eyes looked me up and down, causing a brief moment of panic, "wow, look at you. You look great."

"Yeah, right, compared to you." I stifled a laugh.

"Oh, shut up." She smirked.

"So, um…" I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, looking away and to the ground, "I was just...wondering...if you'd wanna dance with me?"

I didn't lift my gaze. Only now did I understand what Jujubee meant. The girl hadn't even said no yet, and my heart was already sinking.

"It's just...this song is so good, and it's the end of the year, and we may not - -"

Before I could continue rambling, she cut me off.

"Sure. Yeah, I'll dance with you."

I lift my gaze to see her glittering smile. Like in the library, time didn't feel real anymore, and I needed to remind myself to breathe. "Really?"

"Yeah, of course." She briefly knit her brows like it shouldn't have been questioned. She took my hand in her perfect french manicured one, "Come on."

As we made our way to the dance floor, I was only now reminded that there were people here. So, we didn't slip through a wormhole. This was real. This was reality.

Blair found a spot on the floor, turned to me and wrapped her arms around the back of my neck.

For a moment, I was unsure of where to put my hands. I glanced over her shoulder, noting the couple also slow dancing. She has her arms around his neck. He had his arms around her waist.

I was hesitant at first but eventually gave in. Blair didn't mind. And I felt myself relax.

She just stared at me, the sweet smile still on her face. The music echoed around us. The lights were low. Pink tinted.

"So, how does it feel winning Prom Queen?" I asked. Of course, it felt amazing for her, but I needed to find an excuse to speak. Anything to avoid the somersaults my stomach was doing.

"I mean, it's nice, I guess. But, it's all bullshit anyway?" Her smile faltered, "Not something anyone in the future will give a fuck about, right?"

I disagreed. If I were to win prom queen, I would feel validated. And I would make sure I'd bring it up to everyone I ever met. Pathetic, I know.

"Well, I can't think of anybody better," I admitted. "Maybe they could have chosen a better King."

"Agreed." She nodded. "You know, literally just now, he tried to use this whole King and Queen thing to 'try again'. Not even that long before you came up to me. Brianna, I've already given him another chance. And he blew it."

"During the Summer?" I recalled.

"Yep." She pursed her lips.

"What did he do, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, he just had some major anger problems," her eyes widened for a moment, "He never hurt me, though. He just...got so angry over the dumbest shit. It was just too much."

She puffed out a breath, the frown on her face appearing.

"You don't have to tell me any more," I said quickly.

"Sorry, I don't wanna get emotional." She looked back at me. "It's just... it's hard not to. You're a good listener."

How should I have felt knowing that was her analysis of me from very little time spent together? She really trusted me. "Blair... I'm sorry about that time in the library. When you mentioned my Grandpa. I feel terrible now."

"Please, don't. You were grieving."

'Was I really though?' I held back from saying.

"I never really had a Dad," I smiled, seeing his stupid smile in my head, "But he was the closest equivalent to that."

"I know what you mean." She began, "My Dad…" she trailed off for a moment, "He wasn't the best. You probably remember that one time I ran away as a kid. When you walked me to my Grandma's."

I wasn't even tense in the first place, but my body felt like it relaxed. "You remember that?"

"Of course I do. It really meant a lot, Brie." Her thumb stroked the back of my neck. I don't know if she did this intentionally or subconsciously. Was she even thinking about it? "That day, I never went back. Ever. My Grandparents took full custody of me, and they became my second parents. The ones I always deserved."

I felt my body relax even more like this was normal. "Blair, I wanna carry on something my Grandpa started."

"What's that?"

"It sounds crazy," I pause, "But he wants me to find a parallel universe."

I paused to take in her reaction. She did look taken aback for a moment. Could you blame her? "Is it even possible?"

"I mean, at first I thought he was a bit out there asking me something like that, on his deathbed and all. But I've been studying really hard, and I think it's achievable."

"That's interesting." She nodded. "So, what are you gonna do at college?"

"Drugs." I giggled before the smile dropped, "OK, not funny. Bad joke."

"I'm laughing, though." She was.

"Um, no. I'm gonna do Astronomy and Space science."

"I didn't know that was a major you could do," Blair replied.

"Me neither. What about you, though? Something in theatre?"

Blair lowered her gaze for a brief moment, "I dunno, Brie. I honestly don't see college as a me-thing. I'm constantly torn between theatre, fashion merchandising, cosmetology, politics..."

"Politics?" I laughed and instantly hoped she didn't take offence to that.

"What?" She smirked. "What's funny?"

"I just…" I paused, feeling my heart skip a beat as a particular memory came back. "This is crazy. I can't believe I remember this. All I can think about right now is the day we met. Remember the first day of elementary? On the bus? I told you I wanted to be a politician when I was older, just 'cause they liked to shout a lot. And you couldn't say the word right."

"Oh fuck, now that you mention it, I do remember." Blair laughed, "That was such a long time ago. We were so little." She looked away as if her mind had transported her to that moment. Did she remember it like I did? Did she remember how she held my hand and told me she was my friend?

And then never sat with me ever again?

My eyes had drifted away, looking over her shoulder at nothing in particular. The bad thoughts were taking over. I didn't want them to. I wanted to enjoy this moment forever. Just swaying back and forth with Blair in the middle of the dance floor.

She stroked her thumb on the back of my neck again, causing a spark to course through me.

Blair's looking at me again. "Brianna, how come we never talked more?"

I don't know if it was just me fantasising again, but her face was moving closer to mine, ever so slowly.

I had the answer to her question. But it couldn't ruin this moment. "I don't know," I whispered.

She was closer now, head tilted to the left.

And I found myself doing the same.

This was another fantasy. This isn't real.

I felt her breath on the corner of my mouth.

It felt real.

It was.

There was a frustrated roar.

A tight fist clenched around my arm.

I was pulled back forcefully.

My feet gave way.

I was on the ground.

"Are you kidding me??" Trevor stood in front of Blair, his face red with anger, "You won't fucking dance with me, but you'll dance with her??"

Everyone around us was just standing there, too shocked to do something.

"Trevor, what the fuck??" Blair went to move around him, trying to get to me. He only pushed her back.

"Of all the people, why her??" He grilled Blair with more questions. She looked afraid now.

Why the fuck wasn't anyone doing anything??

I felt a hand on my shoulder, but looking around, I saw it was actually Rosé. "Trevor, what the fuck??"

He turned to look as if offended that anyone else got involved. How could they not? Seeing her helping me stand must hit a nerve. Because he's snatched a cup of punch from a bystander, "Why are you defending the dyke??" And he threw the cup forward, the liquid drenching my hair and splattering my dress.

That was the final straw. I could feel my chest heaving.

I ran to the nearest exit. Running from the school. As soon as I felt the cool air on my skin, I wrapped my arms around my stomach. I was bent over, throwing up all the panic. Sparks of the bile dotted the bottom of my dress and shoes. I didn't care. My dress was already ruined.

I heard the door open behind me and immediately began to move again.

I tried to run, but the heels made it hard.

The person was in front of me now, hands on my face, tears streaking her face.

I expected it to be Blair.

But it was Jujubee.

"Brie, it's alright. I punched him for you." She whimpered, her hands on either side of my face, holding me tenderly.

My breathing was rugged, trying so hard to listen to her reassuring whispers. But in my head was the sound of the crowd gasping and Trevor shouting.

No one was going to forget about this. I'd be reminded by the stares in the corridors, how they'd whisper to each other.

"Let's go to my house. You can stay over if you want." Jujubee's sweet voice brought me out of my thoughts.

Words still failing to surface, I nodded.

As soon as we got in, she ran me a hot bath. Whilst I cleaned myself of the sticky punch that covered my hair and face, she made chocolate mug cakes with ice cream.

Sitting there in her room, dressed in her fluffy pyjamas, eating her food, I should have felt better. I should have been happy. But I just stared at the mug in my hand, still thinking of Trevor's anger and Blair's distressed face.

Jujubee took the mug from me, set it aside along with her own, and enveloped me in a hug. "Don't cry, Bri. Please, don't cry."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I was crying." I wept.

"Don't apologise." She shushed me, "It's OK. You're OK."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

2020

And even now, I didn't realise I was crying again. And as it was too late to stop myself, I remembered sobbing into Jujubee's shoulder, holding her tightly, like she was the only one who could get me through it. She was the only one who could get me through it.

The events of the prom left me scared, always so on edge when walking those school corridors. Just terrified that Trevor would round the corner and do something worse.

But Jujubee was there for me every time. She'd hold my hand, not giving a fuck about who looked at us weird.

I know I should have grown a backbone and defended myself, and what had actually happened shouldn't have been as damaging as it was. But, hey, I was only human.

Jujubee got in a lot of trouble for punching Trevor in the face. But she didn't mind. "Just as long as he got what was coming to him," she had said.

Hearing her retell the event, I wish I had been there. She had jumped on him, tackling him to the ground and punched him over and over again.

But as exciting as that all was, I didn't speak to Blair again. I didn't think about her. I didn't talk about her. I didn't even look at her. Blair wasn't the one to come after me that night. She never even approached me to talk about it. She didn't give a fuck.

So I kept my distance.

And just as life went on without her, she just had to go and message me. After years of silence, she couldn't have left well enough alone.

I finally lifted my head. I reached up and grabbed my phone. Turning it back on, I immediately deleted Messenger, hoping to never see Blair's response.

This would be the beginning of my journey toward happiness.

Yeah. That was it. That's what I would do.

[fruitylibrarian]

quest of the spear live rewatch!

i already spewed my pre call to adventure flynn thoughts all over a text post but I would like to repeat: pre-canon flynn my beloved <3

yes he is a bit of a bastard but he just loves his books and he’s so genuinely just like. passionate and like…. Big? does that make sense? like i mean inside. not literally. bright

flynn’s mom is so fucking funny

and she’s Trying Her Best

you know one thing I don’t understand, I assume that flynn could afford to keep going to college because of like grants and scholarships since he’s all smart and like, even if his mom is well off, no one below the morally bankrupt millionaire line can pay for 22 degrees and not die of no-money-itis otherwise known as Starving

but like. why not become a professor or some other academia position?

you’d be incredibly overqualified and you’re a white dude, so while academia isn’t exactly bursting with new spaces to fill I’m sure you could find something???? and like. a professor in particular, while baby flynn might not be great at the connection part, seems like a natural progression to at least try for considering it keeps you in that comfort zone and familiar space just in a different albeit familiar role, and allows you to go on long lectures people can’t interrupt. and like, professors literally like, part of their job is research and to continue learning, so like. it seems like the natural choice for him to go for?

don’t get me wrong, baby flynn in particular might not be extremely well suited considering his lack of people skills, but plenty of professors are brilliant slightly odd smarties who give long, super engaging theatrical lectures (sounds like him!) but suck at one on one meetings and talking to people or may be accidentally insulting, but like, their class is genuinely interesting and they grade decently so like, I think he could get past that hurdle is what I’m saying

obviously he’d have to work at it and get the skills necessary but you know what that means? MORE SCHOOL, BABY! just in a different direction! like just? it seems like the obvious choice for his situation

ah yes!!! magic letter!!! it’s kind of funny they do this, it’s a great hook and way to make applicants go Uh Excuse Me and want to know more but also like, there’s no proof magic happened either?

although you’d think some people would get obsessive like let me tell you if i encountered real ass magic like that i wouldn’t stop until i had an answer

ah the Incredibly Long Interview Line. it’s kinda how funny how like. Not Special he is but at the same time he is?

“never been treated so badly in my entire life!” what did you say to him charlene

i’m sure he deserved it i just want to know

wait oh no i just realized

all these people are dead

every single one of them got murdered in the first episode of the series

jesus that’s dark

not gonna be able to stop thinking about that one huh

also love how it’s pretty evenly men and women

although it’s still mostly white

fuck that lady just left crying I know they’re doing this to turn up the drama but DAMN, charlene

god he almost gave up. remember the timeline episode where he never became the librarian? weird.

Gkjlfkgjhfglh Where Do You Think You’re Going? (weak gesture like “me?”) Yes You. Get In Here amazing how can she even see him she’s around the CORNER. camera? magical surveillance? why? just to freak people out? amazing.

i do so love charlene, it’s a shame she wasn’t in the show more

also she literally never explains shit. What Makes You Think You Can Be The Librarian he doesn’t even know what that means, charlene

He Doesn’t Even Have A Library Science Degree

oh wow he does actually have librarian qualifications lmao

why did i not remember that

DLKFGJDFG I did remember him sherlocking her tho

wait her MARRIAGE? to WHO?

i thought her and judson were a thing despite jenkins being into her or something?

huh

also why does this qualify him to be The Librarian™ like oh he can sherlock? ok?

maybe it’s just bc he had the balls to do it

well, the sherlock thing is also not completely unhelpful it just doesn’t seem central to his skills, or at least, not the way he uses it (do we see him use it like this again? he usually applies more obscure knowledge then ye classic deduction sherlockian skills if I remember correctly which I may not because my brain is smooth)

judson is such a fucking drama queen

LKDJFGLKDJFGLDKFJG I FUCKING FORGOT HE LITERALLY JUST FUCKING REPEATED HIS MOM’S LITTLE PHRASE AMAZING

also why did he seem to think her sending everyone home meant he didn’t get it why would she stop all interviews because you fucked up

he just fucking walked out of a wall judson you are so dramatic

also warehouse 13 vibes huh. welcome to a world of endless wonder

I could do a whole fucking thesis on warehouse 13 and the librarians or—well that’s a whole other tangent

anYWYA

this interview was remarkably easy tho, it’s not like he wasn’t impressive but it wasn’t mindblowing either????? this coming from a big fan of flynn

the big shiny wonderous eyes as the library lights up……flynn my beloved

also his floofy hair ldkfgjdlkfgj

he’s like this is too good am I being prank’d

why the mona lisa?????iIs the mona lisa magic??? It only became famous because it got stolen why would it be magic??? Is this one of those we make it magic by believing it or some shit things???

Flynn Do Not Open The Random Box In The Library Of Incredibly Dangerous Artifacts

oh hello excalibur !!

oh rip flynn immediately being like “oh im not worthy, trust me” with 100 percent certainty im hurt oof

KSJFLGKDJGLKDJG THE APPLE “the apple from the garden of eden…….” *judson takes a bite* “actually I just left this here”

excalibur hello properly!!!!

judson is such a fucking DRAMA QUEEN he’s so casual!! and cal you too you slippery bitch!  

ah the jetpack.

DLFKGJDLKFGJ “it usually takes a new librarian four hours to find the jetpack. you did it in three! congratulations” love the implication that every librarian (at least since it was added to the library) has done this no matter how serious like the bad guy of this movie… *checks notes* edware wilde? jetpack. darrington dare, probably? jetpack. i like to think jenkins did it too (not technically a librarian, but you know)

flynn thinking of himself as embarrassing… ☹

HIS MOM IS SO PROUD OF HIM

part sweet, part funny, part rip

I don’t know what she was expecting when he said librarian tho like. originally he literally looked at shit for FRY COOk degrees don’t always mean shit you know

and librarian is up there with professor in Perfect Jobs For Flynn like what did you expect??? Like even if he’d become an archaeologist (a “cool” job) it’s not like that pays super well either as far as I know??

he was never going to be Traditionally Successful

he’s still the same person he still has the same strengths and passions of course he would go into academia and do something like librarian like????? her reaction saddens me.

just be happy for him!! look at him!!!

ok first of all even normal non magic librarians don’t just put books on shelves and that’s a condescending reduction of the job, and second of all, he is so happy!! he has a job, he’s taking responsibility, he’s meeting people, isn’t that enough??? isn’t that literally what you wanted??? even if it WERE what you think it is why couldn’t it just be a good first step??? like??? fuck??? you did been know that he was doing all those fancy degrees because he loved them not because they’d get him some super fancy job??? I mean egyptology is not the most profitable field you know this isn’t med school or whatever

god.

flynn’s mom, visibly not proud and very upset: of course im proud of you!

ok im being a little unfair, she’s trying and clearly she’s been supportive of him, if not straight up enabling of him, but like this is clearly being presented as like. normal person who is normal forced to take care of freakish strange son who is so nerdy and strange and a loser and she is so tired of his shenanigans and all that WORK she put in and he’s NOT FANCY AND CHANGING TO CONFORM TO HER IDEALS OF A GOOD SUCCESSFUL SON/MAN?

and that’s just all very. sigh.

the snake brotherhood are such obnoxiously cheesy villainous villains they’re even called the snake brotherhood

also I think we’re supposed to recognize him as the previous librarian from the painting but if I didn’t already know that I for sure would not know that

smartass flynn is a smartass

I never got people bringing someone coffee to impress them unless they knew their order like there’s no way you know who she likes her coffee so you could so easily get it wrong—like even if you don’t know exactly how much sugar she wants, you could also just get it entirely wrong like assume she likes black coffee but she likes it super sweet, or vice versa, or whatever. it can go wrong so easily!

or she could go “I Hate A Kiss Ass”

she did take it anyway tho so.

ah i did forget (or just not actively think about) how much like… christian mythology there is in this show :/ I mean we did been knew (excalibur and arthurian legend are pretty important to the mythology)

not that christian mythology is inherently bad it just gets a) annoying, b) boring, and c) y’know, very western centric and all

but then trying to reconcile di—you know what that’s a tangent for another time

then again I do assume no one is going to read this

the library really does just throw new librarians into death and go “hope this is fine!” huh

did they just imply god is canon in the “the librarian” universe

you were so cryptic with the no one thing!! just say NOONE

he’s scribbling in his notebook and mumbling out loud what a mood and I love him. what a nerd

ldfkgjdlkjg god sexy jazz music and a breeze this is so dumb

I do hate the forced love interests in all these movies it’s always like Some Hot Girl Is There And They Get It On!

like he really had chemistry with eve and banter but here it kinda feels like that wish fulfilment and then the nerd gets the hot chick the end and im saying that as the nerd

it doesn’t help that each movie has a different one who immediately is dropped as if she never existed afterwards

maybe it’s not as bad as I remember but. sigh

my instant impression of her is to not like her sorry nicole :/

she’s just so rude? she’s like. hot (derogatory)

i get there’s gender politics here with like. she’s used to being treated like a piece of meat and generally like, why not reap the benefits when you are going to get the creeps too, but like, also she’s just so unnecessarily rude—I mean rejecting his clumsy flirting is one thing but you know—ok I won’t even get into that the point is I just don’t really like her that much even tho I don’t think she’s necessarily a bad person or anything you know

but to be fair I think she got better and I remember her being compelling in her return to the show

and like. I do like how the trend in this franchise is “smart little nerd librarian and badass lady guardian kicks ass” but I do wish that it turned around occasionally. we do get cassandra but like. more lady librarians

wow an air marshal? aren’t they rarely even on flights?

sorry im being nitpicky there for sure lmao. please delete the cinamasins ding my words probably summoned from your brain

I get why shoving him out was necessary but also Wow

Gjklhkjfgh imagine sitting next to some mumbling nerd the whole flight and then you see him fly past the windows

LFKGJDLKJDFG he brilliantly lowers our expectations then jumps without a chute! remarkable!

hilarious or commentary on men getting credit for womens’ competency? why not both

i really thought that she was going to be a lying liar the first time I watched this

ah naïve boy. “uh that’s against the law”

flynn’s greatest strength isn’t just his knowledge but his like. breadth of different topics, just like, passion for learning of any time, and like. the ability to not just know a lot of different things but cross-reference and apply them to each other and use them in tandem to understand a greater whole

and we love that for him!

ah flynn therapizing himself lmao

why would she take him going “this bridge is rotting and physically cant support our weight” as a challenge

or him being cowardly like THE STRUCTURAL SUPPORTS ARE ROTTING

YEAH WHAT DID YOU EXPECT OF COURSE HE FUCKING FELL

ok i lied i like nicole i just don’t love their dynamic

i get what they’re going for i just. not my thing

like with eve there was still a clear mutual respect? i guess? idk

maybe it’s just because i’m more sensitive to mean banter? i don’t like mean banter, even when it’s like, def 100 percent well meaning and not mean spirited and no one is actually offended or hurt

although despite not liking their Thing I do a) think it’s very cute how he looks at her, b) their vibe as they start to get to know each other is Better, c) the end of the movie scene where she rides in for maximum drama? now that was good shit.

oh he’s sherlocking her in a shy attempt to impress her but it’s only going to piss her off, right?

oh she’s just sherlocking him back

KSGFJLDKFGJ LMAO “nerd” and that’s it. fair

Cutting Off His Head damn that’s hardcore

hmmmm cringe,

and more cringe

and cringe.

her waking up to him gone right after telling that story about waking up to her librarian gone and then killed—oof

love the serpent brotherhood lady being like wow!! he’s SO COMPETENT!! (cuts to him screaming)

do these ancient traps just have infinite arrows?

also I do love the whole waltzing across trope what can I say im a sucker

DFLKGLDKFGJLDKJG fucking CHUCKS SOMETHING AT IT and immediately where he would be standing is crushed by a huge rock amazing

he literally just chucked a rock at it and it fell over

ah the classic “let the hero get it for us” move

oh there he is! rip

why does he look like macpherson

not really but kind of

also contrast between the lady always being like “omg the librarian is so smart” and him assuming nicole is the one who did the smart thing

“your tears were perfect” how much more of an asshole can you get

They really could have played him as more sympathetic—“oh, we’re always around these powerful artifacts but we never use them for good! I had to do it, I was sick of sitting back and doing nothing” or like “all those years of danger and guarding powerful things and what good did it ever do me? what do I get for my service?” or anything but nah hes just like “mm power good babes. anyway I love sex and being mean”

to be fair flynn he was the librarian too—a real librarian? I mean yeah edward was corrupted and ultimately failed his duties but he had to have been qualified and actually got the job for a reason

flynn I know you think you sound badass but you really don’t

god not shangri-la again. everything the show did with that was. Bad. yikes

why is—god, I should really learn her name [checks notes] lana fangirling so much?

also following the lamia tradition of “serpent brotherhood second in command who is more interesting than the main evil white guy and also a pretty woc” huh

never got like “this is literally impossible” “well do it or I [generic bad guy threat]” like usually that means nothing lmao

LDFKGJLDKFJLDKFGJ ok first of all god is me? bitch?

second of all. me in english? on this fucking ancient very much not english thing? I mean I guess a) it might not be literal, even though he did say “m, e” by letters, b) it is a christian myth so maybe planted later??? but like?????

dude. giving the super powerful artifact to your prisoner? bad idea. if you’re worried about booby traps have a minion do it.

oh yes your gun is so scary in the face of a temple collapsing

why do heroes always think the whatever is safer with them than the temple that’s guarded it for a thousand years

I get it’s been discovered but like. fuck. still

You Are Going To Crash This Helicopter

SLKGJ HORRIBLE HIGH VELOCITY PIE OF DEATH

flynn and judson…..wholesome

oh here comes more forced romance

just let them be friends who grow to mutually respect each other blease

it is very fucking funny that the mom is like ….. oh my god…. oh my god,,, a WOMAN AJUST ANSEWREDM Y SDONGS PHONE?????????OH MY GOFD?????

he is bisexual. but it’s good he’s getting out

ah floofy hair

cahooting,

Yes You Do Need Clothes

that’s a teleporter sir

god eddie wild is such a boring fucking villain and person

and his plan SUCKS

also the serpent brotherhood (why BROTHERhood?) sucks and hates the library why would they just let this guy, a librarian, literally be their new leader

wow he just stabbed a guy on his OWN TEAM for no reason

great going asshole

love how lana is just like…. O-O

we stan lana. she hasn’t done much and she’s technically a bad guy i just love her

“at last we can be one” what does that even mean

why would lana or any of them want to help him he just killed one of their own for no reason hes clearly tripping on power and leaving yall to die

lfkgjdlkfgj flynn dodging so hard while the others is fight and then PUNCHING A GUY

dfglkjdflgkj wait it’s the professor dude why is that so funny

is he WITH THEM??? I think I just missed something

hold on a sec

yeah I think he just appears??? And flynn just fucking broke his nose iconic

wait so was he with them or is he just here going WHY ARE THERE RANDOM PEOPLE IN MY PYRAMID????????????

oh right he built the—ok I got it

Wait what

I mean I did think lana was neat and she seemed impressed with flynn but what shes just like, in love with him now? that makes zero fucking sense why would she want them to Be Together

Is it just so there can be a catfight between the two hot chicks?

seriously tho? morally pure blonde blue eyed girl versus Evil Asian Chick? really?

for the record NOT THAT IT MATTERS but lana is way cuter im just saying

ah badass judson

THE COMEDY OF THE CAPSTONE CRUSHING HIM DLFKGJDLKFGJ

oh………….pulling out excalibur…. predicable but so good

oh the painting….the very Parenty way of revealing it…… wholesome

oh did NOT like that transition

oh here comes the badass fucking entrance with his gf busting in on his mom trying to set him up with girls

HER ENTRANCE IS SO UNNECESSARAILY DRAMATIC I LOVE THEM

I just love the mom’s face ldfkgjldfkgjdlkfgjdlkfjgd shes like WHAT THEGUFVCJK

again I don’t love the vibes of “oh my weird loser son is finally normal!” but to be fair im exaggerating a bit from just facial expressions it’s just. sigh

but ngl the vindication of him being able to be like. yeah that’s right im a badass now and my gf is cool as fuck is still good

him and nicole do have not terrible vibes at the end but if I remember correctly that mission (time travelling ninjas and hg wells’s time machine) is the one that separated them so rip I guess

overall: good movie! as cringe as I remember but I still love flynn so much

[come-on-shitty-boys]

//nothing more. bokuto koutarou//

Warnings: Mild sexual themes. Swearing.

Word Count: 2.2K

Notes: I hope you all know that this wasn’t supposed to end like this, but everyone wore me down smh

READ PART 1 HERE

“Good practice today, guys.  Clean up and head out,” Akaashi’s mellow voice carries through the gym, tossing a ball into the cart.  His eyes drifted over towards his friend who had essentially sat out most of the practice.  Even after their little talk, Bokuto remained in his defeated state.  If anything, talking about it just made him feel worse.  He was forced to actually admit that he was heart broken, rather than just pushing it down in a state of denial.  But, the cherry on top that made everything worse?

Akaashi visibly took pity on him.

It made Bokuto feel so weak, seeing the underclassman look at him with sad, sorry eyes.  He wished that he could’ve just crawled up in a ball and disappeared.  He could handle his teammates being annoyed with him when he was out of it, but pity?  Bokuto had hung his head in shame with each passing word as Akaashi’s face grew sadder.  At the end of their break, Akaashi led Bokuto inside with a small “I’m sorry” as if that was going to make the elder’s pain go away.  He was allowed to practice, but just barely.  His sulking, no matter the cause, always threw off the flow of practice.

But, now, helping Akaashi take down the net, Bokuto was increasingly aware of your eyes on his back, watching his every move.  Why were you here?  What could you possibly have to say to him?  He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to talk to you in the first place.  You had broken his heart.  You didn’t deserve to try to explain yourself to him.  He should just shoulder past you and leave with his friends.  He should just go home and never speak to you again.  Nothing you could say was going to fix his heart and make everything better.  

Who was he kidding?

Of course he wanted to talk to you.  He wanted to get on his knees and beg for you to give him another chance.  Things could go back to how they were if that’s what you wanted, but he just wanted to have the opportunity to feel you in his arms one more time.  He wanted the feeling of your breath against his skin as you were nestled into his side, some cheesy movie playing on your laptop.  He wanted to send you memes and watch you discreetly check your phone in the middle of class, trying to hide your giggles, but giving him a little smile when you knew the teacher wasn’t going to catch you.  He missed all of his little interactions with you, but ever since you told him your real feelings, the two of you had been avoiding each other.  Passing one another in the halls led to eyes being immediately dropped to the floor, hoping the other didn’t notice your presence.  

He hated it.  He’d been through break ups before, but nothing had ever hurt as bad as this.  He didn’t even know what he did wrong.  What was so wrong about him that you were willing to do everything couples do, but not actually get into a relationship?  Why didn’t you love him?

Bokuto just wanted answers, but he could never bring himself to send that “can we talk?” text.  Maybe it was because he didn’t know what he would say if you did answer.  You would probably respond with a simple “about what bo?” and his mind would blank on everything he wanted you to know.  

But, you were the one who approached him as everyone started to leave the gym.  You kept your head down, shuffling your feet slightly.  There was a box in your hands and Bokuto could see the sleeve of his jacket hanging over the edge.  Oh. . .  She’s just bringing me my stuff.  This was really the end.  

“I- I thought you might want this stuff back,” you say, your voice barely audible.  Bokuto had to strain just to hear you.

“Oh. Thanks,” he muttered, taking the box from you.  The weight took him by surprise.  Had he really left this much shit at your house?  He did get a little forgetful at times, so he figured he shouldn’t be so surprised.  

“Well, have a nice night, Bokuto.”

Bokuto’s hand flies out to grab your wrist as you begin to walk away from him.  “Really?  That’s it?  You waited around for three hours just to give me a box of stuff and leave?”

“Yeah.  That’s all I wanted.”  He can’t remember the last time you had seemed this small.  You were usually so confident and never failed to stand out in a crowded room. But, this version of you, Bokuto was almost afraid to look away from you in fear that you might shrink into oblivion.  

“Y/N, come on.  Will you please just look at me?”

“I don’t have time to talk.  I need to go home.”  You wiggled out of his grasp and Bokuto was left to only stare at your retreating figure.  

His grip tightened on the edges of the box.  With a loud roar, he slammed the box to the ground, firmly kicking the cardboard container on its side, spilling the contents all over the gym floor.  His hands pulled at his hair as he sank down to the floor.  This isn’t fair.  This isn’t fair.  This isn’t fair! 

It wasn’t supposed to end like this. He wasn’t supposed to be missing you while you carried on not giving a shit about him.  He wasn’t supposed to have his heart ripped out of his chest all over again.  He wasn’t supposed to be sitting in the middle of the gym, surrounded by his things, watching his tears pool on the hardwood.  

He covered his face with his arms, letting the sleeve of his sweatshirt soak up the snot that always accompanied his sobs.  It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  He wouldn’t have ever spoken to you if he knew that this was how it was all going to end.  He was so stupid. What was he thinking?  Of course you didn’t feel the same way.  That would’ve been too easy.

A pair of sneakers squeak to a halt.  There’s shuffling and some soft thumps as things are put back into the cardboard box.  There’s a firm hand on his bicep as someone tries to pull Bokuto up from the floor.  “Jesus Christ . . .  Work with me a little, Bokuto,” Akaashi puffs, struggling to lift his friend.  

“Leave me alone . . .”

“We need to lock up.”

“I don’t care.”

“Okay, well, I do.  Cry outside.”  Akaashi finally managed to stand Bokuto up.  The newly packed box is shoved into his arms.  Bokuto feels a firm hand on his back, leading him out.  It doesn’t take him more than a few seconds to sink down on the concrete slab by the door.  Akaashi can only shake his head as he flips the lights off and pulls the doors shut, twisting the key in the lock and giving the handles a hard yank to make sure that everything is secured.  

Bokuto fully expects Akaashi to just walk off, “goodbye” being the only words exchanged.  So, when the setter takes a seat next to him, he’s caught off guard.  “I don’t want to talk. . .”

“Okay,” Akaashi states, reaching towards the box, shuffling through the items.  “You sure gave her a lot of stuff.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

The younger boy just hums in response, taking the time to properly fold all of the clothes that had previously been haphazardly tossed in.  “Haven’t you been looking for this jacket?”

“Yeah.  She was cold during class, so I let her wear it.”  Bokuto rested his chin on his hand, staring up at the evening sky, his eyes finally starting to run dry.  “The sleeves were way too long, so she had to keep bunching them up, but they kept falling down and covering her hands.”  A small smile crept onto his lips.  You had looked really cute.  He kept conveniently leaving it at your house in hopes that you would wear it again.  You never did.

“Some of your school books are in here.”

“She lost her math book so she was borrowing mine and her chemistry book was missing some pages, so I traded with her.  Guess I need to give her her book back.”  He shrugged.  “I never used it anyway.”

Akaashi’s lips turned up in an amused smile.  “You really seemed to care about her a lot considering she was just your fuck buddy.” 

Bokuto almost objected to you being called his fuck buddy.  It seemed so lewd.  So wrong for what the two of you had, but Akaashi was right.  That’s all he was to you.  Your fuck buddy, nothing more.  “It’s whatever.  It doesn’t matter anymore anyway.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“You’re wrong.  She wouldn’t be giving me a box of my shit if any of it meant a thing to her.”

Akaashi sighed and got to his feet.  “There’s some interesting stuff in that box.  You might want to give it a look yourself.”  

“Can you not talk like a fortune cookie?”

“I’m just saying-”

“Well, don’t, man.  She doesn’t care about me.  I get it, okay?  You don’t have to lie and try to make me feel better.  It’s not helping.”  His fingers raked through his hair, a heavy sigh  escaping him.  “There’s nothing in that box that could make this better.  It’s over.  It’s over and I fucked everything up.  I should’ve just kept my big mouth shut and everything would have been fine.”

“You wouldn’t have been happy.”

“Do I look happy now?”

Akaashi shook his head and turned to leave.  “I have to go.  But, seriously, there’s something you probably want to look at.  I put it on top.”  He lifted his hand to wave goodbye as he walked away.

Bokuto couldn’t care less about what was in that box.  You could’ve kept everything for all he cared. Burned it.  Threw it away.  It didn’t matter to him.  He didn’t want it.  He couldn’t look at that jacket without seeing you drowning in the fabric, struggling to keep the sleeves up.  The textbooks would have your notes scribbled in the margins.  He didn’t want to see that.  How was he meant to get over you if everything he owned was now attached to you in some way?

But Akaashi’s words kept echoing in his head.  There’s something you probably want to look at. What could possibly be so interesting that Akaashi had pointed it out?  Bokuto scoffed a little.  It was probably nothing.  Probably just a picture or something.  But, it wouldn’t hurt to look, right?

He took a deep breath and looked into the box for the first time.  All of the clothes that he had let you borrow had been neatly folded.  His school books laid on the bottom next to a box of condoms that he had kept in your bedside drawer.  His extra phone charger.  A pair of headphones.  Copies of your prom photos.  The sneakers that he left because he had stepped in a puddle on the way to your house.  They got soaked so you offered to dry them while the two of you hung out.  He had just kept forgetting to take them home.  But, just like Akaashi said, the most interesting item sat on top.  A folded piece of lined paper with “Koutarou” scrawled across it in your script.  The o’s were little hearts.  Just as they always were when you wrote his name.  

With shaky hands, he took it from the box, unfolding it.  He didn’t want to read it.  He was sure that it wasn’t going to end well, but-

Koutarou, or Bokuto since I guess we aren’t on good terms anymore,

I want to apologize for what happened.  You caught me off guard and I didn’t take your feelings into consideration.  If I’m being honest, I didn’t exactly take my feelings into consideration either.  I told you what I had been telling myself for weeks.  That this wasn’t anything serious.  That this was just teenagers being dumb.  I kept trying to lie to myself.  I thought that maybe if I kept saying that this didn’t mean anything, my feelings for you would go away.  But, they didn’t.  No matter what I did, I kept thinking about you.  I liked spending time together.  Not just the sex stuff (don’t get me wrong, that was fun too), but just hanging out and watching Riverdale or laying in your bed talking.  I want more of that and I hate that I ruined everything for the both of us.  So, I’m sorry, Kou.  Really.  If I could take everything back, I would do it in a heartbeat.  I was scared to admit it to myself.  That I was really falling for you.  I know that this doesn’t make up for everything and I don’t deserve to have another chance.  I guess all this is just a really long-winded way to say that:

I think I’m in love with you too.

[descendantofthesparrow]

Commission - Harry Hook x Reader- do I love her? Do I love her not? - part 4

@musicarose​

=

“Today we will begin writing a research paper” the class groaned, harry included, making (y/n) snigger at his side, patting his back.

“I know, I know, but! The topic is, magical artifacts!”

Harry perked up, looking over at uma, who was smirking dangerously at him. The wand she mouthed, Harry nodded, turning to (y/n)

“lass ye know a bit about FG’s wand right?” you nodded, scribbling down ideas for your paper. “can ye help me do my paper on it?” you smiled, nodding once more.

“sure” you whispered, pointing toward the front of the room “now pay attention, this shits important” Harry sighed and turned back to face the teacher, a sinking feeling in his gut.

=

“so meh paper should probably also include the security around the wand righ’?” harry muttered, tapping keys on your laptop.

You shrugged “you'll probably get extra credit if you do that, luckily I know quite a bit on its barriers and gates”

Harry hummed in agreement, with your help, starting to plan his outline and beginning his research.

“Alright, we'll start with the origin of the wand, and well end with its present state and presence in Auradon, sound good?”

“aye”

=

“This is perfect Harry” Uma muttered, reading over his paper, grinning at the security section “with this information, stealing the wand will be a piece of cake”

“we’re having cake?!” Gil perked up from his bed, grinning excitedly, Uma sighed, waving her hand in a downward motion, making Gil pout and lay back down, playing his on his Nintendo switch Carlos gave him.

“but its not detailed enough for us to safely get past everything, we need EVERYTHING Harry” harry sighed and nodded, taking the papers from uma and setting them down on his desk, opening his chat with (y/n) and beginning to chat.

*hey lass, can we go do something?*

(y/n) almost immediately responded

*of course! Wanna go to the enchanted lake?*

*please*

*are you okay?*

*just stressed*

*:c okay, ill bring some snacks and rootbeer*

*thx*

Harry stood, ignoring umas questioning as he grabbed his jacket and walked out of the dorm, he didn’t want her to know what he was thinking.

He doesn’t want to lie to (y/n) anymore.

He had to tell her.

=

He sighed, falling asleep as (y/n) grazed her fingers through his hair, almost making him forget what he originally came here for.

But, he knew when he told her, she would hate him, and he wasn’t ready for that yet, so he would lay here for a little while longer, just imagining if there wasn’t a plan to grab the wand in the first place.

He wouldn’t be feeling the intense anxiety at the thought of telling her.

So he simply listened to the soft tune she was singing to him

~wise men say, only fools rush in, but I can't help, falling in love with you~

He sat up suddenly, he couldn't take it anymore, he had to tell her “(y/n) please don’ hate me after I tell yeh this but-“

You tilted your head, worry brimming in your eyes, reaching out to cup Harry's cheek, whos hand came up to lace his fingers with yours.

“harry? Are you alright, and what's this about hating you?”

“yeh have to trust me when I saw this, but I genuinely fell fer yeh my bonny lass” you started to feel sick, shuffling forward on your knees to completely face harry

“Harry you're scaring me”

“im sorry but-shit” his phone went off with texts, from uma. “im sorry but umas blowing up my-christ” now she was calling him.

You smiled, pushing his phone towards him, “go ahead you can tell me later” Harry clenched his jaw, staring down at his phone.

*we do it tonight, get over here now so I can fill you in*

*mal found out, we need to do it tonight*

*get ur ass over here now*

*I don’t care if ur hanging out with (y/n) get over here now*

*if she cooperates, shell stay out of it*

Harry leaned forward quickly, kissing you on your cheek.

“just know that I really love yeh (y/n)” the worried look returned to your eyes, “alright?” you muttered, watching harry jog away, he was scared of something, but you didn’t know what.

=

You woke up that night to sirens, you jolted up, looking over to uma to make sure she was safe but…

She wasn’t in bed, and all of her stuff was gone.

You leaped out of bed, quickly shoving your shoes on and rushing outside to where.

….

…Harry was being shoved in a police car, he was hardly resisting. he looked up, shock and guilt filling his eyes.

“(y/n)!” he yelled, finally starting to move around, trying to get out of the officer's grip “im sorry! I tried to tell you! I-i- I tried to-“

Mal moved in front of you, her eyes glowing green “I warned you (y/n), he was using you to get the wand” your heart shattered, tears brimming and streaming down your face.

Harry's heart hurt so much at your face he yelled, “i-I was, but-but I really fell fer yeh (y/n)! I real- guh!” Jay punched him in the gut, harry doubled over, choking on his spit.

“shut it you piece of shit” jay snarled, grabbing Harry's shoulder and shoving him in the car. Harry yelled out your name, one last call of desperation.

You broke, screaming out “I TRUSTED YOU! I LOVED YOU”

Harry fell limp, you could see his shoulders shake with sobs. “im sorry im sorry im sorry im sorry im sorry im sorry” he mouthed over and over again.

Mal turned to you, placing her hand on your shoulder “im sorry (y/n) I should have tried harder to warn you”

“it's not your fault Mal” you whispered, watching the car with Harry drive away towards the isle “im just an idiot who fell for a villain”

You turned, running back to your dorm, slamming the door shut behind you. You collapsed against the door, sobbing your heart out.

How could you be so stupid! So naive! Falling for a villain like him.

You froze, feeling the weight of the necklace on your collarbone, you lifted it up. You glared at the opal, pulling your fist in, preparing to break it off your neck.

You stopped, turning over the gem, gasping softly as you stared at the engraving.

*to Harry -mama<3*

He…he really gave you his mother's necklace….tch, probably just to fool you into really thinking he loved you.

But still, you carefully took the necklace off, standing and storing it in a little velvet box.

You put the box in an empty drawer, stuffing all of Harry's jackets and shirts you had collected in the three months you and harry had been together.

“goodbye Harry Hook” you muttered, shutting the drawer.

 --end of part 4--

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