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leafs-lover · 4 years ago

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Forever My Dance Partner

A/N: This is a requested Mitch Marner piece. Thanks to @freddieflower3129 for the help :)

Warning: Drinking, Swearing, Smut

Word Count: 4500

“Hey babe you gonna be ready on time?” Mitch asks coming up behind you in the bathroom. You are in the bathroom hair dried and in the process of curling it, yet to even start your makeup.

“Am I a terrible person for not wanting to go?” you whine leaning against his chest setting your curling iron down.

“You hate when people cancel last minute, do you really want to be that person?” he asks his hands finding your hips.

“No” you groan “I just am really tired.”

“Well we can leave early and I don’t have to be at the rink tomorrow so we can sleep in” he smiles at you in the mirror knowing sleep in is your two favourite words.

He places a quick kiss on your cheek and heads over to the shower. You continue with your hair, almost burning a strand while watching him peel his clothes off in the mirror. His back is to you so he doesn’t see your eyes go wide staring at his naked body, and the sound of the water running muffles your moan. Once he starts to shower you wander off to the closet to pick your outfit, and also to wait until the steam clears from the mirror so you can continue getting ready.

“Ready” you grumble walking into the living room a little bit later. You find Mitch sitting on the couch ankles crossed with his feet resting on the coffee table. He stands up and you take in his appearance black denim clinging to his legs and light blue long sleeve collared shirt covering his torso. You grumble under your breath about how it only took a half hour for him to look that good, while you have been in the bathroom for an agonizing amount of time; though given your lack of energy everything took longer than it should have.

“Wow babe, you look great” he smiles kissing you lightly, causing some lip gloss to spread to his mouth. You bring a thumb up to wipe it away but Mitch leans in pressing his lips back to yours, smearing more across his lips.

He starts peppering quick wet kisses on your mouth and cheek causing you to laugh. “Now we can go” he remarks seeing you smile.

Getting out the door, you walk hand in hand through the halls, down the elevator. Once in the parking garage, his hand finds the small of your back, guiding you to the parking space. The ride to Justin and Audrey’s isn’t too far and is relatively quiet. You stare out the window while Mitch’s hand rests on your thigh.

It’s kind of unusual for you both to be this quiet for this long. Normally when you get in your head Mitch is the first person to pull you out, telling you a random fact or funny story; anything to get you to smile. But tonight it’s different, you can feel him glance in your direction periodically, but he leaves you to your thoughts for most of it.

“Hey Fred” you say walking to the elevator.

“Hey (Y/N)” he replies giving you a soft hug before greeting Mitch. You lean against the wall of the elevator while the two men chat beside you. Fred and Mitch chat the entire way up, his laughter echoing through the small space; but his laugh puts you at ease. Regardless of how you are feeling his laugh is fastest thing that can change your mood.

Once inside and around people you can feel your mood slowly shift. While still feeling tired, seeing your friends and laughing with them helps pull you from your funk.

“Hey you” Mitch says walking in to kitchen to find you. He wraps his arms around you and begins peppering soft playful kisses on your neck. “Woah you smell like beer” you laugh pulling your head back to look at him.

“You smell like beer” he retorts jokingly.

“No I smell like water and iced tea, that way we can get home later” you laugh.

“You’re always one step ahead” he smiles placing a soft kiss on your lips “that’s why I love you.”

You bring your hands to his cheek pulling his lips to yours. Your tongue slips into his mouth and you can taste the beer on his lips. He pushes you a couple steps back until you are pressed against the fridge as his tongue continues to dance with yours. His hands reach around you giving your ass a light squeeze, you giggle into the kiss and roll your hips towards him.

“Hey lovebirds there are other people here” Auston jokes causing you to separate. You feel heat hit your cheeks as you bury your head into Mitch’s chest.

“Yeah and some of them want the beer in the fridge” Willy adds.

With a couple chirps from the boys, the two of you make your way back to the party. You find some of the girls and fall into casual conversation, while Mitch and Freddie get into a heated discussion over some Netflix show. Your eyes find Mitch from across the room a few times, each time he sends you a glance.

Not the kind of glance that makes you want to lock him in a spare bedroom. Every time he smiles, sometimes his eyes linger; but there is no smirk or devilish grin instead you get the feeling he is talking about you.

You feel a hand lightly tap your wrist and you jump slightly; you turn and see Mitch. You had no idea he had left his post on the other side of the room let alone he was behind you.

“Sorry” he chuckles “come dance with me.”

“It’s not exactly a dancing song” you reply hearing Katy Perry being played.

“Trust me” he says lowly in your ear. You set your cup down and follow his lead to the middle of the room.

His hand finds the small of your back and he pulls you in close. You can smell the beer on his breath, the cologne of his body as he grips your one hand. “Mitch we can’t dance like this to Katy Perry” you laugh not even mentioning that nobody else is dancing.

At that moment, half way through the song you hear the tune switch to a piano ballad and Mitch starts to spin you around the living room.

Thought I was good, I was good on my own, I was alright Thought I was grown and the strangers I known, they were alright Thought that I knew everything, never wrong, I was alright Oh, I was good, I was good on my own, I was alright

You can feel all eyes on you but yours are locked on Mitch, his baby blues. He smiles placing a soft kiss into your hairline.

“I love you so much (Y/N)” he says softly in your ear. “You are the greatest thing to ever happen to me.”

You tilt your head to look at him with a large smile “I’d be nowhere if it wasn’t for you.”

“That’s a lie Mitchy” you reply and he shakes his head. He spins you out and pulls you back into his hard chest “you are everything to me.”

Oh, I lived a whole life Thinking I knew how my Heart could handle love A love I thought I knew Everything before us Was stretching out my heart, just So it could be big enough to beat for two

His hand slides lower, resting just above your belt. You can hear the hushes conversations going around you but you can’t focus on anything while Mitch continues to whisper in your ear.

“If I never amount to anything, never win a cup, or get injured and never play again it won’t matter because I would have you. I can’t imagine not talking to you every day, not seeing your pretty face in the morning.”

“Mitch” you say lightly feeling tears hit your eyes but he doesn’t stop, his mouth inches from your ear.

“I see you with Jace and Theo, and I can’t wait until it’s our baby your holding.”

He opens his hand spreading across your back and dips you backwards. His lips find yours and your hand on his bicep slides up to his neck gently gripping it for additional support, though you know Mitch won’t let you fall.

Never understood why People always say, love chooses you Now I do Now I do Didn't ever think that I could ever say I promise you

“(Y/N) he says bringing you back up to your feet. “I love you so much and I never thought I could be this happy. I want you to be my forever dance partner (Y/N).” His hands pull away from you and he fumbles in his pocket before dropping to his knee.

“Oh my god” you whisper bringing your hands up to your face in shock. The tears once sitting on your pupils are slowly rolling down your cheeks as he opens the small jewelry box.

Your eyes are glued to his, if they weren’t you would have seen him drop the box earning some chuckles from other guests.

And now I do Now I do Now I do

“(Y/N)” he grips your hand “will you marry me?”

“Yes! Of course” you yell almost before he even gets the question out. His hand is shaking as he slides the band on your finger. As soon as he is standing your arms wrap around his neck, your hands tangle in his hair and your mouth finds his.

This is the road, we can see where it goes together You are my home and I know I can stay forever

His hands are on your back holding you against his chest while your tongues dance in each other’s mouths. Your moans are swallowed by him, and for a second you forget everyone else is there. You don’t hear them clapping or cheering, you don’t hear their excitement your attention fixated solely on Mitch.

He is the first to pull away, his lips swollen and covered in your gloss. You’re about to lean in for more when you finally hear some voices around you and remember you are not alone. Instead you place one soft but tender kiss on his lips and place your head on his chest.

The next half hour is met with everyone congratulating you, hugs and the girls telling you they have the entire thing on video. You hear Mitch get chirped for dropping the ring. He says he thought he had pushed his nerves aside (being an athlete he learned to push away emotions during intense situations) until he actually got down on one knee. Once he actually got down on his knee, all the nerves and anxiety about you saying no came crashing over him, even though he knew the answer would be yes.

It’s something that the two of you had discussed. There was no way you would ever say no and he knew that; but in that moment it felt like a possibility to him. Finally you feel some of the excitement dissipate as everyone begins to separate into little groups around the room.

Mitch leaves for the bathroom and you wait a couple minutes before heading down the hall. He opens the door but before he steps out you shove him back inside.

“What are you doing?” he laughs as you lock the door behind yourself.

Your hands find his belt and begin to undo it, a dark grin spreading across your face.

“(Y/N/N)” he chokes out as you pop the button and slide his pants and boxers down his thighs a few inches. Your mouth finds his and you palm over him a couple times, feeling him begin to harden under your touch. Your mouth finds his neck and you start to suck on it before he pushes you off.

“Not there” he hisses knowing that your mouth is higher than the collar of a dress shirt, and he doesn’t want any hickeys to be visible in photos. You smile and fall to your knees; you feel the cool tile through the denim on your knees.

You tug on him a couple times, rubbing your thumb over the precum that has spilt out. You glance up at him through your lashes before finally moving your mouth, wrapping it around his hard cock as he hisses in response.

You hear him mumbling as you bob on him a few times, coating him in your saliva. Your tongue slides up the vein on his shaft and you see his eyes roll back at the feeling. Your cheeks hollow as one hand grips him taking what your mouth can’t fit.

Your hand and mouth work in tandem, as his hands tangle into your hair. He pulls your curls away from your face, gripping them in a loose pony at the back of your head. Your other hand reaches around and grips his ass, you use it to guide his hips forward slightly knowing Mitch won’t push more than your limits.

You continue to work on him, swirling your tongue around him when you feel his hands tighten in your hair. His hips involuntarily buck forward causing you to gag slightly and you know he is getting close. His soft moans are becoming sporadic, and your eyes lock on his.

The sight of you on your knees, beady eyes peering back to him has him quickly approaching his thigh. His moans are loud, but the music and laughter from the party are louder. “(Y/N) I’m gonna cum” he whispers.

You gently cup his balls and give them a light squeeze. You hear him groan above you as his hips twitch. Curse words are spilling from his lips as his hands tighten around your hair.

“(Y/N/N) I’m gonna cum” he warns.

A few seconds later and you hear him grunt as his dick twitches. Warm ribbons spill down your throat as you continue to suck him dry. Pulling your mouth off a little dribbles down your chin, Mitch holds a hand out which you graciously accept rising to your feet. You bring the back of your hand up and wipe away the cum dripping down your chin.

“Babe” he mumbles pulling you into his chest, his mouth pressing into your hair. “You rarely finish in your mouth, and you never swallow.”

“I do on special occasions” you tilt your head up to him. He brings his lips closer ghosting over yours “a proposal seems like a special occasion.”

“I don’t deserve you” he smiles pulling you in by the small of your back to kiss your lips.

“Why because I swallow sometimes?” you joke kissing him again.

He just shakes his head in response sliding his hand down inside your jeans. His large hand cups your cheek giving your ass a light squeeze while his lips press back to yours. His calloused index finger slips under your underwear and you giggle pulling away.

“We should go home” you smirk. He adjusts his pants while you fix some of your smudged makeup. He unlocks the door and tugs at your wrist pulling you down the hall. Once in the living room you hear some chirping from the players, while their partners murmur for them to be quiet.

Your cheeks immediately go red as your curls fall in front of your face, shielding you from their glares. You hear Mitch give a couple chirps back and your eyes find Audrey who smirks at you from the corner. Once your boots are on you quickly grip Mitch’s hand and pull him out the door and away from the laughter of his teammates.

Once in the elevator you are like two teenagers, immediately finding the others mouths. Moans and giggles fill the elevator, your hands wandering up his back as he pins you against the wall. If the ride was any longer you are sure he would have tried to pull your clothes off, but you hear the ding and it pulls you two apart.

As the sober one you are the one to drive home. The car ride home feels painfully long, you hit every red light. Mitch has a hand placed high on your thigh periodically giving you a firm squeeze.

“Babe” you whine at a red light “I’m driving.”

He turns in his seat to face you “I can’t keep my hands off you, fiancé” he smirks.

“Fiancé, I like that” you reply his words warming your heart. He leans forward in his seat and places a soft kiss on your cheek before sucking on your ear lobe. You groan slightly and push him off of you as you accelerate through the intersection. He falls back into his seat but keeps his hand firmly attached to your leg.

Once in the garage you quickly pull into your spot, leaving the car diagonal not caring to fix it. You hear Mitch joking when he gets out checking your parking garage, but you are well on the way to the elevator. The ride up is long; another couple stepped on with you. You’re wrapped tightly around Mitch and as soon as the door opens on your floor you pull him out dragging him down the hall.

His hands are wrapped on your hips as he pushes you forward; his lips trailing on your neck. Your mind is clouded with lust as you approach your door fumbling to get the door unlocked. Mitch chuckles against your neck grabbing the keys to open the door for you.

Once inside you both kick your shoes off against the wall and your mouths quickly reattach. Your kiss is hungry and passionate, as he guides you down the hall to your bedroom. Your hands are firmly gripped in his hair, only pulling apart to remove clothing.

Once in your bedroom you are both left in just jeans, a trail of discarded clothing left in your wake. You quickly undo is belt and pants, pressing them down his large thighs.

“Fuck baby” he groans as you palm over his boxers “it’s your turn.”

He pushes you back onto the bed, air leaving your lungs as you hit the mattress. He crawls over you with blown pupils while his mouth attaches to your neck. He sucks and nips your skin while his hand gently grazes over your stomach. His touch is soft and slow, feather like sending a shiver down your spine.

Finally his calloused fingers find your denim releasing the button. He pulls your pants and underwear down your legs bringing two fingers up to your dripping folds. His mouth finds a breast gently sucking on your swollen orb while your entire body arches up to meet him.

His two fingers press your folds open, and gently flick your clit a few times. His fingers dance around your entrance, playfully pulling your lips apart. Every time you think he is going to slide his fingers in they pull away, causing you to groan from under him.

His lips curl against the skin of your breast as he sucks on your nipple before finally sliding in. Your hips rise and head falls into the pillow feeling his long fingers press into your folds. He begins to pump his fingers in and out of you as his mouth switches to find your other breast.

Your hands quickly find his hair tangling in as his fingers curl inside you. He hits your sweet spot with every thrust, having long been familiar with your body. His teeth graze over your nipple and your entire body squirms under his touch as you feel your high quickly approach.

Your moans are deeper, heavier as your hands grasp at his dark roots. You feel him smirk as his mouth finds the valley of your breasts. His thick fingers pump in and out at a rapid pace and your heels dig into the bed as your vision goes white.

Mitch groans feeling you clench around his fingers. Warm white liquid spills out around him and he keeps pumping working you through it. You release your grasp on his hair and he pops his head up with a devilish grin “that was fast” he growls in your ear.

His voice is low and husky, echoing through the room. Before you can respond you feel his swollen tip poking at your entrance. He strokes it over your folds a few times coating it in your slick.

You grasp his cheeks pulling his lips down to yours as he pushes into your heat. He groans as you welcome him in, a leg wrapping around his hip. He brings a hand down to grip the underside of your thigh, holding it in place.

“Fuck you feel so good (Y/N)” he moans beginning to rock in and out of you, swallowing your moans with his kiss. He starts off slow allowing you time to adjust to his size. While he is relatively normal in length, he is thick.

Super thick.

The first time you say him you didn’t think you would be able to take him in. Your jaw fell to the floor but Mitch assured you he would take it slow. And he did, but a part of you thinks that was also for him. He said you were extremely tight, and if he had of gone much faster you think he would have finished in under a minute.

Now it’s years later, every time you see it you feel your breath catch in your throat but you are used to it and him to you. He knows to give you a few slow thrusts before picking up his pace. He says he can see it written on your face once you are ready.

“Mitch” you pant breathlessly pulling your mouth away. Your hands find his back digging your nails into his big muscles.

Dark eyes stare down at you, a string of curse words leaving his mouth. He squeezes your thigh as you roll your hips into him his pace picking up. You bring your lower lip between your teeth as your eyes roll into the back of your head.

You feel Mitch’s head duck down biting on your neck. Your moans get louder as your high gets closer.

“Babe I’m close” you groan and he smirks against your neck. His hand slips from your thigh to your clit and he begins pressing into it. Each thrust is harder and faster than the last. You claw desperately at his back while deep circles are pressed into your sensitive bud.

His mouth finds the sweet spot below your ear, sucking and biting at it until you’re falling apart under him. Your back arches and you clench around him, pulling him in to your warm heat.

“Fuck (Y/N/N)” he groans above you as you clench around him. Your nails leave deep crescents in his shoulder while your heel digs into his back. He fucks you through your high, as your vision goes dark. You hear him mumbling into your neck but can’t focus until your entire body relaxes.

He continues to piston in and out of you his hips snapping as he chases his own high. You feel him peppering kisses on your jaw as you whimper, your cunt becoming very sensitive in need of a break. You feel tears prick the edge of your eyes as your whines become louder.

“Mitchy” you moan.

“I know babe” he groans. He picks up his pace. He pushes off your body changing the angle hitting you slightly deeper as he starts to become sloppy above you.

“Mitch” you whine tears rolling down your cheeks. He groans and you feel his dick twitch as he spills inside you, warm cum flooding your walls. A few final thrusts and his body collapses on you.

You lie there silently, the only sound is your sporadic breathing. Slowly Mitch pulls out and you whimper at the emptiness causing Mitch to grin.

“You okay?” he asks wiping away the stray tear that has fallen. “You were superfast tonight.”

“Never had a problem with me being fast before” you joke and he laughs flipping his wet hair back from his face.

“I don’t have a problem with it” he smirks “it’s just unusual for you.”

“The excitement of tonight got to me” you smile pulling him in for a soft kiss.

He moans slightly and pulls away falling beside you onto his back. “So what about the end of July?” he asks.

“For what” you ask turning to look at him.

“Our wedding” he laughs.

“Oh” you say lightly.

“Second guessing?” he smirks at you.

“No I was just thinking we could do it next summer” you reply.

“You know July is over eight months away, I think we can plan it before then” he smiles. “I don’t want to wait a year and a half to make you my wife.” He rolls onto his side, pressing a kiss to your shoulder.

You smile at his words “I know but” you trail off turning your head to look into his blue eyes that soft and genuine, etched with concern.

“But what babe?” he asks bringing a hand to your chin, gently rubbing it along your jaw.

“In eight months I won’t fit in my dress” you say.

Confusion washes over his face, his eyes shifting over you. You allow him time to process what you said when his eyes go wide and a large smile crosses his face.

“Baby are we having a baby?” he asks bringing his hand from your jaw to your stomach.

Tears prick your eyes and you nod quickly. His lips are instantly on yours, while he strokes over your stomach.

“When did you find out?” he asks crawling down to rest his head on your stomach.

Your hands find his hair, gently playing with his strands “when you were at practice, I was going to tell you tomorrow on your day off.”

You aren’t even sure if he heard you because he immediately starts kissing and whispering to your stomach. His hand is gently stroking over your stomach when his head snaps up to look at you.

“I’m such a dick for making you go to the party” he smiles.

“You didn’t know” you laugh running your hand through his hair. “Besides I had a very good time.”

He curls up beside you keeping his large hand glued to your stomach. His legs wrap over yours essentially becoming your blanket.

“So have you seen a doctor? They have you on any vitamins, or is there any special foods I should be buying to help this peanut grow?”

You laugh turning your head to look at him “I found out about 7 hours ago, I have not talked with a doctor yet.

“I’m just so excited” he smiles.

“I’m gonna be a daddy” he whispers eyes glazed over.

“Yeah” you smile up lazily tracing his tattooed arm “you’re going to be a daddy.”

#mitch marner #Mitch Marner Smut #Mitch Marner Fic #mitch marner x reader #toronto maple leafs smut #Toronto Maple Leafs #nhl smut #nhl fic #toronto maple leafs fic

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pinkmirth · 4 years ago

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ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ (ch.1 | feenin')

—𝑶𝑵𝑬.

SERIES MASTERLIST | NEXT CHAPTER | WK: 2.8K

Frenzied cheers buzzed throughout the raving auditorium, the basketball’s reverberating bounces against the slick court floor adding onto the thrill. This match was nothing but hyped, but in a good way so.

The sports chants of the college goers sounded rather foreign to you, since it wasn’t like you attended Stohess University anyway. The fellow audience around you were at the edge of their seats, hailing their team’s basketball players as the raving shouts began to sound borderline intoxicating. So much so that you couldn’t help but clap along to another school’s anthem.

“Havin’ fun?” Marco questions, the corners of his mouth upturned into a smile that showcased his quirky dimples. You beamed right back at the freckled male, plush lips curved into a grin of your own.

It all seemed trivial, just a friendly collegiate basketball match that your friends Jean and Marco had invited you to free of charge, but it was all the break you needed from your own studies and more.

“Hell yeah I am,” you chuckled in reply, “but you know what’d make it better?”

His doe brown eyes flitted between you and the vibrant box of candy in hand, which was seemingly low in supply after you and him dipped your hands in for a bite a countless number of times.

“A refill on these, yeah?” His claims were just as what you were thinking, earning your brief nod of agreement. Marco subtly shook the snackbox within his hold, the spare pieces left beginning to rattle around with the motion.

“You read my mind, Coco,” you grinned, rising up from your reserved seat with spare cash stuffed into your back pocket. “I’ll be right back, ‘aight?” He sends you a brief smile in compliance.

“Get the sour patch this time!”

“You got sour patch money..?”

He pursed his lips momentarily, unsure as to whether you had been joking or not. “M’just messing ‘round with you, Coco,” you snickered with a teasing grin, slipping a hand into your pocket to retrieve the few bucks. “It’s on me.” Was all you said before making your way through the crowded stands, descending down stair after stair.

“It’s only the first game of the season, and our pride and joy, the Stohess Scouts, are already dominating tonight’s guest competitors!” the commentator boomed through the mic, their voice adding onto the various noises that filled the gymnasium. “We’re calling for a halftime, but let’s keep our fingers crossed that Kirschtein can pull through with a fair amount of two-pointers by the upcoming final quarter—“

The mentioned name of your close friend makes you beam with pride, content that your Jeanie was the star of the show. You set eyes on the brunette from where you stood, who was now making his way to the sidelines for a desperately needed and duly earned swig of water, his light brown hair in a disarray of stray strands fraying out from underneath the simple hairband you’d given him a while back.

You eagerly began to flit down the stands to reach him, striding past the poor row of benched players, from the injured to the water boy.

Jean eventually takes notice of your arrival and instantly beams, subtle puffs of air leaving his agape lips after all the running and dribbling and such that came with game day.

The first thing you do is taunt upon your arrival,“Y’all had better win, Jeanie.”

As always, Jean only smirks. “You doubting that I won’t bring that trophy home, Pookie?” you playfully grimaced and let out a stifled laugh over the somewhat embarrassing nickname— one that you made up when the pair of you were seven, and it's the same one that he’s been holding onto for all these years, even at nineteen.

“Well, I’d be lying if I said you aren’t lookin’ pretty damn promising out there,” your reply is genuine, the soft grin that you display causing Jean to display one of his own. It was an affable, never ending cycle— you’d tease and he’d do it right back, until the both of you would laugh over it and depart with a brief smile.

“M’getting snacks, I’ll be back before the breaktime ends, okay?” Kirschtein briefly nods in compliance, sending a few adjusting tugs to the white basketball sleeve hugging his bicep before departing with the sharp squeak of his shoes sprinting against the court floor.

Once again, you find yourself strolling past every individual seated on the benches. You’re speed-walking alongside them, anticipating to retrieve a couple snacks for you and Marco, until something— Someone catches your eye.

It was brisk and almost too sudden, but flashes of green meet your line of vision. You managed to make out the blur of thick brows, long dark hair having been thrown into the messiest attempted bun, a modest, charming smile, and a pair of turquoise irises that seemingly peered into your own with an intensity that made you take it personal. Yet, you hardly even caught a good glimpse of their face, whoever they were.

You passed by said person a good thirty seconds ago, already pushing your way past the double doors and over to the vending machines stationed along the semi-populated hallway, but that striking gaze was still heavily implanted within your mind.

Hazy green-grey eyes, you recalled, accompanied with them shooting you the briefest grin just as you whisked by. Though, as recent as it was, that was all in the past now.

You glance around to see a decent handful of people here to buy food of their own, being perched at other vending machines. The snack-wielding contrivance before you isn't drawing much attention and doesn’t have an awaiting crowd standing around for a bag of potato chips, so you withdraw the dollars from your back pocket and attempt to straighten them out a bit before inserting them into the slot.

“Wow,”

This sudden breathy gasp from a “random whoever” is something that you take notice of, but it isn’t enough to rip your attention away from your scavenge for Marco’s sour patch. To their dismay, you do nothing but continue with what you came to do. In your opinion, whoever that was had been getting a bit too close for comfort..

Albeit the evident way you choose to ignore, another whistle resounds, along with an unpleasantly suggestive hum. It sounds somewhat louder, and it seems much closer than before. You can’t help but tear your gaze away from slot E7 and look up, since it seems so directed towards you.

You've hardly turned around before being met with the abrupt presence of a stranger uninvitingly looming beside you, the man’s beaming grin seeming sickeningly sweet. Almost too approachable.

“Oh, I’m sorry to pop up out of the blue,” his apologies come out within a chuckle, and as inviting as he attempts to seem, your brows only furrow. “—but you really caught my attention!” He was greatly unfamiliar to you, some white male around your age with shaggy auburn hair and chestnut colored eyes in contrast. Despite his subtle charm, you weren't growing a liking to him and his stupid little smile.

“Oh,” You muse with a dull hum, pursing your glossed lips before releasing them with a slight pop, “Did I really?” His nod is too enthusiastic, and you hardly try to cover up the mug-like expression that overtook your features, eyes grazing across his plain face uninterestedly. You promptly slide the dollars right back into your pocket, “Nice to know. Can you mind your own now?”

“Wait! I'm not meaning to be a bother, but.. I don’t see girls like you around much..” You're instantly encased with a shiver of deep cringe, one that annoyingly scurries up your spine and makes your lip twitch into a vexed glower.

You emitted the most exaggerated huff, shifting your weight from one foot to the other, all the while glancing at the sheen glass of the vending machine to see your own reflection. It was plastered all across your face, yet this dense-ass man still couldn't get it; you were pissed-off.

Great. You internally groan, Another snow roach who thinks I’m exotic.

“I really appreciate how different you look,” Was he really still rambling on, despite knowing damn well that you were growing uncomfortable? Or maybe, he was just an utter dumbass and couldn't take the painfully obvious hints.

“You wanna know what I’d appreciate, hm?” You say sharply, taking a swift inhale through your nose, “If you left me alone.”

Your smooth, placid voice was the first thing that Eren heard when he trotted into the hallway, that of which sounded dulcet and intriguingly accentuated, but more annoyed than anything else. He turns the corner and is met with the sight of a bastard that looked too smug for his own good, and a girl, such a pretty girl, whose melanated skin even found a way to gleam under the shitty fluorescent school lights.

It then clicks in Eren’s mind, briefly but distinctively. You were the person who'd strolled by the bench that he was sitting on earlier. You were also the same one who did a double take upon seeing him, glancing once— No, twice, with those captivating eyes of yours. He remembered the way his leg started to bop along the floor with a newfound excitement that he just couldn't place. Though, more than anything else, Eren recalled that he did the exact same; hold his gaze and grin at the sight of you.

“Ah, but you can spare me a minute more, can’t you?” You respond with the swift roll of your eyes, eliciting an exasperated groan, “Nigga, I said bye.” Eren’s thick, neat brows falter into a furrowed position, looking upon the scenario that was being splayed out before him, which everyone else in that hall was seemingly content with ignoring. It couldn't have only been him that saw that this bastard was relentlessly bothering you, could it?

“Woah, no need to get aggressive,” Eren’s expression contorts into a grimace upon hearing every little word, the tips of his ears red with brewing rage. Despite his matured will to control his daily outburst of emotions, it was safe to say that he'd never exactly gotten past his trial of anger issues since he was a kid.

“Listen, this is my nice way of tellin�� you to fuck off, but I can get aggressive if you want.” Your offer sounds downright threatening, “Do you really want that?”

You’re snappy and direct, and Eren can't deny that he likes that. Though, as much as he's growing fond of your strong will and defensiveness, he knows he can't stand idly by all day, he just can't. Besides, everyone knew well— It was practically Eren Jaeger’s forte to intervene.

The green eyed male eventually begins to make his way towards the scene in the form of subtle limps, being cautious of his ankle sprain as he grows closer, which was the reasoning behind him being benched in the first place.

You were much too preoccupied with that cheeky, unrelenting bastard to notice the way that Eren was gradually coming over, anyway. What could he say? He was a fan of the element of surprise.

You halt in the middle of your opposing rant, growing aware of another’s emerging presence. You're yet again bombarded with somebody else making their way beside you with an act of stealth that you were unknowingly soon to be thankful of.

Before you get the chance to merely peer in their direction, tall, a long haired male clad in the black and grey Stohess basketball uniform is towering alongside you, his toned, burly arm slinking around your shoulder.

This sudden proximity leaves your head spinning in the best way possible, and how could it not? You don’t know a single thing about this alluring stranger, but he’s close, so close, and it gets your heart and mind racing miles in a minute. You were subtly, but instantly enraptured once the weight of his arm rests comfortably upon you.

Eren doesn’t pay the confused male not one glance, but instead tends to you and your own state of delighted shock. “Play it cool, alright? I wanna help.” Your breath instinctively hitches once he leans down to ease out his whispered plan into your ear, flashing you a consoling half smile.

You return a brief nod before dragging your eyes along the male’s face, which looks so much better up close. Your interpretation of his image was more literal and precise than you thought to be; The dark, long tresses that had been pulled back with the aid of a thin elastic scrunchie, his expressively thick brows, pink lips that upturned into a supportive smirk, and those sea-green eyes that left you feeling weak right in the knees.

Albeit Eren’s prior grin, he eventually turns his attention towards the unrelenting man for a second or two. In that moment, his expression speedily grew all the more intense, practically sharper than before, and contorted into something of a scowl. Although, you can tell he’s trying so hard to channel his temper and mask away his revulsion.

“I’ve been, ah.. waiting for you to come back to your seat!” Eren begins to improvise, flashing you a subtle gleam that made it seem as though the pair of you were familiar with each other. “S’been a while since then."

He purses his lips within a pause, nimble fingers draping along your shoulder before shooting you a reassuring squeeze, "Is it ‘cause this bastard is keeping you occupied? He’s bothering you, isn't he?”

You're damn near close to stammering over the words that were bound to leave your mouth. Though, it doesn't take much for you to regain yourself. Your lips fall slightly agape all the while you briskly dragged your line of vision along his charming features, but your response follows after in a quick manner. It was just that you couldn't help how his unnerving gaze left you mesmerized.

“—Yes. Yes he is.” You hum, accompanying the claim with your hands crossing over your chest as you leaned into his grasp, in an attempt to appear convincing. Your confession sounded assured and stern, which was the complete opposite of how girls would act around him.

Eren knew well of the doting effect that he had on females— It was hard to forget when he’d merely ask for a spare pencil and wind up with an unasked phone number in return. Though, he admired the way you saw him as any other person and played along so well.

The brown-haired male scornfully laughs, and just the sound of him leaves you feeling uncomfy, “Whaddya' mean? We were just having a small chat, isn't that right?” Your contorted expression is full-fledged disrespectful, and Eren has to stifle his chuckle over your unsmiling glare and scrunched up nose. Damn, were you entertaining.

“Small chat, huh? Well, it was real one sided..” You voice out an irked murmur, “You're over exaggerating, you just haven’t warmed up to me yet—”

“If I didn’t know any better,” Eren makes a very much intended interruption, “I’d say that she doesn’t want to mingle with a sorry bastard that should leave her alone already.” You note at the subtle flex of Eren’s clenching jaw, signifying the way his already weary patience was running rather thin.

“Bastard—? Wait, who even are you?”

“Who am I, huh?” scoffs the green eyed male alongside you, a twinge of drawled hesitance in his voice. Eren pauses momentarily, only now beginning to realize that his little hero act wasn’t as planned out as he thought to be.

What could he say that would be persuasive enough to get this sorry fucker to leave you alone other than throwing fists unnecessarily? Jaeger’s emerald-hued eyes eventually light up in the dawn of an idea. One that he’s somewhat unsure of, but it’s much better than nothing.

Besides, this plan of his had been set in stone by the very moment he had draped his bare arm around you and shot you that all-too-suggestive smile, so he might as well finish what he started.

Eren’s touch trails downwards swiftly, spreading riveting tingles from your shoulder down to your forearm, then along your wrist, and even past there. His hand is now encasing the left side of your hip as his lithe fingers press into the curve of your supple waist. He takes a light inhale, giving you a light squeeze with his large palm, as though signaling for you to brace yourself over what he was bound to say.

“—I'm her boyfriend.”

—𝑭𝑰𝑵.

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itsstrange · 4 years ago

Text

Quirky Ways

Relationship: Karl Urban x Reader

A/N: The reason I wrote this small fic was because it’s based on true events and the way it played reminded me of Laz Alonso’s ocd, LOL. So..whatever you are about to read is something that actually happened to me a few days ago. No Joke.

And Yes! It was still safe to eat. Mom.

Summary: Reader is in a convention promoting The Boys with the cast, when she does something that surprises a co-star but also makes Karl remember why exactly he fell for her.

Words: 1.8K

Warnings: (None) Fluff, cute, humor, germ phobia, ocd mentioned,

————

Enjoy!! ✨💕

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“The Boys ladies and gentlemen!” The host yells into the microphone, the crowd cheers as you all climbed off the stage,

Once back stage, everybody took a group photo before heading off to take individual photos. Once that was out of the way everyone began doing short interviews before heading off to their next destination, which was either more interviews or in your case, finally meeting fans. After a long day of multiple interviews with multiple reporters, and multiple photo shoots, you were finally getting to the end of the day. It wasn’t that you didn’t enjoy it, hell, you wouldn’t be who you are right now if it wasn’t for your amazing fans, but there are times where it can be exhausting. You’ve been doing conventions for a few years now, but even then, your energy will be consumed by the end of the day. Leaving you passed out on your hotel room with drool, possibly, falling out of your mouth.

Although on the bright side, you will admit; feeling completely drained out will give you the best nights sleep of all time.

You, along with Karl and Laz, made your way down the hallway where you would be doing auto ops. You were excited, just like any other day when it comes to meeting your fans. As you were walking side by side with your handler, Karl and Laz were right behind you, talking amongst themselves about god knows what. Most likely making plans for later on in the evening and trying to figure out which bar would be best to go to for drinks. You could have cared less, considering they always know which bar has the best service with the best drinks. As long as they have a joint picked by the end of the day, then your all settled.

While walking down the hall, your handler goes on about having to answer a few fan questions after the auto session before calling it a day. You nod your head and continue to walk down the hall, however, as you were about to walk through a door you recognized a nearby trash can by the wall. It was filled to the brim, but right on top was the familiar medium size carton box of Oreos. Just as you were about to go through the door, you reach out for the box, slightly bumping into Laz from your sudden movement.

“What are you doing?” The man asks, switching his gaze from you to the trash bin,

Quicker than lightening, Laz’s face turns to disgust when he sees you picking the box from the trash.

“No, do not!” Laz says in disgust as he tries shoving you away from the trash bin,

“I put them there,” You argue back and quickly grip the box of cookies before walking through the door,

“That’s disgusting!”

“I put them there!”

“Doesn’t matter if you put them there! They were in the trash!” A small smile tugs on your lips as you walk down the room,

“I had just put them there, besides they are in a box,” You glance at him from your shoulder as you open the carton,

Laz shakes his head, disgust still written on his face. Karl however, was only watching the two of you bicker with a smile on his face and slightly shaking his head. It was nothing new he hadn’t known from you, when you did surprise him however, he would only stare at you with a small smile slowing appearing on his lips until he tugs you closer towards his chest and plants a loving kiss on your head.

“Kid,” Laz warns you when he hears you opening the wrapper next,

A soft chuckle escapes from you. You just love messing around with Laz, he was like your older brother. He loved you and always made sure you were doing okay, and when you weren’t having the best days he would make sure to brighten your day as much as he can and as much as you allowed him to. What you loved the most about the man was he had the same humor as you, both of you enjoyed pranking one another or your co-stars. Like the time you and him teamed up on Jack, filling the poor guys trailer with glue traps all over the floor. He was honestly the best partner in crime you could have asked for.

“Y/n don’t-,” His words die in his mouth when you turn around, looking at him straight in the eyes you shove a full Oreo cookie in your mouth,

Laz’s face twists into a sour expression, making you grin around the cookie. He covers his mouth with a fist, still staring at you with such disgust and disbelief. In all his three years that he has known you, he has never been truly surprised by your weirdness, until now. Before turning back around you look over at Karl who was only staring at you with such amusement and a small smile. You grin at him, teeth full of chocolate and earning a soft scoff along with a shake of his head.

“Ma man, control your girl please,” Laz darts his gaze to his friend as he pats his shoulder,

Karl only shakes his head again, “You and I both know not to mess with her and her cookies mate,”

You softly chuckle at both men as you continue to stuff your mouth, grinning wider when you hear Alonso’s comments about how unsanitary the trash is and how he didn’t know you were dumpster diver. However, Laz’s ridiculous comments wasn’t the only reason why you had a wide smile on your face. The second reason was due to what Laz had said not too long ago.

‘Your girl.’

What made your heart flip in your chest was how Karl didn’t even deny the label. It has only been four months into your relationship and the thought of you being his girl was honestly the best feeling you and any other girl out there can possibly have. It’s close to saying the words, but without mentioning, at least that’s how you felt and saw it. Not that you haven’t said those three words yet.

You two have been friends for a few years now, but those feelings grew as time passed and only got stronger. Neither of you had told one another, too afraid about what the other would say or feel about it, so the both of you kept amongst yourselves. Until one day at a wrap party, where you both had a few drinks in your system and feeling bold enough to finally reveal to each other. Which then resulted in you both waking up in each other’s arms, nude.

“Okay, we have another 30 minutes before you all have to start,” Julie, your handler says as she checks her phone,

“Perfect!” Laz claps his hands together, “Gonna hit the can real quick,”

With that, Laz begins to walk down the opposite side of the hallway towards the men’s restroom. His own handler and bodyguard following right behind him. Leaning against the wall as you wait for him to come back, you continue to eat you cookies.

“Hey Julie, you think you can find me some milk around here?” You ask just as you shove another Oreo into your mouth,

She nods her head as she looks down at her phone, “Once your settled out there I’ll make a quick run,”

You nod at her with a smile, reaching into your carton for another cookie just as a firm hand settles on your hip. A small peck on your cheek makes your smile widen, along with a small wave of goosebumps to run down your cheek and the side of your neck. Looking over your shoulder you immediately lock eyes with Hazel ones.

“Cookie?” You ask around a mouthful and shaking the small carton in your hand,

Karl only smiles at you as he kindly declines the offer. You look back down at the carton to pull out another cookie, but the feeling of eyes lingering makes you glance over your shoulder once again.

“What?” You ask when you see Karl looking at you with a small smile,

He shakes his head and places a strand of hair behind your ear, “Just remembering why exactly I fell for you,”

You smile with a blush and turn around to face him.

“Oh yeah? And what was the reason?” You wrap an arm around his neck while he wraps both arms around your waist,

“You and all your quirky ways,” A chuckle escapes from you,

“You can still back out if it get too weird for you,”

“Trust me darling, I wouldn’t want it any other way. You’re perfect the way you are,”

And he meant it. He honest to god meant it. Your entire personality, humor and heart of gold was unique. The moment you shared your true side with him, he right away knew you two would become great friends, but as the years passed his feelings for you only developed along the way. Till the point where he wasn’t able to hold them in anymore and just had to let you know. He wasn’t going to lie, if it wasn’t for the alcohol in his system he would have never thought of telling you how he truly felt. So till his day, he thanks Heinz for taking the wheel.

You stare into his Hazel eyes with a smile forming on your lips. With your free hand, you gently guide him down until your lips latch.

“I love you too,” You say once you breaking the kiss,

Karl smile softly at you, gently rubbing his thumb on your cheek before bending down to peck your lips once again.

“Alright, Grungie, Oskie ya ready?” Laz’s voice coming down the hallway makes you both to look up,

The random, yet odd, name makes Karl raise his brow. Giving the other man the famous Bones McCoy stare.

You furrow your brows at the nickname, smile tugging at your lips, “Did you just call me Grungie?”

“Yep. Fits you well from what I just witnessed,” You chuckle at him,

“And Oskie?” You question the name as you nod your head towards Karl, who still had an arm wrapped around you,

“Well he is your partner, only makes sense for him to be Oskie,” Laz defends himself as he walks away from you two,

Both you and Karl look at each other before softly chuckling.

“Guess where Sesame Street characters now,” You say as you toss the empty carton into a nearby trash bin,

Karl shrugs, “At least he paired us with the appropriate characters. Besides, if I can handle your weirdness in the real world, I’m sure I’ll be able to in the cartoon verse,”

You smirk at him, “Sure about that Oskie?”

He smiles at you and reaches out towards your hip, bringing you against his chest.

“Absolutely,” With that he bends down towards your lips, pecking them softly before pulling away from you and letting go through the door first,

While in the process of signing fan art, and other amazing things, your handler places a small bottle of milk in front of you with a miniature Grundgetta hugging the neck of the bottle and a small note written in black ink that read:

To: My Grungie

From: Your Oskie

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- Hope you enjoyed this!! Because I enjoyed writing it! 💙💙✨

- If you have any questions or request lmk!! My inbox is Aways Open! 📨

-Turn on post Notifications 🔔for more updates!!

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#karl urban #karl urban x reader #the boys #billy butcher #billy butcher x reader #bones mccoy #fluff #star trek #cute #marvel #kissing

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pleathewrites · 3 years ago

Text

boys, boys, boys

chapter 2: revelations

Summary: Does Iwaizumi have a thing for setters or do setters have a thing for Iwaizumi?

“Maybe Iwa-kun does have a thing for grey hair,” Sugawara muses, the tip of his index finger circling the rim of his drink. He’s got that signature sly smirk across the very lips that locked with Hajime's a decade ago.

“Oh my God.”

Hajime is seriously considering begging Oikawa to jump-serve a volleyball to his head and knock him clean out just so they can all stop having this conversation - ‘Hell, Tooru’s strong as hell now. Might knock the entire memory of this night right out of my brain, for good.’

“Hey, I just made out with him - and possibly gave him his gay awakening. But I wasn’t the one who convinced him to change his career.”

“Oh my God.”

“Wait, what are you - ”

“Daichi, baby, seriously, you need to go see that doctor. I am actively concerned about you developing early-onset Alzheimer's," Sugawara says, tucking a strand of Sawamura's hair behind his ear, his impish smirk melting into a fond smile, "Does Shiratorizawa ring any bells?”

“Hey, I have my own life to worry about! I’m not gonna keep track of someone else’s love life - no offense, Iwaizumi-san.”

“Hey, non-taken. Please, never think about my love life.”

Much to Hajime’s horror, Daichi’s expression turns contemplative, “Wait, actually, though -”

“Fuck -”

“… Grey hair, Shiratorizawa...” Daichi snaps his fingers and points his index at Iwaizumi with a much-too-proud smile on his face, completely unaware of the man’s rising irritation. “Yes, right! Iwaizumi, didn’t you..?”

“Ugh, God, that one,” injects Oikawa.

Hajime feels the vein on his forehead throb at Oikawa’s tone, “Kawa... why are you so shitty.”

“Well, sorry, if I don’t like the edge-lord that busted my entire future!”

“Oikawa… You are literally at the Olympics… for the second time...”

“Yeah, with you on the opposing side,” Oikawa says with a closed throat, sliding out of the booth, and heading off to the direction of the entrance doors.

Hajime sighs.

Their loss to Shiratorizawa is soul-crushing - it always is.

‘Always’ - that’s the most crushing thing, Hajime despairs, ‘We always lose to that school.’ And Hajime feels the blow, of course, he's devastated, but it’s not personal, hell, it’s not even for his team - ‘God, I’m such a shitty Vice-Captain.’

No, the absolute heartbreak he feels is for Tooru.

Hajime loves his team, he believes every single member has outrageous talent, but he knows that all their abilities combined, including his own, wouldn’t even hold a candle to Oikawa’s blinding torch.

Shiratorizawa is a school for rising champions, Abo Johsai is a school for kids with talent.

Oikawa Tooru is on a completely different level, it's a fact - he outranks his own team. It keeps Hajime up at night because he knows that if Oikawa had a team that matched his talent and ability, he would never have to experience such consistent defeat.

In times like these, Hajime feels shameful and useless, ‘How long will I hold Oikawa back?’

Hajime knows Oikawa. He knows he’s the real reason Oikawa chose Abo Josai, that because Hajime wasn’t good enough to get into Shiratorizawa, Oikawa shackled himself to a team that weighs more than he can carry. It reminds Hajime of those free-body-diagrams from physics class that Oikawa had to explain to him ten times over; Oikawa is the upward force, striving for victory at the speed of light, Hajime is the opposing frictional force, and Abo Johsai is plain gravity times mass times sine (or was it cosine?). Hajime only managed to scrape a B- in that class, so the only answer he can give this problem is that Oikawa isn't going anywhere, any time soon.

A harsh slap to his back snaps Hajime out of his thoughts. He jumps with the force of it and doesn’t even have to turn his head to know who’s hand is laying firmly between his shoulder blades. He keeps his eyes downcast, but Oikawa - a true Captain - doesn’t force Hajime to look at him when he firmly whispers, “Next time, Iwa-chan. We’ll get ‘em.”

Their coach takes the team for ramen, gives them a speech about being proud and working hard, all while Oikawa is making faces at Hajime from across the table and, slowly, Hajime begins to let himself smile.

Halfway through dinner, Hajime feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. Thinking it’s his mother asking when he’ll be home, Hajime turns on the lockscreen and sees it’s an Instagram notification. He unlocks his phone and swipes down his Notifications - Hajime had to reset his phone notifications to conceal messages ever since becoming friends with Sugawara Koushi because the boy has zero filter and he doesn’t need his mom accidentally seeing messages with eggplant and squirting emojis, encouraging Hajime to make ‘his move’, whatever that means.

EITA (@notsemisemi) has requested to follow you.

Now, Hajime is confused. He doesn’t even remember the last time he posted a picture on Instagram - he only really made the account because Oikawa started crying about, “Iwa-chan, I want to tag you in this picture, people should know that you’re capable of smiling! Everyone else has an Instagram, let me make you one, you won’t even have to do anything!” - so he’s not really sure how or why a random person requested to follow him.

'Maybe it's a spam account?'

He looks closely at the username and tries to think if he knows anyone with that name. When nothing comes to mind, he clicks on the person’s account and is met with very aesthetically angsty selfies of a grey-haired boy with sharp eyebrows and deep collarbones. ‘

He’s kind of…’ Hajime tries to think of the right words. He wants to say ‘pretty’, but that doesn’t feel right - Sugawara is pretty, Oikawa is pretty. Pretty people are soft and round and peppy. This guy is…

‘Hot.’

And weirdly familiar.

He elbows Matsukawa, who’s sitting on his right, and turns his phone screen towards the boy, “Do you know this guy?”

“Hmph?” Matsukawa’s lazy eyes roam over his screen and he swallows his food before speaking, “Yeah, isn’t that the reserve setter? He came in as a sub when Oikawa hit Shiratorizawa’s main setter.”

Like a self-conscious self-absorbed bat, whenever Oikawa’s name is merely uttered, the boy in question will hear it, no matter what he's doing, “Eh? Oikawa hit who? I swear, it couldn't have been me, I’m a pacifist!” And he proceeds to put his hands up in surrender.

The lightbulb goes off in Hajime's head, “Oh! When Oikawa jump-served the ball at that small guy’s face? With the uneven bangs?” He makes a downward sloping motion across his forehead.

“Yeah, that one,” Matsukawa points to the phone screen, “Pretty sure that’s the guy who subbed for the rest of the set.”

“Yeah…” Hajime trails, before adding softly, “He was good… Wonder why their coach didn't give him more playtime.”

Oikawa’s quick-clapping hands bring Hajime out of his thoughts, “Oh! I know what we’re talking about now! First off, I didn’t hit Shorty, he wasn’t fast enough, that’s the consequence of the game! Also, why are we talking about this?”

“Iwaizumi is on the sub’s Instagram page.”

Oikawa squeaks, “Is this about your grey-hair-slash-old-man fetish?!”

Hajime groans and facepalms, “No, oh my God, stop telling people I have a fetish, Shittykawa! He followed me.”

“Block him!”

Hajime sighs, locks his phone, and puts it away, “Just forget it.”

“Hmph. That guy’s not even first string. What does he want with our ace?”

Hanamaki joins in, “I wonder why he’s not first string, though. I’m pretty sure he’s a third year, he’s been there every time we played against them. 'M pretty sure that Shorty is definitely a second year.”

Oikawa’s face turns from snooty to serious and he crosses his arms, “He’s good, but he lacks instinct. His technique is fine, but he doesn’t have what Shorty does. Maybe if he worked harder, but from the looks of it tonight, he doesn’t want it bad enough. He’s not on Shiratorizawa’s level - maybe he was once, but not anymore.”

'Not on Shiratorizawa’s level… Sounds like we might have something in common, after all.’

That night, before Hajime goes to sleep, he accepts EITA’s follow request and follows him back.

continue to read chapter

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fromthedeskofelizabeththird · 4 years ago

Text

Habanero

You're a good girl, well behaved.

Absolutely not the type to rail random guys in nightclubs.

Until you are.

Fandom: BNHA

Pairing: Aizawa x Reader, Present Mic x Reader, a sprinkling of Erasermic and eventual polyamorous Erasermic x Reader

Rating: Explicit, Minors BE GONE

Trigger Warnings: None in this chapter.

AO3: Here | Want to support me? I have a Kofi

Chapter: 12/16 (all chapters)

Stain’s capture radically changed the atmosphere in the school, for students and adults alike. Luckily, your suspicions about the case proved correct and no one was expelled, though that wasn’t to say Midoriya, Todoroki and Iida got away scot free.

Iida was, for obvious reasons, the most apologetic of the three. He bowed his head so many times and so passionately that you worried he would give himself a concussion. He apologised for being untruthful and pushing away the help offered to him, seeming to expect disappointment and anger from you or Shouta. If anything, the lack of it hit him harder.

Iida, Midoriya and Todoroki weren’t the only ones affected by the incident. Students you had never seen before dropped into your office, some terrified by the footage they had seen and others conflicted.

A particular video began to circulate the web after the incident, one that detailed Stain’s background and ideology. It didn’t seem to matter how many times it was taken down or blocked, for within minutes it would appear elsewhere. It went without saying that almost every student in UA saw it eventually, as well as the vast majority of the faculty staff.

Everyone had an opinion and something to say, yourself included. You chatted about it at the izakaya as well as the staff lounge and then again during the recording of Support Mic.

Even after public interest died down, when Stain’s name no longer appeared on the news and fewer people came to your office to talk through their anxieties, the atmosphere at UA remained tense. Summer vacation loomed over the horizon and with it the end of term examinations.

As was the case with most people, you were especially curious of 1-A. They had experienced so much in such a short period of time that it was difficult not to be even slightly protective of them. With Nezu’s approval, you attended their physical exams, watching wide eyed at each match.

Your intrigue didn’t only stretch to the students. This was your first chance to truly see your colleagues at work and you could barely hide your excitement, chewing at your thumbnail and twirling the pen in your hand, wincing whenever anyone hit concrete or landed on their face. Recovery Girl seemed to find your fascination amusing, though wasn't annoyed, instead chuckling under her breath whenever you gasped or jumped in your seat.

You watched in awe as Shouta jumped from rooftop to rooftop as easily as he climbed stairs; as Ectoplasm duplicated himself over and over; as Cementoss completely transformed the area around him. You felt incredibly small, the reality of having pro heroes for coworkers never quite so clear as then.

That wasn’t the only realisation you had.

You watched as Shouta moved, remembering how it had felt when he fucked you against a bathroom sink. When Hizashi stepped out to activate his quirk, you couldn’t tear your eyes from his throat, remembering how he had moaned into your mouth when he came. Even now, you could still feel Shouta’s hands against your hips; the vibrations of Hizashi’s mouth against yours.

You were ruined now in terms of standards. You’d slept with heroes and nothing else would satisfy you.

Hizashi had stayed true to his word, saying nothing of what had happened between you the night of the Hosu incident. He flirted as he always did, though it never went any further from there. In many respects, you were grateful for it. Not only would it be far, far more suspicious to other people if he suddenly stopped joking around about how cute you were, but the impact of the reset would almost certainly hit harder. On a surface level nothing had changed between you at all.

You winced when he finally activated his quirk and bellowed across the forest. You didn't have any sound, but could see the trees buckling and shedding their leaves from the impact.

You watched as Jirou and Kouda sheltered in the trees, Jirou’s ears bleeding and Kouda trembling in fear, feeling incredibly conflicted. You wanted them to do their best and show how resourceful they could be, but you didn’t want Hizashi to go too hard on them either.

Several students had gathered in Recovery Girl’s makeshift office and watched each new development with just as much interest as you. Each had opinions on potential strategies, though Kouda’s eventual plan of action took everyone by surprise.

He placed his hands flat on the ground and began to speak, which you initially believed to be him panicking as before. However, moments later, the ground at Hizashi’s feet grew deformed and cracked, a seemingly endless number of bugs flooding out from between the gaps.

You clapped a hand over your mouth, skin prickling at the idea alone. Recovery Girl had little sympathy, tutting and shaking her head as if he had tripped over his own feet.

“Honestly,” she said as her desk phone began to ring. “A teacher of this school…”

“I’ll go and check in on him,” you said, getting to your feet and dusting nonexistent crumbs from your lap.

~~~~

Much like the students, the teachers had a makeshift waiting room outside of the examination areas. You jumped back the moment you opened the door, a sea of beetles, centipedes and spiders scurrying through the gap and towards freedom.

It took you all of two seconds to find Hizashi. All you had to do was follow the layers of discarded clothing. You picked up his jacket and gloves from the middle of the room and his shirt and boots from a little further in, wincing at the layers of bugs still contained within. You tipped his boots upside down at the outside door, giving them a few forceful taps that released several beetles. You gave his jacket and gloves a good shake, turning both inside out to double check for any intruders.

Then, and only then, did you return to the waiting room, draping his jacket and gloves across one of the chairs and setting his boots underneath.

The adjacent room was an infirmary of sorts, with several beds and a privacy curtain and you squirmed as even more bugs scuttled through the open door.

Hizashi had dumped the rest of his clothes in the middle of the room and disappeared behind the curtain, running a tap and whimpering every few seconds.

“H-Hizashi?”

He switched off the water at the sound of your voice and mumbled something you couldn’t quite understand.

“Are you okay?”

You stepped closer to the shield, dodging a line of ants.

“My b-”

“Hizashi?”

He poked his head through the shield, white as a sheet and hair soaking wet, though still sticking up in places.

“Boxers,” he said, so quietly that you could barely hear him. ”They’re in my boxers...”

“O-oh,” you said, blushing with both second hand embarrassment and discomfort. You squeezed your thighs together before you could stop. “I’ll try and find you some clothes, just wait a moment…”

You glanced around the room, leaning over to rummage through every cupboard and set of drawers. In the end, all you could find that was likely to fit him was a set of sweatpants and swimming trunks, as well as an oversized UA branded hoodie.

“Here you go,” you said, slipping them over the top of the screen. “Try these on.”

You were leaning over to salvage the remainder of Mic’s clothes when Shouta walked through the door, immediately rolling his eyes when he realised what you were up to. You glanced up at him, t-shirt in hand, scanning his body without meaning to. Now that you’d seen him swinging from rooftops, goggles only emphasising the sharpness of his jawline, it was difficult to think of anything else.

You didn’t notice that he stared back, taking in the way you had tucked a few loose strands of hair behind your ear; the way your blouse loosened around your neck as you bent over and teased a glimpse of your collarbones.

“I…” You said, realising you were staring at him. “I��”

“You came to observe us, then?”

“Yes,” you said, grabbing Hizashi’s shirt and folding it over your arm. “I uh… you were great. Oh! The students too! You were all great!”

You told yourself Shouta had encouraged you to pursue Hizashi. He had taken a step back and you should respect it.

Even so, you still couldn’t stop feeling flustered when you saw him, thinking of the kisses you had almost shared.

In retrospect, you wished you had gone after him while emotions still ran high. You wished you had asked him why he was pushing you away. What was it that had changed between you? Had you been misinterpreting his feelings all of this time?

No.

You remembered how sad he had looked. You definitely weren’t imagining that.

An awkward silence had broken out between you and you searched your brain for something -anything- to say. Shouta seemed to have had the same idea, for he reached out to you. You wondered if he was going to pull you into an embrace, but instead he scooped up a spider from the shirt you were holding, allowing it to crawl across his palm.

“Sho,” Hizashi called, “are you there?”

Shouta sighed at that and stepped towards the shield.

“Who else would be here sounding just like me?”

“So mean!”

“Anyway,” said Shouta, shooting you a knowing look, “I’ve got a present for you.”

“A present? For me! Really?”

Hizashi sounded genuinely excited, which only made your moment of realisation even worse.

Surely he wouldn’t?

Surely not.

Shouta pulled the curtain back, though, and activated his quirk. You didn’t see what happened next, but Hizashi’s screams were enough for you to make an educated guess.

“What are you doing?! Get that thing away from me!”

“It’s irrational for you to be scared. Look, it’s far more afraid of you.”

Even without the use of his quirk, Hizashi’s screams were loud. You weren’t entirely sure what Shouta did next, only that a half naked Hizashi threw himself through the curtain to escape. He was in too much of a panic to pay attention to his surroundings and crashed into the first thing to block his path, which unfortunately happened to be you. The pair of you collapsed to the floor, you landing flat on your back against the tiles, Hizashi face first on top of you, one hand either side of your head.

“O-w,” you muttered, having hit your elbow and the back of your head on the way down.

Hizashi winced, looking down to see what it was that had tripped him and blushing a furious shade of scarlet when he saw it was you.

Naturally, that was the precise moment Nemuri walked inside, mopping her brow on her sleeve.

“Well, well,” she said, closing the door behind her. “And they call me the R-Rated Hero.”

Only then did you realise the suggestiveness of your position, both you and Hizashi frantically untangling yourselves and getting back up onto your feet.

“H-h-h-how was the exam?”

“Yeah,” said Shouta, stepping out from behind the curtain, spider still in his hand. “What happened with Mineta and Sero?”

“Oh that,” said Nemuri, grinning and folding her arms. “I lost.”

At that, the room fell silent, all of you trying and failing to digest her words. All of you had crossed paths with Sero and Mineta at one point or another and, while Sero was certainly a capable hero, it was common knowledge that Mineta had a weakness for women.

In the end, Hizashi was the one to break the silence.

“You’re shitting us, right?”

“No joke,” said Nemuri, looking incredibly happy about it. “I lost.”

“Give me a play by play,” said Shouta, setting the spider down on a nearby shelf. “I want to know what happened.”

“You could have just watched, you know,” said Nemuri, before smirking and glancing at you and Hizashi. “Unless you found something more interesting.”

Your stomach churned at the implication, even though you knew for a fact that it had all been completely innocent.

“It wasn’t like that,” said Shouta. “So are you going to tell me or do I have to go and watch the tapes?”

At that, Nemuri sighed and described the exam, how Sero had passed out only a matter of minutes in, leaving Mineta to fend for himself. You barely paid attention, mind wandering.

Nemuri didn’t know you’d slept with both Shouta and Hizashi. She’d been making a joke and nothing more. Even so, you couldn’t help but imagine what it might be like if those experiences overlapped: Hizashi burying himself inside of you while Shouta pushed a vibrator against your clit; Shouta fucking you under a blacklight while Hizashi stole the moans from your lips.

You didn’t realise how obscene your thoughts had gotten nor how much you had stopped paying attention until Nemuri clapped a hand to your forehead.

“You okay, (Name)? You’re really warm.”

“I’m fine!” you squeaked, knowing you probably didn’t sound at all convincing. “Actually...I was just thinking...once exams are over, I want to treat everyone to dinner!”

You had taken Akira’s ring to the jewellery store a couple of days earlier, eyes still popping from your head at the number of digits. You spent most of the night wondering what on earth you would do with it. Your bills were cheap, you had a good salary. You didn’t need that sort of money.

In the end, you split the money in half, keeping some for yourself and donating the rest to a number of charities. You had already arranged to go to a cocktail bar with your girlfriends, but wanted to treat your work friends too. They had, after all, come to your rescue in a number of ways.

“You don’t have to do that,” said Hizashi, “we can just go out to dinner anyway!”

“I know, I know...it’s just,” you shrugged, “I sold the engagement ring and well...it only seems fair.”

Shouta glanced from you to Nemuri to Hizashi, scratching the back of his neck. He clearly had questions, but didn’t ask any of them.

“What about sushi? A new place opened up on Pink Street and I’ve been wanting to try it,” you said.

“Oooh, I’ve heard so much about that restaurant,” said Nemuri. “Their rolls melt in your mouth...”

“I haven’t been for sushi in so long,” sighed Hizashi.

“I guess that settles it,” you said, turning to Shouta. “How about you?”

“I’ll pass,” he said, “places like that are too fancy for me.”

“Aw, c’mon Eraser,” said Hizashi. “It’s the end of term, enjoy yourself.”

“They have fancy tuna,” you said. “Even if you don’t stay, you can take some home for Sushi.”

He paused to consider it, glancing from Nemuri to Hizashi and finally you, colour rising in his cheeks at your hopeful smile.

“Fine,” he said, “but I’m not staying long.”

~~~~

That night, for the first time since his recovery, Shouta stayed home instead of patrolling the streets. He had downloaded copies of the matches onto his laptop and made himself comfy on the couch to watch them, making mental notes of every move and decision.

He wanted to go over the strengths and weaknesses of his students ahead of the upcoming training camp and autumn term, though his mind wandered. He kept coming back to the moment Hizashi had fallen through the curtain and landed on you.

He had had suspicions that something had happened between the pair of you ever since the night of the Hosu incident. You had both arrived at the same time, which didn’t make a lot of sense given where you lived. You would catch different trains and arrive at different stations. Perhaps the most incriminating detail of all was the scent that lingered about you both; the same tangerine and orange blossom scent that he remembered from Hizashi’s visits during his recovery. Shouta’s own simple bath products had offended him on a personal level and he brought several bottles from his own collection on subsequent nights.

Shouta remembered turning his nose up at the perfumey scent and layers of bubbles, neither of which belonged in his otherwise simple home. That said, when Hizashi left one of the bottles behind, he didn’t give it back, often reaching for it and inhaling the sweet scent. It was the scent he caught on Hizashi whenever he got close enough, and he didn’t know what to think when he smelled it on both of you.

It wasn’t completely out of the realms of possibility that it was a coincidence, that both of you happened to have used the same product on the same night and bumped into one another outside of the school, but he knew it was unlikely. The simplest explanation was usually the right one, even if he didn’t necessarily want to accept it.

He didn’t know why it bothered him so much. He had told you to pursue Hizashi; he didn’t have the right to feel betrayed when you did. Even so, something had stirred within him when you and Hizashi arrived together, something he had managed to seal away until Hizashi fell through the curtain. He couldn’t stop thinking about it now; thinking about the pair of you in far less innocent circumstances.

His stomach churned whenever he thought about your naked bodies; about the pair of you sharing kisses and secrets. He hated it and he didn’t know why. Hizashi would be the perfect boyfriend and you the perfect wife. It made sense for the pair of you to get together. Hizashi was into marriage and holding hands in public; you had books on the meaning of flowers and pancake moulds shaped like bunnies. He didn’t belong in either scenario any more than he had belonged in the group hug you, Nemuri and Hizashi shared.

He groaned and scratched his hair, turning over onto his side and reloading the video he had been watching. He didn’t want to think about this anymore. It was giving him a headache.

He stared at the screen, watching as Kaminari and Mina sprinted through empty streets, Nezu not far behind. He made it only about five minutes before his eyelids began to droop. He was still getting used to the limits of his quirk and had a feeling he’d overused it in his match against Yaoyorozu and Todoroki.

Shouta stretched back, resting an arm on the arm of the couch and laying his head down on the crook of his elbow.

He’d rest his eyes for a moment and just listen.

He listened out for the racket of crumbling buildings, drifting to sleep before he could stop himself.

When he opened his eyes, he was in someone else’s bedroom, sunlight shining through the windows and bathing his skin in golden light. He was flat on his back and on top of the bedcovers, head resting on sweet smelling pillows.

He realised he was naked and that he wasn’t alone.

Giggles broke out from further down the bed and he looked down, peering through his spread legs and into two smiling faces. You and Hizashi were laid on your front and as naked as he was, laughing at the lurid blush that had broken out across his face.

“Go on...get on with it,” he said, eying his own hard cock.

You turned to Hizashi with a smile.

“Should we?”

“I don’t know,” said Hizashi, “he’s been such a grump lately.”

“All the more reason to cheer him up!”

“Oh, just as expected of you, (Name),” said Hizashi, kissing you on the lips, “so considerate!”

Shouta groaned, watching as he kissed you again with more than a hint of tongue. The wet sound your lips made whenever you broke contact was almost too much for him to bear. You stole glances at him as you ended the kiss, knowing the effect you were having on him.

He gasped as the pair of you ran your tongues over his cock, taking turns at the tip. It was overwhelming and he bucked his hips into your touches, not sure which detail to focus on first. Should he listen to the popping sounds whenever one of you sucked his tip? Should he sigh in pleasure at the gentle way the pair of you ran your hands over the inside of his thighs? Should he choke in desperation at the feel of your combined saliva dribbling down his cock?

This was too much.

Hizashi took hold of his dick and pumped it so quickly that he could do nothing else but grip the bedsheets and shake, watching as the pair of you kissed again. You leaned over to spit on the tip of his cock and Hizashi jerked him faster, the wet sound shaking him to his core.

“I think he’s close,” you said, watching as Shouta arched his back, gripping the bed with both hands. “Should we let him?”

“I’m not sure,” said Hizashi in a tone of mock severity. “I don’t think he’s ready yet.”

You both looked at him, taking in his half sitting position and rasping breaths.

“Fffuck,” he hissed, holding himself taught, “both of you.”

You both laughed at that and Hizashi let go of his dick, making way for you to take it into your mouth, bobbing your head as you took more and more of it in. Hizashi stroked his fingers through your hair and cooed at how cute you were, Shouta squeezing his eyes shut and gasping for air. He was close to the point of no return and the vibrations against his dick as you moaned didn’t help.

He couldn’t breathe; his breaths were short and sharp, his heart raced and his dick almost unbearably tight. You pulled away just in time for him to whine and flop back against the bed, cumming all over his--

He woke up, bleary eyed and sweaty, taking in the dark room and abandoned laptop, the hard couch under him.

“Shit,” he said, reaching for the waistband of his boxers and grimacing at the knowledge that he hadn’t dreamt the part where he came everywhere.

He got to his feet and waddled to the bathroom, cursing both at the mess and twitching of his cock. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a wet dream. Had it been high school? Whatever the case, he felt dirty.

He kicked off his boxers and climbed into the bathtub, trying and failing to distract himself from the waves of pleasure still rushing through his body.

He turned on the cold tap, both to bring himself back to earth and wash away the evidence. He rarely remembered his dreams, but this one wouldn’t leave him.

“Shit,” he said, rubbing his temples and willing away the mental image of you and Hizashi trailing your tongues over his dick. “Shiiiiiit.”

He sank down into the bath and sucked in a deep breath as the cold water touched his skin. He closed his eyes, orgasm fading and lucidity setting in. For the first time in weeks, he felt clear headed.

He scowled, no longer focusing on Hizashi falling on top of you, but the part that came soon after and bothered him just as much.

Engagement ring?

~~~~

“I don’t believe you.”

Nemuri sat back to sip her beer, looking across the crowded restaurant.

“I’m telling you,” said Hizashi, “she’s the one!”

With the end of term came the promised sushi dinner; you, Nemuri, Hizashi and a reluctant Shouta all at one table.

Only after you and Shouta got up for another round of drinks did Hizashi drop the bombshell he had been sitting on for weeks: that you were the woman from Ego . To say Nemuri was skeptical was an understatement.

“(Name)? That (Name)?”

She pointed across the room and towards the bar, where you and Shouta were ordering drinks.

“She had the dress , Nemuri!”

Nemuri held her beer to her chest, watching as you ordered your drink and bowed several times to the bartender.

“Let’s assume I believe you,” she said, tilting the bottle towards him. “What were you doing in her bedroom in the first place?”

Hizashi hadn’t mentioned the fact that you’d slept together and he broke out in goosebumps at getting even remotely close to caught.

“I-I walked her home and my hair tie broke. Nothing happened!”

It wasn’t a lie. That really was why he’d been in your room. Nemuri had known him for long enough, though, to pick up when he wasn’t telling the whole truth.

“You slept with her, didn’t you?”

“I,” Hizashi realised he’d raised his voice and leaned across the table to speak in hushed tones. “No, why would you think that?”

“You’re a terrible liar. Besides, she told me you did.”

“She what ?”

Hizashi clapped both hands over his mouth, not meaning to shriek as loud as he did. Nemuri flinched at the sudden loud noise, rubbing a finger over her ear.

“She...she really told you?”

He remembered his own words that night, his promise not to say anything unless you did. He hadn’t expected you to say anything, much less so quickly, and for a second he wondered if he had you all wrong, only to notice Nemuri’s shit eating grin.

“She didn’t tell me anything,” she said, taking a satisfied sip of beer. “You just now, though? You told me everything .”

“Nemuri, promise me you won’t say anything about this! I didn’t mean to, I just...it just happened.”

“What, did you trip and land dick first?”

“No!” Hizashi buried his face in his hands. “No, it wasn’t like that. I only meant to cheer her up a little, but there she was...all beautiful and sad and sweet and lonely...like a love song.”

Nemuri didn’t say a word and he lifted his head, watching the way she stroked her finger through the condensation on her beer bottle.

“Hizashi,” she said, “I don’t know how we got here, but somehow you’re the Shinohara.”

Hizashi buried his face in his hands again, remembering Shinohara’s lurid blushes and trembling hands.

“I don’t want to be the Shinohara,” he wailed into his hands. “I don’t want any of this!”

Nemuri reached out to pat his head, beer forgotten and all of the mirth gone from her face. She remembered a different time and a different trio: a different story of unrequited love.

She wondered what Shirakumo would have said about all of this.

Knowing him, he’d find a way to fall in love with you as well.

“Listen,” she said, patting his head, “let’s assume (Name) really is the girl from Ego .”

“But she-”

“Let’s assume she is.”

“But she is the-eeek!”

Nemuri had picked up her beer and rested it on his head, sending a surge of cold through his scalp.

“Listen to me,” she said. “You don’t have to feel guilty about pursuing either of them.”

Hizashi didn’t miss her wording. They could be his. He didn’t need to feel guilty about pursuing either of them. He had never mentioned having any kind of feelings for Shouta to her. He’d never mentioned them to anyone.

“How long have you known?”

Had he really been that obvious?

“I asked you a while ago if you remembered Shinohara,” said Nemuri.

“You did...and I do!”

“No,” she sighed. “No, you don’t.”

She lifted the bottle from his head to take a sip, remembering the way she, Hizashi and Shirakumo had crouched against the wall in the neighbouring classroom to eavesdrop; the way Shirakumo had reached into her lap without looking to help himself to the chips she’d brought. She remembered the tension in everyone’s bodies as Aizawa began to speak.

Neither Hizashi nor Shirakumo had ever looked so relieved as the moment he turned her down.

“Hizashi,” she said. “Do you want to date one of them, or do you want them to date each other? Which one is it?”

He stayed silent, knowing that the true answer was neither of those things. He wanted both of them in every way it was possible to want anyone. He wanted to be greedy, wanted to be selfish, wanted to forget how it felt to be lonely.

“I want to do the right thing.”

Nemuri sighed and scratched her chin.

“That’s not an answer.”

“It...I…” Hizashi rested his head on the table. “It doesn’t matter what I want. I just want them to be happy.”

“In that case, I know what we have to do next,” she said. “1-A are going to summer camp next week and I was supposed to be chaperoning the girls. I could...hypothetically...be unable to go.”

Hizashi looked up at her and nodded, as visibly sad as a wilting sunflower.

“I guess that’s the plan, then,” she said. “Now don’t forget to smile!”

He didn’t get the chance to ask why, for you and Shouta returned with drinks at that very moment and the transformation was instantaneous.

“Heyyyy, what took you guys so long,” he cried out, practically bouncing back up with an enormous grin plastered across his face, “we thought you got lost!”

“Not quite,” you said, with a giggle. “I couldn’t decide what drink to get.”

“Ahhh, indecision,” said Nemuri, with a knowing smile. “Sounds familiar.”

You sat back down at the table, Shouta not far behind.

“So,” you said, “what were you guys talking about?”

~~~~~

FIVE MINUTES EARLIER

From the moment you stepped inside of the sushi bar, Shouta had made it quite clear he didn’t intend to stay. Even so, you had been there for well over an hour and, while he had poked and prodded at his food and stayed quiet, he hadn’t made any attempt to leave. He had even offered to help you carry the next round of drinks and you were finding it difficult to hide your joy.

He didn’t say much even then, but you didn’t mind it, losing yourself in the numerous options on the cocktail menu.

When he did speak, it took you by surprise.

“Back then. What did you mean?”

You recalled the last conversation you had had at the table, about what you planned to get up to now that your schedule was all but clear. You had mentioned going to Yamanashi to pick peaches and wondered what part of that might have confused him.

“The...the fruit farm?”

“No,” he sighed. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Do you like peaches?”

“I told you, it doesn’t matter.”

“Okay,” you said, wondering what it was he meant to ask you, not noticing the way his eyeline skirted across your bare ring finger.

The pair of you fell into silence again, watching as the bartender put together your drinks.

“I do,” said Shouta at last.

“Hmm?”

“Peaches. I like them.”

“Oh! In that case I’ll bring back a souvenir!”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“But I want to!”

Shouta sighed and rubbed his temples and you wondered if you’d said the wrong thing.

You wondered what it was he had meant to ask you and clasped your hands together.

“Shouta.”

“Yes?”

You took a deep breath, the question dying on your lips.

“What about cherries?”

~~~~~

A/N: RIP EVERYONE READING THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE NEXT CHAPTER IS A DOOZY

#bnha #erasermic x reader #aizawa shouta x reader #yamada hizashi x reader #present mic x reader #eraserhead x reader #habanero

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omiluvbug · 4 years ago

Text

Office Hours (Nanami Kento x Fem!Reader oneshot)

This oneshot can be viewed on AO3 and Wattpad too!

You woke up at around 6:30 am as the sun's rays peeked through the shallow gaps in the curtains by your window. This created soft rays of light traveling through the room, basking the plain white walls in soft hues of orange and yellow. You patted the bed as you looked for your alarm clock which blared an overly obnoxious sound.

Groaning, you got up, your hair a tangled mess as well as your patterned pajamas. You threw your blanket to the side as you stretched out her limbs. You contemplated on whether to stay in bed or go to work. You didn't really want to go to work today. Just the thought of you sitting down at your boring table for 8 hours doesn't seem that much exciting. You'd rather stay at home and curl up in your chair by the window, looking out to a nice view of the city.

However, you couldn't really risk getting scolded so early in the morning in front of a lot of people. Just the thought of it deeply embarrassed you. Sighing, you got up and lazily fixed your queen-sized bed, throwing pillows on top of another and draping the blanket over the comforter.

You quickly did her morning routine—washing your face and brushing your teeth, then changing into your usual office attire and applying some makeup. Afterwards, you quickly fixed your hair before going to the kitchen to prepare a small breakfast. You scrolled through her phone as you ate, laughing slightly at ridiculous posts of some strangers on the internet.

You liked these kinds of moments; moments where you would usually be just by yourself in the morning, enjoying your breakfast as you looked through her phone, or listening to songs as you made food or cleaned the house. It was mundane for sure, just a normal day-to-day living, but it provided you a sense of comfort, even just for a little bit.

"Oh crap!" You quickly jumped to your feet as you noticed the time. You didn't realize that you were on your phone for far too long. If you don't get out of the house now, you'll miss your train. You hurriedly grabbed your bag and threw it over your shoulder as you wore whatever colored pump you could find. You then dashed through the door, making your way towards the train station which was a 10 minute walk away from home.

"Woah there, careful," Said a man with long hair tied into a bun and bangs perfectly framing his face. His hands were on your arm, preventing you from tripping on the boxes on the floor. He wore deep navy pants with the jacket loosely hanging from his arm. Two buttons of his white dress shirt were opened, making you look elsewhere.

"We don't want anyone tripping over these boxes now, don't we?" He implied, looking at you as if he was waiting for some sort of response. "You alright there, Y/N?"

"My apologies, Mr. Getou!" You said, your eyes wide open and your lips slightly agape. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I—"

Getou chuckled, waving a dismissive hand in front of you. "It's alright, dear." He bent down to pick the stray boxes up before placing them on top of a random table. He then looked at his watch, his eyebrows rising. "You better get to where you're going if you don't want to be scolded. CEO's a handful when he's mad."

Flashing you another smile, Getou began walking away and disappeared into a nearby hallway. Suguru Getou is the operations manager of the company, responsible for hiring new staff members and training them, as well as monitoring personnel documentation, to name a few. He works alongside Satoru Gojo who deals with financial statistics of the company.

"Yuji! Hurry up!" You turned and saw three unfamiliar faces walking in the hallway. Two of them were boys, while one of them was a girl with orange colored hair and a frown on her face. She wore a pastel pink suit with a white dress shirt underneath. They looked young, and perhaps maybe a little bit out of place.

"It's your damn fault we're running late!" She hissed, glaring at the boy with pink hair and lightly hitting him with her bag. The boy stuck his tongue out like a little kid, causing the lady to scoff.

"Me? Blame Megumi! He's the one who stopped at a nearby park just to pet the dogs and won't leave until he called each one of them 'good girls' and 'good boys!'"

"Leave me out of this," the other boy said grumpily, shaking his head as he walked away and left the two.

"Interns! Right here!" Ijichi called, calling the attention of the three. The three rushed towards the man, the girl's coffee almost spilling along the way.

Ah, so that's why they were unfamiliar to you, they're interns. You smiled a bit as you looked at the three playfully bickering while following Ijichi. It reminded you of your friends way back in high school. Suddenly, you wondered how they were doing. You're not much in contact with them these days as everyone is busy with their own lives. Besides, they weren't making much of an effort on trying to contact you anyway.

"Get going, lady. These hallways are not the place to hang around, no?" said Satoru Gojo, who was followed by Shoko Ieri, the team's assistant manager. Shoko was quick to slap the man's bicep, scolding him for being so rude so early in the morning.

"Alright, geez. My bad." Gojo's hands were in his pockets as he walked, his head casually tipping to the side as he looked at the woman before her before paying attention to you. He was wearing his usual black sunglasses. Why he wore it inside the building was something you didn’t know the reason for. "Good Morning, Y/N."

"Good Morning," You greeted back, causing the man to grin and the lady to smile.

"I see you're running late today." There was a teasing tone evident in his voice. He was going to say something more when Shoko tugged him closer, shaking her head and widening her eyes at him.

"Right, well," Gojo stuttered, gently removing Shoko's hand from his bicep. "See ya around, Y/N!" They began walking away, muttering something amongst themselves. You even caught a glimpse of Gojo looking back at you and chuckling which left you confused. What was that about?

Perhaps everyone was running late today. It was quite understandable as it was Monday. You spotted a few people rushing inside the building as you clocked in. You placed your card back to the holder before making your way to the 5th floor, where you usually do her work. You were in the Public Relations Department, mostly coordinating public events for the company, helping in gaining favorable media coverage, and maintaining the company's relationship with investors among others.

As you arrived at her floor, you quickly made your way towards your table and placed your bag on the chair before throwing away the crumbled paper you failed to discard the day before. You greeted your coworkers as you didn't want to seem rude.

The floor was brightly lit because of the huge windows that enabled natural light to pass through the transparent material. The floor was tiled and there were gorgeous wood accents plastered on the wall. Wood wall dividers were also used to separate the work space from the couch—where the employees would usually sit down during breaks to chat or wind down. And instead of cubicles, there were tables, allowing the employees to easily talk to each other when needed.

"Good morning! Here's some morning newspapers, Y/N." The head of the PR Department, Iori Utahime, greeted you with a smile. "Morning assembly meeting starts in a few minutes. We're just waiting for the CEO."

"He's running late too, Ms. Utahime?" You wondered why, but then you remembered that the CEO had a very important business meeting to attend over the weekend in Osaka.

"Seems like everyone is. It's a monday after all." She clapped her hands behind her back, shifting her weight from one foot to another. "I almost missed my train earlier! I had to run out of the house with bread in my mouth while fixing my hair."

You looked at the lady before you. She doesn't look disheveled, infact, she looked presentable as always. Her hair was combed nicely and was in a half-up half-down updo—she even had a little bow tied on her hair which you thought was quite adorable. Her white dress shirt and red pencil skirt was tailored to her body perfectly, leaving no unflattering gaps in the material.

"Good thing I made it in time though," she added as she mindlessly twirled a strand of hair on her hands. "I regret binge watching that drama last night."

You scrunched her face, knowing the feeling of staying up all night and regretting it the following morning. Utahime laughed, finding your reaction cute, before she patted your shoulders before bidding you a short goodbye. She went to the other's tables, greeting them a good morning and asking them about their plans for the day.

As you waited for the meeting to begin, you turned your desktop on and browsed through the emails. You frowned upon seeing some spam mails and quickly discarded them to the bin. You made a mental note to tell the head director that a certain investor wanted to make some changes with some of the deals. After that, you then skimmed through your newspaper, catching up on news that she might have missed over the weekend.

Soon, it was 9 am and the morning assembly meeting started. You stood up straight as their CEO, Kento Nanami, entered the floor alongside his trusty secretary, Yu Haibara, as well as a few other people. All eyes followed him as he walked towards the front of the room. You almost missed it, but the three interns were with them too, following Ijichi like they're lost puppies.

The CEO's face was stern, yet he returned the smiles the other employees gave him. Your breath hitched when you two made eye contact, causing heat to rise to your cheeks. Nanami briefly smiled at you before turning his attention back to the other employees. However, the lingering feeling stayed with you. Oh my god.

It almost felt silly feeling butterflies over a brief eye contact. You were already an adult yet you still act like a lovestruck high school student whenever you meet eyes with your crush. However, you accepted the way you felt around Nanami. He was intelligent, polite, poised, extremely good-looking, and a gentleman.

You couldn't help but to sigh. What was there to not swoon over for? He's literally the real deal.

You noticed that he was more casual with the way he dressed today. Rather than his usual cream-colored suit paired with a blue dress shirt underneath and his partnered tie, he wore a black turtleneck with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing his expensive watch on one hand and toned arms. He paired it with a pair of off-white tapered pants. His hair was slicked back, with a few loose strands of hair he had to brush up every now and then. His shoes were perfectly polished too, clanking ever so softly as he took a step.

Perhaps Kento Nanami was one of the reasons why you still chose to attend your job so early in the morning.

"Good morning." His voice was authoritative yet still soft and gentle. You even noticed the soft giggles some female employees let out upon hearing his voice. You chuckled as you shook your head. You couldn't really blame them for being giddy over him. Almost everyone is.

A chorus of hello's and good morning's were heard. Nanamin went through some announcements and important matters to discuss, mainly about increasing customer satisfaction rate and the like. He also talked about the short business trip he went to over the weekend and disclosed some information about future plans for a major project. At the same time, the department heads reported what plans they'll be doing for the rest of the day. Haibara happily took notes on his iPad, trying his hardest not to miss any important information.

"Very well," Nanami spoke, the attention once again turning to him. He acknowledged the effort each department had and thanked them for their hard work. This definitely boosted the morale of the employee seeing the smile and grins on their faces.

Nanami leaned a bit on the table, his arms crossed over his chests. He made eye contact with you one more time before turning his attention to the man beside him. "Ijichi, if you will. Thank you."

Ijichi nodded and walked forward, a kind smile evident on his face. A few coworkers giggled a bit, finding the man's actions kind of adorable.

"Good morning," he greeted. "As you may all know, fall internships have already begun. Here we have three students from The University of Tokyo who will be seeking our guidance for the rest of the year."

He then gestured to the interns to start introducing themselves. The first one to do so was the lady wearing a pastel pink suit. She had a genuine smile on her face rather than the frown she had earlier in the morning. You thought that she was pretty—very fashionable too.

"Good morning! I'm Kugisaki Nobara and I'm 21 years old. Please take good care of me! I humbly seek your guidance!"

"Um." The next up was the boy with pink hair. He was quite charming to say the least; very bubbly and smiley much like the lady. "I'm Yuji Itadori. 20 years old, and I look forward to working with you all! Please go easy on me!"

Finally, the boy with dark hair spoke. He was quite shy and kind of stoic at first glance. "I'm Megumi Fushiguro. I'm 20 years old and I'm looking forward to working with you all too. Please guide us well… and I would like to apologize in advance for all the troubles these two might cause."

The two intern's mouth went agape and a few other employees let out a chuckle. The employees then politely clapped for the three. Even Nanami did too and you couldn't help to notice the small smile forming on his lips—as if he was already growing fond of the interns. This made you smile too. You had always liked having interns around. Just last fall, other students interned in this company as well and you could still vividly remember how rowdy and lively the lot were. Two of them were from UTokyo, while the others were from KyotoU.

After the morning assembly meeting, the employees went back to their desks. You took a quick detour to the pantry to brew yourself some coffee before going back to her table. As you sat down, you folded the newspapers and kept them in your drawer as you were already finished reading them. Then, you went back to work.

The office was fairly quiet during working hours. Everyone was busy typing away on their keyboards to even spare the other employees a glance. It reminded you of libraries from school.

You reached out for your drink and frowned when you noticed that it was already empty. It was finished already? You didn’t even notice that the time was passing by so quickly. You contemplated on whether you should get up and brew some more, but you were already getting comfortable in your chair and didn't want to move an inch.

As if on cue, Gojo tapped your desk, making you turn to his direction. He had a cup of warm drink in his hands and grinned at her. You raised her eyebrow at him, confused with his sudden appearance. Usually he'll be on the third floor, supervising his department, or on the sixth floor, hanging out with other directors.

"A delivery for you, my lady." He put the warm drink down on her table and before you could even ask him why he gave it to you, he was already walking towards the elevator.

Frowning, you looked at the cup. Written on it was your favorite drink and a name that made your cheeks flush red. You covered half of your face, glaring at Gojo who was grinning as he waited for the elevator door to close. Grabbing your post-it from your desk, you covered the name written on your cup. Clicking your tongue, you went back to work and tried to bury the embarrassing feeling brewing inside you.

When lunch time came, you decided to go to a nearby restaurant with a few other employees. You and your coworkers settled on a table near the door by the big windows. As you sat down, your attention was diverted towards the door, where the CEO and his secretary stood. They seemed to be looking for someone as their eyes trailed around the restaurant.

"Nanamin!" Gojo called, not even addressing the man properly. The white-haired man waved his arms around, catching a few people's attention. Getou, Shoko, and Utahime, who were with him, just shook their heads as they ate their food, as if pretending that they didn’t know him.

Nanami was about to approach them until he locked eyes with you once again. Your heart thumped loudly in your chest as you noticed him approaching your table, Haibara following behind him. Your coworkers didn't seem to notice the CEO until he cleared his throat.

"Ah! Mr. Nanami!" The man before you stuttered. Nanami just offered him a kind smile before gesturing him to sit down.

"Is it alright if I ate with you today?" He asked and the others nodded. Well, they didn't really have that much of a choice—who would turn down someone like Nanami?

It was as if the universe was in your favor. Nanami pulled the seat beside you and sat on it, your knees subtly brushing against each other as he fixed his posture. However, he didn't seem to mind as he conversed with your coworkers. Haibara, who sat at the head of the table, sneakily glanced between you and Nanami, biting his lips as he tried to hide his smile.

The others then decided to begin ordering their own meals. However, you still don't know what to get. Maybe Nanami sitting beside you was a little bit distracting, and maybe he kind of knew it based on the small smiles he lets slip past his mouth every now and then.

"Ms. L/N?"

"Y-yes?" You turned to Nanami, heat rising to your cheeks.

You stared into his brown eyes. It reminded you of autumn for some reason. It was kind of fitting for someone like him, you concluded; a bit cold, but still makes you feel comfort and warmth. Maybe one of the reasons why Nanami reminded you of autumn so much is because naturally, the autumn season has a kind of romantic aspect to it. Perhaps it was the scenarios you think of with him before heading to bed, or maybe because you were actually falling deeply for him, but you couldn't help but to think that maybe, Nanami has a romantic side to him too.

You didn't realize that you were staring at him for far too long until you heard his soft chuckle. Looking away, you tried to compose yourself. However, the butterflies in your stomach seem to flutter more and more as they hear the wonderful song that is Nanami's voice.

"Are you good to order? I can line up to the counter for you," he offered.

It was embarrassing honestly, making a total fool of yourself in front of such a respectable man like him. "Um… no, it's fine, Mr. Nanami."

"Is [favorite food] and [favorite drink] alright?" He asked, standing up and grabbing his wallet from his back pocket.

You could only nod as he made his way towards the counter, catching up to Haibara and a few other employees. You were the only one left on the table, which gave you a responsibility to secure it. Not that you mind.

"So!" You nearly jumped when you heard Gojo Satoru beside you. How he managed to sneak up on you from the other side of the restaurant was something you don't know. He shamelessly sat himself on the chair beside you, which was previously occupied by Nanami. "You and Nanami, huh?"

"What?" You stuttered, completely baffled by his statement. The man just leaned back on his chair, causally tipping back a bit. "Pardon me but what are you talking about, Mr. Gojo?"

"Gojo is fine." The man scrunched his nose. "You're making me sound like an old man. I hate it."

You purse your lips, considering his statement. It seems like he didn't really mind dropping the honorifics that much. He leaned back further on his chair, propping his sunglasses on top of his head.

"You know," he began, looking over at Nanami's direction. "Nanami usually never dines with employees. I know you saw me call him over earlier, but he didn't hesitate one bit on walking towards your direction when you made eye contact." He then clicked his tongue, raising an eyebrow at you. "Which makes me conclude that what I wrote on your cup earlier was true. Am I right?"

You honestly didn't know what to say. He had a teasing grin on his face, much wider than the one he had earlier in the morning. He crossed his arms against his chest, silently urging you to spill it out already.

"I believe that seat was taken." Nanami came back with a tray with both your orders in his hands. The others were still by the counter, waiting for their turn.

Gojo whistled before standing up. "My apologies," he uttered, patting Nanami at the shoulder. "Pardon me for intruding on your little date."

You were expecting Nanami to deny his claim, but the blond didn't say anything. Instead, he calmly placed your order in front of you before sitting down. It was evident that he was ignoring Gojo, which caused the white-haired man to chuckle and shake his head. Gojo then gave you a wink before heading back to his table.

"Was he bothering you?" Nanami asked and you shook your head.

"No… not really." Nanami gave you a look, as if he wasn't buying it. "I'm fine really, Mr. Nanami. Thanks for your concern."

You gave him a smile and Nanami subtly returned one back. He was about to say something else when the other employees arrived, preventing him from doing so. Nanami cleared his throat and began eating, occasionally looking at you from time-to-time.

"Finally! I’m going home!" You yawned, stretching a bit on your chair. A few employees have already gone home as they finished their job a bit early. Breezily, you gathered all your valuables and placed them in your bag. Then, you decluttered your table before grabbing your coat and putting it on.

It was a 10 minute walk from the company to the nearest train station. The train was definitely cramped since it was getting kind of late. Students were seated on the chair, other employees were busy on their phones or reading a newspaper, and others were dozing off.

You sighed, wanting to get home as early as you could so you could jump into a nice warm bath and maybe even make yourself a nice dinner and watch a good show. It was a bit chilly at night too, so you'll sure be snuggling up to your bed, with multiple blankets laid on top of you.

Even though all of these things sound amazing, there is something else that you're looking forward to. You covered your mouth as you tried to hide a smile—you didn't want to get weird looks from other people, thinking you're out of your mind or something.

You unlocked the door of your apartment and made your way inside. You left your bag and shoes by the door as you took your coat off and hung it on the coat rack. You wore your indoor slippers before walking to the bathroom to take your makeup off.

As you did so, you grabbed your phone and played some music. You then turned the bath faucet on and waited for it to be the right temperature before stripping off and lowered yourself in the tub. You then made sure to tie your hair up, preventing it from getting wet.

The warm water soothed your sore muscles. You instantly felt at ease. This is exactly what you needed—a nice relaxing night after a long hard day at work. Humming to yourself, you sank further into the tub, letting the water reach up to your shoulders. You giggled as you played with the bubbles, making random shapes and drawing silly little soap faces on your legs.

Deep in your own moment, you didn't hear the opening of the main door nor the shoes being placed inside the shoe cabinet right beside yours. You didn't hear the leather bag being placed on top of the kitchen table nor the knock on the bathroom door. However, you did hear the door knob turning and the footsteps of the man walking towards you.

"Good evening, darling." Your husband, Kento Nanami, greeted you. He seated on the edge of the tub, looking at you with such adoration in his eyes. He looked tired, but still handsome. He tucked a hair behind your ear and you instantly leaned into his touch. He chuckled, holding your cheek, his thumb rubbing soft circles on your skin.

"Welcome home, Kento." You smiled, making his heart swoon. Despite being with him for the most of the day, you missed him.

Nanami placed a kiss on the crown of your head, making you sigh happily and giggle. "Would it be alright if I joined you?"

You nodded. Nanami had always been a man of consent. He always asks before approaching you. He had also always put you first before himself. He had always pampered you, cared for you, and made sure that you'll feel the love that you deserve. He was a very sweet guy, really—charming, dreamy . Perhaps you were one lucky girl to have someone like him in your life.

"I noticed you wore our wedding ring to work today," he said as he took his shirt off. He then began unbuckling his belt, making you look away. You had already seen his body multiple times, but it still makes your cheeks heat up. Nanami chuckled as he saw your reaction. You were adorable.

He placed a hand on your back as he guided you to move forward, making some room for him. He leaned back as you settled in between his legs, letting you rest your back on his chest. He draped his hands around you, softly caging you in his arms as he leaned his cheek on the top of your head.

"Well I liked the look of it on my fingers," you answered. "I noticed you wore it too… the other day."

Nanami hummed, placing a gentle kiss on your shoulder. It's not like you weren't proud of being married. Rather than that, it was merely just because Nanami wanted to see how long it would take for his employees to notice that he was, in fact, already someone else’s spouse. He had been subtly hinting it to others too—small bouquet of flowers on your table during special occasions (birthdays and anniversaries), simple random gifts at any time of the day, occasionally matching outfits with each other, and random lovesick post-it notes placed on your desktop monitor.

You couldn't deny it but you were definitely hopeful to see the priceless reactions of the employees once they did find out. This little game than Nanami created made the office hours more exciting—for the two of you anyway.

"I think Gojo already knows," you said, intertwining your hands together. "He gave me coffee earlier with the writing: 'nanamin's wife'"

"Perhaps it accidentally slipped from my mouth when we were on a business trip over the weekend." Nanami turned you around so you were facing him, letting you rest on his chest. He let his hand rest on your lower back. "Getou knows too. I bet Gojo told him. Were they bothering you too much? I saw Gojo pestering you earlier during lunch and you looked kind of uncomfortable."

"Not uncomfortable, just surprised," you answered. "I just didn't know how to act. We never talked about how to react when they found out."

Nanami chuckled. He held your chin and placed a soft tender kiss on your lips. The action made you shiver, making him smile through the kiss. Even just for a short while, you felt breathless.

"Just let things happen," Nanami murmured as he rested his head on the crook of your neck. He placed kisses on your neck and shoulder too, making you giggle due to the tickling sensation.

"You're being awfully clingy today, Kento." You brushed some of his hair away from his face, looking at his perfectly chiseled features. "You kept glancing at me at work and smiling at me, then you ate lunch with me, and now you're being so affectionate… not that I mind it though."

"I missed you, darling. That’s all." He placed another kiss on the corner of your lips. "I was in Osaka over the weekend, naturally, I would want to be around my sweet girl."

You laughed and nodded, feeling the heat rush to your cheeks once again. Nanami wasn't usually a touchy and a physically affectionate person, especially outside the house. He wasn’t a fan of public displays of affection, but he does make up for it whenever you two are alone.

Something you also noticed about him even from the first time you started dating, was that he was very subtle in the way he loved. He wasn't extravagant nor boastful with gifts. He was sure to keep it simple. Special occasions were an exception though.

You didn't mind it that much. You weren't a fan of lavish types of love and gift giving anyway—it's kind of overwhelming. The love that Nanami gives you was enough—not too less, not too much, it was the perfect balance in between.

Both of you stayed in the tub for a while, just enjoying the moment as you two held each other. It was peaceful, with occasional innocent words of affection exchanged between the two of you. You were glad that office hours were over, enabling you to enjoy your time alone with your husband.

After a few moments, Nanami ushered you to stand as he rinsed the bubbles on your body with the shower head. You giggled as the water accidentally sprayed on his face, causing him to squint and lightly shake his head—like a dog. You grabbed a towel from the rack and gently patted his face. Nanami even sneaked a small kiss on your wrist, causing you to squeal and bashfully smack him on his chest.

"All these years we spent together and you're still shy whenever I shower you with affection." Nanami tugged you closer to him as he draped a robe over your body. You both wore matching classic white ones, small initials of your name imprinted in his.

"I don't know why I just can't get used to the feeling!" You said, huffing.

"That's good. I like seeing your reactions." Nanami smiled, brushing your hair with his hands. There were some tangles in it, but he didn't mind. He liked brushing them away with his fingers nonetheless.

Nanami just stared at you, his heart thumping happily in his chest, butterflies fluttering in his stomach. He wondered what his life would be like if you weren't around. Shaking his head, he didn't want to think of it. You were there, in front of him, in his arms. It was enough.You were enough. Nanami couldn't bear living his life without having you around anyway. Perhaps you might have just bewitched his heart with your charms. But he was so in love with you that he didn't mind.

"You're as pretty as a flower, my sweet." He tugged you even closer to him, wrapping his arms around your frame and resting his head on top of yours. He looked at your reflection in the mirror. Your kind smile, your flushed cheeks—To Nanami, you were perfect.

"Kento?" He hummed, still looking at your face through the reflection. "Would you watch [favorite movie] with me?"

He chuckled, patting your head. How could he say no to you? "Of course, darling. Office hours are already over, right?"

#fanfic #jujutsu kaisen #nanami x y/n #nanami kento #jujutsu kaisen nanami #mentioned jujutsu kaisen characters #romance #fanfiction #self insert #y/n #anime #office

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btswishes · 4 years ago

Text

Love me for who I am now

Bucky x Reader ( Chapter 2 )

Previous / Next

Summary: You apply for the Stark internship and end up getting it, so now you have 5 months to make a good impression to continue working with the Avengers.

A/N: Continuing my little experiment here with chapter2, a bit more filler for the story. Sorry for any mistakes made, hope you enjoy it even a tiny bit.

Word count: 2,903

Warmings: fights, harsh language, not part of the original MCU

Y/N- Your name

Y/L/N- Your Last Name

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

The suitcase made a slight thumping sound, when you laid it down on the floor next to your desk. Wasting no time books found their new home on the empty shelves, notebooks fell asleep in the dark drawers. Pens, pencils, markers and all your stationary soon followed suit and found their own little space to rest.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.” the silence in the room finally got overthrown by the voice of its new owner, asking for some help in the matters unfolding

Yes Miss Y/N

“Would you put a timer for 5min from now please?” still focused onto your stuff, finding them a visible but safe from damage storage. Nothing could destroy as well as time and dust did.

Timer set for 5 minutes from now.

“Thank you.” The only thing left to do now was to get the clothes in the closet and move the tech to the lab. Hopefully Dr. Banner wouldn’t mind waiting a bit more, not like he seemed to but who knows, Hulk lived inside him after all. You didn’t want to take a chance and play with his limits. The closet was hidden inside the wall, stealthy I must say. Toothpaste and toothbrush, essentials and cosmetics. All was done, now.

Ding Ding Ding.

Timer is going off Miss. Shall I turn it off or restart it?

“Thank you F.R.I.D.A.Y. You can turn it off. “

Your laptop and small bag were safely nestled under your arm, making your way outside the room. For a moment you thought you got lost, but the orange tint of the sun’s rays soon pulled your attention in the right direction. Around the corner your nose caught the smell of caramel. Your head hesitantly protruded behind the pillar, as you called out to the man holding 2 cups in his hands firmly.

“Oh.” He jumped a bit, reaching out offering one of the mugs “ I hope you like it, we don’t have much selection when it comes to tea here. Coffee addicts you know.” he laughed out

“It is ok. Thank you very much.” Your leg levered and you swung onto the bar chair like it was nothing, taking a sip from the hot drink. You felt it warm you up slowly as it went down, melting away a bit of your anxiety. Once again your sight was captivated by the view. No one knows how much time passed since you got lost in the sunset, but it was nice. You could barely hear the bustling city from the 134th floor. It was only you, the sun and the room. Quiet almost like a safe serene space.

“Beautiful isn’t it.” Bruce shook you out of your little mind palace

“Mm? Ah, yes. Very much so. “ you puffed out some air with your smile, eyes forming little crescent moons “I feel like a cat, my attention keeps drifting to the glass unintentionally.”

“I understand you. I keep doing that myself and I have lived in the compound for quite some time now. “ the conversation was lighthearted, easily drifting over the main reason for your arrival “One would think I would be used to it by now.”

“Mr Stark made this place so calm. Big yet homey.” Your head scanned the area, words intriguing the doctor “ In a way it contrasts the inner state of most of the Avengers.” realized what just came out of your lips, your body stiffened. Oh man, way to ruin it - you thought to yourself “I am so sorry.” The mug clanked under the table, sending a vibration to his palm, as you bowed “I spoke out of place.”

“I think you might be on to something.” Your neck pulled your head up, a few strands of hair falling down next to your soft cheek. Bruce was still looking at the setting sun with a soft smile, his jaw exposing the beard to the light, coloring it a deep fiery yellow hue. There was something nostalgic in his dark eyes. “Most of us here have some sort of troubled past- lets sugar coat it a bit. This whole building, on the levels we use., is like a constant Zen state. It calms us down unintentionally. How do I say this...” He turned towards his coffee, laughing out almost silently.

“Maybe it offers you the peace you couldn’t have on the inside, masking the pain from past trauma. A way to indirectly cope with all that had happened, offering a haven to heal the past.” Bruce was listening to you, taking in your way of thinking and how right you were about something that had always been in front of his eyes ,but he had never noticed it before. Such a young girl, so much pain in her manner. He couldn’t bring himself to ask you about the weight inside your voice. It felt too close for him to do so. He had just met you after all, it is not like he could just straight up ask you about all your deepest and darkest secrets, that you might be hiding underneath your mature façade.

“Well, enough about our depressing past.” He pushed off the table “Lets get you situated in your new place.”Dr. Banner began walking in the direction of the lab, turning towards you from time to time. He was make sure you were close by and not lost somewhere in this maze of halls, corridors and who knows what else Tony could have hidden in these walls, for some unsuspecting person to stumble upon.

“I am sadly not familiar with your work like Tony is. He told me about you literally a few hours before you arrived, so you would have to excuse me for that.” You nodded with a smile, accepting the apology he didn’t even need to speak of

“The lab is pretty big.” He unlocked the door and turned the lights on. It was exactly as he said and nothing like you had expected. The color pattern was the same tints, maybe a bit of blue mixed in as well, a dash of red. The tables and tech inside were state-of-the-art, high-quality and very well kept. Some weren’t even yet released or known to the public. Talking year 3054 up in here.

“This will be your desk, right next to me.”Bruce plopped onto his chair and waved at you “Hi, Hi.”

He gestured for you to get yourself as comfortable as possible, which you almost couldn’t wait to do. Your fingers gently ran over the material getting familiar with it. Just with one look you already knew where everything was going to go, like it knew it’s own home. You had a tech bay, where you could check how systems worked, if they didn’t and building anything. It was amazing, just an arm’s length distance was possibility and creation itself. Excitement boiled inside you, eyes wide. Reaching inside the bag, you pulled out your work computer, your project tablet and made sure they were all connected to the internet and matched the Stark system interface. As soon as you saw the company logo you were all set up.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.” the silence danced hand in hand with your voice

Yes Miss. Would you like a run down on the desk functions?

“Yes please.” In a matter of minutes you realized that this wasn’t just some random fancy desk ,but a whole machine of its own. Interactive hologram functions, building station and program 3D design. It had it all. Bruce was shocked how easy you worked with F.R.I.D.A.Y. , naturally taking a lead and informing yourself at 100% capacity about what you will be working with. For a second Tony flashed before his eyes.

“What made you apply here?” he cut your investigation “I don’t mean to be rude but I saw some of your pre-university work.”

“No problem. I was mostly out of the country for a very long time, maybe most of my life. When I came back the Avengers were something I loved watching on the news.” The praise went over Bruce’s head unnoticed “ There was something nostalgic when I looked at you guys. Mr. Stark’s tech, the way everyone fought with ease, I don’t know how to explain it. I craved that in my life, almost like a forgotten world I was striving to immerse myself back into. “ a gentle crook of the neck and a smile eased Bruce from the question

“Well you made it here, so congratulations.” loud joyous clapping followed his words” I think I am talking for all of us, we will love having you around. So-” His face became serious, glasses finding the bridge of his nose onto his face, eyes sharp “Would you like to start with your job here miss intern?” he winked playfully waiting to see your reaction. Like a mirror ,you pulled your hair away from your face, rolled up your sleeves and flashed back the same look of determination. “Introduce me to your train of thought and your projects.”

“I work mainly with the structure and characteristics of vibranium. At first, I was focused on making prosthetics that pack a punch the same way the Iron Man suits worked and Sergeant Barnes’s arm- of course on a smaller scale. But then my mind started drifting towards the process before amputation, which was for a certain percent of people the healing factor. Maybe inside strength as well. ”

“As in incorporating it into medical technology?” this sounded too simple of an idea coming for someone Tony chose, yet Bruce kept listening. He was judging the book by its cover way too soon.

“Not exactly. Vibranium has a metal crystal structure that possesses ‘memory’ the same way other metals remember being indented even after getting fixed or straightened eventually. My theory has a few parts before I reach the main plan. Going on an atomic level, even deeper to its base structure, I change the connections between the atoms. They have the same functions as in keeping the shape, but missing that molding memory.”

“You are saying you can mold the bonds, selecting freely what function to remove?” Bruce pushed back off his chair, letting the idea enter his ear and stay there, feeding the interest on his face.

“I am not saying I can.” he was listening more and more with each passing minute “I am saying I did it. I am in the final stages of my project.” Your hands pulled out a flat disk of vibranium “F.R.I.D.A.Y. would you do a double scan before and after I bend this?”

Affirmatively Miss. Scan done. Shall I offer a hologram?

“Please do.” Right between your two bodies you could now see the basics of the metal “ See how the bonds are thicker? I noticed, metal bonds just have to keep the shape of the crystal structure. Not only did I make vibranium stronger than it originally was, but now if I bend-it.” Your voice strained in pair with your muscles, as you folded and unfolded the sheet. The second scan showed no memory intake not even deformed the shapes “I call this metal healing.”

“That...that is amazing, not even a crease to be noticed! But where are you going with this?” Bruce rubbed his face, still shook from what you just showed him

“It might sound stupid, but this isn’t even my main idea. You see, if we look at matter as one and the same, things start to add up. Everything on a molecular level has no difference. Bonds, and atom-placement dictate what the object will be, look like and how it works- properties if you wish. I looked at vibranium and human flesh as different parts of one thing, which lead me to believe enhancing people could be done without super soldier serums.”

“That is… truly amazing, but won’t the testing period be a sadistic thing. We are not HYDRA thankfully.” As great as this was Bruce had a point here “Human experiments are not a politic the Avengers will ever lean upon. As fellow humans nonetheless.”

“I am not planning to make another Winter Soldier. I already have control over vibranium on levels outside and inside hyperspace.” You pulled out a bottle of metallic looking dust. The top unscrewed easy and you spilled the contents like heavy silvery snow all over the floor. “If I take quarks from the human body and use them to make 1 proton from the atomic nucleus, I can theoretically program it to answer to the human body using the unbroken rule of our system.”

Bruce blinked a few times understanding exactly where you were reaching “All work in favor of the body.” He said out loud, glasses sliding off his skin

“Exactly. If they get programmed correctly the metal will work for the body, under the command of the main system- the nerves and brain. Post that success I would be able to inject them with a liquid medium directly into the bloodstream. As they make their way to all parts of the body, they will get acquainted with the cells. I want to change them so they will be susceptible to hormones as well. Basically I want to make a metal compound that reacts like organic matter. It would be able, upon will, to pile around bones, create fibers, strengthening muscles ecc. Some could even carry other substances with them, or isolate toxic ones. Now their size and ability for diapedesis is still questionable. So far I can move them at a certain extend.” You swung your hand and the dust lifted off the floor cleanly in one swoop

“That is amazing!” Bruce pitched his voice after seeing the floating cloud “Are you using some kind of device ?”

“No, this dust was modeled after me, I am the only guinea pig so no one was harmed in the making. I have to say though, it was quite painful till I got it right.” You laughed out uneasy, scratching your arm

“ I could only imagine, taking your own tissue for this. What else could it do?”

“Well. I know that Mr. Stark isn’t into weapons anymore, so I pitched him the enhancing technique only. The dust’s only function right now sadly is shaping.” Your fingers danced as the vibranium cloud formed Captain America’s shield, before turning into a sword. “As long as I have enough information of structure, function and the way the object works I can make it.” Your footsteps were confidant and strong.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. the window if you please.”

Certainly Miss

The clicking sound of the metal around the glass flung the object open. Your hand reached outside and pointed towards the sky. “My uncle had a deep interest in weapons so naturally I learned as well by listening to him.” The dust wrapped around your hand and formed a Heckler Koch pistols. With the pull of the trigger you shot into the air, making Bruce jump from the sound.

“I am sorry about that, I should have warned you.” You giggled stepping in

“That is a completely functional firearm. His breath normalized as his body took him right up to you, running his hands over the gun “ This is, something I can’t even imagine.” Eyes scanning every inch of it looking like a perfect mold “How does it look so solid? Smooth, no trace of it even being made from any smaller particle. ”

“Oh that, intra-atomic pressure. Kind of like gravity times 100 or more. If I pitched this to Mr.Stark I think the selling point would have been…”your fingers gently pulled the weapon out of Dr.Banner’s hand as the vibranium flew from the outside to the magazine “ It doesn’t run out of ammo since I call it back at anytime AND once in the body I can infest it.”

“It could travel through the blood stream and form clumps in certain organs!” he gasped

“I could have gone a bit more sadistic with this one, but I will stop talking now.” You laughed out sending your project back to its jar, securely tightened up.

“How far is your limit? I mean is there a distance at which you can’t sense the partials, any mental fatigue or physical? You are amazing! This is something out of this world truly, no wonder Tony accepted your application. I wouldn’t be able to come up with anything closely resembling…wow.” He kept praising you each time his mouth opened

“Banner.” Light and confident footsteps accompanied the familiar playboy voice inside the lab

Welcome back Sir

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. medical bay on standby please.”

As you wish Sir

“I would appreciate it if you stepped back from my new intern and helped out a bit. We have injured coming in stat.” Tony waved his hand and Bruce pulled away from you, cleaning the couch on his side “You too miss intern. No slacking off just because it’s your first day. Treat it as orientation.”

“Yes Mr. Stark.” Panic rose up inside you again as you tried to follow what Dr. Banner was doing. Injured? Were the rest of the Avengers on a mission this whole time? It didn’t matter, you were mobilized as well and for a second it felt kind of cool, like you were also an agent fighting crime. The grunts and groans pulled you back to Earth as Captain America’s large frame stepped inside.

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jasons-exposedspine · 4 years ago

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I love you for who you are

Relationship: Negan x Reagan (MY OC)

other characters mentioned: Aaron and Lydia

Warnings:fluff, nerves of coming out, mentions of sexualities including pansexuality, bisexuality and gay.

A/N: Hey guys so Thursday is bi pride day so for that I wrote a one-shot of Negan coming out to Rae as bisexual. Now this is my opinion because I think that he’s bi but please don’t come for me. It’s just my opinion and I don’t care if you think its clapped or not I’ll respect your opinion so please respect mine. Hope you enjoy my lovelies!! HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!

It was the month of June and Rae was excited because it was pride month, Rae was a pansexual and she knew that many people in Alexandria were bisexual, lesbian, gay or other so she made a rainbow cupcake for Aaron, a bisexual cupcake for Lydia and a pansexual cupcake for herself and made a few extras for each. She had told Negan the night before and that she was excited he wasn’t because he wanted to tell her that he was bisexual but he was afraid to.

He didn’t know how she’d react to him coming out to her but he was gonna man up and tell her. He found her working in the garden amongst the flowers and when she saw him coming she wiped her hands on her jeans and stood up “hey baby” she kissed his cheek “hey yourself beautiful” she blushed cutely and moved a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Let’s go for a walk” she slipped her fingers through his and they walked across the street to the path in front of the joined houses as they walked she could feel how tense he was she knew something was wrong “Neegs what’s up you’re as tense as fucking wire” he stopped in his tracks. “I have to tell you something” she took his hands in hers “don’t be scared to tell me” she leaned up and kissed him “Rae I’m um” he paused and looked down and then back at her ‘grow some fucking balls’ he said to himself “Rae I’m bisexual.”

A smile spread on her face instantly “that’s awesome babe how long have you known?” He smiled he could finally breathe “since I was a teenager” she leaned up and kissed him “I kinda suspected” he tilted his head “how?” She cupped his cheek “well before we got together i saw the way you were eye fucking Rick so I kinda figured it out.” He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck “uh yeah” she caressed his cheek and her ice blue eyes met his hazel ones.

“Don’t be ashamed of who you are and I love that you’ve told me and I love you all the same and what can I say guys and girls and other genders are pretty hot” he chuckled. “If I’m being honest I did have the hots for Rick, but that was before I met your sexy ass” he pulled her to him and bit his lip “I mean you did eye fuck him a lot so you gave me a lot of bi vibes.” He kissed her and they continued walking “have you been with a guy before?” he looked at her as they walked “no I have had crushes on guys but I’ve never actually been with them if I’m being honest I’ve actually fucking wanted to be with a guy.” She rested her head on his shoulder “I understand where you’re coming from it’s not fucking easy because if you tell them and they’re straight then they’ll tell everyone else” he nodded “exactly.”

“I did kiss a guy once though” she looked up at him with a smile “ooh who was it?” he shook his head and laughed “he was just some random fucking dude in a club we were a little fucking drunk but he came over and kissed me and I remember liking it.” “I remember when I first kissed a girl it felt the same as kissing a guy, normal and good and I’ve been with trans males and females and they’re all awesome to be with.” “That’s what it was like for me when that guy kissed me it felt normal and good” she squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek “would you be offended if I said I really wanted to kiss Rick?” She looked up at him with a smile “no not at all I just think you’re aiming a little to high” he chuckled and rubbed small circles on her hand “you’re right as always” they ended up at Rae’s house and when they got inside Rae gave her husband a bisexual coloured cupcake. “Just remember I love you for who you are” she kissed him and shared the cupcake.

@negan-morningstar @negans-dirty-girl @smcc212 @daisysouthmoore @you-a-southpaw-doll @impala-dreamer @londoncapsule

#negan fanfiction #the walking dead negan #negan imagine #negan fluff

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gamergirl929 · 5 years ago

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Home (Lindsey Horan x Reader)

Anonymous Request: Could you do a Lindsey Horan where they met in France and got really close but sadly Lindsey then left for Portland. But now the reader is joining Portland. Also could you do it where the reader is really small and some cute fluffy moment thank you

REPOST BECAUSE A-FUCKING-GAIN MY FIC VANISHED FROM THE TAGS

The day Lindsey Horan left France, your heart went with her, the two of you becoming rather close over her time with the PSG, 4 years to be exact.

The two of you did everything together, so when Lindsey told you she was leaving for Portland, your heart broke, shattering into a million pieces a large amount of those pieces going with her when she left.

Though now, 4 years later you were about to reunite with your friend in the best way.

The two of you of course had stayed in touch, chatting daily, or if not daily every other day.

Now though, you were standing on her doorstep, devising a plan with her fellow USWNT teammates; Tobin Heath, Christen Press and Emily Sonnett, to surprise her.

Emily squealed, clapping her hands together excitedly.

“She’s going to be so happy.”

Tobin gives her a nudge, grinning, her best friend, Christen Press at her side.

“Shhh.”

Lindsey pulls open her apartment door with a grin and you duck down, sure not to be seen but with your small stature, it’s easy to hide.

“Come on in...” She steps aside, letting everyone in, but Tobin holds the door open.

“Go ahead, actually waiting on one more.” Tobin nods, Lindsey’s brows furrowing.

“Who?”

Tobin shrugs.

“You’ll see.”

Lindsey hums, her eyes narrowed.

“I don’t trust you.” She hums and Tobin scoffs.

Emily grabs Lindsey, dragging her into the apartment.

“Stand here, and keep those blue eyes on my beautiful face.” Sonnett grins, Lindsey rolling her eyes.

“Yes, because there’s nothing more I’d want to look at than your face.”

As the two bicker, Tobin waves you into the room, slowly clicking the door shut as you both move towards the woman whose back is to you.

Emily grins as she pats Lindsey’s shoulders.

“Well, I’ve kept you distracted long enough.”

Lindsey’s brows furrow as she turns around her blue orbs widening when she sees you.

“Y/N?” She whispers a tear leaking from her watery blue orbs and you grin, nodding.

Lindsey lunges at you, her arms wrapping tightly around your neck, yours wrapping around her middle as you pull her close.

“You’re here.” She whispers against your neck. “You’re really here.” She sniffles and you grin.

“I’ve missed you.” You whisper into her ear and the blonde lets out a watery laugh, sniffing loudly.

“I missed you too.”

The two of you part, neither going far as you rid one another’s cheeks of tears.

“What are you doing here?” She whispers, grinning as her eyes dart around your face.

You shrug.

“Just wanted to see my best friend...”

Lindsey hums, her eyes narrowing.

“You’re still the worst liar.” She giggles and you roll your eyes.

“Fine...” You glance behind you at Tobin, smirking. “I may have had some, ulterior motives.” You shrug, the forward’s brows arching.

You bite your tongue between your teeth, turning back to Lindsey.

“Wanted to check out Portland, since I’ll be moving here soon.” You smirk and Lindsey’s orbs widen.

“Wh-What!?” She squeaks and you grin.

“I’m joining the Portland Thorns.”

***

Lindsey INSISTED on you staying with her instead of getting your own apartment in no way taking no for an answer.

“Why get your own place when you can live with me, you don’t even need to bring anything! You’re so tiny you could sleep in a drawer anyway!” She exclaimed, arms flailing.

Naturally, your best friend was more than excited you were coming to Portland the woman quickly rattling off everything she wanted to do together.

Lindsey doesn’t realize you’d stopped walking until she glances behind her, her blue orbs narrowing.

“Hey where’d you go?” She asks and you smile, shaking your head.

“I really missed you.” You smile, cheeks flushing pink, something that’s mimicked on Lindsey’s.

“I really missed you too.”

She holds her hand out and you take it without any hesitation, your fingers intertwining.

The blonde gives your hand a squeeze and your cheeks darken, goosebumps sprouting on your arms.

“You cold?” Lindsey asks and you shake your head.

“No, I’m fine.” You blush the woman nodding as the two of you continue down the sidewalk.

Lindsey continues to ramble, flailing her arms around, along with your own considering your fingers are intertwined.

You missed the sound of her voice, the feel of her hand in your own, with the move you’d have your best friend back, but that also meant, it was harder to hide the crush you had on the blonde, something you’d kept buried deep inside since her time at PSG.

***

Ultimately, you had to go back to France to not only bid farewell everyone, but to also gather your belongings and tie loose ends.

After a teary goodbye with your family, friends and teammates, you were back on the plane headed to Portland.

Lindsey had been texting you non-stop, making sure you were safe and that you told your parents she loved them. Even on the plane ride your phone beeped again and again, the blonde rambling excitedly about the two of you living together.

You rubbed your hands together, it was going to be a long flight from France to California, but you were more than ready to start your new life with your best friend by your side.

***

The grin that spreads across your face when you see Lindsey waiting in the airport, Emily, Tobin, Christen and an addition in the form of Kelley smiling as you make your way towards them, Lindsey meeting you half way to wrap her arms tightly around you.

“I missed you.” She whispers in your ear and you grin.

“I missed you too.”

Kelley leans towards Emily.

“Wasn’t she gone for only a week?” She asks, the hazel eyed blonde grinning.

“Yep.”

***

“Jesus, you look beat.” Emily mumbles as you move through the apartment doorway with a lengthy and loud yawn.

“11-hour flight, and didn’t get much sleep thanks to the fact that the man next to me didn’t know how to use headphones.” You grumble, wandering to the couch and falling face down on it.

“Y/N, go get in my bed, I know you have crazy jet lag.” Lindsey makes her way towards you, running her hand down your back and you sigh, snuggling into the couch.

You mumble into the couch, Lindsey rolling her eyes as she scoops your up in her arms and carries you to her bed room.

“Thank you.” You whisper, your arms slipping around Lindsey’s neck.

“You’re welcome, let’s get you to bed.”

Lindsey disappears into her bedroom, leaving Emily, Kelley, Tobin and Christen in the living room, the four of them grinning at one another.

“She’s so into her, isn’t she?” Kelley whispers, Emily’s smile splitting into a grin.

“They’re into each other, without a doubt.”

Lindsey tiptoes into the living room, softly closing the door behind her. When she sees the look on everyone’s faces, her brows furrow.

“What?” She asks, the four women shrugging.

“Nothing at all.”

***

“Still a blanket hog.” Lindsey mumbles as she slips into bed beside you later that night, smiling at the peaceful, relaxed look on your face.

A piece of hair falls into your face and your nose twitches, your hand swiping at your face.

Lindsey giggles, tucking the loose strand of hair behind your ear with a light blush, the woman gasping when you grab her wrist.

“Linds...?” You rasp, your eyes still closed, brows furrowed.

“It’s be, go back to sleep.” She whispers and you grumble.

“Bonne nuit amour (Goodnight love).”

Lindsey smiles as you shuffle closer, burying your nose in her neck. Her arms slip around you and she sighs, the feel of you pressing against her after so many years making her melt.

“Goodnight Y/N.”

***

A couple weeks pass before the group gets together again, the USWNT wanting to see your skill, which of course, Lindsey had boasted about.

“Ohhhhhhhhhhh!” Emily cheers when you slot the ball between Tobin’s legs and fire it down field to Christen, the nutmeg Queen turning to you with a grin.

“Well, I like her.” Tobin shrugs, surprising you by pulling you into a headlock and ruffling your hair.

“That’s the Tobin initiation noogie, it’s how she shows love.” Emily grins, the forward turning her way with a grin. She pats the top of your head before running after Sonnett.

“No! No! No!” She yells, racing down field, but of course, Tobin catches up to her.

The sight of Emily’s hair after Tobin’s ‘initiation noogie’ makes you snicker, her hair poking out in random directions, where as yours is a bit messy.

You jump at the feel of a hand on your back and smile when you realize Christen Press is standing beside you.

“How does it feel to be in the US?” She asks and you smile.

“I like it so far, Lindsey’s been showing me around a lot...” You smile, watching as Lindsey joins in on wrestling Sonnett with Tobin.

“I bet it’s nice to be together again.” Kelley smirks, elbowing Christen, meanwhile your eyes are still on Lindsey, grinning when the at the sound of the blonde’s laughter.

“It is, really nice... I’ve missed her so much.” You blush when Lindsey glances your way, the blue-eyed blonde grinning.

Your brows furrow and you take a step back when Lindsey starts running towards you.

“Non (No)!” You yell, running down the field, Lindsey on your heels.

Her USWNT teammates watch as you quickly get away, thanks to your small stature, you’re incredibly fast.

Eventually though, Lindsey catches up to you, tackling to you to the ground, the blonde landing on top of you, pinning your wrists to the ground.

The blonde hovers over you with a grin, panting heavily as your Y/E/C orbs locking her sparkling blues.

She surprises you when, instead of getting off of you she lowers herself on top of you, burying her nose in your neck.

“Remember when we used to sneak out to the field after dark to look at the stars? We’d always cuddle.” She whispers in your ear and you beam, your cheeks pink.

“I remember, how could I forget? I was with you.” You admit, blushing when Lindsey pulls back, her blue orbs wide.

Lindsey blinks once, twice, a third time before they widen, realizing that the two of you have an audience, the blonde scrambling off of you.

She chuckles nervously, holding her hand out to you and you take it with a smile, the woman jerking you to your feet a little too hard considering you end up flush against her, the two of you blushing as you turn away from one another, your cheeks blood red.

Emily, Tobin, Kelley and Christen all share a glance, shaking their heads.

“Hopeless.”

You meanwhile turn back to Lindsey with a bashful grin.

“I couldn’t forget because it was time I spent with you...” You shrug, Lindsey turning back towards you with an arched brow, a small smile playing on her lips.

“I cherished every second of it.” You glance at your shuffling feet.

Lindsey slips her arms around your neck, pulling you close, your arms slipping around her middle.

“I cherish every second I spend with you.” Lindsey whispers and you grin, blushing when the woman kisses the top of your head.

“I’m ready to make more memories with you.” Lindsey whispers and you nod, nuzzling into get chest.

“Me too.”

Again, Emily, Tobin, Kelley and Christen share a glance, all smiles.

“Maybe not so hopeless after all.”

***

You flop on the couch letting out a lengthy loud yawn, your eyes fluttering shut.

After spending time on the field you’d all explored the city, Lindsey showing you some more of her favorite places.

Most of your attention though was focused on the fact that Lindsey had held your hand the entire day, your fingers intertwined, her thumb running gently along the back of your hand.

Lindsey takes your bags of takeout from the delivery person and places them on the kitchen counter, turning towards you with a grin, though when she sees your spaced out, faraway look her mouth snaps shut.

She’d noticed that look on your face a number of times that day, your Y/E/C orbs focused on something off in the distance.

“Are you... Uhhh...” Lindsey makes her way towards the couch and you turn to her, smiling when you see her face scrunch up in thought.

“D'accord (Okay)?” She asks and you snicker, remembering years ago when you’d taught her some French, you didn’t have the heart to tell her she was using it incorrectly.

“I’m okay, just thinking.” You shrug, your eyes locking with her bright blue orbs.

“About what?” She asks, taking a seat beside you on the couch.

You turn to her, shrugging.

“Everything I guess.”

Lindsey forgets the food entirely in favor of taking a seat beside you on the couch, eyes scanning you worriedly.

“What’s on your mind?” She asks, gently placing her hand on top of yours and your eyes widen, cheeks flushing.

“Everything is so new... And...” You turn towards her, your eyes darting around her face. “I missed you so much... And now living with you again, it’s just.” You shrug, cheeks flushing darker.

Lindsey’s blue orbs flick from your Y/E/C eyes to your lips and back.

“I’m just so happy you’re here.” She whispers, surprising you by cupping your flushed cheek.

She leans towards you and your freeze, your cheeks flushing.

A loudly chiming phones pulls the two of you apart, and Lindsey’s eyes widen.

“Uh, just a sec.” She stammers, jumping to her feet and moving back into the kitchen, her brows furrowed when she sees her phone’s screen.

Lindsey’s blue orbs go comically wide as she turns to you, realizing your phone has started chiming as well.

One look at your phone and your heart ceasing beating, multiple pictures of you and Lindsey exploring Portland, hand in hand covering your screen, each and every headline the same.

Is a new romance sprouting between newest NWSL Portland Thorn’s member Y/N Y/L/N and Portland Thorn’s veteran Lindsey Horan?

You swallow hard, your eyes again darting to Lindsey who you realize is now smiling softly.

“I mean we would be an NWSL power couple.” Lindsey shrugs and you smirk, a brow arched.

“Is this your way of asking me on a date Horan?” You tease, the blonde turning to you, her cheeks dusted pink.

Her mouth opens and closes a few times before snapping shut, the woman dropping her phone on the counter before making her way towards you.

“What if I were... To ummm...” Lindsey shuffles nervously and you smirk, watching the woman fidget and mumble nervously.

Slowly, you move to your feet, making your way towards the blushing, stammering woman.

“What if you were to what?” You ask, a brow arched and Lindsey swallows hard.

“Ask you on a... On a date?” She turns away and you lick your lips, your heart slamming in your chest, so hard you worry she may hear.

“Well I’d have to say yes.” You grin and Lindsey’s head perks up, her blue orbs wide.

“Seriously?!” She asks giddily and you laugh.

“Ye-Yeah.”

***

That’s how you end up on the field again a few nights later, your backs on the turf as you stare at the starry sky above you.

“Coming to the US was the best decision I ever made in my life.” You whisper and Lindsey turns to you with an arched brow.

You turn to her with a smile, your eyes darting to her parted lips.

“Why?” She asks, her eyes fluttering shut when you cup her cheek, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

You slowly lean in, your forehead resting against hers, your noses brushing.

“Because you’re here.” You whisper, the two of you meeting halfway to bridge the gap between you, your lips pressing softly together, meeting in a tender kiss.

Lindsey grins, her arms slipping around you as your lips move.

Eventually, the two of you part, neither going far as Lindsey pulls you closer, your bodies now flush.

Lindsey ducks down, kissing the top of your head.

“You coming to the US was the best thing that’s ever happened to me...” She whispers and you grin nuzzling against her collar bone.

“Because it brought you back to me...” She kisses the top of your head again and you sniffle tears stinging your eyes.

“It brought me home.”

#uswnt imagine #lindsey horan #lindsey horan x reader #lindsey horan imagine

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songfell-ut · 4 years ago

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Rrrrrrgh Chapter 18 rrrrgh

I had to re-insert EVERY GODDAMN LINE BREAK ARGH it also took out all the italics. I’ll get those in a minute ;_;

(Watch out for arachnophobia, angst, aaaaand smut~~)

For the eighth or ninth time, Frisk wished she had just said no. But she hadn’t, and she couldn’t back out now, so she kept walking, arms stiff at her sides.

At least she was almost there: she could hear rustling in the dark up ahead, and faintly musical sounds, like someone twanging a piano wire. Suddenly, her heel stuck on something, her shoe nearly coming off; the next moment, something else tickled her cheek. When she tried to brush it away, it wouldn’t come off her fingers. In the dim light, it looked like…a spiderweb?

There was a high-pitched giggle overhead, and more webbing dropped onto her shoulders. The child was yanked off her feet, pulled straight up until she slammed to a teeth-rattling stop in midair. Heart pounding, head spinning, Frisk tried to tug herself loose, but it was no use: she was caught in the bouncy, gluey strands of…

…a really, really big spiderweb. And where there was a really big spiderweb—

“Ahuhuhu~”

Frisk turned her head as far as she could, and uttered a raspy sound as her gaze met five huge, mirror-shiny black eyes. It was a spider monster in frilly bloomers, ribbons, and pigtails—surprisingly cute, except for its fangs. “My! Whatever do we have here?” The giant spider leaned in closer, and Frisk watched in fascination as her reflection flickered in time with the monster’s blinks. “What brings a bite-sized human like you to my parlor?”

The child couldn’t tear her eyes away from the spider monster’s eerie, fluid movements. It was balancing on the web, brushing crumbs off its sleeve, and dipping a pastry into a cup of tea it’d just poured for itself, all at once! “A-Are you Muffet?” she squeaked.

The spider smirked, nibbling daintily on her pastry. “That’s me, dearie. Did someone send you to find me?” Her face creased into a scowl. “If that skeleton told you it would be funny to disturb us, I swear I’ll—”

Something chittered, and Frisk couldn’t help squirming. Muffet gasped as a tiny shape emerged from the child’s collar. “Alphonse? Oh my goodness me! How did you get here?!”

Frisk shut her eyes tight as the little spider crawled the rest of the way out of her shirt, followed by another, and a few more, and then what seemed like a thousand others. She could feel a tickly procession streaming up her neck and along her arms onto the web, where they swarmed around Muffet, making rapid clicking sounds.

“They gave me a piece of paper asking for help,” the human explained, though the spiders were probably saying the same thing. “They were tired of the Ruins, but Snowdin is too cold, and it’s too expensive to get a heated carriage, so I gave some of them a ride to Hotland.”

All five of Muffet’s eyes sparkled, and she clasped two legs in pure joy. “Oh, what a sweet little morsel you are! You’ve saved us thousands of g, just like that!” Frisk heard more chittering, and found herself being eased free of the webbing and lowered gently until she was back on the sticky floor. “I’m so sorry if I frightened you, dearie—most humans have a nasty habit of squishing spiders, but I didn’t know how very kind you were toward us!”

“You’re welcome,” Frisk said, trying to pick the webbing out of her hair. The grownups had chopped almost all of it off before they left the castle; she’d hate for them to cut the webs out and make it look even worse. “My name is Kris. It’s nice to meet you.”

The spider-lady was ignoring her, listening to what sounded like dozens of little voices at once. She didn’t have eyebrows, but her upper three eyes wiggled in almost the same way. “Really, now?” She regarded Frisk with new interest. “You wouldn’t happen to be ten years old, would you, dearie?”

Where had that come from? None of the other monsters had asked her age. “Um…yes? I don’t know my real birthday, just the year.”

The spiders must have understood her, because the noise increased, and Muffet tittered louder than ever. “How interesting~”

“Why?” the child couldn’t help asking.

“Ohhh, nothing, just a bit of gossip.” Muffet hopped onto a higher strand of webbing, crossing a pair of legs and pouring herself more tea. “Would you like something to eat?” She indicated a table with a pile of iced cakes and a sign reading 9,999 G. “No charge, just for you.”

Was that a spider leg sticking out of the frosting? “I’m full, thank you,” Frisk lied.

“Suit yourself, dearie.” For someone without any lips, the monster could slurp her tea quite loudly. “The spider clans don’t communicate with each other nearly as often as we should, but when someone manages to get here from the Ruins, they tell the most fascinating stories. Like the humans’ last visit here, eleven years ago—did you know that your King came with them? Supposedly, it was a group of minor nobles discussing repairs to the border fence, but no one notices spiders – except you, of course – and they hear all sorts of things behind closed doors~”

The child frowned. “The King was here?” She didn’t think he’d ever been to the Underground; she’d just been glad he hadn’t come on this trip, though she was sorry the Queen was sick. It would’ve been so nerve-wracking to have to behave around him!

“He certainly was.” Muffet licked a drop of tea from the fine hairs on her forelimb. “Yes, the King paid us a secret visit, and poor Chara was never the same afterwards. There was quite a commotion, you know, after he’d been gone a little while. They had to take her all the way to the Ruins so no one would hear her s—”

There was a familiar chuckle behind Frisk. “ahh, muffet. putting the spy in ‘spider,’ huh?” Sans held out his hand, and Frisk gladly took it. “yeah, i dunno what she’s talking about, either. c’mon, kiddo, you shouldn’t be here. time to have a ferry good ride back.”

“On the contrary,” Muffet said haughtily, “this wonderful child is welcome in my parlor any time. I would love to have her over for lunch!” Two sets of arms clapped their hands. “Go on home, dearie. Come and see me again sometime soon.”

“man. you got a knack for making friends, ya know that?” Sans remarked as they stepped around the webs lining the floor. “i didn’t think she liked anyone who wasn’t rich, or fattening.”

Frisk didn’t answer. The corridor had just enough bare, echoing surfaces for her to hear the last of Muffet’s conversation. “Not a word to anyone,” the spider was telling her family, or minions, or whatever they were. “I—what? …Why, yes, he would pay for that information. What a splendid idea! We could even give him a discount! Those glasses are so cute~”

Frisk and Sans looked at each other, shrugged, and moved along to thinking up spider puns to unleash on Pap. It didn’t occur to Frisk until much later that Muffet had said “her”—the smaller ones hadn’t gotten that far under her clothes, had they?

Ah, well. She figured spiders must not know much about human pronouns, and they probably said strange, random things to everyone. It was nothing to worry about.

Many years later, Frisk would remember that and wish she could smack her younger self upside the head. Not only was it racist, it was very incorrect, not to mention ungrateful. Spiders knew damn well what pronouns were, and nothing Muffet had said to her was random. She hadn’t even charged her for it…

The hotel attached to Mettaton’s resort was unbelievably crowded that evening, the air warm and full of amazing smells. Sans had materialized by the fountain in the lobby, figuring it was long enough after dinnertime that there wouldn’t be too many people around. This turned out to be hilariously wrong: the line was still two or three deep at the food counter, the queue winding up and down the room and ending nearly out the doors. There wasn’t enough space for one boss monster to just appear out of nowhere, much less two, but here they were.

“My. Do you think they’ve gotten a room?” Toriel asked dubiously, releasing his arm and nodding to the monsters scrambling out of their way. “Should we check with the front desk?”

Sans glanced around, then relaxed and let his SOUL point him in a direction, like giving a hunting dog a scent to follow. Sure enough, his feet started toward the restaurant on the left side of the resort. “This way,” he grunted.

Luckily, at their size, they didn’t have much trouble getting through the crowd. Nor did they have to say anything to the restaurant’s maître d’: he took one look, bowed so deeply that he almost fell over, and walked ahead of them to harass the seated monsters out of their way.

They soon reached the far end of the room, where Frisk was holding court at a small table with Alphys, Undyne, Mettaton, and a few others. To Sans’ delight, she had perched on the back of a heavy chair, confidently projecting her voice over the other diners. “So I finished the introduction, she came out onstage, and what did she do? She froze right there in front of everyone,” the human said, gesturing with her champagne glass.

This got quite a reaction. “Oh, please,” Mettaton said with a groan.

“Ha!” Undyne thumped the table. “Served her right! What’d you do?”

“I peeked out from behind the curtain, and I looked at her, and I went—” Frisk closed one eye and opened the other as wide as possible, flashing a demented smile, and the monsters cracked up. “She almost started laughing, and it was perfect, because that was where the Queen was bragging about how much everyone loved her!”

“Good evening, everyone,” said Toriel, walking ahead of Sans to join the others. “Forgive me, but, what was this?”

Cries of welcome rang out. “Good evening, Lady Toriel! I was telling them about my friend Mathilda,” explained Frisk.

Standing on the periphery, Sans drank in the sight of his human seated among the monsters, looking adorably tiny by comparison, but completely at home. She was more animated than he’d ever seen her at the castle, her eyes bright and hands in constant motion as she talked. It was everything they’d both hoped for when they came here.

And speaking of drinks, he also had to note all the open bottles of wine and other adult beverages around the table. He remembered ordering several crates of them, but he’d assumed they would be consumed at a slower rate than this; monsters couldn’t handle alcohol as well as most humans. Come to think of it, neither could Frisk.

Mettaton had gotten up to greet Toriel, and was bowing her into his seat; Sans was impressed with his manners until the automaton turned and shooed Alphys out of her chair so he could take it.

Justice came swiftly: Undyne waited for Mettaton to get comfortable, then kicked him under the table hard enough to make a metallic clang. “Never mind him. Here,” she said to Alphys, holding her arm out and patting her lap.

Toriel cleared her throat, and the scientist turned about five shades of reddish-orange. Practical as ever, Undyne got up to grab a chair from another table instead, ignoring its irate former occupant and cramming it between her seat and Frisk’s. “Ta-da!”

When Alphys was happily settled, Toriel gave the automaton and the Royal Guard Captain reproachful glances. “Your friend Mathilda?” she prompted.

Frisk smiled. “Yes, from St. Brigid’s. She wanted me to narrate the part of the spring pageant where she was playing the Queen—have you heard of The Sun Cycle?”

Toriel accepted a glass of red wine from the waiter. “The allegory about the two sisters? Of course. Did Mathilda have a case of stage fright?”

“Right after she spent ten minutes straight telling me not to be shy.” Frisk made another face. “I teased her about that for years.”

Toriel chuckled. “And rightfully so.”

Sans was busy staring at Frisk when she suddenly looked straight at him. “Sans?” He jumped, then scowled self-consciously as she shifted her weight. “I hate to make you stand there—is there anywhere he can sit?” she asked the group.

There was a general murmur and scooting-out to make room, but Sans waved his hand. “Nah, don’t worry about it. ‘s what I get fer bein’ late to the party,” he muttered.

The priestess frowned a little. “Well, if you’re sure…” She indicated a green jug on the table. “You wanted to try some hard cider, didn’t you? Now’s your chance.”

“’m fine,” he said gruffly, and she gave him a short nod before Mettaton reclaimed her attention with a question about human seating etiquette.

Sans wanted to smack himself on the cranium. Typical Frisk: she was mad at him, but still didn’t want him be to left out. Well, neither did he! It physically hurt to keep himself from going over and petting her hair, tucking that one bit behind her ear, asking how she was feeling…

Yeah, this whole staying-apart thing wasn’t fucking working. If he couldn’t have some time alone with her soon, he was going to throw her over his shoulder and teleport them both far, far away, which would probably look a little suspicious. What would it take to—

Alphys coughed. “S-So did the rest of the pageant go all right?”

Frisk sipped her champagne. “Oh, yes. I’ve always loved that story, and I didn’t have to be onstage, so I—” She paused and held the empty glass out, and another waiter swooped in to refill it. “Thank you.” Sip. “It was wonderful. We had a five-piece orchestra playing along, and the Queen’s song, ‘Daylight’s Lament,’ actually brought people to tears.”

Sans wasn’t thinking very straight, or else he would known better than to say, “Is that the mopey thing you’re always singin’?”

Everyone turned toward him, and he shrank back at the priestess’ expression. “Are you a musician, Frisk?” Toriel asked around her refilled wineglass.

“Yes, I was in the choir at school,” the human said, giving Sans a significant look. “The Sun Cycle had just been adapted into a musical, and we all nagged our teachers until they let us perform it.” She grinned ruefully. “It was the best political training I’ve ever had. If you want to delve into the darkest side of human nature, just tell a group of teenage girls that only one of them gets to play the Queen.”

They all laughed, though no one disagreed. “And Mathilda got it?” Sans asked, just to contribute.

“Yes, she did,” Frisk replied. Her feet swung back and forth a few times, drawing his attention again. “She tends to get what she wants.”

Trying to distract himself, Sans remembered something and asked, “Isn’t she the one who’s gonna replace you?” They looked at him in surprise, and he added, “Y’know, if you ever decide ta quit?”

That earned him another glare. “Yes, if I ever do. The only reason I became High Priestess and not her was that my magic was stronger. Otherwise, she’d have been perfect.”

“Now, now. I would think—no, I know that you’re doing an excellent job,” Toriel said warmly, and the priestess ducked her head.

“Wait a sec.” Undyne banged her mug on the table, startling Alphys. “Didn’t you say somebody tried to kill you ‘cause you’re the High Priestess? Aren’t you worried someone’ll come after her, too?”

“Well…not really.” Frisk made a complicated gesture. “It may sound cold, but you’ve never met Mathilda. She doesn’t have time to be assassinated. If the Church didn’t pay for a half-dozen guards everywhere she went, she’d just hire them herself and go about her day.”

“Nice,” said Undyne, but despite Frisk’s light tone, Sans wasn’t so sure about the way she was frowning into her champagne glass. Did she feel guilty for being so cavalier about her friend’s safety?

…No, that wasn’t it. He had a sudden attack of insight: Frisk wasn’t only in danger because she was the High Priestess; she was also in the way of people who profited off monsters. Did Mathilda have different views on the subject – maybe more safe or conventional ones – that would keep her from being targeted?

What about the person who had paid to keep Frisk safe? He still had to tell her about that, too, assuming he ever got the fucking chance!

That was enough of that topic. What else could they talk about? “How’d it go in the lab today, Al?” he asked.

This time, they all looked at him as though he’d thrown dog turds onto the table, and a couple of the other monsters actually got up and left. His stupid, tired, frustrated mind took a second to catch up: everyone knew that Alphys had been testing Frisk’s magic, and as much as they liked and hopefully trusted the human by now, they didn’t want to hear about her barriers.

“Um…” Alphys fidgeted with her mug of spiced cider. “You were r-right. I couldn’t even quantify how much f-force she could potentially withstand. It’s honestly still hard to believe.”

“Yeah, it turns out she’s even better than we thought,” Undyne said defiantly, and raised her mug. “Toast: to Frisk being on our side!”

Frisk raised her glass in reply, downing the rest of the champagne in one gulp, and everyone with a drink quickly followed suit. As the waiter came back for more refills, Sans nodded his thanks to Undyne; she stared at him, then drew her thumb across her throat to indicate that he was dead. He shrugged, agreeing that that was fair.

Alphys fidgeted again. “Actually, Sans, I’d like to t-talk to you about that sometime soon. Alone, m-maybe?”

The skeleton blinked. “Uh…okay.” Now that a few chairs were empty across from Frisk, he walked over to shove them aside and sit down on the floor, putting his eye level only a foot or two below the others. Why would Alphys need to talk to him alone? If she wanted more data, why not include Frisk? He’d have to find out later.

Undyne scowled, half-turning to drape her arm over Alphys’ shoulders; the lizard monster turned a few more colors, then leaned into her. Good for them, thought Sans, with only a twinge of jealousy. “I remember when I was a kid and I used to snoop around in my parents’ room,” Undyne continued. “My mom got fed up and told me there was a human hiding in her closet. Not only did I stop sneaking in there, I’d run past their door to get to my room!”

Sans forced himself to join in the laughter. “Poor Pap,” he remarked. “When he was a kid, I got him that pirate bed, and he wouldn’t stop jumpin’ on it in the middle of the night. I didn’t wanna take it away, so I said there was a human under it ‘n Pap was gonna wake him up.”

“Sans,” Frisk scolded him, but she was smiling now.

“It’s true,” he said gleefully. “The next night, I found him makin’ a decoy to throw into bed so he could go hide in the closet.”

Undyne guffawed, and Toriel shook her head, though she was also smiling. “That poor child! Tell me he isn’t still sleeping in the closet, Sans!”

“He’s not. I made a big deal about talkin’ with the librarian and finding out humans are scared of books about Fluffy Bunny. We read one every night from then on, and whaddya know? The human never got ‘im,” the skeleton said proudly.

They laughed again, and the last of the tension dissipated. “Speakin’ of Papyrus, where is he?” Sans asked, feeling guilty for not noticing sooner. “Hope I didn’t miss ‘im on his way home.”

Mettaton couldn’t drink, so he had spent most of the conversation checking his face paint; he sighed theatrically, putting the mirror away in his chest compartment. “He got drunk already, the poor dear. I sent him upstairs to sleep it off.”

Sans didn’t have to fake a grin. “Makes sense. It only takes half a mudslide to get him started tellin’ everyone how bad my jokes are, and tellin’ the jokes ta prove it, and then gettin’ mad that he knows all my jokes by heart.”

“A ‘mudslide’?” Frisk repeated.

“Yep. ’s one of Grillby’s finest cocktails: magic ‘n mud.”

The human looked puzzled. “By ‘mud,’ you mean…?”

“Wet dirt,” Sans clarified.

“…You…drink…?” Frisk couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. “What does that even taste like?”

Pause. “Mud.”

More laughter. Frisk’s nose was wrinkled, but she was still smiling; that was enough for Sans.

He didn’t want to ruin the mood by saying something else stupid, so he nodded to her and turned to survey the now-half-empty room. It must have been pretty late, because the maître d’ wasn’t letting anyone else in. The nearest table had just one person, and—

It was sitting there, out of nowhere, legs dangling over the side of the table. The demon-child locked eyes with Sans, hands resting on the knife in its lap, and it grinned.

Sans stared back at it, paralyzed. Through the fog of shock and terror, there arose a single thought: Are you fucking serious?! I don’t need this right now!

The thing shook its head. It looked meaningfully at their table – at Frisk – and back at him. It raised the kitchen knife, pointing at the side of its own head, and made a circling motion.

Sans managed to twitch with sheer rage as he recognized that childish gesture. The little bastard had come all the way here to tell him Frisk was crazy?

Its grin faded into a faint, superior smile. It lowered the knife and tapped on its sternum three times. Then it shifted around to face the human; to Sans’ bewilderment, it sat cross-legged and leaned forward on its elbows, ruby eyes glued to Frisk, as if waiting for a play to begin.

What was it doing? …Why was it doing? He had the feeling that it genuinely wasn’t interested in him for the moment. What did it think Frisk was going to—

“Sans?” Her voice snapped him out of it; the skeleton found he could move again. “What’s the matter?”

“Uh…” He looked at her, then back at the demon. It was gone now, of course. “Nothin’.” He glanced back and forth a couple of times just to be sure. What the hell was that about? The thing wanted to tell him that Frisk was nuts and Sans should check her SOUL? But…

Sans shook himself, turning to size up the room. Everyone was slightly to moderately tipsy, but relaxed, probably ready to call it a night soon. There was absolutely no sign of danger anywhere; even if there was, Sans couldn’t imagine a threat too big for him, Toriel, Undyne, and Frisk.

To hell with that thing. He wasn’t going to ogle her SOUL for no reason in front of everyone; somebody would notice and give him crap for it, she’d get embarrassed, and he’d have yet another thing to make up to her.

Toriel took a bottle of wine directly from a passing waiter and poured herself another glass. “Where are you staying tonight, my child?”

The human brushed her hair behind her ear. Sans glanced at her, and his spine stiffened: she was looking right at him, her finger tracing the edge of her choker. “My things are still at Sans and Papyrus’ house, so I was planning to stay in Snowdin tonight at the inn.”

The skeleton tried to hide his sudden jubilation. She was telling him she’d have her own room, which meant some damn privacy at last! He’d have a chance to tell her things and apologize for being stupid about the chessboard, and then…choker, and—

“Whaaat? You have an entire new wardrobe upstairs, and you want to go all the way back to that smelly wasteland?” Mettaton complained. Sans gritted his teeth as the automaton reached over to play with Frisk’s hair, sweeping it up with one gloved hand. “You know, darling, if you’d let me put this up for you, it wouldn’t keep getting in your way. Why don’t you stay here another night so we can figure it out?”

“I’ll be fine, thank you,” Frisk said tartly, pushing his arm away.

Mettaton pouted. “But what about—”

“She said no, dipshit,” Sans snarled. “Not everyone has time to play dress-up.”

“Oh?” drawled the automaton. He sized up the giant skeleton and flashed a literally pearly-white smile. “I see. Well, if she absolutely must stop in at your hovel, be sure she has everything she needs. You know, her clothes, a few midnight snacks…plenty of socks?”

Undyne and Alphys nearly spat their drinks across the table. Sans twitched as though he’d been poked in the SOUL—which, in a way, he had. “Ya wanna die, ya friggin’ piece of—”

“Be nice, children,” Toriel mumbled. She covered her mouth for a massive yawn, nearly dropping her wineglass. “Speaking of wardrobes, Frisk, I had enough time after my nap this afternoon to go through Chara’s old clothes. I found several things that should fit you. Why don’t you stay over another night so we can try them on?”

The human’s face was still red. “No, thank you, Lady Toriel,” Frisk said over the faintest murmur of “Socks” and barely-suppressed snickering.

The former Queen sighed, too far gone in memory – and alcohol – to notice. “It would be so cute to see you in those dresses,” she murmured. “We can hem them up if we need to. You’re about the same size she was at…goodness, fourteen or fifteen!”

“Yes, childhood malnutrition will do that.” Frisk accepted yet another refill from yet another waiter. “My mother took no care of me.”

“You poor thing.” Toriel shook her head. “How I wish you could have stayed and grown up here! We would never have neglected you like that.”

Undyne sighed, propping her head on one fist. “Yeah, that would’ve been amazing.”

Mettaton also sighed, lacing his fingers together and resting his head on them. “For once, darling, we agree. She should know at least five times as many dances as I’ve taught her.”

Toriel hiccuped. Sans had always heard that drunk people did that, but never seen it for himself. “And she could’ve sang for us, too. My poor little angel—such a wonderful child!”

Frisk smiled, until Toriel went on, “Yes, I’ll always miss Chara. Did you ever get to meet her, Frisk?”

No answer. Sans’ backbone prickled; he checked the other table, but the demon wasn’t there. He glanced at Frisk, and to his alarm, she was almost literally vibrating with tension.

Alphys was also squinting at the human, as if checking her. Whatever she saw made her eyes go wide, and she signaled frantically at Sans. “So, Frisk,” he said, too loud.

She looked up, startled. “Uh,” he said. Crap. Now he had everyone’s attention, and he had to say more words. This time, though, he made himself think first, settling on a topic so safe and dull that nothing bad could possibly come of it. “I just remembered—when I was passin’ stuff out with the Royal Guard earlier, we found a couple small discrepancies in the list,” he said casually. “I made some notes about it. Can you and Tori take a look real quick?”

“Of course. I’m sure it’s fine, though,” Frisk said, giving him another smile. Then, as he started to reach into his coat for the invoices…

It was the tiniest movement, and he just barely caught it. She took too large a drink and slopped champagne onto the corner of her mouth, which she chose to lick off slowly, eyes on his.

Sans would think of that moment and berate himself for years afterward. For one thing, he didn’t know or care how openly he was staring at her, or who was watching; more importantly, his hand kept moving while the rest of his mind did a belly-flop into a mire of absolute lust, all his resources suddenly diverted to socks and lace chokers and that cute little mouth…desperation to run his hands all over her again and find out if she still had that weird blood thing going, what her exact criteria were for it being the right time to—

Left to manage on its own, his hand knew only that it was supposed to get something for her out of his pocket. It encountered the papery thing he needed, and then another thing it knew was for her, and dutifully pulled both things out. He didn’t have enough concentration to use magic and send the invoices directly to her, so he tossed them onto the table with a solid thmp. “Pass that t’ Frisk, wouldja?” his mouth said.

A couple shreds of conscious thought worked themselves free, wondering why the papers had gone thmp. Paper wasn’t supposed to go thmp. What had he…

Oh. It was the heavy golden envelope, the one with the King’s letter for her.

On the table.

…With her full name on the front.

Right by Undyne, who was reaching to pick it up, just like he’d asked.

Time slowed to a crawl. Icy dread swept over him, and he raised his hand, knowing it was too late—Undyne had handed over the invoices and was already saying, “Heyyy, what’s this, boss?” Before he could stand up or regroup his magic, the Royal Guard Captain flipped the envelope around to read the calligraphy. “Fancy! Is it a love letter for—”

She stopped. Sans’ SOUL shrank to nothing as the fish monster’s brows drew together. “Hey. Your Majesty?” she asked, raising her voice.

Toriel finished her drink, trying to set her glass down and missing the table entirely. “Yes, Captain?”

Undyne gave a puzzled half-smile. “Did you adopt Frisk or something?”

Frisk looked up from the invoices. The goat monster glanced at her, then chuckled. “Why, no, not that I’m aware of.” Toriel was smiling, too, clearly waiting for a punchline.

Sans snatched at the envelope with a burst of red magic and shoved it into his pocket. “Hey, Frisk! Guess what? Time ta go!”

Frisk started, and had to catch herself before she fell off the chair. “What? Why do—”

“Then how come she has your last name?” asked Undyne.

Silence. Toriel and Undyne were awkwardly smiling, each waiting for the other to speak and growing more confused as the seconds ticked by.

Alphys frowned, then peered at Frisk, who was staring at the panicky skeleton. “Sans,” the human said softly. “What is she talking about?”

Sans was still sitting on the floor, and couldn’t get up; he felt sick as Frisk stepped down from her perch and came over to him. “What do you have there?” she asked, even softer.

His hand moved on its own again to pull out the envelope. “’s a letter,” he mumbled. “I was gonna give this to ya later, when we talked about—”

Frisk snatched the envelope and turned it over. He forced his sockets to stay open as her face went pale, then stark white. Slowly, her head lifted until their eyes met. “I didn’t mean ta get it out yet,” he said helplessly. “It was an accident. I’m—”

“Where did you get this?” she asked carefully. “When did you get this?”

“Yesterday. From…from Dr. Serif. He met me in the village to help get all the stuff ready, and the King gave it to ‘im ‘cause he thought you’d be—”

“This is from my father?” Frisk stared at the dark-gold calligraphy, then at him. Sans just stared back, letting his silence speak for itself.

Alphys squinted one more time at Frisk’s chest. Then she bolted from her seat, skittered around the table to Mettaton, and latched onto his arm. “You need to get everyone out of here! Right now!” she hissed.

The automaton quirked a lacquered eyebrow at her. “Are you joking? This is the most—”

“I said now!”

Toriel and Undyne watched Mettaton scramble out of his chair, leap straight into the middle of the room, and strike a pose. “Hello, beauties!” he called to the remaining twenty or so diners, giving Alphys a nervous glance. “This is your lucky night! We’re going to have a scavenger hunt, and the prize is me—one candlelit dinner with yours truly! Follow me to Paradise!”

Alphys breathed a sigh of relief as the monsters trooped out, dragging the waiters and the protesting maître d’ with them, and the doors slammed shut. The royal scientist gestured to Toriel, then Undyne, who had come around to their side of the table. “We should leave, too,” Alphys said urgently.

“What?” The goat monster frowned at her, and at Frisk, whose shoulders had hunched. “Are you all right, my chi—”

“Yes!” They jumped as Frisk whipped around, clutching the envelope to her breast, giving them a dreadful smile. “Yes. Yes, I…I’m fine. I just need to—” She gulped. “Never mind. I have to talk to Sans.” She held her hand out. “Let’s go.” He didn’t move, and she said desperately, “Now? Please?”

A tiny quiver of fear ran through him, and not just because he, personally, was in an absolute world of shit. He could feel the air around Frisk grow heavier, and for the first time in a long time, his instincts were urging him to back away. Her magic was building rapidly, as if she was getting a barrier ready, but she wasn’t doing it on purpose. What did she—

Oh, crap. Not only were they Underground, where magic was naturally stronger than above, she was already at least a little drunk, and tired, and…well, “upset” would not begin to cover the fallout of his slip-up. Was Alphys worried something would happen? But…

Just to be sure, Sans took a long look at Frisk’s SOUL. For a second, he thought something was wrong with his vision, or he was just out of practice; then he realized that, for once, he was not the problem.

Her SOUL was a goddamn mess. It shone as bright and beautifully red as when he’d first seen it, but where it had been rock-solid with determination, it now looked more like a snowglobe that kept getting shaken up before the glitter had a chance to settle. Magic was seeping through her skin and beginning to tint the air around her, and if she was aware of it, she wasn’t even trying to control it.

Fuck. Alphys had been smart enough to keep an eye on Frisk’s SOUL when she started getting agitated about Chara—had the scientist noticed some instability when she was testing the human’s magic? Either way, she’d been scared enough to have Mettaton clear the room.

But it wasn’t as if the monsters should be scared of Frisk, was it? Sure, she seemed pretty volatile right now, but she was still Frisk! She would never hurt anyone! At least, not on purpose…

Sans couldn’t help glancing at the other table. Sure enough, the demon-child was back, grinning and clapping its hands in sheer delight. “Told you so,” it said gaily.

Undyne coughed. “Uh…Frisk? Why’d your dad call you that?”

Frisk gestured one more time, and Sans made himself look at her hand with a grim, apologetic shake of his head. His SOUL wanted to tear loose and go hide at the way her face contorted. “You’ve gotta calm down, kid,” he said quietly. He didn’t know how to explain in front of everyone that her magic was too thick for him to teleport her anywhere without touching her, and doing so right now would singe him down to the bone—probably straight through it. “Please,” he added.

The priestess let her hand drop. She closed her eyes in resignation, pinching the bridge of her nose. “He called me that because I’m illegitimate, and I have to use my mother’s name.”

Pause. Sans shuffled back a little as Frisk’s eyes opened again, taking in the monsters’ blank faces. “Oh, for God’s sake! Do I need to spell it out for you?” She brandished the envelope at them: FRISK DREEMURR. “That was Chara’s last name, and she was my mother!”

The world stopped for a moment. Sans watched Toriel, breathless, painfully aware that her reaction was the one that really mattered. If she took Frisk seriously, then the priestess could probably recover her equilibrium and work through some of her feelings. If she didn’t—

Toriel was frowning in bewilderment. Then…she started to smile, and Sans’ SOUL shrieked in panic: Nonono, don’t do it, don’t—

The former Queen gave a polite little laugh. “I’m…sorry, my child, but…there must be some mistake.”

The air crackled, not loud enough yet for the others to hear. Frisk gripped the letter harder, still holding it at arm’s length. “Why do you say that?” she asked, too calm.

“Well…” Oh, crap. Now Undyne was smiling, too, only stopping when Alphys yanked on her sleeve. “Sorry,” the Captain said, “but c’mon. Chara never even had any kids!”

“Yeah, she did,” said Sans, and the women looked at him in astonishment. Frisk’s arm fell to her side as he continued, “The humans who visited ‘bout twenty-four years ago had their King with ‘em, and he knocked her up. She hid it till the last second, ‘n then she gave birth in the Ruins so no one would see anything.” He glanced at Toriel. “Right?”

It was hard to say who was the most shocked. “I thought Chara had me after she left the Underground! You mean I was born here?” demanded Frisk.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” barked Undyne. She looked at Toriel, whose eyes were huge, hands pressed to her mouth. “I-I mean—” The fish monster turned to Alphys. “Don’t humans get really big and weird when they’re pregnant? Wouldn’t we have noticed something?”

“Not n-necessarily,” Alphys said, fiddling with her claws faster than ever. “It depends on the individual, and how the baby d-develops. Besides, it’s not as if we had other humans to compare her with. She could’ve just w-worn thick clothes and stayed out of sight.”

“Huh.” Undyne stared at the floor. “Now that you mention it, she did spend a few months cooped up in the house before she left. But—”

“Where did you hear this, Sans?” None of them had ever heard Toriel sound like that, her gentle voice lowered to an almost bestial snarl. “Who told you?”

Sans grimaced. “You guys cleared everyone out of the Ruins, but you didn’t get all the spiders. They saw what happened, an’ they heard her tell you who the dad was.”

Toriel’s mouth fell open. “Spiders?”

“Yep. Some of ‘em made it over to Hotland while Kris was here, and they told Muffet, an’ she wound up sellin’ the story to Grillby. I don’t think he ever told anyone else. He just likes knowin’ stuff.” The skeleton scratched the back of his skull. “When I asked him ‘bout Chara the other day, he told me everything. I just never got a friggin’ chance to talk to Frisk about it.”

Another long pause. Was it his imagination, or was the air getting hotter? The priestess was only a few feet away, and though he didn’t have the courage to look at her again, that side of his body was tingling very unpleasantly.

Toriel’s face had hardened, her arms folded at the waist. “Be that as it may, it proves absolutely no connection between her and Chara.”

God damn it. “No, they didn’t know for a fact that Frisk was her kid. But her age matched up, and a bunch of the spiders who rode with her were right next to her SOUL for a few hours. They said she had a buttload of magic, and it smelled like the Underground—way more than any human’s should.”

“It would explain how she’s so powerful,” mused Alphys. “With the capability to use magic from her f-father’s side, and being c-conceived and gestated here, she probably started accruing it before she was even born. She’s already proven that she can convert a monster’s power for herself, so…”

“Holy shit,” whispered Undyne. “So Chara really did have a kid?”

“Yes, she did,” the former Queen said tightly. “We just thought she was ill and shutting herself away for a while. She didn’t tell us how Stephin had betrayed our hospitality until she was nearly in labor, and she begged us not to tell any of the other monsters.” Toriel was gripping her own sleeves hard enough to puncture the fabric. “We gave her two months to recover, and then Asgore sent them both to Stephin. The baby wasn’t very strong, but Asgore was afraid that if we kept her here, Stephin would think we were holding his child hostage.”

No one answered, and Toriel swallowed hard. “A few weeks later, Chara returned to us in agony. Stephin had just become engaged to another woman, and he refused to break it off. The baby had become sick after leaving the Underground, and when Chara started preparing for the journey back here, she…the child didn’t make it home.” The former Queen wiped her eyes with the side of her hand. “I am sorry, Frisk, but there is no way you could be—”

“Yes, there is,” Frisk said, sounding oddly detached. “Chara lied to you. I didn’t die—she left me with a wet nurse and paid her to be my foster mother.”

Sans wanted to dive out of the way as Toriel took a step toward the human, Undyne and Alphys also shrinking back. “You mean to tell me,” the goat monster said, deathly quiet, “that my daughter knowingly abandoned her child and deceived her family?”

“Yes. She did.” Frisk was standing firm, but the monsters could see the haze coming off her like a golden mist; Sans traded looks with Undyne, who pulled Alphys closer. “If you really think it’s impossible for me to be Chara’s daughter, why did you ask my exact age?” the human demanded. “Why did you want to know how old I was when I first visited, and why did Asgore ask Sans the very same thing? You knew Chara had had a baby girl ten years before the delegation arrived, and then you found out Kris was a girl. Were you wondering if I was actually—”

“No!” They flinched at Toriel’s sheer vehemence. She gritted her teeth, trying to control her temper. “It was all Asgore’s fault. When Chara returned to us, he had the temerity to accuse her of lying about her child’s death. He told her she was not welcome unless she brought the baby back with her! Of course we didn’t see her again for ten years!” Smoke drifted from between her fingers as she wiped her eyes again. “I still don’t know how he could have done something so cruel, or how he told you about it, but my only regret is that I ever considered the possibility for a single second! I know you are both wrong!”

Frisk’s eyes narrowed, and Sans jumped as a golden spark flew in his direction. He quashed the reflex to teleport to safety and stood up, only for Frisk to look around him, as though he wasn’t there. “I haven’t spoken to Asgore since I was a child. He has nothing to do with this conversation,” she snapped. “Do you know who first told me Chara was my mother?”

Toriel tried to give her a tolerant smile. “No, child. Who first told you?”

“Asriel.” Before the goat monster could react, Frisk pressed on, “He put the pieces together after he saw me make a barrier by accident. He knew that that ability ran in the royal family, and the King had fathered Chara’s child, so he asked her if it could be me. Chara got him to bring me to her, and he told me who I really was.” The envelope trembled in her hands. “He told me I’d come home.”

Toriel’s eyes widened again. She started to speak, but Frisk raised her voice: “Chara said my nurse had told her I’d died, and she apologized to me for how she acted whenever she visited the orphanage or the castle kitchens.” The human’s face had the hard, bitter expression Sans recognized from the time she’d caught him trying to escape. “She was so sweet to all the other children, and then she looked at me like I was some kind of diseased rat! She said it was because I reminded her of her little girl and it made her sad, and she didn’t know it was actually me!”

“There!” Toriel exclaimed. “You see? The nurse wanted to hide the King’s child for her own gain, and—”

“Chara knew who I was all along!” bellowed Frisk, and it was the goat monster’s turn to step back. “She knew damn well that I was alive! Why else would she pay my foster mother a hundred dinar every month for ten years? How did she know to check in on me every so often to see if I still existed? Why’d she leave me to be beaten and starved half to death while she kept the thousands my father gave her to support us both and did whatever she liked?!”

“How dare you say that? My child would never have—”

“She would, and she did! I’m sorry, Toriel, but she lied to everyone, especially you! Chara abandoned me until I was useful for something besides money, and she tore your family apart to punish Asgore for being right about her!”

“ENOUGH!” roared Toriel. She made a violent gesture, flame sizzling through the air. “I will not hear any more of this! Do you understand, High Priestess?! Whatever you may think happened, I know my daughter, and I know what she was and was not capable of! If you’re going to insist on slandering her any further, perhaps it would be better for you to l—”

The echoes died. The fury in Toriel’s gaze was gone, a hand coming back to her mouth.

“Better for me to what, Lady Toriel?” Frisk asked, so gently that Sans cringed. “Should—” Her throat worked. “Should I leave the Underground? Are you going to send me away again?”

Toriel didn’t have the chance to reply. A barrier screamed to life overhead, and constricted until it formed a dome around them only about twenty feet across and fifteen feet high. “All right. I understand,” said Frisk.

Undyne reacted first, pushing Alphys to the floor and stuffing her under the table. “Frisk!” snapped the fish monster. “Calm down, okay? She didn’t mean it!”

“She didn’t mean to say I was lying?” Frisk inquired, her voice suddenly rising to a shriek: “She didn’t mean to tell me to get out?”

“Frisk!” Sans tried to grab her shoulder, only for a flare of gold to warn him away. “C’mon, sweetheart! Ya gotta stop it! We can talk about this!”

“We just did, Sans!” He had seen her in pain before, but it was nothing compared to the wild-eyed stare she turned on him now. “We talked about it because you couldn’t wait to show everyone who I was! Thank you so much for helping me have this difficult conversation! We’ve finally answered the question of whether someone else I love is going to call me a liar!”

Sans’ SOUL already hurt so much that it took a moment to remember what she—oh, God. She meant when she’d told him she was Kris, and he’d scoffed at her until she stripped down to prove it. Now she’d been forced to reveal her identity to Toriel in the least natural way possible, and she didn’t believe her, either. “Frisk—”

She was smiling, but in a very unhinged way. “No, I should really be thanking you. Life is so much simpler now! I don’t have to waste any more time and energy wondering if I should feel worthless, because the closest person to a real mother I’ve ever had just told me so!”

Sans couldn’t answer: he had to fling himself backward before a cascade of sparks hit him in the face. Frisk drifted away a few steps and sank to her knees, hands still clenched on the envelope in her lap. “It’s fine,” she mumbled at the floor. “Food, presents, bubbles—I already gave you everything I have. If you don’t want me anymore, then…”

Toriel was rooted to the spot, chest heaving. The barrier sank lower, nearly grazing her horns, and Undyne rushed to sling her under the table as more sparks flew. “Sans!” the Captain shouted over the crackle and hiss of human magic.

The skeleton glared down at Toriel, and shook his head as she tried to speak. Frisk was too far gone—anything else the goat monster said would just aggravate her further, assuming she could even hear it.

Meanwhile, the dome was slowly closing in on them, and they couldn’t do a damn thing about it. If he tried to touch Frisk now, she’d just shove more magic at him; not only would that hurt like hell, it’d trap them all between two layers of barrier. He yelled her name again, but she didn’t move.

Shit! Why hadn’t Alphys warned him sooner? Why hadn’t Undyne kept her goddamn mouth shut about the letter? And if Toriel couldn’t accept right away that everything she knew was wrong and Chara was even worse than Sans had imagined, couldn’t she have found a way to deny it without completely destroying Frisk?!

Why hadn’t he—

No, all that mattered right now was getting through to her. The light surrounded them in blinding golden pulses, the barrier crackling like…

Humming. The barrier was making a hell of a lot of noise, and it…didn’t sound like her humming at all. Why was he thinking of that now?

…Because the last time his magic had been out of control, in his prison cell, she’d calmed him down by humming. But he hadn’t even heard her at first; he’d only snapped out of it when she touched his blaster – the physical embodiment of his magic – with her bare hand. He never did explain to her what a no-no that was…

Sans looked at his hand. He looked at his priestess, curled in on herself, lost in misery. The golden dome was so close to the crown of his skull that he could feel his whole body screaming at him to run.

The giant skeleton looked Toriel in the eye. Then he squeezed his sockets shut, lifted his arm, and placed his hand flat on the barrier.

Something…happened.

One second, the pressure in Frisk’s head was intolerable, grief and despair rising to a fever pitch, spurred by the determination to keep the monsters here until they changed their minds, till they were sorry. Then—

The sensation could only be likened to someone running their finger down the inside of her chest, the most strange and intimate thing she’d ever felt. It should have been horrible, or at least uncomfortable, but…

But it didn’t feel invasive. It felt like someone giving her heart a gentle nudge, saying in a familiar, gravelly baritone, “’s all right, Frisk. It’s gonna be okay. I promise. But you gotta stop now, ‘kay?”

The feeling slipped away. She stirred, trying to get it back; Frisk opened her eyes and—

Sans. Her chest gave a happy little shiver as she saw him looking down at her. He was standing nearby, giving her a strained smile and…and touching—the barrier—

Fear jolted her fully awake. Frisk whistled as hard as she could, and the searing golden light vanished. Her whole body ached, but it was nothing compared with what she glimpsed as Sans lowered his arm. “Oh, God! Sans—”

“Hey, kitten,” mumbled the boss monster. He had to stifle a grunt, shuffling hastily to turn his back to her. “Tori, could I…get a hand with this? Heh…ow…”

Frisk tried to get up from where she was kneeling, or at least stop shaking. Green light shone around Sans’ huge form, but she barely noticed; all she could see in her mind’s eye were his blackened metacarpals, the smaller bones not just burned, but partially melted by her magic.

Her legs refused to work. Frisk dropped the envelope and shuffled herself around in a half circle to see if anyone else was hurt, and whether they had seen her nearly kill her poor skeleton. No one was here…

“Aww, darn. You were so close.”

…except for a voice that felt like spiders crawling into her brain. The demon-child sat on the edge of a nearby table, shaking its head at her and sighing. Then it gave her an encouraging grin. “Oh, well. That was still fun—just like old times. Don’t worry, you’ll get ‘em someday!”

Someone moved behind her. Frisk blinked hard, then shuddered, and pushed herself up onto her feet, standing with her back to the demon.

Undyne was climbing out from under their table and offering a webbed hand to Alphys. “Undyne?” The human moved gingerly toward them. “Are you two all right?”

The Captain’s eye widened, and her arm shot out, protecting Alphys from…from what? Frisk glanced around them, looking for—

Her. Undyne was protecting Alphys from her.

And why not? Hadn’t she done exactly what the monsters feared most—trapped them with a barrier, maimed someone, and nearly killed them? Even Undyne was afraid of her now!

Frisk shouldn’t have gotten up: she felt her body go heavy, legs giving way. She was only vaguely aware that she was going to fall, and that Undyne was hesitating, moving too late to catch her.

A soft, tingling sensation stopped her just short of the marble floor, lifting her higher into the air. To her dismay, she was enveloped in red magic, and Sans was reaching for her; Frisk tried to say, “No, don’t—”

His arms closed around her, strong and safe, his injured hand settling her against his shoulder. The other drew his coat over her legs; a shaky phalange ran through her hair, and a shakier voice rumbled, “Y’okay, sweetheart?”

Frisk wound her arms around his neck as tight as they’d go, not caring how his vertebrae dug into her flesh. She was too numb to cry, and she didn’t have the strength to ask what he was doing, or why he was anywhere near her. All she could do was hang on.

Undyne cleared her throat. “She…is she okay now?”

“She’ll be fine,” snapped the giant skeleton, and immediately stroked Frisk’s hair again as she trembled. “Shh, s’alright,” he murmured.

“Sans,” Toriel said brokenly. “I—”

The world tipped and swerved as Sans shifted his weight, turning them away. “C’mon, kitten. Let’s go home.”

“To your house?” Undyne was still shaken, but Frisk heard a warning note in her voice. “Look, I know you’re really emotional right now, but she’s not in any condition to—”

“To sleep!” he snarled. “I’m takin’ ‘er home, and we’re gonna sleep! Good fuckin’ night!”

A tiny part of Frisk wanted to tell him to be nice, but she couldn’t even stay conscious. The last thing she heard was Toriel’s cry of “Sans, wait!” before his magic rushed them through space. Then—

On her third day at the convent, they finally made her leave her room.

Frisk kept her eyes on the ground, letting the matron steer her down a hall and out into a courtyard full of chattering girls. The noise dropped a little as they saw her, but when Frisk stayed by the wall, there was a collective shrug, and the chatter resumed.

The wind was howling. Frisk wiped her nose on the sleeve of her new uniform, wondering dully if it was going to snow out here. The drifts in front of Sans and Papyrus’ house never seemed to go down, no matter how often they tossed her into them.

Did they miss her yet? Did they even know she was gone? Or had the accident—

“Excuse me?”

Frisk looked up. Through her tears, she saw a group of older girls standing in front of her, with a grownup right behind—the Sister must have ordered them to come be nice to the new girl. Sure enough, the speaker was holding out a handkerchief, looking kind and concerned. “Thank you,” Frisk whispered, taking it and wiping her eyes.

“It’s all right. I know I was very sad when I first got here,” the girl said, a little too loud. She smiled, and Frisk tried not to shudder—she’d gotten so used to monsters that the girl’s pretty blue eyes, golden hair, and rosy skin looked fake, like a doll.

The grownup nodded approval and moved away to yell at another group for telling dirty jokes. Immediately, the blonde girl’s smile sharpened, and she wrinkled her nose. “Keep it,” she said curtly.

That was bad, but at least Frisk had expected it. What really hurt was when the group moved off and the girl said to her friends, “Oh my God, her hair! And did you see her eyes? She looks like a rabbit!”

The snickering felt like a scab being ripped off Frisk’s heart. “Geez, Mathilda,” another girl said quietly.

“Well, it’s true! They’re not supposed to be red! Is she cursed or something?” Laughter. “I’m serious! We all need to say extra prayers tonight!”

…

Would it have changed anything if Frisk had remembered that conversation? Soon after, the King visited and told her everything – how he had thought Chara was at least providing her with basic necessities, and he would be sure she never lacked for anything again – and when she worsened, they decided to remove her memories; the Mother Superior had repeated the most relevant facts about her father and her future education, and Frisk had accepted her new life.

As far as Frisk knew, the first time she met her best friend was soon afterward, when Mathilda switched places with someone to sit next to her at lunch. “Hello. You must be Frisk,” she said, smiling. “Do you, um…”

Frisk watched her in puzzlement. Why was Mathilda Owen bothering to speak to her?

Mathilda fidgeted. “Never mind. I just wanted to say hello.” Why did she look so guilty? Her friends were watching, whispering anxiously to each other, as though something important was at stake. “Would you like to come and sit with us? I hate to see you all by yourself.”

As soon as she figured out that it wasn’t a cruel prank, and she really was making friends with the most beautiful and kind-hearted girl in the entire school, Frisk was too happy to question things further. It took her a long time to realize that everyone knew why the King had been here, and that everyone wanted his daughter to like them, especially Mathilda.

Even then, Frisk had decided not to care. As long as she could earn their friendship by being kind and helpful, did it really matter how it’d started? It wasn’t as if she was only worth something because of her father.

…It wasn’t.

…Finally.

She shook the ruby droplets from the kitchen knife, wondering idly why he was the only monster who ever bled, then kicked the dust aside. It was time to move on.

Frisk awoke in a rush of adrenaline and half-remembered nightmares. It was dark; she thought for a moment that she’d been buried alive, then realized that something huge and leathery was draped over her entire body. No golden twilight through the windows, no blood, no dust…

Ugh. Her mouth tasted like a warm sock, and her head throbbed the way it always did when she’d used too much magic. With great care, the human slithered out of her warm prison for a look around.

She was in Sans’ room, lying on his outgrown mattress, his overcoat loosely wrapped around her. The lamp was on, but he’d draped an old shirt over it to diffuse the light into a soft glow, giving the cold, messy space a warmer aspect; in fact, the golden haze reminded her of—

A barrier.

Chills swept through her, clearing her head of other thoughts like a blast of frigid air. It wasn’t just a nightmare: she had used a barrier against monsters inside the Underground. There was no coming back from that, no excusing or explaining it away.

Even if Toriel hadn’t really meant it at the time, her order to leave would probably become reality. Her friends might not entirely blame her for lashing out, but there was still no way they could trust her anymore—after she had hurt Sans like that, she’d be angry if he did trust her!

Frisk slowly eased herself back down inside the coat, as if she could hide from what she’d done. In her bitter, selfish regret, she didn’t even think of what this meant for her peace efforts; all she knew was that the Underground was the only place she’d ever really belonged – her birthplace – and she had lost any right to be here. Back to the humans, then, and her suffocating routine of work, exhaustion, and loneliness, secretly hoping that maybe, if she could be useful enough, someone would love her for more than her money or her pedigree and stay. If she could just be good enough—

Well, obviously, she couldn’t.

Frisk wasn’t going to cry again. She was tired of crying about things in general, and in this case, there was no possible way to make herself feel better. Why bother making her headache worse and her sleeves all soggy again? She just burrowed deeper into the huge leather coat, willing her mind to subside into comfortable nothingness; at least she was good at that.

It usually helped to have something small to focus on, so Frisk unhooked her itchy black choker and scratched her neck, flushing at the memory of flirting with Sans in front of everyone. Then came her boots, her stockings, and her earrings…

…which weren’t there. The priestess frowned, fingering her earlobes. She didn’t remember taking them out. Had they come off while she was asleep?

Wait a moment. Sans had put her here, hadn’t he? Her satchel was close by; Frisk stuck her arm out until she could pull it over and peek inside. Sure enough, not only had the boss monster removed her earrings for her, he’d left them atop her folded clothes, where they were both safe and easily found.

For some reason, that one little thing, that bit of care and attention, was the last straw. She took a deep breath, only for it to catch as a huge sob tore loose, partly muffled by his coat. Then another, and—

Sans was suddenly standing by the mattress. “Frisk!” He sat down hard. “Frisk, it’s okay, don’t—”

The human forgot that he was supposed to be scared of her. Moving on pure instinct, she flung the coat aside and launched herself up at him, letting his shirt absorb the first wave of tears. “Aww,” he murmured, folding his arms over her back and cradling her head in one massive palm. “C’mon, sweetheart, ya don’t hafta cry. Everythin’s fine now.”

Frisk pressed her face into his clavicle, furiously shaking her head. It was important to explain to him that nothing was fine and it was absolutely correct for her to be crying, but she was crying too hard to get the words out.

Sans gave a large, soft sigh, carrying her outward and back in. “It’s okay,” he repeated, his voice rumbling throughout her body. She shook her head again, and he ran the side of his finger down her back. “Yuh-huh, it is. Calm down.”

She didn’t want to calm down, but as he kept petting her, Frisk’s sobs slowed down a little. The boss monster made a sound deep in his chest, and she answered him with one that made him squeeze her tighter.

There was that magnetic feeling again, as though she was completely stuck to him. This time, though, she wasn’t frightened. And this time, she felt something else: another sensation was stealing over her, so slowly that she thought it might just be her imagination. It was similar to when he’d accidentally given her his magic, but this didn’t seem accidental, and it wasn’t exactly magic…

She’d felt it when he touched the barrier, and here it was again, washing over her in gentle waves: guilt and anger at himself for kicking off the whole incident, anxiety for her, and…well. He didn’t think she was worthless, or dangerous, or that she needed to do a single thing to deserve forgiveness. His hand didn’t even hurt anymore. …Much.

Even if it did, he still loved her.

Frisk shook her head again, but her sobs grew slower and weaker, gradually coming to a stop. The human leaned away long enough to sniff back a giant wad of snot, then sought a dry patch of his shirt to wipe her eyes. She wasn’t sure how he was doing this, but she wasn’t going to question it right now. “Hand?” she croaked.

Sans was quiet. He grunted, then held his palm up. “It ain’t that bad. Looks kinda like a frowny face. See?”

The priestess gulped, raising her own fingers to trace the pattern of deep swirls and grooves her magic had left in the living bones. “Can…” Frisk had to swallow a few more times before she could whisper, “Can you still move them?”

He paused. She felt a closing-off sort of twinge in her chest, as though he’d decided to stop sharing his feelings so he could fib: “Yeah, pretty much.” His metacarpals waggled back and forth, the smallest of them longer than her entire hand. She poked the base of his thumb and forefinger, where a good two or three inches of bone were fused together. “That doesn’t count,” he said stubbornly.

Frisk shuddered, turning to rest her cheek near the top of his sternum. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Do ya wanna talk about it?”

“I don’t know,” she said, and winced as her head throbbed. “What time is it?”

“Last I checked, it was about seven o’clock,” he replied, petting her hair again. “I got up maybe half an hour ago an’ healed you, just in case.” Tap, tap. “How’s yer hangover?”

“…Not that bad, actually.” Frisk yawned. She’d missed being with him so much that it felt like a waste to just sleep, but it was hard to argue with the results. After all she’d had to drink last night, and then…the incident, she was amazed that she only had a headache and an icky mouth. “Thank you for that. It feels like I got much more than five or six hours.”

Sans chuckled, tapping her head again. “That’s ‘cause it’s seven in the evening, kitten. I think we slept about eighteen hours.”

Frisk’s eyes shot open. “Are you serious?” She leaned back enough to look him in the face. “Is that even possible? I—”

The words faded as their eyes met. Frisk figured she must look pretty awful, but he wasn’t much better. “Did I miss a spot?” he asked gruffly.

The human nodded, reaching up to brush at the dried red on the corners of his sockets. Sans leaned into her touch as she rubbed his cheekbone. “You’re supposed to be a big boy now,” she scolded the giant skeleton. “Do I need to—”

Memory hit her again like a fist. Sans jumped as Frisk suddenly yanked her hand away, trying to push herself off him. “Hey!” he protested. “What’re you—wouldja hold on a damn minute?!” More by reflex than design, his hand tightened around her back, keeping her in place. “It was an accident, goddammit! You’re not gonna do it again!”

“No, it wasn’t!” Frisk thumped his shoulder with her tiny fist. “You don’t understand!” Thump. “It wasn’t an accident! I was so angry, I wanted to keep everyone there, and I didn’t want to control it! I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t stopped me!”

Sans started. “That little fucker,” the skeleton whispered, as if he’d realized something very profound. “I know what it was, Frisk. That goddamn thing was right there! I saw it a minute before the whole name thing started! I dunno if it made me drop the letter so you’d freak out, or if it was plannin’ something else, but it wanted you to go nuts! That’s why—”

“No! It wasn’t!” Thump. Thump. “Are you even listening?! It was me! I did it on purpose!” Thump. “I was already…” Frisk shuddered, shaking her head again as more emotions boiled to the surface. “Do you know how scared I’ve been? We’re halfway through our visit, and I haven’t even talked to anyone about ending slavery! I’ve just been thinking of how to tell Asgore and Toriel about Chara, whether they’d believe me and if I’ve been selfish to keep back something that could help make peace—I had no idea their estrangement was because Asgore knew Chara was lying about me! And I missed you so much—” His arms tightened, and Frisk caught herself on another sob. “I don’t want to go, Sans!”

“No one’s makin’ you go anywhere!” He gave her a very light shake. “We all know you, Frisk! Ya think anyone’s sittin’ there thinkin’, ‘Welp, that was inevitable, let’s go ahead ‘n toss ‘er out now’? Or d’ya think we feel like shit ‘cause we kept pokin’ you till you couldn’t take it anymore?”

“How can you say that?” she demanded. “It doesn’t matter how badly I was provoked! I wouldn’t let you get away with attacking me just because you were angry!”

“Y’already did. Remember?” He stroked her back with one knuckle. “You coulda done anythin’ you wanted once I quit tryin’ ta murder you, and ya put me to bed ‘n fed me.”

…Damn it. “That’s not the same thing! I—”

“Frisk.” His phalange brushed her cheek. “Yer the one who’s not listenin’. No one is makin’ you leave. We’re gonna talk about it with everybody, there’s gonna be a big damn fight over who’s the most sorry, an’ we’re gonna figure out how to get you in to see Asgore. You’re gonna say whatever you need to about Chara and lay out yer big plan to make everything all better. If he doesn’t wanna do it, we’ll figure somethin’ else out before we leave.” His hand rested on her back like a shield. “And I’m gonna quit actin’ like all I hafta do is stay outta yer way an’ let you do everything. From now on, I want you ta tell me if somethin’s botherin’ you before ya go crazy.” Squeeze. “Any questions?”

Frisk thought about it as she sniffled. “Yes. Why couldn’t you have been this sweet when I gave you the stupid chessboard?”

He snorted. “Yer startin’ ta sound like me!” Pause. Shrug. “Short answer? It was pretty much the best thing I ever got, and I didn’t know what to say.”

“Whatever happened to ‘Thank you,’ Sans?” Thump. “I was really looking forward to you opening your gift, and you couldn’t wait to get away from it!”

“I know, I know!” His shoulders hunched again. “’m sorry! I…wanted ta jump you, but that wasn’t exactly an option. I didn’t know what else ta do!”

How could he make her want to hug and slap him so badly? “Well, putting that aside, do you plan to spend the rest of your life running off when you get embarrassed?”

“I wasn’t—” He caught himself and scowled. “I dunno. Just…sorry I was shitty about the chess stuff. It was amazing, and thank you a lot for it. Okay?”

He was so exasperatingly cute that Frisk had to bite her lip. “All right, then. You’re welcome. I…”

Rrrrgggrgrgl.

They both froze as her stomach rumbled. Frisk made a sheepish sound, and Sans chuckled. “Right. I was in the middle of makin’ a couple sandwiches when I came up.”

Frisk nodded. “Where’s Papyrus?” She wiped her eyes again. “Please don’t say he’s planning to make dinner.”

“Nope! I left a note on the door tellin’ him and Undyne ta stay at the inn tonight. I said we’d meet ‘em at the Ruins tomorrow morning.”

They were going to be alone tonight? The priestess felt light-headed, her cheeks burning. Sans must have been thinking the same thing, because she could’ve sworn his bones were getting warmer. “Time ta eat,” he mumbled, and a blink later, they were in the living room.

Still in his arms, Frisk turned her head to survey the kitchen table. He’d set out a loaf of bread, some cheese, tomatoes, and a few other things, obviously dropped when he’d heard her crying. Frisk thought about it, then snuggled back into Sans. There was food, and she was starving, but he was right here, too; she didn’t know which she wanted more at the moment.

Another rumble from her stomach settled the question. “Off ya go,” he said reluctantly, and Frisk sighed, moving her hand down to push free of their stuck-togetherness.

Sans suddenly made a strangled sound. Frisk didn’t understand it, or why his hand had flexed to avoid squashing her, until she looked down: she’d accidentally reached in between his ribs, pushing his shirt through and wrapping her fingers most of the way around his middle rib.

She’d never put her hands inside his ribcage, assuming it was basically a private part, and it seemed she was right. Just like that, his breathing had grown ragged, his bones trembling as her hand tightened. There was no misinterpreting his physical reaction; she could imagine how his instincts to comfort and protect her were deepening into much more raw emotion…

…because it was completely mutual. The young woman tugged lightly on his rib, and felt him shudder again. “Frisk,” he muttered. “Knock it off.”

Frisk moved just enough to brush her cheek against his jawbone. “What?” One finger slid along the bone toward his sternum. “This?”

Sans’ entire frame jerked. “Yes, that!” He caught her wrist in the curl of his index finger. “If I was a human, it’d be like stickin’ yer hand down my pants!”

“You don’t want me to?” she asked, very matter-of-fact.

Sans’ arm across her back was almost hurting her. Not tight enough, then. “Frisk,” he said warningly.

“I’m serious.” She licked her lips, feeling heat spread through her, chasing away the sorrow and anger. “My period’s over, the house is empty, and your magic doesn’t have any negativity at all right now.” Her free hand drifted toward his sternum. “We both need this, Sans. Don’t tell me you’re not interested.”

“I’m not sayin’ that!” To her bewilderment, he seized her with his magic and set her on the couch with a butt-tingling thump. “Just… I want you so bad, I’m about to lose my damn mind!” His entire skull was bright red. “But you’re still messed up from somethin’ that only happened ‘cause I was bein’ a dumbass, an’ I’m not gonna do it when you’re not thinkin’ straight! That would be fuckin’ wrong! Got it?” Despite himself, he stepped closer to touch her cheek. “’Sides, there’s somethin’ we’ve really gotta talk about first. The letter from yer dad is…”

He trailed off as her face twitched. “What?” he asked suspiciously.

“So, you…” Frisk knew this was not the time, but she couldn’t keep the words from bubbling up: “You’d be…fucking wrong?” Her body was trembling again, this time with the urge to giggle. “You already went the extra mile and figured out how to be my size. I’m pretty sure that means you can do it correctly now!”

“Frisk,” he said, scandalized, and covered his face as she snrrrked. “God damn it, woman, I’m tryin’ ta be serious here!”

She didn’t answer, at least not out loud. Sans took one look at her face and gave his scariest growl. “No.”

“But—”

“Frisk.”

“But are you—”

“Friiiiisk—”

A long pause. Frisk sighed in resignation, shrugging one shoulder.

Sans nodded. “Okay. Now, for real, Frisk, I’m—”

“—fucking serious?”

The dam broke: one moment, they were staring each other down, and then they burst into hysterical, snorting laughter. Frisk was sobbing again, but for the right reason, dammit; Sans let his forehead thunk on the floor, trying desperately to stop long enough to say something, only to end up laughing harder.

Eventually, out of sheer weakness, they had to slow down, and reached a point where they could almost breathe normally. “Shit,” rasped Sans, and wiped his eyes on his sleeves. “Oh my God, I love you.”

Frisk’s breath caught, her heart coming to a standstill. She sat up, watching the skeleton realize what he’d said. His sockets widened, but he looked straight at her, almost defiantly. “What?” There went the red again. He looked away…and back. “’s true,” he said, very quietly.

There was no telling what she might have done if Sans hadn’t pushed to his feet and waved his hand at the table. The bread knife started sawing away, cutting the loaf into sandwich slices and assembling the ingredients. “We need ta eat somethin’, an’ then I should go track yer letter down,” he mumbled, trying to rub the color off his skull. “I dunno if someone picked it up, or if it got left up there, or what. You can get some time to yerself—take a bath or somethin’.”

A bath sounded good, decided the one functional corner of her mind. She accepted the glass of water and mostly-tomato sandwich he wafted over to her a moment later, ignoring his muttered apologies for its crappiness. Nor did she pay much heed when he said something else, tapped a knuckle on her shoulder, and winked out of sight.

Alone for the first time in several days, Frisk finished her sandwich. She put the dishes in the sink, went upstairs, and ran a very hot bath, staring at the steam rising from the water. Then she went to Sans’ room, removed all her clothes, and lay down to wrap herself in his overcoat again. She hadn’t touched herself since before they left the castle, and she was even more worked up now than she’d been the night she made herself clear to Sans; being in his room, with the feeling of his bones and everything he’d said to her fresh in her mind, anticipating time to themselves at last—that was more than her body could handle. So…

It took so little time that the water was still hot when Frisk stumbled back into the bathroom. She left the door open a crack before she got in the tub, because…the steam…had to escape. Yes. The door needed to be open. For the steam.

Frisk knew exactly when Sans returned; to her disappointment, she heard an embarrassed mutter in the hall, and the door clicked shut. Just because she could, Frisk splashed louder, whistling his favorite song and letting the notes linger than she probably had to. She let the water out, also loudly, and kept humming as she dried herself and got dressed.

Sans was obviously on his guard when she came downstairs, which was wise: she was wearing his old clothes again, hands in the pockets of his zipped-up blue jacket, though she hadn’t had the nerve to put on any socks. He gave her one glance, reddened again, and turned his head, shoving the golden envelope at her. “Here.”

Frisk swallowed. “Thank you.” She studied the envelope for a moment, then tossed it on the couch and advanced on him. “I’m feeling much better now, so—”

“Nope!” Sans skipped away fast enough to make her yelp a little. He held up his good hand, as if to ward her off. “Dammit, Frisk, I mean it when I say I’m not gonna fuck you yet! Sit down and listen!”

Startled, the human sank onto the couch. Sans scratched the back of his head, collecting his thoughts. “Okay. So. Gaster gave me that thing, an’ he told me what’s in it.” He shut his eyes. “First thing: your King’s been talkin’ about you all over the place. Everyone—all the humans know Chara was yer mom.”

Frisk’s stomach lurched. “I see,” she murmured. Sans watched anxiously as she blew out a long breath. “Well, at least if I start throwing barriers at humans, it won’t frighten them.”

Sans chuckled. “Nope. They’d think it was neat,” he agreed.

The priestess thought it over, and decided that this particular problem could go back on the shelf for now. “Did someone see the letter and start spreading the word?”

“Yep. Gaster says yer dad’s pissed off, and that’s his way of bein’ passive-aggressive.” He indicated the envelope. “He fixed up a bunch of legal stuff with your name all over it.”

“‘Legal stuff’?” Frisk scowled. “Am I being arrested for theft?” She almost hoped so; that was a fight she’d enjoy winning. “If I am, I swear I will burn down the entire—”

“Nope. Just the opposite.” The skeleton took a deep, deep breath. “He…”

Watching his face, it suddenly clicked. “He wants to adopt me?” she asked crisply.

Blink. “…Uh.” Blink. “…yes?” Emphatic blink. “How the hell did you know?”

Her teeth clenched, all her muscles knotting at once, and then she let it go with a sigh. “He hinted at it a few times back when I was teaching Gaius magic. It’s been so long, I forgot all about it.” Mostly. “The poor boy isn’t going to live long enough to have his own heirs, and my older siblings are almost all gone, so… I was hoping His Majesty would name one of his more distant relatives, or pick another of his children.”

“Well, you’re the best he’s got.” Frisk flushed as Sans sat down against the opposite wall. “Is that a normal thing fer humans? You’re gettin’ old and yer official kid is kinda puny, so you grab a backup?”

Frisk crossed her legs, absently enjoying his reaction. “It’s uncommon, but it’s happened before in order to keep a particular bloodline going.” She picked up the envelope and broke the wax seal. “I’ll bet you a million dinar my father says he’s invited Luke and Mathilda back to the castle with their family. He went to school with Luke’s father, so he probably wants to get reacquainted before they announce our engagement.”

The boss monster watched in silence as she pulled out a sheaf of expensive papers, setting aside the copies of her ducal investiture and adoption decree. Frisk unfolded the handwritten letter, read it over carefully, and nodded. “You owe me a million dinar.”

He didn’t laugh. “See? If you end up havin’ my kid, it’s probably not gonna improve yer chances of bein’ Queen someday and gettin’ to set everything right for everyone.” Sans shrugged, eyes on the floor. “Not the kinda thing I can ask you to give up just so I can get laid.”

Warmth bloomed in her chest and rekindled in her middle, where she was still sensitive from her personal time upstairs. “I’m not giving anything up. I don’t want to be Queen,” she said calmly. “I want to become the humans’ ambassador to the monster race and set up an embassy somewhere close by—maybe at the farm on the river.” She set the papers aside and got to her feet, her entire body humming. “And if I do have a child, I’m going to love it and raise it, no matter how hard things get…even if it’s only half human.”

Sans’ eyes went blank. “…Frisk?”

The High Priestess’ heart was pounding so hard that she wondered if he could hear it as she crossed the room. She stopped in front of him, and held her hand out. “Will you stay with me, Sans?”

His hand came up to engulf hers and tug her against him, even as he shook his head. “Ya can’t decide somethin’ like that so quick,” Sans protested. Frisk leaned in just hard enough for him to feel her breasts through the thick blue jacket, and he shuddered. “I-I mean, believe me, I understand bein’ horny, but—”

Frisk reached up to rap on his cheekbone with her knuckles. “Excuse me, sir, but my mind has been made up since I opened the box.” She turned to press her lips to his phalanges. “Take me to your room, please.”

The light in his sockets dilated nearly all the way. Massive hands closed around her, and the world suddenly rushed by, depositing them by the door in his room. His magic pulled the mattress out to the center of the floor, straightening his overcoat in lieu of sheets or a blanket; the skeleton released her and glanced around for a moment, visibly regretting that they weren’t in a more romantic or at least clean environment. “Close yer eyes,” he mumbled.

Frisk complied, feeling and hearing him compress his huge frame down to human size. She opened her eyes just in time for Sans to pull her down to the mattress, setting her in his lap with her calves draped over his femurs. As before, he didn’t seem to care how his clothes hung off him; he simply yanked his sleeves back, then slipped his arm around her waist, the other running through her hair as he mouthed her neck.

That was a good start; the priestess wound her arms around him as Sans pulled her even closer. She made a delicate little sound as he slid his tongue into her mouth, his movements slow and gentle until she deliberately nipped him.

He nearly snarled at her, one hand gripping the small of her back and the other tangling in her hair. Frisk almost purred at the twinges in her scalp, letting him hold her in place as the kiss grew rougher and his fangs grazed her lip. She couldn’t believe how easily this was coming to her, how gratifying it was—all it took was a few little sighs, soft touches, and complete sexual abandon. Who knew?

It was more than a physical urge, though. She couldn’t even guess which of them needed this more, to be held and explored, valued, accepted—

The hand on her back had crept under her jacket, finding the hem of her shirt and then encountering bare skin. Frisk shivered pleasurably at the feel of bones gliding up her side, and at the disbelieving sound he made. “Holy shit,” breathed Sans. “You’re so soft.” His nasal ridge dropped back to the crook of her neck; he inhaled so deeply that she felt a rush of cold on her damp skin. “You smell amazing—” His tongue ran across her throat, his teeth sinking just hard enough to make her whimper and reach up to caress his skull. “I don’t…are ya really sure about this?”

Sighing inwardly, the priestess nuzzled the side of his vertebrae; he sucked in his breath as her tongue ran over the dry bone. Her legs shifted toward him, hips scooting closer as she guided his hands to her waist. Sans accepted the invitation, hitching up his baggy trousers and carefully grinding his pelvis into her so that she could feel his magic more directly.

It was one thing to have undergone a comprehensive scientific education and read dozens upon dozens of romance novels, and quite another to actually feel male parts…or magical facsimiles. The eternal, universal question sprang to mind: how was anything that size supposed to fit in her? That couldn’t be right. If she didn’t know better, she’d dismiss the whole idea as an elaborate prank, and childbirth as some kind of optical illusion. But…

Frisk ducked her head into his shoulder, face burning as his fingers combed through her hair. Luckily, Sans was oblivious. “’s not fair,” he murmured above her. “Everythin’ about you feels nice, ‘n I’m just a buncha gross bones.”

Frisk gave a disapproving snort—this, she could handle. “Here, give me your hand.” Ignoring her hot cheeks, she took his wrist and slid his hand up under her jacket, unable to suppress a tremor as his phalanges traced the underside of her breast. “If I thought you were ‘gross,’ would I be letting you do this?”

There was no telling what Sans thought: his powers of speech had degenerated into a series of incoherent sounds. To her irritation, he withdrew his hand and grabbed at the bottom of her jacket, desperate to pull it over her head…only to blink in confusion as Frisk snrked at him, leaning back and helpfully tapping the zipper.

As it turned out, the joke was on her. In another split-second, Sans had the jacket unzipped and the sleeves pulled straight down her arms, the whole thing tossed aside; before she knew what had happened, he was crushing her against him, his hands back under her white shirt, palms sweeping along her sides and up across her back—

In the heat of the moment, both of them had forgotten about her scars. Frisk tensed as his hands passed over the rough skin, and he stopped dead. “This okay?” he inquired after a moment, giving her a few experimental pets. “Doesn’t feel too weird, does it?”

The young woman shook her head, resting it on his shoulder and reminding herself that he’d already seen them. There was nothing to worry about or feel ashamed of. “You can touch it if you want. It doesn’t feel like much of anything anymore—the nerve endings are gone.”

Sans ground his teeth. “Are ya sure I can’t go kill that bitch?”

Purely on instinct, Frisk placed her slender fingers between his upper ribs, near his sternum; his eyes widened further as she pulled herself the rest of the way onto his bony, baggy-trousered lap. “Please don’t,” she said against his jaw. “I think we have better things to d—”

In one motion, Sans pulled her shirt up to her collarbone and hitched her forward to lay them both down on the mattress. With her face aflame and her heart galloping harder than ever, Frisk stayed still as he rose on one elbow to look her over, jaws parting to breathe more heavily; but to her surprise, when he reached down, all he did was rest his right palm on her sternum, where they could both feel her heartbeat reverberating through the disfigured bones.

Frisk gradually forget to be embarrassed, or cold, letting him see that she trusted him enough to stay exposed. Sans moved his thumb a little, and without thinking, she rested her hand on his, playing with the gaps between his joints. They were both content to stay that way for a few quiet moments, studying the contrast between her skin and his bones.

Soon, though, he had to lean down again to kiss her, and his hand turned to stroke her breast with the backs of his fingers. Frisk made a soft sound and tried to sit up to demand more; to her surprise, he shook his head and slung his femur across her waist, pinning her to the mattress. “Slow down, kitten,” he muttered. “I don’t wanna go nuts an’ hurt you by accident.”

That was cheating. She was already aroused enough; when she reached down to grab his hand, only to have her wrists corraled and pinned over her head with a trace of red magic, she couldn’t help moaning out loud.

Sans’ orange eyes were fully dilated now. He had sat up and partly turned aside, but couldn’t look away from her writhing and urgent noises. “What’d I just say?!” he snapped.

“I can’t help it!” Frisk squirmed again. “Let me go, and I’ll stop! Please!”

With unnatural speed, Sans released her and kicked off his trousers. His full weight flattened her to the mattress, and something pressed very distinctively into her stomach; Frisk tried to look down between their bodies, but his baggy shirt was blocking her view. Was it red like the rest of his magic, or—

His fingers caught her chin, making her look up at him. “Okay, kitten. You ready?” He let go long enough to hook his phalanges in the waistband of her black-and-white-striped pants, and rested his forehead on hers. “I…” He exhaled, his entire body trembling. “I’m just guessin’ on size. Went with somethin’ like this.” His tongue stuck out for a moment. “If it doesn’t work, then—”

“It’s all right, Sans.” Frisk leaned up to kiss his jaw, wiggling her hips to help him remove her last piece of clothing. “Go ahead.”

Sans nodded, taking in the view with his jaws still parted and his eyes burning, but he clearly couldn’t wait any longer. She let him arrange her arms around him, then run his hand over her waist and hips, rubbing her thighs for an appreciative moment before he nudged her legs open.

Either Sans had read up on this process, or the instincts Undyne had mentioned could adapt to human anatomy, because he didn’t even hesitate. He plucked the folds of his shirt out of the way and reached down, and Frisk jumped as something prodded her entrance. She’d gotten a couple of her fingers in there before, but as Sans moved forward into her, she couldn’t help wincing. The pressure quickly grew into discomfort as her body started giving way; she buried her face in Sans’ shirt, and he paused for a second, then leaned in—

Romance novels had absolutely lied to her. The pressure built into sharp, burning pain as he pushed further into her, and Frisk couldn’t hold back a little sob as he moved out, and back in. He shook his head; she tried to tell him it was all right, only to cry out as he sank the rest of the way inside. “God—‘m sorry, Frisk, just—” His hips moved back again, and he started to sit up.

Frisk latched onto his ribs again, legs squeezing his pelvis in the strangest, strongest determination she’d ever felt. She didn’t care if it hurt: he needed her, she needed him, and she’d be damned if she’d let it end yet! “Don’t stop,” she whispered, keenly aware of the effect her voice had on him. Just to be certain, she ran her finger over the back of his skull. “Please?”

There were no more words after that. The boss monster slammed into her again, drawing another near-sob from her. He snarled deep in his throat, hands trembling as they grasped the overcoat behind her head; with a huge effort, he drew out and pushed in more slowly, then stayed still for a moment. Frisk made the mistake of wriggling her hips to try to adjust to the feeling of fullness – of intrusion, really – and he swiftly jerked out and slammed in again.

That was enough for Frisk. She pulled clumsily at him with her legs, and he either took the hint or couldn’t hold back anymore: he snarled in his throat, movements faster and more erratic the closer he came. Frisk held on, ignoring the pain and focusing on the fierce exultation of watching him lose himself in her; when he started to slow down a little, she growled and bit his clavicle as hard as she could, determined to see him finish.

Sure enough, Sans groaned deep in his throat, ending on a snarl; his hips went once—twice—three times more, and his arms locked around her, his entire body shoving her into the mattress as hard as she’d wanted. Frisk let him ride it out for as long as he wanted, waiting till the tension in his limbs finally relaxed and he slumped into her.

Neither one spoke for several minutes. There was no need for him to pull out: she felt his magic vanish, and tried not to breathe too big a sigh of relief. Well, she couldn’t be disappointed in the lack of multiple orgasms or even much pleasure yet—how could she when Sans was lying in her arms, rubbing his face slowly into her neck as his breathing began to slow?

Frisk stroked his skull and shifted her weight where his leg was digging into her, and immediately regretted it as her entire lower half protested. She was going to have many bruises in the morning. They would just have to work on their technique, she thought, resting her cheek on his cranium.

Sans showed no signs of life besides his breathing for several minutes. She was starting to worry a little when he moved his head enough to say, “M’rm.”

The young woman blinked. “Beg pardon?”

He was silent for a long time. “Never mind. I’ll ask ya later.” Sans rose up on his elbow and shakily leaned in to lick her neck again. “Thank you,” he murmured.

There was so much behind it that Frisk didn’t know what to say. Instead, she reached up and pulled his head back down to her breasts, resting his cheekbone over her heart. It made her remember how he’d shared his feelings directly with her before, and what’d happen if he tried that in the middle of sex…

Frisk sighed, closing her eyes. That was another thing to put away for later, to worry about and/or look forward to when she got to it. For now, she closed her eyes, and waited for Sans to say something; then she peeked at him, and saw that she was wasting her time. He was already fast asleep.

#songfell

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ahwait-no-yes · 4 years ago

Text

🍬 Candy Kingdom 🍭

Casually slides and places chapter down before running away only to trip on a can of soup and collapse as miku plays ominously in the background

also apologies for how ooc they are i can’t write

-4-

Once Shuichi arrived at the plaza, he scanned the crowded area for Ouma. He never really liked places with people bustling about. It was always too loud, too many things to focus on, and just made him want to cover his ears and sit down for a bit.

Thankfully, he spotted Ouma sitting on a bench, looking a bit bored. He assumed that wasn’t a good thing. He hasn’t known Kokichi for very long, but he seemed like a person that would be up to no good if they had nothing better to do.

Shuichi walked over to him, gently tapping his shoulder. Kokichi looked over at him quickly, he wondered if he would get whiplash. “Heya Saihara chan! Took you long enough, I was waiting here for years!” Ouma dramatically complained, drawing others attention to them.

Saihara nervously laughed, assuming part of it was true. He did sleep in a bit, not having to deal with someone waking him up and tell him he has things he needs to do. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to take so long.”

Ouma waved his hand, dismissing the topic. “Uh huh. So, Saihara chan!” He chirped, suddenly standing up. “I have a super fun and amazing cool idea! So we should toootally do it!” He exclaimed, rocking back and fourth on his heels.

“Soo! I was thinking maybe you should buy me a bunch of things, then I can murder you and take your stuff!” Kokichi smiled innocently, keenly stepping forward.

“But that’s a lie, isn’t it?” Shuichi deadpanned, crossing his arms and staring back at him. Ouma’s face was blank for a second, before it turned back into his usual smug grin. “Maybe! You’re catching on quick, Saihara chan!”

Shuichi chuckled, fidgeting with a strand of his hair. “Is that a good thing?” He asked, playfully tilting his head. Kokichi pouted in response, his eyes looking glossy. “No it’s not! It’s horrible! If Saihara chan keeps trying to figure me out I’ll have to kill him!”

Saihara nervously smiled, adverting his eyes as per usual. “I’m hoping that’s a lie too,” he murmured. Kokichi laughed, wearing a familiar mischievous grin. “Probably!” Was all he said before skipping off, leaving Saihara to catch up with him.

—

While Ouma was aimlessly walking around, (it seemed like he was at least, Saihara noted,) they ended up running into someone else.

Or, Ouma antagonizing one of his friends. Hopefully one of his friends.

“Hey, tit for brains! Come here!” Kokichi yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. Multiple people turned to look at them, a few covering their mouths in shock. Shuichi couldn’t do much other then look down and hope they would stop.

A girl (who looked to be about their age,) walked up to them, a scowl on her face. “What the hell do you want Kokichi?” She asked, a hand on her hip. Ouma grinned and bought a finger to his lips before replying, “Well, I just wanted to give you the honor of seeing me!

Shuichi excepted a very, very bad reaction to that statement, but she just laughed and gently shoved Kokichi. “C'mon, the gorgeous Miu Iruma knows that’s a lie!” She exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest.

Iruma stared at Saihara, looking him up and down. “Who’s the twink?” She asked, turning to Ouma. The other boy scoffed, scowling at her. “Wow, already giving my iconic nickname to some rando? Im truly and deeply offended!” He replied dramatically, tears brimming his eyes.

“But that was just a lie. Even a cum dumpster like you could understand!” He exclaimed, a sly grin on his face. Miu flushed, shrinking away. “C-cum dumpster?” She murmured.

Ouma is weird. His friends are too. Is this how most people act? I really hope not.

“But! This is my new slave, Saihara chan! Say hi Saihara chan!” He said in a soothing voice, as if he was talking to a kid. Which, Saihara did not appreciate. His parents did that enough.

He still muttered a quiet hi, anyways.

“Aaanyways!! Are you just eating all alone in a cafe? How sad! I think you should totally pay for us and buy us some food!” Kokichi exclaimed, smiling innocently. “Hell no! If you want food buy some yourself!” She yelled, a scowl on her face.

“Plus, I have more important things to do than-” She was cut off by another girl, (how many people did Ouma know??) gently tapping Miu’s shoulder. “Is everything alright? I heard you yelling,” She commented, looking at the two boys.

Iruma flushed, looking a bit nervous. “Everything’s fine!” She murmured, fidgeting with a strand of her hair. Kokichi’s grinned, staring at her. Miu stared back, slightly glaring.

“Oooo! Miu’s on a-!” “Shut up! You- little twink!” She quickly yelled over him, stammering for an answer. Ouma laughed, slightly leaning against Saihara for support.

“You always talk shit about how no one’s worthy of dating you a-” “SHUT UP!” She practically screamed, her face a brilliant red. People kept turning to see what the commotion was, which kept making Saihara nervously shift in place.

The girl behind Iruma (which he still didn’t know,) spoke up, a slightly nervous smile on her face. “So, I’m assuming you know these boys Iruma?” She asked, practically glowing.

“W-well, I know the purple little sh- gremlin, that’s Kokichi,” she murmured, twirling her hair. “And this is Saihara chan!” He chirped, showing off the other boy like a trophy. “He’s like, totally deaf, so that’s why he’s so quiet!”

“No I’m not,” He deadpanned, slightly sighing. Kokichi just giggled, gently nudging him forward. “Well it’s nice to meet you Saihara kun! I’m Akamatsu!” She smiled, trying to distract Miu and Ouma from fighting.

“It’s nice to meet you too Akamatsu san,” He murmured, looking to the side. She just smiled, not seeming to mind the lack of eye contact. “So!” She exclaimed, clapping her hands together, causing Kokichi and Iruma to temporarily stop glaring at each other.

“Since we’re all here, why don’t we do something together?” She asked. Ouma smiled innocently, “Yeah, we should! Riiight I-ru-ma channn?” He teased, his smile turning into a mischievous grin.

Miu just muttered something along the lines of, “Whatever,” and crossed her arms. “Since Iruma san and I just got here, we can all eat in the cafe. Sound good?”

No one objected, so she smiled and went into the cafe. Once they were crammed into a small booth, the whole situation finally hit Shuichi.

This whole thing wouldn’t be a problem if he knew how to talk to people without getting nervous. If that was the case, everything would be fine. Perfect even. Except, he didn’t. He had mostly been isolated most of his life, and kept to himself.

So this was a major problem.

Before Saihara could have a meltdown in public where a bunch of people could see him, Kokichi spoke up. “Sooo, are you guys friends or?~” He asked, a sly grin on his face.

“Yeah, we’re friends! We met a few weeks ago when she spilled her drink on me,” She replied, quietly giggling. “It’s probably because she was-” Ouma was cut off by Miu again, “No I wasn’t you twink! Shut up!”

Kaede gently pat Iruma’s shoulder, effectively shutting her up. “So, do you guys have any funny stories?” She asked, tilting her head. “I’m so glad you asked Akamatsu chan!” Ouma exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table in excitement, causing Saihara to flinch.

“Well, I remember once my organization and I were throwing some water balloons at some random kingdom nearby, and we ended up getting chased around for a bit! It was suuuuper fun!” He chirped, smiling.

Shuichi froze up for a second, staring wide eyed at Kokichi. He remembered overhearing that conversation when he was around seven, talking about kids in clown masks and checkered scarves.

“Why did you even-” Saihara murmured, staring at him. “Oh, you know,” Ouma very helpfully replied, a playful grin on his face. Shuichi quietly laughed, covering his mouth. “I’ll never get how you’re able to do things like that, I can’t even maintain eye contact for more than a few seconds.”

“All it takes is some practice and a fake personality!” He sing songed, gently nudging him. Shuichi continued laughing, still trying to muffle it. Miu and Kaede eventually joined in, everyone smiling.

Maybe he could stay a little longer. He still has a lot he wants to know about everyone else.

—

wwww this doesn’t feel too good but,,, needed to get done,, -DA

3 | 4 | 5

Read it on AO3!

#Candy Kingdom #dream anon #saiouma #oumasai #ouma kokichi #saihara shuuichi #shuuichi saihara #kokichi #ouma #saihara #shuuichi #shuichi #danganronpa #ndrv3 #dr #v3 #danganornpa v3 #submission

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parkersharthook · 5 years ago

Text

Leaves From The Vine

(Peter Parker x reader)

Warnings: angst, minor violence, mentions of neglectful parents, possibly tiggering backstory, mentions of avatar: the last airbender throughout including the title lol

5.9k+ words

A/n: okay so i’m weirdly proud of this even though it’s like really random? i’ve had this story as a dream for the last week so I just had to write it and I really like the beginning but it kind of falls apart towards the end lol. also if you don’t know atla it’s chill.

enjoy! also requests are open

A secret about you comes out that forces you to spill all the painful memories of your childhood. It causes you to fear for your position in Peter’s life.

It was tense in the conference room. Everyone sat in complete silence. Your glassy eyes watched Tony pace at the head of the table while you bit your lip and fiddled your fingers nervously. He would pause for a moment and then resume his pacing, never taking his eyes off you. There was another fidgety presence pressed against the far wall of the room, out of your direct eyeline, but you could make out his shadow in your peripheral. You didn’t think you deserved to look at him, not right now.

“I’m gonna go.” His voice was quiet and terse, his movements rigid and frustrated as he practically sprinted for the door. He yanked it open with superhuman strength, almost pulling it straight off the hinges. A head of blonde and a pair of heels followed hurriedly after him. You winced as the door slammed shut and hung your head in shame. You really didn’t mean for it to come to this.

4 hours earlier

“Do you want Chinese?”

You didn’t answer, your fingers curling gently around Peter’s hair. You followed his natural curve pattern before untwisting it and then moving it in the opposite direction. You were completely entranced with the fluffy head of hair settled nicely in your lap.

Peter sighed and rolled his eyes fondly as he looked into your face. He recognized the look: eyes locked in on the strand of hair, lips parted slightly, short tuffs of air coming out regularly. His hair had your undivided attention.

This happened sometimes and it wasn’t always something you could control. You’d find something small and insignificant to focus on and slowly disassociate from the world. Sometimes your thoughts were about the task you had undertaken or sometimes they were about anything and everything. On your better days, you called it your ‘Avatar State’.

The first few times it happened, Peter had startled you out of it (on accident of course) which left you embarrassed and him apologetic. Over the course of your 6 month relationship however, he learned. And while he didn’t really want to disturb you, his stomach was growling up something fierce and needed food. His hand snaked upward slowly and slightly before it gently landed on you knee. He rested it there for a moment before giving it a light squeeze.

He saw you blink, your eyes watering and then refocusing quickly. You blinked a few more times before inhaling deeply and looking around. Peter smiled at you and then smiled wider when your gaze made it down to his face. You combed your hand through his head with more purpose this time, “sorry. Zoned out there for a bit.”

“no worries. Hungry?” You nodded and Peter immediately sat up and moved off the bed causing you to frown.

He whined dramatically, “Babe, I’m so hungry. My dad said he got Chinese so it’s either that or we leave this tower immediately to get some food.”

You rolled your eyes and lazily rolled off the bed, strolling up to Peter and throwing your arms around his neck like you had all the time in the world. You pressed a chaste kiss to his lips before pulling back, “so needy.”

“the neediest. Now c’mon, I’m hungry.” He grabbed your hand and quickly pulled you towards the door. You laughed as you trailed behind him as he pulled you through the long hallways until you reached the kitchen.

“Thank god you two showed up. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could fight off these heathens for you to get food.” Tony said bitterly as he put his body in front of a good pile of cartons. Peter could see both Bucky and Sam eyeing the pile with hungry eyes, despite the large amount of food on both of their plates.

“yes! You’re the best dad!” Peter quickly vaulted over the couch and ran to the kitchen to grab the food. You were much slower and much less graceful as you walked around the furniture like a normal person. You often compared yourself to Sokka while surrounded by superheroes.

You smiled at the older man, “thank you Tony.”

“of course.” You settled against the counter, quickly digging into a carton of noodles.

Sam narrowed his eyes at peter, “why do they get so much food?”

“because we like them better.” Steve said casually as he strolled into the room with Morgan on his hip.

Peter pointed his fork at Sam, “haha.” Then turned to his dad, “great timing pops. You’re the best.”

“I thought I was the best?” Tony called from the couch.

“sorry you’ve been demoted.” Peter stated casually causing you to laugh.

Tony turned and pouted before looking at you. “y/n you think I’m the best right?”

You quickly held your hands up in defense, “I’m not in the middle of this.”

Bucky shook his head, “Good choice y/n, you’re too smart for their nonsense.” Your eyes caught his metal arm, remembering when you gave him the nickname of sparky-sparky boom man a few weeks ago. You had quickly covered your mouth in embarassment before Clint began laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe. It had actually ended up with you not murdered, surprisingly.

Morgan perked up, clumsily pushing her curls out of her face with a little baby hand. Her voice drew you back, “Even me Unc’ Buck?”

Bucky smiled softly and pushed her hair back, “Course not Morgan. Everyone knows you’re the smartest of them all.”

Morgan giggled happily and then looked over to you with a big smile. You smiled back just as largely.

“I take it back, Morgan’s my favorite!”, you stated seriously. A chorus of groans from your boyfriend and his dads could be heard. You smiled and looked around as more avengers began to file in. Peter slid closer and bumped your hip with his, offering you a small smile. Oh, so this is what happy looked like.

Now

“Tony.. I-” He silence you immediately with a raised hand a little ‘ump’ noise. Your mouth clamped shut with an audible click. He waited for a moment before his hand landed back on his chin and his pacing began again. His eyes still burned into your skin. Great job with the parents, you thought bitterly to yourself.

You winced under his gaze a moment later and ducked your head, your whole body slouching and your hand coming up to fiddle with the ends of your hair. You could feel the gaze of nine pairs of eyes on you and it made you wildly uncomfortable. You didn’t like being the center of attention, that’s why you kept this a secret. But look where that got you now.

2 hours earlier

“Hey Pete, can I come in?” Steve called from behind the door with a small knock.

“yeah it’s open.” Peter called back. Steve entered the room to find Peter laying on his bed in a slightly bent shape, with you copying his position but with your head at the foot of the bed. Peter was fiddling with a loose strand of thread on your sock and Steve couldn’t help but smile at the sight. You two were good for each other.

“I need you to watch Morgan for a little bit, we got called in for an emergency meeting at SHIELD.”

“everything okay? Am I needed?”

Steve shook his head, “no it’s not a mission it’s about something else… I don’t really know. I usually stop listening when fury starts talking.” The sentence startled a laugh out of you. Steve smiled at you, “he’s usually full of hot hair.” Steve shrugged causing you to smile wider. Man, you wish you had a dad like him.

“but all’s good?”

“yeah it’s fine, not even everyone is going, just me, your dad, Wanda, and Sam. Both Bruce and Vision will be in the lab if you need something but they’re working on some project or another. Clint’s not allowed to babysit unsupervised, like you know and Bucky and Nat are currently… well occupied…”

You stifled a giggle at the shade of red Peter turned. “ew dad.”

He chuckled slightly, “sorry. But do you mind watching her? It’ll only be for an hour or two.”

“yeah of course.” Both you and Peter shifted slightly and got off the bed. “is she in the living room?”

“yeah she’s with your dad coloring. Tell him to hurry up, will you?”

“Yeah I got you. Good luck with whatever is going on.”

“yeah thanks kid.”

You and Peter walked to the living room, Morgan instantly perking up and rushing towards you guys. She barreled into your legs, causing you to stumble back with a laugh as Peter steadied you. You smiled at the happy toddler as you bent down and picked her up.

“yeah thanks Morg, forget all about Daddy. Real great.” You laugh as Tony slowly picked himself off the floor, groaning slight.

“Pops says to hurry up. We got the little rascal.” Morgan squealed at the name as Peter quickly moved to tickle her stomach.

“Yeah, yeah I’m going.” He paused and planted firm clap on Peter’s shoulder before pressing a sloppy kiss to Morgan’s forehead just to make her laugh. To your surprise however, Tony also placed a delicate kiss to your cheek as he left with a little wave. You blushed and found your eyes tearing up slightly at the fatherly affection. You quickly pushed down the emotions with a cough and moved to the couch, a wriggling three year old still in your arms. You set her down softly on the ground and she immediately tugged Peter to the floor with her to color. You settled on the sectional behind them watching with a warm smile. You could get used to this.

Now

You felt the tip of a shoe graze against your shin and your head shot up, eyes widening. You didn’t realize you had gone into another disassociation until you met Natasha’s piercing green eyes. She quirked an eyebrow in question and you gave a slight nod trying to signal that all was good. Not that all was good at all really. In fact it felt like you’re entire world was falling apart around you. I mean here you were sitting in a room with nine other fully trained and very intimidating superheroes, and you were absolutely sure you were on the verge of tears and so unbelievably exhausted. But you couldn’t show that so you just nodded shyly.

Your eyes flitted around the room once more. Tony had finally stopped pacing and was now bracing himself against the back of the office chair. Steve reach up and lightly grabbed his wrist, encouraging him to sit down. Tony glanced at Steve’s hand but made no effort to move.

Bucky has folded his hands together, obviously getting impatient. Clint looked bored as he used a knife to dig dirt out from beneath his nails. Rhodey, Sam, and Vision were the definition of calm and collected as they sat politely and silently. Stupid military men/androids and their stupid manners. Wanda and Natasha just looked concerned and kept eyeing you with worry which was honestly making you even more nervous than before.

Tony took a large and loud inhale, practically forcing the attention to him. Your eyes snapped to his, your hands beginning to shake slightly. He narrowed his eyes at you and frowned slightly, “spill.”

45 minutes earlier

“I’m gonna run to the bathroom real quick.” Peter told you as he pushed himself up. Stretching out his legs and groaning from sitting on the hard floor for so long

“yeah no problem.”

Morgan turned to you, “can we color more?”

“of course sweetheart. Let’s get some more paper from the kitchen table.” You stood from the couch and held out your hand for the child to take. She did so happily and skipped behind you with a large smile on her face. You were about 6 yards from the kitchen when something went terribly, terribly wrong.

You’re not even sure what happened and you doubt you’d be able to recall it in the future. In one second flat, red lights started flashing, alarms began to blare, the large windows on the wall shattered to a million pieces, and large scary looking things rushed towards you.

Looking back on it, you’re sure that you blacked out and were running on pure instinct and adrenaline. Because only a fraction of a second later did you thrust your hand toward a robot, not waiting to see if it went down before curling your body around Morgan and raising a hand above your head to protect yourself. Morgan was crying against your chest and you did your best to console her with your free hand, your other one shaking and straining to stay raised.

You don’t know how long you were in that position, you had your eyes squeezed too tightly shut and you were deathly scared of what would happen if you opened them. Logically, you told yourself, nothing would change and your vision would remain dark. But you couldn’t risk it.

What felt like an eternity later you finally heard a voice. It was soft but obviously scared and sounded far away. You very cautiously opened your eyes, putting your hand against Morgan’s head and pushing her further against your chest. Nothing was getting to this child, so help you god. You looked around, only seeing darkness, and strained your ears.

“y/n? Morgan?” That was Peter. He sounded worried, anxious even. He called again, this time sounding closer. “Are you in there?”

“Peter!” that was someone new. It made you wince causing Morgan to cry harder. She had no idea what was going on and was reacting purely off of what you were doing. You had to stay calm, for her. “What happened!?” Tony. That was Tony. Oh no… he probably came home once the alarm sounded.

You looked down to the sobbing child in your arms and knew that nothing would stop Tony from seeing his baby. And you didn’t want to cause any more harm, so very slowly you lowered your arm. The rock barrier you put around you and the child lowered with it.

You squinted against the harsh intake of lights but quickly refocused and saw every. Single. Damn. Avenger standing in front of you looking both concerned and absolutely flabbergasted.

“what the fuck?” peter stuttered out, looking to where Morgan was still sniffling against you. Very quickly Morgan picked her head up at the noise of her brother’s voice and caught his eye. Her eyes quickly welled up again but then she noticed her dads and absolutely took off to find comfort in them. You didn’t blame her, you would love a nice hug right about now. But from the looks on the faces of the people around you, you really didn’t think you were gonna get one.

Steve’s gaze on you hardened immediately, “y/n, you have some explaining to do.” All you could do was nod dumbly from your place on the floor. You didn’t notice you were crying as well.

Now

“spill.”

“tony, maybe you should sit down.” Steve’s voice was soft and reassuring. Damn you wish it was directed at you right now.

Natasha was next, “Tony, you’re scaring her. Sit down.”

He threw his hands around, “I’m scaring her!?” you flinched at the loud sound. It didn’t go unnoticed by the heroes. Tony continued on, “She- she- she fucking controlled the earth around her! I didn’t know where Morgan was! If the intruders had gotten her or if she was dead somewhere and there she was, with- with her!” The finger pointed at you felt threatening and harsh. More tears spilt from your eyes.

Sam shot out of his seat, anger clouding his features. “Stand down.” Tony glared at him, neither refusing to back down. Sam seethed, “she’s a child. She’s scared. And right now Tony, she’s scared of you.” The words caused Tony to deflate slightly. “she saved Morgan. Sit your ass down before I make Steve carry you out of here.”

Tony sent another glare Sam’s way before landing in his chair clumsily. He didn’t meet your gaze again, preferring to stare at the wooden table instead. But his hands were clenched, obviously still angry about the situation.

“I’m sorry.” You words were broken and hoarse and didn’t even sound like you. You felt warm hands cover your own, it was Nat, but you pulled away. You didn’t deserve that. Not right now.

“y/n…” Sam started slowly. That was his therapist voice. It was calming. You tried your hardest to focus on that. “y/n… this is a confusing situation for everyone. But we would really like to talk about this. To figure out what happened.”

“I- I don’t know what happened.”

“you don’t know?” Bucky pressed gently.

You shook your head, “no. there were alarms and lights and I don’t know what those things were or who they were or what they wanted. I just acted on instinct. I kinda think I blacked out.”

“and the rock shield?”

“the rock shield?” you looked up confused. Oh… OH. Fuck, your brain was scattered right now. “oh. Yeah. That.”

“yeah, that.” Tony bit back harshly.

“um…” you looked around the room, “I kind of have… powers?”

20 minutes earlier with Peter

“I’m gonna go.” Peter bolted out of that room. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see, couldn’t think. There were delicate hands against his shoulders and then against his neck and cheeks. For a moment he thought they were yours but then straight hair and hard eyes and… and your eyes were soft and not as business-like so this wasn’t you. Peter focused in more and saw Pepper standing in front of him.

“breathe. Peter, you need to breathe.” She was talking to him. Instructing him more like it and finally he began to listen, sucking in a deep breath and letting it out shakily. “there you go, keep breathing.” Her hands were cool against his warm cheek and it felt good, really good. But he was too keyed up after the attack and the adrenaline was still kicking and he couldn’t breathe.

“peter.” She tapped his cheek lightly, “listen to me right now. Breathe. C’mon do it with me. In and out, in and out, there you go, in and out.”

Slowly he began to fall into a rhythm and calm down. His shoulders dropped and his posture sagged and his eyes drooped slightly. He was tired now. The adrenaline was gone and now he was just spent.

“let’s go sit with Morgan. Your dads finally got her to bed and if she wakes up from a nightmare it’ll be good for you to be there.” All peter could do was nod.

Pepper guided him to the room with a hand on his back. She was sleeping peacefully in the middle of a bed that was slightly too large for her but adorable none the less. The edge barriers were still in place to keep her from rolling off and Peter found himself smiling at the sight. Pepper pushed him gently to the couch and forced him to lay down on it before settling in the rocking chair herself. She was happy to note that Peter was asleep within the next five minutes. Pepper just sat there and watched her two god children sleep away their troubles.

Now in the meeting

“You… you have powers?” Rhodey asked, dumbfounded and shocked.

You bit your lip and nodded, “kinda?”

“is it a question?” rhodey pressed, you shook your head.

“No sir.” You gulped, “I have powers.” You voice was shaky, everyone could tell you were running on false confidence.

“powers…” Rhodey repeated again.

Clint chuckled, “can’t say I expected that one.” Tension left your body at the light humor. You were always comfortable around Clint, despite his tendency to wreak havoc wherever he went. He just seemed so much like the fun uncle you always wanted, cracking jokes and easing tension despite the situation. It was nice… he was something you could focus on now.

“y/n?” You shook out of the trance to see Bucky staring at you, he had obviously been repeating your name up until this point.

You blushed harder, a shaky hand pushing hair behind your ear. “sorry.”

“I asked if you could explain.” You cocked your head slightly. He waved his hand slightly and continued, “I mean if you could explain how you got them.”

“oh…” You wanted to say no. Wanted to refuse that private part of your life that was just yours. Wanted to keep the dirty secret you always hated so much just that… a secret. “yeah, I guess if you want me to.”

Wanda stepped in immediately. “only if you want to.” You met her gaze, right… she could read minds.

“No. We deserve an explanation for what happened out there.” Tony interrupted roughly, “we’ve known this girl for six months. She’s dating Peter and we didn’t know this about her? You’re not on any registry? Not in any news outlet? Obviously Peter didn’t know because he panicked his way right out of here. You can’t expect me to-”

“I’ll tell you!” You shouted, just to get him to stop. You couldn’t take it. You didn’t want him to list all the ways you fucked up. You knew it already, you were repeating the same list in your head. “I’ll tell you…”

“y/n…” That was Nat again. Ugh, you wished they weren’t so concerned for you, it would make everything so much easier.

“no it’s fine, really. I don’t want to burn any bridges or have you guys not trust me. I’ll tell you... but it’s kind of a long story, and not super pleasant.”

You could feel the air in the room shift slightly to something more somber. Backs straightened, eyes averted away from you towards inanimate objects, hands clasped together, people prepared themselves.

“I’m sure that when I started dating Peter, you all did background checks on me so you know a little of my history… but there’s a lot that’s not on there.” You took a deep breath, “when I was seventeen, my younger brother came out to my parents as trans and they kicked him out. He was only fourteen and didn’t have anywhere to go. I fought for him obviously which got me kicked out as a result. So we went to a shelter, I forged some documents saying I was 18 and his guardian so they didn’t call CPS.

“I started looking for a job to pay for us and a cheap apartment. Found this really shitty little rat hole for us but it worked. I slept on the couch and gave him the bed, but they were in the same room so it didn’t really matter. I got a job as an assistant at an engineering company nearby. It was honestly the best job I could hope for at the time: the boss was really kind, paid pretty decently, worked with school hours so I could continue going to school. It was good.

“I would go to this work after school and be the assistant for the CEO, he was this older gentleman who had the sweetest family and soon enough he became a sort of father figure for me. He never knew of my situation, I’m sure he would’ve done something if he did.” Your eyes grew a little misty at the memories. The others could tell how this was going to end.

“After about a year of working there, I was close to graduating high school and pretty much assumed college wasn’t an option for me. I still had to take care of my brother and couldn’t afford any books, and definitely not a university. But I accepted it and just got ready to work full time.”

“there was this one night where Mr. Frederickson, my boss, texted me saying I left my textbook in his office. And I wasn’t going to go back that night but the building was closed for annual inspections the next day and I had to get it back to the library or they would fine me, and money was really tight.

“Mr. Frederickson was still working and the nightshift had already come in, so it wasn’t sketchy or anything so I just stopped by the office to get my textbook, no big deal right? Well for the maybe… fifteen minutes that I was in the office, something malfunctioned and caused a big enough explosion to level the entire plant.” You sighed heavily, “fifty people in there at the time, I was the only survivor.”

Gasps filled the room. You didn’t meet their eyes, you didn’t want the sympathy.

“I was told that Mr. Frederickson survive the initial explosion but had too much smoke inhalation and passed soon after the first responders found him. I don’t remember much from it, I was knocked unconscious but the doctors said I got really lucky because I left with only a concussion and some lacerations. But… I got really lucky. It was a huge press field day though so I had to stay anonymous to protect my family… not that I had much family to protect. The police told me that their investigation concluded that there wasn’t any foul play and it was purely accidental which was good to hear, I didn’t want anyone coming after me or anything….”

“y/n…” Bucky’s voice was thick with emotion, “was this the Right Way Engineering Company?”

You nodded dumbly and watched as he and Sam shared a look. Sam sighed, “y/n we were there as first responders. I… I was the one who pulled you out of the rubble.”

“oh.” You squeaked. You coughed slightly, “thank you for saving my life.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. We didn’t get your name before the ambulance took you and we wanted to check in but we couldn’t find you in the hospital and the nurses wouldn’t give us any information…” Sam sounded distraught which didn’t make sense to you.

You shrugged slightly, “there’s nothing you could’ve done. I don’t remember anything so it’s not like I needed therapy.” You chuckled humorlessly

“So the explosion caused your powers?” Clint asked, humor far from his tone

You nodded, “I assume so. I never knew what they did in the factory you know? I just stuck to coffee orders and mail runs but I guess whatever they were doing gave me these powers.”

“And what are… what are those powers?” you kinda forgot that Vision was in the room with how quiet he was being.

“I can control the four elements… kinda like the avatar but I don’t expect you guys to get that reference.” You mumbled the last bit and missed the look of excitement wash over Clint and Bucky’s face.

“y/n…. you’re Aang.” Clint stated with a huge smile on his face.

Your eyes shot to his, “you know the show?”

“know the show?! I am an ATLA fanatic! I write fanfiction for it!” that caused you to laugh and suddenly you felt so much better. “why do you think I loved the nickname ‘sparky-sparky boom man’ so much?”

“wait is all the spirit stuff accurate?” Bucky suddenly asked causing you to look at him in shock.

“you too?”

“Oh yeah, Clint put it on my catch up list and thank god he did. Best show ever.” Little chuckles fell from your lips at the admission.

“umm not that I know of? And I can’t produce the elements like they can. I can only control what’s around me. So air is the most abundant but I rarely use fire.”

“I’m sorry… I’m a little confused. You can… control? The elements?” Steve asked, utter bewilderment across his face.

You bit your lip and nodded, using your fingers to send a warm breeze across his face. Clint giggled with a cheeky grin.

He whispered loudly, “best day ever.”

“so you pulled a rock shield over you and Morgan when you saw you were being attacked?” Nat supplied with a small smirk.

“yeah I guess, it was all pretty instinctual and fast pace. I didn’t even realize I did it until Peter started calling my name.” Your heart beat a little heavier at his name.

You forced yourself to meet Tony’s gaze once again, finding less intensity and more pity.

Rhodey raised his hand slightly, “I don’t mean to pry but Peter said he met you at college? I thought you didn’t go?”

“oh, apparently Mr. Frederickson put me in his will. I babysat for him a few times and got close with his wife and kids and grandkids so I guess he considered me family. I used the money to put me and my brother in a slightly better college apartment and went to Brooklyn College on a small scholarship. It ends up only being around $500 a semester and I have a job at the library so I get free access to books and sometimes they put my paycheck directly against my tuition. I’ve put the rest away for my brother to go to college. He’s going to graduate high school next year.” A small smile graced your lips as you said it. Damn, the kid was growing up.

“have you had tests done?” You hadn’t heard Tony’s voice in so long that it startled you.

You shook your head, “I tried to do a little research but it’s not like a common disease or anything and there’s no one I trusted enough to tell and it’s not like I have access to that equipment or the knowledge of what to test for.”

Tony just nodded slyly. Steve was next, “so why hide it?”

You shrugged and fiddled with a loose thread. “no offense or anything, but I wasn’t really interested in the whole superhero thing. I had to take care of my brother and myself and I didn’t really have the emotional capacity to worry about anyone else. Plus, it’s not like vigilantes get paid so it just wasn’t an option. And what else was I going to use them for? Become a travelling freak show and ultimately gain the attention of either you guys or bad guys and then get sucked into this life? No thanks. So I just didn’t tell anyone.”

“Does your brother know?”

You chuckled slightly, “no, he has such a big mouth. I’ve always wanted to tell him and it’s not that I don’t trust him, he’s just excitable sometimes and I worry it’ll slip out. Plus, the less he knows the safer he is.”

“y/n, we’re really sorry for how this all went down.” Steve suddenly said sincerely. You gave him a tight lipped smile. “I’m sorry for how I behaved, I was just shocked and scared and confused. You are more than welcome here anytime and I don’t want it to seem like you’re not.”

You were about to respond but Tony cut you off, “Peter doesn’t know about this?” You shook your head. “any of it?”

“He knows my brother and that we live together. But I think he assumes that was a choice or we had a lack of parent situation. I think he was just too nice to ask about it. But that’s it.”

Tony hummed as he leaned on his hand. “do you guys mind giving me and y/n the room?”

You stiffened slightly. Wanda spoke up for you, “tony is that the best idea?”

“I’m not going to scream at her. I just want to talk to her without you morons eavesdropping. Is that okay y/n?”

And how do you turn down Iron Man, Tony Stark, father to your boyfriend? “yeah sure.”

The avengers filed out dutifully leaving you and tony and a long table between you two. Tony sighed and stood up before settling in the chair closest to you.

“well first off, I’m sorry that I exploded on you. That wasn’t cool. Like Steve, I was scared for Morgan and confused and I didn’t know what was happening. I’ve had people in my life that I trusted turn their backs on me. I didn’t want that for peter.”

“I get it.” You nodded and sighed, “I really do. Ryan, my brother, had a friend tell a secret of his once and I barely contained myself to words so I can only imagine what you were feeling.”

Tony chuckled lightly at that before sobering up slightly. “I’m also really sorry you had to grow up so soon. No one should be a caregiver at 17 and it very well shouldn’t continue on until your 21 so I’ve got you now.”

“pardon?”

“everything. It’s on me. You make peter happy and you saved Morgan, it’s the least I can do. I’ll put you and your brother in a nicer apartment closer to your college and monthly groceries will be delivered, just let me know what you want. His college too, everything. I’ll take care of it.”

“Tony… I can’t accept that.”

He looked at you deeply, “You saved Morgan and you make Peter happy. We all love you. You deserve better and I have more money than I know what to do with. Let me help you.”

“I-I…” You sighed and then groaned slightly because you knew Tony, “I don’t really have a choice do I?”

He laughed and patted your knee, “not really. I’ve already had FRIDAY start up the papers and transfers needed.”

You felt tears come to your eyes and you couldn’t help it. Before you knew it, you threw yourself into his chest and wrapped your arms tightly around his middle. You sagged in relief when you felt his arms wrap around you as well.

It was nice. It was safe.

“You need to tell Peter about this though. And probably your brother.”

“I will, no more hiding from now on. I’ll tell them both everything.” You bit your lip as you separated from the man, “is peter going to be mad?”

“not even a little bit.”

And he wasn’t, to your relief. He just held you close as you cried and offered you comforting words. He also didn’t leave you out of his sight for the rest of the night, taking you home all the way to Brooklyn and then buying dinner for you and Ryan and then sitting with you as you explained everything to your brother.

Overall, it went better than expected but it was still something to get used to. But now you had this family, a supportive one for a change, so you knew you didn’t have to deal with it alone.

3 months later

“Is Kate going to be there?”

“can you chill out? You’re such a teenage boy.” You nudged Ryan as the two of you rode the elevator up the tower.

“well yeah, I am 17.” He scoffed in return

“yes, I’m sure she’ll be here. But don’t flirt with her too obviously or Clint will literally kill you. And I know I’ve been practicing with my powers but I don’t think I can save you from a master assassin.”

“rude.”

You let out a short laugh as the elevator doors opened, the two of you walking out towards the large training center.

“hey Ryan!” Peter called from his perch on the roof with a small wave. That is until a net arrow was quickly shot his way and he had to jump out of the way. Your eyes travelled to Kate who was using your boyfriend as a human target practice, much to Clint’s chagrin.

“remember to use double release on opponents who are quick, it’ll make it easier to trap them.” He turned to you with a grin, “think fast.” In a blink he had his arrow drawn and let it fly right towards your face, your arm immediately going up to protect you and your brother with a slab of rock.

You lowered it with a grimace, “you’re going to kill me one of these days.”

“then get better.”

Ryan leaned closer and nudged you, “thank you so much for boning an avenger. This is the best.”

You shoved him lightly with a laugh, “you’re the worst.” But yeah… this kinda was the best.

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