#I wa such a nice girl that lit up every room I walk into

[jujuubee]

My stalker is sending me so many messages right now talking about how he had guns confiscated from him by the police but that someone he knows bought him one & asking if I want to see it …..

[helnjk]

Stitching Together - G.W.

George Weasley x fem!reader 

Requested: yes !! by my lovely bean marissa @lumos-barnes

please accept my humble request for a george x reader where the reader owns a shop in diagon alley and one day they walk into WWW and george knocks over a whole display, he is a complete SIMP & cannot compose himself. complete buffoonery when the reader is near. they become friends & do all these nice things for each other and the reader is oblivious like "george, i'm so lucky to be your friend" (even though the reader is secretly simping) and he's like "um what, i'm literally in love with you"

Word count: 3.1k

Warnings: mentions of meals and drinks (coffee), but other than that it’s just pure fluff & Dumb Idiots In Love

A/N: somehow i always end up writing george knitting? idk how it happened, but it happened. i hope you like it marissa 🥺💕

–

You took a step back to admire your handiwork. 

After what seemed like neverending hours, the layout of your shop was finally perfect. From where you stood, you had a view of the streets of Diagon Alley, several passersby coming and goings from your sight. The display of charmed knit work by the window was already moving, demonstrating simple stitches that formed into a scarf. 

It had always been your dream to open up your own shop in the most prominent wizarding area of Britain, with your passion for knitting and crafting, but the timing had always been off. Now, about a year or so since the war had ended, your grandmother surprised you with the capital to make your dreams come true. 

The gesture was extra special because she was the one who first taught you how to knit. Many summers were spent in her cottage, sitting side by side and working on personal projects together. 

Outside, your sign read ‘Stitching Together: Grand Opening’. There were a few flyers posted right on the door and on the window advertising the different classes and crafting groups you were offering, as well as the different products that could be found in your store. 

It was as if your heart could burst at the sight of your fully furnished shop and you could wait no longer. With a flick of your wand, the sign on the door flipped to say open and that was that. 

–

“Hey Freddie, have you seen that new shop that’s opened down the street?” George yelled from the bottom of the stairs once the last customer of the day made their leave. 

“Haven’t gone in, but it’s gotten a lot of customers from what I can tell!” the disembodied voice of his twin replied from somewhere above. 

As he began the process of cleaning up and reshelving, products floating in midair or zooming towards their proper shelves, he called out once more, “What type of store is it d’you reckon?” 

“Arts and crafts? Something like that.” 

George’s eyes drifted towards the shop window, where he could just barely see the outline of the new store. Dusk had begun to set in London, so the sky was filled with brilliant hues of purple and orange. His curiosity getting the better of him, he decided that he would go welcome the new shop owner to Diagon Alley. 

With a shout to let his twin know where he was off to, George strode out of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes and into the brisk weather. Luckily for him, Stitching Together was still open. He could see you bustling around inside, fixing displays and swishing your wand to tidy everything up.

It had only been around a month since your shop had opened, but the local wizard folk of London seemed to be very keen on buying the different things you sold. Many came around to purchase the instructional books and the different kinds of wool and yarn, and some of your regulars had even taken an interest in the classes you held weekly. It was a great way for you to get to know the community and to establish friendships. 

You had always taken note of the joke shop a few shops down from you, but with the hustle and bustle of just opening, you hadn’t had a chance to visit or introduce yourself to the owners. It was just your luck that one half of them pushed open the door to your shop, the little bell at the top of it ringing to indicate his presence. 

“Oh, hello!” you smiled, turning to face the redheaded man, “Welcome to Stitching Together, what could I help you with?” 

Unbeknownst to George, your heart began to beat rapidly in your chest. How could a man be so positively handsome you didn’t know, but at the sight of him standing by the door, all you could think about was how gorgeous he was. And he hadn’t even uttered a single word yet! 

The charming smile he sent your way did not help the heat you could feel creeping up your neck. “Just popping by to say hello and welcome to Diagon Alley! My twin and I run Wheezes just down the street,” he said. 

Your smile grew as he stuck his hand out for you to shake, “Oh I was just thinking about how I’ve been wanting to pay your shop a visit! I’m Y/N, by the way.”

“George Weasley at your service,” his hand was firm and warm as he shook yours, eyes sparkling with something you couldn’t quite name. “Nice to meet you!” 

“So tell me about your shop!” 

Somehow, after that evening, George Weasley snuck his way into becoming a part of your daily routine.

Every morning he would show up with two cups of coffee in hand right before your shop was set to open. After realizing that you depended on caffeine to function throughout your day, he made it a point to bring you one everyday. As you sipped on your coffees, the two of you would spend a few minutes chatting about your plans for the day before going to work. 

Whenever you would offer to pay for your own cup or even try to insinuate that you could get your own coffee in the morning, just so that he wouldn’t have to go through the trouble, he would stop you in your tracks.

“But George–”

“Nope!” he would say in a voice louder than yours. “I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart. I really feel for your customers who have to deal with a Y/N that hasn’t had her coffee fix. Could you imagine the grumpiness? Not on my watch!” 

You would roll your eyes, but secretly it warmed your heart how sweet this boy could be. He was slowly inching his way into your life and becoming a great friend. 

–

“So,” said Fred one day as George had gotten back from delivering your daily coffee, “The bird from the knitting shop, huh?” 

His twin only rolled his eyes in response, used to the teasing that came with being brothers (and twins) with Fred Weasley. Instead of engaging, George went instead to do the routine last check over their store before they officially opened their doors. Still, Fred couldn’t resist the temptation to continue provoking him. 

“Oi! C’mon, you bring her coffee everyday even if you don’t like the stuff. If I don’t remind you that you have a store to run, you would spend the whole day staring out the window just to catch a glimpse of the girl! Tell me you’re not whipped for her,” he teased, following George through the shop.

From their position at the till and on the second floor, both Verity and Lee tried to hide their smirks. This was too good a story to not eavesdrop on. 

“Come off it, Fred.” George rolled his eyes. “I’m just being a good friend, that’s all!” 

“Yeah but you wouldn’t mind being more than friends.” 

The cheeky wink Fred sent George was not appreciated, as the prior soon found out, having to duck away from a stinging hex. Still, Fred’s laugh rang through the semi-empty store as he ran away from his brother. 

Later in the day, as the lunch crowd tapered off, the four of them were left to mull around a bit. Lee and Verity were off taking stock in the back room, Fred was doing some accounting (because his twin couldn’t be trusted with any sort of math), and George was reshelving some Skiving Snackboxes. 

The bell above the door to the shop rang, but he couldn’t quite tell who came in from his position towards the back of the shop. 

“Welcome to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes!” he yelled, rushing to get all the boxes in order before he could help the new customer, “I’ll be with you in just a second!” 

Just as he admired his handiwork, eyes scanning the display to make sure nothing was out of place, a familiar voice called from behind him, “It’s alright, take your time. I’m not looking for anything in particular.” 

George almost jumped out of his skin as he heard your voice. He was so surprised that as he turned to meet you, his elbow caught on the edge of one of the Snackboxes and the whole thing toppled over. 

You watched as the tower of boxes crumbled around him, and your hand automatically covered your mouth as you tried to contain your laughter. It didn’t work, though, and soon the whole store could hear your guffaws. 

Thankfully, George was a wizard, and what would’ve taken a muggle quite some time to fix, only took a quick flick of his wand. 

“Oops,” you smiled at him bashfully as he finished, “Didn’t mean to startle you, Weasley.”

“Erm, it-it’s alright,” he blushed, “I just didn’t expect you to come ‘round today.” 

In truth, the reason why George was so flustered at your appearance at his shop was because he had just spent most of the afternoon thinking about you. He often did that, getting lost in his thoughts about the many little things that made you, well, you. The deep breath you took before that first sip of coffee in the morning, revelling in the aroma. How your face lit up when you spoke about the different people you met in your classes. Your hands and how skillfully they worked whatever project you were creating at the moment. 

He wouldn’t admit it to Fred, but what his twin had said earlier in the day was accurate. He was absolutely smitten over you. 

“Well you’ve been a regular over at mine for the last couple of weeks, I’m just returning the favor and visiting my favorite redhead at his place of work!” 

“I-I,” he stuttered, his brain refusing to acknowledge the fact that he was your favorite anything. 

Fred, who had heard the commotion and had gone down to check if everything was okay, nearly face palmed as he watched George fumble through his words. The man was whipped for you, no doubt about it, and as a good twin, he decided to save his brother from further humiliation. 

“I think what my lovely twin here is trying to say, is that you just haven’t met enough redheads to make your decision about your favorite one,” he said, smoothly inserting himself into the conversation. “Fred Weasley, at your service!” 

Your smile immediately brightened at the sight of George’s twin holding out his hand for you to shake, “Nice to meet you! I’m Y/N, George’s told me loads about you!” 

“Has he?” Fred raised his eyebrow, turning to look at George who was still a little dumbstruck at the sight of you in his shop. “Well, that just means it’s my turn to spend some time with such a lovely lady. C’mon, I’ll give you a tour of the shop!”

“Oh I’d love that.” 

With a small glance and wave at George, you took the arm that Fred was holding out for you, and so began his (largely amusing) tour of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. 

“What in Merlin’s name was that!” yelled Fred the moment you left the shop. 

George groaned into his hands, embarrassment creeping back into him. He had acted a fool, unable to even mutter a single sentence to you the whole time you were around. 

“Mate, I have never seen you so flustered around a girl,” his twin muttered, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, “Just tell her you’ve got feelings for her! Ask her on a date, do something! From what I could tell, you’re not the only one who’s caught feelings.” 

“It’s not like that between us,” he said, “I doubt she even notices how much I fancy her.” 

–

Somehow, George wound up taking Fred’s advice. Though, in typical-George fashion, he never explicitly mentioned to you anything about the way he felt. 

Instead, he would stay around your shop longer in the mornings, taking slower than usual sips of his coffee (which he still couldn’t say he preferred over a good cup of tea). Other days, he would come around closing time and help put everything back in order and if he was lucky, the two of you would go out to dinner. Of course, he would also never let you pay a sickle for your meal, no matter how much you insisted. 

Weekends were usually spent together as well. 

Saturdays were for brunch and muggle films on the telly. It was one of the rare occasions he would drink a beverage in front of you that wasn’t that (god forsaken) coffee. 

Sundays were more for crafting together. He would floo into your flat after having lunch with his family and the two of you would continue working on his little project. 

“My mum loves to knit,” he mentioned one day, while he observed your quick hands skillfully moving the thread through your needles. “She knits us all sweaters for Christmas. It’s become a tradition of sorts.” 

“That’s lovely,” you smiled up at him.

“Yeah, anyone who’s practically family gets one too. Like Harry and Hermione,” he mused.

“I could teach you how to knit her something, if you wanted,” you offered. “It’d be something pretty simple though, especially if you’ve never knitted anything before.”

The smile he sent you was so dazzling, you had to take a moment. You were practically melting under his tender gaze and you swallowed thickly, trying to gain your composure. 

 “That’d be bloody brilliant, Y/N!” 

You only hoped he didn’t notice how your face got hot and how your hands couldn’t move the needles to do what you wanted, too flustered to be precise with your movements.

Since then, the two of you spent most of Sunday afternoons making sure George had the correct strings of yarn on the correct needle. You would keep a close eye on him and his progress, but most of the time he was alright on his own. Sometimes, he would purposely sit closer to you on your couch and you could practically feel the warmth radiating from him. 

In between knits, your eyes would drift towards his focused face and you would smile. George had a habit of poking the tip of his tongue out when he was knitting. Something about the gesture helped him concentrate, and you found it absolutely adorable.

The more time you spent together, though, the more confused George got. It was getting to a point where in his head, it was impossible to miss what he was trying to say with his actions. You had to have caught on by now. And, since you hadn’t acknowledged what was going on between the two of you, he had assumed that this was your polite way of rejecting him.  

On a chilly morning, he clutched the warm cups of coffee in his hands as he pushed the door to Stitching Together open with his back. 

“Morning, Y/N!” he greeted.

You grinned in his direction as he made his way towards you. The moment he placed the warm drink in your hands and you took your first sip, a small moan of gratefulness escaped your lips.

“Merlin, I don’t deserve you,” you mumbled to your cup. 

“Sorry?” George asked, brows furrowed slightly. 

“Oh nothing!” you quickly said, “I’m just really glad you’re my friend, Georgie.” 

Friend. 

The word seemed to make his heart sink down to his stomach and ignite something in him at the same time. It was time that he told you how he felt, no matter what would happen afterwards. He couldn’t keep going on pretending he wasn’t head over heels in love with you. 

“Erm, about that Y/N,” he began, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his work uniform, “I’ve got to tell you something.” 

It was now or never. 

You smiled up at him encouragingly, almost oblivious to the bundle of nerves that were most definitely visible in his expression. 

“I-I don’t want to be just friends, Y/N,” he said, lips pursed in anticipation.

“What do you want then?” you still didn’t understand what he was trying to say. 

In a burst of confidence, George took your hands in his and gripped them tightly, “I want to be with you. I fancy you loads, I think I might even be in love with you, Y/N. Honestly, I might’ve been in love with you from the moment I first walked into your shop.” 

Your lack of an immediate response left him to back track, “But I understand completely if you don’t feel the same way, I just wanted to get it out there.” 

For a moment, the two of you were silent. George eyed you nervously, wondering what was going on through your head, bracing himself for the rejection that he thought was on the tip of your tongue. 

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore, “Y/N? Do you want me to go?” 

Instead of answering, you flung your arms around his neck. He was so startled at your sudden gesture that he almost didn’t notice your lips on his. Almost. 

As suddenly as you had kissed him, all of his apprehensions melted away. Almost automatically, his arms found themselves wrapped around your waist and he pulled you closer to him. Your lips melted together seamlessly. It was as if this was where the two of you were meant to be, and you couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. 

Sooner than you had liked, George pulled away from you slightly. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t help but dip his head down to peck your lips again. Once, twice, three times. This left you a giggly mess, your nose scrunching up in a way that was practically begging him to kiss it as well. 

“Does that mean you fancy me too?” he murmured against your lips. 

“Absolutely, head over heels,” you smiled in return. 

The pair of you spent a brief moment with your foreheads pressed together, giddy smiles on your faces. That was until a knock on the door of your shop sounded. Immediately, you sprung apart, a blush coating tip of George’s ears and cheeks. 

A few people stood outside, eyeing you amusedly. 

“Oh shit,” you said, hurrying to flip the sign on the door to say ‘open’ and to unlock the door with a flick of your wand. “I completely forgot I had a class today.” 

As the small group of people began to file inside, they sent knowing glances your way to which you only groaned softly and looked up at George.

“I’ll see you tonight?” you asked hopefully. 

With a kiss to your cheek and a mischievous grin he said, “You can count on it, love.” 

–

General taglist: @expectoevans @george-fabian-weasley @gxthsanrio @slytherinscribbles @harpyloon @nuttytani @mesmerisedangel @amourtentiaa @sarcasticallywitty15 @lumos-barnes

Weasley twins taglist: @whizboingies @pineapplesandpinas @papapapadumb @Mrs-g-weasley @a-castle-of--glass @hey-there-angels @leovaldez37 @pinkypurplemagic @werewolfslut @surprizeshawtyy

crossed out means i couldn’t tag you for some reason, sorry!

[maximumjinx]

Steven Universe Gravity Falls AU

~Yknow what they say, if you run out of content, ya gotta make it yourself. This is a ? shot (I might continue or not who knows not me) please don’t ask for more I have 18 unfinished fanfics on this site.~

California was nice, Steven had to admit. The people were nice, the food was fantastic, and the weather was splendid. It reminded him a lot of Beach City. Though there were just so many people, and traveling north, Steven was beginning to long for something small and simple again.

Oregon was the perfect place for that, right?

“Ronaldo wants pictures of Bigfoot, and if anyone can find him, its you Steven.” Petey’s voice was faint on Steven’s phone speaker, tossed into the passenger seat as Steven blindly picked a highway exit.

“Sure Petey, but couldn’t Ronaldo just go to a circus?”

“Not big feet Steven,” Petey emphasized, “Bigfoot.”

“Saying it twice isn’t helping buddy.” Steven was half paying attention. He was focusing on the winding roads and the looming trees surrounding him. Deep, in the pit of Steven’s stomach, he felt something start to tug him toward one direction farther away from the highway. He wasn’t quite sure if it was a good or bad feeling yet.

“Forget it, I’m going to take a blurry photo of that mean Gem in the woods and say its Bigfoot.”

“Just don’t let Jasper catch you, she’s no joke when she’s angry.”

“I saw her ripping grass out of the ground I think I’ll be fine. Later dude.”

Steven heard a small click and smiled to himself. He’s happy to see how far the people of Beach City have come and how they’ve taken to the gems. He remembers when the Crystal Gems were once the outcasts of town that locals warned you to stay away from.

He looked up to see a welcome sign.

“Gravity falls. Well, that’s a funny name.”

—

Steven wanted small and simple but he feels he may have overshot it.

This small town had exactly three attractions. A town museum that mentioned marrying woodpeckers (Steven couldn’t figure out if that was a normal human thing, like taxes and velcro), a small diner, and as one local described it ‘some tourist trap’ deep in the woods. It was a sticky summer day and the former two attractions didn’t have airconditioning. Steven gambled on the last stop in hopes of stretching his legs and maybe finding a source to the strange feeling in his gut. It had become much stronger since he entered this small town. Alluring, but nothing related to Gems as far as Steven could tell.

He parked in the nearly empty lot and stepped out. Jacket wrapped loosely around his hips, Steven made his way inside.

A girl that looked about 13 was petting a pig on the front porch. She was incredibly reflective, and depsite the heat wore a knitted bedazzled sweater that made her glow like a disco ball in the sun.

She looked Steven up and down as he approached, a wide smile taking up her face and Steven saw bright braces with colored bands.

“Hi!” She launched upwards, startling the pig away, “I’m Mabel, but you can call me anytime.” The girl winked and stuck out her hand, palm facing the floor.

Steven blinked.

“Mabel, stop scaring away the customers!” A gruff voice yelled through the screen door, and soon an older man stepped out in a suit, wearing a fez and eyepatch.

Immediately the old man squinted at Steven, sizing him up.

Stanley Pines knew this teen wasn’t local, but he wasn’t sure if he had any money. For all he knew he was another boy trying to hit on his giftshop cashier, Wendy.

Oh well, a customer is a customer.

“Come in, come in, and see our mystical and magical wonders!”

“Magical?” This could be it, Steven could figure out why this town has felt off. Maybe it was gem related after all.

Quickly this older man who had introduced himself as Mr. Mystery gave Steven a tour of what looked like failed taxidermy projects. Now Steven may have a lived a sheltered childhood, but he felt pretty confident there was no such thing as a Sashcrotch. And so far, nothing had felt magical or mysterious.

“That concludes our tour! Here is our mistifying giftshop and it’s purchasable wonders!”

“Right...” Well, at the very least he was able to spend some time in airconditioning.

There was a girl behind the desk in plaid that looked about Steven’s age, and just a half inch shorter than him. She looked bored, flipping through a magazine as a young boy that looked a lot like Mabel made googly eyes as he swept by the door.

Steven guessed there was no harm in asking around.

“Hi, I’m Steven.” He smiled easily, walking up to the register.

“No refunds, even if an exhibit bit you.” She sighed, peeking up before turning back to her magazine.

“Oh no, nothing bit me, I just wanted to know something.”

She looked up to get a better look at Steven and gave a small smirk.

“Sure, but only because I like your shirt. Mr. Universe merch, now that’s a deep cut.”

Unbeknownst to Steven, Dipper Pines would had been watching the exchange felt a twinge of uneasiness as this out of towner talked with Wendy.

“Have you ever seen anything strange or weird actually happen in this town?”

Wendy’s smile dropped.

“Why do you ask?” Her eyes flickered to Dipper, just for a moment, and that was all he needed to rush over.

“Excuse me sir, please buy something or exit the store.” Dipper spoke in the deepest voice he could muster.

Steven looked over with a questioning expression.

“Oh sure uh-“ He blindly reached for the wad of bills that his dad had given to him before he left. Steven pulled out a hundred dollar bill and put it on the counter. Wendy looked up baffled as Steven stuffed the other cash back in his wallet.

“Boy was I wrong about you kid!” Mr. Mystery, seemingly materializing out of nowhere, now bounded over. He had loosened his tie and lost the eyepatch which turned out he never needed.

“Whaddya wanna know? I’ll tell you everything. There’s gnomes in the woods you know-“

“Grunkle Stan!” Dipper protested loudly, dragging his Stan away and harshly whispering at him.

“Did you steal that money?” Wendy asked as Steven watched the pair whisper fight in the corner. He turned back to the girl and gave a sheepish smile.

“Uh no, my dad gave it to me before this roadtrip. He’s actually Mr. Universe.”

Wendy lit up.

“No freaking way! Your dad is Mr. Universe? I only got into him since he managed Sadie Killer and the Suspects and they always perform covers of his songs on tour, I can’t believe he’s your dad!” She rambled, stars in her eyes. Steven beamed, he loved when people praised his dad’s music. Greg really deserved it.

Steven learned Wendy’s name and they swapped stories back and forth, only interrupted as the girl from outside slowly rose from the behind the counter beaming.

“A cute musician that loves weird stuff, take me now.” She swooned. Steven blushed profusely, not used to the attention.

“Sorry, my girlfriend Connie probably wouldn’t like that very much.” He said gently. Mabel looked him up and down and pouted.

“I can wait, but not forever.” She warned, and winked, bounding to break apart her grunkle and Dipper, who are now whisper screaming with arms flailing.

“I wasn’t going to mention that Dorito shaped jerk! Just the normal stuff!”

“It’s dangerous! He could be a spy, or government, or another stack of gnomes!”

Steven raised an eyebrow and looked at Wendy. She chuckled and shrugged. Steven carefully approached them.

“He can hear everything you’re saying anyways so might as well tell him!” Mabel interrupted, nodding towards Steven as he came up.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m definitely not government.” Steven technically didn’t exist at all. He never had a social security card and didn’t have a birth certificate.

Dipper only glared. Rich strangers with an interest in the paranormal didn’t come through gravity falls without some kind of agenda.

Steven hated the conflict he was starting. No information was worth this family fighting.

“Okay,” he surrendered, hands up, “I’ll just go. I’ll stick around town until tomorrow if you change your minds”

“Wait Steven-”

“Let him go Wendy,” Dipper glared as the boy in pink walked out, “We can’t trust him.”

“But I was going to ask for Sadie tickets...” Wendy groaned, defeated.

“There’s something weird about him.”

“Great!” Mabel beamed, “He’ll fit right in.”

~.~

Steven wasn’t crazy about sleeping in his car, but was seriously considering it after seeing the state of his motel room. It looked like it hadn’t been used in decades, a thin line of dust covering every surface. He was also pretty sure they didn’t even have free ice. 

“Wish Pearl were here..” He mumbled, exhausted. He curled up on top of the covers, fully clothed, and let sleep take him.

Being Steven Universe however, meant rest was sure to allude the half alien. 

Steven found himself in a dark space, fog all around him. Before a word could come out of his mouth he heard a fast, repetitive muttering. 

“Stranger...Wendy looked pretty today..Can’t trust...Tell no one...Ford isn’t here..”

“What, the-” Steven quietly walked toward the source of dialogue, and saw the faded silhouette of the boy from the Mystery Shack. His back was turned to him, but Steven recognized the blue vest and mosquito bitten legs. 

“I thought I was over the dream hopping.” Steven spoke a tad too loudly, starting the young boy - Dipper.

“What-” Dipper’s eyes grew wide in panic, and the boy fell back harshly.

“No, no, you can’t be in my head!” 

“Wait, I’m not-” Steven tried to reassure him, stepping carefully towards the boy but Dipper let out a screech of terror, sweat gathering around his temples.

“Bill sent you didn’t he?! He’s not really gone- he’s going to hurt Mable again-” Dipper began to hyperventilate. 

“Dipper please,” Steven took a step back, arms in the air in surrender. 

“I-”

“I’m not going to hurt you I swear on the gems.” He placed a hand over his heart. “This is a total invasion of privacy but it’s something that happens when someone’s emotions are out of control-”

“How are you here?” Dipper demanded, scrambling to his feet. “Tell me what you are and what you want.”

“I’m just passing through!” Steven insisted, then lowered his tone to calm the younger boy. “I’m kinda of magnet for weird stuff. I just wanted to help in case anything was going on.”

“We deal with things just fine around here.” Dipper spat, then watched as Steven deflated. He seemed tired, like he hasn't slept well in a while. 

“So what are you anyways? How can you be here?”

Steven winced, and laughed nervously. “It’s kind of a long story..”

Dipper raised and eyebrow and swept his arm around the void dramatically. 

“You have until dawn.”

~

“I thought that was a conspiracy theory, it wasn’t even covered by major news outlets.” Dipper look exhausted, cross legged on the unseen floor as he ran his hands through his hair. 

“I think Garnet is pretty persuasive when it comes to government and reporters. They all kinda fall in love with her.”

“She’s the one that’s really two aliens?” 

Steven shook his head with a small smile. “It’s hard to explain but yes, I guess that comes close.”

“That’s actually insane. I’m insane, aren’t I?” Dipper stood up, leaving Steven on sitting next to an empty space. “It’s been too quiet around here and now I’m so desperate for weird, that I’m making it all up in my head.”

“I get that feeling.” Steven smiled without humor, “but no, this is real. I’ll prove it when you wake up.” Steven felt a shift, the fog in the void getting denser. 

“Sooner than I thought, you’re an early riser huh?”

Dipper looked back at Steven, panicked. “You’ll come to the Shack again right? In just a bit?”

Steven smiled. “Promise.”

~

Dipper woke up to his sister braiding his hair. Mabel still had her pjs on, and a make up kit next to the bed. Dipper frowned, tasting strawberry shortcake. 

“Stop testing party looks on me, Mabel.”

“Stop having my face structure and maybe I will.” She grinned, covered in blue glitter. 

Dipper quickly washed up and got dressed for the day, feeling like he was anxiously waiting for something but not quite remembering what. 

He felt like he had a strange dream last night...

He quickly remembered, choking on cereal as Steven walked into the shack right as it opened. Hair slightly frizzy from the heat and eyes strangely tired. Maybe dream hopping took energy that he anticipated. 

“Steven!”

“Meal ticket!” 

“Grunkle Stan.” Mabel chastised as Dipper rushed over to the older boy. 

“Good morning everyone.” 

Dipper stopped short, slightly hoping that everything he experienced wasn’t just his imagination. That everything exciting and weird and interesting wasn’t always trying to kill him, ruin his life, or steal his candy. 

Steven looked tired, like he had been doing this much longer than Dipper, but he had still come out with enough energy to smile. 

“Not insane?” Dipper asked hopefully, quietly. Steven snapped his attention from his Grunkle and Mable bickering down to the Dipper. He gave a reassuring smile, eyes quite serious. 

“Not insane.”

[byorder-fanfic]

Red Eyed Anger

Summary: There are two things your brothers hate the most: the cavalry, and the idea of you, their youngest sister, dating. When they decide to piss you off at Tommy’s wedding, you think it’s a good idea to hit two birds with one stone. Or, more likely, give John an aneurysm.

Word count: 2234

Warnings: Swearing, overprotective brothers and mentions of drugs

Authors Note: This is my first Peaky Blinders x reader imagine, so I hope you enjoy. Thanks for all the support and kind comments from my first post, it really gave me the confidence to carry on! xx

When Finn had grabbed your wrist and told you Tommy wanted to see you, this wasn't exactly what you expected. Walking into his needlessly large kitchen, you dodged a few busy waiters hurrying around (and maybe grabbing a snack off one of the plates), as you perched on the side. Looking around, the family was all there. Well, nearly. It was all the men and boys, in their dark suits that made your dark green dress stand out more. It was long sleeved and baggy, just as all your clothes were, lest you wanted to give Arthur a heart attack. Tommy was looking as disgruntled as always as he lit a cigarette, eyebrows furrowed as he watched Arthur and Michael clamber down the stairs, saying something about needing a map. It was true, you thought, as you compared the mansion you were sat in to the little house in Watery Lane.

"Tom, why the hell have you invited me to your boys club?" You snapped, only to be ignored, as usual.

"Alright boys, you're all here," he muttered as he raised his arms to look at you all. You tried to ignore the 'boys' comment, but you still felt yourself glaring at him as he started his speech. "Today it's my fucking wedding day."

"And you said there'd be no uniforms," John pointed out with a snarl. Upstairs, the red uniforms overwhelmed every corridor and floor.

"Nevertheless John, despite the bad blood, I'll have none of it on my carpet." Everyone shared disappointed glances. "Now, for Grace's sake, those bastard's out there are her family, and if any of you fuckers do anything to embarrass her, your kin, your cousins, your horses, your fucking kids, do anything to-"

He was almost shouting, you didn't hear Isaiah suddenly piping in, until Tommy suddenly turned to him to yell "What?"

"What about snow?" You raised your eyebrows over your brother's shoulder, causing Isaiah to return a little smirk, as John grabbed him in headlock.

"No cocaine," he pointed his finger in front of Isaiah. "No sports," directed at John. "No races, no fucking sucking the petrol out of their cars." He grabbed onto Finn's face, and this time you couldn't hide a laugh. Then Tommy turned to you, his blue eyes unusually angry. "As always Y/N, no drinking, smoking, and no dancing with any man not in this room."

Your mouth dropped in offence, as you looked round to your other brothers, all looking at you with teasing grins.

"Tom, this is a party! I thought I could have fun!" You tried your best to look angry at him too, only to get John snorting out a laugh.

"C'mon, Y/N, you're just a kid, have fun with Katie and my lot," he suggested with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm sure Charlie's got some orange juice you can have," Arthur joined in with a gruff laugh. In a second, your fists were clenched as you moved up to hit them, only to have Tommy's grip on your shoulder, pushing you down.

"I'm the same age as Finn, you promised you'd let me have a bit of freedom!" 

"Well, we lied," Tommy said simply as he turned over to your Uncle Charlie, who was watching this with an interested cock of his eyebrows. "And, you, Charlie, stop spinning fucking yards about me, hey?" He turned around, letting out another huff of smoke.

"I'm just trying to sell you to them, Tom," Charlie protested as he too raised a cigarette in his hand. 

"And for the love of God, no fighting," Tommy was yelling again. You wondered if Grace could hear this. "NO FUCKING FIGHTING!"

You rolled your eyes as you quickly walked out, trying to ignore your Uncle's sympathetic pat on the shoulder as you marched past, a fury in your eyes and fists curled.

"I'm not a child, Esme," you groaned as you slumped next to your sister-in-law. She was giving a grin, evidently being told what Tommy's meeting was all about. "When will they start to treat me like Finn?"

"When you don't have tits," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Fucking sexists," you said under your breath, yet Isaiah still heard. He was by your side, eyes glazing over the woman on the dancefloor, yet commanded by Finn to play bodyguard. His laugh shook the cavalry shoulders standing behind you to jump suddenly, as they surveyed the three of you with curious eyes. You recognised one of them from the ceremony. He was younger than the two men, about your age, but still donned the same robin-red uniform. He was handsome, you thought, and had been giving you less than discreet looks as you stood opposite in the pews. Now, it was your turn to give him a grin. Luckily, neither Isaiah or Esme noticed your sudden change of attention. 

"I'm going to get some air," you said, and they both nodded as they watched you go, green dress standing out in the sea of red. As you'd hoped, there were a pair of footsteps behind you as you made it into one of the many corridors of Arrow House. 

"Miss Shelby," his accent was distinctly Irish and brought another smile on your face as you spun on your heels to turn to the cavalry soldier. 

"It's Y/N," you held out your hand, which he quickly took in his own, bringing himself closer to you. "And you are?"

"Conor Burgess." He let go of your hand, but he was still very close to you, his breath fanning on your skin.

"You're related to Grace?" Despite yourself, you took a step closer, your chest brushing against his.

"She's my dad's cousin."

You brought your hands up to smooth down the edges of the bright uniform he donned. Red, like the bad blood between them and your brothers. Red, like the anger you felt at them. Red, like the lipstick on your smile as an idea came to mind.

"You're a little young to be a soldier," you whispered, fingers brushing the golden button at his throat.

"It's a family thing," Conor had an exhausted sigh. "I kinda have to be."

"I know what that's like," you nodded as you thought of the ways your brothers had bent over backwards to keep you the child you no longer were. Shaking off the sadness, you gave him another mischievous grin. "How about we go disappoint both our families, Conor?"

"Sounds good to me, Y/N." He let you take your hand and drag him up the stairs.

There were a lot of guest bedrooms in Arrow House, so surely it was a good idea to hide in one. If anyone noticed you’d gone, they’d need a map to find you. When you took off Conor's scarlet uniform coat, removing all responsibilities of a soldier, you'd made it explicitly clear that that was the only piece of clothing being removed tonight. He'd agreed to it, eagerly, as he discarded the jacket with very little thought. In his undershirt, he sat next to you on the end of the bed, looking at each other awkwardly.

"Y'know, I've been watching you all day," he whispered as he brushed a strand of hair behind your ear. The action made your face burn up, as you became all too conscious of the feeling of his knee against yours. 

"I've noticed," you tried to keep your confidence, despite a bashfulness at the thought of what was coming next. 

"You are the prettiest girl in the room, Y/N," he kept a hand against your neck, the other one on your hand. Conor held an intense look as he forced you to keep eye contact. "Can I kiss you?"

You didn't answer, just dove in to press your lips against his. It wasn't a smart idea, you realised a little too late, as you had no clue what to do next. Luckily, Conor did. He held onto your neck, keeping you close as he kissed you softly. It wasn't like the ways you'd seen Esme and John make out, or as disgusting as it looked when you saw Isaiah or Finn snogging girls in the Garrison. It was a nice, warm feeling that exhilarated you, although the sensation of his tongue in your mouth wasn't one you were used to. Suddenly, you grabbed onto his shoulders as you shifted yourself to sit on his lap, knees by his hips. In a second, he readjusted his grip to hold onto your own hips. You pulled away when you ran out of air, uncomfortably aware of the saliva at the corner of your lip. With a chuckle, Conor reached up to brush it away with his thumb, beaming up at you without a hint of disgust. His hands stayed on your hips, your dress was still on and he seemed contented by that. A softness in your heart suddenly formed for this boy you knew next to nothing about.

"That was nice," you whispered. 

"Your first time?" He asked with a smile that assured you he knew the answer.

"My brothers always told me boys only wanted one thing from me." You bit your lip as you looked into the empathetic look in his eyes. "But you're...different."

"Good different?"

"Very good different." You leaned down to place a chaste kiss on his lips. "Maybe we should do this again some time?"

His eyes lit up.

"I'd like that," he ascertained, but the sudden reminder of his accent made you frown.

"When are you going back to Galway?"

"I've got some soldier training in London, which I can probably extend to a year."

This time, it was your eyes that widened. A year? To go from a first kiss to get at your brothers, to a year with the kind, reluctant cavalry boy you were currently straddling. 

"Well then, I guess I'm going to be going up to see my sister a lot more." You smiled into another kiss. This time, he turned you to lie down on the bed as he rested on top, kissing you softly. As you heard the music blaring downstairs, you tried not to think how pissed your brothers will be. 

Right now though, all you could think of was Conor, and the kiss on your lips and his warmth over your body. It made the music and the sound of approaching footsteps all blur into nothing. That was, until you heard Arthur's hoarse scream.

"GET OFF MY SISTER!"

With wide eyes and blushing faces, the two of you jumped up to look at your three eldest brothers, all donning similar wrathful faces, none more angry than John. His face was redder than the scarlet jacket in his hand, which he immediately threw into Conor's chest. Fumbling with the buttons, he immediately shrugged the damned thing back on, looking at each of your brothers with fear evident. The two of you shuffled to sitting down, looking at each other like naughty schoolchildren.

"What the hell, Y/N?" John was disappointed, it was obvious, but you couldn't care less.

"Nice to meet you Mr Shelby, I'm Con-" He didn't get a chance to finish his unusually cheerful introduction as Arthur thrusted a finger forward.

"Shut it, you," he said with his usually gruff tone.

"What happened to no fighting?" You said, far too snarky for the situation.

"What happened to no boys?" Tommy snapped back, looking at you with pursed lips and an anger contained by icy blue eyes.

"Wasn't a rule," you said sweetly, as you began to mock his voice: "No drinking, smoking, and no dancing with any man not in this room, and NO FUCKING FIGHTING!"

Your giggle was met with three deadpan expressions. They weren't so easily amused, apparently.

"No boys is always a rule," Arthur seethed.

"And he's fucking cavalry," John immediately added on with as much venom as he could muster. You rolled your eyes, certain that even if he wasn't cavalry, your brother wouldn't be too happy about you sneaking off with a boy.

"Really?" You feigned innocence. "Couldn't tell- didn't have his coat on."

With a huff, John made a move forward, only for you to jump up to stand in front of him.

"No. Fucking. Fighting." You stressed each syllable, looking him down, confidence fuelled by rage. You weren't a baby, you weren't going to let your brothers rule your life.

"She didn't break any rules," Tommy conceded with a sigh, forcing the other two Shelby brothers to look at him with flabbergasted anger. But Tommy wasn't looking at them, just the red-faced boy you stood in front of, protectively. "Now, who the hell are you?"

"Conor Burgess," he said weakly. That seemed to please Tommy, as he perked up significantly, popping a new cigarette into his lips.

"Good, so I assume you're going back to Ireland with the rest of Grace's family next week, huh?" His eagerness relaxed the other two. Momentarily, of course.

With a smirk, you fell back onto the bed, giving a wink behind you. Conor was watching this all with wide eyes and the barest shadow of a smile.

"Actually, Conor's sticking around for a year." You shone your sunniest smile. "Cavalry training."

Like that, all hope and peace from your brother's eyes drained out of them like a light flickering off. You bit back a laugh, not fully trusting the still-raging look in Tommy's eye, nor Arthur's clenched fist.

"Fuckin' cavalry," John spat out under his breath.

Part 2 here

[mediocre-writerr]

almost [toni shalifoe]

toni shalifoe x reader

requested: You’re an amazing writer! I had this promt for a while now where reader is Shelby’s best friend and Toni’s gf and once they get to the bunkers they find out about everything and try to escape the building but get followd by agents from all sides and the girls are scared for their lives and once they get the oppurtunity to escape the reader offers herself (maybe an agent was about to catch Shelby) and Toni and Shelby (they both don’t want to let go and are in hysterics) as well as the other girls lose it when readers screams and begs them to leave her and get to safety. Pretty heavy angst that you write so amazingly, it would be so nice to see you bring this idea to life.

*not my gif*

The walls started to be the only thing you can remember seeing. The weird wooden paneling in what felt like a fucking holding cell for prisoners’ on death row. You can’t remember what the sky looked like or the stars. All you can remember is this stupid quarantine room that you were put in after you got, quote on quote: saved, from the island.

You haven’t seen any of the girls since you’ve been saved. And you really wished you could’ve, you’ve missed their personalities. Rachel’s determination. Dot’s sarcasm. Fatin’s inappropriate jokes. Leah’s intelligence. Shelby’s kind heart. And lastly, your girlfriend Toni’s protectiveness. All of them, everything about them, you wish you had with you right now.

All of a sudden the entire power went out. The lights shut off and the camera that watches you 24/7 was down. There were footsteps echoing throughout the hallway until it stopped right in front of the door. You waited for the door to open, but it didn’t. It was like there was a moment of hesitation before something was slipped under the door and the footsteps echoed away.

A small piece of paper, written in a handwriting that was quite familiar. You’ve seen this handwriting in Nora’s notebook. From the one and only Leah Rilke, saying: We were right...

All of the conspiracy theories that we once thought were crazy, were actually true. After the shark attack that made us lose Nora and Rachel’s hand, Leah told us everything. From her finding Jeanette’s second phone to seeing Nora talk to a camera in the trees. You all thought it was crazy, until the questions that Dr. Fader and Agent Young asked could’ve only been known if they were on the island.

You flipped the paper over, seeing that there was something else written: Escape plan ???.

The next few days were quiet. You didn’t quite know what to do with yourself. Until finally, your door swung open. Fader and Young were both standing there with hands in their pockets, “You ready to see the girls?”

Your eyes lit up for the first time since you got there. Happiness overwhelming your body at the chance to see the only people who have been keeping your mind sane in that Hell hole.

You shot up from off the bed and followed them into the corridor. But not before trying to examine each hall, to find some sort of exit plan. Then it all came to a view, your favorite people in the entire world.

“Toni?” you whispered and she turned around to face you. A huge smile formed onto her face before she wrapped her arms around you.

You let out a sigh of relief. Your whole body seemed to relax at the slightest touch, “Hi love.” she whispered, holding you tightly.

The two of you let go and you see your best friend. Her long lucious blonde locks no longer there, but rather a buzz cut replacing it. You know you shouldn’t have laughed, but c’mon it’s your best friend. The two of you make fun of each other all of the time.

“You like it?” she asked, pretending to flip her hair over her shoulder.

You bursted out laughing, “Oh yeah! Getting a little bit of Caillou vibes from it.”

She pushed you back softly, before grabbing your shoulders and ultimately bringing you into a hug of your own, “I’ve missed you.” she whispered.

“I’ve missed you too...” you begin to say with seriousness, but you couldn’t help the nickname that popped into your head, “...Shelbald.”

Everyone in the coordior seemed to have busted out laughing at the nickname, “I hate you.” Shelby said.

“Mhmm, I hate you too.” you said, pulling away from the hug. Going around the room to hug all of the other girls.

Once all of you realized that you were alone, without the two agents watching your every move, you decided to catch up on the plan.

“How is this gonna work, Leah? I mean how did you get the notes out to us in the first place?” you asked. A question that has been flooding your thoughts for quite some time now.

She had a small smirk on her face, “We have an ally on the inside.” she said, bringing her voice to a whisper, “I have these napkins for all of you. We’re gonna put them in our door before closing. It’ll give us a chance to not allow it to close.”

Leah handed everyone a napkin. All of us clenching them in our fist, trying to hide it as much as possible.

“Our ally is gonna cut the power like they did when they slipped the note to everyone for me. We’re all gonna run and meet here at the corridor. He told me where the secret exit is and we’re gonna get out through there. The rest of the plan from there is a little fuzzy, but escaping is the most important part.” she explained.

There was a tense silence between everyone for a little bit. Before we all broke out into smiles, “Leah,” Rachel began, “Thank God for your craziness. It’s gonna save our asses!”

“Hell yeah it will!” Fatin exclaimed. All of you laughed along with each other. A sudden weight being lifted from your shoulders, like for once in the past few months everything was gonna be okay.

God, how you were so wrong.

“When is this happening?” Dot asked.

Leah’s lips quirked into a smirk, “Tonight.”

After a couple more hours, the two agents came back. Escorting us one by one to our rooms. We bid each other goodbye before walking into our rooms. As our doors close, all of us stuffing a napkin into them. The slow sounds of footsteps slowly fading away down the hallway, you pushed the door open a little and low and behold...it opened.

You pretended to act the normal the entire rest of the day. Lying in bed, pretending to be upset with the world. It’s not like that part changed, but at least now there was a glimmer of hope at the end of the road. You didn’t know what time it was, it could’ve been 10pm or 2am or 4am, but all of the lights shut off again. And you watched as the cameras fell, like they have been disarmed.

You let out a deep breath, trying to calm your nerves, “Let’s do this.”

Slowly, you stepped out of the room, looking up and down the hallway. The coast was clear. You ran out of your room, trying to not make a lot of noise. When you reached the cooridor, everyone was there and you could tell that nervousness hung over the group.

“We ready?” Dot asked and all of us just nodded, “Let’s fucking go!”

All of you walked out of the cooridors, making sure the coast was clear. Toni intertwined her fingers into your hands and the tension in your shoulders seemed to have fallen away. Shelby was right behind you guys and you made sure to look back every now and then to make sure she was okay.

“There they are!” you heard a deep voice yell.

All of you stopped in your tracks, looking at one another. Then reality hit all of you like a truck, before you took off running. Toni practically dragging you along with her and every second you looked behind you to see Shelby keeping up. But when you do, you can see a butt-load of agents, the distance between you and them growing smaller and smaller by the second.

“Guys! They’re gaining!” you yelled. As time went on, your energy and adrenaline that the group once had was slowly diminishing.

“Well run faster!” Rachel called back. Both her and Leah leading the charge.

“I didn’t sign up for a marathon!” Fatin exclaimed.

Dot shrugged, “It’s either run a marathon or get captured by them.”

Fatin looked back at all of the angry men. And somehow, someway, she started running faster, “Yeah, yeah. Marathon it is!”

You reached the exit Leah was once talking about. Shutting the door behind you guys, locking it just before they could get in. You did a mental head count...Rachel, Leah, Dot, Fatin, Toni...that’s only five? That’s only five! You scanned the two way hallway frantically.

“Love? What’s wrong?” Toni asked.

You shook your head, “Where’s Shelby? She wa s right behind us. I should’ve...I should’ve kept watching her. I should’ve make her run in front of me.”

“What?” Toni questioned, her voice a little softer.

“Where’s Shelby?!” you practically screamed. Your voice echoing throughout the hallway.

You heard footsteps coming towards you. Shelby in the hands of Agent Young, you released a shaky breath. All of you were surrounded, the door to escape right there in front of you. A middle aged lady that you recognized from the Dawn of Eve video appeared from behind the two agents.

“Relax darling. She’s right here. Now how about we all get you back to your cells?” she asked.

Everyone shook their head, “No, this is insane! You can’t keep us here forever!” Dot yelled.

“Well we need one of you to explain to us what happened. So if you’d like to escape, go right ahead, but we keep Shelby. Easy peasy.” she explained.

You looked at Toni, sending her an apologetic glance. Her head tilting to the side in confusion. You leaned forward softly, placing a small kiss to her cheek, before letting go of her hand.

“Y/N? What are you-“ she began to ask, but you stepped towards the woman and the two agents.

You let out yet another shaky breath, “Take me.” you said sternly.

An echo of “What?!” rang throughout the hallway. And you tried not to focus on the fear that laced, each and every one of their voices.

“You let them go, let them go back home. And I’ll switch places with Shelby. I’ll cooperate and tell you the entire truth.” you negotiated.

Shelby stared right at you, “Are you insane?” she asked, tears pooling at your eyes.

“Please. Let them go. I’ll tell you everything I know. That is your best bet of trying to get yourself out of whatever sick game you’re playing. Because if you keep all of us here, we will not cooperate and you’ll know nothing.” you explained. The middle-aged woman pondered your negotiation for quite a few minutes.

And with one snap of her fingers, she was released and you were in the grasp of Agent Young and Dr. Fader. You finally brought yourself to look at the girls who were all crying. And you couldn’t bear to look at them anymore as you heard sobs course throughout Shelby, Leah, and Fatin’s body. Then there was Toni, Dot, and Rachel who were trying their best to stay strong, but you knew they couldn’t.

“You can’t do this!” Toni yelled.

You shook your head, “We don’t have a choice. I need you guys to leave. We’ve lost 2 already! No one else can get hurt anymore.” Everyone went silent, “Can I say goodbye first?” you asked, softly. The three adults all looked at each other before nodding.

You stopped first at Rachel, pulling her into a small hug. And you could feel little tear drops fall onto your shoulder, “I’m sorry we couldn’t save her.” That caused Rachel to sob even more.

You rubbed her back softly, “I’m sorry we couldn’t save you.” she whispered back before pulling away.

Then there was Fatin. She immediately crashed into your arms, holding you tighter than she ever has before. You ran your fingers through her hair, trying to soothe her as best as possible.

“I’m still holding you to your plans for when you escape.” you mentioned, out of the blue.

“What?” she asked, pulling away a little.

You smiled widely at her, “You still gotta fuck the rowdiest guy with biggest dick ASAP!”

And for once since the great escape happened all of you finally laughed and smiled. She sniffled before nodding, “I promise. I’ll dedicate it to you.”

Then Dot. You could tell she was trying her best not to cry, but a few tears slipped out. She hugged you tightly, patting your back in the process, “Do me a favor?” she just hummed in response, “When you get back home to Texas, watch after Shelby. Live in your old house together, something...anything! She can’t go home, she’s not ready for that yet. But you need to protect her and make sure that she stays the same person she is jow. Not the person we knew before, can you do that?”

“With my life.” Dot promised and you look back at her to find a determined nod on her face.

Leah’s turn was next. Her piercing blue eyes looked like the ocean when it rained. The glossiness of the raindrops hitting the water. You smiled at her softly, pulling her into a hug.

You were right by her ear when you whispered, “When we get out of here, you need to tell our story. Tell the truth the whole truth. Don’t let these bastards win. Sue them if we have to. Just get our story out. I trust you more than anyone to do that. Do it for Jeanette and Martha and even Nora. The ones we’ve lost and the ones who are lost in the trauma.”

“I’m on it. You come back to us okay? We need you here too to tell our story.” she said.

You smiled at her sadly, “I’ll try.”

Then there was Shelby. You look at her and she looked at you shaking her head, “No no you can’t do this. You can’t sacrifice yourself for everyone else. I’ll stay here with you! I’ll follow you always!” she pleaded, sobs following her spoken words.

Tears finally fell from your eyes, “You can’t stay here okay? You have to go home.”

“You’re my only family!! Why are you doing this??” she practically yelled.

You sniffled, smiling softly, “You know how we always wanted to be the hero? We would go on missions for church to help people’s lives.” she nodded, “I’m gonna be the hero today and save the people I care about the most.”

Shelby grabbed you forcefully, holding you into her arms. The two of you shaking, as sobs coursed throughout your bodies. You placed your hand on the back of her head, holding her unbelievably close. Until you finally let go.

“I’m not gonna let you do this.” Toni said sternly.

“You have no choice-“ you began to say, but she cut you off.

“Fuck that! I do have a choice and I’m gonna swap places with you! You took Shelby’s place so easily, so why can’t I do that with you?!” her voice echoing, causing everyone to flinch back.

You took your hands in her face, rubbing circles along her cheekbones. Something you did on the island to calm her down when she got too angry or stressed. You placed your forehead on hers and you could see her lips start to quiver.

“You can’t stay here.” she pleaded, “I can’t-what am I gonna do without you? I don’t have Marty or you, what am I gonna do?”

You placed a kiss to her forehead, “I’m gonna find my way back. Find all of you again, okay? I’m never leaving you as cheesy as it sounds I’m always gonna be right here.” you pointed at her heart, “But until then I have to go darling.”

“No, please!” she practically begged. You kissed her softly, but with so much emotion to let her know how much you love her. Not knowing when the next time will be.

“I love you Toni.” you placed one more kiss to her forehead before taking a step back to look at all of the girls.

Again, with one snap of the fingers, you were back in the agents arms, “Escort them to the exit.” the middle-aged woman stated, “You’re coming with me.”

Ear piercing screams rang through your ears. You were about to be dragged off when Shelby and Toni tried rushing towards you. They grabbed your hands trying to pull you back, but the agents were stronger. Not to mention the other agents holding them back.

“We’re not leaving you!!” they yelled.

You didn’t want it to end like this, “Please just go! We lost! You can’t stay here! It’s not safe for you! So please just get out!” you screamed before everything started to break down in front of you, “Just go.” you kept mumbling over and over again between sobs.

Dr. Fader and the middle aged woman escorted you away from the girls and to the interrogation room. While Agent Young escorted the bawling girls towards the exit, probably to drive them to the airport on wherever the hell we are.

“You promised! I trusted that you would keep all of us safe!” Leah spat at Agent Young when they were all alone. She started banging on his chest, “I trusted you! And you-you made us lost Y/N!”

He just let her go at it, before grabbing her wrists as softly as possible, “I tried, but Gretchen watched all of you run from her office. She figured you were going there. And called for everyone to surround you. I tried Leah. I tried for all of you and I failed!”

“You were the ally?” Dot asked and he nodded.

“You girls don’t deserve this. You’ve already been through so much. It’s time for you to go home.” he said sadly, “I’ll take care of her, I promise.”

///

tag list: @hstoria @greysky22 @shalifoestilinski @yourssincerelyj

[emmy-writes-sometimes]

line without a hook

Pairing: Tom Holland x female! reader

Summary: Tom takes care of you after a party, forcing you to realize that maybe he’s who you should have been with all this time. 

Warnings: Cheating boyfriends, alcohol

-

“Where are you going?” Tom asked drowsily, sniffling upon walking into the bathroom you two shared. The smell of your perfume wasn’t overwhelming, but it smelled a little sweeter than normal. He saw steam coming from the hair tool you were using, too, and his eyes narrowed. 

“Party. Jack’s,” you responded, looking over at him. He had just woken up from his second nap of the day. He’d gotten back from filming possibly the most action-filled movie he could ever think of, and since then he’d been mostly nocturnal. 

“Oh. Let me know if you need me to come get you, I should be awake,” he shrugged as he reached for his toothbrush. “You look great, by the way. Be safe.” You turned to him as you shut off the hair tool and smiled. Tom was always so sweet to you - always willing to pick you up from parties, always taking your call even if he was in the middle of filming. You’d only met him through Harrison, but the two of you were closer than you ever thought you’d be. He just made you so happy. And until that night, so did your boyfriend of ten months, Jack. 

It was no secret that Tom hated him, though. There was always an excuse for him to not be there for you, even when Tom was. He would be working when you needed help with something, so Tom would do it. He said he was asleep the night you called him when you got in a car accident, so Tom came to be with you instead. It was a theme, and you deserved better. But Jack was such a sweet-talker that you didn’t even recognize when he was manipulating you. So, yeah. Tom hated the guy. 

You finished up in the bathroom and exited through the door that was attached to your room, just as Tom exited toward his room. You mumbled a goodbye and got your shoes on, then called a car to take you over to Jack’s. 

Quite honestly, Tom fell asleep halfway through a cutscene in his video game. He wasn’t really all that worried about you - you always went to parties at Jack’s and you always came home, safe and sound, even if it was the next morning. But he woke with a start, feeling as his phone vibrated against where he’d laid it in his sweatshirt pocket. Your contact picture lit up the screen, causing him to squint before turning down the brightness. He just barely missed the call, enough to see on his lock screen that you’d called twice already. 

He unlocked the phone to see that you’d left him two obviously drunk texts - one that said Tommyyyy come party! and another that said Comgin hmeo son, forgot my kye!! The latter of which had been two hours ago. He sighed and tried to look at your location on the map, but it was off for some reason. He called you, again, and you answered on the third ring. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” He asked in an obviously concerned voice. His concern got worse when you didn’t answer him right away - instead he stood up in the empty living room and eyed a pair of his brother’s shoes in the corner. 

“Tommy?” You cried. He stopped dead in his tracks, worry filling his stomach. 

“Hey, it’s me, what’s wrong?” 

“He cheated on me,” you sniffled. “I walked in to his room to go to bed ‘cause there’s a surge on Uber and I didn’t want to pay that much, but I knew you were busy, but he was in there with Jessica. Fucking Jessica. Fuck, Tom, I knew he was cheating on me.” 

“Where are you now?” He asked, walking into the kitchen to find his keys. Or anyone’s keys, really. 

“I’m on the front porch.” You hiccuped. You were still drunk. Drunk enough not to react to what Jack was doing and walk out the door instead. Tom found his car keys and ran out to the parking pad, trying to fight the anger that was building up inside of him. He imagined you felt probably the same way, only a lot more heartbroken. Tom was heartbroken, but for you. For the fact that this guy had fucked up not only his chances with you, but that he’d betrayed your trust and you would never be the same way again. But he was angry as hell, too, that anyone would have the nerve to hurt you like that. 

“I’m on my way, okay?” He said as he started up the car. 

“Okay. I’ll be here.” You hiccuped again, and then slid your finger on your screen until the call hung up. The party was still going on behind you, but you couldn’t care less. You were freezing cold, first of all, in your lack of clothes. Your makeup was running all over your face. Your phone was on four percent, and you weren’t sure if you even wanted it on at all. The music was blaring in Jack’s house, or his parents’ house that he just rented from them. Everyone inside was none the wiser, or didn’t care, about what had just happened. Finally Tom’s car pulled up and you stood, wobbly on your feet, watching as he got out. 

“Jesus Christ, you’re freezing,” he said as he walked forward, pulling off his jacket and throwing it over you. He put a hand on your head to make sure you wouldn’t hit it as you got in the car, shut the door behind you, and walked to the other side. 

“Thank you,” you mumbled as he sat down, shutting his own door. The silence in the car settled for a moment before he reached his hand over to yours and took your shaking fingers. 

“Let’s get you home.” You nodded and kept holding his hand, not able to bring yourself to let go. You were over your crying for the most part, but you had a feeling you’d never forget the image of your now ex-boyfriend and his fling. You were silent for most of the drive, and then as Tom pulled back into the driveway he repeated the same motion to get you out of the car. 

“Alright. I’m gonna fix you something to eat, okay? How does breakfast sound?” You nodded a little bit, walking over to the kitchen island to sit down. He went to the fridge and got you some cold water, setting it in front of you as he started making a single cup of coffee. He handed it to you as it was done, then started to get out a pan as quietly as he could. You watched as he made you food in silence, then put the plate of eggs and bacon in front of you. 

“Why are you being so nice to me?” You asked him. 

“Because,” he shrugged. “You’re one of my best friends. You got your heart stomped on, and you need to sober up before you remember everything and get sick because of it.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” you noted. 

“I am.” He acted like it was nothing to him, but he had remembered how he felt when his ex cheated on him. He’d felt like absolute scum, like it was his fault, even though he’d done nothing but love that girl as hard as he could have. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Just eat up, alright?” You nodded and finished eating as he took your phone upstairs, partially to plug it in and partially to hide it from your sight. Even though it was on one percent, he looked at the lock screen. Your ex hadn’t even cared enough to call you about it. What the fuck, he thought? Who could do that to you? 

“You done?” He asked as he watched you push the empty plate forward. You nodded, laying your head on top of your elbows on the table. He could smell alcohol in your hair, and so could you. You were becoming increasingly aware of what happened, too, but it hadn’t quite hit you yet. Nothing had hit you yet, and you weren’t sure you wanted it to. 

“I’m probably gonna sleep on the couch tonight,” you decided as you eyed the stairs. Yeah, there was no way that was happening. The thought made Tom laugh a little bit, but he wasn’t about to let you stay alone. 

“Do you mind if I keep you company? We can have a sleepover,” he said. He moved his hand to jokingly poke yours, trying to get a smile out of you. You didn’t feel much like smiling, but you nodded. 

“I’d like that.” He smiled. 

“Alright. I’ll be back in, like, five minutes. Go get something out of the laundry so you don’t smell like alcohol.” You nodded and stood up, walking over to the laundry room. You found a pair of your underwear that was drying and one of Tom’s exceptionally long sweatshirts and threw it on, sniffling. You looked at yourself in the mirror. You looked absolutely, positively wrecked. Tom appeared behind you, probably to make sure you were okay, and he paused in the doorway with a sigh. 

“I look awful,” you sniffled. 

“You’ve been through a traumatizing experience, you’re allowed to look awful. If you did. But you don’t. You never look awful.” He tried to cheer you up, but it didn’t quite work. 

“Thank you, Thomas, but I’m drunk and I can’t even walk up the stairs, I’m not boyfriend-less, and now you’re having a sleepover with me out of pity.” He scoffed.

“So you think pity’s the reason? You really hate me that much?” You rolled your eyes and stumbled back into the living room, where Tom had pulled out the part of the couch that had a built-in ottoman, basically making it a bed. It wouldn’t be the first time you and Tom had shared a bed-like surface. 

“Where’s my phone?” You asked, not seeing it on the coffee table next to Tom’s. 

“Hiding it. I don’t want you looking every five seconds to see if that ass has said anything. If I’d have known your passcode I would have blocked him.”

“He’s just gonna come to the house, then.”

“And he’s not seeing you. I’ll come out in a hazmat suit and give him all of his stuff.” 

“Why are you being so protective of me?” You asked as Tom turned on the TV, knowing that you needed it on to sleep properly. He got into the mess of blankets beside you, moving the pillow from his bed over to your side. 

“You have to stop assuming that there’s a reason I’m doing these things. What if I’m just doing something to make you feel better? What if I’m doing these things because I think you deserve better than him but I know that you don’t get that?” You shrugged and laid your head against the pillow, realizing that it was going to be covered in mascara. 

“Maybe I don’t. Deserve better. I mean, I had to have done something to make him not want me anymore, or want someone else over me.”

“You did nothing wrong!” He insisted, moving the joystick on the video game controller until he navigated to your favorite show. “Anyone that cheats on you is just... stupid, frankly. If I had you, I would do everything in my power not to mess it up.” He sounded so casual when he said it, but you could tell he was lying. He was a fantastic actor. But one of the worst liars you’d ever met. He always had a hollow voice when he lied, and this was no exception. But you were almost asleep, half from the exhaustion of crying and half from the alcohol. 

“If I were yours, Tommy?” You said sleepily. “I would be the luckiest girl in the world.” You turned around so that your back was facing his chest, just a few inches away from touching him, and fell asleep. 

The next morning you woke up turned the other way, using his arm as a pillow, and of course there was dried drool on the pillow too. Gross. You felt ridiculously safe beside him, thinking at first it was your boyfriend. And then you realized it was tom. You realized you didn’t have a boyfriend, not anymore, at least. You pulled the comforter off of yourself upon realizing what a mess you’d made of things. Of everything. You’d maybe just ruined your friendship with Tom, too, because you’d acted like a baby who couldn’t take care of yourself. 

You stood in the mirror of your shared bathroom, looking at your makeup on the vanity before what was left of it on your face. And you hated everything. Maybe your looks were why Jack cheated. Maybe you weren’t wearing the right makeup and he thought you looked ugly. Maybe... You shook it off and started the shower. 

When you were completely cleaned off, skin irritated from rubbing, hair dripping wet, you went back into your bedroom. You checked your plugged-in phone to see that Jack hadn’t even tried to call you. Not once. Jessica had tried to DM you, though, multiple times. You just deleted the request and went on with your life. A figure appeared in the door and you wiped away the tears forming in your eyes with the sleeve of your sweatshirt. 

“Hey, I saw you slept in the den, you didn’t get sick did you?” Harrison asked as he walked through the hallway. “Because I had to clean it up last time while you were still dying and I’m not doing it again.” 

“No, I wasn’t sick,” you said quietly. Enough to where he cocked his head and noticed that you were upset.

“What happened?”

“I screwed things up. Royally. With everyone. I walked in on Jack cheating, I cried all over Tom all night, made it sound like I’m in love with him and probably confused the shit out of him, and...”

“You’ve been in love with Tom the moment you saw him. Absolutely everyone knows that. I’m sorry that Jack cheated on you, but maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe you and Tom can...” 

“He doesn’t want me like that. Trust me.”

“No, trust me. He does.” You walked toward the door and shut it in Harrison’s face, not meaning to be rude. You just needed a little bit of time to figure things out. And you thought you had time for a few seconds, until something overturned in the bathroom and Tom gave you a bit of nervous laughter. 

“How much did you hear?” You asked as your face started to heat up. 

“Almost all of it,” Tom said. “But...” 

“But nothing, Tom. I just keep screwing everything up, with everybody,” you said more to yourself than him, walking over to your bed and putting your tired face in your hands that still smelled like your shower gel. 

“You’re not screwing anything up,” he shrugged, following you into your room. “To be honest, I do like you. A lot. But I kind of resigned myself to the fact that it was never gonna happen when you started dating Jack. And then he started treating you like absolute shit and it was almost like I thought I could save you from him, or something, or make it hurt less when you got hurt. But now that we’re here... It would be a div move to ask you out or something right now, wouldn’t it?” He laughed a little bit, scratching at his hair that was all messy from the way he’d slept. 

“I like you too.” You brushed your shoulder against his, feeling a kind of spark, almost, that you’d never felt with Jack. “And you didn’t have to be there for me last night, but you were. And that says a lot more than the fact that Jack hasn’t even bothered to call and Jessica’s only tried to DM me. Could we maybe just... take things a little slow? Like, really slow? Like, friends who really like each other, until maybe I don’t cry seeing a pair of his shoes in the corner of my room like I’m about to right now?” Tom got up, picking up Jack’s pair of Nikes that were in the corner of the room beside a pair of yours. He threw them out the door before returning to you and offering an arm. You felt all of the tension and stress leave your body when it was surrounded by his, and you shut your eyes and counted until it was too long. 

“How about I get some clothes on and we can go to that breakfast place you like. I’ll even buy you a mimosa. Or two.”

“I don’t think I should drink right now, but I love the offer. Give me five minutes to dry my hair.” You laughed a little bit and stood up, watching as he left the room. Your smile didn’t fade from your face until you thought about Jack again. In fact, every time you saw Tom it was like the sunshine took over and the hills too big to climb on your own were suddenly a little bit smaller. Yeah, you thought. You could be happy with Tom. Very happy. 

[loopynal]

How about the yandere Bakugou Izuku and Shouto with a laidback darling like “oh you kidnapped me that’s cool want some pizza?”

Ouuuuuu <3333

Good request! All of the characters will be aged up! They are all pro hero’s!

My request box is still open so feel free to send in anything <3

Enjoy~

Warnings ⚠️ occasional explicit content, yandere, Kiddnaping.

If you’re uncomfortable with any of theses topics please scroll past

————————

How would yandere bnha boys react to a laidback darling.

Bakugo, Katsuki

He kidnapped you because you don’t know how to take care of yourself.

Your a college student, finials are a coming up, so, you had pulled a couple of all-nighters.

You may have over estimated your ability to stay awake.

3 days straight, barely eating, and when you did it was either coffee or a quick junk snack.

As always he was stalking watching over you, to make sure you’re safe, how could he not? You’re just too soft for this world.

He wasn’t totally sure but you looked like you hadn’t slept at all in the past few days.

And he could practically see how malnourished you were!

He was growing angrier by the second you can’t even take care of yourself!

You put school and your grades above everything, even your health.

He couldn’t have that.

So, on your way home when you ran straight into his chest he held you firmly against him, pressing a rag over your face.

Honestly, he probably didn’t even need the chloroform, you were so malnourished and sleep deprived that you practically passed out from the shock immediately.

He prepared for you to struggle, cry, scream, punch, kick, fight, anything.

But when you woke up, you only asked for your textbooks?

He refused you saying that you wouldn’t need them anymore, he could easily provide for the both of you.

He again, expected you to protest.

“Huh? But what about my collage debt?”

That’s what you’re concerned about?

He laughed saying he already paid them off.

The two of you had met when he was in his last year at U.A. your school had done a week long exchange program.

It didn’t take long for you to consume his every thought.

You two grew close very quickly in your short time there and even exchanged numbers.

The two of you still kept in contact.

He finally asked.

“Why aren’t you scared?”

You tilted your head at him confused.

“Why would I be? I mean- I trust you. Sure you were a bit forceful but... we’re friends right?”

You just solidifyed his obsession.

Honestly, you just vibe the whole day. No school, no tests, no work.

Plus Katsukis cooking is to die for!

He buys you anything you want considering how well behaved you are.

If you ask for anything electronic he takes off any form of communication apps just in case.

Since your so well behaved if you ask nice enough he’ll take you on walks around the local park.

If you’re ever lonely if you ask enough he’ll buy you a pet as long as you don’t give them more attention then him.

He’s never letting you go, but it doesn’t seem like you mind too much.

Midoriya, Izuku

He would ‘save’ you the second your in any type of danger.

You had been a fan of his since his debut, almost immediately going out to buy a pair of DEKU™️ themed shoes.

You met him on the train on your daily commute to work almost a year after his debut.

You still had the same shoes, now paired with a deku themed hoodie.

You died and went to heaven when he took a seat next to you.

You took a double take.

He sensed your nervousness and tilted his head to look over at you.

His eyes lit up when he saw his merch on such a pretty girl.

“Hi there! I like your shoes!”

You looked like you were overheating at this point.

“Hi! Ah thank you~”

He had to hold himself back from gushing about how cute you were.

The two of you chatted more and slowly you got more comfortable around him.

So when you informed him that your stop would be coming up in a few seconds he quickly wrote his number down and slipped it into your bag without you noticing.

You caught his interst.

Izuku couldn’t get you off his mind the rest of the day so when he got a text from you around lunch he was ecstatic!

The relationship bloomed from there.

He knew your schedule by heart.

Which means he knew how late you worked and that you walked home.

He always tried to get you to take the train or a more popular road but you never listened.

He got off of work early today and decided to admire you from the shadows on your walk home.

He would be forever glad he was there that day.

You were jumped by a group of men and neither of you wanted to know what would have happened if he wasn’t there.

He didn’t even bother knocking you out he just took you to his apartment dropped you on his bed locked all the doors and left to go ‘take care’ of the low life’s who thought they could mess with what’s his.

It was almost morning by the time he got back to his apartment he took a deep breath and held it excepting to run at him or scream.

When he opened the door he was instead met with soft breathing.

There you were, as beautiful as ever snuggling into his pillow in his shirt.

He almost came his pants as his eyes traveled you body.

He had to physically stop himself and instead went to go take a shower.

You didn’t even question anything, you just asked if you could grab some of your stuff from your old apartment.

He was over the moon.

The whole day he would just be clinging to your side as you grabbed anything you needed from your old apartment.

Takes you out on a bunch of mini dates in the park.

The public is obsessed With your relationship.

Anything you want you got it immediately.

Need to go clothes shopping? On it.

A new phone? On its way.

Craving chocolate? Already in the kitchen.

HE SPOILS YOU SM.

Please pay him back in cuddles.

He melts.

Knows exactly what you want even before you do.

He gives you the most freedom but don’t take it for granted.

Todoroki, Shoto

He would strike out of jealousy.

You had been invited out to a local bar by a couple of your colleagues at work.

You agreed naturally.

You had worked under Shoto as an assistant for years now and yet, you only ever had eyes for him.

He didn’t care at first when you went out he would be watching the whole time so there’s no risk of you getting hurt.

What he didn’t expect was for you to willingly go off with a drunk stranger.

The man had talked to you for a bit before asking if you wanted to go somewhere warmer as the bar was quite cold.

You were too gullible for this cruel world.

One of the reasons he fell so hard for you.

So he followed the two of you, his rage building with each step.

When he saw the same man pin you against the cold brick wall of an ally way he snapped.

“That’s not how you treat a lady. Why don’t you let her go and we can do this the easy way?”

The man couldn’t tell who he was from the shadows and even if he could he was too drunk off his ass to make the right decision.

“Heh? Ehat could you do about it ‘eirdo besides tfhis little lady an’ I were just having a some fun.”

Shoto let flames erupt off of his body in waves once he had you behind him and safe.

The man wa slept burnt half to death and left to die in the snow.

When he had you back to his apartment you were to dazed to protest as he tied you to the head bord.

Not that you would’ve.

Almost a week passed.

He still hadn’t untied you out of paranoia. He would feed you and make sure you drank enough water. 

You thought you were going to die of boredom.

But you need him to trust you right?

When your ropes came undone and slipped off when he left you almost cried.

Would he be mad?

So you spent the next few hours trying to tie yourself back up.

You had started to cry out of frustration not hearing the man enter the room.

“Y/n? What are you doing?”

You looked at him with a face similar to ‘🥺’ and ‘😭’

“Th-the roAps c-came undone when you left and- and- and I couldn’t get them back on.”

He almost melted from happiness.

He regretted leaving you tied up for the past week.

Constant snuggles.

Lots of love.

Would be the most hesioto let you outside.

Just give him puppy dog eyes and you can get at least a half an hour at the park.

KISS HIS SCAR KISS HIS SCAR KISS HI-

This boy is touch starved and constantly needy.

Could never yell at you especially when your this well behaved.

He loves you more than anything and you know that, so what’s the point in running if you love him just as much?

[alison-anonymous]

what the hair?! ♡ varian

What the Hair ♡ Varian Imagine

Requested: noootttt exactllyyy, but @technolilly gave me the idea. Darling, if you're reading this, let me know what you think!!! 😉😁

Warnings: lovestruck Varian😍

Summary: basically the first episode of the Tangled series, but I weaved the reader in and tweaked a couple things!

♡♡♡

Your life was incredibly complicated.

Like seriously, if someone were to give out an award for Most Complicated Life, you would win the title, hands-down. 

You were Y/n L/n, daughter of the infamous L/ns, or, as they are better known among the criminals as, the Kingdom Snatchers. Not a very creative name, but then again, their title was given to them by the puny-minded brains of burglars, thieves, and murderers. Your parents were villains who would weave their way into a perfect kingdom with the perfect Queen and King, and take over their kingdom before they reached dessert. They would murder the real Queens and Kings, imprison the citizens, and then leave the kingdom in ashes. They were driven to practical insanity from their corrupted, power-loving minds and became known and feared in all of the lands. Wanted posters littered the forests, offering generous amounts for their capture. But of course, anyone who tried to get close to them ended up dead.

And of course, after they had you, they tried to teach you their ways to become a Kingdom Snatcher so you could take over once they got old and withered. You were supposed to become a vicious, kniving, power hungry, and insane mass murderer/dictator/whatever the hell you want to call it.

There was only one problem.

You didn't want to be the bad guy.

Of course, your parents were furious. If you weren't willing to become an evil thief like them, then of what use were you to them? To have the ability to watch you grow up, living a happy and healthy life, making them proud that their daughter was able to find her own source of happiness in life? Ha! Your parents were killers! If you didn't want to join them, they might as well kill you and keep trying until one of their kids decided they loved the evil life.

And so, you did the only thing you really could do.

You ran away. You were only 7, hardly a child.

And as time went on, you learned how to fend for yourself against the treacherous ways of the world. You were alone for most of your life. And after a while, you began to fear that it might just stay that way. Until you met a certain blonde princess with seven feet of hair, and everything changed.  

♡♡♡

It was a bright, shiny morning; a morning that Rapunzel would fall in love with. You were out looking for the certain blonde herself, and lucky you to have found her sitting next to the fountain with her favorite Lady in Waiting.

“I was thinking about your hair,” Cassandra said as you walked up to them, pressing your hands on Rapunzel’s shoulders. She gave you her signature bright grin and motioned for you to join them. “Maybe we can find a way to get some answers discreetly, just us.”

“Ooh, mischievous,” you giggled. “I like it.”

Rapunzel nodded and leaned her head on your shoulder. “I mean, I still think you’re being a bit unfair about the Eugene thing, but what do you have in mind?” 

Cassandra’s features grew a little more excited as she used hand gestures. “Well, I’ve heard stories about this guy named Varian. Apparently, he’s some kind of wizard.” 

Your eyes raised slightly at the sound of his name. Varian... where had you heard of him before? Probably from some of the little off-their-rocker villagers. Rapunzel seemed pretty excited too as she clapped her hands together like a giddy child. “Wow! A real wizard? Like with a pointy hat and casting spells and stuff?” 

You couldn’t help but snort. “Those only exist in fairy tales. My money says he’s selling something. Probably laxatives.” 

Cassandra did her best to hide her laugh, but was still smiling as she continued. “No, girls we have to be careful. Very little is known about him and what is isn’t that good. He’s dangerous.”

“But if we want answers, he’s our best bet right?” Cass nodded. 

“Looks like we have a wizard to visit!”

♡♡♡

It didn’t take long to make it to Varian’s house, which was in Old Corona. The house looked simple enough, had it not been for the dark and foreboding feeling that apparently only existed in Rapunzel’s brain as the three of you approached the door. It was actually a quaint little thing, simple colors, no broken boards or cobwebs, and was decently larger than the other houses you had passed by.

“It looks nice,” Rapunzel spoke nervously. “In an I-wish-I-said-goodbye-to-my-loved-ones-before-I-left sort of way.”

Cassandra pushed open the door just before you could warn them about the importance of knocking and you all proceeded into the dimly lit house. The shadows seemed to crawl towards you as you help up the caboose of the line, Cass leading the way through the halls of the house until you finally pushed through a door surrounded by some very suspicious looking fog. 

“Geez, I guess those laxatives must really be working,” you joked as you propelled yourself through the cool mist. It passed through the soft fabric of your pants and your combat boots as Cassandra pushed open the door revealing yet another dimly-lit room covered in fog. Who was this guy? Just as you were about to speak, Cassandra’s boot made contact with some sort of string on the ground, triggering a myriad of complicated reactions that ultimately ended up with some sort of magenta ball being launched at your feet. You let out a shriek as it exploded into a goopy substance, gluing your feet to the ground. The three of you struggled to get yourselves free.

“A booby trap? Really?” Rapunzel grunted. 

“Everything’s going to be fine, Raps, we just need to-” Suddenly a very scary, very robotic looking figure emerged from the shadows. Your heart began to pound faster inside your vest-covered chest as your eyes widened in terror. 

“W-who... is...that?” You could barely muster as the figure got closer. Two, electric yellow orbs were all that you could see as Rapunzel held an arm out protectively in front of you. 

“What do you want?” The voice boomed throughout the halls, striking terror into your heart. Your mouth fell open as you stared, slight PTSD forming from all of the moments you spent witnessing your parents torture innocent people. 

“U-um, hi, sir, I really hate to bother you, but I was just wondering if I could get your help about my hair,” Rapunzel did her best to hide her stutter. “Because you’re such a magic exper-”

“Magic?” The metal laxative man robotically asked. “I do not work with magic!” He suddenly lifted the helmet off of his head to reveal someone a hell of a lot less intimidating and, dare you say, kind of... insanely cute. “I mean, technically, it’s alchemy but...” He drawled off the moment he laid his adorable blue orbs on you. It was almost as if though he had gotten lost in a trance as his eyes looked over every inch of you before finally resting on your face once again, a twinkle in his eyes that, the more you looked at it, reminded you of the way Eugene looked at Rapunzel. 

A little butterfly flew around in your stomach. 

“Um, hate to interrupt, but um what is this stuff?” Rapunzel awkwardly chuckled, breaking whatever just happened between you and this supposed “Varian.” Your cheeks held a tinge of pink to them as he quickly regained his composure, a bit of a blush to his own as well.

“Oh! Um, this is a chemical compound of my own design. We have a little bit of a beautiful- I MEAN critter problem,” he chuckled, glancing at you as he pulled out the “neutralizing particle” and sprinkled it over all of your guys’s feet. You watched with an amazed expression as the compound instantly dissipated before your eyes. Varian smirked slightly at your reaction. 

“I am so, so sorry, Your Highness.” He bowed to Rapunzel. 

“Your Highness?” Rapunzel asked in confusion. “You know who I am?”

“How could I not? Look at your hair!” He suddenly realized the error in his exaggeration and quickly apologized. God, how could one person contain to much adorableness?

...Wait, what?

“Rapunzel is just fine,” Raps smiled at him. “And this is Cassandra, and Y/n.” Cass gave him a firm nod and you offered him a polite smile. His eyes lingered on you for a moment longer.

“Y/n... okay! Anyway, so fantastical stories about your hair have spread throughout Corona. Most people think that it’s magic, but as you’ve probably learned by now, I don’t believe that.” You couldn’t help but smile at his boldness, the pride that he took in his work. He seemed to have something that you only wished you could have: pride. 

“Listen kid, we’re kind of in a hurry here, but let’s just get one thing straight here. Everything that happens here stays here, you got-”

“I don’t think we need to threaten him, Cass,” you quickly removed her hand from Varian’s shirt and gave her a reassuring smile. “He seems pretty harmless. Right?”

He quickly nodded his head, like a love struck puppy as he stared at you. After figuring out that Rapunzel’s hair no longer held its fantastical healing properties, Varian stuck her in a machine that he apparently made himself to determine the entire chemical makeup of any substance. 

“Woah,” you breathed as you stared at the great machine. “This is... amazing, you built this yourself?”

“Y-You think so?” Varian giggled, a bright crimson tinting his cheeks as he scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I did.”

“It’s incredible.”

“You’re incredible.”

“What?”

“What?” You were both staring at each other with wide eyes until you finally started giggling. 

“You’re funny,” you chuckled, shaking your head slightly and turning back to watch as the machine tried taking an axe to her hair. Little did you know that he was still staring at you the entire time. Time seemed to practically fly by as Eugene came in and then a bunch of Varian’s underground machines suddenly became radioactive or something. Cass and you went out to find him and before you knew it, Old Corona was in near ashes. 

You slowly approached Varian after his father had talked to him, and by the looks of it, it hadn’t gone well. You stopped when you were just behind him, trying to debate whether or not you should put your hand on his shoulder. 

“Varian...” You began, but stopped, trying to form the right words in your brain. He turned to look at you and instantly became flustered once again.

“Y/n, I am so, so sorry for this, I swear that I-” 

“It’s okay, Varian,” you assured him, flashing him a smile and tucking a stray lock of your hair behind your ear. “I mess up too. But that doesn’t mean that we’re any less amazing.” 

A small smile grew onto his lips at your words and he let out a soft chuckle. A short, comfortable silence fell between you two as you stared into one another’s eyes until he broke it. “Hey... I know we just met, but would you want to... umm... hang out sometime?”

“I’d love that,” You couldn’t help but grin.

♡ a.a.

[mimiswitchywrites]

Not A Burden: Chapter 3

TW: SH references, attempted s****de and references, child/s***al a**se references (not graphic but enough that could be triggering). Vague r**e scene at the end.

Master list or read on AO3

2.2k words

---------

Percival, sat with Elyan and opposite Arthur and Lancelot’s bickering, kept tabs on Gwaine and the girl. He didn’t miss the way his face lit up with glee and, if he understood correctly, mischief. It made him happy to see his friend on his way back to normal, but he still felt the pit in his stomach filled with anxiety. Why had his joyous little friend been in such a state in the first place? He had initially dismissed the thought that he was spooked by seeing the girl looking so unwell as he was well versed in bloody bodies, but that was the only explanation he could find.

“You see it too?” Elyan asked from his spot next to the giant. He could only grunt in response, too caught up in his concern for his friend. “Maybe he just needed some rest like he said last night.”

He understood the suggestion, but Percival had seen Gwaine when he was tired, and this wasn’t it. Unless, the cynical side of him thought, you don’t know him as well as you think you do. He tucked that thought away into the back of his mind to deal with at home. The woods with an injured woman and the king are not an appropriate setting for a crisis.

“We should help Merlin pack everything up and get a move on. I think it’s best that Lancelot and Arthur are separated as soon as possible.” Elyan said, knowing that things could only get more heated if they stayed where they were any longer.

--

With the horses all loaded up and the argument currently settled (Arthur was wrong, regardless of his pitiful defences) Lancelot mounted his horse and helped Percy lift Miriam up to him again. He was looking forward to riding with her now she was fully back to the land of the living. She seemed like an interesting young woman and reminded him of Gwen, somehow. The whole party – bar Arthur, if that morning was anything to go by – seemed to look at her in a sisterly manner. They wanted to help her, but no one knew how to treat her. They knew not talk walk on eggshells around her, but she was still a stranger, and they didn’t know the appropriate limits yet. Hopefully, they would figure them out soon, for everyone’s sake. That was the one good thing that came from Arthur’s outburst last night: they knew shouting was not a wise idea.

Well duh, he added.

“Are you comfortable, Miriam?”

“As comfortable as one can be on the second day of riding with a head that won’t stop spinning.” She quipped back. It took everything in him to not laugh at the way she made her remark.

“We can go slowly if that would help. Or I have water. Or you could sleep again, maybe more sleep is what you need?” She shook her head but leant back against his chest anyway. He could feel warmth spread through him and his cheeks heat up.

“It is okay. I would like to get to still, stone ground as soon as we can anyway.” He understood the feeling – it was often one he experienced on the return from hunting trips. While not quite as against them as Merlin, they always drained him and he found he slept far better the first night back. He hoped it would be the same for her as, judging by the bags under her eyes, she hadn’t got much sleep the previous night. “And I wanted to hear more of your stories.” She tilted her head back to look at him as she said this and he couldn’t help but notice how the freckles that littered her face reminded him of the constellations his mother taught him when he was but an infant.

“I suppose there are a few more I could tell you. Anything in particular you are after?”

They sat in silence as she pondered the question. Just as he was considering asking again, she answered: “tell me about Camelot. Is it truly as free as they say?”

This was not the topic he was expecting. He mulled the question over, what did she really want to know with one like that? Was it, he worried, that she wanted to know about the attitudes towards magic? He had enough to worry about with Merlin and his magic (that isn’t to say he isn’t grateful that his friend still confided in him, but he was quite the chaotic individual and more than once he had feared for Merlin’s life and the likeliness of him getting himself killed) and the prospect of befriending another magical individual did not do his heart much good.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to answer, I am sure you don’t want to disrespect your home or king.”

That was curious, she didn’t expect the answer to be positive, then? Deciding to brave it, he asked her to elaborate.

“When I was younger, maybe eight summers, a woman passed through the village I was living in. She wore armour of leather and steel and carried curved swords – like I’ve carved into the handle of my knife that your large friend has taken from me,” Percival turned on his horse at this, and gave her a small, apologetic smile, “and she told the most curious stories of lands she had visited. One such land – Camelot, she told me – had women like her. Women that wore armour and…” She paused to take a deep breath. She was getting rather warm; Lancelot could feel it on his arms as they curved past her to hold onto the reins. She began again, voice lower this time, “Women that would do unto each other as a man might his wife.”

She stopped, hoping her riding partner might catch onto what she was asking. Her head was so foggy that she was no longer sure that she knew what she was saying, really, but she had to ask before they arrived at their destination. She had been watching the way the King interacted with his manservant since she awoke the day before and she needed to know if they were what she thought they were.

If they were like her.

--

Gwaine watched as the girl slumped against Lancelot, clearly exhausted. He remembered the first time he was in her position and how it drained him. The thought of riding for days before finding a bed, while in that condition, was not a pleasant one and he certainly didn’t envy her.

He had enjoyed their conversation that morning. Having yet another person that could see Arthur as the ‘prat’ he was (he really needs to thank Merlin for introducing him to that word) was nice but the moment they stopped talking, he noticed his mind drifting back to why she was with them in the first place.

He hated it, plain and simple.

He thought that those days were far behind him and that, wearing the royal red and gold cloak, he was free. To have years of repressed memories hit him at once like this did not do him well.

The pounding behind his eyes grew. He really should have eaten dinner last night. Serves you right.

He sighed, rolling his eyes at himself.

--

The sun was directly above them before the pearly walls came into view. It was getting swelteringly hot, and all Arthur could think of was his large wooden tub in the centre of his room. And, though only a brief thought that he shoved away as quickly as possible, what Merlin would look like in it with him. He cleared his throat and raised his hand.

“I can see Camelot; we should be only another half of an hour.”

He heard Percival cheer, possibly sarcastic but probably not. Internally, he was reacting the same way. With Merlin by his side, he led the party back home.

--

Miriam insisted that she could walk to the Physicians chambers herself and that she didn’t need carrying. After reaching the top of the entrance steps, she began to reconsider. She could hear the sea in her ears, and her vision was fuzzy. I’ll just rest against Percival for a second, she thought.

She woke in a small cot with a blanket pulled up to her neck. She was so hot, sweat pooling in every crevice. Her head was pounding worse than it had the night of Anabella’s wedding and her arm was burning again. This isn’t ideal. She can’t die right and now it seemed as if she can’t not die right either. What a cruel irony. The ocean in her head was quieter and she could hear distant voices. One sounded like Merlin and the other someone old – the Physician, perhaps? After a few attempts, she pulled her eyes open and waited for them to focus. She could see ointments lining shelves, herbs drying from the ceiling, and more books than she had ever seen before. A woman with beautiful brown skin sat beside her, rinsing a cloth in a bucket on the floor.

She opened her mouth with the intention of greeting this stunning stranger, but could only make a quiet, choked sound. She brought her hand up to her throat as if that would make it better. The woman, noticing her distress, jumped up and retrieved a goblet of water. She lifted the back of Miriam’s head and helped her take a few sips, before setting her back onto the feather pillow.

“I’m Gwen. Guinevere. I’m a friend of Merlin’s.” She smiled and Miriam couldn’t help but notice the way it made her eyes sparkle.

“Miriam but you can call me Miri.” She forced out, hoping she didn’t sound too eager.

“’Miri’, I’ve never heard a name like that before. It’s cute.” Gwen looked down at the goblet, red seeping into her cheeks.

Miri began to push her hands on the bed, attempting to sit up. She could feel the torn skin protest, but she couldn’t bear to lie down any longer. Merlin rushed over, helping Gwen push her back down onto the bed and the old man – Miri could see him properly now – made his way to the empty chair beside her.

He had white hair that reached his shoulders, more wrinkles than she would expect on a man that could move as well as he could, and an impressively judgemental look on his face. One eyebrow seemed to be permanently raised and, feeling small, she obeyed Merlin and Gwen’s direction for her to lay back.

“You need rest, my dear.” He spoke gently, but she could feel the order behind his words. She sighed and, giving up, closed her eyes again.

It took a while to get to sleep, as it always does for the broken girl. She could feel Gwen put the wet cloth back onto her forehead which was quite a relief for a little while, and she listened to the trio talk. The old man said that she was too stubborn for her own good and that she reminded him of Merlin when he was sick (she wondered if he was often sick, she hoped not for the man’s sake if Merlin was truly as stubborn as he said) and Gwen asked what happened to her. The room went silent at that and Miri felt herself freeze up. She knew people would talk, especially while she was being treated, but she had hoped that she would at least not hear it. She wondered how she would explain it when she was allowed to talk again, and if she even wanted to explain it. What would they think?

Secretly, she thought that Gwaine fellow would understand. There was something about the way he watched her that made her feel like he knew what had been going through her head when she made her way into the forest that day. For his sake, she hoped he didn’t, but she resolved to talk to him about it when she could. Even if she was wrong, he seemed fun and she was in dire need of someone fun right now.

When she finally did get to sleep, thinking of plaiting daisies into the knight’s hair, she met her nightmares. It shouldn’t have surprised her but a part of her had expected them to leave her alone for a little while after such a traumatic event had happened to her body. Gods, did she hope they would leave her alone.

It stared as they normally did. The fire was burning, casting a warm orange glow against the back wall of the hut. Miriam, around five summers, was sat on a stool, occasionally throwing sticks onto it. She looked behind her and she was in the village hall, bodyless hands traveling over her body. One made its way up her dress, softly tracing the inside of her thighs, and a laugh sounded in her ear. A body formed next to her. It had the same brown eyes and curly black hair as her – his cropped close to his scalp – and that smile that she had seen everyday since she was born.

All she could do was gasp “No, please. Please stop.”

But she knew it wouldn’t do anything.

It never did.

She was pressed against the mud, one hand holding her face down and the other gripping onto her hips. Please, not again, she begged her mind to stop showing her this.

Fabric teared, bruises formed, and tears poured.

[buckyscrystalqueen]

The Resistant Omega: Part 3

Pairings: Omega!Mickey Milkovich x Male Alpha!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, homophobia??? 

Word Count: 3,287

Part 1 / Part 2

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

“Well look-ie here, boys. It’s the Queen fucking fairy himself.” Terry Milkovich yelled as loud as he could not a second after you walked into the Alibi like you did every Friday night. “How you doin, fairy?”

“Leave it.” You growled as you headed over to the bar. You purposely ignored Mickey in the corner and pulled your wallet from your pocket.

“Usual, (Y/N)?” Kate asked as she started grabbing cups.

“You know it, baby girl.” She blushed, and looked away as you put a fifty on the bar.

“I still don’t know how you fucking do it, man.” Your friend, Sam said as he leaned on the bar next to you. “You have them wrapped around your fucking fingers.”

“No, not at all.” You teased with a glance over at him. “My cock, maybe.” He laughed and punched your arm as you blew a kiss at Kate and grabbed your glass. You grabbed your usual table in the far corner as Jax started to wrack the balls on the pool table.

“So I got word down the line.” Sam said softly as you grabbed a cue from the holder on the wall. “New box coming out of the North in the next five beats.”

“Where’s it coming out of?”

“New York.”

“What’s the haul?” You asked as you got chalk on your hand.

“There’s no manifest.” Jax muttered as he reached in front of you to grab a cue, too. “So there’s no guarantee….”

“Then we don’t fucking touch it.” You said flatly as you stepped around him and grabbed your beer. “We don’t fucking take runs we aren’t sure of. That’s how we get fucking caught, or how we end up with shit we can’t dump.”

“Dude… we are getting low…” Jax tried as you grabbed the cue ball and set it down on the table where you wanted it.

“Then we get low.” You growled as you looked up at him. You glanced down at the table and made your shot before standing up to look at him. “Do you think I don’t fucking plan for this shit, dumbass? Really? I’ve been thirty steps ahead of you for fucking years and you still haven’t fucking caught up. I have fucking pipe everywhere. We don’t need some manifest-less crap shot. Now far fucking be it from me to tell you what the fuck to do, Jax because I am not your Goddamn keeper. You wanna take the fucking run, go right on ahead. But shit coming outta New York with an unknown fucking manifest could mean Pfizer or it could be fucking Johnson and Johnson baby soap. So get me a fucking manifest or shut the fuck up about it. Sam, play.”

“What fucking pipe do you have?” Jax hissed as you pulled your cigarettes out of your pocket and habitually scanned the room for assholes and eavesdroppers alike.

“The kind that you don’t need to fucking worry about until I tell you you need to fucking worry about them.”

“You know, you really are a fucking asshole.”

“Yea, story of my fucking life.” You grumbled around your cigarette as you lined up for your next shot. “Much easier being a fucking asshole than tolerating the fucking bullshit in the fucking world.”

“Don’t get fucking married then.” He chuckled as he subtly sold some pills to one of the bar regulars, Kermit. “You have to be a fucking asshole and deal with the fucking bullshit.”

“That’s why you don’t get fuckin’ married.” You laughed as you walked around the table. “Problem fucking solved, bitch.”

“You hear that, Joey? The faggot thinks it can get married.” You glanced over and ducked Joey’s fist, but Terry’s caught you right in the middle of the stomach. Your beer glass shattered to the floor as you slammed into the wall behind you.

“Kev!” Kate screeched as you ducked Terry’s next punch while Sam tackled Joey to the floor to keep the fight even. Your claws almost literally came out as you slammed your fist into his face with the full intention of breaking every fucking bone in the man’s face not for your sake, but for Mickey’s. 

“Alright, alright. Get him up!” Kev yelled as Terry managed to get a solid hit to your jaw. 

“Fucking fag!” He shouted at you as Jax dragged you back away from the fight.

“Oh, it’s OK, Terry.” You taunted with a wide, bloody grin. “I know you fucking wish you could be sucking my cock tonight, mother fucker.”

“You sick fuck!” He shouted as he lunged toward you just as the first cop walked in. “Fucking faggot!” You laughed and held your hands up in surrender as a few more cops filed in to the bar. You were just about to put your hands behind your head when Mickey ran up and punched you hard in the face, easily breaking your nose.

“Mother fucker!”

“On the ground, Milkovich!”

“Good hit, boy!” Terry shouted as you were man handled on to your knees. You felt one of your friends slip a wad of cash into your sock, which you would absolutely need on the inside since this assault charge would land you at least a few months. You cracked your knuckles behind your back and glanced over at Jax.

“Get my fucking lawyer and keep your fucking phone on.” He nodded his head as you looked at the cop that had hand cuffed you. You purposely put the breaks on, since John was a beta that liked to dance on the wild side in your bed when his wife was at her sister’s, and glanced at Mickey’s back as he was carted out the door. “There’s a Franklin in my pocket to get Mickey into honor block, away from the others, and in my cell. It’s consensual. And he lawyers up with my lawyer without his fucking narrow-minded dickhead of a father finding out.” John looked down at you with a small nod and gave you a firm shove forward.

“Call it even with Shannon’s inhalers next month.” You nodded in agreement and got into the back of the cop car with a heavy sigh. 

“Fucking Milkovich.”

——

“I called bottom an hour ago.” Mickey said without even moving his arm away from his face.

“You’re gunna take whatever fucking bed I fuckin tell you to fucking take after you broke my Goddamn nose, bitch.” Your Omega shot up off the bed as you dropped your bed roll on the top bunk.

“I…”

“Scoot over. I’m fucking tired.”

“Alpha…”

“Scoot!” You barked as you grabbed your paper thin pillow and your pack of smokes. “Jesus Christ.” He scooted back against the wall as you dropped your pillow on top of his and handed him a lit cigarette. “Had to fucking gun for the fucking nose?”

“I fucking panicked, OK?” He snapped. You nodded your head and ashed on the floor as you laid down on the bed just as the lights in your cell went out since it was the middle of the night and the rest of the block was asleep.

“The fuck were you thinking, Mickey?” He shrugged and pulled your legs across his lap.

“Being without you.” He sighed. “That’s all I thought.” You exhaled forcefully and reached your hand down to find his hip.

“The fuck am I gunna do with you?” He shrugged in the darkness and stretched forward to ash on the ground as well.

“Well I can think of one thing you can do to me.” You made a loud buzzer sound and shook your head as you took one long, last drag before you called it a night.

“Your ass is fucking grounded until further notice.”

“What, because I fucking hit you?”

“Yep, and because I didn’t want the first time I actually spent the whole night with my Omega to be in a fucking jail cell.” You smirked and got up to put your cigarette butt in the toilet and to take off your stupid orange jumpsuit to get comfortable for bed. “So you can thank your Old Man for you not getting laid tonight.”

“I can’t fucking win.”

“You never will.” You huffed as you tossed his finished cigarette in the toilet and flushed them both. “Get used to it. Get your spot, ‘mega.”

“You sleep in my bed, you’re gunna out me…”

“I’m not gunna out you because just like every time I come to fucking jail, I will spend my days sitting in a fucking corner by the phones, doing puzzles, playing solitaire, and making sure my business doesn’t fucking collapse in the next couple months. And you can either be your adorable Alpha self far away from me so your image is protected or you can make a choice to be seen doing puzzles, playing cards, and working for me. I leave that up to you. But you jump on the faggot train in here and I will put you in your Goddamn place just like I would everyone else. And I’m gunning for your fucking nose first.”

“Yes, Alpha.” He chuckled as he pulled your arm around his chest and kissed your fingers. “Good night, (Y/N).” You smirked and kissed his shoulder.

“Good night, baby boy.”

——

“OK, get a fucking pen.” You growled to Jax the second he picked up the phone. “I got a lot to fucking get through in a short period of time.”

“Well good fucking morning to you, too.” He chuckled. “Sleep well?”

“Fuck off.” You growled as you leaned against the wall. “Alright, first and foremost, I need you to go to Gertie’s. Let Sandra know I’m going to be gone a while, but that won’t stop you from getting her meds.”

“What meds…”

“Don’t… fucking interrupt me.” You growled. “Just fucking tell her the shit will be delivered like usual. Then, go to my fucking house. Upstairs in my bedroom under the bedside table on the far side of the bed, is a cardboard box with suppressants in it. I need a month supply. Don’t! Ask fucking questions!” You barked when Jax tried to cut you off again. “Fuckin a! Get those, some blues, and like 2 grand in cash to the jail within the next two hours. Skids is running visitation today and he’ll get them to me. Now, the list of Gertie’s meds is on the bulletin board in the fucking laundry room hidden under the fucking menu for that Chinese place up the block. Just pay attention to the names and doses and match them up carefully. There’s a Spanish bus coming up the coast in about four days. Should spit out enough beans to keep everyone fucking grassy for a nice long while. I’ll set it up from in here.”

“Need a burner?”

“Got one. Just keep my books up and I’ll check in.”

“Need me to leave visitations open for anyone?” Your eyes darted over to where Mickey was watching the morning news on the only, shitty TV.

“No… fuck that. Ain’t no one need to see me in here. Just lock up my house on the way out and keep an eye on it and Gertie for me. I’m lookin’ at max three months which ain’t shit but an annoyance.”

“Yea, you got it.” He sighed. “I’m leaving the house now.”

“You somehow manage to burn my fucking business to the ground and I’ll cut your fucking throat out.”

“I know the fucking drill, asshole.” He laughed before he hung up the phone. You dropped the receiver on the holder and turned toward ‘the bubble’ where the guards all sat. You wordlessly told them that you’d have a delivery in a few hours, and grabbed your seat at your table to settle in for a long next few months. You grabbed one of your last cigarettes and sparked it up as you pulled the top off the box of a lighthouse puzzle that was probably missing pieces.

“Hey, bitch! What you got there?” Mickey asked in a cocky tone as he grabbed your cigarettes off the table. “Well, don’t mind if I fucking do.”

“You put that fucking cigarette in your fucking mouth and I’ll cut your fucking dick off.” You replied as you started to slowly separate the pieces.

“Oh, is that a fucking dare?” He asked as he sat down at the table beside you. You looked up at him to see that he was alone and used a puzzle piece to push your matches toward him.

“Fucking promise. I’m gunna need you to be a fucking runner for me in here. Got one of my guys bringing in some blues, and I surprisingly don’t have fuckers in H block right now to work for me. So you just got hired.”

“Wow… so I’m a bitch, now.”

“Personally, I wouldn’t announce it to the fucking universe if I were you.” You teased with a smile. “But I’m not paying you with dick for you to keep your back on my enemies. Turn the fuck around and do your goddamn job so I can jigsaw in peace.”

“Fuckin’ bossy.” He huffed as he got up and sat down across the metal table from you with his back to you. “The fuck you lookin’ at?”

“Bark, bark.” You muttered under your breath as you matched two edge pieces.

“Fuck you.”

——

You were expecting a few weeks of incarceration, but on only day three, someone posted your bail.

“(Y/L/N)! You posted!” You actually froze in your spot with a puzzle piece in your fingers, as you ran through the list in your head on who would have thought wasting their money on you was a good idea.

“Fucking idiots.”

“Don’t…” Mickey practically whispered as you started cleaning up the puzzle pieces.

“I’ll post your bail the second I hit the streets.” You said under your breath. “You’ll be home in no time.” He barely nodded his head and held out his hand to pass you the rest of your pills and your money. “Just unload it and unload it fast.” You said as you took the cash. He hummed as you got barked at again to hurry up. You slid some cash into Mickey’s suppressants box, just in case, and grabbed your still untouched bed roll from your bunk. The process of you getting out took about half an hour, and your first phone call was going to be to Jax had Sandra not been waiting for you.

“Honey, what are you doing?” You asked as she came over and gave you a hug.

“Mom has been screaming for two days. Jax came in instead of you and she just lost her mind… I couldn’t even leave for work yesterday and she barely let me out of the house this morning until I swore I’d come back with you.”

“OK. OK.” You said with a nod as you kissed the top of her head and pulled out your wallet. “Look, I need you to do one more thing for me before I take you home. I need you to bail someone else out. I can’t, I’m a felon. Mikhailo Milkovich.”

“OK… Wait, what is the name?”

“I’ll write it down.” You chuckled as you handed her five hundred bucks. “Keep the rest for your troubles and to cover gas and my bail. And I’ll make sure he shows up for court.”

“I don’t doubt it.” She said as she took your note turned to head toward the bail bondsmen again. When she was out of earshot, you pulled out your phone and called Jax.

“How the fuck are you calling from your phone?” 

“Apparently, you scared the fuck out of Gertie, so Sandra had to come bail me out. Get a fucking pen.”

“What the fuck is with you and pens?”

“Because you’re a fucking scatterbrained mother fucker and you’d probably forget your own Goddamn name if you’re Omega wasn’t screaming it at all hours of the fucking day.”

“Fuck you.”

“I need you, Sam, and Daryl at my house in two hours. I need a satellite, and street maps of everything south of Chicago, east of Peoria to the state line, and North of Champaign. I’m also gunna need every available man and vehicle we can get our hands on this weekend and the cars ready. And a large fucking pie because jail food sucks dick.”

“Wait… are we going after the New York haul?”

“No. We’re going after a big pharma distribution truck I just heard about before another crew gets to it.”

“We’re what now?”

“Be at my fucking house.” You repeated before hanging up the phone at the same time Sandra walked out of the office. “Thank you, sweetheart. You OK to wait for a bit?”

“Absolutely.” She said with a smile as you pulled out your cigarettes and held the pack out to her. “John’s staying with mom today until I could get you home and I get another day off this week to breathe.”

“So what the hell happened?” You laughed as you followed her over to her car to wait. “Did she throw things?”

“I had to walk over what I assumed was a shattered glass vase and then had to spend an hour separating and reorganizing a med container that she threw at him but all in all, she was just doing a lot of screaming.”

“She’s always been a fucking pistol.” You laughed as you both leaned against the side of her car.

“So who’s this guy to you? Someone special if I’m bailing his ass.” You smirked and looked up at the jail with a small shake of your head.

“My Omega.” You glanced over at her as she pouted out her bottom lip.

“Awww!!!!”

“Stop.”

“But my big brother finally has an Omega!”

“Yea, but he’s not out yet and he’s a fucking mess so we’re not gunna bring it up until he’s ready, OK?” 

“Aww! You’re all protective, how cute!”

“Fuckin’ shit.” You chuckled as you bumped her shoulder with yours. She giggled and laid her head on your arm with a heavy sigh.

“Young love is a beautiful thing.” You nodded your head and put your arm around her shoulders as you fell into a comfortable silence to wait.

“Who the fuck is this bitch?” You looked over at the side door Mickey was walking out of almost an hour later and gestured to him dismissively. 

“That’s your first impression? Mickey, Sandra who is as close to a sister as I’ve ever had. She’s the reason we’re walking free so show some fucking respect. Get in, asshole. I got shit to do.” He rolled his eyes at you and got in the back seat as you took the keys from Sandra, and headed around the car to open her door. Once you got in, you adjusted your seat and the mirrors and looked back at Mickey. “Which house?”

“The fuck you talkin’ about?”

“Bitch, she’s fucking family. She had you fucking made as someone close to me the moment I had her bail your ass outta fucking jail. So what fucking house? I got shit to do and the boys comin’ over…”

“Yours.” He said as he sat back in his seat and glanced at Sandra. She pouted out her bottom lip again and looked over at you as you headed home.

“Shut up.” You chuckled as you reached over and pushed her face away.

“You say a Goddamn word and I’ll fucking kill you!” Mickey threatened, causing you to growl at him as you caught his eye in the rearview mirror.

“‘mega, I will kick your fucking ass.”

Part 4

[ketsuyuki-hibana-typed]

Rengoku Kyoujurou x Little Sister Figure!Reader (Part 2)

Part 1 | Part 3| Part 4| Part 5

Requested by @viviandarko @macker000

Now, you've became a Pillar. You're really proud that you could stand with Kyoujurou in the same place.

Being a pillar didn't make any special change, you still being the cute little sister for Kyoujurou and strong big sister for Senjurou.

And apparently, stubborn *ahem*Daughter*ahem* for Shinjurou.

Kyoujurou prohibited you to call him with "Kyoujurou-san". He wanted you to drop the formalities.

"What do you want me to call you then?"

"Ani-ue, or Onii-chan! Nii-chan seems cute too!"

"...I'll go with Aniki."

Every time you're going on mission, both of you will exchange letter, to make sure everything is fine. You're really happy when you received his letter thorough the crow.

When you met him on the Pillars meeting after a long mission, it was really merrier in front of the headquarters.

"Kyoujurou-Anikiiii!!"

"(y/n)!!!"

"WASSHOI! WASSHOI! WASSHOI!" Both of you made swirled motion with your hands.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" Iguro and Sanemi shouted angrily to you.

Sometimes, Kanroji joined you on the Wasshoi Moment, making Iguro (softly towards Kanroji, ofc) and Sanemi goes apopleptic.

Senjurou helped you to learn more about flame breathing since you are Kyoujurou's tsugako, mostly from the scrolls and journals.

"Senjurou, you're really good at rephrasing this! It's easier to understand all of these things now!"

"I'm glad I'm being able to help." He shyly averted his eyes. You patted his head gleefully.

When you did laundry, you really loved to wash and hang Kyoujurou's flame cape and uniform outside.

"I won't let anyone die here!!" You used his cape and stood in front of your clothesline, imitating the Flame Pillar and posing like he held the top of your sword. You grinned like an idiot. "...hehe, just kidding."

"Nee-chan? What are you doing?" Senjurou popped out from engawa.

"Just playing around with Aniki's clothes. Senjurou, wanna try too?"

"Looks fun!"

So both of you shared the cape and saying "Yomoya, yomoya da!" and "Umai! Umai!" just like he did on daily basis.

"You really have fun there, huh?" Kyoujurou was already behind you and lifted both of you up with his big arms. You're panicking when you suddenly floated on the air and the cape completely covered you. He laughed at your appearance.

You often helped him with polishing swords because you were painstaking on take care things more than him. He just sat there while looking at you, giving you blimmering aura.

And sometimes you became irritated because he stared at you for a long time.

When it's autumn, you loved making grilled sweet potato. After Senjurou collected the dried leaves from the yard, you lit the fire and started to grill it.

"Sweet potato?" Kyoujurou peeked behind your back.

"Yeah, it's still hot, so- Aaah.... don't take it yet."

Kyoujurou impatiently ate the grilled sweet potato. Steam came out from his mouth.

"Umai!"

One day at night, Senjurou suddenly awoke from his sleep, sweating and crying. He decided to go to your room.

"Nee-chan? Can- Can I sleep with you?"

You still awake, making report. Senjurou came to you with pillow and blanket on his hand. You saw him with tears droplets on the corner of his eyes.

"Senjurou? What happened? Come here." You stopped your writing and dimmed the lantern light.

He sat on top of your futon.

"I- I have nightmare. You were killed by demon. It's vague. I don't know, blood was everywhere, I saw you there. Ani-ue was there too, he tried to wake you up, but- but- everything went dark, I-"

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here." You hugged him and caressed his back.

He cried. "I don't want to lose you... Not after my mother. I don't want to lose anyone anymore."

"Sshh... I'm here. It's just a nightmare. I won't leave you alone." He seems afraid to go back to sleep. So, you hum the same lullaby you used to sing to your siblings when they're still alive. You pulled his body into your embrace, while slowly stroking his hair. He looked comforted, and slowly drifting into slumber again.

'Warm...' He thought.

You slept with Senjurou that night. He grabbed your hand, not wanting to let it go.

Kyoujurou found both of you on next morning, because he couldn't find Senjurou in his room. He woke you up and when he found Senjurou emerged from the blanket, he became confused.

You explained on what happened. Senjurou slowly wake up. Kyoujurou nodded.

"Senjurou, it's not appropriate to sleep with a girl."

"It's okay." You swayed your hand.

"I'm sorry for bothering you last night, Nee-chan." He bowed while carrying his pillow and blanket.

"You don't need to apologize." He smiled, saying thank you for comforting him and went out to make breakfast.

"Oh, if I'm the one who have bad dream, can I sleep with you too?" Kyoujurou moved towards you.

"Uh... Well..." The redness slowly spread on your cheek. "No."

"Come on, that's not fair! I wanted you to sing for me too!!"

"That's not what I'm talking about!"

People started to curious about your relationship with Kyoujurou, but you always said that he's like a brother to you.

Until that night.

You were with him in that wicked train, you'll never forget how Akaza battered both of you on that fight.

You will never forget his rupture, the view of his intestines almost gushing out from his stomach was a nightmare to you. You even didn't know how many times you said, "Please don't die!" while you brought him to Butterfly Estate, desperately tried to stop him for bleeding more on the abdomen.

You even forget on your own injuries, so after you put him on the bed and he's being taken away by the medic staffs, you collapsed.

He's fine now, fortunately. When you saw him on his ward after the incident, you rushed and hugged him while crying. Kyoujurou patted your hair, saying, "Thank you for brought me here and saved my life."

You always look after him, you didn't leave his side unless there is something really important occured. His stomach still hurt after post surgery, so you're the one who helped him to stand or walk.

Senjurou warned you to not force yourself because you had to rest and recover too. He make take-turns schedule to look after Kyoujurou.

And today, is the day where all of his bandages dispatched from his body. You helped him with that.

"How is your wound, (y/n)?"

"Healed perfectly!" You applied oint treatment on his injured eyes and put the patch back.

"That's good to hear. Thank you for take care of me."

"It's fine, it's fine!" You swayed your hands.

"I should give you my gratitude." He smiled. "After I dismiss from here, what do you want? Just say it, I'll do my best to grant them." You stopped for awhile, and putting out your gifted hairpin from your head. It was from Kyoujurou

"You know... You've done bigger things for me, more than what I'm doing right now. Giving me new hope, new family, new friends. If you weren't there on that time you found me, I'm probably just a 'nothing'." You grinned towards him. "So, I didn't need anything! Thank you for making me your little sister!"

Your glistened eyes made Kyoujurou stunned for awhile. After that, he smiled warmly.

"You see." He moved his face closer to you. You now could see his face clearier than ever. Her pointy nose, red lips, his unique eyebrows and flashy pupils. You know he's handsome even if he's wearing eyepatch, indeed. But you never know he is THIS handsome. You completely enthralled by his charm.

"Wh- what?" You stuttered while clutching into the wet towel.

"I'm tired of playing this 'little sister'."

"What do you mean?" You scared, you scared that he will dump you, he will abandon you, because you didn't do much on the train mission.

Please, Rengoku is the only family I had now.

"Be my wife."

"...yes?" You didn't process his words well inside your mind. He smiled like his usual daily normal dose of sunshine.

And then, bloods started spreading and scattered on your cheek vaguely.

"Aniki, I'm- I didn't think I really fit this position, your wife must be more beautiful and strong than me. I've always thought you as my brother."

"And what if that 'beautiful and strong' criteria were already fulfilled by you?" He cupped your cheek, moving forward to your face, changed his expression from shiny smiling to serious looking.

You freeze on your seat, your head started to spin, your heart throbbed fast when his lips about to touched yours.

Wait, this couldn't be happening right? There's no way! There's no wa-

"Ara, you're here, (y/n)." Shinobu made her entrance inside the ward.

"IT'S ONE HELL OF A NICE DAY INDEED, RIGHT? SHINOBU-SAN?!" You shoved his face and bowed to Shinobu. "I- I forgot to take my report! I'm going to headquarters now! Bye, Aniki! Shinobu-san, please take care of Aniki for awhile!!"

You dashed out while covering your reddened face.

"I didn't say anything about the weather though." She tilted her head. "Did I came in wrong time?"

Kyoujurou chuckled.

"My little sister is cute, isn't she?"

[nigahamyeon]

hearts awakened

i. a man's heart

Yisoo woke with the first rays at the break of dawn. Her eyes still closed, she could feel the beginning warmth of the sun on her face. Slowly, she raised her head, opening her eyes and blinking a few times. The window of her small room was facing east, and her bed was standing right in front of it, so she could feel the first sunbeams on her, everyday.

After a few moments of just looking outside, she raised her shoulders, sat up, and extended her front legs into a long stretch that she could feel through her entire body. Then she rolled onto her back, then onto her legs again and jumped out of bed.

Yisoo was a Gumiho, in Korean legends known as the nine-tailed fox, a kind of shifter. And she always slept as a fox. She could never really figure it out how to sleep in her human form, every position felt awkward, she never really knew what to do with her legs in relation to her torso – she had read about different sleeping positions, of course, but it all just felt so unnatural, and she was never able to relax. As a fox, however, sleeping was intuitive. Just curl up into a ball, tails around you, head on your hind legs. Easy. Sleep guaranteed.

It took a few moments until Yisoo fully transformed into her human form. Right after waking up she had difficulties getting her ears and tails to fully vanquish, especially since she felt herself weaken again. But she had already taken care of that, tonight she'd get stronger again. When her body turned into a slender figure of average height, she stretched out her human arms while standing on tiptoes.

First the fluff brush – she used it every morning to get rid of all her fur that she left behind on her bed when sleeping as a fox. Second, washing up, brushing the hair and styling it into a loose braid. Then clothes, and lastly, putting on make-up. Objectively, she wasn't in need of any kind of make-up as Yisoo was more beautiful than the common Korean girl, but she just loved the way a winged eyeliner made her slanted eyes look, and she could make her face look a little bit less fox-like.

She put on her necklace, a simple golden one with a blue-shimmering bead pendant, also known as yeowoo guseul – just that it didn't hold her powers and intelligence, like in the legends, but her very soul. It was the most important part of her, and if she was separated from it too long, she would die. Well, not instantly, but she’d get gradually weaker until she couldn’t keep up her human form anymore. And if someone were to destroy it… well, she didn’t actually know what would happen then. But she’d probably die as well.

By the time she was finished with her morning routine it was already half past 7, and she had barely time to eat something for breakfast.

“Good morning,” Jongho greeted her as she was rushing into the pathetic excuse of a kitchen that was part of the apartment. He had a cup of coffee in hand, handing it over to her to take a few sips.

“Thanks,” Yisoo mumbled and opened the fridge, just to see that it was almost empty. Not even the yoghurt that she had saved was there any more, one of her many roommates must've eaten it. She hated most of them. Except Jongho.

“I heard Outside Conformist are playing tonight at the Flask tonight, you wanna come?” he asked her, trying to lean casually against the counter.

“I can't, tonight is the night, you know? I already prepared everything,” Yisoo looked apologetically at him.

She really liked Jongho, even though he was a werewolf. Generally, Yisoo disliked all kinds of canines, even though she was, technically, also one. Never, in her whole life (and she had lived for a long, long time), had she had any good experiences with any kinds of wolves, dogs and the kind. But Jongho was different, maybe it was because he wasn't part of a pack (he used to be, but was shunned by them for a reason he never told her) or maybe because he was generally just different. Either way, Yisoo wasn't blind nor stupid, she had picked up on the fact that he showed signs of romantic interest in her. She could smell the pheromones he produced, and she could read the body language. It was more than obvious.

“Oh, I forgot,” he said, “does it have to be tonight, though? The hunters have been really active lately.”

“Yeah, they've been onto me for a while now,” Yisoo sighed, “but it has to be tonight. Can't throw away weeks of preparation, you know.”

“Yeah, I'm just worried is all,” he looked at the bottom of his cup.

“Let's go out tomorrow night, all right? Outside Conformist may not be playing, but we'll find something else to do,” she said and his face instantly lit up. With a look at the clock, she said her goodbyes and see you laters, took her coat and bag and made her way to the subway station.

It was a very usual morning, a lot of traffic and Yisoo made it just in time to catch the subway. It was crowded and it stank after sweat and kimchi. With her nose and ears being more sensitive than those of a human, she had always a hard time riding the subway, or the bus, or actually any kind of public transportation. But she did her best to live a life as ordinarily human as possible. Even enrolled into university and studied some random subject that she found vaguely interesting.

When she arrived at university, she still had enough time to get a cappuccino from the campus coffee shop and got into the lecture hall at the same time as her professor did. He smiled painfully obvious towards her, and she feigned a cheeky smile back at him. Some harmless flirting, but it'd make sure to help her grade a bit. Yisoo scanned the room for an empty seat, and sat somewhere in the middle next to a girl that she already knew. Kind of. They saw each other frequently and maybe they had talked, once or twice. She was a nice girl, very fun to be around and it seemed like she had a lot of friends. Yisoo sometimes imagined being friends with her, with a human. What it would be like, she wondered. During all her years, she had ever really been close to mythical creatures, like herself.

For lunch she went to a ramen shop near the university that was run by a Fae. Yisoo could only wonder why no one ever picked up on the fact that he was so painfully obviously not human. It was nothing she thought about too often, much rather she'd eat up her bowl of noodles and not think about anything.

After that, more university and then she'd go to her own part-time job – an employee at a gas station in a rather shady part of Seoul. She could've gotten a better job, at a better location that paid her better, but Yisoo chose this gas station for a reason. It was in a district that was rather problematic, a lot of humans, almost no otherworldly creatures. Many of the people that lived here were social outcasts, criminals of all sorts and really just the scum of society.

It was perfect.

She did meet a lot of drunks here, sex offenders and abusers. Yisoo was not afraid of them, there really was no human who could ever meet eye-to-eye with her when it came to fighting. But, as she still was a Gumiho, she had to consume a human heart every so often – and she stopped killing just about anyone, no. With the hunters being as active as they were, and Gumihos being classified as dangerous and therefore being actively hunted by them, she couldn't murder blatantly obvious. Also, she just didn't want to. Since she developed consciousness, Yisoo started to just look for her prey in men that she considered the scum of the earth. So, actually, she was doing the world a favour in eating their heart. And, of course, with these types of people it took a long time before someone found out they're missing and start looking for them. Win-win.

Her shift was over at 10pm and her date, or rather dinner, for the night was already waiting for her. He looked like he didn’t even really try, wearing the clothes he usually wore when he went to buy liquor late at night. One might’ve thought that he wanted to impress her in some way, but it didn’t look like it. For him, it was an easy way to get laid, since she planted the seeds for some daddy issues and other things that could make girls potentially go for pathetic older guys. They walked from the gas station to - what he thought - was in the direction of her apartment. In reality, though, Yisoo was luring him into the forest where no one would be at night to hear him scream. 

They were walking at a rather slow pace, he was telling her about his time in the Korean army, she pretended to care and laughed from time to time. He didn’t even notice that they were walking past trees and trees and even more trees, slowly deviating from the path. It was pitch black, and he only realised it when Yisoo suddenly stopped. Manipulating men was just too fucking easy. And yet, even though she was extraordinarily careful in choosing her prey, she still felt bad for him. A little. He was talking to her, and Yisoo felt his pulse rising, his heart pumping faster and faster. Funny, she didn’t take him for someone who was scared so easily. Just a bit of darkness and a mysterious lady inside a forest were enough to trigger his flight instinct. A shame, really, Yisoo thought as she felt her hands slowly turn into claws and her animalistic instincts growing louder and louder. She did like it when they tried to fight her. 

It was over before it even started. With the swift motion of her claws she pierced through his chest, an agonising cry of pain leaving his mouth but before he could finish it she ripped his ribcage open. The heart was still beating for a few moments, and Yisoo transformed fully into a nine-tailed fox before feasting on his heart. She knew of some Gumihos who actually ate the heart in their human forms, and she could never understand why. Human teeth weren’t made for chewing the strong muscle of a raw heart. 

By the time she was finished it was probably around 10:45pm, she thought. Maybe she even got home in time for the new episode of one of the dramas she watched at the moment. And maybe was Jongho also home already, and they could watch it together. Still a fox she was digging a whole with her fore-paws. It was just faster that way. Plus, it was necessary, just because no one was looking for him didn’t mean that no one could find him. Leaving the corpse of a man out with just his heart missing? Not such a good idea. Yisoo grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into the hole, covering it up with the dirt and some leaves. Should do well enough.

That’s when she heard the snapping of a twig - followed by the sound of an arrow piercing through the sky. But it was too late - by the time she could react she already felt the sharp pain of the bolt in her thigh - it had gone right through. Yisoo yelped, bit the arrow head and pulled the whole thing out before running for her life. Her leg was throbbing, she felt the blood drooling out and the pain was so strong she could barely put her paw on the ground. As she was speeding through the forest and had almost reached the city, she felt the pain pass and her leg getting stronger again. Once she turned into a side street and hid behind a giant trash container, she quickly turned into her human shape again, hoping they wouldn’t recognise her this way and giving herself a bit more time. For a few moments, she just stood there, back pressed against the cold stone wall, and listened. Nothing.

The hunters were onto her. Never had it been this close before. How could this have happened, she had been so careful all this time. Yisoo felt her heart beating frantically in her chest. Her fingers were closing tightly around her yeowoo guseul - and she took the pendant and put it deep in her cheek pouch. Yisoo felt the cool surface against her teeth and mucous, and the magic of her very own soul pulsating in her mouth. For just a second she wondered what would happen if she would just… swallow it. It would still be with her - inside her gastrointestinal tract, to be precise. But she didn’t swallow it. Once again she listened closely but she couldn’t make out any sounds that might belong to the hunter. Cautiously, but as casually as possible, she started walking out of the side street and nearer and nearer towards the main road. Yisoo scanned every person that she saw and kept her ears on high alert for any alarming sounds. Her heart was still pounding in her chest.

She crossed the street and was now only one block away from the well lit main road. Two guys, all in black, were suddenly just a few feet away, right in front of her. Yisoo could smell blood, and a distinct smell that she never smelled before, but was told of. The smell of not one, but two hunters. It was a gamble. Would they know that she was the Gumiho that they were looking for? Or would they only be alarmed if she changed her behaviour now? One step, two steps. Her eyes followed the guy who was next to her. Time seemed to stand still for the moment that they were passing each other. Yisoo could feel her blood hammering inside of her. In the corner of her eye she saw him moving his arm inhumanly fast, and a sword appearing out of nowhere. Yisoo was faster and leaped away. Right into the arms of the second hunter, who was suddenly behind her, his fingers clawed into her shoulder. 

Then she felt the sharp edge piercing through her flesh. And her heart. A deep grunt escaped her throat, her knees giving up under her, her body hitting the concrete ground. Even through the pain, she kept her jaw shut tightly. When he removed the sword, she grunted again. The blood was pooling out of her. And then it stopped.

“What. the. fuck.”

[quintessenceofdust73]

WINGMAN by Quinn73 on AO3

Pidge felt a cold trickle of perspiration sliding down her back as she approached the entrance to the most popular nightclub in this little corner of the galaxy, a posh establishment known as The Event Horizon. She clutched her sparkly handbag a little tighter and wondered if she should go inside. She checked her watch. She was still too early. Why was she foolish enough to agree to this? Pidge sighed and began pacing back and forth in the high heels she was still very unaccustomed to wearing. Hunk had been the one who talked her into this madness. He had been very persuasive, having gone on and on about how vulnerable Lance was.

“He hasn’t dated anyone since...” Allura’s name went unspoken. “...you know.”

“I know,” she replied to Hunk. “But aren’t you normally his wingman?”

“Yeah, of course! I’m the best wingman there is.” Hunk looked incredibly pleased with himself. He winked at her. Pidge frowned, perplexed by how strange Hunk had been behaving lately. In recent weeks he had been bombarding her with the most personal and embarrassing questions when she least expected it. “But you know I have an important diplomatic mission to Cyan III, so I can’t be there to help him get back into the dating scene. Pidge, please, do this for me. I don’t want Lance to get his heart broken again—“

She exhaled. “Fine. I’ll steer him away from the crazies and the stalkers. What time do I have to be there?”

“Seven o’clock sharp. And wear something nice. You know, maybe get your hair done, put on a little makeup—not that you need it—it’s just, Lance—- uh, I ,mean, that club is really upscale, okay.”

After that conversation Pidge rummaged through her closet and found nothing suitable for the evening except for the clingy little emerald green cocktail dress she had worn only once before. The diamond earrings she had inherited from her great-grandmother would look nice with it, she thought. There was only one necklace that she owned that was the right length for the neckline of the dress though, and she wondered if it would be appropriate to wear it or not. It was a golden heart on a delicate chain that had been sent to her as a special delivery on her twenty-first birthday. There was no return address, only a typed note that read, “To the strongest, smartest, most beautiful woman I have ever known. I hope someday I have the courage to tell you how I really feel about you.” The message wasn’t signed, and she had no idea who sent it to her. Colleen had teased her daughter so much about her “secret admirer” that she had hidden the necklace away in her jewelry box and had never worn it.

Lance had been particularly sulky at work that April, and often seemed as grumpy as he was when his siblings ate all the garlic knots and didn’t save any for him. He was even grouchy in his classes. Pidge overheard his students gossiping about it, and thought that it was very strange because Lance was known to be the most cheerful and enthusiastic of all the flight instructors at the Garrison.

Pidge began having lunch in her laboratory, pretending that this was saving her valuable time on her latest project. She didn’t want to admit to herself that she was avoiding Lance because her feelings were hurt. After three years of long weekend video gaming sessions and endless hours at his apartment binge watching all of the movies and television programs they had missed while in space, she thought their friendship meant something to him. She couldn’t believe he had forgotten her birthday this year, and she had cried herself to sleep for three nights. Hormones, she thought. Maybe she should ask the doctor for something she could take for all of her mood swings. She thought it might have something to do with her being a late bloomer.

She checked her watch again. It was nearly seven. She looked up at the glowing sign above the famous club’s entryway, squared her shoulders, and walked towards the front door, then abruptly stopped short before entering the nightclub. There was a sign on the door in front of her that read

ONCE YOU CROSS THE EVENT HORIZON, THERE’S NO TURNING BACK.

Pidge read it, and then swallowed. She reminded herself that she was doing this for Lance because she wanted him to be happy, even if that meant he was going to find happiness with someone that wasn’t her. Her vision blurred, and she wiped the corners of her eyes with her fingers, hoping her eye makeup didn’t smear. She took a deep breath and crossed the threshold.

A young Galran woman greeted her in the front lobby. “How many are in your party?”

“Oh, uh, I’m looking for a friend. He might have arrived before me,” Pidge replied.

“You are welcome to look for him, miss. Let me know if you require a table.”

“Thanks,” Pidge responded, and she headed towards the bar just beyond a large sign that read “The Singularity.” She assumed that with a name like that it must be the singles bar. There were several sorry-looking males and only a few overly made-up females of a variety of species at the bar. All of them seemed either depressed, intoxicated, or both. She sat as far away from all of them as possible. If Lance was going to meet the woman of his dreams tonight, surely it wouldn’t be any of these pathetic creatures. What was Hunk thinking? The Polluxian bartender asked what she wanted to drink, and Pidge responded that she was waiting for a friend. She cringed inwardly as a gap-toothed Unilu male sauntered her way and sat on the barstool next to her. “Buy you a drink, sweetheart?” His breath reeked of intoxicants.

“No, thank you.” She moved away from him. He leaned closer, eyeing her in a way that made her very uncomfortable. Pidge’s mind raced. She needed an escape. “I’m meeting a friend here tonight.” She looked toward the club’s main entrance, and saw her opportunity. “Sorry.” She got up. Lance had just arrived, and she couldn’t repress her grin at the sight of him. She darted towards the front lobby, passing in front of the huge darkened room called The Black Hole, which was, by the sound of the loud music, a dance floor of some kind.

Pidge thought Lance looked quite dashing in the tailored blue suit he was wearing, but she soon realized that his expression was surlier than usual, as if he didn’t want to be there at all. Her smile melted away.

Lance didn’t see her approach. He had turned toward the young Galran hostess. “Table for two, please. I don’t know if she’s here yet though.” His stance was alert, with his fists curled at his sides. He looked as if he was ready to bolt at any moment.

“There was a pretty young woman of your species who arrived just before you did. She said she was looking for someone,” said the hostess. She saw Pidge standing a few feet behind Lance. “Here she is, sir.”

Lance took a deep breath, as if bracing himself for something very unpleasant. He slowly turned around, and Pidge watched as Lance’s expression went from a look of anxiety to one of elation. “Pidge?! What are you doing here?” He looked happier than he had been in weeks. “You look great in that dress, by the way.” His eyes lingered on the golden heart-shaped necklace at her throat, and his grin broadened even more.

“Hunk told me I had to be here, and I don’t understand what’s—”

“Hunk really is the best friend a guy could ever have, isn’t he? I owe him big time for this.”

Pidge didn’t understand what Lance was talking about. “I—“

The hostess interrupted. “Your table is ready, sir. Right this way.”

Before Pidge could even ask what was going on, Lance grabbed her by the hand and followed the hostess into a brightly lit dining room, past the larger tables for boisterous gatherings, and onward to a quieter, more dimly lit area where couples would normally sit at smaller, more intimate candlelit tables. The room was empty for the moment. Soft, beautiful music was playing in the background. Pidge was both overwhelmed and confused. She felt a momentary pang of regret as Lance let go of her hand, but she soon realized that he did this in order to pull out a chair for her. “Oh! Thank you.” She felt the heat rise to her cheeks. What was happening? She smoothed her skirt as she sat down. They should be at the singles bar. How was she supposed to help Lance get a date if...

“Hunk really had me fooled,” Lance said with a chuckle. His blue eyes sparkled with happiness.

“What exactly did he tell you?” she asked, trying to calm her nerves. She had her hands hidden in her lap, hoping Lance wouldn’t notice that they were shaking.

“Well, when Hunk said that he was gonna set me up on a blind date with a girl who would be an absolutely perfect match for me, I was really skeptical about that. At first, I refused to go because I told him my heart already belonged to someone and I wasn’t interested in meeting some other girl, but Hunk said that I had to go, and that if I didn’t go you would be really upset with me. I thought that meant that you wanted me to move on, and that hurt so much.” Pidge noticed that Lance began to tear up a little. “I thought you didn’t like me that way, especially when I saw that you didn’t ever wear the birthday present I sent you.”

Pidge gaped at him as touched her golden heart pendant with one trembling hand. “You sent this to me? I-I didn’t know!” She felt a cool tear slide down one very warm cheek. “The card wasn’t signed. I am so sorry. I love the necklace! It’s beautiful, and thank you for it.” Don’t cry, don’t cry she told herself, but it was too late.

Lance extended his hands across the table to her, and after wiping her face with a napkin, she reached out to him, allowing him to take both of her small hands into his larger ones. “Hunk had to trick me into going on a date with you,” he confessed. “I was too afraid of rejection to ask you out on a real date, even though we spend nearly every weekend hanging out together.”

Pidge bit her lip and then gave him a watery smile. “He had to trick me too. He said you were going out tonight and needed a wingman. That’s why I was waiting for you at The Singularity just now.”

“Wearing that dress and with your hair curled and—wait a minute! Are you actually wearing makeup?” Lance chuckled. “You look like a model or a movie star. Did you really think I would be looking at some other single lady at the bar when you look hotter than a supernova?”

Pidge giggled. “Well, I wanted you to see what you’re missing,” she teased. “And from now on, the only heart shaped pendant I will ever wear will be from someone that I love, not some unknown secret admirer.”

Lance beamed at her. “I hope that means you’ll wear it again.”

“Always.”

That was all the encouragement Lance needed. “When I sent you that note I was thinking of something a wise man once said: Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

“Lao Tzu,” Pidge commented, recognizing the quote. “The note you sent said that I am the strongest woman you have ever known and that someday you hoped to have the courage to tell me how you really feel about me.”

“I guess that someday is today.” He let go of her hands and slid his chair around the table to her side. “I love you, Katie Holt. I always have. I’m sorry it took so long for me to find the courage to say it out loud.” He reached out to cup her cheek, wiping away one of her happy tears with his thumb.

Courage, she thought. Just tell him. She placed both of her hands on his broad shoulders, and he dared to move even closer to her. “I love you, too.” she said softly. “All these years, it’s always been you, Lance.”

Her eyelids fluttered closed as he leaned towards her. Their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss. Instinctively, Pidge slid her arms around his neck, and Lance responded by pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.

“I think we should stop,” she whispered in between kisses.

“Why? I know you’re enjoying this as much as I am,” he said in an uncharacteristically deep voice that made her shiver.

Pidge knew she had to be the sensible one. “The waiter will be here soon and we haven’t even looked at our menus.”

Blushing, Lance slid his chair back to the other side of the table. “I guess I was getting a little too carried away with kissing my new girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend? You move faster than a proton in a particle accelerator.”

“Sorry. I should have been a gentleman and asked—“

“Yes, well I do expect my boyfriend to be a gentleman, especially when we’re in public.” Her eyes sparkled like the diamonds she was wearing. They were both giddy the rest of the evening, which was spent dining and dancing and talking about the bright future that was ahead of them.

It was mid morning at the embassy on Cyan III when Hunk’s deep space communicator received an electronic message from two of his fellow Paladins. When he opened the message, Hunk saw that it was a selfie taken on Lance’s phone. In the photo Lance was smiling at the camera, dressed in his finest suit, looking more cheerful than he had been in years. He had his arm around a gorgeous girl in a clingy green dress who seemed to radiate waves of happiness. It was Pidge, Hunk realized. She looked so glamorous he nearly didn’t recognize her. The message read, “I had the time of my life at The Event Horizon—dinner and dancing with the love of my life. Thanks, Hunk. You’re the best wingman ever! —Lance.”

[kaffeinic]

Familiar | Bang Chan

Hey dear, I have this one shot/fanfiction idea but since I can't write I thought I'd request it from you x3 I can't stop thinking about a school AU in which Chan is a basketball player/captain and falls for the new girl in his class 🥺so if requests are open and if you have time, it would be nice if you could write that or something similar, thank you 💖

- @chansdimple

~

1

Pairing: High Schooler!Reader x Basketball Player!Bang Chan

Genre: Neutral // Romance

Warnings: Fem!Reader

Preamble: Change is extremely difficult, and moving to a new city with a new school was no exception. The classes are difficult, the people are loud, and the melodramatic behaviour seemed to constantly be at a ten. You felt suffocated - until you take a chance on a night out with a new friend.

You were conflicted, to say the least.

The idea of starting anew, in a strange place, with strange people you didn’t know, was, well, strange. Your hands were clasping the hem of your shirt, fiddling with the fabric in an attempt to calm your mind. You hated this feeling. It wasn’t something you generally chased after.

On the other hand, knowing that you were about to walk into a building in which no one knew you was almost relieving, in its own way. All of your awkward moments and incredible public mishaps were now ancient history. No one here could possibly know about that time in the second grade when you tried to pet the class turtle and somehow, someway was outpaced by it. No one would know about those times when you were so exhausted from the night before that you actually walked directly into a door.

Feeling a mix of glee and terror, you adjusted your grip on your bag’s handle and pulled open the front door. You were immediately greeted by a swarm of students, all moving simultaneously to their desired classrooms. You glanced around the foyer until you spotted the main office, briskly walking inside.

There were stark white walls on all four sides of the room, most of which were decorated with various trophies, class photos, and calendars. Six chairs were lined against two of the walls, providing seating for two rather angry students.

“Are you aware of how many times you’ve both been sent into my office this month? Nine. Nine times. I didn’t even think it was possible to piss off your teachers that much! Now, you’re both getting into fistfights before classes even start!” A middle aged man in an unbutton grey work suit fixed his tie with a huff. “If this happens one more time, you’re both getting suspended. Do I make myself clear?” He asked. The two boys sitting on the chairs adjacent to the man nodded their heads. “Get out of here.”

You cleared your throat after watching as the two boys sulked out of the office. The man’s face suddenly lit up.

“Hello, there! You must be Y/n. I’m Mr. Hanson. I trust you had a warm welcome?” He asked. You cocked your head in curiosity.

“What welcome?” You asked. “Did I miss someone?” The man peered past your shoulder through the window of the office door.

“Ah, your welcome committee is a little preoccupied.” He said. He found his way past you to open the door, waving a group of students over. “She’s over here, guys.”

You watched as four students strolled into the room, each with a very distinct aura about them. The first was a boy with red hair and serious features. He wore a pair of red jeans and a white tee, tucked in towards the front. He held out his hand to you, suddenly smiling, which changed everything about the way you had perceived him.

“I’m Felix. It’s nice to meet you.” He said. You returned the smile and shook his hand.

“Y/n.”

The second person to greet you was a girl with straight black hair, and equally dark eyes. Her clothes were viciously pink, and she sported a pair of heels with a myriad of jewelry. She immediately slapped a seemingly fake smile onto her face and waved.

“I’m Stacey.” She said, adjusting the way her bag rested against her hip.

“It’s nice to meet you.” You said. She exposed teeth, then turned to Felix, grabbing hold of his arm. First impressions said that they were dating.

The third person in line was a blond haired boy with a smile that screamed cheer. His yellow tee and blue jeans seemed to convert the same message.

“Hey! I’m Jisung. It’s very nice to meet you, Y/n.” He said, shaking your hand. You smiled at his enthusiasm. “This is Chan.” Jisung said, gesturing towards the fourth and final student.

Chan donned a pair of ripped blue jeans, a black hoodie, and a jean jacket to top it all off. His hair was dyed an almost silvery colour, and his curly bangs laid across his forehead in a stylish way. He gave you a polite smile, waving at you. You waved back, trying to avoid breaching the personal space of the five people around you. Suddenly the bell rang, signaling the last of the wandering students to hustle their way to class.

“Alright. Y/n, I’ve chosen these particular students in part because of your shared class schedules. If you stick to them, you shouldn’t get lost. I wish you luck!” Mr. Hanson said. You smiled and nodded.

“Yes, thank you.”

The five of you made your way to what seemed to be the math classroom. In every classroom you entered, the sea of students would follow you with their gaze until you sat, and even then, some curious eyes would remain glued to your figure. Jisung and Stacey seemed to always be on either side of you, with Felix on the other side of Stacey, and Chan on the other side of Jisung. The day was mostly uneventful until your last class.

You had carefully selected your elective - photography. It was simple enough - or at least that’s what you thought - but held your interest as well.

The photography class was rather small, and the only people shared the class with were Stacey and Felix. Throughout the day, she seemed to grow ever-annoyed at your mere presence. Felix waved you over to where they both sat, smiling.

“C’mon, Y/n!” He exclaimed. You smiled warmly at his invitation and obliged, sliding on his opposite side. Stacey let out a huff, rapping her fingers on her desk.

“Where are Chan and Jisung?” You asked, placing your bag on the desk in front of you. Felix began to take his camera out of the case, setting it up for whatever it was that they were about to do.

“They have basketball practice during the elective periods. Chan is the captain, and Jisung is his right hand, in a sense. They both work out plays and stuff together.” Felix paused and looked at you. “I honestly don’t know anything about basketball. I hope that made sense.” He began laughing bashfully. You laughed along with him, your eyes pinching with glee.

“Alright. I got it.” You said, glancing at Stacey. She seemed to be in a progressively worse mood as you and Felix spoke. It took you all day, but you thought you might have finally figured her out. She was jealous, which you thought was absolutely ridiculous.

A moment later, the photography teacher - who also happened to be your history teacher - walked to the front of the class.

“Alright, guys. I know I told you all about what’s going on this week, but Y/n wasn’t here, so I’ll recap.” Mr. Hanson said. “You all have one week to create a fifteen photo portfolio of the nature near and on our school premises. Each of you can have one partner.” He said. “You’ll be graded individually, not as a pair, so I suggest you both work on it.”

You peered around the classroom. It seemed as if everyone already had a partner. You stood to delve further into the lump of students, but heard your name.

“Y/n, I could partner with you.” Felix said from his seat. “It’s your first time, and I know it’s hard to work with someone you haven’t met yet.” You smiled at him thankfully.

“Uh-” Stacey immediately chimed in. “Felix, honey, we’re partners.” She said. “Plus, I have the good camera.” She grinned and pointed at the camera case that sat neatly on her desk.

“Yeah, but I think it would be nice if I helped Y/n out.” He explained. “She’s still new.” Stacey deadpanned before shaking her head.

“Yeah, but I doubt she knows anything about photography, and this is too important of a portfolio to mess up.” She explained. You looked to the ground.

“It’s alright, Felix. Thanks, but I can find someone else.” You said. Felix frowned, but nodded.

“Alright, but let me know if you need any help.” He added. You smiled and made your way over to the other students. Most of them had been given enough time to already have their partners, and were already discussing how they’d go about the project. After a few more moments of searching, you came back with no results. You let out a sigh, making your way to Mr. Hanson.

“Hey, Mr. Hanson?” You said. He turned and smiled at you.

“Hey, How’s it going? Did you get a partner yet?” He asked. You shook your head.

“No, but I think I’ll be alright working alone. I think I work best that way.” You explained. He contemplated the idea, and hummed in agreement.

“Alright, but I’ll be keeping an eye out to see if you’re struggling. Do your best.” He said.

The rest of the period was grueling as you relied solely on the paper instructions for the school’s camera. It wa nothing like you had used before. By the end of the hour, you were just about ready to throw the technology at a wall.

You shoved the last of your belongings into your bag as the final bell rang, letting out an exasperated sigh. Your body felt a little heavier than usual from such a stressful day.

As your hands flattened out on the front set of double doors, you heard footsteps coming from behind you.

“Y/n?” Chan said. You feigned happiness, not yet ready to deal with another awkward conversation.

“Hey...” You said. He cocked his head to the side as the corners of his lips tugged downward.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked, jogging over. “Rough first day?” You let out a chuckle.

“Yeah, but it could’ve been worse.” You said. He grinned, looking down.

“What an optimist.” He teased. You giggled, pushing the door open. He raised his arm out to hold it for you, waiting as you slipped past the frame. He followed suit, then shoved a hand in one of his jacket pockets.

“How was your day?” You asked. He seemed to contemplate, then bobbed his head left and right.

“Not too bad. Practice was tough, but the day was otherwise good.” He said. You smiled.

“Good, good.” You said. He hopped forward.

“Do you have to be home?” He asked. You raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“Not particularly. Why?”

“I know what’ll cheer you up.” He waved his arm to get you to follow him as he approached a black car. You made your way over to him, hesitant.

“Where are we going?”

“The joy is in the surprise, milady.” He made a grand gesture with his arm as he said the name, which earned a chuckle from you.

“Alright, alright. Just not too far.” You said. “I need to be home by sundown.”

“That’s as long as I need.” He grinned. “Let’s go!”

You laid your bag on the floor of the passenger seat.

“Let’s go!”

~

Alrighty! It’s been a while since I’ve made anything new. I really hope that you all enjoy this first chapter. Any guesses on where he’s taking her? If anyone can get it, I’ll give them a shoutout. 💞 Best of luck!

As always, I appreciate your feedback! I hope you are happy and healthy. 😊

~

* DISCLAIMER: I do not own any gifs/photos used in this post. I do own the written content. Do NOT repost/edit. *

~

🏷 @ace-marvel-chick • @hoshithehamster • @woo-for-woojin • @sparkling-studio-ghibli-water • @sshiromon • @midnatwlp • @royalhvangs • @yoongi--enthusiast • @woozi-is-164-cm • @wohoney

[stoopsbookstore]

Kinktober Day 2 (10/02/2019)

Kinks - Claustrophilia (opposite of claustrophobia, arousal caused confinement to small spaces) & Harpaxophilia (fetish for being robbed)

A masked boy crawled in through the window, greeted by two of the stable boys, highfives all around as they quietly cheered.

“Jaemin! Look,” the older male pointed at the masked bandit who took his mask off, “Doyoung was so nice to finally grace us with his presence!”

“Oh goody, Yuta!” Jaemin pretended to be a townsgirl, fanning himself as he threw himself into Yuta’s arms, “I wasn’t sure how long we would live without his orange haired presence!”

Doyoung took a rag off of the table, cleaning the sweat off his brows, “yeah, fuck off, assholes. The most you guys could’ve done is, you know, actually giving me an easier way to get in.”

“You’re not wrong,” Yuta admitted defeat as Jaemin laughed at the older males, “so, what are we doing tonight?”

“Give me a tour of the palace. Shortcuts, hideouts, every thing.”

“We can do that, hopefully the princess is asleep,” Yuta washed his hands as Jaemin threw his apron on the counter, “Princess Y/N is sort of a snitch, depends on her mood and if she was forced to talk to a prince today.”

Doyoung, Yuta and Jaemin left the kitchen, walking around the candle lit hallway, the two servants pointing out pathways and dead ends. On the third floor of the palace, Yuta pointed out a door, elegantly designed in vibrant gold and baby pink.

“That’s where the princess stays, it’s basically a house in it of itself. Two stories, a huge bathroom, two suites, it’s beautiful, but completely impractical.”

Doyoung stared at the ornaten decorations, “earlier, what do you mean by ‘forced to talk to princes?’”

“She’s the crown princess,” Jaemin butted in, the trio heading down a corridor, wall lined with paintings of the royal linage, on their impromptu tour, “she’s expected to be engaged, wed and bear one child in 18 months time. Sort of a shitty deal if you think about what she has to go through compared to her brother. She normally sits in the garden if she needs to be alo-”

“I saw her there one time. What does her brother have to go thro-”

“Hey!” A voice from behind spooking the boys, Jaemin, Doyoung and Yuta startled at the sight of what could only be a guard or princ-

“Jaemin, Yuta, what are you two doing? It’s late, shouldn’t you be asleep?”

“Shouldn’t you be studying about Prince Youngjae’s kingdom, seeing as he’s visiting tomorrow?” Jaemin snarked at the girl.

“Actually, no,” Y/N rolled her eyes at the mention of the eighth prince she talked about today, “the trip was cancelled, food poisoning. They suspect a coup, so they wanted to focus on that. War before love, like always.”

Doyoung stared at the princess, her lavender nightgown covered by an amethyst colored robe. Playing dumb, Doyoung stunned Yuta and Jaemin.

“May I ask who this beautiful lady is, gentlemen?”

Yuta stammered, not understanding what the burglar was doing until Doyoung nodded at him, “this is Princess Y/N, the crown princess of the Berry islands, thirteenth of the Loona princesses.”

Doyoung kissed Y/N’s hand, bowing as she softly smiled, “I’ve heard all about them. Princess Vivi is a friend of someone I know. Pleasure to offically meet one of the thirteen future queens.”

“Hopefully, I’ll just stay a princess and Princess Haseul can rule,” Y/N fixed her robe, a horrible grimace coming against her face, “Yuta, Jaemin, you two really should be asleep though, a big feast is scheduled for tomorrow and there is a lot of prep.”

“Princess getting sleepy? Early morning tomorrow getting your hair and nails done?” Doyoung smirked, switching his personality, Yuta and Jaemin wide-mouthed as Y/N had an offended look on her face.

“I’ll have you know, princesses do more than just sit and wait for someone to rescue them.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize a comm-”

“You four!” A guard started walking to the group, Doyoung grabbing Y/N’s arm and Yuta and Jaemin took off down different hallways.

“Follow me!” Doyoung bolted, dragging Y/N with him, pulling a knife out of his boots, Y/N’s reaction mixed of adrenaline and arosual at the mystery boy.

Doyoung and Y/N were running through the hallways, two guards chasing them as they turned into a hallway Doyoung wasn’t familiar with in his adventures in the palace.

“Down that way, it’ll bring you to one of the bathtub,” Y/N pointed as a guard found them.

“Down this wa- Argh!”

Doyoung had thrown his knife, landing in the guy’s leg, knocking him. The thief ran back to grab the knife, blood getting on his cloak and shirt. Y/N pulled Doyoung away as the other guard spotted them over his friend’s body.

“The wash closet, we can hide in there!” It was Y/N’s time to pull Doyoung along, the princess opening the door and pushing the boy inside.

Y/N hopped in the closet at the last second, the healthy guard helping the wounded one as they scooped out the area. Doyoung and Y/N’s breaths making the area hot, Y/N’s hands hitting a bottle on the floor.

“Quiet down,” Doyoung held Y/N close to his body, his hand over her mouth, the cramped wash pantry causing the pair to be chest to back, “don’t say anything.”

A rat had ran by the guards, a perfect cover-up as the guards yelled, Y/N adjusting herself to be in a more comfortable position in Doyoung’s arms, his rough pants rubbing against her thighs as the guards’ footsteps could be heard stomping on the floor, murmurs barely making sounds through the wooden door.

“Please stop moving,” Doyoung quietly hissed in Y/N’s ears, her hand grazing a growing problem in Doyoung’s pants, “they’ll hear.”

Doyoung moved the hand off Y/N’s mouth, unknowingly putting it on her breast as he placed his ear against the door, accidentally squeezing it when he heard a guard yell 'stop.’

“Oh my god,” a small moan escaped Y/N’s lips before she covered her mouth, Doyoung wide-eyed as he turned her around.

Y/N looked at him, a moment of uncertainty, “you’re not a guest, are you?”

Doyoung shook his head, “no, miss.”

“Who are you then?” Y/N looked at the orange haired guy, taking off his hood, seeing a scar on his neck from a scruffle.

“I’m Doyoung,” Doyoung looked in Y/N’s eyes, a sincere sparkle in them, “I’m the one your people would call a thief, a scroungel, a robber, a burglar. I prefer to call myself Robin Hood.”

Doyoung was prepared for a hit, a punch, a slap, something, but nothing came. Y/N reached behind the would-be thief and grabbed a cloth.

“Take off your cloak.”

Doyoung did what Y/N asked him to do, dropping the cloak as his body showed more scars, Y/N tracing one on his arm, Doyoung licking his lips.

“Were you going to rob me? Take some stuff?”

“Why? Do you get excited by thieves?”

“Maybe,” Y/N continued to clean, going mute as Doyoung shockingly stared at the princess, the prim and proper image he had of her shattered.

Y/N kept silent as she started to unbutton his shirt, the dry rag dusting by Doyoung’s battle scars, past memories of what he has done. Doyoung kept his eye on the princess, the catastrophic area adding a sense of intimacy. When Y/N turned her back to look for a bottle of antiseptic, Doyoung leaned against her neck, placing kisses on the princess’s skin.

“You’ll have to be quiet,” Doyoung groaned as Y/N moved her head to give him more space, her hands going to his thighs, the leather feeling cool against her skin.

Doyoung spun Y/N, pushing her against the wall, moving her robe off her shoulders, the fabric falling to the floor. Y/N placed her leg on Doyoung’s hip, leaning to her right as he begun to kiss her breasts, his fingers stroking her thigh, close to her center, but not touching it.

“So, you’re into small spaces?” Y/N nodded as Doyoung begun to rub her, realizing she wasn’t wearing panties as Y/N leaned into Doyoung’s neck, hiding her melodic sounds.

“And into thieves?” Y/N kept her head in Doyoung’s neck, not answering him as he insertes one finger into her.

“Come on, tell me,” Doyoung slowly pumped his finger in and out of Y/N, “is it the danger? The chase? The sense of feeling helpless? The chance of being caught with someone who doesn’t belong in the same class?”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes to all of that,” Y/N confessed, spilling her guts, “I had saw you that one day and I didn’t realize it was you until just now. I knew you were a thief, but I didn’t want to rat you out since Yuta and Jaemin finally looked happy for once in their shitty lives.”

Doyoung inserted another finger, pumping them out quicker as Y/N bit on his shoulder, the noises that escaped echoing in the tiny room, "and what do you find sexy about thieves?"

"You said yourself. The danger, the push and pull, adrenaline and arousal are surprisingly close," Y/N moved her hands to unlace the leather pants Doyoung had on until he grabbed her wrist, alll movement halting.

“As much as I’d love to, we can’t do that tonight,” Doyoung rested his forehead on Y/N’s, resuming his actions, inserting a third finger and rubbing her clit with his thumb, “I promise I’ll come back.”

Y/N bit her lower lip, a drop of blood coming out as she felt her thighs starting to shudder. Their breaths mingling, Doyoung leaning down to kiss Y/N as the pleasure came to a head, Y/N shaking in Doyoung’s arms.

Putting Y/N’s leg that was on his hup on the floor, Doyoung held the princess close, the silence comforting the two of them. Doyoung placed a small kiss on Y/N’s forehead, reaching over to open the door.

“I think they’re gone,” Doyoung held onto Y/N’s hand, noticing her legs were a bit wobbly “are you okay to go?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just go before they catch us,” Y/N lightly chuckled, Doyoung smirking when he opened the door and started a fast walk down the corridor they came down.

A few minutes of walking and they were at Y/N’s door, Doyoung stopping and causing Y/N to turn in confusion.

“Would you like to come in for some tea or a drink?”

“If by drink, you mean rum, I’d be del-”

“There he is! With the princess!” One of the guards from earlier, Ilhoon, started running as Doyoung handed Y/N his knife.

“Sorry, I can’t stay longer, princess, but I have to go, keep this as a memento,” Doyoung kissed Y/N’s hand, lingering on letting it go as he opened the window, jumping out of it when the guards came up.

“Princess Y/N! You don’t have on a coat! Are you cold, are you okay, did that guy try to hurt you?” The guard, Wonpil, asked, handing Y/N his coat.

“No, no,” Y/N hid the knife in one of the pockets, “no, just a drunkard who got lost, I figured I’d take him to my room and offer him some tea, I was about to come get one of you actually to take him to a guestroom. I guess he sobered up well enough to do some flips and tricks, huh?”

Wonpil and Ilhoon looked at each other, the princess in front of them beaming with innocence and naivety.

“Okay, just go to bed before anyone else tries to do anything.”

Ilhoon opened the door to Y/N’s suite, the girl walking inside as she took out the pocket knife of the jacket pocket, some dried blood on it and a craving of a name in the side of it.

“Robin Hood”

[sparrellow]

Break A Leg, But Not Literally

Len was happy working from the shadows. Rin was a natural performer. Kaito loved being in the spotlight.

Another year, another school musical—and yet, just when all seemed to be going as usual, the universe had other plans.

rating: T genre: romance/friendship/humour/fluff ships: rin/len, miku/kaito if you squint words:  10,164

Len had always been a shy kid, avoiding anything that would draw unnecessary attention to him.

Every semester, his high school’s theatre club would hold a musical. It wasn’t his idea to join the theatre club (honestly, he’d rather be part of the go-home club), but he had no choice after being dragged by his bold best friend, Kaito, to the sign-up booth during first year.

Kaito was the polar opposite of Len. He loved the spotlight. He’d been acting ever since he was five. He was always first to volunteer in middle school for plays and the like. The guy was just, well, overwhelmingly eager to have hundreds of eyes staring him down.

Of course, Len never dared set foot on the stage—grudgingly obliging to work on props and lighting, and act as a stagehand. That was fine. He liked working from the shadows.

However, it was soon their last semester in which they could participate in a musical before graduation, and naturally, Kaito was trying to nag him into actually doing something. 

“C’mon, you could be like, a tree, or a swan, or something,” he hissed to him.

They were sitting at the back of the auditorium, watching the auditions for the female lead roles. The male lead role auditions were scheduled next, and hence, Kaito was waiting for his time to shine.

This semester’s musical was Swan Lake , interestingly enough. (Although, by the sounds of it, they were opting for a less tragic ending, much to Len's disappointment.)

Len rolled his eyes, although his friend couldn’t see his expression in the dark. “I’d rather be stung by a thousand wasps,” he said. “Really, Kai. I’m just happy to watch from the sidelines like always.”

“You’ll regret it,” Kaito said. “And I mean, like, you did a pretty good Odette impression when we were practicing yesterday.”

Len snorted. “Hilarious.”

“It’s true! And when you—”

He shushed his friend as the next auditioner walked onto the stage. Small, feeble, yet very cute; there stood a nervous-looking Rin Kagamine.

Kaito wolf-whistled and waved at her, earning a slap on the leg from Len. Rin glanced up at them and smiled sheepishly, before beginning her audition.

Rin was… well, she was one of the best performers in the theatre group. She’d been doing ballet since she could walk, and taking singing lessons since she could talk. She was humble and sweet and eager to please, always wearing a smile, always being soft-spoken.

There was just a lot to be said about her, but Len could never find all the right words.

One could say it was a crush, and maybe it was—he just really, really admired her. 

Kaito and Rin were good friends, having played major roles in past musicals together many times. Len could barely get out a sentence around her, though. Nevertheless, she was Rin— painfully polite and always treating others kindly.

Len watched as she acted out the scene where Odette sees Siegfried and Odile dancing together in the castle. The emotion she poured into her acting and singing—even though it was just an audition—made it seem as if the pain she was feeling was real. The performance pulled at his heartstrings.

When Rin finished her audition and toddled off the stage looking like she’d walked straight into a storm, Kaito turned to Len and said, “Oh, she’s definitely getting the lead role.”

“Yeah?”

“Too bad you won’t be her Siegfried,” he teased with a wink.

Len sighed. “What, you want to audition for Rothbart instead?”

Kaito stroked his chin in thought. “Well, auditioning as a villain is definitely a first, but I’m not opposed…”

They watched the rest of the auditions in silence. Perhaps Len was just biased, but it really did seem likely Rin would get the female lead. Of course, the other students were good, but Rin… she just stood out something special on stage.

Next were the male leads, and Kaito jumped up, ready to go wait in line to be called down by the front.

“Good luck,” he hissed to his friend.

Kaito blew him a kiss and ran off.

Unsurprisingly, he blew his audition out of the water. Of course, Len already knew that—having been his Odette while he practiced for the audition of Siegfried for the past week or so. He was definitely talented.

A few weeks after the auditions, all roles for the musical were announced. As expected, both Kaito and Rin got the leads. Rin seemed genuinely surprised, being too humble for her own good, but Kaito just looked smug.

“It’s a pity you can’t be my Odette,” he joked, as Len checked the lists for what job he’d be appointed. Ew, yet again painting and moving the props.

“I’m quite happy for Rin to be up there instead of me,” Len said, frowning at the paper as he read the names of other students who were helping out. Ugh, and that bossy girl Meiko is in charge of it? What a nightmare.

“Really? Doesn’t seem like that to me,” Kaito observed. Then he leaned over to read the list Len was looking at, snickering at something. “Oh, look! Your best friend Meiko is going to be working with you.”

The last time Meiko and Len were on the same team for the musical, she made him repaint an entire set because she didn’t like the shade of green he used. God, were art students such a pain in the butt.

Len shrugged his shoulders, considering asking to be moved to lighting or audio. “Hopefully I’ll get the paint colour right this time.”

Rin came skipping over to the boys with a smile that lit up the whole room, drawing their attention away from the list. She congratulated Kaito on landing his role. “I look forward to working with you!” she exclaimed, bowing politely.

Kaito nudged Len, winked, then gave her a thumbs up. “Right back at you, Rinnie,” he said.

She glanced over at Len questioningly, who was standing off to the side looking like a cardboard cut-out. “Are you working on props again, Len?”

Len looked down, his ears burning. “Oh. Yeah.”

“Len, here—if only he would audition too,” Kaito said, throwing a thumb in his direction. “He didn’t make a bad Odette when I was practicing.”

Rin raised her eyebrows, surprised. “Really? I wouldn’t think of Len as one to do acting.”

“I don’t,” Len mumbled.

Kaito chortled, slapping a hand down on Len's shoulder, who grunted at the impact. “Oh yeah, but he’s always been a great practice partner! He’s pretty much half the reason I remember my lines.”

“That’s nice of him!” Rin said, beaming. “Maybe I need to practice with him too. I always take forever to learn mine…”

“Well, next time him and I are practicing, I’ll call you over,” Kaito said with a grin. Len wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not, but he was praying that he wasn’t.

A group of some theatre girls walked past, calling Rin over, and she cast an apologetic look at the boys. “Sorry, gotta go,” she said, before waving goodbye and running off.

Kaito turned to Len, the grin still on his face. “So, what do you think? Wanna help Rin remember her lines?”

Len scowled at him. “Kai, I can barely get a sentence out around her. Do you think I’d be much help?”

His friend slung an arm around his shoulders. “Oh Len, we just have to get that talkative side to come out first.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“We’ll figure it out.”

Fat chance , Len mused with a pout.

.

The weeks rolled by, with work on the musical starting off slow. Len spent most of his afternoons painting props and avoiding Meiko’s wrath, and listening to the other theatre kids gossip.

One day, one of his classmates—and fellow theatre club members—approached him. 

“Hey Len,” she said. 

She was playing the role of Odile, and helping with other things on the side—Miku, he recalled her name. They’d barely talked in all their years together, so this was a first. 

She crouched on the ground beside him as he was finishing off the flowers on a bush, and looked at him with a serious expression while twisting a pigtail in one hand. “Are, you know, Kaito and Rin, like, dating? ”

Len paused mid-stroke, going, “Uhh.”

“Because, like, they seem to be really close, right, and they’re always getting the main roles,” she babbled, and he sat there in silence, wondering for a moment. “And like, I’m just curious, ‘cus they haven’t really said anything, but like, it just wouldn’t surprise me, you know?”

Eventually, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “I dunno. None of my business.” He didn’t think they were dating, but, hell, who knew. Maybe that had changed within the past day or so.

Miku looked at him weirdly. “Aren’t you, like, his best friend?”

“Yeah, and I dunno,” Len answered, returning the same expression. “What’s it to you?”

She flushed. “W-well, you know, I just thought…”

“Why not ask Kaito or something?” he said, looking back down at the prop he was working on. “The guy doesn’t keep any secrets.”

Miku huffed, frustrated with his answers. “Well, I—um, it’s just—that would be sort of rude, okay?”

Len raised an eyebrow. “Really.”

Then she threw her head back, groaning. “Wow, you are so weird. Never mind.”

Miku got up and ran off, not bothering him again. But that got Len thinking… 

What if they were dating? Sure, they were friendly with each other, but that was just—he assumed—because they’d worked together on so many musicals before. Besides, Kaito was always sort of gently nudging Len to make a move on Rin, so it didn’t make much sense if they did happen to be dating. (Unless they were like, polyamorous or something.)

Even so, Len couldn’t blame people for assuming it. They were a good-looking couple when together. And the few practices he’d sat through, he couldn’t help but be mesmerised by their acting with one another. Their voices harmonised well, their height difference was sort of amusing, and even their personalities seemed to contrast nicely.

He frowned down at the ugly flower he was painting. It was impossible to see himself with Rin, when she was just so bright and cheery, and him akin to the dark side of the moon.

“Len!” Meiko snapped, disturbing him from his thoughts. She was standing over him, her hands on her hips and her face pulled into a snarl. “Can you pick up the pace? We still have thirteen more of these bush sets to paint!”

Len grumbled an apology, and got back to work, thoughts of Rin and Kaito reeling through his mind.

.

“Huh, so something weird happened today,” Kaito said, while peeling open an ice-cream he got from the cafeteria vending machine. They were on lunch break, and it was a pleasant, mid-autumn afternoon, so they were sitting out in the courtyard, enjoying the sun.

“What happened?” Len asked, picking at the hard-boiled egg in his lunchbox.

“You know that girl Miku,” he continued, “she’s Odile, right? Anyway, she came up to me all flustered or something and was like, ‘Oh my God, are you and Rin dating?’” He mocked her voice and everything.

Len popped his egg into his mouth and chewed slowly. “She actually asked?” he said.

Kaito then looked at him, surprised. “What, did you know about this?”

“She came up to me the other day, asking if you two were dating,” Len said, before taking a sip of his banana-flavoured milk.

“She asked you? What did you say?”

“I said, ‘I dunno.’”

Kaito raised an eyebrow. “You just told her, ‘I dunno’?”

Len shrugged. “Yeah. She wasn’t happy with that answer, though, so I said if she wanted to know, to just ask you. I didn’t actually think she would, though.”

Kaito scoffed. “She did, and she looked like she was in pain.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Seemed happy to know we weren’t— ” Kaito then narrowed his eyes at Len, “—dating, though.”

“Look, it’s not my business to know if you two have something going on,” Len defended himself, pretty pathetically at that. “And, well, you’re spending a lot of time together now so maybe something could change. I don’t know.”

Kaito sighed, throwing an arm over his friend's shoulders and roughing up his hair. “God, you’re a loser. But Len, you know, Rin isn’t my type. Not saying she isn’t cute, but…” He released him and gave him a serious look. “Anyway, I’m not that much of a self-centred dick to date her behind your back, am I?”

Len shook his head, reaching up to fix his fringe. “No, but, like, I don’t own her or anything. I can’t even look her in the eye.”

“Hmm,” Kaito said. “Len, you’re too complacent and nice for your own good. You should be more fighty if you want to catch Rin’s attention.”

“I don’t like conflict.”

“Man, you’re strange.” Kaito gave him a grin, taking a bite of his ice-cream. “But I guess that’s what makes you Len.”

Len gave a dry laugh, which died down pretty soon thereafter, because he spotted the tell-tale wobble of a certain girl’s white ribbon. Rin was approaching them from the other side of the courtyard, a sense of urgency in her step.

“Hey Kaito,” she called, waving. She nodded at Len as a greeting. “We’re having a quick emergency measure-up to double check our measurements for costumes before they get finalised. Can I borrow you for a sec?”

“Aw man,” Kaito groaned. “It’s lunch time! Can’t they let a guy rest?”

Her lips twitched. “Sorry, Kai.” As Kaito gathered his things, she turned to Len. “Hi Len. How are all the props going?”

“I’ve painted seven bushes,” Len said to his knees. “And my hand really hurts.”

“Len’s an art prodigy, you see,” Kaito commented, slapping him on the back, earning a disgruntled oof . “Meiko loves his work.”

Rin raised an eyebrow. This time, she couldn’t contain her smirk. “Really?” she said, sounding skeptical. “To be honest, that girl terrifies me. Well, good luck, Len!”

Then she and Kaito were off, leaving Len to sit in the courtyard by himself and sigh down at his half-eaten lunch.

Well, at least he said more than three words to her, this time.

.

Winter vacation came and went, and soon began the countdown. Of course, the musical was still at least two months away, but theatre kids liked to feel the pressure of impending doom for some odd reason. 

Len’s team had finished with painting the bushes and were tasked to work on the castle shell with another team. Apart from a few students who were picky about design and colour, most days spent painting were uneventful.

The good thing was that the theatre club shared the auditorium for both prop preparation and rehearsal, so he got to see Kaito and Rin’s progress, too. Of course, on the odd occasion, Len was forced into helping Kaito practice his role on the weekends, but he preferred seeing it from the perspective of the audience.

One afternoon, while painting and listening to everyone’s rehearsal, there seemed to be some drama up on the stage. The theatre club’s president—Luka—was in a bad mood that day, and after Rin had stuffed up her lines for the fifth time in a row, she snapped .

Len had stopped whatever he was doing to watch as Luka pulled Rin aside to talk to her off-stage. A few minutes later, Rin went running out of the auditorium in tears.

No one else seemed to notice; rehearsal had moved on to another scene without her, and the art, audio and lighting kids were too busy focusing on their work to pay attention. Len looked around, hoping someone would follow after her, but no one did.

His stomach twisted, and he felt guilty having witnessed it, but not doing anything about it. 

Len sat for a moment, waiting for her to come back, or something , before taking a deep breath and deciding to be the one to take the initiative. He excused himself for the bathroom and went out the same door Rin ran through minutes earlier, wandering down the hall in search of the girl.

Eventually he found her tucked underneath the staircase after following the sound of her sniffling. She looked surprised on seeing him, and hurried to wipe away her tears.

He stood there, staring at her forehead, before eventually clearing his throat and going, “Uh… um… are you… okay?”

It was the most ridiculous question to ask, given Rin was literally crying right in front of him, and he punched himself in the mouth mentally for not being at least an ounce more socially adept.

She didn’t seem to mind the foolish question, though. She sniffled, wiping at her nose with her sleeve. “Ah… Len. I’m sorry. I’m okay, just… a little stressed is all.” She gave him a watery smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Len glanced off to the side, fiddling with his sleeve. “I saw Luka getting mad up on stage.”

Rin winced, screwing up her face. “Yeah… she’s stressed, too.” She sighed. “I mean, it’s my fault for not remembering my lines, so…” Her voice wobbled a bit at that, and she sniffled again, tears gathering.

Oh boy. He didn’t want to make her cry more. “It’s okay,” he blurted out, as if those words alone would make the situation any better. “It’s not your fault. It can’t be helped. We’re only human.”

She smiled a bit. “Yeah. You’re right,” she said. “It’s just… a lot of pressure, you know? Being the main character. I can’t help but feel I’m not right for the role. Like Miku… well, she’s so much better at this than I am.”

“That’s not true,” Len blurted. Rin looked surprised, and so did he. He scratched at his neck. “Well, um, I dunno, when I watched your audition, I couldn’t stop thinking about how well you suited Odette. Like, Miku’s was good, but there was something yours had that… hers didn’t.”

Rin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking down. Although she still seemed upset, she had calmed down a bit.

He continued, trying to fill in the awkward silence, “I think you can do it.”

She sniffled again, letting out a shaky laugh. “Thank you, Len,” she said. She hesitated a bit, before looking up at him. “And thank you for coming out to check on me. That’s… really kind of you.”

Len managed a smile, but couldn’t quite meet her eyes.

Rin wiped at her face again and fixed her hair, taking a breath. “Okay. Let’s go back.”

They walked back to the auditorium together in silence. Before they split off their separate ways, Len stopped her, fingers barely grazing the sleeve of her shirt.

“Um,” he fumbled, when she turned to look at him. “Good luck up there.”

The corners of her lips turned, and she held up her fists. “I’ll do my best.”

For the rest of the afternoon, Rin shone brilliantly on the stage, and Meiko threw a newspaper at Len’s head for getting distracted by her.

.

“Oh Len. You sly, sly dog,” Kaito said, having heard from Rin what happened the following day.

Len gave him a look. “Well, none of you were running out to check on her.”

His friend grinned, leaning against his desk and folding his arms over his chest. “That’s true, but honestly, she and I were both equally surprised you were the one to go after her. Rin was all, Oh, that Len! He’s nice once he gets over his shyness, isn’t he? ” Kaito tried his best Rin-voice impression.

Len groaned, leaning back in his chair. “Please never do that again.”

“What?” Kaito said, grinning. “ Talking like Rin? ”

“Stop!” Len threw a hand in his direction, and he caught it, using it as a weapon to whack Len in the face.

“Anyway, so, Rin wants to practice her lines with you and me so she can get Luka off her case. I think she likes you, hey.” Kaito winked.

Len snatched his hand back. “How am I supposed to help? I’m not even acting a part.”

“Yeah, but you always do a great job playing the other roles when we’re practicing. And you always drop good hints about my next lines when I forget, ‘cus you always have the lines to read off.”

Len propped his elbow on his desk and leaned his head against his hand, disinterested. “You could, uh, also do that with each other, though.”

“C’mon Len! If you refuse to practice, she’ll think you don’t like her and get sad. She’ll be all, Oh, how disappointing, Len doesn’t want to practice with me …” Kaito faked wiping a tear.

Len rolled his eyes. “If I agree to it, will you stop doing bad impressions of Rin?”

Kaito grinned. “Maybe.”

Len narrowed his eyes.

“Okay, yes. I will stop doing bad impressions of Rin to harass you.”

He sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. “Fine. I’ll practice with you two. Just this once, though.”

Kaito high-fived himself. “Hell yeah! I’m gonna go tell Rin.” Then he disappeared.

Len dropped his head on his desk with a loud thunk . He didn’t know how on earth he was going to do any sort of ‘effective’ practice with Rin around.

.

“Len, you’re supposed to be the evil Rothbart, not a mute teenager,” Kaito said.

They were at a park somewhat central to all their houses on a chilly Sunday morning. Kaito was stretched out on a bench, drinking juice, and Rin stood in front of Len, waiting for him to start taking his role as the villain somewhat seriously.

But… Len couldn’t. Not with Rin dressed in cute casual clothes like this. He’d never seen her without a uniform on, in all these years of attending the same high school… and, well, it was a lot to process.

“Let’s try again,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips. “You don’t have to be convincing. Just… enough is alright, Len.”

He scanned the lines on the page in front of him again and took a breath, giving a nod. He dropped the sheet to his side and cleared his throat. Then, in the best voice he could muster, he began—

“Oh dear Odette! That prince of yours will never love you back—for he has sworn his love to my daughter Odile!”

Kaito burst into laughter from the side, but Rin ignored him and went on to deliver her line. “No! That can’t be true!” she wailed, bringing her hands up to her face in shock.

Len quickly glanced at his lines, before raising his arms like he was, uh, conjuring some magical image, or something like that. “No, Odette… it is …”

Rin stared at the empty space between his arms, her eyebrows furrowing. “It can’t be…” she said, her hands dropping to her sides. “He doesn’t love me…”

It was at this moment, Len was supposed to laugh maniacally and say something else, but he became distracted by how convincing Rin’s acting was. He didn’t realise he was gawking at her until she waved her hand in front of his face.

He snapped back to reality. “S-sorry!” he blurted, scrambling for the next line. God, this was going to kill him. “Um—uh… n-now, you shall be my pretty swan forever…”

Rin then stifled a laugh, breaking character. “Kaito, I think Len has had enough of being Rothbart for now.”

Kaito snickered into his juice bottle, waving his hand. “Oh, he’s fine. I think you were pulling on his heartstrings a little, that’s all.”

Len’s face burned. He tossed his photocopy of the musical’s script at Kaito and took a seat next to him. “Whatever, can I take a break? You two have plenty of scenes to practice with each other.”

His friend rolled his eyes, getting up from the bench with a groan. “Yeah, yeah. Alright, Rin. Let’s start from Act 4 line 46, then. Len, can you help us with our lines?”

Len begrudgingly took the papers back from Kaito and shuffled through to find Act 4.

Oh.

Oh .

It was the act with the kissing scene.

Well.

Fuck you, Kaito.

They began with Rin dying by the lake, and Kaito running in after killing Rothbart. (Len was pretty sure in the original they were both supposed to die, but the school council was all, Noooo, we want a happy ending! )

He frowned as he watched Kaito embrace her and act dramatic, confessing his love to her—what he was guessing—dead body. Rin then rose from the dead and reached out to cup his face.

“Oh, my prince!” she said. “You came back for me… and the curse has been broken!”

Kaito then turned and looked at Len, mouthing the word line .

Len sighed, muttering his next lines. “Odette, I thought I lost you.”

Kaito repeated down to Rin, “Odette, I thought I lost you.”

Silence. 

Len continued, “It was all my fault, mistaking you for that vile Odile.”

Kaito acted out the lines, then looked at him again.

Was he just doing this on purpose? He was doing it on purpose. This guy knew those lines, because Len had run over them with him at least a hundred times before. He wasn’t even looking at the script for reference anymore, because even he knew them.

“I could never love anyone else but you, Odette.”

The hint of a smirk tugged on Kaito’s lips as he repeated those lines down to Rin.

She stared up at him, as if he were a delicious slice of chocolate cake. “My prince…” she gasped.

Then it was the kiss scene.

Len averted his gaze as they leaned in for the kiss, signalling the end of the musical. He wanted to kick Kaito for this later. 

A moment passed, and the pair stood up as if nothing ever happened, brushing the grass off their clothes.

“So, what do you think, Len?” Kaito asked with a shit-eating grin.

“You need to learn your lines,” Len deadpanned.

“You wanna practice with me? Kissy-kissy.” Kaito pursed his lips and leaned in. Len swatted him away, disgusted.

“It’s not a real kiss, of course,” Rin said, smiling. “Just a theatrical one.”

Len raised an eyebrow. “A theatrical one?”

She ushered Kaito over to demonstrate. “You know, this hand faces the audience. It hides our mouths. And this hand… well, I use my fingers as a blockade for our mouths.” She placed one hand flat on the side of his face, then the other on the opposite side, and pressed one thumb over Kaito’s mouth.

“Romantic, huh?” Kaito said through her thumb.

“Ew.” Rin dropped her hands to wipe them on her shorts. “I mean, as if they’d let people kiss on stage at school.”

“Huh,” was all Len said.

Kaito wiggled his eyebrows at him. “You wanna try?”

“With you? No thanks.”

“I mean, Rin might want to—”

“Also no thanks.”

“Ouch.”

Rin just laughed. “It’s alright,” she said. She tucked her hair back behind her ears. “Can we run over another scene? There’s this one in Act 2 I really need to work on… and Len, can you help out too?” She turned to Len and gave him a pleading look.

And, well, he really couldn’t say no.

“Okay…”

“Great! Well, I need you to pretend to be the other swan maidens in the lake…”

Len thought to himself, Oh boy.

.

The weeks continued to fly by. Soon, the musical was barely a month away.

Both Rin and Kaito seemed drained from countless practices. Len was going just fine, on the other hand; props were almost finished, and now they were finessing details (as Meiko liked to call it). A few times, they did some ‘unofficial’ full run-throughs as stagehands, but there was still a bit of work that had to be done.

When Len sat down next to Kaito for lunch, his friend turned to him and said with a straight face, “Miku and I made out yesterday.”

Len almost dumped his lunchbox’s contents on his lap. “You what? ”

“Yeah,” Kaito said, looking a tad dead inside. “It was weird.”

“Why?” Len asked, although that was a strange question to ask about kissing someone .

Kaito shrugged. “We were alone, and she was stressed, and we just started making out.”

Len found such a statement hard to imagine. We just started making out . Like, how the hell do you just start making out with someone? “So…?”

“I don’t even like Miku,” his friend moaned, dropping his head. “She’s too… I dunno, noisy? Not my type at all.”

Len couldn’t help but ask, “What is your type?”

Kaito tapped his chin in thought. “Hmm. Bossy. Cold. Could crush my head with her thighs.”

“So, like Meiko?”

Kaito tilted his head, squinting at the wall beside Len. “Eh, yeah. I guess so.”\

Len didn’t know what to do with this newfound information. He shovelled a dim sum into his mouth and chewed. “What are you going to do about Miku?” he asked.

Kaito groaned. “I don’t know. I don’t like turning people down and… I mean, I totally made out with her yesterday, so.”

Len went for the salad, saying, “I don’t make out with random girls on the regular, so I don’t have any advice to give you, sorry.”

“That’s alright,” Kaito said, putting his head in his hands. “I’ll figure it out.”

Len frowned at his friend, couldn’t help but feel concerned for him. The musical-induced exhaustion definitely was clouding his judgement (or he had some sort of attraction to Miku he was in denial about, but who knew).

He saw Rin in the hallway later that day, and she almost completely snubbed him, until realising at the last minute he’d walked past. She swung around and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him over by the wall.

It caught him off-guard, and he stuttered something of a hello.

She sighed, folding her arms over her chest. “Rehearsals have been taking it out of me. How are you doing, though?”

Len fidgeted with the collar of his shirt. “Prop work is far from as bad as your case is.”

“That’s good to hear.” Rin smiled. “How’s Kaito? He was a bit of a zombie yesterday.”

“Oh.” He recalled the conversation earlier, and the crisis Kaito seemed to be having. “Not so great,” he decided as the best answer.

She frowned, folding her arms over her chest. “He needs to take it easy. I was going to ask if you wanted to practice this weekend, but maybe we should let him rest…”

Len didn’t mind not practicing, because he’d been humiliated at least a million times during the past four practices they’d done. Of course it meant more time with Rin, but at what cost?

“Yeah, might be a good idea,” he agreed. Kaito would probably spend the weekend having a crisis about girls, anyway.

Rin dropped her arms to her sides. “Well, we’re almost there. Only four weeks to go!” She then waved goodbye and disappeared off down the hallway, into the mass of migrating students.

Len exhaled. Only four weeks to go .

.

Two weeks to go—that was when the accident happened.

Rehearsals had been slotted into lunchtimes to add extra practice, but Len usually didn’t have to go, so he spent a lot of his lunches by himself. He was enjoying his peace and quiet in the classroom, reading a manga and eating a sandwich, when the door clattered open and both Rin and Miku came running in looking like they’d run a marathon.

Rin stumbled over to his desk, breathless, and blurted, “Kaito’s going to hospital.”

Len dog-eared his book and looked up at her, not sure if he’d heard her right. “He’s going where?”

Miku appeared from behind, repeating, “The hospital. He’s going to the hospital.”

“He fell off the stage during rehearsal,” Rin continued, her eyes wide. 

“His leg, like, snapped like uncooked spaghetti,” Miku added, the detail a little unnecessary.

Len finished his sandwich. “Is he alright?”

The girls exchanged looks with each other. “We don’t know, but the paramedics said he might’ve broken his leg. He just… landed on it in the wrong way, and it was awful,” Rin said. “Luka’s freaking out.”

What he wanted to know was, how the hell did Kaito fall off the stage? The guy wasn’t even clumsy, and yet, here he was, probably breaking his leg two weeks before the musical. What a clown.

“Oh,” Len said, unsure how to take the news. “Well, thanks for telling me.”

Miku was already distracted, telling another student about the incident, which signalled that whatever went down during practice would spread around the school like wildfire by the end of the day. 

“No problem.” Rin’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’m just really worried. We’ll probably have an emergency meeting for it tomorrow, and for now this afternoon’s rehearsal has been called off, but…” She trailed off, chewing her lip with uncertainty.

“How did he fall off the stage?” Len asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

She shrugged her shoulders, the corners of her lips turning down. “I don’t really know. I guess he was really tired and just lost his balance… I wasn’t on stage at the time. I just heard him fall. It wasn’t good.”

“I wonder if he’ll be alright to do the musical,” he mused aloud.

Rin hung her head. “I hope he will,” she said. “But I have a feeling he won’t.”

That feeling was right. Kaito messaged Len that night to tell him, rather joyfully, that he had broken his ankle.

I’ll be at school nice and drugged up tomorrow! he added.

The next day, the emergency meeting for the theatre club was called after school. Although Len didn’t really have to attend it, being simply a stagehand, Kaito had dragged him along, asking for ‘moral support’.

“Do you really need moral support?” Len said, watching as his friend hobbled beside him on crutches.

“ Yes. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to this role, you know. I’m going to need you to wipe away my tears.”

“Can’t you ask Miku to do that for you?”

“Len. Die ,” was Kaito’s harsh response.

They were the last ones to arrive at the auditorium, where most of the cast had gathered in a circle. Rin was chewing on her nails—something she tended to do when she was stressed—and Luka was pacing back and forth across the room, a frown etched into her lips.

Upon seeing that Kaito had arrived, Luka stopped and clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention to her.

“So, as you may know, Kaito has broken his ankle and has had to step down from his role from Siegfried,” she began. A shocked chatter rumbled through the group, and she cleared her throat, signalling for silence. “We had an understudy—Yuuma—but conveniently, he got the flu and won’t be able to take on the position.”

“Oh boy,” Kaito said, apparently having only just heard wind of this. 

Luka pushed back her hair, exhaling. “So, now we don’t have anyone to play the role of Siegfried—and I’m trying to decide what to do next,” she said. “First, any questions, ideas, or concerns about this?”

Miku put up her hand. “Is the musical going to be cancelled?”

“No,” Luka answered. “But we may have to change things, if we can’t find someone to fill Kaito’s spot.”

People began to murmur, sharing their doubt for such a possibility.

“We only have two weeks,” someone said. “I don’t think we can find anyone else to play the role of Siegfried.”

Luka frowned. “Well, first, does anyone know someone who might be able to do Siegfried? Or does anyone think they can step up to the position?”

The room went silent. Everyone looked around at each other.

Then Kaito cleared his throat. “I know someone.”

Luka turned to him. “Who?”

He gestured to Len standing beside him. “This guy has essentially all my lines memorised.”

Len’s face went red as everyone’s eyes fell on him. Oh no. Oh no no no no no . “Kaito,” he hissed, panicking.

Luka seemed unconvinced, folding her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow. 

Kaito kept talking. “Len’s been practicing with Rin and me, helping us with our lines. I think he could pull it off. I forced him to make a band with me once in middle school, so I know he can sing.”

It was then Len wished for a hole to appear in the ground and swallow him up. What the hell was Kaito thinking? He did not want this at all.

Rin spoke up, much to his displeasure. “I think Len can do it too,” she said. “Like Kaito said, he already knows most—if not all—of Siegfried’s lines. So if anything, he would just have to learn the songs and his actions.”

Luka was slowly coming around, tapping her chin. “Hmm. Well. Anyone have another suggestion?” She scanned the group, waiting for another name to be called, but crickets chirped in response. “Okay. Let’s have a show of hands then. Who’s okay with Len taking the role of Siegfried?”

Kaito and Rin’s hands shot up. Then, slowly, one-by-one, other students began raising their hands, too. It was a good 80% of students voting in favour of him.

“It looks like Len’s our best bet, then,” Luka decided, after counting the number. She looked at Len, who was beside himself. “Well, Len. Is it alright if you take the role of Siegfried in place of Kaito?”

Len swallowed, a nervous sweat breaking out across his body. His eyes darted from Kaito, who was giving him a serious look, to Rin, who was basically pleading him with her eyes.

Oh God. Oh God. He hated disappointing people.

He found himself muttering, “Sure. Okay. Yes.”

Just like that, a sigh of relief seemed to wash across the theatre club. 

Just like that, Len was going to be Siegfried.

Ah. Fuck.

.

Kaito tried his very best to convince Len he was capable of getting on stage and performing. Rin had even joined in, much to his surprise.

Len stared at the space above their heads, feeling as if he might puke.

“You’ll be fine, Len,” Kaito reassured. “Just think everyone in the audience is a potato.”

Rin nodded in agreement, her white bow bobbing up and down. “If you can get up and take on a role in front of me without even knowing the lines, you can get up in front of everyone else and be Siegfried.”

“But what happens if I forget my lines, or go off-key?” Len protested, looking pale.

“You just improvise, man,” Kaito said, as if it was the easiest answer ever. “You just keep going.”

“And Len,” Rin added, reaching out to grab his hands. She looked him in the eyes and his stomach did a somersault. “I’ll be up there with you, so don’t worry. If something happens, I’ll help you out if I can.”

His chest went warm and fuzzy. God, why did she have so much influence over him?

Len’s eyebrows furrowed. “I just… I don’t know if I can do it.”

Both Rin and Kaito yelled in his face, “You can!”

“You just have to believe in yourself,” Kaito said, hitting his own chest with a fist.

Rin nodded. “We’re all nervous going up there. But think of it as a fun challenge! You’re not being Len on stage. You’re being Siegfried.”

“Anyway, we should get on with practicing,” Kaito said, holding up his script. “We only have a week and a bit to go. Luka’s going to lose her mind if you show up next week with no clue what to do.”

Len whined as a complaint, but nevertheless, obliged.

Of course, Rin and Kaito were nice enough to spend essentially their entire weekend at the park helping him catch up, even going as far to teach him the dance moves and lyrics, and explain stage cues. Len was just absolutely terrified of getting up in front of hundreds of people to sing a solo song. Even doing such a thing in front of Rin now seemed like child’s play.

While Kaito hobbled off to the bathroom later in the day, they took a drink break. 

Rin turned to Len and admitted, “You know what? I’m really glad you were chosen to fill in for Kaito.”

Len’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really? Why?”

She smiled down at her bottle of green tea she bought from the vending machine. “Well, Yuuma’s cool and all, but I feel more at ease when acting with you and Kaito. I’m glad it wasn’t someone else. You know, since it’s such an intimate role.”

Ah. Right. “Oh,” Len said. He was happy to hear that, and a smile inched its way onto his lips. Hearing that she felt comfortable around him was… somewhat relieving to his anxiety over what she thought of him. “Thank you.”

Rin looked up at him, beaming. Her face glowed under the afternoon light, and her blue eyes glittered like stars. He couldn’t help but stare.

Kaito returned, appearing from behind them. “Oh, you two look nice and comfortable. Guess we’re ready for Act 4, huh?” he joked.

Len grabbed one of his crutches, threatening to take it from his grasp. “Don’t test me, disabled man.”

Kaito pulled a face.

“We still need to do Act 3, first,” Rin said, not quite catching the joke—or perhaps just ignoring it. “It’s the longest one, so Len needs lots of practice.”

“Alright, alright.” Kaito waved his hand. “Let’s keep going, then.”

.

The following week went by in the blink of an eye. Len was exhausted and busy every day, rehearsing and doing costume try-ons and so on and so forth. By the end of the week, he almost didn’t care anymore, he was so tired.

Most of Len’s costumes consisted of safety pins, considering Kaito was both taller and larger than him in size. It was always a struggle getting in and out of the costumes, which made costume changes much more dire in between scenes.

Luka seemed somewhat satisfied with what he could do, though, which was a relief to both him and Kaito. (Although, his dancing left much to be desired.) “It’s not perfect,” she said in regards to his performance, “but it’s better than nothing at all.”

He tried to take it as a compliment.

Soon, they were doing their last dress rehearsal, two days before the show.

Kaito came up to him after the rehearsal, having sat and watched part of it. “How do you feel, Siegfried?” he asked, swinging an arm over his shoulders.

“Like I might have explosive diarrhea on the day,” Len answered.

“Oh yeah,” Kaito said with a nod. “It be like that sometimes.” He gave him a rough pat on the back. “You’ll be fine though. Do it for the theatrical kiss with Rin.”

Len could only roll his eyes.

Finally, the day of the performance came. According to Rin, who was chewing on her nails backstage, the auditorium was packed full. Len’s knees turned weak, and he sunk down on the ground beside her.

Rin put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll do great, my prince,” she said, giving a wink, before getting dragged off by one of the stagehands.

His insides melted like butter. A part of him still couldn’t get it around his head that this was happening.

Kaito appeared with his crutches, hopping over to give him a last minute pep talk. Mostly, he just rattled off with bullshit.

“Just don’t look at the audience’s faces. That’s what always throws me off,” he told him.

“Will try not to,” Len said through grit teeth.

“ Or you can try finding my face, in which I’ll blow you kisses.”

“That’s great to hear, Kai.”

Kaito grinned, checking the time on his watch. “Well, I should go now. But hey. Break a leg, alright?” He gave him a thumbs up. “Just not literally, otherwise you’ll end up like me.”

Len frowned at him. “You better not have jinxed me.”

Kaito ignored him and left, leaving Len to try his best not to throw up.

Soon, the music for the opening began to play.

 .

  three…

two…

one

It’s showtime!

 .

 The adrenaline rush kept Len going, somehow, through the entire musical. He made mistakes, sure, but the show went on. The lights were bright and blinding, and at times he was just lost up on the wide, empty stage. Yet, he did it all. He managed to make it to the end.

He realised this as he was leaning over Rin, her chest rising and falling, her eyelids fluttering.

“Odette…” he whispered, a cue for Rin to ‘awaken’.

She stirred, sitting up, meeting his eyes. She looked different with makeup on, under the heavy stage lights. It wasn’t bad; it made her look older, sharper, more adult than a girl. She smiled at him, and he wasn’t sure if it was her acting, or actually genuine.

Rin reached out to cup his face, hands warm and clammy. He didn’t mind. “Oh, my prince!” she said. “You came back for me… and the curse has been broken.”

Len’s heart was beating so hard against his rib cage, like it might leap out of his chest. He wondered if she could hear it. “I thought I lost you,” he breathed. “It was all my fault, mistaking you for that vile Odile.”

She shook her head, the feathers in her hair dancing in the air around her head.

He took a breath. “I could never love anyone else but you…” Her name danced on the tip of his tongue, and he swallowed it back. “…Odette.”

Rin gazed up at him. Her eyes were dark underneath all the makeup. He didn’t know what was going through her mind at that moment. “My prince…” she whispered.

She leaned in for the ‘kiss’ and he followed, expecting for it to go as it did in their practice. But for some reason, she didn’t place her thumb over his lips. She just went straight in , and their lips mashed together, and his eyes almost flew open in shock at the contact.

Of course, Len managed to keep his composure—just barely—reminding himself to push through until the curtains dropped in front of them, and the audience burst into applause.

Once they were no longer in view, Rin jumped away from him like he was on fire, her skin bright red down to her neck. “Oh my god,” she whispered, covering her face with her hands. “I’m so sorry. I totally forgot to move my thumb.”

Len’s mouth was still warm from hers. The stage around them was spinning a little. “It’s… fine,” he managed to get out. 

The stagehands began ushering them off-stage before they could talk more, preparing them for the curtain call. 

He didn’t have any time after that to speak with Rin about the kiss. Once they were finished with the curtain call, she was whisked away by a crowd of underclassmen congratulating her and giving her flowers for her last show. It was only now that he realised how popular she was.

Kaito found him amongst the crowd, holding his hand up for a high-five. “You did it!” he said. “My little Lenny has grown up.”

“Please never call me that again,” Len said with a groan.

Kaito ignored him. “What’s that on your mouth?”

“Huh?” Len wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. It was red lipstick. From Rin’s lips. “Oh.”

Kaito raised his eyebrows. “Speaking of which, that kiss with Rin on stage seemed awfully… realistic. ”

Len laughed nervously at that. “Yeah… well…”

His friend leaned in, his eyes going wide. “Wait, it was real?”

“It was an accident,” Len said. His face was hot.

Kaito’s jaw went slack. “Oh my god. You…”

Len shushed him. “It’s not that big of a deal. It was an accident . Rin forgot to put her thumb in the way so we just… you know…”

“She forgot to put her thumb in the way, huh,” Kaito said, narrowing his eyes and stroking his chin. “She never forgot with me.”

Len shrugged. “Maybe she was nervous, or something, I don’t know. I didn’t get to talk to her about it much.”

Kaito hummed in thought. There was a mischievous glint in his eye. “Well, I’m sure you’ll get a chance to talk to her about it at dinner tonight.”

“There's dinner?” Len echoed.

“Uh, yeah, we always do dinner. Didn’t anyone tell you?”

“No…”

“Oh, well. We’re having dinner at a yakiniku restaurant. Wanna come?”

“I guess?”

Kaito winked. “More time with Rin, too.”

Len blushed, then elbowed his friend in the stomach. “I wish you’d shut up sometimes,” he muttered, before walking off to get out of costume.

.

As they were taking the train to the yakiniku restaurant Luka had booked, Miku wriggled her way in between Len and Kaito. 

“Len actually did pretty well up there!” she said. “I was surprised.”

“That’s a bit rude,” Kaito said down to her with a frown.

“What?” Miku batted her eyelashes innocently. “It’s his first time performing! I was sort of expecting something to go terribly wrong.”

Kaito rolled his eyes. “Well, of course Len did great. He’s like a closet superstar.”

Len snorted. “I’m anything but that, Kai.”

Miku pouted. “I’m not trying to be mean! You don’t think I’m being rude, do you, Len?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“See? He agrees with me!”

“He didn’t even give you a verbal answer, Miku,” Kaito said.

She folded her arms over her chest, puffing out her cheeks. 

Rin turned, having overheard their conversation. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“We were just discussing Len’s total owning of the stage,” Kaito answered. “And Miku’s being a bitch.”

“I’m not!” Miku cried, indignant.

Rin giggled. “Len did really well, despite the circumstances,” she said. She kept her eyes on Miku and Kaito, avoiding meeting Len’s gaze “Who knew the quiet boy could brew such a storm?”

“He was just saving it up. Huh, Len?” Kaito looked at him.

Len mustered a smile. “I hope I never have to do that again,” was all he could respond with.

Everyone aww-ed in disappointment, and Kaito poked him with one of his crutches. “Nah. You loved it. It was the best experience you’ve ever had.”

“It was the most distressing experience I’ve had,” Len corrected.

Their train pulled up at their stop, and they filed out of the carriage, following Luka’s lead. The walk to the restaurant was around ten minutes, and everyone had moved on to another conversation with each other. Kaito was bickering with Miku, who seemed awfully touchy-feely with him.

Hmm , Len thought.

He didn’t mind the moment of quiet, though, as he tagged behind the group. It was weighing down on him—now that the adrenalin rush had finished—how goddamn exhausted he was. He couldn’t wait to have a bath and crawl into bed.

At the restaurant, Len took a seat between Kaito and another girl—Gumi—who played as one of the swan princesses. He hadn’t talked to her much before, but she seemed friendly. Across from him was Gakupo—who played Rothbart, Miki—who played another swan princess, and Piko—who was Seigfried’s best friend. He’d managed to get to know Gakupo and Piko through his role a little bit—they were okay. 

Alas, Rin was at a separate table, along with Luka, Meiko and Miku (which was, perhaps, not entirely a bad thing). 

So much for having the chance to talk to her about what happened on stage, though.

Although it was hard to organise a group of like, thirteen rowdy teenagers, eventually they sorted their orders for drinks and food. Everyone was busy chatting, and Len was just sitting there, staring at the empty table in front of him. Sometimes Kaito would try to drag him into his conversation with Miku, mainly asking for him to give his two cents in their argument, but eventually he would just… fade out of existence again.

When their drinks came, they made a toast.

Luka did the honours, being the club president. “Well, despite one of our leads breaking an ankle two weeks before our show, I guess we did pretty well,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Kaito, who wore a proud expression. “Thanks to Len being able to pull through and play the role in Kaito’s place. Thanks to everyone else, too, for all your hard work and cooperation for the past semester. It’s been an honour being your club president.” It was now she looked a bit teary.

(Len didn’t realise the theatre club was such a big thing to her… but, well.)

“So, a toast to our theatre club! Well done everyone, and good luck with finals next semester!”

Everyone held up their glasses.

“Cheers!”

After that was done, came the wait for food. Len took that as a chance to escape and get a breath of fresh air (he was getting a little claustrophobic, sandwiched between Kaito and Gumi). He excused himself to the bathroom, then slipped outside, unnoticed.

Len glanced at the time, making sure he didn’t spend too long outside that people came looking. He crouched down on the curb, breathing in the freezing, late-winter air.

There were footsteps behind him not long after he’d been outside, and he turned, expecting Kaito to have followed him out. But much to his surprise (and pleasure), it was Rin.

She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Mind if I join?” she asked.

Len nodded, the words getting caught in his throat.

Rin sat down beside him with a sigh. Her shoulder bumped against his, and his heart fluttered. “Are you feeling alright?” she asked, glancing at him. She’d wiped most of her makeup off, returning that familiar softness to her features.

“Yeah,” he croaked, before clearing his throat. “Just needed some air. It was a bit crowded, is all.”

“Yeah,” she agreed in an exhale. “The exhaustion sort of hits you around now.”

Len hummed in response. “I don’t know if I can get up off the ground, to be honest. My legs are killing me.”

Rin chuckled. “It’s all that dancing.”

“I didn’t know I had to use so many muscles for that.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Comes easy to me, having done ballet and all.”

Rin then leaned against him, her head lowering to his shoulder. He stiffened at first, then relaxed—although, all the skin she was touching was on fire.

“Still exhausted, though,” she mumbled. 

“You did amazing,” he said.

Rin’s hand fluttered down to his thigh. It was hot through the fabric of his jeans. His heartbeat picked up, hammering against his chest as his mind went reeling. He didn’t know what was going on.

“You did amazing, too,” she said back, a smile in her voice.

Len wanted to disagree with that statement, but instead, decided to shut up for once. He settled for a quiet, “Thank you.”

He wondered if she could hear his heart, beating so loud. God, she could definitely hear his heart.

She then said, “I’m sorry about the kiss at the end, though.”

“Oh, um,” he fumbled. “It’s fine, I… it took me by surprise, but…” It was good. I wanted you to kiss me more.

“It took me by surprise, too,” Rin said with a laugh. “I almost broke character there on stage.”

Len laughed with her. “I was confused for a moment, thought your thumb was oddly soft,” he admitted.

“Oh, you’re telling me my thumb doesn’t feel like a kiss?” she jested. “Rude.”

They chuckled together, before a beat of silence passed. Then Rin said, “You caught me off-guard up there, Len.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I did?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Your acting was… really good.”

Len stared straight ahead at the vending machine across the road, illuminating the darkness. He knew Rin could hear his heart. Her hand was still on his thigh, and her head still resting on his shoulder. The gentle smiles and the fact that she was sitting here, out in the cold with him, and not inside with the others.

He didn’t want to get ahead of himself, and yet…

Something inside just told him to go for it. Maybe he was reaching a state of over-exhaustion and his brain wasn’t functioning properly, but to heck with it.

“It wasn’t acting,” he whispered, the words difficult to get out.

Rin lifted her head to look at him, going, “Hmm?”

Len swallowed, mustering up the courage to try again. “It wasn’t acting,” he repeated. Once they were out, it was like a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

She gazed at him, confusion first crossing her face, then consideration, then realisation. Her eyes went wide, her lips parting.

For a split second, he wondered, with terror, if he’d gotten it wrong. If he’d mistaken all her gestures for something they weren’t. If she was about to break his heart, then and there, in the most awkward situation ever.

But then Rin’s lips curled up into a smile. She leaned in close, her forehead touching his.

“Do you want to… try again?” she whispered. “But this time, not just an accident.”

Len didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned in, lips brushing against hers. She reciprocated, pressing back hard against his mouth. A hand reached up to grab the collar of his shirt, curling into a fist. The other still rested on his thigh, fingers pressing down into his skin.

He reached for her shoulders, then up to her neck, the sides of her face. He tangled his fingers in her hair, pulling her closer, drawing on her warmth.

Someone coughed from behind. Startled, they both jumped away from each other and turned to see Meiko.

She folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said, in a tone that wasn’t very apologetic, “but everyone’s wondering where you two went, so unless you want to have to explain to them in detail what you were just doing, you should probably come inside.”

Rin cleared her throat, flustered. “S-sorry Meiko,” she stuttered.

Meiko just shook her head at them, before walking back into the restaurant.

Rin looked at Len. She exhaled and shrugged her shoulders. “We should probably go back.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, breathless.

She leaned in again to peck him on the lips once more before standing up, dusting off her clothes. She held out a hand for him, and he grabbed it, pulling him up.

Together, with faces red like stop signs, they walked back into the restaurant and took their seats, acting as if nothing ever happened.

.

When they were saying goodbye later that evening and going their separate ways, Rin kissed him again, right in front of Kaito.

Kaito gasped. “Excuse me,” he said, holding up a hand. They pulled away to look at him. “When did this happen?”

Rin looked at Len, smiling, and Len shrugged. “Like, two hours ago,” he said.

Kaito put a hand to his chest. “And you didn’t tell me, your best friend? I’m offended.”

“Well, you know now,” Len said.

Kaito sniffled, pretending to wipe away a tear, before he dropped his hand and grinned. “It’s about time!”

Len rolled his eyes, but Rin laughed, leaning into his shoulder. “Can you let us kiss in peace, please?”

“What, you didn’t get enough time on stage?”

“Kai! Away!” Len shooed him, and the boy left, cackling to himself.

Rin shook her head. “I think those painkillers are ramping him up a little, or maybe it’s just because I’m tired.”

“Definitely the painkillers,” Len said.

She reached down for his hand and squeezed it. Her fingers were cold, like ice. Her expression turned serious as she looked up at him from under her lashes. “So… does this mean we’re dating?”

He gazed at her face a moment, surprised she'd even bothered asking the question. “Well, I hope so,” he said.

A grin started to fight its way onto her lips, her shoulders sagging with relief. “Me too.”

Len reached up to brush some hair out of her eyes. “You wanna do something fun during spring vacation? Like see a movie, or go bowling or something.”

“Yeah,” Rin said, beaming. “I’d like to do something.”

“It’s a date, then,” he said.

Then they leaned in for another kiss.